Monday, March 24, 2014

Being Haitian in New York (Part II)

Estey Piano Company in the Bronx
If we accept the fact  that the two main reasons for the migration of Haitians to the United States are political and economic order, let’s simply ask this question, if they have won their bet. The answer is yes. On the political front, Haitian immigrants in New York have all the freedoms that the Duvalier dictatorship had deprived them: they can now practice without fear of censorship fundamental freedoms of opinion, expression and information as its common in the American democratic society. Most Haitian immigrants also benefit greatly and such attitude tends to make more difficult the restriction of freedoms in Haiti. However, if the Haitian diaspora in New York has no fear to voice his political views vis-à-vis the behavior of the Haitian authorities in Haiti, the Haitian ordinary citizen living in the country tends to retain a certain restraint in critical it bears against the Haitian government.

File:LOC Brooklyn Bridge and East River Edit 3.jpg
 Brooklyn Bridge , the first of the seven bridges on the East River
On the economic front, a number of Haitian immigrants in New York have suffered major differences between the American social reality and the social reality of Haiti during their first years into this megalopolis. During the interactions in everyday life, they have always been the big losers as a result of factors such as language barrier, racism, lack of social cues ... The first Haitian immigrants in New York were generally members of the advanced middle class  fleeing the repression of François Duvalier. It was in the early 1960s. A little later, in the early 1970s, when living in Haiti was becoming a hell, both politically and economically, Haitian immigrants were coming from all social and economic strata. 
File:Manhattan from top of the rock.JPG
  A view of the skyscrapers of   Manhattan
According to the Caribbean sociologist Stephanie Melyon - Pippin in 2000, "Haitians worked mainly in the field of education , health and social services as many Caribbean ... They are also in the field of arts, entertainment, hospitality, and restaurant with 33,420 people or 14 , 6% ... the average salary of a Haitian , according to Stephanie Melyon - Reinette in 2000 amounted to 36 000 USD per year against $ 38,500 per year for Jamaicans , 41 960 and 36 300  for Guyanese and Trinidadians / Tobagonians . "(Page 28).
Stéphanie Melyon-Reinette
In New York, the two languages, Kreyol and French, which have always been unevenly distributed in the use of Haitian speakers, has added a third English. It is the dominant language of the host society and Haitian immigrants are forced to communicate in that language. Mastery of the English language was one of the first handicaps for the first generation of Haitian immigrants . Nowadays, with the exception of newcomers, much of Haitian immigrants show a relative proficiency in English, particularly in the field of oral. However kreyòl remains the most used language in the Haitian language community and many thirty second generation are also fluent in Kreyol and English. In fact, in the areas of high concentration Haitian located in Brooklyn and Queens, more and more Americans ( blacks and whites ) know some basic phrases of Kreyol as "Ki sak pase ? " " Ki Jan ou ye ? " " Nap Kenbe ? " " Mèsi anpil " 
File:Ling Caik-su.jpg
Chatham Square and Lin Zexu Statue
One of the biggest problems facing Haitian immigrants in American society and in particular, New York, is the negative stigma associated with the Haitian culture. Virtually every ethnic group has a more or less negative picture of the Haitian immigrant . Even in the Caribbean, the American society has become accustomed to assemble Haitians under the generic term " West Indians,” however Haitians are not considered under this description, and due to this, the Haitian representations are generally far from positive. Haitians are not considered quite as Caribbean despite their presence and strong presence in the Caribbean , and especially despite the Creole common culture they share with the " West Indians " and has similar social structures inherited Africans and Europeans. Here's how Mary Waters, a sociology professor at Harvard , relates representations of Haitian immigrants in New York in his book " Black identities . West Indian Immigrant Dreams and American Realities Harvard University Press, 1999 ". "Although Jamaicans are described in negative and positive terms , Haitians are described by different groups in the most negative terms possible.
Eastern Parkway  "Labor day"
Haitians have definitely had a bad reputation. All people we spoke to share many negative stereotypes about Haitians. Many of these stereotypes have their origin in the fact that Haiti is a very poor country and the source of the poorest in New York immigrants. Haitians are described as noisy people, poorly dressed, who do not bathe enough , that smell bad , and live like savages , in filth and squalor, with several people in the same room . Haitians are also described as people who are aggressive, selfish, arrogant and who would not hesitate to cheat if they have the opportunity. Many people mention the practices of voodoo as another threat to Haitians. Some teachers describe a lot of tension in schools where many of the original " West Indian " students despise Haitian students. These conflicts are exacerbated because few Haitians speak English, and the language gap makes close friendships and alliances issues among the people of the first generation. " [ My translation of page 60]

End of the second part - to follow…


Translated  by HCC from the Original text in french written by Hugues Saint Fort.

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Being Haitian in New York (part 1)

English Translation :Herve Gilbert
Original text in french is available
 Statue of liberty is an iconic 
symbol of the American Dream  

As we know, most Haitians living in the country are fascinated to emigrate elsewhere. In general, the reasons are economic; objectively, Haiti is an extremely poor country and no one among those who belong to this category, would not like to spend their lives in absolute poverty.  In the list of countries in which Haitians dream to emigrate to, the United States always occupies the prominent place. New York is a city in the United States that captures the highest point in which Haitians dream to live in. At the time I was still living in Haiti, there was an area on the outskirts of Port -au- Prince which was given the name of Brooklyn in memory of the famous " borough " of New York. And those residents of this suburb of Port -au- Prince had not yet been to Brooklyn! The Haitian imagination is not comparable !

Régine O. Jackson 

There was a time people considered New York, by the size of its population, as the second city after Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Lately, most has been changed. According to Régine O. Jackson (Geographies of the Haitian Diaspora, Routledge 2011), who teaches American Studies at Emory University, the Haitian population of New York is estimated at 182,000 people compared to Florida which is around 360,000 immigrants. If true, this is a false comparison because it puts a city of (New York) against a state of (Florida), the fact remains that New York City has lost much of its 1970-1980 population, many of whom are either returned to Haiti, or moved to Florida ... just in search of a more hospitable climate

 Brooklyn neighborhoods

However, Haitian neighborhoods in New York continue to reflect the image of the typical Haitian cities such as (Port -au- Prince , Cap-Haitien ... ) ,especially with  variety of activities, where there is almost anything you find in Haiti. Streets such as Church Avenue in the heart of Anglophone Caribbean Brooklyn neighborhoods are full of Haitian commercial outdoor setting all kinds of food consumed in the country: fries , fried bananas , " Griyo " ( fried pork ), " taso " ( fried goat meat ), " diri dyondyon "(rice with mushrooms ), " mayi Moulen " Corn meal " Zaboka " ( Avocado) .

Haitian immigrants have settled in all five "borough" (districts) of the city of New York, but with a preference for the Brooklyn district that has long been the favorite of the large Haitian community area of ​​residence, followed in order by the Manhattan district, then through Queens, the Bronx and finally,Staten Island .
The view looking south from Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan includes the art deco-styled Empire State and Chrysler Buildings. (Click on the picture to enlarge it)
In the beginning of Haitian immigration to New York, it was a pretty clear difference between Haitians living in Brooklyn and those living in Queens. Those living in Queens were seen as part of the "lelit" (elite) with the sense that Haitian Kreyol enunciators identify with this word (connotation colorist, belonging to the upper middle classes, perhaps high level of education ...) while those living in Brooklyn were considered as "common people", with all that this word conveyed in the Haitian mentality.
Brooklyn Museum 

In fact, this configuration corresponds to a typical American sociological reality that buying a home was a sign of social status and security. The Haitian anthropologist Michel S. Laguerre (. American Odyssey Haitians in New York City, Cornell University Press, 1984) reports what he was  told by one of his indicators: "Se vagabon ki lwe kay " (Honest people are not tenants) . In fact, owning a home is one of the marks of the realization of the so-called "American Dream".
Church Avenue ( Brooklyn) 

The Francophone Caribbean sociologist Stéphanie Melyon-Reynette of (Haitians in New York City, L'Harmattan, 2009) reports that "Jamaicans and Guyanese are more often owners than Haitians with the percentage respectively of 36.9% and 46.7%," but "best percentages in terms of habitat are reached by the Italians (64%) and Greece (50%). The emergence of a socio-professional category of younger generations of Haitian immigrants (university professors, doctors, lawyers, engineers ...) has changed the map resulting in a shift of the places of residence of much Haitian immigrants who are now living in areas formerly reserved for the upper class.
Haitian Music is relatively fairly well known in New York and Haitians never miss an opportunity to go and dance. Musical groups such as Tabou Combo or Boukman Experience always move Haitian and non-Haitian crowds when they play, no matter where they play. It was during the years 1970-1980 the Haitian music has built its capital celebrity thanks to the phenomenon of "mini-jazz " of Haiti that have transformed musically and the generation of the popular music of Haiti.

Haitian Konpa is so pleased, it has been emulated. Our cousins ​​Franco-Caribbean Creole created the "zouk" style that exploded in the 1990s, first in the West Indies, then in France and Haiti itself. Without rancor, most Haitians were quick to adopt it since the rhythm and melodies of "zouk" remain very close  to Konpa.


End of Part One - New York, December 2013

Translated  by Herve Gilbert from the Original text in french written by Hugues Saint Fort


Some awesome photos of the city of New York and its suburbs
A picture can be enlarged by clicking on it
This bridge establishes a critical link in the local and regional highway system. Since 1976. The bridge marks the gateway to New York Harbor; all cruise ships and most container ships arriving at the Port of New York and New Jersey must pass underneath the bridge and therefore must be built to accommodate the clearance under the bridge
               

Staten Island terminal 
The Verrazano–Narrows Bridge, in the U.S. state of New York, is a double-decked suspension bridge that connects the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City at the Narrows. It has a central span of 4,260 feet (1,298 m) and was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its completion in 1964.
A view of New York and its surroundings in the gloom of Winter
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with Bronx County, it was the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated. Located north of Manhattan and Queens, and south of Westchester County, the Bronx is the only borough that is located primarily on the mainland
The Brooklyn Bridge is a bridge in New York City and is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River.

Ride the Staten Island Ferry to see the famous skyline and Statue of Liberty from Upper New York Bay. It’s free and runs about every 30 minutes. Ride on the front or back of the ship for the best views.

The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with Bronx County, it was the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated. Located north of Manhattan and Queens, and south of WestchesterCounty, the Bronx is the only borough that is located primarily on the mainland

Staten Island terminal

Saturday, March 8, 2014

La Russie? Une puissance régionale


Qu'on l'ignore. Il ne dirige qu'une puissance régionale et n'a pas la moitié de l'intelligence que lui prêtent ceux qui se croient revenus au temps de la Guerre froide.

Vladimir Poutine 
Voici les véritables leçons à tirer de la crise en Ukraine: contrairement à ce que se plaisent à croire ceux qui s'imaginent revenus au temps de la Guerre froide, la Russie n'a rien d'une grande puissance et Vladimir Poutine est loin d'être un brillant stratège.
Ou, du moins, telles sont les leçons que les dirigeants occidentaux seraient bien avisés de tirer et d'exposer au monde. Depuis déjà quelques jours, me voilà contrarié par la réponse rhétorique apportée par l'administration Obama aux agissements de Poutine -la grandiloquence des termes plaçant le leader russe du «mauvais côté de l'histoire», l'intimant à assumer les «coûts» et les «conséquences» de ses actions-  vu que c'est précisément le genre de rhétorique qui ne peut se traduire, sur un plan concret, par aucune mesure véritablement significative.
L'histoire n'est pas une force hégélienne implacable tendue vers le destin. Penser le contraire, c'est non seulement surestimer le pouvoir des mots, mais aussi jouer un tantinet les fiers-à-bras. Le président syrien Bachar el-Assad était censé, lui aussi, être du mauvais côté de l'histoire, ce qui ne l'empêche pas d'être toujours dans les parages. En matière de fierté mal placée, il n'y a aucune conséquence -aucune parmi les menaces crédibles que pourraient exercer Obama ou des leaders européens- pouvant empêcher Poutine (ou tout autre dirigeant russe) de faire le maximum pour que l'Ukraine reste dans son giron.
L'Ukraine est vitale pour Moscou
Ce qui ne veut pas dire que les manoeuvres agressives de Poutine n'ont qu'à buter sur notre indifférence. Mais personne ne devrait se faire d'illusions sur les effets de nos effets de manche, qu'importe leurs «coûts» et leurs «conséquences». D'où ces trois grandes questions: quels sont nos objectifs? Comment voulons-nous régler cette crise? Que pouvons-nous faire pour y parvenir?
Ça y est. Poutine a expliqué sa vision de la crise ukrainienne. La révolution du Maïdan est un coup d’État. Ianoukovitch est encore le président légitime mais c’est un incapable, à qui il avait conseillé de ne pas tirer sur la foule et qui n’a "aucun avenir politique". La Crimée a droit de choisir son avenir seule (et donc d’aller vers laRussie). Mais surtout, les États-Unis n’ont pas de leçons à donner. En une heure trente, Vladimir Poutine a précisé sa vision du monde à ceux qui ne l’avaient pas encore comprise. Russia is back.


"Les Américains se servent des pays comme de rats de laboratoire". Voilà en résumé ce que Poutine pense des États-Unis, un pays qui à ses yeux n’a aucune leçon à donner à personne. En fait, le président russe vient de concrétiser en Ukraine ce qui constitue l’axe majeur de sa politique depuis 15 ans : le retour de la Russie au centre du jeu. Le Kremlin en face à face avec la Maison blanche. Il l’avait dit lors d’une de ses rares itv : "La chute de l’URSS a été la plus grande catastrophe du XXe siècle". Il lui aura fallu 15 ans pour réparer l’affront de l’Histoire et présenter l’addition.

Les dettes accumulées, ce sont les affronts subis par la Russie. Les moments où les États-Unis ont décidé contre l’avis des Russes, à une époque où le Kremlin était trop faible pour bloquer la Maison blanche. Vingt ans, grosso modo de 1990 à 2010. Le mur de Berlin est tombé, l’URSS s’est effondrée et à Moscou, on cherche surtout à maintenir le bateau à flot. La Russie est invitée au G7. Les pitreries de Boris Eltsine, ivre mort, amusent Clinton et personne ne conteste le leadership aux Américains.
C’est Clinton puis Bush qui donnent le tempo du monde

Kosovo, Afghanistan, Irak... Les États-Unis interviendront sans l’aval de l’ONU. Pas grave, ils se contentent d’une coalition élargie et du drapeau de l’OTAN. En Serbie, si chère à Moscou, Milosevic est renversé et les Russes mesurent leur impuissance. En Libye, la Russie accepte de jouer le jeu. La résolution est votée pour empêcher Kadhafi de massacrer sa population à Benghazi.Dans l’idée des Russes, il s’agit de lui donner une leçon, pas de le renverser. À Moscou, on n’apprécie pas de voir le dictateur de Tripoli tomber. Depuis,Poutine considère comme une folie de parier sur un islamisme modéré et jure qu’on ne l’y reprendra plus.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

L'incroyable force du jeûne

Chère lectrice, cher lecteur, 

Hier mercredi 5 février, 2,3 milliards de chrétiens célèbraient le « mercredi des Cendres », jour de l'entrée en Carême. 

Moins connu que le Ramadan, le Carême est une période de 6 semaines et demie de jeûne, qui s'achève le dimanche de Pâques. La différence avec le Ramadan est que le jeûne dure toute la période du Carême, sauf les dimanches, alors que le Ramadan est paradoxalement une période de forte augmentation de la consommation alimentaire, due aux fêtes rituelles qui ont lieu chaque soir. Selon certaines études, cette hausse atteint jusqu'à 30-35 % par rapport au reste de l'année [1].

Pourquoi le Carême dure-t-il six semaines et demie, soit 46 jours ? Parce que, pour se préparer à Pâques, fête de la résurrection de Jésus, les chrétiens commémorent les 40 jours que Jésus passa au désert, sans boire ni manger (y compris la nuit). Or, les dimanches du Carême ne sont pas jeûnés. Vous retirez donc 6 dimanches de cette période de 46 jours et vous obtenez... bravo, 40 jours. 

La chaîne ARTE au chevet de l'Eglise

A vrai dire, l'Eglise catholique peine fortement aujourd'hui à convaincre ses ouailles des bienfaits d'un jeûne si long, qui n'est plus pratiqué que par une infime proportion des chrétiens. Mais le relais a été repris avec brio par la chaîne ARTE, auprès d'une toute autre population, beaucoup plus nombreuse, et enthousiaste. 

En mars 2012, elle diffusa un reportage intitulé « Le jeûne, une nouvelle thérapie » qui connut un tel record d'audience qu'il fut rediffusé en septembre 2013. Le réalisateur, Thierry de Lestrade, publia de plus chez ARTE éditions un livre, du même nom, avec des témoignages supplémentaires et de nouvelles perspectives. 

Pourquoi un tel succès ? Parce qu'il n'était plus du tout question de Jésus, d'évangiles, ni même de spiritualités. Ce reportage était en effet consacré aux vertus du jeûne dans le traitement des maladies graves, notamment le cancer, et c'est évidemment cela qui explique les succès de ce jeûne nouvelle formule.

 A votre santé ! 

Jean-Marc Dupuis, avec Effervesciences 
Retrouvez mes meilleures chroniques dans L' Intégrale Santé Naturelle (J.-M. Dupuis, 2013, SNI éditions, 384 p.) disponible ici (lien cliquable). Tous mes droits d'auteur seront reversés à l' Institut pour la Protection de la Santé Naturelle, association sans but lucratif qui défend le droit de chacun de se soigner autrement. Acheter mon livre est aussi un moyen de soutenir leur généreux combat. 

Publicités : 

Contre la désinformation : L'action conjointe de l'Union Européenne et des lobbys de l'industrie pharmaceutique menace les médecines naturelles. Bientôt, non seulement les traitements alternatifs risquent d'être interdits, mais les sources d'information sur les médecines naturelles disparaîtront elles aussi. 
Prenez dès aujourd'hui les devants ! Abonnez-vous aux Dossiers de Santé & Nutrition et restez en permanence au courant des dernières découvertes en pointe de la médecine naturelle. 
Découvrez les nouveaux traitements que Bruxelles n'a pas encore eu le temps d'interdire en regardant la présentation ici

Secrets de jeunesse pour une vieillesse heureuse : La médecine anti-âge fait actuellement des progrès étonnants. Vous pouvez en bénéficier en suivant les conseils du Docteur Hertoghe, président de l'Association Mondiale de Médecine anti-âge. Rendez-vous ici

Pas vu à la TV :
 Retrouvez toute l'actualité de la santé naturelle, indépendante et sans concession grâce à Alternatf Bien-être, journal de référence de la santé naturelle, à découvrir ici (lien cliquable)