by Satish Sekar. © Satish Sekar. (March 24^th 2010)

A Proud History

Along with the rest of the world, Empower-Sport Ltd. was appalled by the devastation and suffering endured by the Haitian people. This proud nation has given the world so much. Its contribution to the abolition of slavery – a crime against humanity – has been neglected or ignored even for far too long. The sacrifices of its revolutionaries of 1791-1804 gave us fundamental freedoms we hold dear today and helped to change the course of history. And in sport too, Haiti has punched above its weight.

The player that scored the most important goal in US football was Haitian. Joseph Gaetjens – kidnapped and murdered by the infamous Tonton Macoutes – was denied American citizenship after scoring ‘that’ goal. The mighty England – entering its first World Cup – was humbled in Belo Horizonte in 1950 by the USA 1-0 thanks to Gaetjens’ goal. The result was thought to be a misprint at first by English media.

Gaetjens went on to play for Haiti, but could not repeat his heroics for his country. He was posthumously inducted into the US ‘Soccer’ Hall of Fame. Gaetjens was one of the best players Haiti produced.¹ Another was the late Emmanuel Sanon – held in high esteem by goalkeeping great Dino Zoff.

Sanon achieved something that no European had managed in nineteen matches. Italy had not conceded a goal in two years before the 1974 World Cup. Nobody gave Haiti a chance of winning, but they defied the odds by having the audacity to take the lead. Sanon scored the goal that stunned both Italy and football, shortly after the second half began in München. Sanon’s goal set Zoff’s record at an amazing 1142 minutes without conceding a goal in international football.

It enraged the Italians enough to respond with three of their own. Even though Haiti lost that match 3-1 on June 15^th 1974, many Haitians still celebrate Sanon’s goal as if it had been the winner. He scored forty-seven goals in just over a hundred appearances for his country, but his career is defined by that strike.

Sanon bagged Haiti’s other goal in that World Cup – their first – in the 4-1 defeat to Argentina. He remains the only player to have scored for Haiti in the World Cup finals. Sanon played in Belgium for Beerschot and in the USA before becoming a coach. He coached Haiti in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2000.

Emmanuel Sanon died in February 2008. He remains a Haitian – no football – icon for scoring the most important goal in his country’s history. Sanon left behind an important legacy continued by the Foundation Emmanuel Sanon. It works tirelessly to give at risk young Haitians a chance through football. They need that chance more than ever before thanks to yet another disaster.

Devastation

On January 12^th 2010 the latest earthquake to devastate Haiti struck. Almost a quarter of million people lost their lives. A further three-hundred thousand were injured and a million made homeless. Thirty-thousand buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged, along with a quarter of a million residences. There were more than fifty aftershocks as well.

The international community rushed to aid the stricken nation, but the organisation of relief efforts was chaotic. Help did not reach those in need quickly enough. Looting and violence occurred, but Haiti faced bigger problems. Years of neglect had ravaged its infrastructures – turning a once wealthy and productive country into the poorest nation in the western hemisphere.

The country has suffered terrible earthquakes before. The superb Sans Souci Palace was reduced to ruins by a quake in 1842, amid massive loss of life and the preceding century was peppered with destruction as well. In 1946 a tsunami killed almost two-thousand people after an earthquake hit the neighbouring Dominican Republic.

January’s earthquake caused extensive damage and terrible loss of life. For a short while Haiti was the focus of international attention, but then another quake – an even stronger one – struck in Chile. It resulted in less damage and less casualties. Why? Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. A crippling and utterly unfair compensation package – the only time the victors were forced to compensate the losers – ruined its economy. Haiti was forced to pay compensation to France for having the temerity to overthrow slavery in 1825.

The outrageous indemnity cost $150m – the equivalent of $22b in 2004 – the year Jean-Bertrand Aristide was overthrown. Aristide had his faults, but can it really be coincidence that one of the few things that French and US foreign policy agreed on was the need to remove Aristide and that President Aristide had recently supported Haitian demands for the restoration, not reparations of the scandalous compensation package that even the recipient and former colonist Alexandre Delaborde admitted that the amount extorted from Haiti in return for French recognition of Haiti in 1825 was three times the value of the colony.

Payments only ended in 1946 – over a hundred and twenty years later. Haiti’s economy never recovered and almost certainly never will unless restoration occurs. Rampant corruption in its tortured dictatorial past also contributed to the grinding poverty that its people endure. Quite simply Haiti cannot afford to defend itself from predictable natural disasters.

There will be more earthquakes and more tsunamis and they will devastate the country again and again unless the world acknowledges the debt that it owes to the children of Haiti’s Revolution and helps to rebuild that proud nation. Earthquakes cannot be prevented, but the extent of damage can be minimised with safer construction of buildings. The regeneration of Haiti is long overdue.

Empower-Sport Magazine welcomes the contribution of the football community to the rebuilding of Haiti. We thank the Haitian revolutionaries of 1791-1804 for the sacrifices they made to give us freedoms we hold dear. Their descendants deserve better from the international community – far better. From the destruction of January 12^th a better Haiti can and must be built. FIFA’s initiative is sorely needed, but sport can and must do more.

Haitian Football

Football was not spared in the carnage of January 12^th’s earthquake in Haiti. The President of the Haitian FA Yves Jean-Bart was hurt. He fled the doomed headquarters and was hit by falling masonry. At least thirty-three people died there, including Under-17 national coach Jean-Yves Labaze. Players were saved as they were training when the quake struck, but their families suffered.

The Haitian FA lost all of its assets and its administrative system in the quake. It had to start again thanks to help from FIFA. Jean-Bart decided on the priorities for Haitian football. It began with assisting the athletes to return to living normal lives. They wanted to reclaim grounds used in relief operations as soon as possible to enable training to resume.

Haitian clubs Racing CH and Tempête wanted to enter the CONCACAF Champion’s League. The stadium at Léogâne, the epicentre of the quake was totally destroyed and other stadiums were damaged. But football united in Haiti’s crisis to begin the process of rebuilding the island through football. Despite the carnage Haitians wanted to play. Balls were handed out and young people played. Football has an important part to play in Haiti’s recovery. FIFA, federations and clubs were keen to help.

Football Responds to the Tragedy

“Just like everyone else, I was deeply moved by the reports coming from Haiti,” FIFA President Sepp Blatter said on February 4^th. “We will continue to evaluate the situation closely with the Haitian Football Association and will do everything in our power to assist them in their hour of need.”

CONCACAF President Jack Warner visited Haiti and submitted reports to FIFA that resulted in the organisation contributing an extra $3m to complement the initial $250,000 that had been donated in the immediate aftermath of the devastating earthquake of January 12^th.

FIFA’s Finance Committee unanimously decided to approve the funding of a Special Projects Fund to assist Haitian football. The money will be used for football related projects in Haiti. It will include rebuilding the headquarters of the Haitian FA, regional youth facilities and technical centres. Youth competitions and the Haitian FA’s leagues will be provided with football equipment to help rebuild Haitian football.

The thirty-two nations that qualified for this summer’s World Cup were contacted directly by Blatter as FIFA invoked a regulation that permitted it to donate two percent of the proceeds from all friendlies involving those teams to help Haiti between March 1^st and June 11^th. Blatter asked those federations to donate an extra two percent as well. Blatter acknowledged that the reconstruction will continue for months and years to come.

Chilean football needed help as well following a more powerful earthquake and tsunami. FIFA immediately donated $250,000, followed by a further $1.2m. Sport – not just football – united to assist the stricken nations, especially Haiti, but these efforts must be sustained. “From the rubble a new and stronger Haiti must emerge,” said Empower-Sport Magazine’s editor, Derek Miller. “We intend to continue to highlight the need for support for Haiti and the impact that sport can and must have to rebuild that country.”