14259: Hermantin: New year launches countdown to second century of free Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Wed, Jan. 01, 2003

New year launches countdown to second century of free Haiti
BY JACQUELINE CHARLES
jcharles@herald.com

For South Florida's Haitians, today begins not only a new year but a
countdown toward their homeland's second century as a nation in 2004.

New Year's Day is also Haitian Independence Day -- 199 years since
Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a general under Toussaint L'Ouverture and father of
Haitian independence, declared the country free from France following a
successful war against Napoleon Bonaparte's army.

''This is a day of reflection to see where we came from and where we are
going,'' said Guy Victor, Haiti's consul general in Miami. ``The Haitian
Revolution was the first successful black revolution in the Western
Hemisphere where slaves united to free themselves. . . . Now is the time for
us to help ourselves.''

As he did last year, Victor will kick off today's celebration with a 9 a.m.
Mass at Notre-Dame d'Hati Catholic Church, 130 NE 62nd St. The Little Haiti
church is often seen as the community's spiritual center.

Today's message, said Monsignor Gerard Darbouze: unity of the Haitian
people.

''Haiti is the second country to be free after the United States, yet it is
the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. Why? Because we need unity and
patriotism so that we can develop Haiti and also develop more people to help
the country,'' Darbouze said.

During the Mass, which last year drew about 1,000 worshipers, Darbouze plans
to ask parishioners not only to pray for Haiti's future but for the hundreds
of detained Haitian migrants who await an uncertain future in South
Florida's detention centers.

The migrants' plight and Haiti's continuing political turmoil have generated
headlines and discussions among Haitians in recent months, as has talk about
2004 -- the year Haitians hope to see the biggest celebration their country
has experienced since their ancestors' revolt.

''Our ancestors work hard to say no to slavery, and this day reminds me how
much they fought for us to have the independence we have in Haiti,'' said
Farah Juste, a Haitian protest singer who has been serenading the day with
an annual Haitian Independence Day Concert for more than a decade.

Her show today will begin at 7 p.m. at the James L. Knight Center, 400 SE
Second Ave. It will also feature several popular Haitian entertainers and
young Haitian rappers.

While last year's concert drew an audience of 4,300, Juste said she's hoping
for a standing-room-only crowd this evening.

''They will start with prayer, go home and prepare their clothes, drink
their soup joumou and come together,'' said Juste, referring to the Haitian
tradition of drinking pumpkin soup on New Year's Day for good luck. ``This
is how we celebrate New Year's and Independence Day.''







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