28734: MMaurice: (reply)Re: 28732: Senou: Question: Open Discussion (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Mmaurice39@aol.com

In reply to the third question:

I left Haiti in 1975 when I was ten. These ten years were the formative years
of my life. Everything and anything I've done in these past 31 years have
been geared toward making a measurable difference in the ongoing Haitian saga. 
I
felt strong enough about my Haitian roots that I did not apply for American
citizenship for the first 24 years. I became sick in the mid nineties and 
needed
for Medicaid to pay for my hospitalization and expensive medication. During
that time the politicians in Washington begun to set up new guidelines to be
eligible for such aids and one of them was to be an American citizen ( I'm not
sure if it ever became law). So I applied immediately for U.S.citizenship. I
later read with disbelief that the new Haitian constitution stipulates Haitian
nationals who apply for citizenship in another country cannot vote or frankly
participate in Haitian politics. I thought that was the most miserly and
selfish thing Haitian politicians had ever done to their people. At the risk of
sounding like a broken record, the Haitian siapora has sustained Haiti in more
ways than most people appreciate. Scholars intimate with Haitian history have
said Haiti has produced some of the most brilliant minds in the world and 
former
dictatorial regimes have created a brain drain of Haiti's most important
resource. I am not suggesting that I am one of those brilliant minds but keep 
in
mind " min kontre chay pa lou".

Magdalena Maurice