The first of May was, of course, Haiti’s Labor and Agricultural Day. VoicesfromHaiti celebrated with Azaka Mede and Michelle Obama. We say goodbye to May today with none other than psychologist and prolific author, Maryse Noël Roumain, who prescribes that we direct our attention toward cultivating the most fertile fields of all: our children’s minds.
Just as we reflected upon the possibilities for a verdant Haiti through aggressive reforms in our agricultural system, Maryse forecasts a new Haiti populated with emotionally-healthy children who value themselves and our rich culture. Also at risk are children in the diaspora who suffer from low self-esteem because of profound identity issues. Maryse has a plan to remedy that.
With her new children book’s series, Krab Nan Kalalou, the good doctor is forecasting a bountiful harvest, indeed. Read More
Michele Jessica Fievre is both brilliant and beloved. If you’re in DC June 2, 2012, stop by the Blackburn University Center (Howard U), and meet one of Haiti’s most popular and hard-working authors.
If you are not familiar with Michele Jessica Fievre’s work, you soon will be. But first, get to know the woman behind the novels here on VoicesfromHaiti. Check our INNERview with this talented author.
When you ask 97 year-old Christiane Dumorne the secret to beating the clock, she will tell you: “Moun kout dire.” In case your Kreyòl fails to reach beyond the quotation mark, what she means is: “Short people live longer.” By the way, rarely do people refer to her as Christiane. Family members and friends know her as “Colin.” The grandchildren call her “Grandmère”; the great-grand-children call her “Yaya.”
“There’s got to be more to living a long and healthy life than being on the diminutive side,” I tell Colin. She laughs a knowing laugh. Her eyes give their usual spark. So, I beg her to share a few of her secrets.
“I don’t eat everything I see,” Colin says matter-of-factly. She detests eggs, red meat, and sweets. She will cut and serve gigantic slices of the beautiful birthday gateau with her name on it, but she won’t taste a crumb.
“You have to laugh,” Colin says. “Laugh every chance you get. Laugh at everything. There’s comedy everywhere you look. Also, don’t worry about what other people say or think about you. Don’t panic about what will happen to you the next day and the day after that. Just do your best. Mind your own business, and laugh at the rest of the stuff.”
Yaya follows another rule religiously: She does not drink anything cold. It could be a hundred degrees outside, but she wants nothing to do with chilled water. Cold drinks, she explains, harden whatever gunk is present in your body, making the machine work that much slower and less efficiently. ”
Another food in Colin’s daily regiment is watercress. My own grandmother, Felicie M., prescribed watercress, too. Those little leaves are amazing. I graze on that stuff now like tomorrow will never come. And since I started to include watercress in my daily meal, I’ve noticed a catalog of positive changes.
Sit with Colin for just a few moments, and she’ll fill you in on a Haiti about which you’d never even heard. The lady is a walking encyclopedia. She is sweet and lovely and fiercely loyal to her family. She can warm your heart or cut you down with the selfsame smile. She is one of the original fanm vayan, the last of a great generation.
Check out this squiggly video with the birthday girl. Colin agreed to sit on the deck and chat with us for a few minutes for the video. At any moment, she might have excused herself and walked away,so everything had to happen fast.
Colin’s sons, 76 year-old Robert Dumorne and 72 year-old Etienne Dumorne, are with their lovely mom today. Daphne Dumorne, one of Yaya’s many grandchildren, sits with us in the video. I’m the loud mouth in the black clothes, trying to pry secrets to a long, healthy life.
I am a sucker for artists, especially great ones. Note that my definition of art is muy broad: The mother who stretches a hundred pennies one hundred ways to keep food in her children’s bellies is a master artist. The machann who negotiates jagged mountains paths with wooden chairs stacked on his head and no shoes on his feet—to make sure the children get to school—deserves an achievement award. Children who fashion toys out of sticks and mud are the true prodigies. Count on me to press the Like button for musicians who promote Haitian culture throughout the world (Wave Hello, Markus!)
I love our storytellers: photographers, painters, authors, and closet poets. Love our supermodels–oh yes, Ms. Tomba! Love our singers–You’ve got to hear Yanick Etienne to know what I’m talking about. The scholars are artists, too—aren’t they? It takes major creativity to earn a Ph.D from a tier-1 University when you got to the United States with less than two English words to rub together.
This post is dedicated to an artist whose work has taken my breath away on so many occasions it’s a surprise I’m still alive.
His name is Raphael Sagage. If you are not familiar with his work, get ready to convert to Sagagism. For a glimpse into the artist behind the art, check out the forthcoming VoicesfromHaiti INNERview.
