Ma Famile set me free

When I think of Haiti, one of the things that come to mine is a

 song by the band Arcade Fire called Haiti. 

Such a beautiful song, take a look at the lyrics: 

Haïti, mon pays,

wounded mother I'll never see.

Ma famille set me free.

Throw my ashes into the sea.

Mes cousins jamais nés

hantent les nuits de Duvalier.

Rien n'arrete nos esprits.

Guns can't kill what soldiers can't see.

In the forest we lie hiding,

unmarked graves where flowers grow.

Hear the soldiers angry yelling,

in the river we will go.

Tous les morts-nés forment une armée,

soon we will reclaim the earth.

All the tears and all the bodies

bring about our second birth.

Haïti, never free,

n'aie pas peur de sonner l'alarme.

Tes enfants sont partis,

In those days their blood was still warm

Just something to think about.

an introduction and objective: A new Beginning

Representations of Haiti in the media and popular culture are limited. Through challenging myths and offering new discourses through specific mediums, systemic issues oppressing Haitians can be accurately depicted. Some of these issues include economic and political instability, intense poverty, extensive amounts of foreign debt. It is important that these issues are shown correctly in the media to promote change and awareness. 

Using myth busting as a means to uncover truths about Haiti, we will explore four common misconceptions: 

• Haitians are historically apathetic and unproductive, 

• Haitians practice cruel and backward religion called “voo-doo”,

• Haitians are solely to blame for extension deforestation and natural resource depletion, 

• Canadian students have no power to effect change in Haiti, 

• If the Dominican Republic can do it, why can’t Haiti?

These myths are problematic because they can inform our interactions with Haitians and other people from poverty stricken areas. Our objective is to inform students and young people of the true nature of problems in Haiti by deconstructing common stereotypes

First Question: What do you know about Haiti?