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Dec. 9, 2005 I travel a lot, 687,000-air miles as of today. In l986, I traveled for a two week stay in Haiti, so I really do not know how it is today, other than some of the turmoil in the newspaper I’ve read; and the updating I do get in letter form, about every three months from certain folks I’ve met back then, but let me tell you about the Haiti I knew back in l986, it may come out better. First of all the people are warm, kind and poor, for the most part. I was in several locations, but Port-au-Prince, was my first stop where I stayed and slept on top of the roof of an orphanage (did some puppet playing with the kids then); than came the mountains, and a small village there, no sense in mentioning its name, it only had about a hundred folks there, and occasionally I went to Cap Haitian, a few miles down the mountain from where I was. I helped build a clinic for the poor folks, the doctor said he wouldn’t treat them unless someone did, so 19-of us hired a plane flew in and did just that. But how was it back then that is the premise of the article, right. It had perhaps about six million inhabitants then, for the most part. The Blacks are descendents of the African slaves imported into Hispaniola some time in the 6th century. The Mulattoes I recall were descendents of these slaves. I took a six week course back then before I went to Haiti, and here I only stayed in Haiti for two weeks, but it was wise I think to know my subject well. Anyhow, slaves intermarried with the French, and so you get some lovely women there with mixed blood. I noticed a hand full of white residents in the republic back then, not many, mostly concentrated in Port-au-Prince. French may be the official language, but Creole is the spoken one when I was there. Mixed with Creole is English, so listen closely. There is a saying in Haiti: the poor man doesn’t dream of a chicken; he dreams of an ox: Cbien derrie cbien; devant Cbien: Monsieur Cbien; thus, this leads me into my next chat. Like in Peru, the Haitian peasant has what you call, honorable stealing…and perhaps a little violence, but I’ve never seen that part of them: but I was told to be careful. They are good-humored and to a certain degree philosophical, not sure why, they are poor as mice, but they smile all the time nonetheless, and seem to have a good outlook on life. Because they are poor, and do not have much income, especially in the mountain area, they get their neighbors to help them do big jobs, like building a shack or so, and in return, help them later: the coumbite. And normally a feast is done thereafter. When we built the clinic we did pay the help, some of the help that is, and we did have a gathering in the mist of the midnight moon. In the day you see them [them being: the Haitian common folks] preaching Christianity, at night you hear the voodoo drums. That is what I call red beans with sweet potatoes; no Pumpkin Soup for the Soul there I think. Well, I could write on and on about Haiti, and its lovely people, and I may do a second article, but I just wanted to share with the readers, something without politics on Haiti, I think they got enough of that. ------------ About the author: Mr. Siluk is a world traveler, a lover of the mysteries around the world, and has visit many World Heritage Sites, his most recent being Easter Island, the Galapagos and Mesa Verde. His books can be seen on/at Barns and Noble.com, Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, Abe.com Alibis, Boarders and several other sites and book stores. Many of his books can be purchased through the English Bookdealers. He spends his time between Lima, Peru and St. Paul, Minnesota, and has just finished working on two new books: "The Macabre Poems,” and “Perhaps it’s Love,” and continues to work on "Curse of the Abyss Worm,” a suspenseful mystery, and “Cold Kindness,” a tragic love affair. Visit http://dennissiluk.tripod.com Email: dlsiluk@msn.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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