I hope you know by now that I'm not African.
I'm Haitian, (Hay-Chen), my ethnicity is Haitian, my culture is Haitian, my language,(rather my parent's language) is Haitian Creole, or Kreyol. Haiti is not in Africa, believe it or not, not all black people originate from Africa. Haitians share the island of Hispinola with Dominicans, hence the Dominican Republic.
Today I'm here to discuss how poorly Haitians are depicted.
Haitians are seen as dirty, as the brunt of black people. We are seen as poor and uneducated. All Haiti is known for is its natural disasters and poverty. If you look at media all around you, that is all you see. You see the trash on the ground, not our beautiful architecture. You see malnourished children, instead of our church services full of passion. All you hear is "All Haitian immigrants have AIDS" (quoted by Donald Trump, our current president), instead of hearing about how we use castor oil. Did you know in Haiti, they call it "Lwil Maskriti" (lwi mask-itee), and say it can cure 101 diseases?
Last night I watched Bad Boys 2, an action cop movie starring Will Smith, Gabrielle Union, and Martin Lawrence. It was a good enough movie (The first one was better), but something that left a bad taste in my mouth was the depiction of Haitians was absolutely terrible. It makes me sad to think about it.
They only hired one actual Haitian, the rest being African or Jamaican. They had unkempt dreadlocks, wore tacky hats and sunglasses, and were shown as undignified. The ringleader of the Haitians said, in a terrible attempt of a Haitian accent, "The devil is not welcome here!", perpetuating so many stereotypes, With other quotes in the movie, talking about how Haitians don't belong in America, and other terrible things it was hard to enjoy the movie.
Haitians are looked down upon, and there is propaganda everywhere further demoting it. A known Haitian will have to work twice as hard in a room full of African Americans for the same respect. All people see in Haiti is what Donald Trump says is a "****hole" and Voodoo. Haiti is just a nation that needs help, not hate.
Thanks for reading yet another rant,
K.Peace
I'm even researching more right now, and the 'slums' everyone is worried about aren't dangerous. I'll be the first to tell you that Haitians are friendly, welcoming people. You could trip and five Haitians would come and ask if you were okay. The crime rate in the Dominican Republic is double the one of Haiti, yet the Dominican Republic is much more desirable? Haiti was one of the first, if not the first, country to gain its own independence.
ReplyDeleteWhy can't people just be nice?? I hate how people make our lovely world such a rotten place :(
ReplyDelete