This column was created due to the inspiration that I received, I am proud to say, from three Haitian-American men. After all, pushing almost 70 if my math is right (I came to the US at 15 and now I am going on 69), I have been living back and forth in America for the past 54 years. What a journey! I thought that I had lost my élan for writing but it came back due mainly to these three guys.
I used to write for "Le Coin de Carl" in French for "Haiti-en-Marche" published by my good friends Marcus and Elsie whom I admire very much and I consider role models for future generations. However being a "diasporan"" and living in the "Diaspora" for so long-- -nothing wrong with that---I decided that a contribution in the English language, which I am as fluent as in French or Kreol, would be appropriate in the context that Haiti is living presently. It's about time that we as a people try to adopt the Will Rogers' motto " I never met a man that I did not like."
Will Rogers was an American Indian and I doubt that in practice for him, he met this criterion of one hundred per cent true love. But the idea is powerful, and that's what counts just like that phrase in the American Declaration of Independence "...we believe that all men are born equal..". The idea is powerful and from theory, with time, it does become a reality.
Haiti is the two sides of a coin. On one side almost eight million people in dire need; on the other side more than a million Haitian overseas exposed to the best of what foreign countries have to offer, mainly the US. Those immigrants today as we all know are a strong financial source to the home country, without which financial experts claim Haiti today would not survive. Naturally we also know that with the good we also have the bad. Some Haitian immigrants deported back to Haiti due to involvement in drugs, prostitution, crime in general, et al, changed the face of Haiti's cultural traditions dramatically, and not for the better.. So like a Clint Eastwood's movie, you have the good, the ugly, and the bad. The Diaspora should not feel superior to the Haitians back home---they have their flaws---and the Haitians back home, regardless of the Diaspora's flaws have plenty of their own, many of which are residues of colonialism. So the verb "compromise" comes to mind and that's what in great part made such a success of our adopted country, the US of A. Anyway, to cut a long story short, being that this subject has been beaten over with a baseball bat among all Haitians for years, and I do not pretend to know the solution, let me get back to my three Haitian-American personalities whom I wish to address my homages today, for their deeds.
NUMBER ONE.- Jean-Claude Garcia-Zamor. Simply awesome. This Haitian-American professor contributed $200,000 dollars to FIU in Miami for the education of Haitian students. The government will add an additional $100,000 dollars to the scholarship. What is also admirable is what Jean-Claude had to say concerning his generous donation. I quote: " If you try to save money, you will get money... I am not rich but I invested wisely". Professor Garcia is an example of what can be done and a model in himself for generations coming up.. He is as far as I know the first Haitian philanthropist, and not a rich one, that I have ever heard of. A thousand miles journey starts with one step. Sir, congratulations are in order. I know I am not the first to compliment you, and hopefully not the last,and I am fervently wishing that your generous example will be followed.
NUMBER TWO. - Garry Pierre-Pierre. He is the publisher of "The Haitian Times", and I was connected with him through the Internet. I get my daily input on the World, by reading selected articles from different newspapers directly from the PC. After reading him a few times I found his objectivity on political matters in Haiti, truly appealing and in my opinion, what a true journalist should be. Therefore I have decided to associate myself to Garry's paper, with the limited knowledge that I have. Recently, Yves Colon, also with "The Haitian Times", wrote in the "Miami Herald", an horrifying expose on the condition of prisons in Haiti. I would like one day to see "The Haitian Times" in every newsstand all over the country. Regardless how involved we get with our personal computer; we also like to have something tangible to touch, while reading. Keep it up Garry!
NUMBER THREE. - Lionel Fombrun. It's partly personal. He is my brother and he passed on at the age of 80 in Florida, on March 13 of this year. Lionel joined the Military School of Haiti in 1939 at the age of 19. This military school that they called in those days "West Point of Haiti" was supposed to save the country. He became an officer in 1942. In 1950, at the age of 30 he resigned from the Haitian Army to become a sales representative in pharmaceutical products and in 1954, in life insurance. For the next 8 years he traveled all over Haiti back and forth and got to know the Haitian people well. In 1958, politics again, he left Haiti and never came back except once or twice for a short stay, after Francois Duvalier's passing. Lionel became a citizen of the world and he traveled to New York, Jamaica, Cuba, and finally the Virgin Islands and the adjacent ones where he made his living. He became an authentic islander and was loved by the people there, as in his native country. His great love though was Haiti and its people. In the last years of his life in Florida, if one went to visit him he had 3 radios, and one TV; one radio permanently tuned on Lesly Jacques' Radio Haiti-Amerique; another one on Radio Peuple and Pimen Bouk; the third one until recently on Radio a l'Haitienne of Marcus and Elsie, and his TV permanently tuned on Haitian programs. He was a subscriber to every Haitian newspaper, magazine, and gave to different donations. It's through him that I really found out what was going on in Haiti, and the Haitian community. He contributed largely to them all. Thank you, brother, for your inspiration and sharing so much with everyone. Rest in peace, Lionel Fombrun.
Published in “The Haitian Times", New York, N.Y.
Edition - April 4 - 10, 2001
Carl Henri’s Corner
Carl's Corner
Three Haitian-American Men
This column was created due to the inspiration that I received, I am proud to say, from three Haitian-American men. After all, pushing almost 70 if my math is right (I came to the US at 15 and now I am going on 69), I have been living back and forth in America for the past 54 years. What a journey! I thought that I had lost my élan for writing but it came back due mainly to these three guys.
I used to write for "Le Coin de Carl" in French for "Haiti-en-Marche" published by my good friends Marcus and Elsie whom I admire very much and I consider role models for future generations. However being a "diasporan"" and living in the "Diaspora" for so long-- -nothing wrong with that---I decided that a contribution in the English language, which I am as fluent as in French or Kreol, would be appropriate in the context that Haiti is living presently. It's about time that we as a people try to adopt the Will Rogers' motto " I never met a man that I did not like."
Will Rogers was an American Indian and I doubt that in practice for him, he met this criterion of one hundred per cent true love. But the idea is powerful, and that's what counts just like that phrase in the American Declaration of Independence "...we believe that all men are born equal..". The idea is powerful and from theory, with time, it does become a reality.
Haiti is the two sides of a coin. On one side almost eight million people in dire need; on the other side more than a million Haitian overseas exposed to the best of what foreign countries have to offer, mainly the US. Those immigrants today as we all know are a strong financial source to the home country, without which financial experts claim Haiti today would not survive. Naturally we also know that with the good we also have the bad. Some Haitian immigrants deported back to Haiti due to involvement in drugs, prostitution, crime in general, et al, changed the face of Haiti's cultural traditions dramatically, and not for the better.. So like a Clint Eastwood's movie, you have the good, the ugly, and the bad. The Diaspora should not feel superior to the Haitians back home---they have their flaws---and the Haitians back home, regardless of the Diaspora's flaws have plenty of their own, many of which are residues of colonialism. So the verb "compromise" comes to mind and that's what in great part made such a success of our adopted country, the US of A. Anyway, to cut a long story short, being that this subject has been beaten over with a baseball bat among all Haitians for years, and I do not pretend to know the solution, let me get back to my three Haitian-American personalities whom I wish to address my homages today, for their deeds.
NUMBER ONE.- Jean-Claude Garcia-Zamor. Simply awesome. This Haitian-American professor contributed $200,000 dollars to FIU in Miami for the education of Haitian students. The government will add an additional $100,000 dollars to the scholarship. What is also admirable is what Jean-Claude had to say concerning his generous donation. I quote: " If you try to save money, you will get money... I am not rich but I invested wisely". Professor Garcia is an example of what can be done and a model in himself for generations coming up.. He is as far as I know the first Haitian philanthropist, and not a rich one, that I have ever heard of. A thousand miles journey starts with one step. Sir, congratulations are in order. I know I am not the first to compliment you, and hopefully not the last,and I am fervently wishing that your generous example will be followed.
NUMBER TWO. - Garry Pierre-Pierre. He is the publisher of "The Haitian Times", and I was connected with him through the Internet. I get my daily input on the World, by reading selected articles from different newspapers directly from the PC. After reading him a few times I found his objectivity on political matters in Haiti, truly appealing and in my opinion, what a true journalist should be. Therefore I have decided to associate myself to Garry's paper, with the limited knowledge that I have. Recently, Yves Colon, also with "The Haitian Times", wrote in the "Miami Herald", an horrifying expose on the condition of prisons in Haiti. I would like one day to see "The Haitian Times" in every newsstand all over the country. Regardless how involved we get with our personal computer; we also like to have something tangible to touch, while reading. Keep it up Garry!
NUMBER THREE. - Lionel Fombrun. It's partly personal. He is my brother and he passed on at the age of 80 in Florida, on March 13 of this year. Lionel joined the Military School of Haiti in 1939 at the age of 19. This military school that they called in those days "West Point of Haiti" was supposed to save the country. He became an officer in 1942. In 1950, at the age of 30 he resigned from the Haitian Army to become a sales representative in pharmaceutical products and in 1954, in life insurance. For the next 8 years he traveled all over Haiti back and forth and got to know the Haitian people well. In 1958, politics again, he left Haiti and never came back except once or twice for a short stay, after Francois Duvalier's passing. Lionel became a citizen of the world and he traveled to New York, Jamaica, Cuba, and finally the Virgin Islands and the adjacent ones where he made his living. He became an authentic islander and was loved by the people there, as in his native country. His great love though was Haiti and its people. In the last years of his life in Florida, if one went to visit him he had 3 radios, and one TV; one radio permanently tuned on Lesly Jacques' Radio Haiti-Amerique; another one on Radio Peuple and Pimen Bouk; the third one until recently on Radio a l'Haitienne of Marcus and Elsie, and his TV permanently tuned on Haitian programs. He was a subscriber to every Haitian newspaper, magazine, and gave to different donations. It's through him that I really found out what was going on in Haiti, and the Haitian community. He contributed largely to them all. Thank you, brother, for your inspiration and sharing so much with everyone. Rest in peace, Lionel Fombrun.
