How do haitians communicate

In the early s, the exodus of the "boat people" began. Once they reached the shores of the United States, these unwanted and unpopular immigrants were put into detainment camps, often for long periods of time. Some of these camps were located in upstate New York and Texas, far away from family and friends.

In , 10, people marched in Washington D. However, most Haitians did not return to their homeland. While they can travel back to Haiti, most cannot stay there permanently. Life in Haiti is still difficult.

With no money or credentials, many members of the diaspora remain trapped outside of Haiti. These Haitians have built lives in the United States while remaining in touch with Haiti. Rather than having a single identity, Haitians in the United States have a dual focus — a transnational identity. For many Haitian immigrants, ethnic identity within the United States is not the defining element of their lives.

At times, they identify as an ethnic minority Haitian and at other times they identify as black. In Water's study of immigrants from Haiti and the Caribbean, Haitian informants thought of themselves as "hardworking, ambitious, militant about racial identity, but not oversensitive about race, committed to education and to the family.

Life might be hard here, but in many ways, it is better than anything they could expect in Haiti. A deep sense of relative deprivation serves to mitigate some of the oppression they experience.

In this way, Haitian immigrants compare their current position to the economic situation in Haiti, rather than to their peers in the United States Woldemikael, While subjects in Waters study identified positive aspects of Haitian identity, for example hard working, some Haitian immigrants do not self—identify as Haitians.

In reaction to prejudicial attitudes towards Haitians, some have become undercover Haitians, who identify as anything e. While this is the experience of a small portion of the Haitian immigrant population, it is significant.

Outreach efforts aimed at Haitians may not reach all of the intended population. Some individuals and families may not want to seek service at a center defined as a Haitian center. A current concern is the different treatment Haitian refugees receive compared to others from their region, such as Cuban refugees. Cubans who reach American shores are granted the status of political refugees. This is not the case for Haitians. Currently, Haitian refugees who come to the United States without documentation are kept in INS facilities while awaiting their hearings.

Most are sent home at the end of the legal process. This difference in treatment is a key concern of the Haitian community in the United States. Grains are a staple of the Haitian diet, and rice is eaten at almost every meal. It is often cooked with beans and served with sauce.

Fried foods are very popular, and many meals include fried plantains or fried meats, such as pork or turkey. Stews, such as one with conch meat, and soups, such as squash soup are commonly eaten foods. Squash soup is eaten on Sundays and on January first.

Haitian food can be spicy, but perhaps not as spicy as Indian food. While Haitian immigrants have adjusted to the type of American foods available here, if you are serving a group of Haitians, American staples such as mashed potatoes or eggs may not be popular.

Some Haitians believe that a healthy baby is a fat baby, and this perspective on nutrition and health continues into adulthood. Since weight is associated with health, good nutrition means eating a lot. Like language, religion in Haiti is a very complex and sensitive topic.

Most people would describe themselves as very religious, and religion affects almost every aspect of Haitian society. Voodoo exists side by side with Christian faiths. Many Haitians see no contradiction in calling themselves Christians while engaging in voodoo practices. This is more often the case with Catholics. Catholicism in Haiti is very ritualistic and has adapted itself to local ritual. It is less likely that Protestants would describe themselves as believers in voodoo.

There have been some Protestant—lead attempts to diminish the role that voodoo plays in Haitian society. Voodoo is a mixture of African and Haitian beliefs. It has a complex cosmology made up of a large number of supernatural spirits. These spirits are believed to have great influence on human beings and for that reason, they must be respected.

Each family has a lwa associated with it. Daily life is conducted according to what would make these spirits happy. Voodoo practitioners believe lwa make their desires clear by possessing someone and speaking through them. Often lwa will ask a mother to dedicate their newborn or unborn child to them. If the lwa 's request is not honored, the lwa may possibly punish the mother or child by giving them a disability.

Nobody wants to make a spirit angry, for the lwa will punish those who do not obey and respect them. Voodoo has played a key role in Haitian history. Slave uprisings began with a secret voodoo ceremony. Voodoo helped provide some unity for the rebellious slaves. When Duvalier came to power in the late s on a nativist platform, he used voodoo to support his position and power.

The close association between the Duvaliers and voodoo continued throughout both mens regimes and complicates attitudes towards the religion now. The word voodoo conjures up Hollywood images of zombies and bizarre ceremonies. Many Haitians, particularly in America, are sensitive to being seen as voodoo worshipers. Yet the practice continues in the United States. National holidays in Haiti are a mix of religious and historical celebrations. As is the case in many other Caribbean or South American countries, Haiti celebrates carnival.

Carnival, like Mardi Gras, leads up to Ash Wednesday. In Port—au—Prince, the streets fill with moveable parties of music and drinking all over town. Many bands create floats that move through the city playing music. Social tensions are relaxed, and many times dangerous political sentiments are expressed through singing.

A similar event, called rara , takes place just before Easter in the countryside. Rara includes people making music and dancing as they move through the streets. For some Haitians, the revelry at carnival or rara offends their religious sentiments and they reject the holidays as evil. They may participate in more locally based voodoo festivals and holidays that focus on visiting sacred spaces or noting certain events.

In Haiti, households often consist of multiple generations. Adult siblings and their families may live together in a common space. The Haitian lakay home is geared towards the needs and strengths of the extended family.

Usually, individuals do not dream of owning a house that is separate from their family. This preference for extended families living together causes problems for Haitian immigrants in the United States who cannot replicate their Haitian living arrangements due to economic pressures.

It is not always possible for Haitian families to find places where they can all live together under one roof. Haitian communities often consist of a dozen or so lakay grouped together to form a lakou. These families work together to complete their daily life tasks, such as farming or building new houses.

This communal sharing of work is known as konbit. For many grassroots organizations, the konbit is the best way to accomplish their goals. Once a task has been defined as one that is shared by all, it is much easier to find people who are willing to work. There is a Haitian saying " Ayisyen se krab ," which translates to Haitians are crabs. As with crabs in a bucket, when one person looks like they are going to escape, the others pull him back down.

Haitian community life is complicated and sometimes contradictory. On the one hand, there are communal efforts like konbit and on the other hand, there is the idea that people will pull each other down.

The Haitian family and community have been described as transnational Laguerre, The suggestion is that Haitians in the United States do not identify themselves solely as residents of America or of Haiti, but instead live a life that bridges both countries.

This transnationality functions at a metaphorical or psychological level in terms of how Haitians think about their affiliations and concerns. It is true in a physical sense, as well, since many Haitians make frequent trips between the two countries. Families are transnational in this sense, since family members will shift back and forth between the two countries. Children may have one parent in each country. Haitian parents in the United States may send their children to Haiti during difficult times, or if they feel that the child is misbehaving or picking up bad behavioral habits in the United States.

Within the family, there is a traditional patriarchal dynamic Bell, Men are considered to be the breadwinners. Their responsibility is to find paying work to support the family. At home, men typically do not get involved in child care.

For this reason, men do not usually interact with the school system regarding their childrens education. Both parents may consider education to be the job of schools and not the parents. In Haiti, there are men who live with many women. These men may maintain more than one household. This type of polygamy is unsanctioned but not unusual. This pattern is particularly important to note when it comes to families with individuals with disabilities. After a woman gives birth to a child with a disability, the father of the child may intentionally go out and impregnate another woman.

He believes that if the second woman gives birth to a "normal" child, this provides evidence that the first childs disability is a function of that childs mother rather than himself. In these cases, the mother of the child with a disability is left on her own. In fact, many Haitian children with disabilities are cared for by single mothers.

This behavior takes place in the United States, as well. During community meetings for Haitian families that have children with disabilities, the vast majority of the participants will be women. It is rare for people in Haiti to discuss disabilities whether acquired or lifelong.

Disabilities are thought of as mysterious and dangerous. Typically, disabilities are perceived as having origins in the interaction of the natural and supernatural worlds, rather than being a medical issue.

For example, a disability may be the result of a curse from a lwa who is upset. Disability is a punishment — a sign that a lwa was not obeyed. While lwa are voodoo in nature, the same type of explanation holds true within the framework of Christianity. Haitian Christians believe that going against God is the same as going against the lwa.

God punishes those who do not obey. Disability may also be the result of a spell cast by an enemy. In this case, a disability may be a sign that the disabled individual mistreated someone else. Again, disability is a punishment. While Protestants have campaigned against voodoo and belief in lwa , many still believe in spells.

For this reason, regardless of religious orientation, disabilities are seen as supernatural in origin. This supernatural origin holds true for both physical and mental disabilities, and for lifelong as well as acquired disabilities. Even when a traffic accident leads to a physical disability, it may be that an offended spirit caused the accident.

It could also be the result of a spell. In this case, it was not really an accident, since someone set it upon the person. If there is a rumor about an individual's misbehavior, a disabling accident is taken as confirmation. This framework applies to both children and adults. If a baby is born with a disability, it is believed that someone in that babys family, most likely a parent, did something wrong to a lwa or to another person.

The child is innocent, but must pay the price for their family member's transgression. Innocent adults may also acquire a disability because of a family member's misdeeds. Most Haitians are afraid of disabilities and are uneasy around people with disabilities, who may be called "crazy," "stupid," or "possessed. Similarly, people may be reluctant to touch an individual with a disability because the spell may transfer to them.

Disabilities are treated as if they are contagious. Epilepsy is believed to be contagious, and people may be reluctant to come to the aid of a person having a seizure. A pool will be considered contagious if someone with a disability goes in. Parents may not want their child socializing with a child that has a mental disability for fear that their child may develop the same condition. Since people are afraid of disabilities and believe them to be a type of supernatural punishment, many parents keep their disabled children away from the public view.

They do not want to expose their children to public ridicule, mocking or teasing. This is true for both mental and physical disabilities, though perhaps it is a bit worse for mental conditions. They also do not want to expose their family to unwelcome questions. They were soon forced to leave. She remembers clearly the words of the parishioners, "When you have an animal like this, you dont come to church.

Some even go as far as keeping the child inside a closet inside the home. This happens across social classes since both the elite and the working class have the same ideas about disabilities. For Christians, people with disability have sinned against God.

Within voodoo, a lwa has been upset. In this way, there is always a reason for disabilities. It is never just an accident or just genetic.

Disabilities are part of the overall balance between the natural and the supernatural. Haitian parents who have children with mental disabilities may be devastated by the fact that their high expectations about their children's education will probably not be met. They may think that their child will be a failure for life, and not see of point in education or rehabilitation.

Their frustration and disappointment may make it hard for them to consider any options. What may be considered a disability in the United States may not be thought of that way in Haiti. For example, a child with an emotional disability would be thought of as willfully misbehaving, rather than dealing with a psychological condition. Similarly, a person with learning disabilities would not be recognized as needing supports but would be dismissed as "slow" or "stupid.

Haitians with disabilities want to lead independent lives. They value the same things other Haitians value, such as children, religion and work. However, the path to independence is sometimes blocked by their families. Haitian parents have been described as overprotective with regard to both typical children and those with special needs. Even though they love their child dearly, parents view children with disability as "worthless.

This is especially the case with physical disabilities. Many Haitian parents do not feel comfortable when their children turn 18 and are described as adults who are capable and responsible for their own lives. This feeling is more intense for parents of children with disabilities. Many Haitian parents who have children with mental disabilities choose to become their childrens legal guardians so they continue to make decisions for them. When an individual has a disability, any decisions about rehabilitation are made by the family as a whole.

Each member of the extended family is consulted. The preference is to address the needs of the individual with the disability through a support system within the family itself. There are times when individuals do not go beyond the family support system to explore other options for rehabilitation. They remain solely in the care of the family. If they seek help outside of the family structure, they typically choose from two options: religious or institution—based rehabilitation.

Since disabilities are typically believed to be the result of an angry God or lwa or of a spell cast by an enemy, one option for rehabilitation is to turn to religion. Individuals or family may turn to Catholic priests or Protestant ministers to talk about their situation and condition. By becoming correct with God, the curse or spell may be lifted. This is also the case with voodoo—related beliefs. The individual or family may go to a boko , a traditional healer, or a oungan , somebody who knows about spirits.

With the boko or oungan 's advice, they will use traditional medicines such as herbal mixtures to treat the disability. If the family cannot provide support, and the religious approach is not successful, individuals or family may turn to institutions that provide rehabilitation. For the most part, this means working with Westerners who staff and fund the few voluntary institutions that exist in Haiti.

As part of the legacy of colonialism, many Haitians put faith in foreign—based non—governmental organizations, particularly if staffed by whites. Often, there is the expectation that these institutions will provide miracles. Friends pass along stories of quick and complete recoveries at NGO centers. These miraculous recoveries are the result of taking medication, so there is a belief that any medication that does not bring an immediate result is not worth taking.

There is no understanding of rehabilitation as a process. This attitude may make it difficult to convince a Haitian client to follow a medicinal regimen. A Haitian client who is taking medicine prescribed by a Western doctor may also be using traditional medicines prescribed by a boko or an oungan or given by the family.

Depending upon the medicines being taken, this doubling up may create harmful interactions. Given the level of poverty and political instability, little infrastructure exists to provide rehabilitation or to survey the needs of the population.

Hiding individuals with disabilities makes it impossible to know with any certainty how many people are affected.

In one estimation, there are over , people with an amputation, and virtually no orthotic and prosthetic services Ray, While there are some initiatives, such as the Handicaps' Association of Carrefour, not much has been done. As with many other social issues in Haiti, international non—governmental agencies have been very active. Various domestic and international church organizations provide services. Organizations and resources come from many different countries.

While the United States provides many of the volunteers and funds, support also comes from countries the Netherlands and Germany.

These efforts appear to be a step in the right direction since they provide direct service and training, but they have been criticized for helping to privatize public responsibilities. The same criticism has been made of the religious organizations. By taking over the responsibility of the government, an official, public infrastructure is prevented. While this is a valid criticism, those receiving the direct services are happy to receive them. It is a question of long term goals versus short term needs.

Perhaps this debate will continue for some time. The most famous school in for people with disabilities is St. Vincent in Port—au—Prince. Vincent serves blind, deaf and motor handicapped children. It provides education and rehabilitation services for children, some of whom board at St. Run by the Episcopal Church, St. Vincent offers clinics e. This center was started in by volunteers working with Mother Theresa's Missionaries of Charity.

The centers goal is supporting the integration of children with disabilities into the community. The children who receive services have physical and mental disabilities.

The Pazapa Center offers a wide range of programs, including education and recreation. According to the Centers mission statement, "All children enrolled at the Pazapa center receive health care, nutritional supplements, hot meals and family education on hygiene, first aid and nutrition" Pazapa Center.

The center also offers programs for the parents of children with disabilities, including information about home care, family planning, and Creole literacy. In addition, it also has two interesting projects:. American volunteers provide training for the nursing staff and physical therapy inpatient and outpatient services.

Agency for International Development and religious groups e. This institution houses 14 young children. The project was initiated by the office of the Archbishop of Kingston as part of the Mustard Seed Communities initiative.

It is operated by Jamaican and Haitian staff. Non—religious efforts include Healing Hands for Haiti, a nonprofit group that sends a medical team to a clinic in Port—au—Prince four times a year. The clinic itself is a three—story house with beds for 22 patients.

Volunteers provide assistance to people who need medical help, especially prosthetic services. Due to limited resources, the clinic is staffed one week per month for four months per year Ray, As part of a rehabilitation technician training program, Helping Hands is working with Physical Therapy Overseas training local Haitians in basic nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and public health.

This program is sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation. It is governed by the philosophy that the family knows how to best meet the needs of its disabled family member. This means that families are the most qualified to seek and determine how to use resources available to them.

A Family Governing Board, composed of consumers and parents is responsible for the overall direction of the program. Since its inception in , the Haitian Family Support Program has worked with 80 families that include children or young adults diagnosed with developmental disabilities.

Services include support group meetings, social events, self-advocacy training and individualized support. Support group meetings provide a chance for people to get information, share concerns about key issues, and break the isolation many families feel. In , the program expanded its services to young adults age 22 and up. This program includes skills training, job placement and family counseling. Five key themes emerge when thinking about the interaction of Haitians with the rehabilitation service system:.

Haitians in the U. Recent immigrants focus on the survival issues of money, food and work. Health and disabilities are not viewed as priorities. Due to time constraints, parents cannot utilize the system.

They may work two or three jobs and do not have time to go to meetings, or to explore the system. The extended family that exists in Haiti is not necessarily replicated in the United States. There are many single parents especially mothers , with limited time and resources. For those who do have the support of their family, Parents may still not interact with the system because of their preference to try to work through the family first.

People may not go outside the family at all to look for support and rehabilitation. Certain problems arise when individuals are not aware of their rights or responsibilities. For example, many Haitian parents find it difficult to understand the legal ramifications of their child turning They believe that, regardless of their childrens age, they are still the parents and have the right to make decisions on their behalf.

This is especially true when the child has a disability since parents may believe that the child is totally non-functional. It is difficult for them to grasp the legal aspects of independence. Parents who are acting as their childs guardian are confused by the idea that their status has to be recognized by authorities.

They think that since they are already acting as a guardian, there is no need to make it official. Problems arise when these parents try to sign financial documents for their adult children. For many people in Haiti, institutions that provide rehabilitation are important because they provide refuge. Due to the stigma of disability, some parents send their children to institutions to protect them from abuse by society. This could be seen as isolation.

Placing children in an institution serves to hide them from the rest of society. In addition, parents view such a placement as creating a space for themselves. While they would be happy if their child made progress towards rehabilitation or independent living, that may not be first and foremost on their minds. For many Haitian parents, rehabilitation is not perceived as a long term process that is achieved in incremental steps.

Rehabilitation is seen more as a miraculous, instantaneous cure of what has plagued the individual due to the supernatural origin of disabilities. This is true whether service is being provided by a religious figure such as a priest or an oungan or by doctors and teachers in a hospital or school. Parents have complete faith in Westerners and expect outside experts to be able to diagnose and cure their child quickly. With physical conditions, it may be possible to see progress such as walking.

More abstract concepts like mental functions are harder to grasp and measuring progress is difficult. Josette Beaubrun, a Haitian disability rights advocate, believes that "Our Haitian parents need to be able to understand how to help their children and themselves and not to rely solely on the professionals to solve their problems for them.

This is one of the greatest cultural differences Haitian families face. Haitians who receive rehabilitation are not proactive about their therapy. Since they have utter faith in the service provider, they do not ask questions.

They will not ask the provider institution or the school questions about services. Self—advocacy is not traditionally practiced. Haitian parents have no experience with a system that allows the right to disagree, and to seek a second opinion. Individuals or parents have no idea what they can offer as part of the rehabilitation process. They do not see themselves as possessing the resources or knowledge to participate and make a difference.

This is less true of the rehabilitation of physical disabilities since individuals may see that they can help in terms of motor skills such as walking. However, if rehabilitation involves mental disabilities most individuals do not see how they can participate. They may not view their attendance at a planning meeting for their child as crucial or even relevant.

There may be crosscultural miscommunication between a rehabilitation provider and a client. Two possible issues need to be addressed. First, due to their preference for oral communication and the rather high illiteracy rate, Haitians clients may not have the experience with documentation that providers expect.

They may not be used to obtaining and submitting official documents or keeping certain records. This can frustrate providers who cannot provide service without complete records. Second is the existence of what Haitians call "Haitian time. It is not uncommon for a client to arrive thirty minutes after an appointment is scheduled. A Haitian client may not see this as an issue. Failure to be on time can cause many problems when dealing with service providers in the United States.

As Dr. He also states that Haitian clients are likely to drop in without having made an appointment and will expect to be seen by the service provider. Places where individuals and families share the same culture can be positive, supportive and healing. There will always be times when people in need of rehabilitation will be in places where service providers do not share their culture. However, it is possible for non-Haitian rehabilitation service providers to create places and programs responsive to Haitians needs.

A few recommendations are listed below:. Service providers need to recognize that outreach is necessary to get Haitian clients to come in for service. It is not enough to advertise a program and expect Haitian clients to attend. Haitians may not even be aware of rehabilitation programs.

They may be relying upon a close family network to provide support. By receiving such services, clients and their families are admitting that a disability exists. Given the Haitian perception of the nature of disabilities, the decision to receive rehabilitation may be associated with fear of being shunned by the community.

The best places for outreach may be places that need to be educated about disabilities. Since most Haitians attend church at least weekly, churches are perfectly positioned to promote a program or service to the Haitian community.

Given the prejudice that exists within the church membership, it is not an easy task to conduct outreach in this manner. The difficulty makes it necessary to raise the consciousness of the community. To be most effective, outreach efforts should be done orally such as radio or announcements at meeting places rather than through flyers or brochures. Given the lack of rehabilitation programs in Haiti, clients and their families may have limited understanding of what the possibilities are for rehabilitation.

They may need to be convinced that a mental disability does not mean "permanent failure" as one Haitian parent put it. Clients and their families need to be informed about programs and supports. Potential clients and their families need to be introduced to new ways of looking at disability.

For example, the nature of emotional or behavioral disabilities needs to be explained to clients or their families before they agree to start rehabilitation. Clients and their families will have to be encouraged to be proactive during the rehabilitation process.

Providers should be explicit about being asked questions. It may be necessary to model asking the kind of questions that make for better service. Consumers and their families may expect quick results and benefits. They will discontinue a program if they think that it is a failure.

If results are not what the consumers expect, they will feel deceived and not provided for. From the first meeting, it should be emphasized that rehabilitation is not quick. The results of the program, and how these results can be recognized, should be explained.

Take time to review the documentation that will be necessary for clients and their families to have and maintain. Read the list of required documents with the clients and families, rather than suggesting that they read it at home on their own. Explain the need for each document and stress that service may be impaired if proper documentation is not provided when requested.

Life-saving messages are produced on demand for a variety of humanitarian actors. Such material is notably used for registration operations, return activities and sensitization and awareness-raising on diverse topics. Skip to main content. Communication Communication for social change allows people to improve their lives through civic participation in governance—which has historically been weak in Haiti.

Language English.