America Owes a Historical Debt to Haiti

By Lydia Polgreen

Produced by Vishakha Darbha

Despite the violence and political turmoil in Haiti, New York Times Opinion columnist Lydia Polgreen argues that this might be the tipping point that finally brings peace to that island nation. U.S. interference in Haiti has long been criticized, and in this audio essay, she says we finally have a chance to repair the damage we’ve done and help set the country back on a course toward dignity and democracy: “Just because there is this long history of failure doesn’t mean that success is not possible.”

(A full transcript of this audio essay will be available within 24 hours of publication in the audio player above.)

Credit…Illustration by Akshita Chandra/The New York Times; Photograph by EA/Getty Images

This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Vishakha Darbha. It was edited by Kaari Pitkin. Mixing by Sonia Herrero. Original music by Sonia Herrero, Carole Sabouraud, Pat McCusker. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker. Special thanks to Shannon Busta.

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