Equal Opportunity for all...Are women with power oppressive?

[Empress Verite]

One and Respe!

A few weeks ago the new Haitian parliamant or government leaders met and they were discussing the members of the new offices. One strong woman voice stood out when she said that she along with others from fanm groups in Ayiti demanded that there were at least 30% women assigned to the newly opened government posts. In a country that has at least 4.5 million women and with a large youth population women's issues, voices and bodies need to be represented, heard and seen in the public arena. Various women have dealt with or addressed the issue of women's rights as it pertains to Haitian women in Haiti and in the Djaspora or diaspora. Here I would like to refer to the works of Carole Charles the sociologist who has written various pieces about the Haitian woman and the nation state.

In fact, what is the position and/or role of the Haitian woman and the nation
state? In her piece on this issue Dr. Charles presented an array of possibilities. One compelling fact that she does allude to is that some women are nationalistic and this may lead to a positive relationship or feeling toward the nation state even if that particular government or administration is anti-female or anti feminist/womanist. As was the case of the Duvalier era. The father or pere (known Elsewhere as Papa Doc) Francois Duvalier certainly was known to detain and kill or abuse anyone who disagreed with him or threatened him in any way. In fact, his son Jean Claude Duvalier (known Elsewhere as Baby Doc) continued this practice of submission and suppression through the 1970s until his departure in 1986.

Where are we and in what instances are representation of FEmale feminist/womanist and positive? I ask this in light of claims made by Jean Bertrand Aristide in his autobigraphy that Ertha Trouillot was not for the people and in fact she was a puppet placed in her position to do the bidding of th
e elite ruling class/caste. I also say it in light of other black women figures such as Condoleza Rice and Donna Brazile two women who are strong figures in the Duopoly system in the United States.

It is fitting here that I also mention Oprah Winfrey who has given us black women around the world a very important motto to live by: "Success= preparation and opportunity". I strongly agree with this statement because Haitian women in Ayiti and in the diaspora or lot bo have a window of opportunities at this time to make ourselves seen, heard. I urge Haitian females&women from all walks of life to stand up and fight the power and oppressive yoke of sexism. I believe that we can win the battle and achieve equality in all spheres of life and live our Haitianrella dreams.

There are many organizations dedicated to Haitian women in Ayiti and abroad. I urge you to contact them via the internet or postal mail or phone (communicate with them in any way) to bridge the gap and make a statement. We are h
alf of (his)story and THE full story cannot be told truthfully without our complete participation and holistic inclusion.

Be There or Be Square!

empress verite

[Nekita Lamour*]

Empress,
Your post needs more thought. Until I go more into it, if you can read French, read Lemane's texts that I posted and my response to it.

From my experience, the women I have known in the last 20, 30 years don't communicate with other who are not in their groups. Based on my direct on indirect interactions with them be it by writing and/or telephone conversation , they don't seem to be open to someone who is not part of their " comfort" zone.

If you look in the internet, how many women are communicating or sharing their views. The 35 and over age group are not vocal. Is there a woman newspaper,besides Ayiti Fanm which I have not received for a year? Do the Haitian women organizations, be it in the diaspora or in Haiti have a website? How many Haitian women are writing to the editors of a local or national paper?

The Haitian academia is enclosed in their "labs." Besides their books, they don't share t
heir views in the opinion piece of a national paper which reaches more readers and even have more impact than the books they write for a specific audience. Moreover, I don't always have money to buy their books or travel to the Haitian conferences to listen or meet them.

In Cambridge, Mass. I have opportunities to listen to any prominent woman from any part in the world free of charge. When Haitians like Manbo Lola, Mireille Anglade come to Harvard, I go listen to them. The sad part is there is no venue to invite other Haitian women to these gatherings even those in a church that is two or three blocks from Harvard.

In my area, there has been a Haitian radio woman program once a month for years. But how long am I going to listen to the same voice, the same people saying the same thing?

I e-mail many women. They never respond. Unless we as Haitian women start talking with each other, we are not going to make a difference in the male dominated world,regardless of what organization we
are running.

Empress and myself, sometime Erzili should not be the only Haitian women voices in the internet.

Being passive spectators sends a wrong message to non Haitian folks looking at the Haitian listservs, forum,or discussion lines. It's more interesting to be active participants in lieu of passive spectators.

Speak up brothers and sisters!
Nekita

[Empress Verite]

One and Respe!

I should keep up with my posts Nekita because I should have responde to this awhile ago. Thank you for pointing out these facts. I recently fell onto a Haitian woman magazine on the net. It sounds like Haitian version of Essence and I would like to subscribe when I can. I had never heard or seen the paper that you wrote about. We do need to address the issue of Haitian women better especially in these times. A few days ago was World's AIDS day and the black female is the new face of the disease. I believe that some tried to address it in South Florida where the infection rate is higher than any other part of the country followed by Broward County (which is supposed to be part of South Florida) and that should have been our time to stand up and speak out through forums, conferences, speak outs etc.

The lab rats in Cambridge are hiding out from the problems. They need to come out and deal with the
people. I too tend to stay in because my children are young but this issue has to be addressed more outwardly. Also, I had seen some of the conference proceedings from previous ones held in Europe. Regine Latortue sent me a paper and I don't know if there have been others since. The organizations in South Florida seem to fare better under democratic administration that are more sympathetic to their causes.

Let's keep fighting so that the issues are put out there in educational institutions, in the media and in politics.

kenbe.

[Nekita Lamour*]

Empress,

One of the women stories I published from a historical perspective is on windows’ “story” section under “A Haitian Historical Perspective of the International Women.” I have published also in Creole on “Women’s literature” and “Haitian Women in Music” in Haiti en Marche a few years ago. When I have time, I’ll put those articles in the Web. It’s unfortunate one has to go to the white man to find money that will provide you time to do educational activities to inform your own people. In the Information Age knowledge- based era, I happen to be living in a community whose leaders don’t understand the importance of print , share, inform, and educate others on many subjects and issues. I feel bad for young Haitians growing up in such anti- learning, anti- intellectual environment and I have no money and no means to collectively do something about it.

In terms of women, in the Boston area, I was among
the first women to talk about women’s issues in the l980’s and the first to come public with domestic violence topics. Most of my radio presentations about women in the Haitian setting or speaking engagements in the English speaking settings in the Boston area are in writing. I also several “ unedited” papers I wrote in graduate school on Women’s issues, focusing on Haitians. I remember in the early l990’s, (l991, 1992)during the coup d’etat, I was in a radio station with some women who founded a Haitian woman’s organization. I was playing a Ti Paris’ song related to domestic violence which exact lyrics I forgot. It said something” Cheri, si ou fe-m on bagay, rele m apa pou nou pale. Nou pa bezwen lan goumen.” I forgot the lyrics as I said, but it was around, not fighting, not beating me up, but talking things out, if we have a problem. It was on an international Women’s Day in March. The Haitian woman said to me” Nekita sa wa p jwe la a! “Nekita, what are you playing? “in a tone that suggested Ti Pari
s’ song on beating up women was inappropriate to play on a International Women’s Day or in the Haitian context. Around that time, the coup d’etat was the major issue.

I also remember calling on an open mike in a radio station that another woman’s association which no longer exists was airing. I asked “What is this woman’s group going to do about domestic violence, gason k ap ba t fi.” They responded” Se bagay santimantal. Nou pa ka pale de sa.” (Those are sentimental issues. We can not talk about them.) Most of those women still give me the cold shoulders even those who are able to receive close to half a million dollars from the justice department for their women’s organization.

Though those women I have known for over two decades don’t talk with me, don’t respond to my letters. I called one of them once. She said to make an appointment to call her, not to come and talk with her. If a white woman or any foreign person even with less education , less experience, less global exposure than mys
elf had called her, she wouldn’t have said that.

I am feeling happy because in the l980’s up to the mid l990’s I was ignored for bringing out women’s issues such as domestic violence. I was told that some Haitians had even gone to the white radio owners so I would not speak on the radio. When I couldn't be on the radio, like now I wrote , made hundreds of copies and spent lots of money on stamps and mailing. Thank God to internet invention, I have saved so much money on stamps.

I feel good now a small group of Haitian women, mostly a group of friends in Boston are doing something about women's abuses. Some are living comfortable lives, and other have clerical jobs, from local and national grants they have received and/or fundraising they have done to run their woman’s programs and shelter. Now I am feeling like the outcast in the Boston area, because of their continuing ignoring of my suggestions to move beyond their comfortable peers, enclaves or neighborhoods, into the larger state of M
assachusetts regions and the global world by being on the web, having a periodical newsletter, communicating with teachers, church folks, and other media besides their monthly radio programs, like other Haitian agencies and stakeholders do. Like you Empress, I am the “thumb” in the hand of the Haitian community of Boston because of my views on education and moving beyond one's " comfort zone."

I am taking a long time out of class papers I am supposed to be writing. Should I think that I am waisting time and money from a $40,000 student loan whom my community could careless about though we come from a society where until recently the population was 80% illeterate, or should I say thanks God to the internet, and to Guy on windows, I don’t have to wait for the Globe or a newspaper to publish my opinion, and express my feelings?

As far as women are concerned, as I just wrote in another post, we are all in the same boat as Black folks, but in different ships. No matter how much a woman organizat
ion or any Haitian organization gets to run their offices, as Black folks, being dependent on grants, assistance, or aid, we are still perceived and treated as servants and modern day slaves of the white master Period. Ignoring each other’s opinion, not being receptive to each other’s talents and skills, staying in our mind frame or physical enclaves, thinking that somebody else is better than us and can help us, or being dependent on other’s intellectually and economically are factors that will continue to keep us as Haitians in the same place, if not worse where we have been for the past two hundred(200)years.

Nekita