HAITI

The flag of Haiti was adopted on February 25, 1986. The flag is divided into two rectangles going across horizontally. The top half is blue and the bottom is red. Since 1843 the flag for official and state use has had the coat of arms of Haiti on a white panel in the center. The national motto is L'Union Fait La Force ("Unity Makes Strength"). The blue and red of the flag were retained after a French Tricolore was torn up by the revolutionary Jean-Jacques Dessalines in 1803. The two parts were stitched together horizontally to make a new flag.