This week was our last reading and, to me, it seemed to serve as a fitting conclusion to our ongoing discussions on transnationalism and migrant networks. We spent many classes defining transnationalism as an ongoing “conversation” between a migrant, their home country and the country they are currently residing in. So far we have focused heavily on a migrant’s journey to a new country and how they stay in contact with their old country. This is usually done through phone calls, sending remittances and even visits every so often. We really haven’t touched upon what comes of these connections, but in Transnationalism Personified by Potter, Conway and St. Bernard, we finally see some conclusions; some migrants decide to simply go back to their home country.

These returns aren’t as incredibly spur of the moment as I may have made it seem. Most of these returns are very well thought out and planned. Migrants would often make dozens of minor trips to and from their home country to make sure things are all set before they visit and stay indefinitely. Something interesting about the article were all the different reasons why the different migrants decide to go back to their home country. Most of these reasons reflect many of the advantages of transnational networks, such as education, business opportunities, familial support and a quest for identity in general. As we talked about in class, all of these factors play into the idea of strategic flexibility. These transnational networks allow for migrants to make these choices; many immigrants don’t have this opportunity. The situation between the United States, the Caribbean and many other countries is special since dual citizenship is generally allowed. Certain countries discourage and outright do not allow dual citizenship, greatly hindering formation of the networks that are so common across the United States. Going back to flexibility, it is very easy to see how these networks are beneficial to both migrating peoples and receiving nations. The global economy, especially today, isn’t as stable as it was in previous years. Being able to find work in multiple countries where you are comfortable working and being able to call out to nationals abroad during times of economic stagnation is really important.

Another interesting thing is when you take a look at former immigrants from European nations. The whole idea of keeping in contact with your former home isn’t as popular among Europeans as it is among West Indians. Many immigrants were stripped of their ethnic names and identities when coming to America, almost erasing away any possibility of reconnecting with the past. Speaking from personal experience, when my great-grandmother emigrated from Ireland to New York in the early 1900s, she was left with almost nothing from Ireland. Her Gaelic name was tossed aside and she was basically given a new identity. Almost all of her belongings were trashed and she was left on her own. It was impossible for her to keep any ties with Ireland. The luxury of strategic flexibility is a more modern development.

Moving onto immigration today, I think we’re really at a tough spot here in America. The classic argument is that we should strengthen the borders because illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from Americans. Of course, the irony is that these jobs being “taken” are ones that Americans feel they are above doing themselves. In New York, some steps have been taken to help immigrants, such as the providing the opportunity to secure some sort of identification through the IDNYC program. Other parts of America aren’t nearly as accommodating. As for global issues regarding immigration, we really shouldn’t be so quick to jump in. Regardless whether we would be able to help or not, the second something doesn’t go right, the entire globe will be down our throats about how we basically ruin every foreign country we step foot in. Being America is basically a lose-lose situation- if we sit on our hands and turn a blind eye we are the villains and if we try to lend a hand and aren’t perfect at doing our jobs, we are also villains.

“Transnationalism Personified: Young Returning Trinidadians ‘in Their Own Words’” – Potter, Conway, and St. Bernard

This article looks at the relationship that Trinidadian migrants who return to Trinidad have with the country itself, in relation to their life paths and their views on returning. The authors mention that the article serves to address neglected topics in studies of transnationalism, including the effect of transnationalism on sending countries. They achieve this by using narratives from relatively young and returning Trinidadian migrants (hence, ‘in their own words’). Their perspectives are analyzed in seven areas:

(1) Transnational family and life-course issues – Family factors can influence the decision to maintain transnational ties with the homeland. For example, family living overseas and overseas support in child-rearing all play a role in these decisions.

(2) Transnational community relationships – The idea of being a “global citizen” plays a role here. The ease of communication and relatively cheap air transportation allow for the maintenance of ties to the homeland.

(3) Keeping in touch with the homeland – Repetitive visits gave people the right mindset and prepared them for their return to Trinidad. Some migrants described it as “information collecting” to formulate their “master plan” or as creating “a little base” in Trinidad.

(4) The concept of mobility – Travelling back and forth leaves open the possibility of returning at some point in time. Trinidad was seen as home, and migrants expressed the desire to eventually return “home.”

(5) Transnational identity – Some migrants felt a sense of “duality.” That is, they felt strongly toward both their homelands as well as the country they lived in. Many expressed this in the form of dual citizenship; others did so in terms of the maintenance of social networks with family and friends.

(6) Transnational economic and commercial interests – Ownership of property abroad as well as entrepreneurial plans in the homeland influence the decision to return home as well.

(7) The concept of “strategic flexibility” – Many of the people in the study expressed that they were open to future migration opportunities. This may be in response to new opportunities or out of necessity. They expressed it as the freedom, or “liquidity,” to move around.

Unlike many of the other readings on transnationalism throughout the semester, this article seems to touch on the fact that those who emigrate and maintain ties to the homeland do have the option to return. It was often overlooked that there are migrants who go back for various reasons: whether for practical purposes or to just go back “home.” I will admit that this article provided a refreshing viewpoint. It confirmed that “transnationalism and return are by no means incompatible.” Even with the ties that are maintained, it may not be possible in the short-term to go back. However, going back can be seen by a number of migrants as a long-term goal.

As it was seen in the ending of Danticat’s novel and the occurrences of natural disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes, the congregation of diasporic people was essential and vital. Many of the individuals who share a sense of culture, tradition, or nationality were seen to form groups to help each other collectively. As seen in the end of “Dew Breaker,” the diasporic individuals, Haitian for example, regardless of being opposing violent factors, essentially came together at the end. Specifically, the dew breaker and the sister of the priest that was murdered by the dew breaker, ultimately ended up getting married in the end because of the inevitable fact that they need each other to survive. This goes along the lines of redemption and forgiveness, which are strong aspects of the religion shared by these Haitians individuals, thus being another conforming factor bring them together.

Other key, yet unfortunate events that bring individuals together, such as the Haitians again for example, was the drastic earthquake that occurred in Haiti. Emphasizing the ideals of nationalism, many of these individuals set aside their personal differences, and work towards helping each other out. New York being a big center of Caribbean migrants including Haitians, played an extremely important role in helping Haiti recover from the unfortunate drastic event. This emphasizes the act of people coming to together for the general betterment of their own kin, as seen at the end of “Dew Breaker.” Examples of how the individuals helped included raising awareness of the catastrophe, and raising funds and organizations to help Haiti. Although it is a very sad event, it is remarkable of how it is capable of congregating numerous people to serve under one purpose. Thus, it comes down to helping each other through trouble times, because that is all they have…their own people.

However, this example cannot be isolated to the earthquake in Haiti alone. Multiple examples have occurred, and are still occurring that are bringing individuals together that share the same culture, traditions, or nationality to help the ones in need. As mentioned in class, the earthquake in China sparked a revolutionary reaction in New York, due to the great number of Chinese immigrants living in the United States. The Chinese individuals quickly got together to help their home country to recover, and aid them in a desperate time of need. A personal example would be the recent avalanche that occurred in Afghanistan, which worried my family very much, since we have family and numerous other relatives still living in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, no one that was close to our family was hurt; however, many Afghans did die. Despite the many existing issues in Afghanistan right now the individuals got together and helped the ones in need. My mother actually sent money from America to Afghanistan to help with the recovery process, even though we weren’t closely related to them. This goes to emphasize the transnational stance, and how the networks linking many countries through their immigrants still exits today. The Haitians in America are explicitly displaying their transnational ties by forming relieve organizations and sending funds from a totally different country for their home country, maintaining that crucial transnational link. Nevertheless, immigrants and humans in general require companionship and cooperative interactions with other individuals to survive and get through tough time, thus accentuating the act of people coming together.

The earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010 was devastating and a traumatic experience. It caused the death of thousands, and incredible damage to the country. The earthquake caused massive rebuilding within the country, both physically and emotionally. This event encouraged a strengthening between Haiti and the diaspora, an increased nationalism in the 2nd generation Haitian youth, and it brought about political change. 

After the earthquake, resources from all over the world were being sent to Haiti. Different organizations were sending aid and support. In general, churches were key in sending information and resources between Haiti and the U.S., “operating in a transnational social field.” Other groups such as the Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad and Partners in Health sent thousands of Creole-speaking medical volunteers to help the people. Companies such as Western Union announced a “no transfer fee” to allow relatives to send money to their loved ones. Airlines followed in suit, allowing people to ship things to Haiti with no charge. Digicel, a popular phone company, vowed to replace all SIM cards, offered price reduction and made phone charging stations. This helped relatives as they began to “scramble to communicate.”

With a wave of aid coming in, this was an opportunity to “restructure the political relationship between Haiti and its Diaspora”. In the past people were either with the regime in power, or against it, making citizens abroad not welcome. This cut ties and left the citizens in Haiti and the citizens abroad very divided. After the earthquake, people regained ties as they tried to locate their relatives and send aid.

The earthquake also greatly impacted the second generation youth. When Wyclef Jean ran in the presidential race, he had immense support from the youth and he raised awareness. After the earthquake, universities gathered to contribute to the relief effort and students were proud to identify as Haitian. This was a big difference since the 80’s when people tried to hide their identity.  Lundy believes that the second generation are vital to the “reshaping and reconstruction of Haiti.” I think that this sense of identity and nationalism is important in promoting the global support of Haiti, and it could be extremely important in the future of Haiti. 

The second half of Dew Breaker was very morbid, but strangely beautiful. I thought Danticat’s ending was bittersweet even though Anne’s husband was the one that killed her brother. I think their relationship wasn’t based on love as much as it was based on the mutual need to survive. The Dew Breaker’s past was always with him because of his scar and because of Anne. He was always in hiding, but he could never escape what he had done to the people in the prison. This book was very well written and captured the struggle of leaving the past behind and trying to move on. Its ironic because the Dew Breaker hunted down people and brought them to prison, but then when he escaped to America, the memories of the people haunted him and he was imprisoned in this fear of being identified. He tried to get rid of his past by drowning the statue, but nothing could help him. I found the story to be extremely powerful, and I loved that it was written from the experiences of those around him. It gave the reader an idea of what life was like in Haiti and in America too at that time. I personally feel bad for both Anne and the Dew Breaker because of their situations. The Dew Breaker tried to get out of the life he led. He did not want to kill anyone anymore, and he was simply done with the military and his lifestyle. Anne, on the other hand, is so different than him. She is very spiritual and faithful, and I feel like she would never hurt anyone. In a sense they balance each other out, but to me it seems like a desperate reliance on one another to stay alive and to be supported. Anne, like the majority of the women in the book, was a healer, while the Dew Breaker caused bloodshed. Overall, I really liked this book and was a big fan of Danticat’s writing style.

This week concluded our reading of The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat. Toward the end of the novel we get to see what the past of the father, the dew breaker, and those around him. We see how the macoutes affected the people who they interacted with back in Haiti. They tortured for the Duvalier regimes and caused misery and terror. The transformations that the dew breaker had were explored. He came from poverty and was given a chance to have power and authority and he loves it. But the price he pays is that he has to commit these crimes against humanity and love with them later on. He ends up murdering a rebellious priest. And this man is the stepbrother of the woman he ended up marrying. I found it really interesting how in diaspora, people on both sides of the violence found themselves together. They need each other and must stick together. This lines up Christian themes of forgiveness and redemption in order to make recover from a dark past.

This week we read Transnationalism in the Aftermath of the Haiti Earthquake: Reinforcing Ties and Second-Generation Identity by Garvey Lundy. In the article, Lundy summarizes what transnationalism is and ties it into the event of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Transnationalism is the phenomenon of people migrating from a homeland to elsewhere while establishing connections and loyalties where ever they go. Lundy breaks down transnationalism in a way that I really like, since it makes it very clear. There are six domains of transnationalism: social morphology and formation of relationships, consciousness and identity, cultural reproduction and hybrid cultural productions, avenue of capital, political engagement, and finally relationship with space. Lundy only focuses on three of these: social morphology and formation of relationships, consciousness and identity, and political engagement.

The earthquake was very strong (7.0 magnitude) and caused mass amounts of destruction and loss. The earthquake left many homeless and injured. The physical destruction, in regards to buildings and infrastructure was very hard-hitting as well. The combination of all these factors left Haiti crippled and in a very vulnerable position. It was very difficult to get aid to the places where it was needed, so Haiti needed help from lots of groups. One of the major groups to help was the Haitian diaspora.

The social morphology section explores how people of the diaspora gathered together to help with the situation back in the homeland. Haitian families in the diaspora acted through churches and other benevolent associations to take care of kin at home. Some even opened their homes in the United States to family members, refugees, and orphans. Others in the diaspora went to Haiti in order to personally help to rebuild the country

There were some groups who aided who were not part of the diaspora. The U.S. government granted a temporary legal status to those leaving Haiti due to the earthquake. Haitian professional organizations sent skilled people from the United States to the Caribbean to help those devastated by the earthquake. Western Union introduced a “no transfer fee” for any amount of money sent to Haiti from the US. Some Airlines let the Haitian Diaspora send aid supplies to Haiti for free and donated to Haiti relief programs through frequent flier programs. Digicel enacted a plan to replace broken SIM cards for those who needed them in Haiti and created free charging sports for Haitians to use. These kinds of aid programs by outside parties, were extremely helpful to the recovery process.

After this, Lundy focuses on the political side. He explains how prior to the earthquake the Haitian diaspora was not well incorporated in the happenings of Haiti and had no say. Earthquake caused Haiti to open up to its diaspora and there is a will to reform the relationship between Haiti and its diaspora. Some advancement has been made in integrating since the earthquake happened. Since then, some Haitian presidential candidates have made visits to the United States (especially New York City) as part of their campaigns. Haitian politicians also use the Internet and other “diasporic public spheres” to communicate with the diaspora.

The finally aspect analyzed was the side of identity and consciousness. Lundy explains that in the past many Haitians tried to cover up their Haitian ancestry but as time has passed the second generation has gained a stronger nationalistic Haitian identity. A strong signifier of this is the amount of Haitian Student of Associations at colleges that distinguish them from other Caribbean people and blacks. After the Earthquake, these student groups faced a swell in membership. More people were recognizing their Haitian identity. Regardless of the negative depiction of Haitians and the lack of direct connection to Haitians, most of the second generation still has a strong Haitian identity. Lundy brings up the example of Wyclef Jean, who is a second generation Hip-Hop star who ran for president in Haiti after the earthquake. He had a strong following from the youth and this shows how strong those transnational connections really are.

Lundy believes that transnationalism has a strong effect on people of the second and third generation, not just on the migrants themselves. It affects the identities of the later generations in a dramatic way. He also believes that as time passes, the diaspora will become more and more important and involved in what happens in Haiti.

Edwidge Danticat’s The Dew Breaker is an exceptional novel that may seem a bit bewildering at a first glance. The novel is broken up into different chapters, with each chapter seeming as if it was its own story. However, as the readers continue to read each chapter and the numerous stories, we start to realize that each different story with their different characters relate with one another to the other stories mentioned in the different chapters. Danticat has a larger picture that she tries to show by placing us in the numerous shoes of the variety of characters found in The Dew Breaker.

One of the prominent chapters, known as “Monkey Tails”, shows a first person glance of a character living in the area at the time that “Baby Doc”, the president of Haiti, was exiled to France. Michel, who is a little kid at the time, experiences for the first time when his country goes into chaos. Mobs of angry citizens of Haiti form as they go around in search of macoutes, also known as “Dew Breakers”. The macoutes were the torturers of Duvalier’s regime and it was now the time for the community to take their revenge. Michel’s best friend, Romain, has a father who is also a macoute and is on the run from the mobs in the community. Romain decides to flee the country and to start a new life, extending his “monkey tail” to reach newer and better places. Later on in the book, it is made clear that Michel is now the current tenant of Ka’s father, who was a macoute at the time, showing the constant interactions between the Haitian community and that it is hard to escape one’s past.

In another noticeable chapter, titled as “Funeral Singers”, three new characters and their struggles are brought into the novel. Freda used to be a funeral singer in Haiti. However, when she was invited to sing at the national palace, she refused the offer because she blamed the macoutes for killing her father. Mariselle, who is a widow, used to be married to a famous painter. However, her husband painted an unflattering image of the president and thus was killed. She had to escape the country in order to save her life from being in danger. Rezia used to live with her aunt in her aunt’s brothel. One night, Rezia was raped by a macoute and never talked about it to her aunt. When her aunt was dying, the aunt told Rezia that the aunt had allowed the macoute to rape her so that her brothel establishment would not be shut down. Rezia decided to leave the country for good and make a better living in the states. All these girls met each other through a GED class and they all worked hard to get a high school diploma.

The final chapter, which has the most shocking story of all, is all about Ka’s father as the Dew Breaker when he lived in Haiti. The Dew Breaker had a rough childhood, with his mother going insane and their family’s small plot stolen away from them. The Dew Breaker was encouraged to join the macoutes and he gladly did, seeing that they had power and money. He started to enjoy making himself fat, feeling that his power grew as his body did. He used his influence to gain back his family’s plot of land and he was a well-known torturer. Anne was the sister of a prominent preacher, who was provocative in the fact that he went against the president and the macoute’s regime of power. One night, the Dew Breaker received an order to capture the preacher and to take him to one of their torture camps. The preacher is tortured and beaten up there. When the Dew Breaker and the preacher had an encounter with each other, the preacher attacked the Dew Breaker and sliced his face, forming a scar on his face. The Dew Breaker retaliated by shooting the preacher in the chest numerous times. The Dew breaker wasn’t supposed to kill the preacher. In fear for his life, the Dew Breaker ran out of the torture camp and ran into Anne, who was frantically looking for her brother, the preacher. He asked Anne to help him and she does so by nursing his wounds and finally marrying him. They live in the Untied States and have their baby, Ka. The Dew Breaker is constantly repenting for his mistakes of torturing many people. He is always fearful that someone in the Haitian community will recognize him and kill him for once being a macoute. He also lives with the regret of killing his wife’s stepbrother. Even worse than that is the fact that Ka is now disgusted of what her father used to do to people. Ka always believed that her father was the prisoner, not the actual torturer. The Dew Breaker and all the other macoutes who are now living in fear, constantly repent for their sins by living under different aliases within the Haitian community whose members they once tortured.

In Garvey Lundy’s article, “Transnationalism in the Aftermath of the Haiti Earthquake: Reinforcing Ties and Second-Generation Identity”, Garvey talks about the political and social morphological effects that the Haitian earthquake had on the Haitian Diasporic community. Before the Haitian earthquake, many Haitians were embarrassed to state that they were from Haiti. This was due to the fact that in 1980, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claimed that Haitian people had the highest chances of contracting HIV and other diseases. This made it especially hard for Haitians to gain jobs and acquire rented apartments. However, after the onset of the Haitian earthquake, many Haitians had an extreme sense of nationalism. They took every effort in helping out the communities in their native countries. Haitian churches in New York raised donations that they sent back to Haiti for the rebuilding of houses. Many individual Haitians in the New York communities went to Haiti themselves to volunteer in helping out with the cleaning. U.S. Airlines all helped send donations and goods from American to Haiti for free. Other companies, such as Digicell, offered free SIM cards and phone charging stations so that Haitians would be able to keep in touch with their loved ones in the other countries. The course of the Haiti earthquake showed that transnationalism and second generation identity is still strong. There was a strong sense of helping their own community when they were in need of help.

I didn’t know that Haiti’s history was so rich with conflicts until this week’s reading. Edwidge Danticat’s The Dew Breaker not only had an intriguing story about regret and redemption, but also included Haiti’s political and social situation during that time period. After reading the book, I realized that transnationalism is very strong between Haiti and Haitian American. Even if people living in Haiti emigrate out of the country, they can’t escape the past they had in Haiti, and are sometimes haunted by it. The Dew Breaker is my most favorites of the books I’ve read this semester. Its written in a unique style and each chapter/story is encapsulating. Originally, I was hoping that Danticat would tie all the stories together with the last few chapters. In a way, she did. Each story had some kind of relation to Ka’s father, or the dew breaker. But I was hoping more of how each person would react when they discovered who Ka’s Father was. However, I still enjoyed the existing ending as it allows the readers themselves to piece the puzzle together.

Garvey Lundy talks about transnationalism in Haiti after the Haitian earthquake of January 2010. What Haitian Americans did after the earthquake was something that I can personally relate to. In 2008, an earthquake hit China as well. It was an 8.0 magnitude earth and the destruction was tremendous. Similar to what the Haitian American did during the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, Chinese diaspora groups also raised money to aid the Sichuan province. My family is from China and I also participated in the effort to help the affected people. We donated money and stayed updated with all the news about the earthquake. Receiving aid from the country’s diaspora group is something that happens when countries are in times of need.

This week’s readings were very intriguing and captivating in my opinion. I loved reading Danticat’s The Dew Breaker and the article about Haiti. Although as we said in class, it was a very sad book with no hope given, it was rich in religious symbolism (something that interests me a lot). I also admire Danticat’s unique writing style and use of literary features to enhance the reader’s experience. Her book was made up of a bunch of stories that together allow the reader to see the Dew Breaker from different perspectives and walks of life. Danticat is extremely creative. I disagree with those who said they did not like her. The second half of the book was the most interesting and climactic in my opinion. In “The Bridal Seamstress,” the reader gets to know about Beatrice Saint Fort’s life on the day right before she retires. She is interviewed by Aline for an article about her job as a Bridal Seamstress. This interview is very unique in that Aline does not receive straightforward answers from the bridal seamstress. Although technically Aline is the interviewer, it can be said that Beatrice interviews her as well when Beatrice asks her personal questions, causing Aline to reveal details of her life through inner thoughts. Beatrice also makes Aline go outside of the house with her to observe the block she lives on. It is during this mini tour that Beatrice reveals that an ex-prison guard lives on the block and that she would recognize him anywhere. Observing the tension and nervousness in Beatrice’s voice, Aline realizes that this man must have played a very important role in Beatrice’s life. Aline begins to wonder whether or not this guy was an ex-boyfriend or something along those lines. However, as readers we know that the prison guard is the Dew Breaker, who has made the lives of many people miserable. The story ends with Aline contemplating what she will do next in her life. She carries her own cross as well: not married, rejected by parents, feels like failure. Initially, I was quite annoyed with Beatrice because she did not answer Aline’s questions in a direct manner and acted in a very rude way towards Aline. However, when I found out that she suffered under the Dew Breaker, I felt pity for her.

The next story, “Monkey Tails,” revolves around Michel’s life. It starts out with him reflecting on his past next to his sleeping pregnant wife. He reveals his sufferings in Haiti when Jean-Claude Duvalier went into exile in France. As a young adult, Michel and his mother saw the chaos that broke out in Haiti after Duvalier left. Everyone went after the dew breakers, aka macoutes. After helping Monsieur Christophe with his broken water station faucet situation, he goes to visit Romain. Romain’s father is a macoute, who leaves Haiti so that he won’t be killed. Romain is impacted by this action because he feels unloved. So in the end Romain escapes as well, leaving Michel behind. Towards the end of the story we learn that Romain’s dad committed suicide. This story reveals the suffering, chaos and the disorders that many people suffered from due to the situation of their homeland. This story made me aware of the effect surroundings can have on a person’s life.

“The Funeral Singer” is about the lives of Freda, Mariselle and Rezia. All three of them are seeking to obtain a GED. Freda, the narrator, used to be a funeral singer who had to flee from her homeland after she refused to sing for the president. Mariselle left Haiti because her husband was shot for painting an unflattering portrait of Haiti’s president. Rezia owns a Haitian restaurant in the city and tells her friends of when she was raped by a macoute with the consent of her aunt. The lives of these three young women are very upsetting to read about, however they reveal the reality that not everything in life is a walk through the park. People carry many sufferings and go through many terrible experiences in life. This situation is much more prevalent with immigrants due to their position in society. I am not saying that others do not go through bitter moments in life, but I have seen that most immigrants have had unpleasant experiences similar to those of these three young women. This story also demonstrates that the goal of every human being is to make progress in life, to make life better. All the characters in this story and the rest of the book long to make their lives better and to leave the past behind. However, it is hard to forget about the past.

The last story, “The Dew Breaker (circa 1967)” puts the missing pieces of the book together. It reveals the previous lifestyle of the Dew Breaker as a prison guard. It starts out with him going to Bel-Air in search of a Baptist preacher who says bad things about the Haitian government. The Dew Breaker has thought about leaving the country but he wanted to go through with this order before his leaving. In this same story, we see things from the Baptist preacher’s point of view as well. We learn that his wife was poisoned and that many people do not like him or fear for his life due to the nature of his sermons and announcements. He seems to be completely against the Haitian government and wants his opinion to be heard loud and clear by everyone in the area. We also learn that the Dew Breaker decided to become a dew breaker so that he would not work in the fields like his parents. We also find out that the preacher has a stepsister, Anne. Anne is the Dew Breaker’s current wife. When I finally made the connection, I was surprised by how much mercy this woman had for the Dew Breaker. Had I been her, I would have killed him once I found out. But anyways during one of the preacher’s sermons, the Dew Breaker breaks into the church and brings with him a group of macoutes who take the preacher and beat him up pretty bad. However, after bringing the preacher back to the headquarters, he learns from his superior that he did wrong and has to release the preacher because the preacher’s offenses are not that bad. So he brings the preacher in to his office for questioning. The preacher, out of desperation, takes a broken piece of the chair and stabs the Dew Breaker’s check, dragging it down towards his chin, creating a huge, disgusting, deep wound. This causes the Dew Breaker to shoot the preacher several times. After having disobeyed his superior twice, the Dew Breaker decides to escape and runs with no sense of direction out of the headquarters. On his way he meets, Anne, who had been looking for the preacher. Anne ends up taking the Dew Breaker to his house, cares for him and ends up living with him. She and him eventually flee to the United States together. The story ends with Ka asking Anne if there is more to her father’s story.

“The Dew Breaker (circa 1967)” was a very crucial part of the book. In it we learn why the Dew Breaker became a prison guard, his inner thoughts, his guilt and contempt, and his yearning to redeem himself. We see that he gives a little boy some money as a way to buy him a future. Although as Patrick said, dew breakers are often portrayed like boogeymen, this particular dew breaker seems to have a gentle and noble side that if worked on properly can make him blossom into a kind and redeemed gentleman. So seeing that the Dew Breaker does have a noble side to him and knowing that later on he becomes a father and cares for both his wife and daughter leads me to question whether he wanted to be a dew breaker in the first place or if he was “forced” into becoming one due to his circumstances. A person just cannot be evil to be evil. As I mentioned before, this book is one of the best books I have read thus far. It was definitely more interesting and unique than the other two we have read this semester. I truly enjoyed the writing style.

In “Transnationalism in the Aftermath of the Haiti Earthquake: Reinforcing Ties and Second Generation Identity,” Lundy discusses the response of the Haitian diaspora to the earthquake on January 12, 2010. Lundy mentions how Haitians living outside of their homeland are shown to make use of political, economic , and communication ties to help their family back home. This article also investigates the impact of the earthquake on the identity of the second generation. The Haitian diaspora were deeply affected by the earthquake. Three fifths lost a loved one and two thirds wanted to move back to help reconstruct their nation. Lundy discusses transnationalism in detail, defining it as the process by which immigrants foster a multi-layered relationship that actively binds them to their country of origin while they are simultaneously fully involved in the social activities of their country of settlement. Lundy mentions that there are six interpretations of transnationalism: social morphology, type of consciousness, modes of cultural reproduction, avenue of capital, sites of political engagement, and reconstruction of a place or locality. However, Lundy does not discuss all six of them but rather focuses on the three most important ones.

Lundy starts out with social morphology, leading to an exploration of networks and connections that Haitian immigrants established with the homeland in order to respond to the devastation of their country. Haitian families acted through churches and other benevolent associations to take care of kin at home. Some opened their homes to refugees and orphans from the earthquake while others brought family members over to the U.S. Some even traveled back to Haiti to help out with the situation. Haitian churches in the U.S. and their corresponding churches in Haiti played a big role in the transferring of resources and information between Haiti and the U.S. They established church to church links that allowed migrants to figure out if their family in Haiti was okay and those in Haiti to receive relief. The church also had many benefits and fundraisers to donate money for Haiti’s relief. Besides the church, professional organizations initiated by Haitians abroad sent professional volunteers to assist those devastated by the earthquake. The Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad sent more than 500 volunteers. Partners in Health sent more than 1000 Creole-speakers to Haiti. In order to ease the sending of remittances Western Union also introduced a no transfer fee for any amount of money sent to Haiti. Some airlines allowed aid supplies to be sent free of charge and donated to Haiti’s cause through the enforcement of frequent flier programs. Communication was vital for those in the diaspora and Haiti, thus Digicel promised to replace broken SIM cards for free and provided charging stations for their phones.

Lundy also discusses the strained relationship between the diaspora and Haiti’s government. Many Haitian immigrants saw the earthquake as an opportunity to restructure the political relationship between Haiti and its diaspora. Haitians abroad were not able to partake in Haiti’s political affairs. Haiti also did not recognize dual citizenship and many politicians had huge resentments with the diaspora for leaving the country and not doing enough to help out.

In his article, Gundy also suggests that transnational ties will continue among the second generation and even third generations. The continuing flow of people back and forth will allow children of immigrants to form a link to their homeland. Initially, many Haitian immigrants and their children engaged in the cover-up process, an active process of distancing oneself from one’s Haitian ancestry. Young Haitians would want to be identified as anything other than Haitian. The reason why was because in the 1900s, the USCDC singled out Haitians as members of the 4-H club: most prone to be homosexuals, hemophiliacs, heroin users and have HIV. However, Haitian elders educated the youth and clarified many things, causing them to have a more positive view of being Haitian. Thus second and third generation Haitian Americans became long distance nationalists, in other words, people who have a claim to membership in a political community that exists beyond the territorial borders of a homeland. This process causes an emotional attachment that motivates people to political action.

The popularity of identifying as a Haitian can be seen within the college campuses throughout the nation. Many Haitian student associations were created for the later generations. Several of these clubs organize fundraising and awareness events to raise funds for the Haitian earthquake relief. Students also often discuss these topics with non-Haitians and have strong political and economic beliefs. There is definitely a complexity in identity among second generation Haitian Americans. There are some where both the parents and the children are afraid of admitting their Haitian, there is one where the parents encourage children to have national pride but children are afraid due to harassment and there are those who just do not care about the consequences and have national pride. Despite all the struggle, many Haitian Americans decided to find a way to connect with the homeland.

In conclusion, Lundy says that the earthquake caused a materialistic and psychological response on behalf of the Haitian diaspora. The Haitian diaspora came together to help Haiti in the recovery process. Through communication efforts, remittance and medical and social aid Haitians helped out a lot. I found this article very interesting as it explores many aspects and domains to transnationalism and then shows how people have been able to form a dual citizenship identity through transnational lives.

First thing: Watch The Act of Killing, if you are interested in war criminals not be serving civil justice and their integration into the community they harmed. It is about Indonesia, and it is takes more of an artistic, intimate psychological exploration into the war criminals than most traditional documentaries. The less known about the documentary going in, the more impactful the reaction. It is difficult to describe the feelings you feel when you watch- it is an experience.

Anyways, Danticat’s story takes an unexpected turn during the end of her book, which is extremely strange because you know the outcome and the big secret at the first story’s reveal. The reader realizes that Ka’s father is a dew breaker and his wife is fully aware of it since the beginning of the book. The dynamics of Ka’s parent’s relationship is strange but it seems to hold up at the beginning of the book. The dew breaker has become a caring father and husband who may not be perfect, like throwing out his daughter’s statue or his unreeling obsession with Egyptians, but he is still compassion and loving to his family and peaceful to others overall. However, the last chapter goes over to his less lovable past and what events led to the present situations mentioned earlier. This way the dynamics between the dew breaker and Anne become less comprehensible and the stories throughout the book that revolve around their relationship more contrived. Her husband’s former job was not some distant concept- she literally ran into him right after he shot her brother, and she chooses to ignore the obvious and move on with her life with him. To bridge this gap of reasoning or vengeance, Danticat uses metaphysical forces as a reinforcer to forgiveness. The dew breaker is punished by “hiding away” for his life in fear, while he is also saved by unseen forces. Dany never kills him and the death of his aunt cuts off motivation to do so, while Claude shows that to some degree people move on from killing each other, and although he was officially punished, his people still welcome him. Other suspected dew breaker, like the Emmanuel or the seamstress’s suspected follow are accepted like benevolent shadows. Women are often the doers that burden much of the weight between war and trans- immigration problems. Danticat tries to construct a frame in which Haiti can console its past and move on, as well as create this newer version of folklore for the various types of Haitians, connecting home bound and foreign bound/ born.

Lundy’s article examines the transnational actions of Haitian peoples after the earthquake in 2010. He has one especially charged sentence that he cannot just move on afterwards. The sentence in which he says in 2004 American/ Canadian supported thugs overtook President Jean- Bertrand Aristride because he posed real change for the poor. That is a hefty statement that needs a lot of proof and poses many implications.  Lundy goes on to detail all the support Haitians abroad gave to Haiti after the disaster, in the form of remittances, volunteer/ medical efforts, and hypothetical adoptions. He uses these examples to present the strength of the Haitian transnational community and its possible influence on Haiti in general. I have no doubt that Haitians across the globe did help and feel strongly motivated to help their family or brethren in the home country, but Haiti became a major global relief effort. I remember that numerous global organizations that participated in rebuilding Haiti that were not primarily under of concept of “Haitians helping Haitians.” Did global non-Haitian orientated organizations have more of an impact helping Haiti than purely the global Haitian community helping Haiti? What percentage of first/second/etc. generation of Haitian immigrants around the world contributed? He is also extremely optimistic about the level of loyalty and participation of second generation Haitians. Most admit to never having been to Haiti- identifying as an Haitian and actively participating in Haiti is entirely different. Their opinions about the situations in Haiti are handed down from their parents, I doubt if many could discuss or stay involved in Haitian affairs after their parents deaths. Also, going directly to Haitian clubs in colleges do not speak about the second generation as a whole. He is literally directing himself to people who he knows fits his theory. What about participation the other children mentioned who do not identify as Haitian and what percentage do they represent? How prevalent are these Haitian clubs in relation to the Haitian community or the school in general? They are probably tiny. I am not saying that Lundy is wrong in his optimism in the role of the Haitian transnational community, but I believe that his viewpoint is too focused for the more macro- image that he wants to create. But Wyclef Jean running for Haitian president and one of the biggest concerns is that he cannot speak Creole? I feel like there are some other glaring points there.

The Dew Breaker, as many of us have pointed out, ends with a twisted plot. We are told that the Dew Breaker’s wife has married a man that killed her half brother. This relationship between Anne and the dew breaker represents the dire situation in the nation and the only way to continue is to forgive. We debated in class on whether or not Anne has done the right thing to forgive the dew breaker and marry him. What I wanted to point out is the fact that the dew breaker himself has chosen to marry the sister of the man that he tortured and killed. This I believe has a meaning as well. Just as how Anne marrying the Dew Breaker represents the only way the nation of Haiti can keep moving forward, the dew breaker choosing to marry Anne is another portrayal of the nation moving forward. By marrying Anne the dew breaker is admitting to his horrible past and is cooping with it. Also, since the dew breaker represents the old regime it shows that the old regime has realized their mistake and have chosen to step down.

As for the reading by Lundy we notice a couple of things. First, Lundy talks about how the earthquake in Haiti has strengthened the transnational ties between migrants and Haiti. We notice, after the earthquake, that many Haitian Americans have stepped out of their hiding place and are not afraid to identify themselves as Haitians anymore. I believe that the earthquake’s devastation causing much grief to Haiti made many migrants sympathize with their nation. If there is a time where their nation needs them the most it is now. If the Haitian Americans did not stand up and announce their proud identity as Haitians by helping the nation recover, then the world would not have helped the nation as much as it did. If their own people living in other places were careless, then organizations in other nations would not have much motivation to aid Haiti.

Another point worth mentioning is the strong transnational tie that increased through the second generation immigrants of Haiti. One of the factors, I believe, for the increase of transnationalism by the second generation has to do with basic psychology. When an individual growing up is told to not do something, the desire to do that forbidden deed increases. Therefore, Haitians being told from when they were young to not identify themselves as Haitians gave them the desire to rebel identify as nothing but Haitian.