For Whom the Dogs Spy

Although Raymond Joseph's occasionally oversized ego mars the text, For Whom the Dogs Spy is a breezy read on 50 years of political change and conflict in Haiti. Beginning with his time in Radio Vonvon and the New York-based Haiti Observateur, Joseph chronicles his experience inside and outside of Haitian politics. The underground resistance Radio Vonvon was directed against Duvalier and relied on local informants for radio coverage and criticism of the Duvalier dictatorship. Then, with like-minded Haitians critical of the regime but not Communists, Joseph was part of the group that launched Haiti Observateur, which continued the criticism of the dictatorship that was inherited by Baby Doc. 

Joseph then transitioned to the Wall Street Journal before formally getting involved in Haiti politics as a diplomat. Much of the book is full of anecdotes about his role or contributions to helping Haiti, such as getting HOPE through Congress, making it easier for Préval to meet with Clintons or the appropriate powerful US figures, or his leadership role in defending the image of Haiti after the disastrous 2010 earthquake and securing international aid. Joseph clearly helped to combat Haiti's bad press and tried to combat corruption, inefficiency, and lack of transparency in Haiti's diplomatic staff. There is much to admire here.

Undoubtedly, Raymond Joseph accomplished much in his professional, political and personal lives. Unfortunately, we were sometimes wondering if his braggadocio style might obfuscate more nuanced events or meetings that took place. There was also a surprisingly light critique of Aristide that relied on some extreme language. It was clear that Joseph was not a fan of Lavalas, but to dismiss him as a terrorist because of his past rhetoric displayed a lack of the deeper analysis he exhibited in chapters on the Duvaliers, Préval, and Martelly, whose strongman presidency is covered by the final chapters of the text. We also wonder how Joseph feels today now that his cousin Wyclef's charity has been exposed and the Haiti is arguably in far worse conditions today. 

His several chapters on the ways in which Martelly avoided holding elections, intimidated and threatened the press, gave a pass to kidnappers and drug dealers, and engaged in unbridled public corruption and embezzlement with the tacit approval of the "international community" clearly paved the road to the Hell of Haiti after the assassination of Martelly's successor. Perhaps because of his own political orientation and relationships with powerful US politicians, their role in supporting or cosigning the calamitous, undemocratic elections and transitions have led to the miasma of today. Nonetheless, we hope Joseph writes another book on his experiences in Haiti's troubled democratic transition and the legacy of Duvalierism. Too often one finds young Haitians who believe Duvalier was Haiti at its best, or they have never been taught the darker chapters in their history of repression, state terror, and violence under Papa Doc and Baby Doc.