Memory in Haiti. Cazal’s Place de la Résistance: a lieu de mémoire of the Duvalier dictatorship (1957‑86)

Résumé 0

Although the first hours and days following the fall of the Duvalier dictatorship in 1986 were marked by a spontaneous frenzy of destruction aimed against the physical and symbolic remains of the regime, there was at the same time a call to preserve these landmarks of repression as museums and places of memory. While these plans never came to fruition on the national level, the town of Cazal committed itself to erecting a monument in memory of local atrocities which had taken place in the 1960s. Cazal, due to the peculiarities of its history, has a special relationship with memory: its inhabitants are in part the descendants of Napoleon’s Polish troops who deserted and fought against the reestablishment of slavery. Inspired by the interest given to places of memory on a global scale, this article seeks to explore or foreground the specificity of this locality and its place de résistance, a space built in memory of the victims of the Duvalier regime. The article additionally aims to show how this locality can serve as a reference to highlight the ambiguous relationship that Haitian society develops with the dictatorial past.