Direct and indirect suffering of silenced voicesHaiti is described as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Most people do not know the long history of Haiti nor do they know the reasons behind Haiti's current state, when in fact Haiti was once one of the richest countries of the Western Hemisphere. However, the international community has played a key role in continually ensuring the destruction of Haiti's colonial wealth and the creation and continuation of its suffering. “French colonialists brought hundreds of thousands of slaves from Africa, many of whom were literally killed by labor. But in 1789, the word of revolution in France reached the Caribbean colony” (Clemens, 2010). This encouraged the slaves to revolt, and the French were unable to quell this rebellion. Slaves outnumbered settlers 10 times (Mason, 2010). Since then, the island fought against slavery in the War of Rebellion against the French from 1791 to 1804 to eliminate slavery and became the first republic ruled by African ancestry (Mason, 2010). Haiti acquired a symbolic power that far exceeded its real strength. This power was a hope for many people enslaved by their colonizers, the possibility of being free. Haiti's remarkable victory against France was the first of its kind. However, Haiti's success brought other disadvantages that would later affect the country's state and population. They gained independence only to suffer from France's debt which affected the country's economic stability for centuries. Throughout the 19th century, many countries, including the United States, failed to recognize Haiti as a country until 1862, after the south seceded; it is because of the day... middle of paper ...... has not yet recovered from the sorrow of human deeds over the centuries. Haiti will one day emerge from the image of a child who goes to bed hungry; The children of Haiti will not be made fun of because they are Haitian. Two centuries ago, Haiti was able to free itself from slavery and become a nation. It is now also possible for Haiti to rise again and become a land treated fairly, capable of overcoming its challenges in order to be free and treated fairly among nations. Since before the earthquake, Haiti has been victimized by many people claiming to be there to help. Humanitarian intervention must be understood as encompassing the absence of harm and the mitigation of mass human suffering. Until we address this fundamental issue of humanitarian intervention as an opportunity for non-humanitarian acts, we will directly and indirectly harm others through our actions..