Ardain Isma
CSMS Magazine
“Pa lage. An avan! The spirit of Vertières still beats in Haiti’s youth.”
Last night, at a moment when many wondered if Haiti still had the strength to dream, a burst of light broke through the shadows. Haiti’s national football team defeated Nicaragua and officially qualified for the next World Cup — a historic achievement, an explosion of joy, a collective heartbeat felt from Port-au-Prince to Montréal, from Cap-Haïtien to New York, from Gonaïves to Boston, Miami, Chicago, and Paris.
In the streets of Haiti, despite violence and uncertainty, people sang, danced, celebrated, and cried with pride. In the diaspora, videos poured in — flags waving, horns honking, voices cracking with emotion. For one glorious night, Haiti was not bowed or broken. Haiti was standing.
And this moment — this moment of pure magic — tells us something profound: Haiti’s youth have not given up.
This victory isn’t just athletic. It is symbolic. It is spiritual. It is historical. It affirms what I wrote in Vertières, Mémoire Vivante: even in the darkest hours, something continues to live in the hearts of young Haitians — a flame, a quiet courage, a stubborn faith in a better tomorrow.
In the stadium last night, in the faces of these young players, one could see it clearly: the rejection of fatalism, the boldness, the discipline, the belief that nothing is impossible when unity takes form. Haitians felt within them the voices of their ancestors: “Pa lage. An avan!” — “Don’t give up. Forward!”
For, in a very real way, these footballers carried the message of Vertières onto the field: stand tall against adversity, defy the odds, fight with conviction, and awaken hope in a nation that has been starved of it.
Haiti’s youth — too often stigmatized, too often reduced to their wounds — reminded the world last night that they still possess that inner force inherited from 1803, that capacity to rise, to surprise, to illuminate the collective dignity of a people.
Last night, it was they who carried the torch. They who lifted the flag. They who whispered to the world: “Haiti is still here. We are not finished. We will not break.”
What this team accomplished is more than a score on a screen. It is an act of resistance. In a wounded country, they created a moment of national unity — something even politics can no longer provide. They offered families, children, mothers, workers, teachers, artists, and elders something Haiti desperately needed: a reason to smile together.
What these young players delivered is the living continuation of what Vertières already promised: that every generation has the power to write a new chapter of pride, even when the times are unbearably dark.
Today, we say thank you. Thank you for the victory. Thank you for the emotion. Thank you for the spark of hope. Thank you for reminding the world that the Haitian people carry within them a strength no crisis can extinguish.
And to the people of Haiti, we say: The road is hard, but last night history reminded you that you are still standing. The blood of Vertières still runs in your veins. And through your youth — through these heroes of the field — Haiti is breathing again… and dreaming again.
Note: Ardain Isma is a university professor, novelist, essayist, and scholar. He serves as Chief Editor of CSMS Magazine and leads Village Care Publishing, an indie press dedicated to multicultural and social-justice-oriented literature. His works include Midnight at Noon, Bittersweet Memories of Last Spring, Last Spring was Bittersweet and The Cry of a Lone Bird – his latest novel which explores resilience, love, and the enduring quest for human dignity.
