A. Naomi Paik

May 31, 2024 | publicbooks.org | A. Naomi Paik |Gilberto Rosas |Megan Cummins

In September 1991, a military coup d’etat ousted Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the recently elected and massively popular president of Haiti. The forces behind the coup soon turned against Aristide’s supporters, spreading violence through the country and forcing tens of thousands to flee for their survival. The United States responded by sending the Coast Guard to intercept the migrants’ boats and detaining them at a makeshift camp, built at its Guantánamo Bay naval base.

May 27, 2024 | publicbooks.org | A. Naomi Paik |Catherine Ramirez |Megan Cummins

Authors’ Note: The views expressed in this essay are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the contributors to the series “The Border Is the Crisis.” The series begins today, and a new piece will be posted every day this week and next. The past has a way of repeating itself, just as the future has a way of not turning out as expected.