REMARKS
Ambassador Janet A. Sanderson
Fourth of July Reception
Port au Prince, Haiti
2006

Minister of Social Affairs
Excellencies,
My fellow citizens,
Ladies and Gentlemen
 
 
Thank you for joining us tonight as we celebrate the 230^th anniversary of the independence of the United States of America.  Today, as friends and families gather for picnics and fireworks, we celebrate the values and ideals that have made our nation strong.  These principles, enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, unite all Americans, wherever they are, across our country and around the world.   And so we celebrate in Haiti.  

Our belief that government of the people, by the people, and for the people – an ideal that has inspired the human spirit for generations -- remains as relevant and inspirational for us today as it was in 1776.

And so we seek to inspire others. I am pleased to note that our community here is perhaps the best personification of the ideals we value. Many of you tonight work hard to aid, protect, comfort and encourage our Haitian friends. I want to pay particular tribute to your commitment, which is truly representative of the American spirit. 
 
But, I must say, this spirit of commitment is not unique to our country.  A little more than 25 years after the Declaration of Independence, Haitian leaders gathered to prepare their own battle for freedom.  Their courageous efforts gave birth to a new republic, one that they hoped would be a shining example for people throughout the hemisphere. 
 
Yet their dream remains unfinished. 
 
Five months after Haiti’s most open and inclusive Presidential election in history, after hundreds of thousands of Haitians waited in long lines to vote, a new government has given Haiti  hope that the ideals of Toussaint L’Overture and his generals may finally be realized. 

It is time for Haitians to get back in line again, so to speak, and begin the toughest challenge of all: building Haiti together. 

It is time for Haitians to let go of the past which has brought violence, despair and corruption, to start the process of national reconciliation, to unite behind President Preval’s call for dialogue.

It is time to complete the job Haitians started on February 7.

Realizing the dreams of our ancestors is not easy. In my own country, we are still working towards that goal.  But as you start this difficult task, know that the United States and its people will be at your side.  But, my friends,  we can’t do it for you.  The government, and President Preval, needs the strong support of the Haitian people, who must make a clean break with the past and who must take those critical steps forward to build a society where all Haitians can contribute. That is what I hope the Declaration of Independence and the work of our ancestors will inspire.   
 
In 1801, my predecessor many times removed, Tobias Lear, arrived in what was then Cap François to take up his duties as America’s first consul on the island.  Lear, alternately captivated and baffled by the country - as many of us are today - understood that great things were possible in Haiti. Following a meeting with Toussaint L’Overture and Henri Christophe, he wrote Secretary of State James Madison that “a new and important symbolic era has commenced here.”

More than two hundred years later, we repeat the words of Tobias Lear.  A new and important symbolic era has indeed commenced here in Haiti.  As Americans celebrate our independence and recommit to our nation’s ideals, we wish for the same for our Haitian friends and neighbors.  We will continue to support you as you work together, through and with your government, to secure better lives for your children and a brighter future for your country – in short, as you work towards the dreams we all share today on Independence Day.

Thank you very much. Merci beaucoup.  Happy Indpendence Day !