Prepared & Maintained by Emmanuel Ardouin; eardouin@hotmail.com
Photos brought to you by: Clifford Cham, Jacques Amédé, Didier St. Victor, Frantz Bélizaire, Régi Lerebours, Joe Casimir, Edouard Piou, Junior Seramieux, Jeff Romain, Serge Bernard, Bernard Abujaber, Gilbert Dorsainvil, Serge Cuvilly, Gilbert Armand, Jerry Joseph, Clifford Denis, Chrysostome, Stéphane Heraux, Olivier Joseph, Harry Mondestin, Gérard Philippeaux, Philippe Carré, Reginald Vaval, Max Milfort, Philippe Malary, Guy Garcia, Patrick Bayard.Navia Réginald Nau, Gilbert Armand, Greg Avril, Cary Mompoint, Claude Raymond Jr., Yanick Francois (SacréCoeur), Daniel Elie, Adson Ricardo Pressage, Raymond Kernizan, Stephane Dragon, Jean Ledan Fils, Franz Cinéas, Serge Rameau, Irmgard Sandel Paris, Raoul Alexis Jr, Lucien Armand, Leslie Dubois, Yves Dégand, François Adrien, Claude Jeannot, Daniel Wolff, Danny & Bob Danache, Hans Loiseau, Gilbert Gabaud, Lesly Leroy, Didi Altiné, Richard (Fréro) Désir, Alfred (Freddy) & Philip Guibert, Gary & Greg Blaise.
Freddy Guibert & Danny Danache, contributors to this album, respectively the brother of our friends Philip Guibert and Bob Danache, have passed. Remember them in your prayers. In addition, in some pictures you'll find ex President, Jn. Claude Duvalier.
It can be hard to forgive those that slain a parent like mine, it is can also be difficult to forgive those that burned everything that your family ever worked for and owned taking away all your chilhood souvenirs. It can be very also be so painful to shake hands and kiss those that pushed one to come live a miserable life in a place where one does not feel they belong.
Since life is so short, I decided to leave all of these bad experiences behind to live the remaining of my life with the hope that those that caused my misery and despair will change and they will.
I found some strengh in some of our creole musics,a little bit of carnival, kompas,racine. This is a new day, let's show one another more love that Haiti can be reanimated. Pa blye voye plante de pie bwa.
With love and Peace
If someone want to vent feel free to write me at anytime at Yednl@hotmail.com; I will be happy to listen and talk to you since that is all I can do for my Haiti Cherie for the moment. I have no political ambition whatsoever, I just want to be there for my brothers and sisters.
It's seems that we agree on the issue that: the mentality must change. The majority of us living in the diaspora went under some sort "reshaping" so to speak. No matter how it's done, it must be changed and it will take MORE than 40 years (2 generations) to achieve that goal. I will take myself as example: left Haiti for nearly 4 decades and I am still occasionally haunted by that mentality. A mentality is almost like a personality: On ne peut pas se le defaire facilement. In the case of a human being one needs therapy to make you aware of certain things.
St Vil as far as " we need a group of leaders to make the corrupts pay for their crimes" I will tell you this: That groups would be the first to commit those same crimes. From Namphy to Titide absolutely not one crook was prosecuted. On the contrary after being in office for a few years, they all left office as being millionaires. The question is: how can a president amass so much $ with a meager salary of let's say $ 100.000 a year. Sans compter leurs ministres - leurs senateurs - et deputés - etc etc. While their fellow Haitians (85%) are eating" mudcake"- do not have a roof over their head - etc etc. something is wrong there...
EVERY CAN SAY I AM ONLY POINTING OUT THE WRONG.Yes ! indeed; it hurts- it's embarrassing (when you go to next door in DR. or read about Cuba under 50 years of embargo - or Jamaica just to name a few countries. They have very serious problems also but not to the magnitude of ours). 2009, 205 years after our independence we do not even a clean "Capitale" in order to welcome 3000 foreign tourists daily.
You know something: people learn by imitating,by copying, by looking at what others do and trying to emulate that.
I do not have a solution and I am not ashamed to say it. But one need not have a phd. to see that for 200 years ( à l' exeption d' une minorite) all our presidents and their cabinets members were crooks. Until this practice stops Haiti will NEVER change.
By the way Fitz, I think 5 years is way too short to correct, or reverse the wrongs of the last 50 years let alone 200 years.
Guys, I love my country but the "comportement de tous nos dirigeants" is despicable. They ought to be ashamed of themselves. They are heavily taxing the Haitian people (in Haiti as well as abroad) and are not doing anything with the money.
>> Morone, I agree with some of your assessments except that 1) In my previous comments, I was not referring to as going with the flow; quite the contrary. I was suggesting that there are cheating all over the planet. But, we, as Haitians can reverse that mentality because we were the first reject the mentality of slavery.
2) Also, with regard to the Constitution granting a 5-year term to the Presidency. I personally it's plenty of time for a President. Then, he should pass on the baton [in solidarity and continuation terms] to his successor. I think that itself should represent a great symbol of solidarity between leaders. Remember, Morone, all Presidents should be in the utmost interest of their country.
Besides, these 2 points, I would agree with you. And like St. vil, I believe that there are not one but many capable, qualified and conscientious Haitians who can take Haiti out of the misery and despair that It found itself today.
Like the anonymous i refused to believe that nothing can be done. TOUT TAN TET PA COUPE GAIN ESPOIR
Our duty as haitians is to keep looking, keep fighting even in the the darkest moments to find a solution.We can,t afford to give up on our brothers.Yes Frankie haiti,s condition is TRES TRES GRAVE but HAITI,s situation was even worse before 1804. WE are Haitians and that means we conquer the impossible out of no where.We did it before and we can do it again. WE have no choice
You say that we need a leader hat can talk to the people to change their mentality .It will never happen that way. What we need is a group of leaders that will make the corrupts pay for their crimes.. You know very well that these crooks are everything but brave.You will be surprised how the mentality in haiti will change so fast. By the way under the dictatorship of papa doc there was a different mentality in haiti. The mentality at least in haiti changes depending on who holds the baton .
The bottom line is that i am not that concern about the mentality aspect of the problem What we need is a leader or a group of dedicated haitians who are willing to give it all for their homeland.
As a Haitian i am sure That There is at at least one of us who has all the skills to do it. All i am doing is asking him to wake up. He could be you Frankie or he could be him or her but whoever he or she maybe please wake up and wake up now.People are dying and are screaming for help.We cannot give up.
Theoretically, I agree with you. However I will tell you this: « L' homme est un produit de son environnement». Where is this leader going to emerge? I am not referring to those demagogues who will say anything in order to get the votes. We had plenty of these and will continue to have them. I am referring to a leader with a vision, with the knowledge and skill to reshape the thinking of the Haitians people (the upper - the middle classes and the masses). THAT IS NOT A SMALL TASK. 200 years and it's is still the same. «OTE TOI QUE JE M' Y METTE».
I am referring to a leader with the caliber of a Mahatma Gandhy, Anwar Sadat,or Dr. King. These leaders all had a vision, they had a dream. They had the courage to see beyond their own image. We need another Toussaint Louverture. He was the only one who had a vision. Unfortunately he was stopped by Bonaparte.
A true leader will not cheat his people. A true leader will not lie to his people. A true leader will talk,laugh and cry with his people. A true leader will unite his people.
Fitz, we cannot afford to go with the flow : true, several leaders in Africa and South America are cheating their people. Even here in the US there are great disparities. We need to look forward. At least steal some BUT GIVE SOME.
You are right: it's not an overnight solution. The Constitution limits the term of a President to a mere 5 years. What can be done in such a short time?
There are other issues perhaps that need to be mentioned:cette petite classe de privilégiés ne va pas se laisser defaire si facilement.
Leadership is the big question when it comes to Haiti. I haven't been in Haiti in more than 20 yrs. It sounds like the current leaders are cheating their own people. Well, that exists in almost every country in the continent of Africa, some south americans countries etc. However, in Haiti's case, Haiti has to step back and revisit its past before going trying to go forward.
For example, "L'esclavage patriarchal", as you mentioned, among other social injustices, is something that needs to be debated in search of who we are as a nation that was the first to eliminate slavery in the western world.
Haiti has a small-window opportunity to take the role of leadership again. This time not against slavery but pro-progress and be a progressive country of the 21st century. Haitians have reversed the tide before, in 1804. They need to do it again in the 21st century.
Haiti needs a leader who can have leaders to sit down and effectively implement on the issues that can benefit the country and its people... Haiti is not that big of a country. Dissecting the country by its 'arrondissement ' and place effective leaders with a common purpose in each sector should not a hard task for the gov't to do.... Why this hasn't been done?
Fitz,
I really appreciate your response - I am neither a politician but you need not be one in order to understand that a certain mentality is something you acquire from the previous generation -or from your formative years. It is deeply instilled in you. IT IS TRANSMITTED FROM ONE GENERATION TO NEXT ONE, THEN TO THE NEXT ONE. et ainsi de suite. A mentality is not something that is going to change, as if you are changing your shirt. There must be sort of outside influence or interference to make you see this route is the wrong path for instance;that you need to step backwards and change direction.
Personally the mere facts someone is elected to the office of the president does not qualify him or her as a leader.
A leader is someone who loves his people;a leader is willing to talk to his people, is ready to serve his people and laugh with his people. A leader is someone who is ready to die for his people if need be. A leader is someone who can and wants to bring CHANGES that is necessary for his people to move forward - a leader finally is someone who is more concerned about what he wants to achieve to ameliorate the living conditions of his people than to have millions in foreign bank accounts. A true leader is someone who is more concerned about how he will be judged 10 - 20 - 50 - 100 years from now (in other words about his legacy).
Now, where do we stand from. Unless you expect some sort of miracle, where are we going to find this. Those in the govt. ce poche yo avant tout: Bel automobile- bel kaye - Bel vacans a letranger- Fe we. Comme dit l' adage: FE we pas durer . Donc on doit se remplir la poche le plus vite que possible.
Our fellow Haitians who are holding the reins of power are more concerned about the economic exploitation (or I would even go further the double exploitation of the people). What I mean by that, if some sort of foreign company wants to come and assemble toys in Haiti for instance,rather than protecting the people, those who are negotiating with such companies are the first ones to stab their people. Le travailleur ne recoit rien que le necessaire pour survivre. I dare anyone to contradict my view on that.
The "restavec" question is perhaps something also that needs to be debated. It's nothing but a form of modern day slavery.
In conclusion we see almost eye to eye.
1- The mentality
2- Bad leadership
The reason why "anonymous" disagrees with me (Haiti is doomed) is simply I do not believe in miracle.For me,nothing is going to fall from the sky. May be, I see the glass half empty. The problem of our country is TRES TRES GRAVE.
>>> Rony St Val: In 1979, I was already at C.E.S. I left St. Jean L'Evangeliste in 1977. But, I might known you because I knew quite a lot of people there. Also, most of my friends went to Canado.
>>> I think remarks and observations made by both Morone and Anonymous are valid. I strongly agree with Morone on the point of "Bad and/or dispeakable mentality" from the part of the leaders, therefore the people [certainly not all]. The leaders must understand the true meaning of leading and effectively lead.
>> Anynomous is correct when he said that Hait is not doomed. I, also will and have to remain positive and hopeful. I think there's a case of bad leadership. With the right leaders, things can quickly turned around and the country can be on a slowly but surely recovery towards progress.
I wouldn't be surprised if the private sector, or the well or better-to-do Haitians are expecting that leadership as well. [ I'm just speculating... please, correct me if I am wrong on this issue].
>>> In conclusion, So far, I detect 2 majors problems of Haiti:
1) Mentality
2) Lack of leadership.
Indeed I am not offering a solution, because I simply cannot think of one; perhaps the only one I would offer is for the "Republique d' Haiti" to renounce to it's independence and expect some other foreign nation to occupy our land for let's say half a century;( in order to remake, reform, reeducate) which is to a certain extent similar to your proposal - other than you are mentioning some very rich individuals.
Realistically, it is almost impossible for mainly 2 reasons:
first, Haitians are TOO patriotic to let another nation show them how to govern EFFECTIVELY in the interest of their people; ( that is why sometimes I think may be we got our independence too early);
secondly, no nation will do it. They have enough problems of their own. The USA has a severe economic crisis and is involved in 2 wars - France has enough problems of it's own.
Anonymous, deep in my heart I love my country but when the mentality of those who are governing is to steal everything (I would go along: steal some but give some), when the mentality is to treat their fellow Haitians as modern day slaves (I am talking about the under class), how can I HAVE HOPE.
The question is: What do we do? Honestly I do not have the answer.
But I will tell you this: for too long those who WERE (& are) at the command failed to understand that eliminating poverty is in the interest of all Haitians. Building - maintaining - some infrastructures is idem- Building hospitals is idem- Buildind schools is equally the same. THE FUTURE OF ANY COUNTRY IS IN THE EDUCATION OF THE NEW GENERATION. You can not have 5% of that generation educated and hope for the best for that nation. I dare any one to disagree with me.
Now, Haitians are so poor, that some of them are resorting to kidnapping. I just received an email with the pictures of at least 12 kidnappers wanted by the Police. Nowadays it is almost impossible to walk the streets of our Capital safely.
There is no tourism which could be an excellent source of revenues for the govt. and the people of Haiti....
The poor and not so poor are taxed to the core where as the have
are not paying any taxes at all. I again dare anyone to disagree with me on that.
I think I am going to stop right there as I could elaborate indefinitely on the plight of our nation. Again thank for your comment, I hope others would join the interaction. Have a great day.
We are not offering any solution but how about this one:
One of us, at least one, may know someone who knows someone who knows a Bill Gate, a Georges Sorros, or a Warren Buffet and present Haiti to them as a challenge. A little place not too far from the U.S, where 7,000,000 people are held hostage and where every minute many die not of an illness but of hunger.
The challenge would be to liberate those people, in spite of their Leaders and the so-called elite. For instance, they could send teams of experts to see how it could be done. Haiti does not need a lot to be saved. It is just a solution Somebody else may come up with another one but please do not give up. It is easy to say "HAITI PAYS FOUTU" but deep in my heart I know this is not true. I may be a fool but fools are right every now and then .
Haiti has had Presidents or Prime ministers whose goals were to become rich to their 5th generation. In others words because former presidents X, Y, and Z stole from the public coffers that gives them the right to do idem. And the worse, they do it without impunity. They are not willing to compromise. When a foreign head of state sends a delegate, or a businessman wants to negotiate with them, rather than putting the interests of the people first, they see their POCKET FIRST.(it's what is there for me). Haiti just received $197 millions in foreign aid because of the hurricane and .......(what else is new.)
In my heart of hearts and I say this avec de larmes aux yeux:Haiti is doomed. Not that I am unpatriotic " mais il faut voir les choses telles qu' elles sont.
Haiti needs a leader, not a president or prime, who is able to talk to the people,( upper-middle and lower classes) to tell them the truth, to respect them and tackle the problems of the nation together.(and that will not be easy I guaranty you that). A LEADER who can tell those at the top of that pyramid (I mean the elite) that it is in our common interest to change direction. If we do not make a sacrifice now, then we will perish as a nation.
That leader also must be able to convince them that eliminating or trying to reduce poverty to a certain extent is paramount , that it is in the interest of ALL of US.
Now some of you will simply say I am not giving a solution. Yes I am not . But I will tell you this again: HAITI IS NOT THE PROBLEM - IT'S THE HAITIAN BEHAVIOR VIS A VIS THEIR FELLOW HAITIANS IN HAITI that is wrong. I know my people.
We, abroad cannot do ANYTHING. First we do not have a mandate and the law prevents us to do so; if we go there in Haiti to help, they see us as a total stranger and are ready to take advantage of us.
I am not afraid to say this and I dare anyone to disagree with me: until those who sit in their beautiful homes and villas, until those who are sitting on their high chair take conscience of the situation, until they stop stuffing their foreign bank accounts with the people's money, until they make their MEA CULPA and roll up their sleeves to rethink, to correct the wrongs, & reform their (and our) mentality Ce temps nou nap perdu. Power corrups absolutely. On aura beau parler, on pourra boucher un trou ici, un trou de l' autre coté, mais le bateau fera naufrage quand même. C' est une question de temps. Et puis on se regarde et le canot est en train de couler.....Pauvre Diable....
Haitians are as smart as any other people. Individually, Haitians are able to shine, but apparently collectively we cannot do a damn thing.
By the way Merci pour vos commentaires. WE at Pikliz really enjoy hearing from you and I do know many people who enjoy this interaction. Take care.
God bless Haiti.
Let's refocus in stabilizing the country providing you offer a solution. (Manny Ardouin)
I haven't read much of the comments here. But, the following comment from a doctor struck me. My father was also a medical doctor and one of my half brother [same father] is a currently medical doctor here in the U.S.... Me, I am more into engineering than medicine...
Any way, I tend to agree with the doctor when he said: "those inside cannot fix it"... It's just that simple, guys: if they could, they would. I strongly believe they cannot connect the dots together...
Haiti, by in large, is in a very bad shape primarily because Haiti's political system is NOT stable. In my opinion, no country with an unstable political system can and should even think about "progress". That's just impossible....
That being said, I'll just leave it there...When the political is resolved, then I'll submit step 2.
You are not alone with that "feeling of resignation" and one should not feel guilty about that. As a Haitian citizen,I am every day trying to understand how & why those who are at the apex of the pyramid can sit passively (les bras croisés) and let Haiti sink.
For the last 25 years,none of our presidents (I would not refer them as leaders) did absolutely nothing to help their people.I will tell you they all and their acolytes became multimillionaires. Haitians see POLITIC as a means to enrich themselves.In the back of their mind if Baby Doc was able to steal millions, that gives any subsequent presidents the right to do the same.Name me any Haitians president after Baby Doc who has not become a multimillionaire in the span of 2 years. Read this: HAITI IS THE POOREST COUNTRY IN THE WEST INDIES AND YET HAS THE MOST MILLIONAIRES PER CAPITA.
One does not need a PhD.to know that "la production alimentaire",education and infrastructure are some of the key elements to a better life in any given country.Dans le cas d' Haiti,c'est Zero au quotien
1- Production alimentaire: Zéro.We import food "banane, sugar,pasta,eggs etc.etc. from our neighbor.Les paysans ont abandonné la terre.I do not want to elaborate to too much on that.
.
2- Education: For a very long time,schooling has always been for a minority.More than 90% of the population are"anaphabets" in Haiti. This is unacceptable in this 21st. century.
3- Infrastucture: ELECTRICITY - ROADS -RUNNING WATER --- HOSPITAL etc.Our infrastructure is in shambles. It's outdated,overwhelmed by growing demand and falling apart. A nation's infrastructure is the central nervous system of the it's economy.The "elite" nowadays,if they need medical care travels to DR, Cuba, or Miami.
" Qui sème le vent récolte la tempête".
One would say, I am only pointing the wrongs,that I should probably shut my mouth. Do you have a solution Mr. Morone? Even if I had one, it could not be implemented because "les haitiens en Haiti,ceux qui sont à la tête ne savent que leurs poches." Some of them are our old classmates.
Because there is no food, some of them buy that necessity abroad and sell it at an exorbitant price. No water; some of them buy a "camion citerne" and sell the water.Same for electricity: Inverter, big money.... someone is always getting rich. The list of example is endless. Of course, with the"bénédiction" of the government.
Those who are holding the reins are not concerned how "History" will judge them. They have no desire whatsoever to sign their names on the pages of History as someone who saved their land. Ils ne savent que leurs poches.
Perhaps Haiti should renounce to its independence.Let some other country,as la lionne had mentionned once,take over. Who knows after 50 years(about 2 generations) "la mentalité changerait". Haiti and Haitians would be proud of their Land. For the time being "c'est la debacle."
To those who are holding "les rennes du pouvoir en Haiti. I KNOW YOU VISIT THIS SITE. OTHER NATIONS ARE LOOKING AT US. STOP THE INSANITY. LEAD - DO WHAT IS MORALLY RIGHT FOR OUR PEOPLE AND HISTORY WILL JUDGE YOU NOT BY YOUR SWISS BANK ACCOUNTS AND YOUR MANSIONS IN FLORIDA- (YOU WILL LEAVE ALL THAT BEHIND) BUT BY WHAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR YOUR COUNTRY.
Let us not turn this thing into what it's not. Someone made a comment. He stated that Haiti was better off 25 years ago (to which I agree wholeheartedly) and got a response. Then he answered by using an incorrect word.
Perhaps he acted impulsively. He did say he was SORRY for using that word and I believe that he may indeed regret using it. Lets close that chapter and move on.
Deeply, I think he feels bad for all the poor Haitians as he mentioned who eat mud cookies. We all are,because it's our land, our brothers and sisters whose basic rights are being violated every day by a minority. These are serious issues that as he mentioned should be debated ( dans le respect mutuel naturellement).
I hope that this Md. continues to visit the site and that he reopens the debate,as long as there is no name calling.
Whether someone is a "duvalieriste" or "lavalassien" or "184" or a "piklizist" or any other political party, it doesn't matter. Haiti is going down the drain and it is everyone's problem.
To the party who responded to the Md.:whether the Duvalier's contributed to Haiti's saga is a different issue, but I reiterate and agree with the Md :Haiti was better 25 years ago than it is today.
Such Ingratitude!
Answer: (a). Lack of sensitivity
(b). Stupid & Wreckless.
(c) Haitian
(d) Arrogant
(e) Partisan
(f) Lack of self esteem
(g) All of the above.
Frankie, thanks for the intervention. Because of our concerns towards all Haitians, we do try to sanitize the comment section as much as we can. We do it without passion.
It is regretful that a Medical Graduate of L' école de Médecine, after years of practice decided to classify his homeland as a "latrine".
Once I became aware, I removed the comment, not Francois. In a future posting, the self identified Medical Doctor, a professor at a University in the USA, (till now anonymous) took credit for such dereliction. We do expect more & better from our professionals.
We want the country to change and we regret it is taking this long. Being an optimist, it will happen.
The doctor asked how best to describe Haiti ? Describe it for the time being as a "failed State" and not a Latrine.
The Dr. tell us how difficult it is for him to be known as Haitian, in the company of new colleagues. Let' s hope he does not commit suicide because of his ethnic background.
As indicated, comments " injurieux, diffamatoires, obscènes, racistes ou hors sujet seront exclus".
Courage Frankie. OUF!!!!!!!.
I strongly disagree with your statement "those inside cannot fix it". As an Md, do you really believe that? I certainly do not.Those who are inside just do not want to fix it because the "status quo" is beneficial to them; they are getting rich at the expense of the poor.
" Il y a tant de gens qui vivent en Haiti qui ont l'intelleligence de transformer ce pays".Le bon vin reste chez soi.
Any other words in the English dictionary but "latrine" would have been acceptable. I consider myself open minded, however a fellow Haitian referring to his nation as "latrine" is a bit far fetched. Do you not agree with me?
I am very happy for you,as an Md. you make great presentations with your fellow doctors and at the end of such,they would come up and said "he is from Haiti". What does this have to do with the current situation at home? and what are you " still paying for the stupidity of those A H. (sic)? I am assuming AH meaning American Haitians.
Dr, you may mean well for our country and you may indeed love Haiti like most of us do. Our land is not only sick. I would go further than you;our country is dying. "Elle est en agonie." But you have to change your rhetoric.
Those Haitians living abroad have nothing to do with the situation at home. They simply left Haiti in quest of a better life.
There are plenty intelligent & filthy rich people living in Haiti that are benefiting of the current situation. Read what I am not saying. I believe you have the intelligence to do so.Good luck to you.
Thank you for your comment. First let me inform you that your comment was not deleted by François Adrien.You jumped a little too fast into a conclusion and also you do not know all the facts. Pikliz has a staff and one of the staff members felt that the word "latrine" that you used to compare Haiti was inappropriate and a bit disrespectful.That is the only reason why all the comments were deleted and honestly I apologize to you for that. It should have remained the same way we will leave this one. Perhaps you are right Haiti was better under the Duvaliers.
With all the respect that is due to you, as an Md. you have a very short fuse and your choice of words leave a bad taste.That goes without saying by reading your comments. No one at pikliz is afraid of a debate. On the contrary we welcome them.
We are all deeply saddened with the situation in our beloved country.
Unfortunately we are unable to put back those comments You are right: that has nothing to do with Papa or Baby Doc. If you want to repeat the same comment feel free to do so.
Frankie Morone pour Pikliz.
Entre autres pourquoi gardez vous l'anonymat;cela n'empêche pas votre identification. Merci bien.