I have a very tender connection with Haiti. It’s one of the places I have been the most, and at the same time the place I never talk about it too much.
I traveled there the first time in 2015, after spending six months in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, for a cultural exchange. My mum had just moved there and I decided to visit her.
Some will probably remember the country for its poverty, some other for the earthquakes. Sadly, a lot of people don’t know anything about the country.
I didn’t know anything as well! I was sure it was an island somewhere in the Caribbean but.. what language do they speak? Are they catholic? What was the country’s history?
I was lucky I had the chance to visit the country many times. Now I can not only point the island on the map but I know about its culture and its history, especially if we want to talk about Freedom.
Haiti and its History
Haiti was the first country that abolished slavery, but I don’t remember any teacher saying this. However, I do remember them saying the United Kingdom made slavery illegal in 1807, and we should all remember that year, because they were the first.
Haiti could call itself the first – and only – Independent Black Republic by 1804, but by reclaiming its own Freedom, the country descended into a third world status. They had to pay a huge amount of money to France and this kept them in constant state of debt.
After one century (100 years!), Haiti finally paid its debt. Unfortunately, the Americans arrived and kept the country frozen for almost twenty years. After that, the country slowly lost power and it’s now considered one of the poorest in the world.
I think most nations out there started to disdain Haiti. They saw the country has a “mistake” that needed to be forget.
My personal experience
Personally, I have to thank that small little island for many things…
I met wonderful people, I had the opportunity to improve myself, my skills and to get in touch for the very first time with American Sign Language.
As I said in a previous post, I’m studying Italian Sign Language, but Deaf people in Haiti sign in ASL. They also have different dialects but they’re all spread it around the island, so it’s easier for them to use ASL.
This past July I visited the country again. I had just taken my last exam in Italian Sign Language and had written a short thesis about Deaf children in the “third world countries”. Therefore, I was really motivated and couldn’t wait to meet some Deaf people there as well.
I found out that a church not far from my city was providing an interpreter for the Catholic celebrations.
So I went there, and I met an amazing community.
Sign Language in Haiti
The man who helped me and explained me about the Deaf culture in Haiti was called Mr. Demetrius Smith. He studied American Sign Language on his own and started to teach Deaf people in his area. He was so happy to meet me and asked me to come back on Sunday to meet the group.
So there I was, sitting on the bench of an enormous Church waiting for some people I have never seen. When they finally arrived, we started to sign a little bit but… our signs were different. Some signs were the same, but most of them were complicated for me to understand, especially because I wasn’t ready for that.
I’m glad Smith had an American Sign Language phrase book with him so I could quickly check all the different signs and try to communicate directly to the group.
After the first 20 minutes of total panic I was confident again and I was enjoying my time with them.
It was an amazing experience which I needed to prove myself that this – working in the Deaf community and meeting new Deaf people – is exactly what I want to do.
What did the experience left in me
The first thing I did when I got back home was to order immediately all the ASL books I could find on Amazon! Lately, I decided it was time for me to start learning that language as well.
Now it’s almost four months that I’m studying on my own. I watched a lot of videos on Youtube, try to push myself and improve every day more.
People who inspired me
My number 1 favorite Youtuber is Jonna Delvert. She makes super funny video and at the same time arise awarness about the Deaf Community. Click on her name to watch some of her videos!
If you’re more into music, especially rap music, Deafinitely Dope is for you. He’s translating famous rap songs into Sign Language and his work is amazing, you have to check him out!
If you Google “What is like to be Deaf” you’ll probably find this video, which is incredibly powerful. The guy explains a lot of different topics and experiences he had growing up Deaf, I highly suggest it!
A lot of people ask me why I like Deaf culture so much, and once I show them those videos, they get the answer by them self!
So, watch the videos, get involved, and tell me what you think!
Have you ever visited Haiti? If yes, how was your experience? And if you didn’t, would you like to go?
Love,
Sonia
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