13123: Dorce:Re: 13062: Simidor on The Haitian elite revisited (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: LAKAT47@aol.com

In a message dated 9/6/02 8:36:15 AM Pacific Daylight Time, karioka9@cs.com
writes:

<< I will end here with a personal anecdote.  When I was growing up in what
  I can best describe as a vaguely middle class family, I used to feel
  shamed whenever I had to carry anything -- a bag, a loaf of bread.  What
  would people think?  That we did not have a maid or a garcon for this
  sort of thing?  Nowadays, I get around by foot or riding the tap-tap, and
  carry my own groceries.  The elite folks I encounter along the way look
  upon me with disdain (toiser) as if I was an insult to their way of life.
  The country is crumpling around them, but the Haitian elite remains
  unchanged. >>
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
This is the real harm done by the elite class in Haiti and I experienced it
on my very first trip there, before I began scouring the librararies for any
books on Haiti I could find and learning about her history and culture.  I
was being shown around Port-au-Prince by a Haitian man I had met on a cruise
ship (he worked as part of the crew).  His sister had picked us up at the
dock with a driver.  He kept exhorting her to speak French instead of Kreyòl
and I didn't get why.  He was angry and wanted her to seem as impressive as
possible to me, I guess.   I definitely got the impression that French was
good and Kreyòl was low class....I believe that is what he was telling her.
Another situation occurred on a subsequent visit when I was staying at the
Oloffson.  The famous Aubelin Joliecouer told me when I offered him my
friendship that he had changed his mind about me....he had thought when he
met me that I had class but he found he was wrong.  I have no class!  (He
couldn't have been more right!)  It was because I had friends with whom I
would walk around Port-au-Prince.  Of course they were not elites...you may
not like my assessment but it didn't take me a long time to figure out what's
what in Haitian society.

Daniel, I appreciate so much what you said in your post.  It isn't easy to
criticize your own people in front of an audience.  It's risky, but then you
have never shown yourself to worry about that in your posts!  Bravo and I
hope someone heard you.  They seem to be able to deflect what is right before
their noses.....for me it's because I'm a foreigner and don't know the real
story and for you, you are diaspora and have forgotten or are bitter because
you are not elite.  It's not a parlor discussion though...not an interesting
exchange of sociological theories as some would say.  It's what is keeping
Haiti down.  Yes, it's that simple.  What is it?
Egalitie...Franternitie....something....?  It would be nice if they took that
particular lesson from the French.

Kathy Dorce~