Football Fanatics

Last Saturday I had a great time watching the Haitian National Soccer Team play against Harvard University men’s soccer team in a friendly demonstration match.  Boston Haitians came out in droves for this event to support the Haitian national team.  Over 11,000 (that’s more than ¼ of MA’s Haitian population!) were present and made sure our presence was felt, erupting into screams, yells, laughter, cheers and claps at different moments throughout.  To add to the festive atmosphere a live rara band regaled us with horns and drumming from the stands.  The level of enthusiasm was reminiscent of a World Cup Game. Prior to the match there was a deejay spinning the latest konpa tracks, Haitian delicacies to enjoy, and booths selling  t-shirts and other types of paraphanellia for loyal fanatics. The event was hosted by Partners in Health as a fundraising effort to assist in ongoing post earthquake relief and reconstruction efforts.   Haiti’s team won the game in penalty kicks 4-1. 

The event really had me thinking about the power of football as a cultural unifier and signifier as well as the particularly Haitian passion for the game.  Indeed the Haitian fervor for football is ubiquitous.  For many years Haiti was the first team in the Caribbean to qualify for the World Cup and although teams have performed dismally sense, nothing could diminish the love of the game for Haitians at home and abroad.  As we are reminded every four years when the World Cup happens football is by far the most loved sport in the world.  Or, as David Goldblatt reminds us in his book The Ball is Round, "there may be no cultural practice more global than soccer."  Likewise academics like Laurent Dubois have weighed in on the importance of soccer as a not only a global phenomenon, but also one that is particularly useful for parsing out the dynamics of empire and postcolonial politics in his book Soccer Empire:  The World Cup and The Future of France.  Sports in general can serve as cultural markers of belonging help to foster solidarity, and promote awareness about different causes as the match on Saturday clearly indicated.  What was most encouraging for me was to witness this level of enthusiasm and passion not only in the context of the game, but in terms of the force of this particular community’s love for Haiti.  Granted, I am not the biggest sports fan (please don't judge me too harshly), but what moved me more than the match itself was the joyful spirit of those in attendance.   --RMJC

Joyeux anniversaire!

Tande fête son premier anniversaire aujourd'hui! Nous vous remercions du support que vous nous avez apporté jusqu’à présent et souhaitons que nous saurions continuer a vous interpeller en discutant de la culture haïtienne.


D’après les statistiques du site, on a des lecteurs de par le monde: en Haiti et aux Etats-Unis, certes, mais aussi en France et en Allemagne, aux Pays-Bas et au Brésil, au Royaume-Uni et en Australie, au Japon et au Canada, en Afrique du Sud et en Norvège, en Mauritanie et en Russie. 


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(Remember to use Google Translate if necessary! Sonje sèvi ak Google Translate si w ta bezwen l!)

Ayiti toupatou

Depi yon mwa, mwen enstale nan vil Pari nan peyi Lafrans. M toujou renmen vwayaje, ki se yon okazyon pou mwen dekouvri lòt kilti, rankontre lòt moun, louvri pèspektiv mwen sou plizyè sijè. Vwayaj sa a pèmèt mwen fè tou sa. Men, gen anpil bagay tou ki raple m lakay. Gendelè, m gen enpresyon Ayiti toupatou.

Lòt jou, pandan m ap mache pou m tounen nan apatman m, m remake yon liv nan vitrin yon libreri : Tifi en Haïti. Se pa yon libreri ki spesyalize nan literati ayisyen. Ni li pat ekspoze plizyè liv sou Ayiti. Sèl liv sa a ki te  nan vitrin lan, pami yon bann lòt. Ki fè m kòmanse poze tèt mwen kesyon sou plas Ayiti vin genyen nan imajinè abitan peyi Lafrans.

Haiti: écrire en état d'urgence et ensuite? 

Salon du livre vil Pari a te fèt mwa sa, ant 18 ak 21 mas. Plizyè otè ayisyen te patisipe, sa kap viv ann Ayiti kou sa k ap viv aletranje. Nou kapab site Kettly Mars, Marvin Victor, Makenzy Orcel, Lyonel Trouillot, Dany Laferrière, Robert Berrouet-Oriol… Anplis omaj ki ti fèt pou Ayiti ak pou powèt Anthony Phelps ki te la, te gen yon rankont sou edisyon ann Ayiti, ròl li, fonksyonnman l, defi l rankontre. Emmelie Prophète, Hérard Jadotte, Rodney St. Eloi, Anaïse Chavenet ak Willems Edouard te patisipe nan rankont sa a. Mwen te byen kontan wè nan Salon an te gen anpil liv ayisyen ki te disponib, pami yo liv ki pibliye ann Ayiti.

La reconstruction: l'avenir de l’édition 

haïtienne

Madi 15 mas, m te patisipe nan yon rankont ki te fèt Lekòl Nòmal Siperyè sou tèm frankofoni : kisa li ye ? kijan moun etidye l, pale de li an Frans, ozetazini, ann Ayiti ? Youn nan pwoblèm mwen te soulve se kesyon aksè liv yo. Wi, ann Ayiti, li kapab difisil pou nou jwenn aksè liv otè lòt peyi frankofòn, sitou lè yo pa pibliye an Frans. Nou pale de sa isi a deja. Men pwoblèm aksè a poze nan lòt sans lan tou. Anpil fwa, lè moun aletranje ap pale de literati ayisyen, y ap pale de detwa otè yo konnen ki pibliye Kanada oubyen an Frans oubyen ozetazini. Yo pap pale de liv ki pibliye ann Ayiti. Donk, gendefwa, prezans ayisyen an la, men se yon prezans ki pa vrèman reprezante tout richès ki genyen nan domenn lan. 

Mwen isi a kòm pwofèsè envite nan inivèsite Pari 8. Mwen te fè yon kou sou nouvèl ayisyen, avèk anpil fotokopi ! pou m te ka etidye tèks otè tankou Paulette Poujol-Oriol, Cynthia Bastien, Virginie Sampeur, Claude Dambreville ak Christophe Charles. Etidyan yo te montre anpil enterè pou tèks yo nou te fè anpil diskisyon enteresan. Mwen swete enterè sa a ap kontinye devlope. Pou l devlope, fok li jwenn zouti, nan ka sa a liv. Ki ta parèt fasil, men ti tan m pase isi a montre m bagay yo pa senp konsa. Nou kapab poze tet nou kesyon tou pou n konnen nan ki sans enterè sa a ap devlope. 

Plizyè kolèg pale m de etidyan yo genyen k ap prepare tèz sou Ayiti nan diferan domenn : nan literati, nan istwa, nan ibanis ak achitekti. Sanble tout kote mwen gade, moun enterese nan Ayiti. Se premye fwa m vin an Frans, m wè Ayiti toupatou konsa. Se vre kontèks la diferan. Apre 12 janvye 2010, Ayiti vin pi prezan lan lespri anpil moun. Kapab tou, se mwen  kap gade yon lòt jan kounyè a. Kòm map travay sou Ayiti nan domenn inivèsitè a, se nòmal pou m rankontre moun ki gen menm enterè a.

Kan menm, m ta renmen chèche konprann kote enterè sa a prale, ki kote l ap abouti.  Edisyon Karthala fè konnen liv J’apprends le créole haïtien vann anpil. Nou tout konnen, depi kèk lane, men plis toujou depi  janvye 2010, gen yon prezans etranje masiv ann Ayiti. Pa gen anyen ki di sitiyasyon sa a pral chanje nan lane kap vini yo. Kidonk, fòk nou kapab travay pou gen yon lòt kalite prezans, ki baze sou echanj ki ekilibre, kote youn pale ak lòt kòm egalego, kote gen yon brasaj lide ak enfòmasyon tout bon. Fòk enterè ki genyen pou Ayiti kounyè depase stad sipèfisyèl la, ale pi lwen pase yon bagay ki alamòd. 

Ayisyen kou etranje gen tandans di peyi Dayiti se yon peyi apa, pa gen lòt tankou l. Se kapab vre, men listwa montre nou tou ke sitiyasyon nou abitye viv ann Ayiti pa tèlman diferan pase sa moun atravè lemonn ap viv. Nou kapab wè sa nan Tinizi, nan Kotdivwa, nan peyi Japon. Li lè pou Ayisyen kou etranje kòmanse reflechi Ayiti yon lòt jan, reflechi sou sa ki fè l san parèy, men sa l pataje tou avèk lòt peyi. Gen anpil vre koneksyon ki kapab fèt, ki ta dwe fèt.

NM