Reading the Miami Herald I can find on a daily basis, many good, exciting news concerning Haitians living here. Naturally all is not rosy among a people, who for some, came to this town with the shirt on their back, and sometimes with none. The competition is fierce here among immigrants of different ethnic backgrounds. This is America. Of course, there is always a privileged group, in that case, the Cubans, due to their special refugee status, their strength in number, past cultural ties with Florida, and one must admit their innovator's approach. For many, the concept is "a Cuban does not have an inferiority complex, and the sky is the limit" .It has served them well. You can be born here, and spend your whole life in the Cuban community, without having to learn a word of English, or work outside your enclave. This is how much self-sufficient, self confident they have become. However, I believe in diversity, as a great part of the solution to division among ethnic groups. Unless one is a "foolosopher", my philosophy is that we are in the same boat: we'll sail or sink together.
Miami is a subtropical city that has been my home for the past 22 years. I have witnessed with great interest the enormous changes of this city, mainly due to immigrants, among them Haitians, who are the second largest group in Miami-Dade. All the different cultures in the world are represented here. You can find Tibetans, Russians, Mongolians, as well as all religions. My hometown is fast becoming a New York City with palm trees. However, eat your heart out, Big Apple, being that you can't grow palms, at least we have breeze, sunshine, no snow, on a mostly permanent basis...still. Freedom in Miami (the Big Orange) is in full swing.
I live in a middle-income neighborhood where the Attorney General under Bill Clinton, Janet Reno, has her home. I saw her recently picking up her mail, "democratically" from her mailbox. On the other side of the coin, there is O.J. Simpson, a nearby neighbor, whom I saw too, at the wheel of his black Chrysler SUV, in his driveway. Only in America; where else is there such simplicity and irony? Also, how can we forget about the Mayor of Miami, being handcuffed for domestic violence, released after due process, and back to work at City Hall? Although Miami here is called a "banana republic”, this is Democracy. Big Time.
The Haitian community has a unique opportunity to make a large part of Miami, its very own. Haitian culture is already recognized here, as part of the equation. You arrive at the airport, you will hear official announcements in Kreyol. The Manager of the parking complex, at Miami International airport, is Haitian, with a great number of Haitians in his staff. Go to most gas stations, and you will see posters in Kreyol, relating to their business. Haitian taxi drivers abound in Dade County, as well as radio programs. Outside of Little Haiti, you have pockets of Haitians diversified in many parts of the city, and the next mayor of North Miami soon could be a Haitian. At the airport, at brunch in the hotels in Miami Beach, Homestead, and Key West on Sundays, I often have a warm feeling meeting countrymen in difficult circumstances, forging ahead with a smile and an entrepeneurial mind. They can compete with the best. There are already elected Haitian officials here and there. Personally my mechanic is Haitian; my doctor is Haitian. I still have a Cuban gardener, and it's hard to replace him because he does an outstanding job, and he loves Rhum Barbancourt*****. Anyone who loves Barbancourt that much can't be that bad. "Oiste,Ramon?"
Take the Metrorail anytime from Dadeland South in Kendall to Tri-Rail and you will hear accented English with Cuban, Haitian, Dominican, Jamaican, Trinidadian flavors and hundreds of others. Stop at Government Center, and there, the Caribbean presence is so strong, that you find yourself in a melting pot, of mainly Cuban and Haitian beat. That's Miami, a flat city with big, white cumulus clouds in the skies, which replace, in my imagination, the majestic Caribbean mountains, that its people, tragically had to run away from, due to political unrest and economic nightmare. In the swap, Immigrants have a shot at a job, three square meals a day with home country taste, cozy homes with flat streets, not so hard on their cars (no mountains), in a Latin-American atmosphere of konpas, salsas, reggae, calypsos, and so forth. Artists from everywhere, but mostly from the Americas, come and go. Haitian Art is plentiful with prominent Haitian artists living here. And last but not least, freedom of expression, which is the essence of every human being's identity, is in full bloom. Naturally with every right comes also responsibility. That's the American way.
There is enormous progress compared to the rigidly segregated Miami of 1946 which I experienced. That's another story, for those who feel they're having a hard time today, dealing with outright racism. The last presidential election has shown, that minorities are becoming majorities, in different parts of America. Forty years from today, the presently still dominant white Anglo-Saxon race will not be the majority that it is today. In Miami-Dade, 57% of the population is Hispanic. White non-Hispanics presently are out of the majority in California. Haitian voters in Florida, played an important part in this last presidential election, and will be better prepared next time around. Hispanics are now the number one minority nationwide, taking over the lead from Black Americans, who historically were dominant in this field.
Haitians here must not be, should not be, will not be discouraged. They should not consider themselves as victims. In America, one can be "broke" (razeu), but that should never mean "poor" in one's mind. Attitude is everything. Haitians should remember that this is the land of opportunity for them too, and think of that old Haitian proverb:" Jan ou bat tanbou-a se konsa nou danse (The way you beat the drum, it's the way we dance). They are facing hard times everywhere, and acquire more inner strength as they go along. They have survived in great numbers individually, and shall survive collectively. And to quote Vance Havner: "The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps -- We must step up the stairs."
Haitians in general are resilient, generous, and enterprising, versus those who lost their way and who are in the minority. For the latter, they should realize that there could be a Clint Eastwood clone, somewhere in the making, to tell them:" Make my day..." Haitians should keep their faith against all odds, and face the reality, that pertaining to the "Dyaspora", they "are people with their feet planted in both worlds", as stated in Edwige Danticat's latest book, "The Butterfly's Way." Remember Ben Franklin, at the signing of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776: " We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."
