A couple of weeks ago a representative from my university's publicity office contacted me about doing a feature on Haiti for the faculty and staff publication. We had a great conversation about my disappointment with US media images about Haiti since the earthquake, teaching classes about Haiti, the potential for university collaborations between the US and Haiti, and my research and advocacy on work sexual violence. You can read the article that came out of our conversation here.
This conversation took place at the end of the semester and thus the conclusion of my two classes on Haiti, "Haiti Cherie: Haitian Literature and Culture" and the interdisciplinary "Haiti and Globalization: Haitian Studies 101." I am still finishing up my grading, so here are just two observations based the experience and my conversations with students throughout the semester.
Teaching about Haiti in the USA setting demands an interdisciplinary approach. While one class was rigorously interdisciplinary, the other was mostly poetry and novels with a few articles interspersed throughout. In this class students did not have as complete [if there is even such a thing as this] a picture or a context for some of the issues brought forth in the texts. Because I tend to emphasize class discussion rather than lecturing I did not spend as much time as I could have filling out the whole picture. This was far easier in the other class because we read: Laurent DuBois' Avengers of the New World: The Story of the Haitian Revolution, Robert Fatton's Haiti's Predatory Republic, Paul Farmer's The Uses of Haiti and excerpts from Beverly Bell's Walking on Fire: Haitian Women's Stories of Survival and Resistance and the collection The Butterfly's Way: Voices from the Haitian Dyaspora among others. We also read fiction: Marie Vieux-Chauvet's Love, Anger, Madness, Edwidge Danticat's The Dew Breaker, and Rene Philoctete's Massacre River in addition to several poems. In large part because of this wide range of texts, the students in the interdisciplinary class had more points of access and could discuss these texts from a broader range of perspectives. Interestingly, most of the students in this class were also of Haitian descent which also changed the conversation significantly. It was important to me to be able to provide this type of space for these students so that they can understand the difference between being part of a culture, and how a humanities curricular approach could assist them in learning more to offer a completely different point of view. Judging from the number of emails and comments that I received at the end of the semester that more or less stated "I never realized how much I didn't know about Haiti," I do think this approach worked!
The other observation is about how important it is to expose students to different ways of thinking about cultures in contexts outside of the classroom. I think next time I teach the class I will definitely incorporate a required "community" component that has students interact with some of the Haitian organizaitons in Boston or attend an event. I did suggest to them that they do so for extra credit, which is probably why no one took me up on it...But I do think that having students move outside of the classroom to learn about materials they encounter on the written page or through films significantly expands and enriches their perspectives on the topic. To me this is another way of learning through immersion, which pedagogically produces such great results.
As I mentioned in my previous post about these classes, figuring out what to teach in 13 short weeks is always a challenge especially given my desire to provide as nuanced a vision of Haiti as possible. There were many texts I had to take out as the semester went on, and some things I wanted to do but did not get a chance to. That being said, I am really looking forward to teaching both of these classes again and adjusting the content to make them even better in the future!
RMJC
lundi 20 décembre 2010
dimanche 19 décembre 2010
Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde 2010 attribué à Evelyne Trouillot
Le weekend dernier, le Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde 2010 a été décerné à Evelyne Trouillot pour son roman La Mémoire aux abois, dont vous pouvez lire le compte-rendu ici. Nous vous invitons à lire la déclaration des membres du jury ainsi que le texte de remerciement de l’auteur.
Gosier, le 17 décembre 2010
Déclaration des membres du jury du Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde :
• Pour : l’originalité avec laquelle sont convoqués les tremblements de l’Histoire et des histoires dont les
soubresauts n’ont pas fini se secouer nos imaginaires caribéens,
• Pour : la Retenue, la Tendresse, les Silences , les souffles, qui sont dévoilés tout en Intérieur et qui révèlent les énigmes des destins,
• Pour : ces voix qui assiègent, qui résonnent et qui ne proposent pas de solutions établies, et qui simplement invitent le lecteur à vivre avec les malédictions de nos passés,
• Pour : une littérature dans laquelle les écrivaines se distinguent de plus en plus et qui offrent des perspectives inattendues, imprévisibles,
• Pour : un roman vivant qui libère une esthétique fragmentée et indirecte, à la limite de l’Inextricable,
le Jury du Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde réuni en Guadeloupe cette année décerne son Prix à Mme Evelyne Trouillot pour son roman « La mémoire aux abois », roman publié aux éditions Hoëbeke dans la collection Etonnants voyageurs dirigée par Michel Le Bris en mai 2010.
Message de remerciement par Evelyne Trouillot:
« L’homme n’est jamais seul alors que je vous parle et que vous m’écoutez », nous dit le poète haïtien René Philoctète. Nous ne sommes pas seuls et la parole, le langage, la poésie nous unit. Un prix littéraire de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde casse les frontières et les renoue autrement. Bouleverse les stéréotypes et les clichés pour regarder le monde d’une autre perspective en déplaçant les centres et renversant les périphéries pour former de nouveaux centres. Autant de centres que de paroles.
Le centre d’où j’ai choisi d’écrire je le situe à Anse-à-Foleur, curieux petit village au nom frondeur du nord-ouest d’Haïti où la mer monte à l’assaut des images et où le vent s’offre aux caresses des enfants, comme un poème en devenir. Je l’ai choisi au hasard d’une promenade et depuis, il habite mon imaginaire lorsque j’écris quelque soit le lieu où je suis. Lorsque j’écris, je suis seule sans l’être vraiment.
Aujourd’hui, je suis riche d’une multitude de douleurs, car l’année 2010 a pour mon pays multiplié les catastrophes, frappant, heurtant avec des pauses à peine perceptibles. Une année tumultueuse et interminable, et je ne peux prendre la parole sans penser aux compatriotes disparus, aux survivants meurtris dans leurs esprits et dans leurs chairs. Je suis riche de beaucoup de larmes, je suis pleine de colère et de résolution. Et si je parais seule devant vous, ma tête est haute et digne parce que mes pas s’alignent sur d’autres pas.
De mon village au nom frondeur que je garde en moi comme un talisman de beauté, de révolte et de dignité, je suis riche de toute la puissance du monde : du courage des femmes afghanes, des cris des mères en deuil des quartiers démunis de Chicago, des bruits de vague houleuse des jeunes du Cap-Haïtien. De mon village au nom frondeur qui m’habite j’arpente le monde et les êtres.
Recevoir le prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout Monde c’est placer Anse à Foleur au coeur de la Caraïbe et du monde. C’est une fois de plus déplacer le centre, bousculer les pouvoirs et revenir à l’essentiel, à cet humain qui est en chacun de nous et qui donne à « la plus petite larme d’un peuple valeur d’éternité ».
Aujourd’hui je pense à celles et à ceux qui ont péri pendant la dictature, celle de Duvalier ou d’un autre, qu’importe. Elles creusent toutes les mêmes blessures, enfantent les mêmes horreurs. Je pense à ceux qui y ont opposé leurs poings levés, leurs pleurs, leurs éclats de rire et leurs rêves. Je pense à tous ceux et à toutes celles qui se sont accrochés à la vie et à sa beauté toujours palpitante. C’est en pensant à eux que je reçois ce prix car la plus petite parcelle de bonheur et de dignité mérite d’être partagée.
samedi 11 décembre 2010
New Book Review!
Martin Munro opens the introduction to this volume with a question: “when you go to a bookstore to look for something by Edwidge Danticat, which section do you go to first?” (1). Would it be Caribbean literature? African American? Ethnic? Women’s literature? The first part of the guide goes about answering those questions in different ways. Michael Dash examines Danticat’s connections to her Haitian precursors. Carine Mardorossian explores how Danticat fits in with other women writers from the Caribbean. She states that "[Danticat] thus deliberately develops a 'poetics of location' in which one's privileging of a particular and 'coherent' cultural space does not hinder Relation but provides the very condition for it. In this process of identification, the opposition between nation and transnationalism dissolves to reveal the inextricable imbrication of the two" (47). To me, this particular view of Relation is essential to understanding a work such as Danticat’s, or any work, for that matter. I remain wary of the idea that writers are beyond categorization. Although we may choose to ignore certain classifications at times, or not let them overshadow the text itself, they are always there, informing our readings. For Munro, "While this in-between situation may be seen as a loss of identity for Danticat (as for many other exiled authors), it is also a kind of liberation in that she is free from many of the constraints and expectations that direct, unambiguous attachments bring" (4). Yet, Munro himself acknowledges that Danticat does not consider herself to be an exile. She can and does go "home" whenever she wants.
Head on over to the book page to read the rest of the review!
jeudi 25 novembre 2010
Haïti à l’honneur sur France Culture
Ce vendredi, 26 novembre 2010, Haïti sera à l’honneur toute la journée sur France Culture et franceculture.com. France Culture a décidé de consacrer 24 heures aux émissions sur Haïti, diffusées depuis Haïti. Une occasion à ne pas rater. Pour plus d’informations : http://www.franceculture.com/blog-au-fil-des-ondes-2010-11-17-24h-en-haiti-antenne-speciale-en-continu-vendredi-26-novembre-2010-
EN DIRECT DU STUDIO DE L’HOTEL LE PLAZA (vendredi 26 novembre)
* deux émissions
Les Matins, par Marc Voinchet (7h-9h, heure française, 1h-3h, heure haïtienne)
La Grande Table, le magazine de l'actualité culturelle avec Caroline Broué et Hervé Gardette (12h-13h30 heure française, 6h-7h30 heure haïtienne)
* deux programmes spéciaux
Le rôle des médias dans la société haïtienne par Jean-Marc Four
(14-15h, heure française, 8h-9h, heure haïtienne)
Le grand melting pot religieux haïtien par Matthieu Conquet et Mélanie Chalandon
(16-17h, heure française, 10h-11h heure haïtienne)
* Les journaux (7h, 8h, 12h30, 18h), présentés par Frédéric Métezeau
Avec les reportages de Christine Moncla, Eric Chaverou, Vanessa Descouraux, Isabelle Labeyrie, Sophie Becherel et Grégory Philips.
DEUX GRANDS ENREGISTREMENTS EN PUBLIC DEPUIS L'OLOFFSON (jeudi 25 novembre)
De 18h30 à 19h30, (heure haïtienne) Le Rendez-Vous, l'émission médias/musique/direct de Laurent Goumarre (enregistrement le jeudi 25 novembre en public, pour une diffusion le vendredi 26 novembre à 19h, heure française).
De 20h à 22h, (heure haïtienne), SOIREE SPECIALE EN PUBLIC
présentée par Alexandre Héraud et Esméralda Milcé, présentatrice de la télévision nationale haïtienne.
Le Patrimoine et la culture d'Haïti avec des lectures, des entretiens, des plateaux musicaux... pour aborder (presque toutes) les formes de l'art et du patrimoine d'Haïti : littérature, musique, photographie... (Diffusion le vendredi 26 novembre à 20h, heure française).
L’ACTUALITE D’HAITI AVEC LA REDACTION DE FRANCE CULTURE
Pendant près d'une semaine, les journalistes de la rédaction de France Culture réaliseront de nombreux reportages diffusés dans les journaux principalement sur les élections, la reconstruction et l’humanitaire.
UNE LIGNE OUVERTE DE 0H05 A 2H10 (heure de Paris)
Par téléphone ou en studio, des Haïtiens de France, d’Europe, d’Afrique, d’Amérique, de tous âges et de tous horizons, sont invités à intervenir en direct pour raconter leur itinéraire, dire leur attachement à Haïti, réagir aux émissions de la journée diffusées depuis Port au Prince. L’antenne est ouverte à tous les témoignages, ceux des anonymes comme ceux des représentants d’associations d’entraide à Haïti.
Le standard téléphonique de France Culture est le +33 (0)1 56 40 57 57
EN DIRECT DU STUDIO DE L’HOTEL LE PLAZA (vendredi 26 novembre)
* deux émissions
Les Matins, par Marc Voinchet (7h-9h, heure française, 1h-3h, heure haïtienne)
La Grande Table, le magazine de l'actualité culturelle avec Caroline Broué et Hervé Gardette (12h-13h30 heure française, 6h-7h30 heure haïtienne)
* deux programmes spéciaux
Le rôle des médias dans la société haïtienne par Jean-Marc Four
(14-15h, heure française, 8h-9h, heure haïtienne)
Le grand melting pot religieux haïtien par Matthieu Conquet et Mélanie Chalandon
(16-17h, heure française, 10h-11h heure haïtienne)
* Les journaux (7h, 8h, 12h30, 18h), présentés par Frédéric Métezeau
Avec les reportages de Christine Moncla, Eric Chaverou, Vanessa Descouraux, Isabelle Labeyrie, Sophie Becherel et Grégory Philips.
DEUX GRANDS ENREGISTREMENTS EN PUBLIC DEPUIS L'OLOFFSON (jeudi 25 novembre)
De 18h30 à 19h30, (heure haïtienne) Le Rendez-Vous, l'émission médias/musique/direct de Laurent Goumarre (enregistrement le jeudi 25 novembre en public, pour une diffusion le vendredi 26 novembre à 19h, heure française).
De 20h à 22h, (heure haïtienne), SOIREE SPECIALE EN PUBLIC
présentée par Alexandre Héraud et Esméralda Milcé, présentatrice de la télévision nationale haïtienne.
Le Patrimoine et la culture d'Haïti avec des lectures, des entretiens, des plateaux musicaux... pour aborder (presque toutes) les formes de l'art et du patrimoine d'Haïti : littérature, musique, photographie... (Diffusion le vendredi 26 novembre à 20h, heure française).
L’ACTUALITE D’HAITI AVEC LA REDACTION DE FRANCE CULTURE
Pendant près d'une semaine, les journalistes de la rédaction de France Culture réaliseront de nombreux reportages diffusés dans les journaux principalement sur les élections, la reconstruction et l’humanitaire.
UNE LIGNE OUVERTE DE 0H05 A 2H10 (heure de Paris)
Par téléphone ou en studio, des Haïtiens de France, d’Europe, d’Afrique, d’Amérique, de tous âges et de tous horizons, sont invités à intervenir en direct pour raconter leur itinéraire, dire leur attachement à Haïti, réagir aux émissions de la journée diffusées depuis Port au Prince. L’antenne est ouverte à tous les témoignages, ceux des anonymes comme ceux des représentants d’associations d’entraide à Haïti.
Le standard téléphonique de France Culture est le +33 (0)1 56 40 57 57
samedi 20 novembre 2010
Haitian Studies Association Conference
Last weekend I had a wonderful time attending the Haitian Studies Association
conference at Brown University. The theme for this year’s 22nd annual
conference, “Haiti, History, Healing: Facing the Challenges of Reconstruction”
necessarily invoked and referenced the impact of the January 12th earthquake.
For two days Haitian and Haitianist scholars, mostly from U.S. and international
colleges and universities met to discuss and present on an array of
interdisciplinary topics. This year was the largest conference in the organization's
22 year history. The schedule was packed with several panels taking place
concurrently, my only regret was that I could not be everywhere at once to
participate in all the lively discussions or connect with as many people as I
wanted to!
The conference organizers were committed to offering viable strategies for
addressing the issues surrounding Haiti’s rebuilding in diverse ways. We
wrestled with questions such as what is, and what should be the role of the
diaspora in the rebuilding? What are some effective strategies for dealing with
the problematic NGO deluge in Haiti? What do viable transnational
partnerships look like post January 12? The ostensible concern with thinking
about Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake manifested through conversations
about infrastructure, economics, politics, and education as well as through papers
on culture, literature and religion. I participated in one such panel on the visual,
textual and media images of the earthquake coverage for which I gave a paper on
Haiti parmi les vivants, Louis-Philippe Dalembert’s widely circulated testimonial
and the Ciné Institute film Haiti’s Heroes to explore how Haitians are using
cultural production to offer up their own images that we can read as counternarratives
to the dominant media images. Stéphanie Larrieux of Clark
University provided some analytical tools and a theoretical lens for watching and
understanding displays like the “Hope for Haiti” telethon that aired shortly after
the earthquake.
Gabrielle Civil’s paper “ Reconstructing Silence: Jacqueline Beaugé- Rosier’s A Vol
d’ombre as Poetry/ Translation/ Performance” was a powerful example of how to
think about reconstruction as a lens for viewing literature. I especially
appreciated that Gabrielle focused on poetry by a woman writer that many
people had not heard of. Following her paper, Omise’eke Natasha Tinsley also
offered new theoretical concepts for understanding sexuality and gender in Haiti
in a paper on the documentary film “Of Men and Gods.” The type of scholarship
on these panels demonstrates the kind of groundbreaking work people are doing
to use new frames for thinking about old concepts. Of course the old staples
were also present, there were at least two papers that looked at the work of
Edwidge Danticat and one that focused on the representation of violence in
Marie Vieux-Chauvet’s Colère that were given by graduate students from Yale and NYU.
In the words of HSA president and professor of psychology at the University of
Miami, Guerda Nicolas, the conference was “dedicated to the lives of those
whom we lost during the quake, the survival of those who continue to defy the
odds, and the hope for a better Haiti to come.” Themes of loss, hope and
solidarity were evident through personal conversations with people, many of
whom had not had a chance to connect since the earthquake. As Marc Prou
put it, “through the various presentations at the conference, we hope that all of
us will find a common place to grieve, reflect, and develop strategies for the
reconstruction of our homeland, Haiti.” Here I am reminded of the important
social and emotional role that an academic organization can play. HSA operates
in many ways like a family of people who love, care about, are committed to and
conduct their research on Haiti -- at times with passions bordering on obsession.
As Dr. Prou also noted in his introductory comments, the earthquake has shifted
the contours of Haitian Studies and there lies “critical work” ahead for
Haitians and members of the diaspora. The program reflected this critical work
in conversations through panels with titles such as “The Republic of 10,000 NGOs - Roles and Impacts of NGOs Following Haiti’s Earthquake” organized by professor and Poto-Mitan filmmaker Mark Schuller and featuring feminist scholar and sociologist Carolle Charles and Alix Cantave. (Unfortunately, neither Tatiana Wah nor Nancy Dorsinville, both of whom were scheduled to be a part of this panel, could attend and thus were not able to contribute their important work to this conversation).
In a roundtable on the “Gender Specific Needs of the Reconstruction," feminist
activists Anne-Christine d’Adesky, Taina Bien-Aimé of Equality Now and Nadia
Todres, a photographer for the Haitian Adolescent Girls Network addressed
some of the major issues facing women in the camps. Leonie Hermantin of the
Lambi Fund chimed in regularly for this session ,weighing in the on the
relationships between women’s organizations in Haiti and women’s groups
doing transnational work in Haiti. This was the only panel that addressed the
reconstruction from the perspective of gender and it was unfortunate that this
could not have been a plenary session. The discussants took hold of the
following questions: how are gender specific issues being played out in the
reconstruction? What are some of the ongoing challenges that reconstruction has
introduced for women and girls? How have grassroots women’s organizations
in Haiti responded to these needs? How have Haitians in the diaspora
attempted to build transnational alliances with women in Haiti in response to
these needs? Specifically, this panel took on the issues of rebuilding from a
gender specific perspective by discussing major issues such as the high incidence
of sexual violence in the tents, the escalation of infant and maternal mortality
rates, and the prostitution of young women. D’Adesky spoke about the need for
monitoring to collect data about the incidence of sexual violence in the camps.
She also called for members of HSA to “step it up” in regards to work that
addresses the needs of women. Taina Bien-Aime provided an overview of the
delegation of lawyers and women’s health specialists who traveled to Haiti in
May 2010 in order to investigate the prevalence and patterns of rape and other
forms of gender based violence as well as of the petitions before the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) calling for the IACHR to require that
the government of Haiti and the international community take immediate action
to protect Haitian women from sexual violence. This delegation partnered with
KOFAVIV in Haiti which resulted in the report entitled “Our Bodies Are Still
Trembling: Haitian Women’s Fight Against Rape.”
The conference featured two keynote speakers, Professor Laurent Dubois who
spoke on the theme of revising our understandings of Haitian history focusing
on early 19th century understanding of democracy, and Professor Emeritus
Patrick Bellegarde-Smith who gave a lecture entitled “Foundations of Haiti: The
Telescope of History.” Bellegarde-Smith also received the Association’s Lifetime
Achievement Award for his work on Haitian history and vodun.
The final plenary section was a discussion about rebuilding the Haitian higher
education system which featured several scholars and administrators based in
Haiti and the United States. This panel included Pierre Michel Laguerre,
Director General of the Ministry of National Education in Haiti and Yves Voltaire
from Université Publique du Sud aux Cayes. Laguerre emphasized the link
between the legal system and the education system as well as the importance of
not only considering higher education but also primary and elementary levels of
education, “il est encore temps de penser aux enfants de notre pays.” He
ended on a positive note, declaring that “une nouvelle Haïti est possible.” Yves
Voltaire tapped into the energy and solidarity of the association, noting that HSA
is “becoming my family as well.” Voltaire offered several tangible solutions for
addressing higher education: to design and implement masters and doctoral
programs, organize e-learning and e-teaching, implement overseas scholarships,
create community colleges, and encourage innovative entrepreneurship. His
presentation also showcased the activities of the students from his university,
describing their unparalleled drive and desire for education. Fritz Deshommes
from l’Université d’Etat d’Haïti expressed that his only regret was that more Haiti-based
scholars could not participate in the conference. In making this point he addressed
what was the greatest weakness of the conference, and is always one of the
greatest challenges for HSA. The topic was brought up again at the business
meeting during a discussion about HSA finances.
The final speakers on the panel were Alix Cantave and Marc Prou who reported
back on the meeting on Rebuilding Haiti and Improving Higher Education that
took place in Port-au-Prince from October 26-27. Like their co-panelists they
outlined some of the challenges to the Haitian university system and emphasized the fact that the change needs to come from within that system rather than from the
outside via the diaspora, NGO’s etc. They also outlined what HSA is trying to
trying to accomplish through the partnership, mainly being able to create a
consortium of institutions that would support the rebuilding with the
participation and leadership of Haitians in Haiti.
I am always struck by the rigorous inter-disciplinarity of HSA as well as its
political import as compared to other academic conferences (although right now
I am in Texas at the American Studies Association which is more like HSA in
terms of its political commitment!). There were panels on literature, religion,
economics, and political science. The array of people present was equally
impressive; there were scholars, practitioners, activists, and artists present to share
how the earthquake had impacted their work and to offer new lenses
through which to understand post-earthquake Haiti.
For me, the most powerful part of the conference was the feeling of camaraderie
and solidarity that imbues the organization and its members. Being part of this
community as a junior scholar is particularly edifying, given the opportunities for
mentorship and guidance that senior scholars like Claudine Michel, Gina Ulysse,
Marc Prou and others are so committed to providing for students and junior faculty.
RMJC
conference at Brown University. The theme for this year’s 22nd annual
conference, “Haiti, History, Healing: Facing the Challenges of Reconstruction”
necessarily invoked and referenced the impact of the January 12th earthquake.
For two days Haitian and Haitianist scholars, mostly from U.S. and international
colleges and universities met to discuss and present on an array of
interdisciplinary topics. This year was the largest conference in the organization's
22 year history. The schedule was packed with several panels taking place
concurrently, my only regret was that I could not be everywhere at once to
participate in all the lively discussions or connect with as many people as I
wanted to!
The conference organizers were committed to offering viable strategies for
addressing the issues surrounding Haiti’s rebuilding in diverse ways. We
wrestled with questions such as what is, and what should be the role of the
diaspora in the rebuilding? What are some effective strategies for dealing with
the problematic NGO deluge in Haiti? What do viable transnational
partnerships look like post January 12? The ostensible concern with thinking
about Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake manifested through conversations
about infrastructure, economics, politics, and education as well as through papers
on culture, literature and religion. I participated in one such panel on the visual,
textual and media images of the earthquake coverage for which I gave a paper on
Haiti parmi les vivants, Louis-Philippe Dalembert’s widely circulated testimonial
and the Ciné Institute film Haiti’s Heroes to explore how Haitians are using
cultural production to offer up their own images that we can read as counternarratives
to the dominant media images. Stéphanie Larrieux of Clark
University provided some analytical tools and a theoretical lens for watching and
understanding displays like the “Hope for Haiti” telethon that aired shortly after
the earthquake.
Gabrielle Civil’s paper “ Reconstructing Silence: Jacqueline Beaugé- Rosier’s A Vol
d’ombre as Poetry/ Translation/ Performance” was a powerful example of how to
think about reconstruction as a lens for viewing literature. I especially
appreciated that Gabrielle focused on poetry by a woman writer that many
people had not heard of. Following her paper, Omise’eke Natasha Tinsley also
offered new theoretical concepts for understanding sexuality and gender in Haiti
in a paper on the documentary film “Of Men and Gods.” The type of scholarship
on these panels demonstrates the kind of groundbreaking work people are doing
to use new frames for thinking about old concepts. Of course the old staples
were also present, there were at least two papers that looked at the work of
Edwidge Danticat and one that focused on the representation of violence in
Marie Vieux-Chauvet’s Colère that were given by graduate students from Yale and NYU.
In the words of HSA president and professor of psychology at the University of
Miami, Guerda Nicolas, the conference was “dedicated to the lives of those
whom we lost during the quake, the survival of those who continue to defy the
odds, and the hope for a better Haiti to come.” Themes of loss, hope and
solidarity were evident through personal conversations with people, many of
whom had not had a chance to connect since the earthquake. As Marc Prou
put it, “through the various presentations at the conference, we hope that all of
us will find a common place to grieve, reflect, and develop strategies for the
reconstruction of our homeland, Haiti.” Here I am reminded of the important
social and emotional role that an academic organization can play. HSA operates
in many ways like a family of people who love, care about, are committed to and
conduct their research on Haiti -- at times with passions bordering on obsession.
As Dr. Prou also noted in his introductory comments, the earthquake has shifted
the contours of Haitian Studies and there lies “critical work” ahead for
Haitians and members of the diaspora. The program reflected this critical work
in conversations through panels with titles such as “The Republic of 10,000 NGOs - Roles and Impacts of NGOs Following Haiti’s Earthquake” organized by professor and Poto-Mitan filmmaker Mark Schuller and featuring feminist scholar and sociologist Carolle Charles and Alix Cantave. (Unfortunately, neither Tatiana Wah nor Nancy Dorsinville, both of whom were scheduled to be a part of this panel, could attend and thus were not able to contribute their important work to this conversation).
In a roundtable on the “Gender Specific Needs of the Reconstruction," feminist
activists Anne-Christine d’Adesky, Taina Bien-Aimé of Equality Now and Nadia
Todres, a photographer for the Haitian Adolescent Girls Network addressed
some of the major issues facing women in the camps. Leonie Hermantin of the
Lambi Fund chimed in regularly for this session ,weighing in the on the
relationships between women’s organizations in Haiti and women’s groups
doing transnational work in Haiti. This was the only panel that addressed the
reconstruction from the perspective of gender and it was unfortunate that this
could not have been a plenary session. The discussants took hold of the
following questions: how are gender specific issues being played out in the
reconstruction? What are some of the ongoing challenges that reconstruction has
introduced for women and girls? How have grassroots women’s organizations
in Haiti responded to these needs? How have Haitians in the diaspora
attempted to build transnational alliances with women in Haiti in response to
these needs? Specifically, this panel took on the issues of rebuilding from a
gender specific perspective by discussing major issues such as the high incidence
of sexual violence in the tents, the escalation of infant and maternal mortality
rates, and the prostitution of young women. D’Adesky spoke about the need for
monitoring to collect data about the incidence of sexual violence in the camps.
She also called for members of HSA to “step it up” in regards to work that
addresses the needs of women. Taina Bien-Aime provided an overview of the
delegation of lawyers and women’s health specialists who traveled to Haiti in
May 2010 in order to investigate the prevalence and patterns of rape and other
forms of gender based violence as well as of the petitions before the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) calling for the IACHR to require that
the government of Haiti and the international community take immediate action
to protect Haitian women from sexual violence. This delegation partnered with
KOFAVIV in Haiti which resulted in the report entitled “Our Bodies Are Still
Trembling: Haitian Women’s Fight Against Rape.”
The conference featured two keynote speakers, Professor Laurent Dubois who
spoke on the theme of revising our understandings of Haitian history focusing
on early 19th century understanding of democracy, and Professor Emeritus
Patrick Bellegarde-Smith who gave a lecture entitled “Foundations of Haiti: The
Telescope of History.” Bellegarde-Smith also received the Association’s Lifetime
Achievement Award for his work on Haitian history and vodun.
The final plenary section was a discussion about rebuilding the Haitian higher
education system which featured several scholars and administrators based in
Haiti and the United States. This panel included Pierre Michel Laguerre,
Director General of the Ministry of National Education in Haiti and Yves Voltaire
from Université Publique du Sud aux Cayes. Laguerre emphasized the link
between the legal system and the education system as well as the importance of
not only considering higher education but also primary and elementary levels of
education, “il est encore temps de penser aux enfants de notre pays.” He
ended on a positive note, declaring that “une nouvelle Haïti est possible.” Yves
Voltaire tapped into the energy and solidarity of the association, noting that HSA
is “becoming my family as well.” Voltaire offered several tangible solutions for
addressing higher education: to design and implement masters and doctoral
programs, organize e-learning and e-teaching, implement overseas scholarships,
create community colleges, and encourage innovative entrepreneurship. His
presentation also showcased the activities of the students from his university,
describing their unparalleled drive and desire for education. Fritz Deshommes
from l’Université d’Etat d’Haïti expressed that his only regret was that more Haiti-based
scholars could not participate in the conference. In making this point he addressed
what was the greatest weakness of the conference, and is always one of the
greatest challenges for HSA. The topic was brought up again at the business
meeting during a discussion about HSA finances.
The final speakers on the panel were Alix Cantave and Marc Prou who reported
back on the meeting on Rebuilding Haiti and Improving Higher Education that
took place in Port-au-Prince from October 26-27. Like their co-panelists they
outlined some of the challenges to the Haitian university system and emphasized the fact that the change needs to come from within that system rather than from the
outside via the diaspora, NGO’s etc. They also outlined what HSA is trying to
trying to accomplish through the partnership, mainly being able to create a
consortium of institutions that would support the rebuilding with the
participation and leadership of Haitians in Haiti.
I am always struck by the rigorous inter-disciplinarity of HSA as well as its
political import as compared to other academic conferences (although right now
I am in Texas at the American Studies Association which is more like HSA in
terms of its political commitment!). There were panels on literature, religion,
economics, and political science. The array of people present was equally
impressive; there were scholars, practitioners, activists, and artists present to share
how the earthquake had impacted their work and to offer new lenses
through which to understand post-earthquake Haiti.
For me, the most powerful part of the conference was the feeling of camaraderie
and solidarity that imbues the organization and its members. Being part of this
community as a junior scholar is particularly edifying, given the opportunities for
mentorship and guidance that senior scholars like Claudine Michel, Gina Ulysse,
Marc Prou and others are so committed to providing for students and junior faculty.
RMJC
samedi 30 octobre 2010
Bon bagay
I hope today's post makes you smile. Sometimes I feel like I focus too much on the negative in my posts, giving the false impression that nothing good is happening in the world of Haitian culture these days. That is far from the truth.
For example, this past October 16th and 17th, the 4th annual edition of Artisanat en Fête was held. It was a great occasion for a family outing. It’s no secret that Haitian art and craftsmanship is not only beautiful, but usually of high quality, so it was a delight to wander the grounds of the Parc Historique de la Canne à Sucre and behold all the wonderful items on display. There were paintings and clothes, handbags and sculptures, furniture and sandals, jewelry and traditional foods. This year, the Office National de l'Artisanat (ONART) provided a wonderful addition to the festival, with hands-on workshops for the kids in attendance. The children were able to work with clay or make necklaces out of shells and beads, learning the value of Haitian craft and artisans from an early age. The art on display was out of my price range, but I did take pictures and collect business cards in the hopes that I could track down some of the artists when I’m able to afford their work. There seemed to be fewer artisans in attendance than last year and there were some organizational problems. Paying with a credit card was especially tricky. Still, Artisanant en Fête continues to attract patrons and artisans alike and constitutes an amazing showcase of Haitian culture and talent.
To continue with the bon bagay theme: last weekend, I had the pleasure of participating in the Haiti and the Americas conference, organized by Florida Atlantic University. From October 21-23, Rafe Dalleo, Carla Calargé and Clevis Headley brought together a wonderful group of scholars, artists and professionals to reflect upon and discuss the links and relationships that exist between Haiti and the rest of the Americas. Myriam Chancy’s keynote address, "A Marshall Plan for a Haiti at Peace: To Continue or End the Legacy of the Revolution" was especially noteworthy. Chancy examined the notion of aid, how it is distributed and the various motivations behind it. The other keynote speakers were Sibylle Fischer and J. Michael Dash. There were no simultaneous panels, allowing the conversation to flow from one panel to the next. Of course, that made for some very long days, but it also fostered a sense of community that was well worth it. Topics discussed included the rise of Protestantism in Haiti, the Haitian community in Cuba, representations of sex in Haitian literature, the reaction of African Americans to the US refusal to recognize Haitian independance and a reading of Wyclef Jean's candidacy by yours truly. The interdisciplinary perspective was quite stimulating, allowing us to engage the main topic from various angles. Many scholarly and personal connections were made over the course of the three days. I look forward to the published volume that will result from this conference and encourage everyone else to look for it, too.
NM
dimanche 10 octobre 2010
Chimen lekòl
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| Lekòl Repiblik Ekwatè nan Delma ki poko janm ouvri ane sa a |
Selon tradisyon ayisyen, Oktòb ta sipoze vle di blokis nan lari, bak machann devan pòt lekòl. Inifòm tout koulè k ap pran chimen lekòl. Ane sa a, se yon lòt koze. Ane sa a, blokis la se pa paske gen anpil timoun ki pral lekòl, men paske wout yo vin pi kraze toujou, yo plen debri, tant nan tout lari. Pandan Minis Edikasyon Nasyonal ap mande tout moun montre solidarite, elèv Lise Tousen ap fè manifestasyon pou yo mande gouvènman an deplase moun k ap viv nan lakou lekòl yo pou kou kapab kòmanse. Profesè ki pa touche depi plizyè mwa pa al travay. Genyen ki fè sit-in. Sa fè plizyè mwa n ap tande pale de valè kòb ki pral bay pou kore sektè edikasyon nan peyi a, pou fè tout ti ayisyen al lekòl gratis. Men oktòb rive sou nou. Kisa ki fèt vrèman ? Anpil moun isit ak medya yo tou gentan pale de echèk. Anpil moun gentan wè distans ki egziste ant timoun ki soti nan fanmi ki gen mwayen ak sa k soti nan fanmi ki pa genyen ap vin plis. Sosyete a ap vin pi dezekilibre toujou. Preske di mwa apre tranblemantè 12 janvye a, rantre lekòl la pèmèt nou wè valè travay ki rete pou fèt. Valè travay ki pa fèt, menm pandan tout kantite moun ak òganizasyon vle ede Ayiti ak Ayisyen. Nan nouvo projè CIRH la fenk aprouve, gen plizyè ki konsène edikasyon. Men si se 7 oktòb, kòb pou bati lekòl sa yo aprouve, kilè y ap disponib pou timoun ki bezwen al lekòl ?
Pitit pa m lan kòmanse premye ane fondamantal ane sa a. Eske l ap fè tout ane lekòl li nan lekòl prive ? Menm jan avè k lè m te lekòl, menm jan ak lè granparan l te lekòl ? Anpil moun te espere apre sa k te pase 12 janvye a, t ap gen kèk gwo chanjman nan sosyete a. Mwen poko wè chanjman sa yo. Si semenn sa a, gen kèk timoun ki kapab pran chimen lekòl, pi fò pa ka ale. Swa paske lekòl yo pa egziste ankò, swa paske espas lekòl la okipe, swa paske paran yo pa gen mwayen. Olye chak ti fondasyon, chak ti ONG, chak gwoup moun k ap anonse sa y ap fè pou timoun nan tèl kan oswa tèl lòt, ala bèl sa ta bèl si te gen yon anons nasyonal ki di bon jan lekòl ap gratis pou tout timoun jan konstitisyon an mande l. Ala bèl sa ta bèl si sa te fèt vre. Gen peyi kote lekòl prive se yon chwa, yon privilèj. Isit la, se sa ki nòmal pandan nou konnen majorite popilasyon an nan difikilte ekonomik. Se lekòl leta a ki vin yon privilèj. Gen yon epòk, lise yo te pami pi bon lekòl peyi a te genyen. Fòk nivo akademik lekòl leta yo tounen nan nivo ekselans sa a pandan tou yo kapab resevwa tout timoun nan peyi a. Tout paran vle sa ki pi bon pou pitit yo. Paran ayisyen pa ta dwe nan tout difikilte sa yo pou voye pitit yo lekòl.
Semenn sa a mwen kontan, mwen fyè paske ti pitit mwen an rantre nan lekòl fondamantal. Semenn sa a, mwen tris, mwen wont paske pi fò ti konpatriyòt li yo pa ka fè menm jan avè l.
NM
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