13671: Lafleur: RE: 13639: KawolinA: Re: 13633: Minsky: report from the field-a problem at school (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Lourdes Lafleur <lourdeslafleur@videotron.ca>


I do understand the reluctance of most Haitians living in the US to speak
French. In my personal opinion, if we do reject the French language we also
reject a big part of our history and our cultural identity. We are not
Jamaicans, Bahamians...we are Haitians and whether we would have preferred
to speak any other language is a totally different matter. Our Creole is
mostly composed of French words. It is pretty easy for a French only
speaking person to understand Creole after only 2 days Haiti. Just because
we have embraced another culture or have been educated in another language
does not mean that we should spit on our own culture. Haitian culture is
very rich and strong, it is a culture that has been internationally
recognized and we Haitians should be extremely proud of it. Our culture is
how we should be defined all over the world and not by the negative
stereotypes of poverty, misery, political unrest and hatred. I have read a
lot of opinions on this subject and I was quite hurt to see that after
everything the Haitian people have been through, the hatred and the
divisions that had characterized us since our independence are still very
much alive. Don't you think it is time for Haitian people to become a real
nation as we like to say "tèt ensemb"... french translation... "tête
ensemble" .