Sa ou pa kone pi gran pase ou

< Previous | Home | Next >

Dear President Preval:

Firstly, my condolences to you and my other brothers and sisters in Haiti.

I was in shock when I learned of the earthquake.

I had just started classes after returning from Japan.

Internationally, many are showing love and support for Haiti at this tragic time.

Secondly, please excuse that I am not addressing you in either French or Kreyol.

My ability in the French language is miniscule, and I am only able to engage in spoken Kreyol, not written Kreyol.

I have heard good things about you from my grandmother, Marie-Teres Debrosse-St. Fleur, Mr. President.

Apparently, she knew you from her school days in Haiti and says you are a remarkable person.

I do not know you personally, but I would like to appeal to this remarkable person, Mr. Rene Preval, whom my grandmother spoke of.

Why does the Haitian government not support its people?

If the government cannot sustain stability and prosperity within the nation, it is to be expected that the citizens will leave the country in search of life, librety, and the pursuit of happiness.

This is the situation Haiti, its people, and its government have been experiencing for the last 50 to 60 years.

Now mind you, I cannot think of any ethnic group more loyal to their country than Haitians.

I have met numerous older Haitians who have come to America before they had turned 12 years old but still do not posses American citizenship; with pride, they say, "I am Haitian and will keep my Haitian citizenship." Mr. President, are you aware of how many Haitians have gone to rest in God's name saying, "Before I die, I will return to Haiti.

Map retoune Ayiti cheri mwen"?

One of these Haitians was my grandfather, Clement St. Fleur, who passed away in a hospital in San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A. They all died in vain, never being blessed with the opportunity to return to Haiti, never being able to see the rebuilt "l'union ki fait la force."

In America, there are countless second and third generation Haitians, including myself.

So many of us are well educated and pursuing prominent careers.

So many of us are doing well to improve ourselves but none of us are retunring to Haiti.

There exists a number of young Haitians who want to return to Haiti, who wish to utilize whatever education and wealth they have amassed to invest in the development of Haiti.

However, the Haitian constitution and a number of government policies and practices deny we Haitians living outside of the country the right to engage various government and economic activities, one of which is becoming president.

Mr. President, it is not my intention to blemish the Haitian government or your administration, but any normal person, given these facts, would presume that the Haitian government intentionally wishes to deplete the number of intelligent and financially well-to-do Haitian citizens.

Logically speaking, anyone who leaves Haiti in the hopes of gaining an education and a career has no reason to return to Haiti.

Even after coming to hold the knowledge, experience, and finances needed to support and improve his Ayiti cheri, the Haitian government has designed it so that he does not have the legal right to improve Haiti to the best of his actual ability.

Among the present citizens of Haiti, who truly does have the knowledge and experience to both effectively and efficiently lead the country?

Who has the will power and the ferocity, the wisdom and the sense of justice to enforce law and order?

Who among them has the integrity, dignity, and charity to not fall prey to his own vices and exploit his fellow Haitians?

Who has the power to not only transform Haiti into a beacon of light and hope for the Black race, but the insurmountable depth of compassion necessary to suffer alongside the Haitian people to make that transformation a reality?

Especially after the earthquake, Haiti's mind power has faded severely.

What will the Haitian government do to rebuild Haiti, not just its roads and buildings but its people?

Will the Haitian government ask us second and third generation Haitians to return to Haiti?

Will the government give us the legal rights we need to make a strong, lasting impact upon Haiti?

You see, Mr. President, in recent years particularly, Black people in America have come to acknowledge Haiti's sacrifices in the battle for freedom and equality.

If you go to Youtube.com, you will see videos that describe Haiti's history as being Black history and American history.

We, who so fearlessly stood before the armies of France, Spain, and Britain, should display the resilience, ambition, and self-responsibility of the Black race by building a rock out of the nation of Haiti, a rock that will never more succumb to the crashing waves.

Now I ask you, not as Mr. President but as the man my grandmother spoke of, Mr. Rene Preval: will you simply seek aid from America, Europe, and the United Nations?

Or will you empower us to defend Ayiti cheri, we the exiled children of Haiti?

Sa ou pa kone pi gran pase ou.

Forever seeking the higher plain,
Isaac Ivan Vladimir Marc

Isaac Ivan Vladimir Marc, February 14 2010, 6:21 PM

Start a NEW topic or,
Jump to previous | Next Topic >

< Previous | Home | Next >

Messages in this topic

< Previous | Home | Next >