Community Comment : ‘Haitians, African Americans Are Natural Allies’

As a Haitian in Los Angeles, married to an African American, I feel deeply the bonds that have long bound Haitians and American blacks.

In the 6,000-member Haitian community in Los Angeles there is much energy these days.

While we seek to avoid too much involvement in politics because of divisions among us, most of us are very moved by the suffering of our compatriots in Haiti. Many of us are involved in efforts to raise aid for our country and are organizing cultural gatherings.

We have been aided and encouraged by our African American brothers and sisters.

The bond between Haitian and American blacks has been strengthened and renewed by the May 5 arrests of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) and several other black (and some white) American members of Congress protesting U.S. policy towards Haiti. Their actions and the courage of African American Randall Robinson, leader of TransAfrica (the Washington-based lobbying group for Africa and the Caribbean), who vowed to fast until death if necessary to change that policy, have inspired Haitians everywhere.

Haitians and African Americans are natural allies, historically having gone through many of the same things. Haiti, just like the United States, suffered under slavery. But in 1804, Haitian slaves won independence from France by defeating the soldiers of Napoleon. For this, Haiti paid dearly--it was completely cut off by the slave-owning world. Yet it was from this event that Haitians developed their attitude of Haiti Against the World--an attitude we still have, for better or worse.

Soon after, in 1824, the Haitian government sent a special mission to the United States to encourage American blacks--freemen and former slaves--to emigrate to Haiti. And again just before the Civil War in America, the Haitian government opened offices in U.S. cities to encourage black Americans to come to our country. The Haitian government paid the passages for those several thousand who immigrated. Unfortunately, cultural differences made it hard on the transplants. Eventually many returned to the United States.

In this century, the Haitians came in three separate waves to Los Angeles. The first arrived 20 to 25 years ago. They were a wealthy group.

The second group arrived over the past 10 years and were mostly middle class. The third group includes about 200 boat people, most of them poor, who have come in the past three years. It is easy to understand why there are problems among members of these groups. That is why we try to avoid political issues, for within Haiti itself these issues can separate members of the same family.

I did not expect to live in America. I was born in Haiti to a Haitian Creole mother and French father, and was taken to France when I was 2 because of the bad political situation. My parents divorced when I was 12 and I returned to Haiti with my mother.

As a little mulatto guy with a Parisian accent, in a school where everyone else was brown and spoke Creole, I had to learn about Haitian culture as a matter of survival.

Politics in Haiti continued to shape my life. I attended the Sorbonne University in France, but in 1986, when Jean-Claude Duvalier left Haiti, I decided to return home to build cultural pride.

During the next five years there were coups and elections and more coups--altogether five changes of government until the election in 1990 of President Aristide.

I was vacationing in Los Angeles, planning to return to Haiti in two days, when Aristide was overthrown. And so I have stayed in America.

The U.S. is a big equalizer. The key to surviving is to respect who you are, especially as a black and a minority. Of course there are differences between Haitians and American blacks--first, the language, and secondly Haitians are more aggressive and have a pride that can be mistaken for arrogance.

I have written a screenplay, “Haiti Cherie,” about the relationship between Haitian newcomers and their African American sisters and brothers. I would like its success to be the success not only of a Haitian but also of an African American. We blacks must organize together. We have a lot of work to do.