CSMS Magazine
“Haiti truly needs all of its children.” This has long become a slogan, not an expression stemmed from sincere patriotism. Last week, we republished a very old message from Rosalvo Bobo, Haitian revolutionary who, at the turn of the 20th century, was blunt in his views about the future of Haiti. On the eve of the first century (1904) marking Haitian independence, Bobo described a bleak picture of the country and predicted a dark future in the years to come.
Here are some of the quotes from Rosalvo Bobo’s message: Centenaire de l’esclavage du nègre par le nègre. (A century of outright exploitation where Negroes subjugating their own brothers.) And he goes on to make references to the shameful flatteries that our today’s politicians never cease to display in front of their masters at foreign embassies in Port-au-Prince. Centenaire de nos égarements, de nos bassesses et, au milieu de vanités incessantes, de notre rétrocession systématique. Centenaire de nos haines fraternelles, de notre triple impuissance morale, sociale et politique. (A century of our wanderings, our meanness and in the midst of incessant vanities, our systematic handover [.] Century of our fraternal hatreds, our triple moral impotence, social and political.)
It seems like one hundred years later, nothing has changed. It feels as if Rosalvo Bobo continues to live among us, witnessing a country on a nosedive to oblivion. What a shame! A new election cycle is upon us, and thousands of traditional politicians have already lined up. It is not a desire for change that is driving so many Haitian politicians to secure a leading role in Haiti. For many of these modern-day coons, it is their lone ticket out of poverty—the sole means at their disposal to fulfill their petty bourgeois aspirations.
Meanwhile the recalcitrant bourgeoisie continues to pillage whatever is left to extract from Haiti’s deprived conditions—bourgeois with no shame who have long forsaken their rights to contribute to the industrial development of a country they claim to belong to. In fact, they’re Haitians in name only—folks who bear no patriotic sentiments. Two hundred years of neglect can certainly speak itself. But, don’t take our words, read Midnight at Noon, Ardain Isma’s latest novel.
As the election season moves to full gear, Baron Samedi (Head of the dead) will be the quintessential judge. The most slavish will be winners. Oh well! What a masquerade! What Haiti needs is not necessarily all of its children. What it needs is a patriotic vow from some of its children who clearly understand their country must not perish, and someday, they will gather together, pulling their strength as a whole to throw out to the sea all those bad apples that prey on the vulnerable and dwell on spoiling the Haitian masses who wallow in poverty every day. As for the crazies, let them continue to play their role as coons. Although this is a serious matter, there is plenty to laugh at.
Also see: Rosalvo Bobo fait le bilan: 100 ans après l’indépendance d’Haiti (This article is in French.) Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/csmsmagazine
