Haiti Cherie, Perle Des Antilles

Hear me! Hear this, oh beautiful descendants of Dessalines, Marie Claire Heureuse, Petion, Catherine Flon, Toussaint, and Christophe. No matter what condition in which you, Haiti, find yourself in the present, no matter what other names those outside and inside try to stick to you, Haiti and Haitians can be proud and rightly proclaim, "We are the light of the world. We are humanity's proof that people can break the shackles of bondage and indignity. We, Haiti, have done something that not one nation, living or past, can ever claim. We have broken the chains and claimed the land that we suffered under as our own."  

Because of that legacy alone, Haiti, you outshine all others. It doesn’t matter how you appear. Whether your appearance is that of poverty or of political instability, you are, because of your legacy, much above any other nation. For no one can claim what you can. No one in the past has claimed it. No one in the future will claim it.

Your legacy is not being the first “Black Republic”. You are the first and only nation ever on this Earth to have been forged by people who were once stolen from many diverse cultures, then forced to work until death, stripped of dignity, robbed of their humanity, treated as less than mere property, enslaved by a mighty empire. Not only did you reclaim your freedom, but you stayed and made the very land to which you were stolen your own. Spartacus tried it valiantly, but was unable to accomplish it. Many tried and failed; it was considered impossible. You, knowing that your freedom and dignity are your unalienable rights, were fortified to reclaim your stolen dignity. You are a nation forged by your unshaken conviction that dignity and freedom are not to be requested.  They are natural to our being human. You did not awake in absence of your dignity and freedom and approach those who stole them from you begging, “please give me back my freedom and dignity.” No; you awoke not seeing your dignity and freedom, and with great wisdom called upon divine aid. You saw the one who stole your dignity and freedom and you took back what you knew was yours. “My dignity and freedom are equal to life to me. It is either, I live with my dignity and freedom, or or I do not live.” You sent a loud message to the entire world. You reclaimed the dignity of all. Because of your commitment to this one principle, you outshine all other nations: those that are here now, the nations that are now gone, and all nations in the future.  If there were to be a nation like this in the future, it would be because of you. You are the first and only one to have accomplished this impossible feat. That is you, Haiti. What other nation can say to Haiti, "We too broke our chains and claimed the land under which we suffered for generations, and look we have no poverty, look we have political stability?” No one can. And no one can ever take that bright shining truth from you.

Walk proud, Haitians.  If there is a blessed people, no one more than you deserve that title. Don't let anyone, not inside, and especially those outside, tell you to drop any aspect of your culture that has forged this incredible reality. Don’t accept the lies that your incredible independence was actualized by a mob of angry, savage people. That yellow fever decimated the enemy. Have you ever seen a mob of people take down an empire and take away their most prized possession? No! Your independence was won by the greatest military strategy beyond those of that time. Yellow fever? Was that “yellow fever” affecting only them? What about the others on the island? How come they were not affected by this “yellow fever”?  How is it that a plague of yellow fever affected well-fed men but not those who mostly came from being overworked and underfed? Are Haitians so immune to yellow fever that this plague affected only the oppressing force? And if indeed it affected only them, is that not also proof that nature was on the side of those who became Haitians? It was not yellow fever, nor overwhelming angry mobs. It was the greatest military strategies of great military minds of well-trained men and women that won this never before seen independence.

Don't listen to any lies that you are cursed. Do you have land rich beyond measure?  You have rich soil. That alone made you once the richest place on earth. Not only do you have rich soil, but you also have gold and all kinds of precious resources. You have more oil than Venezuela and more natural gas than Russia. I am talking about you Haiti, not Hispañola. You have more rare earth than any one country. Your land came from the sky. Is it a cursed people who inherit such rich land? Is it a cursed people who have such a single claim? Even if you do not exploit the land for gold or metal and such, your beauty alone is enough for admirers to flock for the privilege of being in the presence of the descendants of Dessalines, Hereuse, Toussaint, Petion, Bookman, etc.  Is it right to call a culture that communes directly with the divine in all of its aspects a cursed people? Are a people whose spirituality is boundless in its reach and expressions a cursed people? Those outside have only two ways to respond to you: awe and admiration, because they can never replicate what you did.

Therefore, my dear Haitians, whenever you see another Haitian, feel yourself in the presence of greatness. Feel proud. When you speak your language, speak it knowing that you are giving others the privilege to hear the language of a blessed people. You are no longer just Africans, You are Haitians. You are their proud flowerings.

Political stability and economic prosperity for generations to come are now yours to claim. You have been taking your sweet time, and you have the right to do as you please because as you have always known, what you call your worst is already better than the best of any other; you have already done the impossible.  Political stability and economic prosperity may be difficult, but what is difficult for those who have already done the impossible? Go back to the essence of that principle “dignity and freedom or death”. Remember the impossible feat that you accomplished because it makes you unique among nations. It was not done by just one person, nor was it given to you.  It was done by every Haitian putting differences aside and focusing, allowing hearts to connect to what is beneficial to all, and aiming divinely inspired will to do something that no other nation has ever done in the history of human civilization. And because of that union, you connected to a force that can only be called divine. You, Haiti, made the impossible possible. While you could look to the world for a standard to follow, the world cannot offer you one, because you are your only standard. You have the richness of the land, and the people of the land, when united, are able to do the impossible.  There, Haiti, stop being too humble and let your radiance be seen. Shine Haiti! Shine Haiti! Shine!

When establish that political stability and many flock to enjoy your peace and security, hold on to your compassion. When millionaires are the poorest among you, don’t forget your generosity. Never ever, even in jest, imitate the oppressor. Do not adopt the faults of other nations, divisions of race, and class. Go forward, Haiti, and be that shining example that you are destined to be. Do it not just for yourself today, but for our ancestors and our future generations to walk proudly in foreign lands, being Haitians.  Do it for the benefit of humankind.

Written by Thupten Puntsok find him teaching meditation @ https://www.mndflmeditation.com/teachers.html