One of the many things that annoy me, bother me is people’s misconceptions about Haiti, Haitians and what life is like in Haiti. The latest side-eyed worthy comment was ” are you sure you ate that in Haiti and not in America” after sharing my love of french pastries. But who can blame him? People only go by what the media provide for them. To prove my point I googled Haiti images and every image that came up was naked children, hungry children, children in crowded schools, homeless people, military, foreigners feeding hungry naked children in Haiti. Before I lost my mind, I screamed and I found a poem written by Prosper Sylvain Jr, a fellow Haitian expressing the same anger, and discontent as me. His poem speaks on how Haitians are portrayed and what it really means to be Haitian.
You approached me with a smile on your lips
and slapped me five, gave me jive
and a pound of your ignorance
by telling me that I don’t look Haitian.
You shook my hands to welcome me,
and then shook my soul with your audacity,
stating that I don’t sound Haitian.
You asked me if I was sure I was from Haiti
when you are not sure where you are from
and you carry this mentality
to the doorsteps of your white houses
and your media coverage
showing me impoverished
barefoot and hungry
seeking food and water in the slums,
you show the negative of my voodoo drums
in a light of despair.
I don’t look or sound Haitian?
Why?
Is it because I do not have the seawater of Biscayne Bay
dripping from my tattered clothes,
or is it because I am not as dark as you perceived me to be,
did I mess up your entire theory of relativity,
to hell with Einstein, you need to press rewind
so you can see that all relatives of Haitians are not hungry, dark and
comely, like the tents of your media’s Kadar.
I don’t look Haitian you say?
Is it because you did not catch me with a bucket on my head
working in some factory with an accent on my tongue until I’m 40,50,60
dead tired, no I think your notion of me should have expired a loooooong
time ago.
I apologize if there is more to me than voodoo dolls,
and I apologize if there is more to my country than slums, poverty and
hunger, and I apologize if my poetry makes you wonder
if I am really Haitian, product of years of miscegenation.
I apologize if your idea and concept of me
is not what I have proven to be,
100% dark skinned, accent on my tongue,
with an apprehension to stand straight or look you in the eye, no fear
of being hung.
I’m sorry if you thought you’d find me in some sugar cane field,
I know how many of your own people must feel,
catching me with a pen and a college degree in my hand instead of a
machete, turning your lies and stereotypes into silly confetti, you see,
I AM Haitian, doctor, lawyer, teacher, accountant, nurse, and engineer,
my goodness, I think we have instilled an absolute fear deep within your
socio-political pseudo-humanitarian heart, because we have evolved from
your views of primitive art because we were the ones to draw the freedom
chart, is this why you want to keep us apart?
Because we don’t look like what you expected us to be?
Or are you still upset because we declared we were free after riding the
freedom train to it’s 1,804th last stop, upset still because we made the
world’s mouth drop?
Extra! Extra! Read all about it!
Haitians have declared themselves free.
Napoleon and Leclerc embarrassed internationally!
Haiti becomes the original Statue of Liberty!
Denmark Vesey inspired by Ayiti!
Gabriel Prosser inspired by Ayiti even he used August as the month for
his rebellious activity!
Extra! Extra! Read All About It!
We held truths to be self evident before the first shackle, built an
above ground railroad way before Harriet went Underground spoke to
American pharaohs like Moses to let our people go, stood side by side
with Arawaks and Tainos yes, we invoked our Petros AND Shangos, spoke
with the same tongue as Patrick did, give ME liberty or give me death
and before your 13 colonies we built our capital of freedom on 15 hills
of wealth and called it Port of Princes.
I don’t look Haitian (sarcastically)
and you don’t look American,
you don’t look like the indigenous Indian
but you do look like an international comedian
because you’ve got jokes and jokers in your white house
and punch lines filled with coke lines in your congress
political white lies that are blasphemous
stand up comedy in your judiciary that needs to understand that they
need to stand and step down
running your house like a circus with father and son clowns.
My country is a country of rainbows,
mixtures of Arabs, Africans, French and Italianos
side by side with Polish and Jewish
and we all have a fetish
to always be known as Haitian
and not your amalgamation and misrepresentat ion.
I don’t look Haitian (sarcastically)
with my multi-lingual self, English, Yiddish, Kreyol, French and Spanish
filled with powerful history I look so Haitian that you fear me.
Vespuccian sons and daughters,
CAN YOU HEAR ME???!!
Look past my face into my heart and you WILL see,
My only nationality IS defined in three letters.
I E T!
Blush
Cocotteamour 