Le 5 septembre 2005, après le passage de Katrina, dans un article publié justement dans ce blog et intitulé 'La Nouvelle Orléans et Nous les Haïtiens", en guise de réponse à la grande presse qui cherchait à dénigrer le nom d'Haïti en rapport avec cette catastrophe naturelle, j'écrivais:
"....Pourtant nous les Haïtiens devrions être fiers de l’héritage culturel que nous avons légué à la Nouvelle Orléans, réputé pour son exotisme, ses saveurs caribéennes tant au point de vue culinaire que musical ou artistique."
"La Nouvelle Orléans est la seule ville des Etats-Unis oú nous les Haïtiens pouvons retrouver la cuisine créole, proche de ce que nous consommons dans notre pays : sauce pwa, du riz colle ak pwa, bon legum gumbo, konsomme, pwason frit preske jan nou prepare l la kay nou, sans compter les flaveurs des épices tropicales dont nous sommes en général si friands. Le café au lait y existait bien avant que « Seattle steamed its first latté or Starbucks roasted its first bean.”... "Personnellement j’ai eu l’occasion de déguster ces mets et ces breuvages considérés comme exotiques mais délicieux par le touriste non averti..." "Nous les Haïtiens faisons partie intégrante de l’histoire de la Nouvelle Orléans, tout comme les Français. Nombre d’Haïtiens ou Haïtienne émigrèrent vers la Louisiane et plus particulièrement à la Nouvelle Orléans entre les années 1791 et 1804 ou dans les années qui suivirent l’indépendance d’Haïti. Durant une guerre pour sauver la ville des Anglais, le pirate Jean Lafitte avec sa milice composée d’anciens esclaves haïtiens livrèrent bataille le 8 janvier 1815 aux côtés des hommes du général Andrew Jackson à Chalmette, à une courte distance du Vieux Carré ( maintenant French Quarter) contre 8000 soldats de carrière anglais, leur infligeant près de 2000 pertes alors que le nombre avait été de huit tués du côté des américains..." Je suis bien heureux aujourd'hui de contaster que mon méssage n'a pas été un cri dans le désert. Dans un article en anglais reproduit plus bas, Mary LaCoste reprend mon thème en écrivant dans Louisiana Weekly que "La Nouvelle Orléans a été changée à tout jamais par des évènements en Haïti survenus depuis plus de 200 années ...". Les grands esprits se rencontrent.... Je plaisante.... Lisez vous-mêmes!! Et si vous de la chance, visitez le lieu de l'exposition si vou êtes de passage à la Nouvelle Orléans. Ce sera, à mon avis, un encouragement pour ceux qui veulent montrer au monde les riches contributions de notre Ayiti Chérie (Haïti) à d'autres cultures du monde. <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Haiti" rel="tag">New Orleans</a>
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New Orleans was changed forever by events in Haiti that took place over 200 years ago
By Mary LaCoste, Contributing Writer
May 15, 2006 
The Historic New Orleans Collection is featuring an unforgettable exhibit, Common Routes: Saint Domingue - Louisiana, showing now until June 30.
Many locals have been amazed to find out how much the bloody revolution in Saint Domingue, now called Haiti, enriched New Orleans' culture and population. Refugees who left the island two centuries ago found new homes in South Louisiana, and their descendants are here today, sometimes unaware of their Haitian roots.
And they came in large numbers, too. Between 1794 and 1810, rich and poor, black and white, free and enslaved flocked to the shores of South Louisiana from the wealthiest of the French colonies that maintained close ties to Paris. Among them were highly educated persons of color who became community leaders, teachers and writers. They also brought with them a renewed interest in an old African naturalistic religion . . . Voodoo.
The exhibit at the Historic New Orleans Collection displays the evidence of the influences felt in New Orleans. One is a remarkable book of romantic poetry, Les Cenelles, written by a talented group of free persons of color with family roots in San Domingue. The family of A.P. Tureaud rescued the copy of the book in the exhibit from obscurity.
The marriage certificate of the legendary Marie Laveau is featured. A New Orleans native, she acquired much of her knowledge of Voodoo from a man from Haiti, a land with a rich tradition of Voodoo beliefs and practices. Documents about her life are nestled in an alcove between rooms of paintings, artifacts and portraits. Names of the families mentioned are familiar to families here today.
A startling fact revealed by the exhibit explains why Napoleon sold Louisiana to the US. His troops were beaten so badly by the Haitian revolutionaries that he wanted to rid himself of his colonies in the New World. The result was the Louisiana Purchase. Another fact answers the question of why wealthy Haitians were allowed to bring their slaves with them after the time the US had banned the importation of slaves from other countries. It seems that the first Governor of Louisiana, W.C.C. Claiborne, argued that since Louisiana was still a territory, not yet a state, the law did not apply.
The exhibit is divided into three parts. A large exhibit room displays a collection of paintings by one of the twentieth century's most notable African American artists, Jacob Lawrence. It details the progress of the revolutionaries, for the most part, freed slaves, who aspired to the motto of the French revolution, "Liberty, equality, fraternity." It follows the rise to power of General Toussaint Louverture, their leader. The paintings, on loan from Amistad, are vivid, dramatic and convey the spirit of the times.
There is a video playing that reacquaints visitors with the actions of Napoleon and the historical facts surrounding the period. The heart of the exhibit is on the second floor (elevator provided) and includes several rooms. This part requires a $10 ticket but is free to Louisiana residents between 4:30 and 7:30 on Wednesdays.
The exhibit closes June 30. Schools groups are free and will be shown through by knowledgeable guides. Common Routes: Saint Domingue-Louisiana was planned as a major exhibit long before Katrina struck. Attendance has been slow, even by school groups, perhaps because people here have so many other things on their minds. Those that have come have felt a kinship to those refugees of long ago, perhaps because they have had a taste of what it is like to be a refugee.
Location: 533 Royal Street, New Orleans
Hours: 9:30 - 4:30 Tuesday through Saturday
Tel: 504-523-4662
Tickets: Free downstairs and $10 for upstairs
exhibits, all is free for LA residents on
Wednesdays, 4:30 til 7:30
Special event: Wednesday evening,May 17,
Haitian dancing demonstrations
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18 Mai: Fête du Drapeau Haïtien:
Le 18 mai 1803, Catherine Flon a cousu le premier drapeau haïtien après le congrès de l’Arcahaie (dans la localité de Merotte) pour mettre un terme à la colonisation. La Dessalinienne (Cliquez ici pour entendre la musique de cet hymne), l’hymne national est composé en 1904 avec les paroles de Justin Lhérisson et la musique de Nicolas Geffrard
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