Ayiti peyi mwen, Haiti is my country.
Both my parents were born in Haiti. When they were in their early twenties they immigrated to New York where they met and had me. Even though I was born in Queens and hadn’t stepped a foot off the continent of North America until this summer, all my life I’ve still felt a close connection to Haiti. I’ve always considered my self more “Haitian” than “American.” And though visiting my homeland brought me some pain, through the rubbles I saw the beauty that used to stand there, and some of that beauty that still exists.
While I was visiting Haiti I got the opportunity to go visit a few places, and one of them was the National Palace, where the president used to live. I actually took this picture.
Now where it stands is a sad reminder of what the country has gone through, the earthquake, the cholera, and the political social turmoil.
Or maybe it can stand for something else.
You see Haiti has had a history of political corruption. In October of 1957, Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier became President, nicknamed “Papa Doc” because before he served as president he was a physician. A little after his vote into presidency, he basically declared himself president for as long as he lived. His “reign” included a removal of the governments military, which led to the creation of rural militias, and the practice of voodoo. After “Papa Doc” died, there was a succession of power. His son Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” ruled for fifteen years until an uprising pulled him out of power.
During the Duvaliers’ dictatorships, money had been squandered, positions had been bribed, and large number of people had been imprisoned or put to death simply because they did not believe in what their leaders were doing to them. Now that was about twenty-five years ago, but Haiti has never really recovered.
This photo shows the ruins of the National Palace, but to me this photo represents a new beginning. The fall of the National Palace symbolizes a new start for the people of Haiti. I doubt all their problems will simply vanish, but hopefully this new chapter will bring about something that has never happened before. Currently, the people are putting all their hopes in their new leader, President Michel Martelly. This is fine I suppose, but what the people do not realize is that they cannot just wait around for change, they must also reach for it themselves. The people of Haiti must also work for it.
