Super Stars de New York “Force de Frappe” from La Vie Ya Bel
“From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-lost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
When my father and his sister and my maternal grandmother and grandfather came to this country they saw the statue but could not read these words at the base of the Statue of Liberty.
Today 9/12/2024 there were bomb threats in Springfield Ohio.
Neo-Nazi group helped to fuel rumors of bomb threats against Haitian immigrants in Springfield Ohio.
More from this link on Metafilter. This truly brings out the worst in people who are full of hate and fear.
Unfortunately, this incident highlights the problem of skin pigmentation in this country. Racism continues to be one our enduring problems. We have made some progress but much still needs to be done. It can tear the country apart or bring us closer together. It is up to each individual. That is where it starts.
A number of years ago I saw a television documentary on Haiti. A ship’s captain told how he would keep his ship’s lights on at night so that the children on the docks could read and study for school. This captain said that he had been all over the world. Of all the people that he had encountered in his travels he said that the Haitian people were the strongest.
I was fortunate to meet some Haitian people in NYC, Miami Beach and Miami while DJ’ing at SOB’s in NYC for a summer in the 1990’s. They presented a dignity and humility that I found to be very endearing. They as a people also have a great sense of humor. It grieves me to hear of the current situation in Haiti. The Haitian people deserve much better.
The United States can not allow everyone into the country. It is just not possible.
We have limited resources and limited housing. We are not a source of infinite refuge for the immigrants of the world. However when people come to this country and contribute to the local economy they should not be threatened with violence. This is very short sighted and bigoted. We all come from somewhere else except the native Indians whose ancestors were here centuries before 1492. The book 1491 is a very enlightening and well researched treatise of the advanced civilizations that existed in North and South America prior to the European settlements, a kind word for what they did to the people who were here pre-1492.
If you have never listened to any Haitian music then you are missing out on some great music. You can hear the spirit of the people within the music. There is nothing like it. Check the audio of a great Haitian band at the top of this post.
NB See audio above for an example of how energetic Haitian compas (konpa) is.