#3322: Haitian Stereotyping (fwd)

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From: Rosann Clements <rosann@onemain.com>

Since so much on Haitian culture and stereotyping is on the agenda right
now....
I have a serious question...or perhaps comment.
I have a 20 year old son who has been living in Haiti for the last 7
months...
He was born in the United States and is blond and blue eyed...and Caucasian
(Blan)
He gets yelled at everyday to go home and hey white guy get out of
here...etc etc...He is the only White guy there in that village ...
Now...Is this a cultural thing...that they are perhaps just good naturedly
teasing or do they really hate him because of his skin color? I'm sure there
is much for me to learn about Haiti...and I am truly interested and an eager
student on the subject (Especially with my son there)
Perhaps the tensions with the elections etc...are making the people angry
....I guess I am looking for a few comments on this. He is a good natured
kid and tells them "hey don't hate me...I love ya man " etc...He speaks
quite good Kreyol and so there isn't a language barrier...The Haitians who
know him...get along with him great...
Does this happen a lot? Is there anything he could do to blend in without
getting the verbal abuse... It really does make him feel bad...and it
stresses him out. He's never felt such racist attitudes aimed toward him...
Any comments would be great!
Rosann