NOSTEVE TELEVISIE VOOR U DOOR U

Perhaps Indifference to the fragility of Other is the root of all Evil. For far too long we have been indifferent to the fragility of contemporary Haiti. Therewith I am not denying the work of concerned and conscientious individuals on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean to alleviate the poverty in Haiti. I am referring to the incontestable fact that from most of the mouths, and in most of the minds, of those carrying a Dutch passport, present day Haiti was a non-place. Even among those who know the Caribbean. Permit me to explain, before you begin sharpening your knives.

Before the earthquake black activists and their pink skinned supporters in the Netherlands and the Dutch Caribbean cherished the 19th century Haiti and neglected the contemporary one. They never reneged to teach their less conscientious co-citizens of the heroic deeds of the Haitian freedom fighters Toussaint L’Ouverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Alexandre Sabès Pétion, Henri Christophe. Note all men. Note as well that the tales they told were very Romantic. Haiti functioned as part of the revindicationist rhetoric which is often masculine and patriarchal.

Man, meaning the males of our species, are the motors of history. Women are participants in that history. Haiti stood for the redemption of Black manhood. And as the contemporary Haiti demonstrated to the world fragility and need, it had no place in the activist rhetoric. It could have no place.A similar omission was discernible among connoisseurs of the Caribbean for whom activism is a drag. For them the Caribbean symbolizes the laid back and worry-no-more world.

So very different from over-rationalized Europe. The Caribbean should learn some discipline from Europe, but Europe had to learn humanity from the Caribbean. Again, here contemporary Haiti, fragile and in need, had no place. It could have no place. One often heard utterances such as “it is the Caribbean yes, but Haiti belongs more to the impoverished parts of the African continent or the Bangladesh’s of the world. 

That Haiti is placed in the same category as Bangladesh, Congo, Rwanda, Rumania, and the innumerable other places that are politically, economically, ecologically, and socially, in a mess is note worthy. It is part of living in a mediatized and globalized world. We can deem the categorization of Haiti in the same box as Bangladesh and Congo discrimination. But we can also deem this awareness. There is an awareness that far too many humans are suffering while a handful live comfortable lives. We in the Dutch Kingdom belong to that comfortable few. This awareness is a step forward.

We need now to take a further step. We need to recognize the universality of fragility that goes beyond passports, skin tones, religious convictions, political affiliations, and culture. Recognizing this is a vital step towards building a global community based upon care for the Other. How we in the Dutch Kingdom—the Caribbean and European parts—react to Haiti’s plight in the short term and the long term (after the media hype) is a test case on whether we are willing to undo ourselves of the cloak of indifference.

 

Dr. Francio Guadeloupe

Department of Cultural Anthropology & Development Studies (CAOS)

Radboud University Nijmegen

 

< Prev		Next >