20980: (Hermantin)Miami-Herald-Troops offer hand, and native tongue (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Mon, Mar. 29, 2004


CRISIS IN HAITI


Troops offer hand, and native tongue

The language and cultural barriers between Haitians and American, Chilean,
Canadian and French troops play out daily in Haiti.

BY MICHAEL A.W. OTTEY

mottey@herald.com


PORT-AU-PRINCE -- As a car slowly approaches a roadblock manned by U.S.
Marines, one Marine shouts ''That way!'' in English and gestures to the
side. The Haitian driver stops, turns, then stops again. He is confused.

Pfc. Louis Henriquez, 21, strolls up to the vehicle and in Creole -- the
only language most Haitians speak -- calmly explains. Bewilderment fades
from the driver's face. He smiles, thanks the Marine in Creole and moves on.

Henriquez, born in Haiti, is one of about two dozen men and women of Haitian
background serving with the U.S. military here, playing critical roles in
the multinational peacekeeping force deployed to quell a bloody February
revolt.

With every encounter, with every stare, the language and cultural barriers
between Haitians and the foreign troops play out daily on the chaotic
streets of Haiti. Most Haitians, poor and undereducated, struggle to
understand what these soldiers expect. Hand signals are not always clear.

SMALL ERROR MARGIN

And when American, Chilean, Canadian and French troops in Operation Secure
Tomorrow fan out on patrols, one misinterpreted action -- or reaction -- can
frustrate, anger, escalate tension and ultimately cause an explosion.

With nearly 3,000 peacekeepers in the country -- 1,800 of them from the
United States -- it's critical that they can read body language and decipher
when two or more people are in a heated argument or simply having a good
time.

''Creole is a very harsh-sounding language. We as Haitian Americans know
when someone is just talking or when they're arguing,'' Marine Sgt. Marie
Augustin said. ``So it's beneficial for native speakers to be here.''

For lack of a better term, the Haitian Americans who work with the U.S. and
other peacekeeping forces as well as the Haitian National Police are known
as a ''linguist cell,'' said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jozy Smarth, a native of
Haiti.

Smarth said their role extends well beyond acting as interpreters and
translators. Most, such as Henriquez, are out on street patrol. Others, such
as Smarth, an Army nurse, are trying to build American understanding of
Haiti and Haitians.

Smarth, who was born in the village of Cavaillon in southwest Haiti and
moved to the United States in 1972, said she has helped with everything from
intelligence to communications.

''In our section we are all Haitian American, and of that we are very
proud,'' she said. ``It's great to be here to facilitate the success of the
mission.''

`HOMECOMING'

For many of the Americans, who grew up in the neighborhoods they now patrol
before emigrating to the United States and joining the armed forces, it's
also a return home of sorts.

Henriquez, born in Port-au-Prince and now living in Brooklyn, N.Y., still
remembers the streets and the language.

Augustin, who was born in Brooklyn but grew up speaking Creole at home, said
she's learning that there are subtle differences between Creole spoken in
New York and Creole spoken in Haiti. In New York a building is a beel-din --
a word that Haitians do not recognize.

''It's great being in a place where you hear Creole,'' said Augustin, whose
mother now lives in Port-au-Prince. ``It's rewarding to feel that in my own
small way I'm able to help.''

In an atmosphere where political violence can explode at any moment, the
work of the native Creole speakers who also happen to be U.S. Marines and
soldiers, is key to the establishment of stability and democracy, according
to U.S. Army Lt. Col. Mark Bryant.

Bryant works with the commander of the Chilean forces and has traveled to
every country in Latin America except three -- Paraguay, Guyana and Bolivia
-- largely in the role of interpreter.

''Knowing the culture and understanding the mind-set of the people you're
working with is equally as important as knowing the language,'' said Bryant,
who is attached to the U.S. Southern Command in Miami, where he lives.

``I found that to be true in Latin America. I learned to speak Spanish in
Guatemala, but the language and the culture there is very different from say
. . . Colombia.''

Bryant said the U.S. military has several job descriptions that require
language skills. Its diversity of languages and cultures means it has
individuals who have more to contribute than just firing a weapon.

They are people like Marine Col. Mario LaPaix, who was born in
Port-au-Prince and migrated to the United States at age 9. He considers
himself equally Haitian and American, but said he owes all that he is today
to the United States and the Marines.

An aide to Marine Brig. Gen. Ronald Coleman, who commands the multinational
peacekeeping force, LaPaix sees tremendous benefit in having Creole speakers
in military uniform.

''Haiti is a very complicated place,'' he said. ``The grass-roots people
speak Creole. Those folks who are in uniform help tremendously.''

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