8072: re: 8069 response from Darian Arky (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Darian and Veronika <bezdomovci@earthlink.net>

Pierre Jean wrote: "They promptly form gangs and re-create part of the
social structure they knew in the US, and these gangs are involved in many,
but not all, of the high-profile crimes you may have heard about."

That raises an interesting point that I hadn't really considered.  The
elements of Haitian society I'm concerned about may very well stem, in part
at least, from behavior patterns learned in the urban society of my own
country.  That society is also somewhat "foreign" to me, as I have never
lived in a large city like New York, and, as I mentioned, I've spent a
decade and a half abroad.  Of course, I can't help returning to the belief
that a good measure of my successful "trouble-avoidance" in those countries
where I have lived resulted from being able to blend in and not stand out as
an obvious target.  That won't be the case in Haiti.  Nonetheless, your
point -- and that of others who have responded to my question -- is well
taken that practicing the same urban survival skills that are applicable
anywhere should be the primary basis for avoiding becoming a victim in
Port-au-Prince as well.  I thank you and others who have offered their views
(to the list and directly to me) on this topic.  Please rest assured that I
am by no means looking at Haiti through a microscope of fear, but rather
through a prism of discovery, only one of whose many facets is the one we've
been discussing.