Remembering Haiti; the 3rd edition

For many, January 12, 2013 (today) is just another Saturday and for those on the Eastern Side of the USA, its a day filled with promises of great weather and running errands. For me it is these things and so much more. Today marks the 3rd anniversary of one of the most apocalyptic and most devastating natural disasters to EVER hit the Western Hemisphere and it unfortunately happened to my tiny island, Haiti. It still hurts my heart to think about it and it hurts more when media coverage basically reiterates how little has been done for the country. Yes everyone, including myself donated and held fundraisers but the island is STILL in despair and still very much impoverished THREE years later. So much in fact that Canada has pulled out their funds because nothing has been done with the millions that were already raised. There is no definitive reason why but those who have visitied have recounted the stories of families still in “tent cities” and children sick with the recent Cholera epidemic. I choose not to remember my homeland that way and instead choose to remember the colorful, lively Kanaval’s downtown, eating breakfast on the terrace of our family home at Delmas numero 2 and the beaches that many children attempted to build sandcastles on. I choose to keep our culture alive with the DC Haitian Ladies I have met and I choose to keep it alive by dancing at ANY party to K’em Pas Sote by Boukman Esperyans! Just recently on Christmas Eve I attended a party in Florida where the pate, grillot, tassot,  and rix national was abundant. Haiti is who made me, who I am and it is what is continuing to make me who I am. Haiti is my heart, lungs, and in each one of my brain synapses.  It is and has been for the longest time the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere but at one time it did thrive with rich exports. I pray every single day that the island gets some reprieve and I urge you all to please remember these people in your prayers. Many have such incorrect ideas of what Haitians look like, act like and are about and most of you are so dead wrong. Many actors, politicians, musicians, artist, models and fortune 500 company execs are of Haitian descent.. We are a nation of people with the utmost resilience, strong familial ties/obligations and a rich history of fighting back no matter what. We were slaves like many black islands and territories but we rose above it and with the help of Toussaint L’Ouverture we fought for our freedom. I am proud to have this kind of blood running through my veins and stand strong by the motto 

“L’Union Fait La Force”!

(unity is strength)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to fellow Haitian (1/2) Claire of the Fashion Bomb Daily!

Click below for more posts on Haiti by me……

and dancing to Haitian music at a recent gathering