#1104: (No subject specified)Young replies to Pierre Louis

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From: david X young <frelgo@interport.net>

Thank you for your fine response Bebe Pierre Louis!

The gringos and voudongs who have set upon Haiti since 1986, in their discovery
of this marvelous culture, seem to act as if that very discovery makes it their
own possession to do with what they will. They grab only surface aspects and act
as if they know the whole of this infinity of mysteries and subcultures.
Fact-and-issue elements such as military occupation, political intrigue and
murders are easy things to grasp, and are always transitory, but the the deep
soul  and eternal verities of Haiti are forever elusive to the demanding inquiry
of those who would claim authority in their lust for aggrandizement. “When the
anthropologist comes. the Gods go home”.

Max Beauvoir is a dear friend and deeply knowledgable of vodun; he was most
helpful to me in filming ceremonies one All Saints Eve, as he was even more
helpful to Wade Davis in his inquiries which led to that wonderful book THE
SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW.  Amy Wilentz of course has no idea of what she is
talking about. Aristide I interviewed in 1986 ---on videotape-- and while his
crusading aspect was most evident, his comprehension and respect for vodun --
the very core or his country was  wanting.

I love your country and  am appalled at what has happened to it in the past
13-14 years. Until Baby Doc’s marriage all went well, relatively speaking. I
began coming to Haiti shortly after Maya Deren left, in 1955, and it has become
a part of my being. We must not let the truth of Haiti be contaminated further
by these upstarts. We must continue to speak out for her soul.

In love and friendship  David X Young