Baby Doc Duvalier's return to Haiti marks a creepy way to start 2011. The former dictator's reign was a cruel disaster for the tormented island nation. His father, Papa Doc, was the epitome of a 20th Century nightmare, the spiritual comrade of mass murderers such as Stalin and Mao Tse-Tung. The notion that the Duvalier family could have a second act in Haiti is a dreadful one.
Many years ago, a Haitian woman tried to explain to me what life was like under the Duvalier regime. It was living hell, with a deeply felt fear as an everyday experience. She was one of the lucky ones: she and her family emigrated to the United States. The idea of a Duvalier return would have unquestionably appalled her. It should have the same effect on everyone else, too.
