16403: Saint-Vil: Gay marriages in Haiti ? (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Jean Saint-Vil <jafrikayiti@hotmail.com>


Greetings all,



The other day I came across a website that provides a wealth of information and
opinions about the dynamics of homosexual life in Haiti and it triggered in my
miond a question I thought worthwhile to address to members of this list.
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In view of the recent decree now offering legal recognition to marriages
performed by the Vodou clergy in Haiti, and the fact that Vodou does not
persecute or chastise homosexuals, does it follow that homosexual unions are
now more likely become legal in Haiti, as they are now in Canada?



The website in question also touches upon the AIDS crisis and provides some
rather insightful views on prostitution and sexual relationships between
members of downtown Port-au-Prince’s poor-to-middle class (“the businessmen”)
and the Pétionville- based oligarchy (diplomats, politicians, traditional
Businessmen etc…).



Here are some excerpts and the link for the site:



“Currently the gay ‘community’ is still not a community in Port au Prince. It's
most notable presence essentially consists of the mostly white and Haitian
mulatto few who work for various NGOs, UN organizations, Peace Corps or local
government human resource agencies. The are also some well-off Haitian gay
businessmen and women who have managed to prosper despise the instability of
the country. And of course there are numerous government officials and
diplomats who circulate through this crowd along with artists, painters and
musicians. These people often live in the ‘rich’ suburb of Petionville which
lies in the greener and cooler hills above Port au Prince. The social calendar
for the A-gays consists of friendship word-of-mouth networks collected into
small groups for dinner parties or for informal gatherings at designated
restaurants or beaches.



Far separate from this group are the black poor classes born into and for the
most part stuck in that deprived social strata. Skin-color racism is alive and
well in Haiti (and in other Caribbean countries as well). Light is good, black
is not. There is no gathering at restaurants for this group, as they couldn’t
afford such an event. Rather they too have a loose network and use public
spaces for hanging out with one another such as the central plaza Champs de
Mars (named by the French, ironically, after the Greek god of war). Here they
can visit friends or cruise strangers or the few tourists who might venture out
from the safety of their hotels.



Sort of between these two stratas of gay life are the boyfriends and escorts of
some of the upper-dwelling gays. These are occasionally guys from down the
hill, with darker skin, younger and very likely less educated—but making up for
all that by their fine facial features and appealing body shapes. These
companions are not called ‘taxi boys’ or ‘rent boys’ but rather they are given
the euphemism of ‘business men’. (!) And, according to Scott these guys are
often quite pushy and dominant in private.



http://www.globalgayz.com/g-haiti.html



There are also these strange claims made by the author that peaked my curiosity
as a Kreyolis, since it is the very first time ever I heard them. He writes:
“the first introduction of gay term in Haiti was during the American Occupation
in 1915, this is why the common term to call gays are Massissi (mah-see-see).
This is from English term MY HE SHE, that was the way people use to call their
lovers. In their little mind they think that American had
introduced homosexuality to haitian. Little do they know that men were having
sex with all their cousins, uncles, friends and everyone around”.



Indeed, a strange but insightful web site to say the least…



So, what do you folks think of this guy’s claims and of the prospect of gay
marriages happening anytime soon in Haiti?





 Jafrikayiti

«Depi nan Ginen bon nèg ap ede nèg!»
http://www.i-port.net/sd-in-j/

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