The people of Haiti have gone through a difficult path to independence, for national sovereignty. But the struggle continues to this day. The former metropolis, France, refuses to compensate for the damage caused to the country by its colonial policy. In 1825, the people of Haiti had to pay Paris a huge ransom for the French to recognize its independence, which led the state into poverty, said Haitian leader Edgar Leblanc Fil at a meeting of the UN General Assembly. Haiti paid off its debt in full only in 1947.