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30698: Victor (reply) RE: 30668: Clerie (reply) : Re: 30652: Lorsbach (reply) Re: 30648: Durban (comment): Re 30613 F (fwd)
From: Colette Victor <icvictory@hotmail.com>
I agree with you, Philippe. As an American, I have never felt threatened in
Haiti. Maybe it's because I'm black American and can blend in to the culture.
But as soon as I open my mouth, they know that I am not one of them. I travel
as they do, by foot or tap-tap. My creole is not by any means fluent, even
though I've lived there for relatively long periods and have visited for long
periods as well. My husband, who is Haitian, and I have undeveloped property
on the outskirts of Cap-Haitian. When we go visit his family, it is there that
we stay. The property does not have a wall around it and neither does it have
running water and electricity (yet). One of the things that I tell my husband
is that I do not want a wall around our property when it is finished. I love
sitting on the "porch" and watching the people of the community go to and fro
their home carrying their wares and listening to that melodic language. It is
the first thing that attracted me to the land when I first went. I cherish
that and want to keep that. A wall would rob me of that. I feel just as
secure lounging there as I do in my home here in the states. No one in
Cap-Haitian has ever approached me in a threatening way. They look at me
strangely because I am strange to them. But I go about my business as I watch
them go about theirs.
The only time I felt threatened (and still do because of the memory) is at the
airport in Port. I trully hate the airport there. I missed my plane because
the plane was late from leaving Cap. I was without my husband and just felt
like a big target. Could not get any personnel at the airport to sympathize
how vurerable I was. I know no one in Port that I could call to come and help
me. The American Airlines there does not have the customer service it has
here. That was the only time I felt that if I had been white, I would have
gotten better customer service>