• Year of immigration: 2010
  • Age at the time: 11
  • Grade at the time: halfway through 7th grade
  • Current Grade (if in college, provide year): Freshman year of college
  • Where did you live when you originally came to the US?  Albany, NY.
  • If you moved, where do you live now? (if not, go on to next question)

From Albany I moved to Long Island but now I spend most of my time in Harlem to facilitate going to school.

  • What school did you attend back in your home country?

 L’Institution du Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart)

  • Why did you move to the U.S.? How would you describe your feelings at the time towards having to move? How do you feel looking back at it now?

I moved on February 6th 2010 because of the earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12th 2010. I didn’t really have time to process the whole thing at the time because everything was just so sudden. It’s like one minute I’m in Haiti living my normal life and going to school and the next I’m in a whole new situation. Of course I was sad that I was leaving my friends, the only place I ever really knew and shaped who I was, but leaving my family was by far the hardest part of it all. Looking back at it now, it’s still kind of like wow, I can’t believe my life just took a turn to a different path just like that. But I’ve embraced the opportunities living in the United States has presented me and have tried to make the best out of them.

  • Who were you accompanied by when you moved? (Parents, siblings, etc.)

I was accompanied by my older brother, who was 18 at the time. My parents stayed in Haiti and currently still reside there.

  • On a scale of 1-10, how hard would you say it was having to adapt to a new country/environment: 9

 

  • Please describe your pathway to adaption. (Learning a new language, attending a new school, etc.) Do you recall a particular experience or challenge that sticks with you to this day?

 Learning a new language was the hardest part of course because I knew limited to no english coming from Haiti. Language is like the key to everything. After all, sitting in a classroom and barely understanding what’s being discussed, or smiling when somebody says something to you because you don’t even understand what they said is an annoying, upsetting, and frustrating feeling. But that in turn motivated me to work harder to  become competent  in the english language as quickly as I could and once that happened in about a year, everything kind of fell in place. I attended a school in Albany where the black American population greatly outnumbered, so I kind of felt like people looked at me, someone fresh from Haiti, like I was a whole new different species. When I moved to Long Island a year later,  I felt more comfortable overall in my neighborhood (primarily minority blacks and hispanics) and by that time I was competent enough in English to kind of have a fresh start, but my story was still that of the girl who came from Haiti after the earthquake.

  • Would you say you still feel connected to your home country? In other words, do you still maintain any links or stay informed on what goes on? Why or why not?

I would say I do still feel connected to my home country, but I could be more connected. I still maintain links to Haiti because as I said, my parents and most of my family live there. I ask myself sometimes how connected I would  feel if my parents also moved. As for if I stay Informed on what goes on, I don’t necessarily go out of my way to listen to any news, most of what I know about what goes on comes from social media and what my parents tell me. But now that I found out about the Haitian Times, I do check it out on a weekly basis.

  • What are some common public misconceptions/sterotypes you hear about your home country and its people?

 The main public misconception I know I’ve heard on many occasions is that all Haitians practice Vodou and the negative connotation it has. This is of course not the case. Whereas Vodou is indeed a religion practiced, not all Haitians practice Vodou.  Next thing that’s kind of frustrating is that yes Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, that’s a fact. But it’s also a fact that not all Haitians are on the same side of the coin. Finally, I have to say the thing that frustrates me the most is when someone says they’re Haitian and somebody else replies with “You don’t look Haitian…” Like what’s that supposed to mean? Is there a defining set of features that establishes whether someone is Haitian or not? Some kind of rule book that I somehow have yet to come across?  Seriously.  

  • Would you say you look to identify more with the larger black American community or maintain a strong ethnic identity? Please provide ample reasoning as to why. For instance, public misconceptions about one’s home country may lead to them being “embarrassed” to embrace their ethnicity, leading them to identify more with black Americans.

I would say that initially some things kind of made me want to hide my Haitian identity. For instance I remember being on the bus to school (my first year in Long Island) and some kid asking another what they were (as in their nationality), and they said they were Jamaican or African (don’t exactly remember) and the kid who asked the question then said “No, you’re Haitian” and his friends and people nearby must’ve thought that was funny because they all started laughing about that. So I kind of thought to myself, what is it about being Haitian that’s funny? Until then, I had never felt any need to question my identity and was perfectly fine with being Haitian. That’s what I knew for most of my life after all. So I started to be reluctant to say I was Haitian when asked, in fear that I would be laughed at. I strayed away from any Haitian clubs and did not want to associate with any Haitians.

But then a switch flipped that all changed that. I told myself that I shouldn’t let people make me embarrassed of where I’m from. They don’t know the Haiti that I know, only what the media decide to portray. They probably only know the Haiti they showed in media outlets on January 12th, when everything was falling to pieces. But I knew where I was from, the place I grew to love. And so I wanted to succeed, and make my success Haiti’s success. When I graduated as salutatorian of my class last June, I let the entire audience know my story and where I’m from, for all who happened to missed the word”Haiti” in red and blue letters depicted on my cap. To answer the question, I’ve learned to embrace my ethnic identity over the years.

 

  • If you answered that you still maintain a strong ethnic identity, what do you then appeal to in order to separate yourself from the larger black American community? In other words, what do you think separates you from the larger African American community?

I don’t really deliberately appeal to anything to distance myself from the larger black American community. My accent that comes out sometimes may be sufficient, and when the occasion presents itself, like Haitian flag day, I’ll wear like some clothing item to represent my country.  I’ll also say that now I’m fully involved in Caribbean Students Association currently at the college I attend, and that makes me feel closer to my ethnic identity.

  • In your opinion, why do some immigrant children attain success when they move while some others do not? How would you qualify your own success in your new environment? What do you attribute to your success or maybe some struggles you’ve faced?

I think it’s all about personal goals and what drives you to succeed. Yes, as an immigrant you’ll no doubt face challenges, but some fail to realize that those challenges don’t have to stop them. Another thing might be the pressure they face from their families to succeed when they come. But once you sit down and determine that it’s more about what you want than what anybody else, you’ll make it a point to achieve what it is that you want, letting nothing deter you. I can say that my struggles have led to some of my success, and all of it-the ups and the downs- has contributed to who I am as a person today, and the support of my parents, even from Haiti, has also been something I don’t take for granted. I can also say that not being satisfied with anything success I have achieved so far has kept me going, as I know there still is a long road ahead.