Friday April 7, 2023, as part of the 220th anniversary of the death of Toussaint Louverture, the Ambassador of Haiti to France Josué Pierre Dahomey, delivered a vibrant speech that we invite you to read and share.

Speech by the Ambassador of Haiti :

"I would like, at the beginning of my remarks, to draw attention to the inscription appearing here in the Pantheon in memory of this genius of the 18th century, and on which one can read 'In memory of Toussaint Louverture, fighter of freedom, architect of the abolition of slavery. Haitian hero, died deported to Fort-de-Joux in 1803'.

Toussaint Louverture was obviously all of these things at the same time. But for us today it is much more than that. His journey, guided by a visceral attachment to the ideals of emancipation, and his keen sense of human dignity, still remain today a source of inspiration for inventing the future. And it is this point that I would like to highlight in my remarks for the occasion.

Indeed, he belonged to a generation of revolutionaries who changed the face of the world. He was in his time the link of filiation, so to speak, between the Haitian revolution and the French revolution, and it is rightly that he has been described as a black Jacobin.

Since then, the historiography of T. Louverture has not failed to insist on the triple dimension of his revolutionary action. Because, as everyone knows, his fight was anti-slavery, anti-racist and decolonial.

Impregnated with republican ideals, T. Louverture was the precursor of a movement called upon to shake down the barriers of racial discrimination in the world while being the first true hero of the postcolonial world.

Thus, to commemorate his memory today is to celebrate his attachment to the universal dimension of the values of freedom, equality and fraternity, values that remain dear to our two Republics, Haitian and French.

The Ideal of his fight is rooted in the philosophy of the Enlightenment. But, more than anything, what makes him an exceptional being is the very high idea he had of human dignity.

From this point of view, the life of Toussaint Louverture will have been a magnificent lesson in humanism. For although he was born into servitude, his condition as a slave did not alter his sense of human dignity. On the contrary. He knew how to rise, as he said himself, from slavery to take his 'flight in the region of the eagles'.

Moreover, even when he was at the height of his rise - as General-in-Chief of the army and then Governor of Santo Domingo - he never ceased to appeal to the right of humanity in favor of of his people. This is why we can say that it was under the impulse of the revolutionary action of T. Louverture that human rights reached their concrete dimension, beyond the borders of race, color, social conditions.

I would also like to take advantage of this well-deserved tribute to deliver a double message that will, I hope, articulate the past and the present.

The first message is to tell you that we are all heirs of T. Louverture. Our presence this April 7 at the Pantheon is not only intended to perpetuate the memory of this great man; But also and above all, to remember that we are all his heirs because his legacy is republican values.

The Louverturian heritage is freedom for all beyond borders and walls of all kinds; the Louverturian heritage is equal rights and equal conditions; it is also universal fraternity, a fraternity of peoples, which manifests itself today through Franco-Haitian friendship. In this sense, T. Louverture remains and remains for all of us a father and a benchmark.

I therefore welcome the high recognition that both countries accord to T. Louverture as a transcendent historical figure and hero of universal emancipation.

The second message refers to the current situation of the people of Toussaint Louverture in the Caribbean. Although they embodied the cause of freedom and equality with the highest dignity, the people of Toussaint Louverture, this pioneering black people in terms of the appropriation of republican values, today sees their cause oscillate between skepticism and despair.

But let me tell you that the Haitian cause should not be left to the vagaries of devastating circumstances.

This is why I call on the memory of Toussaint Louverture to urge Republican France to show more active solidarity in favor of the Haitian cause.

At this time, the Haitian cause is that of the protection and security of a dignified people, but prey to the blind violence of organized crime; it is that of rebuilding an economy in tatters, and eradicating extreme poverty; it is that of justice and the rehabilitation of institutions; that of political stability and a finally functional democracy in the country.

For the memory of Toussaint Louverture, erected here as a testament to our fraternal ties, for republican France and for Haiti – the first black republican people – I urge you to show solidarity with the Haitian cause.

My country is hostage of a long series of murderous conjunctures. The leaden screed of insecurity that is befalling Haitian society today should not leave us indifferent. Let us ensure that this ordeal does not lead to the agony of this country, Haiti, which has seen all freedoms flourish.

Thank you."

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39259-haiti-pantheon-tribute-to-toussaint-louverture-call-to-emmanuel-macron.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-39254-icihaiti-cap-haitien-tribute-to-toussaint-louverture.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39250-haiti-220th-of-the-death-of-toussaint-louverture-ceremony-of-floral-offering-speech-pm.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39244-haiti-220th-of-the-death-of-toussaint-louverture-message-of-reflection-from-lesly-conde.html

HL/ HaitiLibre