| Herns
J. Renoit
Herns J. Renoit, one of the rare survivors of
the military invasion planned against Duvalier
by the New York based opposition “Coalition
Haitienne” on May 20, 1968 in Cap-Haitian.
Herns Renoit severely wounded several days later
in a small community called Sainte Suzanne, during
a clash with the Casernes Dessalines’ soldiers
sent in the region to wipe out the invaders.
Captured
by a peasant, Herns J. Renoit was taken half dead
to the town of Valliere where Dr. Ange-Marie Gousse
fed him and gave him the first medical assistance
needed before sending him to Cap Haitian’s
hospital for intensive care. After a brief sojourn,
he was transferred on a military plane to Port-au-Prince
with a bucket containing Gerard Bovil’s
head, one of his misfortune comrades killed several
days before.
Herns
was carried on a stretcher to the National Palace
to be interrogated by Duvalier himself. He was
sent to the Port au Prince’s Military hospital
for treatment, and special care for his broken
left wrist. But two months later during a medical
examination conducted by Dr. Guillaume and Dr
Jean Verly, Herns was induced with anesthesia
by the latest and when he got up the next day,
he realized that his left arm was amputated above
the elbow.
Several
weeks later, he was sent to the National Penitentiary
with Philocles Almanor who suffered the amputation
of his left leg. (Filo) also participated in the
May 20 invasion and survived a clash in Grand
Riviere du Nord with the soldiers during which
Herman Blot was killed. Philocles was sent to
Cap Haitian and them transferred by plane to Port-au-Prince
with a bucket containing Herman Blot’s head,
a practice for which Duvalier was well known.
Herns
J. Renoit spent 9 years between Fort Dimanche
and the Haitian Penitentiary. Released in 1977,
he published his testimonial, "L'Invasion
du 20 mai 1968 au Cap-Haitien" in 2004, hoping
to shed light on the invasion and other circumstances
surrounding that era. To paraphrase Dr. Gerard
Campfort : Without doubt his book will raise issues
that might create some discomfort among many involved
in this invasion.
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