Writing POC 101

Haitian Characters - @ReginaldLaurenceau

Sak Pase?! (Haitian Creole for What's up)

Hello there,

My name is Reginald. I was born in Haiti and I was raised in the US. For those of you who want to have a Haitian character in your story, but do not have a clue as to how to go about writing one, will be able to use this as your introduction to the Haitian community.

If you did not know Haiti is an island located in the Caribbean and is right next to the Dominican Republic. The national language is French and Haitian Creole (which is a mixture of French, Portuguese, Spanish, Taíno, and West African languages).

1) I will start off with addressing the biggest stereotype/misconception about Haiti "It Is Not A Complete Poverty Stricken Country." Despite what is shown in the media as Haiti being a poor country filled with slumps, there are many beautiful parts and lovely cities/towns all throughout Haiti. Haiti was not known as the poorest country in the western hemisphere until the 90's. Like in many countries, there are poor undeveloped parts and there are nice developed parts. Haiti is no different.

From 1930 to 1950, Haiti was the number one tourist destination in the Caribbean and it continued to be a hotspot for tourism up until the 1980's. Josephine Baker, an icon during the roaring 20's era, had a song called "Haiti" due to the public's low-key interest in Haiti during the pre-WWII era. During the 1970's and 80's many US celebrities frequently travel to Haiti for their vacations. Bill and Hilary Clinton had their honeymoon in Haiti in 1975.

Haiti is filled with many gorgeous beaches, beautiful mountains, country-sides, lush mangrove forests, beach resorts, historical sites and tons of tourist attractions. There is more to Haiti then just the capitol Port au Prince. If you want to learn about Haiti checkout places like Jacmel, Cap Haitians, Cayes, Port De Paix, Ile a Vache, Petionvile. Foreign visitors and locals deem Southern Haiti to be a hidden gem, because its natural resources remains untouch. In addition, in Haiti the crime rate is lower than other Caribbean nations.

2) Haitians have a lot of pride in their history and culture. The reason for this is because of the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804), which was the most successful slave revolt in world history. The Haitian Revolution is the only slave rebellion that led to freedom, which was taken by force and led to the creation of a new nation.

3) Haitians come in all types of shades and skin pigmentation. There are Haitians who are very light skinned most of which are known as mulattos. There are some who are light brown, mid-range brown, dark brown and dark skinned. One unknown fact is that there is a small percentage of White Haitians who live in Haiti. They are direct descendants of the Frenchmen who were saved from the massacre of 1804, Polish soldiers who deserted from the French army and a small group of German colonists who were invited to Nord-Ouest (North-West), Haiti before the revolution. The combined population of whites and mulattoes constitutes 5% of the population, roughly half a million people.

4) Haitians are very animated and expressive when we communicate with each other. We tell many jokes between ourselves in our native tongue and witty banter is a natural part of our conversations. We are direct, bold and not afraid to speak our minds (This is especially true of my parents generation 1960-1979). It may comes off as rude to many people that some Haitians do not have a filter when we converse in public. (I think Haitians were voted as the most rudest people on a US east coast radio station a few years back >_< ).

However, I believe it is more of a culturally adaption issue for Haitians who were born in Haiti and recently moved to the US. Most of the time they still have not adapted to the "Political Correct Culture" that most western countries have. Besides that, Haitians are very sociable and friendly people.

5) Each generation of Haitians living in the US acts differently:

Those born pre-1950 (Our Grandparents) are very strict, traditional, and conservative. You might say isn't that all grandparents and I agree—however Haitian grandparents live and die by the 3 "L's". Legliz (Church), Lekol (School), Lakay (Home). They preach and live by these 3 L's from the cradle to the grave.

Those born post 1950 to 1979 (Our Parents) starting off with the first two kids they are very strict, traditional, and conservative. Our grandparents past on the 3 L's to our parents who enforced it on the first two children they have. However, when they have the 3rd child they began to ease up on being strict disciplinarians. By the 4th child they do a complete 180 and are very very lax and liberal view when it comes to parenting. By the 4th child most Haitian start trying to be more of friends as well as parents to their children.

Those born between 1980-1995 (Present day Millennials) act like ambassadors and translators for their grandparents/parents as they were growing up in the US. This is my generation and for me it was like living in two worlds. When I went to school and played with my friends, I was exposed to several different cultures all at once. I was able to better adapt to western culture compared to my grandparents and parents while also maintain my Haitian cultural background.

Those born post 1995 to the present (Our younger Siblings) got it off easy lol. They were born when our parents decided to follow the trend of lax parenting. They were born plug-in to social media, touch phones, and electronics. Half of them can barely speak Creole, while the other half are still fluent. This generation is probably the most Americanized Haitian generation.

5) For food rice, beans, and chicken is the standard common meal you would find in a Haitian house-hold. However, Haitians eat a variety of cuisines many of which are rich in spices and seasoning. Here are some samples:

Poulet Aux Noix (chicken and cashew nuts)

Mayi Moulen ak Sòs Pwa, Poul an Sòs (cornmeal with beans and stewed chicken)

Griyo (fried pork)

Lanbi an Sòs Lanbi Kreyol (conch in creole sauce)

Lanbi Boukannen, Woma Boukannen (grilled conch, grilled lobster)

Tassot or Vyann seche fri (dried fried meat) usually served with bannann fri (fried plantains)

Mayi Moulen Kole ak Legim (cornmeal, beans and vegetable stew)

Diri ak Fèy Lalo ak Sirik (rice, crab and lalo leaf stew)

Pwason Boukannen (roasted fish) served with bannann fri (fried plantains)

Diri Djon Djon (rice with black mushrooms)

Soup Joumou (pumpkin/squash soup)

Kasav (cassava bread)

6) Religion plays an important part in Haitian culture. They majority of Haitians are spiritual and practice some form of religion. In Haiti Roman Catholicism is the dominate religion and some Haitian practice Vodou along side with it. Many do not come out in public and say they practice Vodou, since the majority who are Christians shun it. Yet, Vodou is freely practiced although out Haiti. Haitians living in America are mostly Baptist, Protestant or Pentecostal. Haitian Americans denounce vodou as diabolically and stay far from it. However, there are many Haitian Americans who practice Vodou, but mostly in secret.

7) Music and dancing are important parts in Haiti (as in many Caribbean countries) as Haitians enjoy celebrations and festivals which we call Kanaval (Carnival). The main type of music is Kompa and Zouk. I highly suggest going onto Youtube and checking out Kompa and Haitian Zouk if you're open minded about listening to music even if you can't speak or understand the language.

I hope this little introduction will be a good base to start your research on writing a Haitian Character. If you have any questions feel free to send me a PM and I would be happy to further help you out.