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#3223: question on immigration: A reply from Jerome
From:Jepiem@aol.com
This is definitely the issue that won't go away. It keeps nagging at you in
the back of your mind until you settle it for yourself.
I was somewhat puzzled at the intensity of the expressed outrage about
supposed Haitian "dishonesty" on the subject of whether sponsoring a Haitian
for a temporary visit was a feasible thing. In fact I believe the poster was
wondering innocently how to do it, and was warned about the risk of doing so
by Ms Grey. Ms Albert's reaction reminds me of that common haitian saying :
"les linges sales se lavent en famille" (translate: dirty linen should not be
washed in the open ). In order to settle this matter, perhaps we ought to
start by defining what is honesty. What is honest or dishonest for a culture
might resonate quite the opposite for another. In addition, doing something
to someone might be considered dishonest or acceptable depending on whether
that someone was from the same tribe or not. People in need do certain things
that are considered acceptable to their group but they would be shunned for
the same act by another group or by their own group if they were not in need.
More precisely in the Haitian context, if we go by North American standards,
particularly anglo saxon or puritan canadian, any lie is a lie and
condemnable. Ms Albert you well know it is not generally so in our cherished
Haitian culture or has it been so long that you have forgotten. We lie about
everything in general. I am talking about the majority of the population now,
don't take it personal and jump on me. On the benign side of things, when was
the last time you asked a haitian his age or how much he owns and he told you
the truth without thinking about it? This reminds me of an experience I had
today when I stopped to visit a haitian furniture store and asked the where
they had fairly nice reproductions of antique furniture. obviously haitian
made. I felt rather proud at seeing them. When I asked the man where they
made the furniture, he told me "Hhaaaaaahhhhhhh they come from Europe". Even
some of own brethren do say they are from Europe or even Porto Rico. True or
false?
Besides, it takes laws and enforcement power to keep people honest and Haiti
just does not have either. Just look at the political history of the last
fifty years to this day. When I talk about laws, I am also thinking of laws
of morality. Ms Albert all that we had has sort of gone by the wayside. All
our institutions are gone, and people only have the day to day survival to
worry about. It is in fact so hard to survive from day to day that they can't
to much worry about much else. Haitians for some time now have been living by
the law of the jungle. You've got to be "smart and cunning like a fox, strong
like an elephant and fierce like the tiger in order to survive, and to
survive, and, being smart often means doing things that in other
circumstances would be considered dishonest. I do not at all take offence at
the warning of Ms Grey. She voiced a realistic opinion. Her advice can be
taken or rejected depending on one's point of view, but there is nothing
there to boil one's blood. I took her advice to mean that the poster should
be careful and that, to my opinion was well justified considering the Haitian
context. Until we recognize the facts and face the demons of our Haitian
reality, we will keep stagnating in that same mud. A few of us are lucky
enough to have gotten out of it and be able to sit in our comfort and write
about it, and get offended when someone says something that touches that raw
nerve of national pride in us, but the populace has to live under the
conditions that make them act and react the way they do. Like our proverb
says, " Tout bett jinnain mode" (french and creole readers, put an accent
aigu on the last e) For the non creole speakers that means, "no matter how
gentle an animal, it will bite you if you corner him tight enough". Instead
of jumping the gun and getting all offended in our national pride, what about
pulling all our energies together to do things that will really give us
reason to be proud. Frankly, in and about Haiti now, pride is an empty word.
There is nothing to be proud of. Don't tell me about our ancestry and how we
defeated Napoleon's army and all that. That won't feed the peasant's hungry
kid. That won't even guarantee us good government today and we sorely need
one. What have you done for me lately cries Haiti. So, to the original
poster, if you want to help someone, do it after puting all guarantees on
your side, and don't be too disappointed if you get taken.
Math Jerome