5847: Re: Violence against foreigners; Simidor comments (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Karioka9@cs.com

I sympathize with Manbo Rasin San Bout -- what happened to her and her 
clients shouldn't happen to a dog.  All the same, I can't help notice:

1)  How that one incident dramatically affected her recent gushing embrace of 
Lavalas.  How quickly she associates that one incident to "a sort of `politik 
anti-blan' apparently being promoted by the Lavalas party nowadays."  
Considering, she goes on to say, "that a whole lot of `blans' sacrificed a 
lot of time and effort, not to mention risking their lives, to bring Aristide 
back into Haiti, I think this sort of scapegoating is absolutely revolting."  
Such a dramatic reversal, I think.

2)  Sorry to say, but Manbo's attackers don't come across as  the regular 
type of zenglendos, deportees or chimeres.  Could this be a challenge among 
initiates?  Perhaps a local secret society, hostile to the commercialization 
of Vodou by clever outsiders?  An attempt to retaliate by levying some kind 
of  "tax" against the latter?  Anyway, the average Haitian doesn't really 
mind Manbo's grasp at "cultural tourism."  Although as a client I would 
probably sue for false advertisement!

3) A handful of people in a very particular situation attacks Manbo Rasin San 
Bout, and how quickly she generalizes about all Haitians!  "...the real flaws 
in Haitian society," she writes, "namely a culture which does not condemn 
stealing and lying as long as the victims are outsiders, including `blans'." 
Come now, Manbo, some pitit kay you make!  Have not the Loas treated you 
differently?  What kind of imprint have they left on your psyche for you to 
revert so quickly to the worse prejudices of the past? (LOL, etc.)

4)   Contrary to what Manbo writes, Haitian culture has suffered until now 
from a bias toward foreigners.  Haitians throughout the 19th century couldn't 
harm a foreigner or his possessions without the whole country being penalized 
with huge money claims, enforced at gun point by the major imperialist powers 
(the US, France, Germany, Spain, etc).  Haitians learned the hard way that 
white blood ain't cheap.  It has taken the returnees, apparently, to break 
this taboo. . .  See how quickly our blans have learned to play the victim!  

Daniel Simidor