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Haitian Quotes

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Haitian Quotes

“Jeremy Popkin's collection of first-person narratives of the Haitian Revolution is an extremely valuable work, accessible, sound and intelligent. I only wish such a book had been available fifteen years ago when I was in the early stages of researching my series of novels. Popkin has been deft and tactful in stitching together these excerpts, and as a result, he manages to tell a complete version of the Revolution almost entirely in the words of the people who experienced it-this book engaged me deeply.”

PeopleYearsFirstsPersonsHas BeensBookTogetherWishSoundResultsNovelStageRevolutionYears AgoIntelligentSeriesAvailableValuableVersionsManageNarrativeEngagedCollectionsFifteenFirst PersonFifteen YearsHaitianHaitian Revolution
Author:Madison Smartt Bell
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“The lessons are, unfortunately, that a small weak country that is facing an extremely hostile and very violent superpower will not make much progress unless there's a strong solidarity movement within the superpower that will restrain its actions. With more support within the United States, I think the Haitian efforts could have succeeded.”

ThinkingCountryStatesActionStrongUnitedEffortUnited StatesSupportProgressMovementLessonsWeakViolentSolidarityHostileSuperpowerHaitian
Author:Noam Chomsky
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“We still have our people working in the cane fields in the Dominican Republic. People are still repatriated all the time from the Dominican Republic to Haiti. Some tell of being taken off buses because they looked Haitian, and their families have been in the Dominican Republic for generations. Haitian children born in the Dominican Republic still can't go to school and are forced to work in the sugarcane fields.”

PeopleChildrenHas BeensStillsSchoolBornTakenGenerationsFieldsRepublicBusHaitiHaitianDominican Republic
Author:Edwidge Danticat
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“The whole military structure in Haiti that existed until the early 1990s was put in place by the American occupation. At the top there were Southern white officers, who led an army that crushed the indigenous resistance - the cacos. A high-ranking U.S. officer said when he arrived, "To think these niggers speak French!" Later, Haitian officers attended the notorious School of the Americas at Fort Benning. The threat from the U.S. is something that is always hanging over people's heads: If we don't behave, we'll have occupation again.”

PeopleIfsThinkingSaidWholeSchoolSpeakWhiteMilitaryArmyStructureThreatResistanceBehaveOccupationOfficersSouthernIndigenousCrushedHaitiNotoriousRankingFortsHaitianSpeaks French
Author:Edwidge Danticat
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“Sometimes we mask ourselves to further reveal ourselves, and it's always been connected to me with being a writer: We tell lies to tell a greater truth. The story is a mask; the characters you create are masks. That appeals to me. Aside from that, too, in the carnival the masks were beautiful, and offered a vision of Haitian creativity.”

SometimesCharacterStoriesBeautifulLyingVisionCreativityGreaterConnectedAppealsMaskCarnivalsHaitian
Author:Edwidge Danticat
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“The Africans were oftentimes allied with the antagonist of the Republic. Now, you may want to step back and ask yourself why that might be. It may lead you to a reconsideration of the origins of the nation now known as the United States of America. As opposed to seeing it in the same vein as the French Revolution and the Haitian Revolution, you might see it in the same vein as the revolt against British rule in Rhodesia in 1965, and, if so, that might help to shed light on why conservatism is so deeply entrenched in this republic.”

IfsWantMayStatesHelpingLightMightAmericaAsksNationsUnitedKnownStepsUnited StatesSeeingRevolutionBritishRepublicShedUnited States Of AmericaVeinsConservatismRevoltFrench RevolutionAntagonistHaitianReconsiderationBritish RuleRhodesiaHaitian Revolution
Author:Gerald Horne
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“We all have a tendency to over generalize our individual experiences. After I've published something, I'll meet someone who says, "I'm Haitian, and I don't know this, so it must not be true." Even if we're talking about a work of fiction. I've gotten very angry myself reading many things about Haiti. We're not a monolithic group; no group is. Also, it's important to keep in mind the genre in which we are writing. Fiction is full of invented stories about exceptional people in exceptional situations. Those situations are not always cheery or celebratory.”

PeopleWritingMindImportantReadingIndividualSituationBeing TrueExceptionalHaitian
Author:Edwidge Danticat
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“I am grateful to President George W. Bush for PEPFAR, which is saving the lives of millions of people in poor countries and to both Presidents Bush for the work we've done together after the South Asia tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the Haitian earthquake.”

PeopleCountryDoneTogetherPresidentPoorMillionsGratefulSouthSavingAsiaPresident BushHurricanesEarthquakesKatrinaI Am GratefulTsunamiPoor CountriesHurricane KatrinaPresident George W BushHaitianSouth Asia
Author:William J. Clinton
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“The silencing of the Haitian Revolution is only a chapter within a narrative of global domination. It is part of the history of the West and it is likely to persist, even in attenuated form, as long as the history of the West is not retold in ways that bring forward the perspective of the world.”

WorldWayLongFormRevolutionPerspectiveWestNarrativeChaptersPersistDominationSilencingHaitianHaitian Revolution
Book:Silencing the Past (20th anniversary edition): Power and the Production of History
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