Out of the Mouths of Babes V: The Voices of Haitian Immigrant Children

With all of the terrible news coming out of Haiti this week, I've been spending a lot of time delving into my recent past. My first teaching job came in the spring of 2003, as a teacher's assistant in a local school district. The district was located in one of the more impoverished neighborhoods on Long Island and many of the students in my ESL class were from Haiti.

Before that time, I'd never come in contact with a Haitian. I knew little about their culture, their language, their pride, or their despair. But in the short months I worked in that school, I learned a lot. The journey was not easy, but eventually became one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I came to know these children as individuals and in the process learned a lot about the Haitian people.

Though the town in which the school was located was poverty stricken by Long Island standards, it was much better than the place they had fled with their parents. Though they appreciated their new surroundings, each of them was fiercely proud of their country. This surprised me a little, for I knew of the turmoil, violence and poverty that permeate this tiny island nation in the Caribbean Sea.

When I asked them what language they spoke, they were proud to say that they spoke two: French and Creole. I later learned that much of the official, written language in Haiti is French, no doubt related to their history with the French. But the language spoken most commonly amongst the Haitians is Creole. Haitian Creole contains some elements of the French language, but it is very different than its ancestor.

All of these students were hardened by a harsh life that not many children have the misfortune to endure. Haitian parents hold high standards for their children, but their means of imposing these standards can be harsh. They all show a tough exterior, yet within each of them was an individual, full of the same hopes, dreams and heartache as anyone else.

Over the few months I worked in this school I came to know and respect many of them. The experience remains one of my fondest as an educator. One of my finest moments as a teacher happened in that classroom (see Inspirational Songs: Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" and Heather Small's "Proud") and helped me to grow into the teacher I am today.

That was the first year I'd produced an ESL Magazine, and all of the Haitian students contributed in some way. I'd like to share three pieces written by them. To me, they reflect a life of hardship rarely seen up close and personal, and yet an astounding sense of pride in their heritage. I hope you enjoy these voices from Haiti.

Haiti

There is no other like you

With your beautiful beaches,

Blue sea and sun to warm me up

There is no other like you

Haiti, you have so many incredible places

Green, with abundant trees

where I can just sit, relax,

And let the breeze carry away my worries.

If I did not leave you, I wouldn't have realized

How much you really mean to me

I wouldn't see your true and majestic beauty

I have yet to see anything else on this Earth

To compare to you

Each country has its own significance...

But you, oh Haiti, you...I love you so much

I'll love you for the rest of my life

I'm crazy about you, and I will never forget the delicious juice of your coconut

Refreshing me as it flows down my throat

Cooling me when the sun is too hot

Haiti, my native mother, I will never,

Never forget you for the rest of my life

Cindy V.

Misery

Why do we have to suffer?

Why must our faces always be tear-stained?

Why do we young girls have to endure

the issues of our parents?

It is time to stop making us suffer!

Stop taking advantage of our innocence!

We deserve much better than that!

We deserve love, tolerance, and happiness.

We need peace

Yes, we need peace, because we're tired of misery!

Cassandre C.

My Country Haiti

Whenever I think of this Creole island, it warms my skin

The beautiful horizon of my island reminds me of my kin

The ocean, the sun, the stars, and the exotic plants

Trigger that feeling of hope and rebirth that all Haitian people carry

Oh Haiti

You don't know how much my feelings of longing

To lie under the coconut trees by the beach on Sunday

When I wake up here, in this foreign land

I want so much to take you by the hand,

To see you again

This longing is to me one of the greatest pains

Oh Haiti

When will I see you again?

You will be on my mind, until the end!

Marie R.

I am sure that most of the Haitian people who've left their homeland for a better life for their children carry these same sentiments with them each and every day. To be so proud of a country they see as their beacon, their home, makes me that much sadder at their misery. I hope that the suffering will subside someday soon, for their sake and for ours. No one deserves such a fate as them.

For more Voices of Immigrant Children, please see:

Out of the Mouths of Babes: The Voices of Immigrant Children I

Out of the Mouths of Babes: The Voices of Immigrant Children II: A Guatemalan Learns the Game of Baseball

Out of the Mouths of Babes: The Voices of Immigrant Children: Moment of Departure

Out of the Mouths of Babes: The Voices of Immigrant Children IV: A Russian Boy Makes a Keen Observation