I've been asked if Haiti is in Africa. I've been asked if I speak Haitian. I've been asked why Haitians don't speak Spanish. I've been asked if I'm from "Haitia," because I'm Haitian. I've been asked if I "really am" Haitian, because I don't look it.
Microaggressions are as frustrating as ever, but I've come to the point where I've realized I can't entirely blame these individuals for their ignorance. If you were born in America, and if you're not Haitian-American, your knowledge of Haiti is most likely limited. You'll know it's in the Caribbean, you'll know it had that big earthquake a few years back, and if you follow politics, you might know Hillary had some kind of intervention over there that didn't turn out so well.
The media will be sure to remind you of how "poor" and "third-world" the country is, but they will pad over the parts where the United States have a played large role in that. In the advertisements for relief efforts, they will show you only the darker-skinned Haitians, the crying bald black babies, and the poorest parts of the country. They don't show you Haitians like my cousin who is fair-skinned, blue eyed and 100% Haitian. I couldn't tell you the name of any of the beautiful beaches, or the better-off cities, or even tourist attractions. They'll have you believe people only go there for charity work.
You will only hear about this country when they are hit with a natural disaster. Like right now, as they are recovering from Hurricane Matthew, which was a category 4 by the time it hit southwest Haiti this on October 4. They will tell you at least eight hundred Haitians have died from the storm. They will tell you the storm was enough to have their presidential and legislative elections postponed yet again, after the 2015 elections were cancelled on account of violence and fraud. We'll hear about how this is one of the "largest humanitarian events" since the 2010 earthquake, and that we need to donate and help with relief efforts.
They certainly won't tell you how most of the funds raised for the earthquake relief back in 2010 never reached the people who needed it most.
Our Haitian-American cousins will be the ones to tell you to be weary of the relief efforts out there that claim they want to help Haiti, not our mainstream media. Those cousins will take to Facebook to say how local organizations such as Sow A Seed are the best bet for supporting the country in a crisis like this. Thank goodness for those cousins.
You won't know perhaps the most important part of their history, which is the Haitian Revolution of 1804. Haiti is the only country where slaves were able to successfully liberate themselves. It is the only country where slave freedom was taken by the force of the slaves. You will not be told of the resiliency of these people, and how the pride from that revolution carries on even today. You will not be told we are everywhere, in all colors, shapes and sizes. If you are Haitian-American, you will not rely on mainstream media or the American education system to tell you these things. You can only rely on your Haitian family to tell you that.
