GEOFF: THE ISLAND NATION OF

HAITI OFTEN MAKES HEADLINES IN

THE MIDST OF CRISIS.

BUT THERE'S LESS ATTENTION TO

THE FACTORS UNDERLYING ITS

STATUS AS THE POOREST NATION IN

THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE, AND ONE

OF THE MOST UNSTABLE.

"THE NEW YORK TIMES" HAS

CONDUCTED AN UNPRECEDENTED

INVESTIGATION INTO THOSE ROOT

CAUSES, AND IS PUTTING A HARSH

SPOTLIGHT ON HAITI'S FORMER

COLONIZER, FRANCE.

ALI ROGIN HAS MORE.

ALI: TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS

SWEEPING INVESTIGATION, I'M

JOINED BY CATHERINE PORTER.

SHE'S THE TORONTO BUREAU CHIEF

OF "THE NEW YORK TIMES," AND

SHE'S BEEN COVERING HAITI SINCE

ITS DEVASTATING 2010 EARTHQUAKE

AND LED THE TEAM THAT PORED OVER

CENTURIES OLD DOCUMENTS AND

ARCHIVES FOR THIS STORY.

CATHERINE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR

JOINING US.

HOW DID YOUR TEAM COME UP WITH

THIS IDEA?

CATHERINE: WELL, AS YOU

MENTIONED, I HAD BEEN IN HAITI

SINCE 2010, AND I THINK I'VE

BEEN BACK MORE THAN 30 TIMES,

AND ANY JOURNALIST WHO SPENDS

ANY TIME IN HAITI ASKS THE

QUESTION, LIKE, WHY IS IT LIKE

THIS?

WHY IS THE POVERTY SO BAD?

WHY IS INFRASTRUCTURE SO BAD?

AND WHY IS IT SO SO MUCH WORSE

THAN OTHER COUNTRIES AROUND IT?

AND THE OBVIOUS ANSWER IS OFTEN

GIVEN AS CORRUPTION, WHICH IS

TRUE.

BUT READING A BOOK ON ONE OF MY

TRIPS THERE, IT MENTIONED THIS

THING CALLED THE INDEPENDENCE

DEBT THAT HAITI HAD PAID TO

FRANCE.

AFTER WINNING ITS INDEPENDENCE,

IT HAD THEN BEEN FORCED TO PAY

IN CASH.

AND IT JUST STIRRED MY... LIKE I

JUST PLANTED A SEED WAY BACK

THEN.

AND I STARTED LOOKING FOR MORE

AND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ABOUT

THIS.

ALI: YEAH.

LET'S TALK ABOUT HOW THAT

INDEPENDENCE DEBT CAME TO BE,

BECAUSE I THINK, AS SOME PEOPLE

KNOW, HAITI WAS FOUNDED BY

FORMER SLAVES.

THEY OVERTHREW THEIR FRENCH

COLONIAL RULERS IN 1804, BUT NOT

LONG AFTER THAT, THEY ENDED UP

PAYING FRANCE.

WHY?

CATHERINE: YEAH, AND THEY CALLED

IT REPARATIONS, WHICH IS SO MIND

BOGGLING NOW.

25 YEARS AT -- 1825, 21 YEARS

AFTER THE FIRST BLACK NATION OF

THE AMERICAS WAS FORMED, A

BATTALION OF FRENCH SHIPS

ARRIVED WITH A MESSAGE FROM THE

KING, BASICALLY SAYING, EITHER

YOU GIVE US MONEY OR PREPARE FOR

WAR.

AND AT THAT TIME, HAITI HAD BEEN

COMPLETELY FROZEN OUT.

AMERICA, THE UNITED STATES WOULD

NOT DEAL WITH IT.

BRITAIN WOULDN'T ACKNOWLEDGE IT.

SO FACING WAR AND DESPERATE FOR

INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION, THE

PRESIDENT OF HAITI AT THE TIME

AGREED.

ALI: RIGHT.

AND YOU DOVE INTO HOW MUCH THOSE

SO-CALLED REPARATIONS WOULD

EQUAL IN TODAY'S MONEY.

YOU ALSO LOOKED INTO THE VALUE

THAT WAS LOST TO THE HAITIAN

ECONOMY BECAUSE OF SO MUCH OF

THIS MONEY AND THE INTEREST ON

THESE PAYMENTS GOING OUT OF THE

HAITIAN ECONOMY, NOT GOING TO

HAITIANS.

TELL US ABOUT THOSE FIGURES.

CATHERINE: AFTER WE DID ALL THAT

RESEARCH, WE COLLECTED THE

FIGURES AND WE WERE ABLE TO

EXTRAPOLATE WHAT THE OPPORTUNITY

COST WAS TO HAITI.

SO IF HAITI HADN'T GROWN, IF ITS

ECONOMY HAD STAYED AS STAGNANT

AS IT HAD BEEN THROUGHOUT THE

1800S, IT WOULD HAVE MEANT IT

WOULD HAVE ADDED $21 BILLION

U.S. DOLLARS TO THE ECONOMY

TODAY.

IF THE ECONOMY OF HAITI HAD BEEN

BOOSTED AND GROWN AT THE SAME

RATE AS THE AVERAGE RATE OF

LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES AROUND

IT, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A

STAGGERING $115 BILLION.

ALI: OF COURSE, THE UNITED

STATES ALSO HAS A LONG AND

SORDID HISTORY WITH HAITI.

WHAT DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THAT

RELATIONSHIP?

CATHERINE: WELL, YOU KNOW, WHAT

WAS REALLY INTERESTING IS THAT

FIRST YOU HAD THESE FRENCH

COLONIAL MASTERS AND THEY HELD A

TIGHT GRIP ON HAITI LONG AFTER

INDEPENDENCE.

AND FINALLY, THE WAY THAT THEY

HELD ON TO THE FINANCIAL STRINGS

OF THE COUNTRY WAS THROUGH THE

HAITIAN NATIONAL BANK.

AND SOON ENOUGH, AMERICAN BANKS

TOOK AN INTEREST IN THE HAITIAN

NATIONAL BANK BECAUSE, AS WE

SAW, INCREASINGLY MORE AND MORE

BANKERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

SAW THAT THIS WAS A PLACE THAT

DESPITE HOW POOR IT WAS, THEY

COULD GET RICH.

SO WE DISCOVERED THAT ONE OF THE

REASONS THE UNITED STATES, YOU

KNOW, INVADED HAITI AND OCCUPIED

IT FOR A VERY LONG TIME,

STARTING IN 1917, WAS BECAUSE A

BANK THAT IS NOW KNOWN AS

CITIGROUP HAD REALLY PRODDED THE

STATE DEPARTMENT TO GO IN AND

SECURE ITS INTERESTS IN THE

HAITIAN NATIONAL BANK.

AND THAT THEN QUICKLY DEVELOPED

INTO A FULL FLEDGED OCCUPATION.

SO PART OF THE IMPETUS WAS

FINANCIAL INTERESTS OF WALL

STREET BANKERS.

ALI: CATHERINE PORTER WITH "THE

NEW YORK TIMES," THANK YOU SO

MUCH FOR JOINING US.

CATHERINE: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR

HAVING ME.

♪