14419: Antoine Re: 14408: Nekita on the Haitian intellectuals' Role (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Pascal Antoine <pascal.antoine@verizon.net>

> As I am observing the  lack of professionalism and/or
> mediocrity that exists
> in the Haitian society be it in the diaspora or in
> Haiti, I am wondering what
> role the Haitian intellectual community should play or
> is playing  in this
> lassitude?...

Nekita,

I think it’s unfortunate that you see only the lack of cohesiveness in the Haitian community, while I see the great strides we have made in the last 5, 10, or 15 years. It’s the difference between seeing a glass half empty, or half full. Many points that you brought up are true, not only for the Haitian community in Boston, but the individual Haitian communities all over the US and the globe.

Also, every city in the US with a Haitian presence has a different level cohesiveness and professionalism. This is usually directly related to the number of support organizations available to Haitians, which is in turn related to the number of Haitians present within that community. That would therefore, leave the Boston community somewhere in the middle of the list, following New York and Miami and a couple of other cities. Go to those cities and see what is happening there. The biggest disservice you can do to the Haitian community would be to tell a young person not to “get too involved in your own Haitian community.“  We have just come through a long period of our young people being ashamed of their ancestry, and indications show that that is quickly coming to an end.

You write as if the Haitian community has no hope. It also sounds like a recent, personal experience has prompted you to write your letter. So, instead of looking at the negative side of things, look at how far we have gotten, and concentrate on filling in the gaps which would allow us to get to where you think we ought to be.

Pascal Antoine
pascal@haitixchange.com
HaitiXchange
http://www.haitixchange.com
Peyi Nou Pap Tonbe!