Submitted by Stanley Rousseau (not verified) on Wed, 12/12/2007 - 17:30.
I live in Hong Kong and recently my colleague and I just returned from a 12 day visit to Port Au Prince, Haiti ("PAP"). We stayed at La Villa Creole Hotel but we walked the streets of Haiti without an escort of any sort. I was born in Jacmel, Haiti but raised in the USA. My travelling colleague is a Chinese, Singaporean and despite our challenges in speaking Creole and French, we did not feel threatened at no time during our many unescorted excursions throughout the rural and urban streets of PAP.
The concerns about security is over-exaggerated and is a false and frivulous pretext for not bring the Job Corps to Haiti. Haitians are peaceful people with a genuine sense of hope for a better tomorrow. The Job Corps will be successful in Haiti and will not be met with resistance or violence.
Haitians use the term "Lavalas" as an expression to describe a person who is beyond greedy. A Haitian will tell you that "Pigs get fat, while hogs get slaughtered." Now to appreciate this expression it is important to understand the difference between a pig and a hog from the Haitians' perspective. A pig is an animal that is considered to be greedy and
will eat anything it sees. It is not an uncommon site in Haiti to see a group pigs eating together. However, a "hog" from a Haitian expression is the largest pig who does not believe in sharing and will eat all the food at the table while all the other little pigs around him are starving. Hogs engage in the act of being "hoggish" by hoarding all the food for themselves. In Haiti being a greedy pig is OK, but being "hoggish" is bad and "hoggishness" can get you killed. Hence, the expression "Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered."
I shared this little colloquy with you because the introduction of the Job Corps to Haiti will not be viewed by Haitians as an act of a Lavalas. No one will be slaughtered for bringing jobs to a country which needs just that "JOBS". Keep in mind that Haitians are not prone to violence, despite the horrific conditions that plague them on a daily basis. In comparison to other races and groups of people, Haitians are very strong in spirit and possess a very high tolerance to the blight of their economic plight. My biggest fear is that their spirit may dissipate and their tolerance may whither away if something positive is not done to let them know that they are not alone and that the USA does care enough about them to at least try and implement the Job Corps.
The introduction of the Job Corps to Haiti may be one of the best things that the US Government can do to rehabilitate the negative resentment that many Haitians have about the so called "Voodoo Politics" that has purportedly been perpetrated by our government against Haiti.
The Job Corps can be successfully implemented and carried out in Haiti, if the US Government is truly sincere about seriously helping Haiti.
Job Corps
I live in Hong Kong and recently my colleague and I just returned from a 12 day visit to Port Au Prince, Haiti ("PAP"). We stayed at La Villa Creole Hotel but we walked the streets of Haiti without an escort of any sort. I was born in Jacmel, Haiti but raised in the USA. My travelling colleague is a Chinese, Singaporean and despite our challenges in speaking Creole and French, we did not feel threatened at no time during our many unescorted excursions throughout the rural and urban streets of PAP.
The concerns about security is over-exaggerated and is a false and frivulous pretext for not bring the Job Corps to Haiti. Haitians are peaceful people with a genuine sense of hope for a better tomorrow. The Job Corps will be successful in Haiti and will not be met with resistance or violence.
Haitians use the term "Lavalas" as an expression to describe a person who is beyond greedy. A Haitian will tell you that "Pigs get fat, while hogs get slaughtered." Now to appreciate this expression it is important to understand the difference between a pig and a hog from the Haitians' perspective. A pig is an animal that is considered to be greedy and
will eat anything it sees. It is not an uncommon site in Haiti to see a group pigs eating together. However, a "hog" from a Haitian expression is the largest pig who does not believe in sharing and will eat all the food at the table while all the other little pigs around him are starving. Hogs engage in the act of being "hoggish" by hoarding all the food for themselves. In Haiti being a greedy pig is OK, but being "hoggish" is bad and "hoggishness" can get you killed. Hence, the expression "Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered."
I shared this little colloquy with you because the introduction of the Job Corps to Haiti will not be viewed by Haitians as an act of a Lavalas. No one will be slaughtered for bringing jobs to a country which needs just that "JOBS". Keep in mind that Haitians are not prone to violence, despite the horrific conditions that plague them on a daily basis. In comparison to other races and groups of people, Haitians are very strong in spirit and possess a very high tolerance to the blight of their economic plight. My biggest fear is that their spirit may dissipate and their tolerance may whither away if something positive is not done to let them know that they are not alone and that the USA does care enough about them to at least try and implement the Job Corps.
The introduction of the Job Corps to Haiti may be one of the best things that the US Government can do to rehabilitate the negative resentment that many Haitians have about the so called "Voodoo Politics" that has purportedly been perpetrated by our government against Haiti.
The Job Corps can be successfully implemented and carried out in Haiti, if the US Government is truly sincere about seriously helping Haiti.