KLE ki nesesè pou ouvè pòt sekrè devlopman Ayiti se: «yon prizkonsyans». Mwen wè prizkonsyans sa a kòm yon bonjan «priz tabak». Wi! Youn ki ta fè n estènen refwadisman kolonyal la, ki depi desanzan, bloke lespri nou. Li trè enpòtan tou, nan sans sa a, pou chak Ayisyen ta pran yon moman pou reflechi sou:

• Kilès yo ye (yon pèp ki gen yon patri ke l eritye nan men zansèt ki te batay kont pouvwa kolonyal yo pou te kapab jwenn libète yo pou kraze chenn lesklavay la, e an menm tan kreye yon patri ki rele Ayiti Cheri pou yo kale kò yo jan yo vle), yon pèp ki eritye yon kilti, e youn ki gen yon eritaj istorik. Donk ki responsablite yo anvè patri sa a?
  
• Kisa CHAK NAN YO fè pou kominote yo – ke l te nan dyaspora a (Gran Kominote Ayisyen an), kote plis pase yon milyon Ayisyen ap viv ou ke l te an(n) Ayiti, manman peyi a ki bezwen èd tout pitit li yo, ki gaye nan tout dyaspora a?

Si ou se yon EKRIVEN, trè byen! Men, èske w voye kèk liv fè bibliyotèk an(n) Ayiti kado? Èske w mete a dispozisyon kèk nan sa w ekri yo sou entènèt la oubyen menm pataje kèk ladan yo ak ak kèk fowòm dekwa pou kèk moun ka benefisye de ide w yo? Èske w te konnen ou kapab pibliye GRATIS TI CHERI sou entènèt la dekwa pou plizyè milyon moun, enkli Ayisyen nan tout rakwen, kapab gen aksè a yo?

Si ou se yon CHÈRCHÈ, trè byen! Men, èske w kontribye deja nan devlopman Ayiti? Èske w fè kèk atelye ak entansyon pou ede Ayisyen ak Ayiti? Èske w antrene kèk Ayisyen nan domèn ou espesyalize a? Èske w janm patisipe nan kèk fowòm sou entènèt la, nan konferans ki gen pou wè ak Ayiti? Èske w mete kèk nan rechèch ou yo sou entènèt la dekwa pou moun ka gen aksè a yo? Èske w poste kèk kopi ladan yo bay kèk bibliyotèk oubyen sant ayisyen an(n) Ayiti ou nan dyaspora a?

Si ou se yon MEDSEN, trè byen! Men èske w janm òganize kèk seminè pou ede /edike moun nan kominote w la sou zafè sante? Èske w janm fè yon vwayaj Ayiti ak kèk kòlèg, enkli enfimyè, oksilyè dekwa pou ede moun la? Èske w janm prezante yon papye nan Konferans Anyèl Etid Ayisyen ki fèt nan mwa oktòb?

Si w se yon anseyan (ki Kanada, Etazini, Lafrans…), trè byen! Men, èske w jis touche chèk ou chak semèn/chak kenzèn/chak mwa pou peye kèk nan bil (fakti) w yo, pou pran plezi epi sa fini? Èske w janm eseye pataje (plan) leson w yo sou entènèt la ak lòt moun? Èske w janm mete kèk nan rechèch, atik ou yo sou entènèt la pou ede anseyan ayisyen ak elèv Ayiti? Èske w janm prezante nan konferans yon bagay ki an rapò ak Ayiti? Èske w kenbe kopi tout travay ou yo dekwa pou itil anseyan Ayiti? Èske w janm planifye fè atelye pou anseyan Ayiti? Ki materyèl didaktik ou devlope deja pou elèv, materyèl ki kapab itilize Ayiti tou?

Kesyon sa yo kapab aplike a nenpòt moun ki gen yon pwofesyon oubyen yon metye kèlkonk pou panse anpil a Ayiti. Nou chak ka yon lidè, e nou pa bezwen ret tann yon moun monte sou pouvwa pou fè tout travay ki bezwen fèt pou devlopman Ayiti. Ou kapab yon BONJAN AKTIVIS (ki vle di ‘yon moun ki jis aktif', ki kwè nan sa l ap fè a e ke plizyè moun ka benefisye de li) nan pwòp pwofesyon ou, ak pwòp entelijans ou dekwa pou ede Ayiti ale vè lavan. Mwen di ‘bonjan aktivis' paske m konnen gen anpil ransè, fo kominis kòm yo konn di an kreyòl pafwa, ki ka parèt ‘aktivis' men se jis PALE (teyori), pa gen AKSYON.

• Vrè pwoblèm nan se NAN NOU ak PAMI NOU li ye tankou m ta entèprete l nan vèr anba yo byenke, sètènman, gen kèk magouyè etranje ke n ta konsidere kòm kolon modèn, bòs ki gen dis metye men ki pa metrize youn pou ede Ayiti e ki pa ta renmen wè bon bagay pou Ayiti nonplis paske yo benefisye de soudevlopman oubyen touman l, men Ayisyen va chwazi si yo dwe kontinye pran lòd nan men mèsenè sa yo si pèp sa a reyèlman konnen kle ki nesesè pou ouvè pòt sekrè devlopman Ayiti a.

Lè kolon sa yo mande ou fè koudeta,
Pouki w pa di yo lavoum, wete kò yo la ?

Lè kolon sa yo mande w touye frè ou yo,
Pouki w pa di demake, al touye pa yo ?

Lè mons sa yo di w ka Ayiti se fatra,
Pouki w pa jis di yo non, pa ba w kenbe sa ?

Lè bandi kolon sa yo vle pase ou lòd,
Pouki w pa di ou pa sòlda k ap tann modòd ?

Se sanzave k ap chèche mwayen esplwate w,
Ou konn sa k nan tèt yo, pa kite yo blofe w.

Mwen kòmanse KONNEN Ayiti lè m kite peyi an an fevriye 1976. Yon moun ka imajine epòk la, diktati Babi Dòk la te an vòg, yon moun pa ta oze ouvri bouch li pou kritike nenpòt bagay. Se yon gwo ris sa ta ye, men lè w viv pwoblèm yo chak jou (ou wè mizè pèp la, vyolasyon dwa moun, krim makout, ratman lekòl tribòbabò nan peyi a, pa gen pwogram nan tout rakwen peyi a…) ou gen yon vrè ide de Ayiti.

VWAYAJ ouvè je moun. Mwen ta ankouraje moun ki ka vwayaje fè sa dekwa pou konnen sa k ap pase nan lemonn. Se tou yon lekòl gratis ti cheri (nan Inivèsite Lavi) kote yon moun ka aprann ak de grenn je l reyalite lemonn. Mwen kapab devine poukisa Depatman Edikasyon Nasyonal an(n) Ayiti pa ta menm gen yon pwogram pou vwayaje la a Sendomeng ki tou pre ak Ayiti pou yon peryòd de tan byen kout. An pasan, kèk gran lekòl (prive ki gen ‘yon non') al la ak kèk elèv (re: konvèsasyon m ak yon elèv ayisyen ki te frekante youn nan gran lekòl sa yo.

YON VRÈ MINISTÈ EDIKASYON AN(N) AYITI (si tout bon vre Ayiti ta rive gen chans gen youn) ta pran jou VANDREDI kòm konje dekwa pou fè pwogram ak elèv yo tèlke: òganize joune ak yon an tout peyi a, òganize joune pou al vizite Sendomeng, angaje yo nan plantasyon pyebwa, fè yo patisipe nan pwojè kominotè kou nan pwojè gouvènmantal epi fè yo ekri yon RAPÒ sou chak joune oubyen aktivite yo fè. Pou mwen, sa ta rele VRÈ EDIKASYON SIVIK AYISYEN.

An(n) Ayiti, yo pito anseye n pou n rayi tèt nou, peyi nou, pou n rayi vwazen (ayisyen), epi pou n rayi sa ki pa nou (tout engredyan ki ta konpoze kilti nou). Donk, dwe gen yon EDIKASYON TOUNÈF an(n) Ayiti. Nou toujou gen yon edikasyon kolonyal (kote yo anseye n pou n apresye kilti ansyen mèt (kolon) yo, anseye n pou n fyè de kilti ansyen mèt yo). Nou bezwen yon EDIKASYON ki gen pou sib: devlope Ayiti (nan tout sans), youn ki santre sou dekolonizasyon kiltirèl, k ap montre kreye/envante afè pa nou epi tou, yon EDIKASYON PRATIK pou mete an pratik nan sosyete a sa nou te aprann sou ban lekòl; pa egzanp, elèv ka aprann kèk metye pandan yo lekòl, apa de edikasyon jeneral lekòl yo ap bay).

(Emmanuel W. Védrine)

The key needed to open Haiti 's secret door of development

(by E. W. VEDRINE)

The KEY that is needed to open Haiti 's secret door of development is: “une prise de conscience”. I see this ‘prise de conscience' as a strong as a ‘prise de tabac'. Yes! One that would make us sneeze out the colonial chill that has, for two hundred years, blocked our mind. It is also crucial, in this sense, that each Haitian takes a moment to reflect on:

• Who they are (a people with a homeland inherited from the forefathers who fought the colonial powers in order to win their freedom from bondage, and at the same time created that land of the free called Ayiti Cheri (Haiti, our darling), a people with a cultural heritage, and one with a historical legacy) and what is their responsibility toward this mother land.
   
• What can EACH OF THEM do so far for their community – be it in the Diaspora (The Greater Haitian Community), where over million of Haitians live or in Haiti, the Mother land that needs the help of all of her children, spreading out in that Diaspora?

If you are a WRITER, fine! But, have you sent any of your books to libraries in Haiti? Have you put any of your writings on-line or even shared some of them with some forums so that some people can benefit from your ideas? Did you know that you can publish them FREE OF CHARGE on-line so that millions of people, including Haitians everywhere, can have access to them?

If you are a RESEARCHER, fine! But, have you contributed anything to the development of Haiti so far? Have you given any workshop with the intention to help Haitians and Haiti? Have you trained any Haitian in your area of specialty? Have you participated in any on-line forums, conferences dealing with Haiti? Have you put any of your research on-line so that people can have access to them? Have you mailed copies of any of your research to any Haitian libraries or centers (in Haiti and in the Diaspora)?

If you are a DOCTOR, fine! But, have you ever organized any seminars to help/educate people in your community on heath issues? Have you ever taken a trip to Haiti with some of your fellows, including nurses, nurses aids in order to help the people there? Have you ever presented any paper in the Annual Haitian Studies Conference that takes place in October.

If you are a TEACHER (in Canada, US, France…), fine! But, do you just get your weekly /bi-weekly /monthly pay check, to pay some of your bills, to have fun and that's it? Have you ever tried to share on-line your lesson plans with others? Have you put any of your research /articles on-line to help Haitian teachers and students in Haiti? Have you presented anything related to Haiti in any conference? Do you keep track of all of your works so that they can be helpful to teachers in Haiti? Have you ever planned to do a workshop for teachers in Haiti? What are the teaching materials have you developed so far for your students that can be used in Haiti also?

These questions above can be applied to anyone with a profession or skill to think deeply about Haiti. Each of us can be a leader, and we don't need to wait for someone in power to do all jobs that need to be done for Haiti 's development. You can be A GOOD ACTIVIST (just means ‘being active' here, believe in what you are doing and that so many people can benefit from it) in your own profession, with your own skills in order to help Haiti moving forward. I say “good activist” because I know many jokers, fo kominis (false communists) as they'd be called sometimes in Kreyòl, who may appear to be ‘activists' but just in TALKING (theory) not in ACTION.

• The real problem is WITHIN US and AMONG US as I would interpret it from my verses below though, of course, there are some foreign grafters considered to be modern-day settlers, jacks-of-all trades mastering none to help Haiti and who would not like to see good things for Haiti either for they benefit from its underdevelopment or from its chaos, but it is up to Haitians to keep on taking orders from them if they really know the key that is needed to open Haiti's secret door of development.

When these settlers ask you to do a coup,
Why don't you just tell all of them fuck you.

When these settlers want you to kill your own brothers,
Why don't you tell them go away, go and kill theirs.,

When these monsters tell you Haiti is a basket case,
Why don't you just tell all of them hey no, that is quite fake.

When these bastards want to give you order,
Why don't you tell them you're not a soldier.

These suckers are just finding new ways to exploit you,
You know what they are up to, so don't let them fool you.

I started KNOWING Haiti when I left it in February 1976. One can imagine during that time, full-fledge of Baby Doc's dictatorship where one would not dare open his mouth, criticizing anything. It would be very risky, but when you live the problems every day (you see the misery of the people, human right violations, crimes by the macoutes , lack of schools throughout the country, no healthcare throughout the country…) you have a real idea about the country.

TRAVELLING opens up people's eyes. I would urge those who can to travel in order to know what's going on in the world. It's also a free school (University of The Air) where one learns with the naked eyes the world's reality. I can guess why the Department of Education in Haiti would not even have a program to travel with students to the nearby Dominican Republic even for a very short period of time. By the way, very few of the “grandes écoles” (private schools with ‘a name') took some of their students to Santo Domingo” (re: my conversation with a Haitian students who attended one of the ‘grandes écoles '.

A REAL MINISTER OF EDUCATION IN HAITI (if ever Haiti will be lucky to have one) would take FRIDAYS off in order to do programs with the students such as going on fieldtrips around the country with them, fieldtrips to the nearby Dominican Republic, engaging them in planting trees, participating in community projects and participating in governmental projects and have them write a REPORT on each fieldtrip or activity. For me, this would be REAL HAITIAN CIVICS.

In Haiti, they rather teach us to hate ourselves, our country, to hate our (Haitian) neighbors, and to hate what is part of us (all the ingredients that are part of our culture). So, there must be type of NEW EDUCATION in Haiti. We still have a colonial one (teaching us to appreciate the culture of the former masters, teaching us to be proud of the former masters' culture). We need an EDUCATION with focus on: developing Haiti (in all sense), on cultural decolonization, creating / inventing our own things and also, a PRACTICAL EDUCATION putting in practice in our society what we have learned in schools; for instance, students can learn some trades while they are in school, in addition to the general education schools are aiming at).

(E. W . Vedrine)

E. W. VEDRINE CREOLE PROJECT, Inc.
P.O.B. 255962
Dorchester, MA 02125-5110 ( USA .)
imel: e_vedrine@hotmail.com, e_vedrine@yahoo.com