The Struggle For Liberty And Prosperity In Haiti

211 Years in History

It was about 211 years ago, the 1^st of January 1804, when the brave men of Haiti cried victory at last from the chains, the whip, the rapes, and all the brutish savageries of the slave masters. It was not a victory for Haitians alone. It was a victory for the Negro race in general that had been subjected to the abasement of human nature through institutional servitude by other human beings, based on skin pigmentation. Toussaint Louverture, the architect of the fight for liberty in the face of French colonialism, envisioned a society in which all men enjoy equal freedom in accord with the laws of nature and civil society, as introduced by the same French proclamation of “The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizens (1789).”

Toussaint did not wish to break away from France. At the time, Haiti, or Saint Domingue, as it was known was considered the most productive place on earth. The Colons named it, “The Pearl of the Islands” due to its greenish beauty and its richness. The French Colons made fortunes there on the backs of the black ancestors. Toussaint and his collaborators wanted that to change, for the Negroes to have liberty and a share of the productive life that was there. Based on the Declaration of 1789, he declared the slaves free under the constitution of the then mother nation, France. However, Napoleon Bonaparte, the French emperor of the time could not stand to see the Negro people free. He unleashed the mightiest naval forces of the moment to subdue Haiti. Jean Jacques Dessalines, the father of the Independence, cried, “Libery or Death!” After the greatest atrocities, the French militaries capitulated. The Negro slaves won their liberty and their territory. 

Freedom did not bring unity in the new Haiti. It brought faction instead, as the majority Negro population would have to perpetually continue to fight the minority Caucasian and Mulatto that would not recognize the Blacks as equal, to collaborate with them to form an environment of mutual respect and prosperity for all. Now, it is 211 years after the Independence. Haiti  has remained a culture of division and strife that has produced a “Failed State”, as to the standard of the world of Nation States and of the general society of globalization.

The Fight Goes On

Today, 211 years later, the fight goes on. The Haitian mass, the underprivileged, the poor, the illiterate, and those sympathizing with them are doing battle. The Haitian elites and the misinformed call them “ignorant and savage, (sot, bet).” But for a contemporary British author, writing about the American Occupation of the island, he considered the above description as opposite. MARY ANASTASIA O’GRADY wrote recently in the opinion section of the illustrious Wall Street Journal. “…everyday life here is, in the words of Thomas Hobbes, mostly “nasty, brutish and short.” For this we can thank the politicians.” That’s how objective observers view the independence that was produced in Haiti by the Freedom fighters. It is sad. Yet, the mass of the people would never give up their fight for freedom and prosperity. 

So far, for 211 years of existence as a country, Haitian leadership has failed miserably. Today, on the eve of the 211^th anniversary, the most deplorable condition is existed, as described by O’grady; or as illustrated below - Crisis After Crisis: (1) Elections are overdue for three years. (2) Soon all elected representatives would be nulled. (3) The judiciary system is nonexistent or without merit. (4) The Prime Minister was recently forced out by the president facing popular protest. (5) The mass of the people requires the resignation of the President. (6) In summary, Mother Haiti and its poor children are the only losers.

What new generations of Haitians leadership and all those fighting for freedom must comprehend is the Toussaint Louvertue’s dream. It is a world of Liberty of Mutual Respect, where people live and collaborating together for a better society. It is what we call Democracy. Young and new Haitian leaders must take a new approach away from the pass 211 years, where it has been a fight for spoils and winners take all. Today, in the world of globalization, nations are seeking to come together with each other to form common bonds and share interests so that they could live in peace and harmony.

Haitian Elites Must Beware

The world out there is no longer an environment of savagery of hunting and gathering. It is a world of collaboration, of society, of civilization. Nations are joined together to form better societies among themselves and others. Are we so bestial that we cannot even collaborate with our own brothers and sisters? Why can’t we come together and share? Lavalas comes. They take everything to the left. Now Neo Makout is trying to pull everything to the right. It is bestial at the uttermost. No wonder that O’Grady sees life in Haiti as, “nasty, brutish and short.” And, with that, the fight will always be on. Why? Because the leadership, the elites, keeps the environment bestial and animalistic. And what animals do in the wilderness? They chase after each other. They devour each other.

How Long this Is Going to Continue?

The new generation has to choose. Are we going to continue on the destructive paths of our parents? Or, are we going to concoct our own new and better pathways that would lead us in this world of globalization? This is a recipe for you Nouvel Generation: (1) The nation state is a civilized environment where various groups of people live in common accord to better their lives based on societal nature and away from the wilderness. (2) People are brothers and sisters in a national environment, responsible for each other’s safety and well-being, as separated from other nations. (3) The nation state is a collective society; all the nationals must come together in mutual respect, collaborate, and work to advance the better cause of the nation. (4) No other nation is in the best interest of another. The leadership of each nation must take the best strategy to bring the nation to parity with the world of nation states, or it would be a failed state. (5) No one has the right to take full control of the nation. We have to collaborate and share in mutual respect, and work together to accomplish a prosperous civil society. (6) The national representatives must always be ready for dialogue, negotiation, collaboration, and working together to build the nation for the betterment of all national members and the society at large. 

The new generation must adopt a communal sentiment, of collaboration. The young people must join together; they must group to vote for collective and national interests, making sure that leaders understand that they are not free to come, to create conflicts, fight, and waste the meager national resources, and not working together to make the nation better.

Join the conversation. Connect with granmoun@hotmail.com, or Join the Facebook group: MKNA – All Haitians Together For A Better Haiti 

By E.C. GRANMOUN

E.C. Granmoun is the Author of: "Bully: A Novel"  ebook, on amazon.com

Toussaint Must Be Crying In His Grave 210 Years Later

The dream of Toussaint Louverture, the architect of the liberty of Haiti, was to end slavery and keep the entire island of Hispaniola united as part of the French colony. However, Napoleon Bonaparte, the French emperor could not stand to see the Negro people free. He unleashed the mightiest naval forces of the moment to subdue Haiti. After the most atrocious struggle, the French forces capitulated. The Negro slaves won their liberty and their territory. However, Freedom did not bring unity in the new country. It brought faction instead, as the majority Negro population would have to perpetually continue to fight the minority Caucasian and Mulatto that would not recognize the Blacks as equal, to collaborate with them to form an environment of mutual respect and prosperity for all.

Now, it is 210 years after the Independence. Haiti  has remained a culture of division and strife that has produced a “Failed State”, as to the standard of the world of Nation States and of the general society. Today, it is a system of Globalization where all nations are, like, one big society, one big world. In this atmosphere, nations are seeking to come together and form partnerships, to work collaboratively within a giant economy to render life more adaptable. It is sad for Haiti. Haitians are still not able to unite with their own national brothers and sisters. Haitians are still chasing each other like animals in the wild field. Haitians are still not capable of understanding that as members of one nation, they have to respect each other and collaborate with each other to form a progressive Haitian society and to be and accepted member of the general society.

On the ground of Haiti, there is the imperialist force of the United Nations. They have been there since 2004 when American forces kidnapped Jean Bertrand Aristide at the approach of a civil guerrilla band, financed by Americans subjects and corrupted Haitian bourgeois. They are there because the Haitians have not been able to find a common ground as members of one nation to work and build a progressive Haitian society. To make matters worst, the current system of government has not been adherent to democratic principles. So, on the eve of the 210 years festivities, Haiti is found to be in a state of emergency due to poverty, hard life, repression, and elections that have been delayed for over 3 years. The leaders are blaming each other for the failure.

Once again, the Americans are there as referee. IRONIC. The American ambassador called the Haitian leaders into meeting. Not surprising! If people are not able to lead themselves, they have to have somebody putting them in line. The Haitians should learn by now. The Americans have a propaganda. “If you cannot defeat the enemy, you have to join him.” Haitians must start to take a new orientation. After 210 years of fighting among themselves, they  must finally realize that it is leading nowhere for anybody. Nobody has really won. The nation remains the butt of jokes; Haitian are not respected; the Haitian people are not wanted anywhere; and the leaders are like lower “animals” that the foreign nations always have to come to put in line and to throw little crumbs in their baskets, kuiy la.

The 210^th anniversary would be sadly looked upon, just like the bicentennial in 2004. There is too much discord among the leaders and the population in general. The country is in the middle of major civil disobedience. It could be better. If Haitians leaders should learn to cultivate the big vision, to respect, collaborate, communicate, and work together to build a nation for a better Haitian society, the nation would move out of the bestial nature, and the 220th anniversary would be joyful.

Join the conversation. Connect with granmoun@hotmail.com, or Join the Facebook group: MKNA – All Haitians Together For A Better Haiti 

By E.C. GRANMOUN

E.C. Granmoun is the Author of: "Bully: A Novel"  ebook, on amazon.com

Dialogue Should Be The Course of Action

As always, the country is being torn apart. The political groups are keeping distant from each other and want no collaboration. The so called leaders are accusing and blaming each other, but in reality, most want no serious discussion. The executive government is being accused of dictatorship, that cannot be disputed. There are no elections, and the president is waiting to govern by decree. The people have been protesting ceaselessly on the streets of the capital and other major cities in the country. We have an explosive situation on hands.

This is nothing new for Haiti. Throughout the history of the country, that’s generally the way it has been. Our people have been fighting among themselves and are not trying to accomplish anything of significance for the nation as a whole. We are still in a bestial stage, that we cannot unite with our brothers and sisters to work and develop a prosperous human society. Today, in the world of globalization, we should expect matters to be different. We should expect to be coming together, to be moving ahead. Too bad. It is not happening. We have the United Nations on the ground with a mission of stabilization. But, it appears that nothing is changing, and the past is going to continue haunting us for a very long time.

What do we do as members of such a decrepit nation? We don’t want our people to take the streets, protesting, and overthrowing government in place. We would prefer to collaborate with our leaders to work and build our nation. However, our leaders have failed us. They are not working. They are fighting against each other and cannot agree on anything. Very soon, the nation that is one of representation would be left with only the executive government, and the president as a king. We should say by this that the people are right to be upset and to take the streets to reclaim their rights. Still, we should not deter from our effort to bring the nation together. Do not cut heads and burn houses. The faction has been killing us for so long! We must strive now to turn to the right direction.

Dialogue should be the course of action. Even with a king Switmiki, dialogue would be better than the alternative. Of course it would be laughably upsetting for the nation to remain with only Martelly as ‘government’, and for all the posts to be filled with Martelly’s men. Yet, it would still be many times wiser to try to find a reasonable ground of negotiation. We would not discourage the people from protesting. They should always reclaim their rights. However, dialogue should remain the focus. We should not have a king Martelly. Haiti should not be going up in flame either.

It is unfortunate that the so called leaders have allowed the situation to touch this igniting point. Perhaps, this what the government was planning from the start. The people likewise remain with no choice than to protest. But, please keep in mind, dialogue, dialogue, dialogue.

Join the conversation. Connect with granmoun@hotmail.com, or Join the Facebook group: MKNA – All Haitians Together For A Better Haiti 

By E.C. GRANMOUN

E.C. Granmoun is the Author of: "Bully: A Novel"  ebook, on amazon.com

A Memorable Date In History

Liberty is the ultimate right and one of the most beautiful experiences of the human beings. The Christian concept says that God created the man in his image and granted him the freedom of living. The Haitian heroes who pioneered the liberty from mass slavery cried, it is either “freedom or death.” November 18, 1803 marked a decisive date in the struggle for the freedom of the Negro race and the liberty of all mankind. It is the date when the French military force of enslavement, the most formidable military of the moment, succumbed to the band of revolting slaves of Haiti and marked the end of institutional slavery of mankind.

Today, November 2014, a little over 200 years later, this date is much kept in the dark. Most Haitians are not aware of the importance of it; and, it generally not existed for the world at large. Yet, November 18 was the date when the enchained Negro race started to drop the yoke from its neck and the chain from its feet to never wear them again. In the Battle of Vertiere in Cap- Haitian, Haiti, the mighty naval forces of Bonapatre cried, enough! We give up.

It all started with the Negro General Toussaint Louvertre’s declaration of liberty from slavery for all in Haiti, in accord with the Declaration of the Rights of Man in France. Toussaint did not want Independence. He only proclaimed freedom for the slaves, as citizens of France. The colonial power could not consume the freedom for the Negroes. The dictator Napoleon Bonaparte deployed the largest naval forces ever, at the moment, to conquer the tiny island nation and return the Negroes into slavery. After much devastation, atrocities, treasons, diseases, deaths, and tragedies, the colonial forces met with the rebels in the Battle of Vertiere.

Legend has it that it was the most formidable battle. They started in the night of 17. They fought and slaughtering each other through the night and into the day of the 18. At a certain point in the mid afternoon, a General of Brigade named Capois Lamort, was advancing on his horse, and the animal was struck by bullets and fell down the ground; the General kept on moving ahead. Then, a bullet ripped up his hat from his head, and he brandished his sword, crying, “Keep moving ahead, keep moving ahead...” When the cruel French General Rochambeau saw that, he stopped the battle and commanded his troops to applaud the Negro General. Thereafter, the battle raged on, until the French capitulated in the middle of the night.

The important thing is, the French could no longer hold on their atrocious pursuit of the Negro race. They gave up; and the following days, they took up to the seas to whatever destinations that they could safely reach. At that point, all enslaved men and women of Saint Domingue or Haiti became free to never suffer the whip, the yoke, the chains, the rapes, and the evilness of the slave masters again.

Although it is true that Haiti has remained under much difficulty. The Haitians have yet to be unified from the slave system or mentality that had much divided them; there is still a great deal to celebrate. This struggle was not only for Haitians. It was for the whole Negro race and mankind at large. The liberty proclaimed by the Haitian Heroes gave courage to all those afflicted by slavery. It gave them hope. When we have Martin Luther King, Mandela, Obama; it is only the continuation of the seeds of freedom planted by Toussaint Louverture. Now, on 18 November 2014, 211 years later, the Haitians have only to continue building on this freedom. Our forefathers gave us the liberty. Now let us make it work for us!

Join the conversation. Connect with granmoun@hotmail.com, or Join the Facebook group: MKNA – All Haitians Together For A Better Haiti 

By E.C. GRANMOUN

E.C. Granmoun is the Author of: "Bully: A Novel"  ebook, on amazon.com

We Have To Learn To Live Together

At the moment, we have in Haiti what we may call a system of intolerance - Makout Versus Lavalas. Is it so bad that there are two opposing political forces in a country? No, it is  not. In fact, democracy is based on such a notion of different political weights to counterbalance fractious political positions. In the case of Haiti, however, Makout and Lavalas have remained more of obstructive entities rather than democratic power brokers. If Haiti is to move in the right direction, the political entities must look at each other as working partners. We must learn to live together.

How do we live together as one people anyway? We live together by unite and join forces to live and work as one nation, one people, to build a nation of prosperity for the whole. We have to start coming together and applying democratic principles, negotiating, collaborating, and advancing a progressive agenda. Makout and Lavalas do not have to be enemies. They have to be forces working together to balance the nation.

Some people may think, Makout has done too much wrong. Others may think Lavalas is not any better. Both could be true. However, what is important for us now is to not abide by the past, but to begin considering the best alternative to move ahead. And, how do we start? We must begin with our own selves, everybody, his or her own self; we have to take action. After all, what is Makout or Lavalas? Are they not some groups of individuals composing of us? Every Haitian must fit into one group, or some other lesser ones tearing the nation apart. What is important is that everyone starts considering how to join hands with each other for a better Haiti.

Haiti remains a too-divisive environment. You have the minority wealthy class versus the majority poor; the Mulatto versus the Blacks; the city dwellers versus the peasants; people from Port-au-prince versus the provinces; literates versus illiterates; people within the country versus the Diaspora; and you have all the religious conflicts. The fact is, we have to learn to live with all of them. It is a matter of taking strategies to incorporate and tolerate the others in our lives and our surroundings. (1) One of the first things Haitians need to do is to stop destroying government. The question of coup-d’etat, protestation, “cutting heads and burning houses” must stop. There should be enough tolerance to allow an administration to last its five years. Or, if an official or the government is outlawed, there should be some sort of judicial process – no coup-d’etat!

(2) The political forces must learn to tolerate each other, deal with each other, allow each other to participate, and allow the party in power to work. Again, there should be a judicial process to deal with parties that are out of the law. (3) The interest groups have to be fair. You may not like a certain group, but there should be a connecting point that could benefit all. We should reserve the right to bring others to justice when they are wrong; but, when they are right, we need to appreciate them and collaborate with them.

(4) Let us stop the fragmentation and start bringing the pieces together. We must recognize that we are all brothers and sisters under the Haitian flag, and we are condemned to live together according to the law of nature and of nation states. Therefore, please, let us come together and seek a common interest for all on our little territory on earth, that our 10 million brothers and sisters would ever be glued upon. Blacks, Mulattos, Whites, urbanites, peasants, port-au-princians, provincials, literates, illiterates, locals, Diasporas, all the religious groups; we are the ones who make the Haitian nation. And, if Haiti is to be better, it would take all of us. Each one of us must do our part to keep the nation working together for all of us. The next time you see another Haitian, don’t think of him as an adversary or something strange and isolated; think of him as somebody to collaborate,  work, and live with.

Connect with granmoun@hotmail.com or Join the Facebook group: MKNA – All Haitians Together For A Better Haiti.

By E.C. GRANMOUN

E.C. Granmoun is the Author of: "Bully: A Novel"  ebook, on amazon.com

The Nation Must Come Together

The prosperity of a nation depends wholly on the ability of its people to come together and join forces to work and build an appreciated environment for all. Such an environment is based on the common interest of the inhabitants, according to law and order and mutual respect. Haiti needs to come together. Haitians need to come together. The nation must begin to act as one, as an entity in order to prosper in the world of nation states.

Haiti is a very minute place. The entire island of Hispaniola is only 29,530 square miles (76,480 km2). The Dominican Republic occupies much of it, 18,705 square miles, and Haiti 10,714 square miles, just enough to raise a couple millions of animals. Over 10 million Haitians are huddled on this little piece of land, and the population is increasing. And, like it or not, we are condemned to live together there.

If we are condemned to live together, we must live together. The problem is. Haiti remains too shattered. We don’t feel that we are one. We don’t feel that we belong together. We don’t feel that we share one cause. We don’t feel we belong to our nation and must take position to build it and make it something for all of us. We all want to leave. But, sadly, only a few would leave. And, many of those would return after much nostalgia; and, not forgetting those who would be deported. Generally, the other nations do not want us.

Author, Thomas Madiou said, when he told his father of his intention to write a history book of Haiti, his father asked him what about the “division.” His father was worried that he may render the situation worse by telling the truth. I have a similar problem with my friends. They want to know if I believe that Haitians could really come together. I said to one of them, “They have to; or, else…” He adds. “If we don’t do it, nobody is going to do it for us.” The point is. We are condemned to live together. And, we have a responsibility to work together to make our lives better. Other than that, Haiti is going to remain that poor, old, dirty, nasty, trashy, contaminated, desolated nation that no one respects; and, Haitians would remain the restavec people, a subject of repugnance to the world society.

What do we do then to change our course of history? We must take a stand to put an end to the divisive nature of the Haitian. We have to stop the tearing and come together. We must come to agreement: All Haitians Together For A Better Haiti. All on board: (Black, Mulatto, and White, rich and poor, literate and illiterate, urbanites and peasants, no one is left behind).

I mean, we are all belonged, as members of the group. We only need to find a way to come together to help, share, promote, and live with each other. The bourgeoisie does not have to be an enemy of the poor. They need each other to have a prosperous country. The rich people need to invest their money in the country to create work, to create a fair environment for all. The poor men need to appreciate the generous investments and work productively to contribute to the successfulness of the nation. Everybody wins. It is when the rich take their wealth abroad; it is when the poor break and tear down everything; that’s when everybody loses.

We could collaborate and live together productively. The other nations do it, even the small nations around us. Haitians go to the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, and all the smaller islands out there, looking for scraps. The people in these smaller nations are working collaboratively to better themselves. We could do the same. We simply need to start seeing our Haitian brothers and sisters as members of our entity and not just isolated beings. We simply need to start embracing each other and work collaboratively. The bourgeois could bring investments. The poor could provide labor. The urbanites could produce skilled workers. The peasants could work the fields. Everybody has a function.

The next time you see another Haitian, don’t think of him as an adversary or something strange and isolated; think of him as somebody to collaborate and work with - if our people should ever cease to be the laughing stock of the world. Join the call for Haitian national unity. Join our Facebook group: MKNA – All Haitians Together For A Better Haiti.  Or email, granmoun@hotmail.com. Join the conversation

By E.C. GRANMOUN

E.C. Granmoun is the Author of: "Bully: A Novel"  ebook, on amazon.com

A Shattered Nation

If the Haitian nation would come out of the quagmire, the pieces would have to come together. Having said that, I find my mouth trembling, and my heart pumping hard, recognizing the almost impossible task that I am asking. Yet, I recognize, unless the Haitian people come together, and join forces to live and work as one nation, one people, to build their nation, Haiti would never succeed. Thus, I want to borrow the propaganda from President Obama’s first campaign, “Yes we can.”

I mean, the Haitians can come to unity. I recognize, however, it is going to be a tough battle. A little overview of the country’s past would produce a sense of the challenge. Christopher Columbus arrived on the Island that was then called Ayiti Boyo Kiskeya to find the native islanders there. The newcomers overcame the aboriginal people, overworked and abused them, and exterminated them. They brought in Negros from Africa. After about 300 years of abuse and struggle, the black slaves won their freedom from France by much shedding of blood and lost of lives.

This victory was not obtained easily and cleanly. There were much mistrust and betrayal among all groups. And, the strife that emanated from colonialism ended up embedded into the new nation with two faction groups, the Mulattos and the Blacks, defending different interests not advantageous for the whole nation. From there, you have a nation always struggling, deteriorating, moving back in time, to reach the point of the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, and having been declared a “failed state.” Now, a contingent of the United Nations is on the ground, claiming trying to hold the pieces.

The blame is always on as well. (1) The Mulattos, the bourgeoisie steal everything. (2) The poor black mass destroys everything. (3) There are invisible hands maintaining the chaos. Those are the three common antagonistic reasonings. Basically, everybody is blaming somebody.

But, who is really to blame? Some people may not agree with him. Yet, if we would accept the rationale of Felix Morisseau Leroy, everybody is to blame. I would understand it if you should choose to exempt yourself from Tonton Morisseau’s generalization. But, Jesus Christ said the same thing when he declared that anyone not considering himself a sinner should throw the first stone. It is up to every Haitian to decide how he or she fits into this square.

The followings are some of the common sentiments that we are either perpetrators of, or victims thereof:

•      The bourgeoisie, the mulatto, and the elites do not care for the country. They are pillaging, taking everything for their families and friends, and be ready to flee abroad when things get out of control. Therefore, they are not worried about building a nation, or maintaining an environment to help advance the cause of a prosperous Haitian society.
•       The governments are thieves, filling up their pockets. Governments in Haiti have been generally considered kleptocratic. They usually are not concerned about their people and the nation. They are associated with the rich people and indulging in frauds, while stealing from their own people.
•      The poor black mass is ignorant, violent, and ready to destroy. The poor people have an inclination for revenge. Having been victimized, poor, uneducated, and have nothing to preserve; governments don’t protect them and steal from them; the rich do not do anything to ameliorate their conditions; the poor people often become violent, when the bullets of the government are not able to stop them.
•       The invisible hands are always working to disturb the environment. In the history of Haiti, white people have always been a conflicting force. The most important fact to consider, is that, they are always brought in to support a particular group of Haitians.

It does not end here. The fragmentation pierces every joint of the Haitian society. (1) Mulatto versus Black – Some people consider Haiti one or the most racist place on earth. (2) Rich versus poor – Some people consider Haiti one of the most stratified. (3) Port-au-prince versus the provinces. Port-au-prince is the thing. If you are not from there, it is like, you are nothing. (4) Every region is like a little country. It is a common thing for one Haitian to ask another, what country he is from. (5) People from a big city versus a smaller city; people from a smaller city versus a smaller village; people from a smaller village versus the countryside; and, it does not stop here.

What we have here is the shattered nation. It is like every Haitian is in his own little world. We are not in it together. We don’t care for each other. We don’t come together to make that little place that we share together a favorable environment for all. If Haiti should come out of the chaos, Haitians must look deep into those issues, come up with strategies to fight them, and start implementing nation building and national unity.

Please join the Mouvman  Kolektivite Nasyonal Ayisyen (MKNA) - by Join this conversation on this blog or Facebook or Twitter @ecgranmoun. Or email, granmoun@hotmail.com

By E.C. GRANMOUN

E.C. Granmoun is the Author of: "Bully: A Novel"  on amazon.com

The Question Of A State Funeral For Baby Doc

When it was announced that Jean Claude Duvalier was on his way to return to Haiti from his long exile in France after the earthquake that is believed to have killed some 300,000 Haitians, people were astounded. To many, this was the worst that could happen to the devastated nation, next to the earthquake. During his stay in Haiti, Duvalier maintained a conflicting profile. He was the subject of human rights violations and fraud allegations. He was placed under house arrest. He was summoned to court several times. Many would like to see him prosecuted, particularly those whose rights were violated or had relatives suffered under the dictator. Baby Doc, who always appeared old, sick, and frail, did not seem to worry much either. The new government of Michel Martelly was a sympathizer and protected him. A Haitian judge voided all charges against him based on status of limitation.

In fact, Baby Doc felt very at home. While those who remembered the reign of terror under him and his father abhorred him, a great majority considered him a victim of his father’s system. They disassociated him with the evils of his regime, and they nostalgically searched for the false sense of security and prosperity of his days. Further, the Haitian youth that did not live his moment, they have been led to believe that during his period everything was right. Hence, they hold no grudges against him, and in fact would like to return to his system of ‘tonton makout’ rather than the freedom and insecurity of the moment. Duvalier therefore experienced no fear roaming the filthy and insecure terrain of Haiti. Plus, the present government provided him security, unlike the former President Aristide, who is fighting for his existence in the country.

Now, the former dictator is dead. The question is whether he should receive a state funeral or not. His protégée Sweet Micky, had first inclined for that. However, it appears that after much criticism from all about, he has reneged. The Miami Herald has reported that the dictator may end up undergoing a regular funeral at his alma mater Saint Louis de Gonzague.

Personally, I did not pay much attention to this at first. I was more occupied with the issue of the tarantula that bit him. I was wondering whether the spider poisoned and killed him. For, I remember these beasts well and clearly during a two-year stint in Haiti and the city of Cap-Haitian. They look so creepy and terrifying! I really did look at them as something that could kill somebody. And, for an environment so spoiled and filthy to accommodate creepy creatures, as to the result of bad governments, Duvalier would reap the consequence of his leadership. This is not important, though.

I have arrived to realize that as a Haitian citizen working for a Haitian national unity, and a writer who has written considerably about Haiti, I should offer my position to my readers, followers, and whosoever. In reality, I did not support the idea of a state funeral for the Dictator. Yet, I did not make a big deal about it either. I simply heard that the Haitian president was leaning on giving it to him, and I thought nothing would stop him. I thought. What difference would it make anyway? If there is no law and order, a funeral makes no difference.

I decided to write this blog after having viewed the article from the Miami Herald that Martelly had reneged. Why is that important to me?

I think Martelly has taken a major step into Haitian reconciliation. I sympathize with those who would prefer the president to have a state funeral. You have your rights. Yet, I encourage you to support Martelly in this decision. For a man that people consider a dictator in the making himself, Martelly has made a bold move. I did not expect that from him. I thought he was going to utilize his penchant for pleasure and disrespect to give his patron the state funeral. He has greatly surprised me.

Now, to both Duvalier’s protagonists and antagonists, this is what is important. It is not whether the former president receives a state funeral or not. It is where Haitians are willing and ready take the nation in this 21^st century. Are we going to continue to fight one another? Or, are we going to work collaboratively in legality for the prosperity of the nation? It is a shame that in this world of civilization, we cannot take control of our destiny. We’re living as “dog eat dog.” We are having an occupation force on our ground to keep us from murdering each other. And, our leaders are living large!

I applaud Martelly for this decision. It would not really make much difference to me. Yet, I recognize it as a sign of acknowledgment to the other side. The international world has considered the Duvaliers as major devastators of the Haitian nation. Many Haitians today are still living what they and their relatives had suffered under the regimes. And, Haiti reemerged from the Duvalierism as the most corrupted, unstable, and poor nation in the Western hemisphere. It would be heartbroken for both those miserable Haitians living in the filthy slums of the country, and the international communities to witness a pompous state funeral for Baby Doc. It would be a remaking of the sarcastic marriage of the obese dictator and the party-girl Michelle Bennett.

Wise move, Martelly! Now, the elections?

Please join the Mouvman  Kolektivite Nasyonal Ayisyen (MKNA) - by Join this conversation on this blog or Facebook or Twitter @ecgranmoun. Or email, granmoun@hotmail.com

By E.C. GRANMOUN

E.C. Granmoun is the Author of: Bully: A Novel  onamazon.com
Join E.C. Granmoun on Facebook and Twitter 

The Social Worker

Denis Renel Bellevue is the Social Worker. He arrives into child welfare in Miami to make a difference, a big difference. However, before long he realizes that instead of him changing DCF, he was the one being transformed. DCF is ruthless, chaotic, a hellhole for the families and the social workers.

Denis suddenly finds himself trapped in a romantic affair with Darlene, a beautiful sixteen-year-old female. She was supposed to be bad, but she got captivated by his  laissez-faire attitude. The cruel organizational environment never gives him a break, either. He cannot improve the condition of the children. The job is merciless. He suffers utter depression. He laments “Children will continue to be abused, lost, and even murdered in here; and, I could see us workers just drop down dead.” Then Maria, a coworker that nothing seemed to annoy, succumbs to the pressure of the job - dead of a heart attack. Denis wonders who’s next.

http://www.amazon.com/THE-SOCIAL-WORKER-E-C-GRANMOUN-ebook/dp/B00B97XLR2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1401722177&sr=8-2&keywords=e+c+granmoun

By E.C. GRANMOUN
Other Books by the author on amazon.com:
Where Is Baby X?: The Little Girl Trilogy, Book One
Baby X Isn't Anywhere: The Little Girl Trilogy, Book Two

The Chaos Of Child Welfare: Revelation By X-DCF Social Worker
Bully: A Novel 
Join E.C. Granmoun on Facebook and Twitter 

A Nation Divided Cannot Stand

The Wild Terrain

I consider a wild terrain to be an open space, not cultivated, not managed in any manner, and is generally left to the mercy of the savage nature. I like to refer to it more accurately in the Haitian Creole term Savann. You may look at it as a space where wild animals run. During the early history of the United States, the settlers found the western portion of the land volatile, violent and dangerous. Individuals who ventured there were subjected to all types of insecurity: a violent nature, bad weather, wild animals, rough terrains, unfriendly Native Americans, and more. And, there were no laws, and unscrupulous people would conduct their own justices and act according to the level of their greeds. It was referred to as the “wild-wild-west.”

I refer to Haiti as a ‘wild terrain’ because that’s the type of mentality that I have considered materialized out of the revolution for Independence. The nation has experienced a perpetual nature of instability and insecurity similar to that of the Savann. Leaders have killed each other; the people are divided; the elite classes have continued to exploit mercilessly, with external mercenary supports; the mass has maintained its violent tendency; and the nation has deteriorated to naught. At the moment, the nation is at the bottom of the pit. It has been declared a “failed state.” A contingent of the United Nations, (MINUSTAH), is on the ground to keep the people from slaughtering each other, and to attempt to create some stability.

So far, the verdict remains gloomy. The international political world has called on Haitian leaders themselves to lead the way to start healing their internal wounds and to take strategies for national prosperity. At this moment, there appears to be no real effort.

The two major political forces in the country are literally in the throats of each other. Whichever first severed the neck of the other would presumably be the winner. It is the same old ancient politics. Toussaint is betrayed; Dessalines is murdered; Christophe is pressured to suicide; Petion is pushed into his deathbed. And, it had remained a tradition of betrayal and deceit. Let the most wicked man win. You may call that “Machiavellian” or, “survival of the fittest.” Which, generally is translated to bestial. It is to say, the Haitian man has not matured to societal civilization yet. We remain in the wild, in the Savann, where no man is concerned about the collectivity of the whole, but living as if tomorrow would take care of itself.

The Wild Must Be Tamed

If the wild is not dominated, there is no society. As of the moment, Haiti is considered a “failed state.” That means the Haitian man has not been capable to build a civilized society. In other word, the environment remains a wild-wild-west, where, the worst is prone to happen. That is why the United Nations are on the ground, to help the Haitian turns away from his wild destructive mentality. Some people may not agree with the U.N., but it is not for no reason that Haiti has also been called the “poorest nation” in the Western world.

A house divided in itself cannot stand. The fact is. The Haitians must leave the mentality of the wild and come together as members of a group, a community, a nation, a society, or whatever could glue this nation. This means that the Haitians have to understand that there is a group interest to fulfill, for the members to be happy and not destroying the environment. The first major step is the Unity of the People. Haitians must come together and start nation building. There should no longer be a matter of “I, I, I, I”; it should be WE, US, WE, US. We are a nation. And, the interest of the nation should be preeminent. Our Country should be a place where reasonable, rational, logical, and decent human beings live. The rule of law and order must be implemented.

What exactly does that mean? In real term: A Lavalas and a Duvalierist should be able to function in legality in the country without one trying to destroy the other. However, in order to accomplish that, certain prerogatives must be in place. (1) Recognize all legitimate political parties. (2) Organize free and fair elections. (3) Don’t persecute oppositions. (4) Don’t malign government in place. (5) Absolutely no coup-d’etat! (6) Organize legitimate political interest groups. (7) Minimize external influence within internal politics. To put it simply, follow the words of Jesus: Do into others as you would like them to do into you.

The Haitians must be human beings with a sense of what is right or wrong just like any other national beings. It is shameful what Haitian represents today in the global society. Everybody is ready to run out of the country. We should be ashamed of ourselves. Our children are walking with their heads down because of what we are doing. We should be ashamed.

Let us start to right things up, with the “I” first. Then, let US reach out to the others and teach them how to make a difference. Join the call for Haitian national unity.

Any Haitian, anybody reading this blog, who is interested in the prosperity of the Haitian nation, please join the Mouvman Apel Rasanblman Ayisyen (MARA) - by Join this conversation on this blog or Facebook or Twitter @ecgranmoun. Or email, granmoun@hotmail.com

By E.C. GRANMOUN

E.C. Granmoun is the Author of: Bully: A Novel  onamazon.com
Join E.C. Granmoun on Facebook and Twitter 

A Call To Unity In Haiti

A House Divided Cannot Stand

I don’t remember exactly where this is found in the bible, but I am sure that there is such a concept in the new testament, that, a house divided within itself cannot stand. The Haitian forefathers held a noble view – Union is equal power. It has been over 200 years now since Haiti claimed its sovereignty by the violent liberation of the slaves from their French Captors. Toussaint Louverture, the architect of the revolution, envisioned a nation of unity under the greater French imperialism. It did not work. The French desired continued slavery of the Negro beings.

Jean Jacques Dessalines accomplished the Independence by eliminating all bonds with France. Together, he and his colleagues declared unity under the flag of liberty. They swore to live freely or die. Unfortunately, right in the days following the Independence, the concept of unity disintegrated. The nation became divided: white, mulatto, black, and whatever. And, the fight continued with special interest groups of black and mulatto, supported by white, (American, French, Germain, and whichever).

The Division Goes On

Today is the 21^st Century, 210 years after the Independence. It is unfortunate what is going on in Haiti. The world has moved a long stride from 1804 to 2014: Complete liberation of the mankind from institutionalized slavery, Universal human suffrage, Substantial exploration in space, Great advances in science and technology, and the globalization of our society into generally a one-world-market. In Haiti, the division persists, and the nation is moving backward.

From the fall of the Tonton Makouts to the rise of the Lavalas Regime, neo Haitian generations have experienced the enormity of the division that was suppressed by the rods of the Tonton Makouts. Throughout the Lavalas era, it was a continual fight between the two extremes, supporting generally by the merchants on one side and poor militants on the other. In 2010, a new form of government came to life. They say that the Tonton Makout has made his comeback. A level of division started like has never seen before.

Duvalier, Baby Doc, the present symbol of the Tonton Makout is back in the country. Aristide, the father of Lavalas is also back. The tension is high. People are calling for the arrest and prosecution of Duvalier. Likewise, people are calling the same for Aristide. Both sides have their pros and cons. It is therefore an extremely politicized and polarized environment. No side wants to accept defeat and no effort to bring about unity.

What do you think then? A loser nation.

The Nation Is The Ultimate Loser

Since the beginning, it was like that. The nation loses. Toussaint is betrayed; Dessalines is murdered; Christophe is pressured to suicide; Petion is pushed into his deathbed. It has always been the Division. They are taking sides. They are killing each other. The motto, union equals power has been crushed. The Haitian remains weak; and, in weakness there could only be defeat.

The Haitian ancestors traced the way for the freedom of mankind from slavery by the genuine leadership  of Toussaint Louverty. The greater world was looking upon the Haitian nation to continue this leadership into society at large. However, a nation divided can never succeed. The Negro race has suffered as it witnessed the Haitian nation degraded to the lowest level. Haiti has been declared a “Failed State”. And you have the United Nations over there, maintaining order, and trying to establish some stability.

The Stability Is Not Coming

What is the role of the United Nations? They say they are there basically to maintain order and create stability. We do not see that in the near future. (1) The organization has not been doing much of nation building. (2) The Haitians themselves have not been much receptive.

Critics have maintained that the United Nations should focus more on nation building. We have not seen much of that. The international community has maintained its low momentum of infrastructure developments in the form of roads, food distributions, and health. Other than that, not much. They are not undertaking any major campaign to further the development of the nation. They blame it on the Haitians themselves. When Bill Clinton was sent as a goodwill ambassador in Haiti, he noted that his greatest worry was to find human resources in the deprived country. This reverberated greatly some years later with his principal project in the northern part of the country. Critics have considered it a botched job.

This brings us to the second point. The Haitians themselves have not been much receptive. How could they be? Haiti is a divided house. A divided house cannot be a progressive home environment. It is not without reason that Clinton could not find Human resources in Haiti. It is not without reason that Haitian leaderships cannot build adequate programs to work along the United Nations.

Stop The Fight

A word of advice for the Haitian people – Stop The Fight. It is unfortunate that the nation has suffered so much misery that the people consider themselves fallible and not able to master their dignity. It should not be so. If the fight stops, the nation would prosper. If you don’t want to believe it, take for example the Dominican Republic, or Jamaica. They have been moving ahead since they have been able to contain their internal strifes. Haiti could do the same, starting with the current government.

I would like to see this government starts by giving up the prosecution of both Aristide and Duvalier.  What would the nation gain from those prosecutions other than greater division and more misery? The incarceration of one of these individuals, particularly Aristide, would lead to a state of instability that I don’t think even MINUSTAH could contain. Instead of winning from such an action, not only that the nation would see greater misery, but Martelly himself would come to a point that, the international community may even require his departure. That is so bad I imagine the instability could be. The nation does not need that.

Martelly should instead encourage Duvalier and Aristide to invest and to seek investments for the development of the country. Does not that sound nicer, smoother, and safer? Isn’t that what the nation wants, to leave behind the bullish misery and to prosper? Why encourage fighting and division, then? Why not go for development and prosperity?

I challenge any Haitian, anybody reading this blog, who is interested in the prosperity of the Haitian nation, to join the movement - A Call To Unity In Haiti - by Join this conversation on this blog or facebook or twitter @ecgranmoun.

By E.C. GRANMOUN

E.C. Granmoun is the author of "Bully: A Novel" ebook on amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Bully-Novel-E-C-Granmoun-ebook/dp/B00HNEOA16

Baby X Isn’t Anywhere: Book Two of The Little Girl Trilogy

The little girl vanished. The investigation has not been able to trace her back to the child welfare organization. Neither could they discover what the foster grandmother, Miss Bunnybun, has done with her. The old woman is already condemned for life on aggravated child abuse, but the investigator Sgt. Kanton and the prosecutor Mr. Garbino are after murder. They believe the cunning grandmother killed the child.

There is a new witness, a “snitch,” a prisoner girlfriend of the defendant by the name of Manti Bugg, who is ready to testify that her friend had murdered the little girl and fed her to alligators in the Everglades. What people don’t know is that the snitch is putting on a play. She and the defendant have agreed to mislead the justice system.

The defense attorney, Miss Campbel does not think her client is innocent. Yet, she is ready to defend her with all her strength in order to throw the blame on the defective child welfare system that she much despises for doing too poor of a job. The little girl remains missing. The murder trial is on the way. DCF is on the hot seat.

http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Isnt-Anywhere-Little-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00NDWJRDI

By E.C. GRANMOUN
Books by the author on amazon.com:
Where Is Baby X?: The Little Girl Triology, Book One
The Social Worker

The Chaos Of Child Welfare: Revelation By X-DCF Social Worker
Bully: A Novel 
Join E.C. Granmoun on Facebook and Twitter 

Another Case Of DCF Neglect

The Department of children and Families has the responsibility to intervene in the cases of children whose families have failed to provide a safe and nurturing home environment. The Florida DCF’s mission on myflorida.com. “The mission of the Department of Children and Families is to Protect the Vulnerable, Promote Strong and Economically Self-Sufficient Families, and Advance Personal and Family Recovery and Resiliency.” When it comes to children, every time the organization considers any abnormality in a family home environment, it would step in to assure stability. But very often, matters turn worse with DCF.

The child welfare system has seen yet another scandal. A child has died, and the social worker is charged with falsifying documents.

DCF has had a reputation for doing a bad job. This is no surprise. In fact, this mother Rachel Fryer had been dealing with the Department for a while. The twin brother of her two-year-old son Tariji Gordon who died in February on Feb. 11, 2014, had previously “suffocated under his mother’s foot while sleeping with her on a couch.” Tariji and his three other siblings were placed in the care of the child welfare organization. They were supposed to return to their mother in the coming month.

Then, Tajiri was found dead, buried under shallow dirt after a few days missing from his mother’s Seminole county home. Yet, the bad part is, both the mother and the social worker had been arrested. It is believed that the mother killed the child, while the social worker neglected him. The latter claimed to have visited the child and recorded that everything was fine, when apparently it was not. When the body was discovered, “medical examiners documented cigarette burns that were “not fresh,” and patches of hair that appeared to have been ripped from Tariji’s head. “The hair loss,” the medical examiner wrote, “was a result of the forceful pulling of her hair.””

According to the investigation, the case worker Jonathan Irizarry lied and falsified documents. He reported that he visited the children and conducted inspections of the home environment and the children. But, investigators contended that if he did, he would not have missed the signs of abuse on the child before he disappeared. By any mean, they concluded, one way or another, the social worker has lied. At the end, child welfare is on the hot seat again. Children are continued to be abused and neglect under its supervision.

By E.C. GRANMOUN
Books by the author on amazon.com:
Where Is Baby X?: The Little Girl Triology, Book One
The Social Worker

The Chaos Of Child Welfare: Revelation By X-DCF Social Worker
Bully: A Novel 
Join E.C. Granmoun on Facebook and Twitter 

Lamentation From The Inferno

I have never been before the judge. I’ve never been heard by a jury. I have no lawyer. I am in prison for life. 

What is my crime?

I find my mama there, my papa there, my everybody. My grandfather was there; my grandmother was; my grand grandma, my grand grandpa……

They picked me up from the fields far away, living my simple little life. I did not bother them. I was no threat. They came with a bible and a sword. They plotted with rogue leaders, thieves, and loup-garous. They are vipers, and hyenas, and Satan the devil himself. And they threw me down under the hulls, down deep in ocean blue. They wasted me. Young men, young women, mothers and fathers, all those that are more healthy, they take me away.

I’m sweat; I’m sick; I’m like animals in chain. I am dirty; I am filthy; I am dying. Down, deep dark ocean, my brothers, my sisters, the sharks feast on me.

In the New World, I am strong, I’m alive. They buy me; they sell me; they worked me on plantations. One, two, three hundred years, they buy me; they sell me; they worked me; they rape me; they kill me; my children, my parents, all my relatives.

They let me go free with nothing; they keep me a slave.

I’m in the inferno, the ghetto, incarcerated, like Lucifer from Armageddon. My mama, my papa, my family, I am a world away from the world; no opportunity, no guidance, no real schooling, no world model. I am a criminal; young men kill each other; they are killing me. I am trapped like a rat, with no way out. They say I’m guilty. They condemn me for life. I have never been before the judge. I’ve never been heard by a jury. I have no lawyer. I am in prison for life.  

By E.C. GRANMOUN
Books by the author:
Where Is Baby X?: The Little Girl Triology, Book One
The Social Worker

The Chaos Of Child Welfare: Revelation By X-DCF Social Worker
Bully: A Novel 
Join E.C. Granmoun on Facebook and Twitter 

"Where Is Baby X?" Chapter One

DCF has the reputation for losing children. In "Where Is Baby X?" a little girl vanishes in the dilapidated city of Miami while in the custody of the child welfare organization. The custodial grandmother claims DCF picked up the little girl. The overzealous investigation finds no proof to that. The child remains missing. The grandmother maintains her innocence. "Where Is Baby X?" This is the first book of the trilogy of The Little Girl in which E.C. Granmoun dramatically depicts the culture of the dysfunctional system. Read the chapter one and go to amazon and download the full book.

ONE

            “Where Is Baby X?” This is the question in the mind of everybody.

The lobby outside of Judge Zantesken’s courtroom is packed. All the seats out there are full, and people are standing everywhere with almost no space in between. There are two other courtrooms there. Judge Tuntom’s is at the west end from Judge Zantesken’s, and Judge Gonzoles’ is east of hers. All the courtrooms are also already full. Usually it is that way on Mondays. All the judges, dependency, foster care, delinquency, all have full schedules. So, the other side of the court is as packed as well. Deliayan sits in the lobby across from Judge Zantesken’s courtroom. Naiim, the social worker has just arrived. He does not see the mother. The lobby is too packed. He enters the courtroom to file his documents with the clerk. Then he returns and stands outside by the door since the room is full to capacity. He notices his client sitting right across from him. He starts to walk over to her.

            Judge Tuntom and her bailiff have just burst into the door and entered the lobby. The judge is six feet tall. The bailiff is barely five. But, she is walking in front of the judge as if she was a real bodyguard. She is dressed in some dark gray security drab with some big black boots on. She is leading the way in the middle of all these people taller than her, making way for the judge. And, as she is opening the door into the courtroom, she repeats with an extra high pitched voice and heavy Hispanic accent. “Everybody, stand up! Judge Tuntom is presiding.” Some people who are looking at her laugh. Her voice resounds throughout the lobby and into the courtroom. All attentions are sort of turning toward her. The door closes behind her and Tuntom. They continue their ways toward the front of the room.

The judge takes her position on the platform. She is a tall and lean white woman in her early fifties with a Midwest accent. She dresses in the court’s black overall, but appears very pretty, and she is relatively nice for a judge. She always reminds people that she is from Wyoming. According to her, that is why she is a nice judge.

The bailiff shouts, standing in front of the room, “May everybody repeat the oath after me please?” She starts, “I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.”

The room repeats after her.

            Naiim has reached his client by now. He salutes her. “Hi Deliayan, how are you?”

            “Am okay,”she answers bluntly.

            Naiim understands that she is in no compromising mood as usual. He forces out, “I have been trying to get in touch with you Deliayan. Where have you been?”

            “I been there.”

            “You know Deliayan, if you don’t do your services you will never get your daughter back? Your sister told me that you still remain on the streets, and you are doing drugs. I don’t see how you expect to get your daughter back like that.”

            “My f’ing sister! Mr. Naiim, I don’ know why the f you all take my baby anyway. I don’t do no’ing to my baby.”

The door of Judge Zantesken’s courtroom blows open. Her bailiff is calling for the next case. Nobody answers. He calls louder. Nobody answers still. He becomes frustrated. He yells, “Okay you all don’t answer? Don’t come to me later and say that I did not call you.”

Naiim turns to Deliayan after the bailiff had stopped talking, “It is not a matter that you did something to your child. You are doing all the wrong things out there, and the safety and well-being of the child is being compromised. Now, if you want your child back you have to change your ways.”

The mother curses. “It is my f’ing sister. She is the one who makes you all take my baby. I hate that f’ing witch.”

Naiim pleads. “Deliayan, don’t talk like that.”

She swears. “I don’t give a f, Mr. Naiim.”

Zantesken’s door flies open again. The bailiff yells, “May all parties for the case of the State of Florida Versus Delaiyan step into the courtroom please?”

Naiim raises his hand. He tells the mother, “Let’s go!”

She reluctantly stands up and follows him.

Naiim and Delaiyan enter the packed courtroom. They take standing positions in front of Judge Zantesken. Both the DCF Attorney and the mother’s Lawyers are present. The judge looks into the file and asks, “What is this case in for today?”

The DCF attorney, Miss Ramon responds quickly, “We’re here for TPR hearing Judge. This mother has not done her services. We are going to terminate her rights.”

The mother’s public defender, Miss Cleaver intervenes, “Judge, we cannot terminate her parental rights like that. She.”

“Okay, what do we have here Miss Ramon?” The Judge interrupts the mother’s attorney.

“Judge, we have had this case for a year now. This mother has not been working on her services. She has not done anything at all, Judge, to try to bring this case toward reunification. Therefore we must move on for Termination of Parental Rights.”

“Mr. Naiim, what have you done for this mother?” The judge asks, turning to the social worker.

“Judge, we have gone through that before. We have done everything for this mother. But she has done nothing herself to try to bring her child home. In fact, according to her sister, she has given herself completely to drugs and prostitution, and she is living on the street.”

“Have you referred this mother for drug counseling, Mr. Naiim?”

The social worker responds contemptuously. “Judge, this woman has been here for a long time. We have tried everything with her. The copies of all the referrals, parenting, drugs, prostitution, all are in the file in front of you Judge.”

The Judge turns to the mother, “Ma’am, you don’t like your child? Why you don’t do your services?”

“It’s, it’s my sister, Your Honor. I, I don’t do nothing to my baby. I love my baby.”

Judge Zantesken cuts her. “Ma’am, you are doing drugs and prostitution out there and abandoning your child, and you’re saying you love your child?”

“I don’t do no’ing, Your Honor. I swear I don’t do no’ing.”

The defense attorney intercedes, “Judge, this mother expresses a desire to see her child.”

“No, this mother is not going to see her child, Judge. We are going for TPR.” The Prosecutor, Miss Ramon intervenes.

Judge Zantesken turns some pages. She takes a good look into the file. She says, “I think I am siding with you Miss Ramon. This mother does not deserve to see her child. Schedule this case for TPR at the next hearing.”

The prosecutor leans toward Naiim and tells him, “I think this mother is pregnant.”

“I did not notice that,” the social worker admits. He turns to the direction of Deliayan. Then he turns back to the DCF Attorney and says to her, “I did not notice it before. But, now you have said it, I see it all over her face.”

“We are going for this child as well.” Ramon informs him. And, she turns to Judge Zantesken, “Judge, I am going to ask for this mother to tell the court under oath if she is pregnant.”

The Judge is taken by surprise as well. At first sight, most people would not notice the pregnancy. Although the woman is standing in front of her, the judge still would not think of her as pregnant. She takes a good look at the mother again and tells her, “Ma’am, the Department thinks you are pregnant. Could you tell the court, under oath, whether you are pregnant or not?”

The defense attorney, Miss Cleaver jumps in. “Judge, I think this is a matter of privacy. I don’t think the Department can treat the mother like that.”

Judge Zantesken appears displeased and impatient. She tells Miss Cleaver. “This mother is in the process of TPR. It is mandatory for us to know if she is pregnant.” She turns to the mother, “Ma’am, you are ordered to undergo a pregnancy test. Be sure to bring it at the next hearing.” She turns to the social worker, “Mr. Naiim, make sure this mother has her pregnancy test before the next court date. The court is adjourned!”

Naiim and the mother walk outside together. They are standing out on the balcony looking at the other side of the establishment where the other courtrooms are located. The building has two levels. All the courtrooms are on the second floor. The offices of the judges and some administrative rooms are up there too. The first floor is where the major administrative activities are held. The clerk’s room, the records’ room, the lawyers’ quarter, the juvenile delinquency area, everything is there. People are moving back and forth, crisscrossing each other trying to obtain services in this quagmire. Up on the second floor, the life is much sedentary, at least for those who could find a space to sit. Still, whether you are standing or sitting, you just have to wait for your case to be called.

Naiim and Delaiyan are looking. He is talking to her. Although it is already eleven o’clock, the balcony is still full of people everywhere. It is a really busy Monday. Most people out there are smokers. They cannot smoke in the courtrooms or the lobbies. Deliayan feels an urge for a smoke. And most of all, she wants to get away from Naiim. He has been talking to her about things that she really does not want to hear. She does not want to hear about making some last efforts to avoid the TPR, and she does not want to hear about the pregnancy test.

She clarifies for him. “Mr. Naiim, y’all take my baby away; I ain’t done nothin to her. My sister is talking a whole bunch of s, and you all believe her. Am just gone a fight you all on this.”

A jumbo American 747 Airliner flies overhead. This is one of the many that have flown over since they have stood there. The juvenile facility is near the Miami International Airport and right under the path of the East Runway. About every minute a plane takes off. Naiim and his client have had to keep quiet often to allow one airplane to fly over, only for another one to take off again. Naiim is looking at the mother and thinking, she is no different than when he had first met her about twelve months earlier. She is still young and ignorant. She is about to lose custody of her child forever, and she is talking about fighting the system that she does not even understand. Again, he thinks. How could she know any better? She is twenty-two; born and raised in the slums; it is a wonder that she has even had just only one child so far. Most of the girls have two or three.

The social worker understands that much. Delaiyan started life with a very strict single mother up in Chicago. A couple of years ago, the mother died of cancer.  That’s when she came down to Miami to join some relatives in the Over-Town area. Down in Miami, she got a taste of the freestyle life under the sun and got hooked up with the wrong crowd. She started dating a young petty criminal, a pimp that introduced her into smoking marijuana and dancing in the nude clubs. He moved her around throughout Miami, from Over-Town, to Florida City, and all the way to the Broward borders. She made money. He used her money; he beat her up; and he promised to kill her if she ever left him. When she finally got away from him, she entered the world of her baby’s father, a career criminal. She immediately became pregnant. He introduced her into the world of crack cocaine.

Naiim could not discern anything different about her. She is still that hard-head ignorant young black mother who is only one year older from when he came in contact with her. She is still tall, incoherent, and dressed in a seducing manner with much of her light skinned body showing. She thinks that she is street-smart and she could get away with things. But Naiim is thinking. She has lost to the system just like most other young poor black individuals. She is going to lose this child, and she is going to lose her other child in her stomach. He takes a good look at her again. He is imagining how she was really pretty before she fell under the spell of the crack cocaine. And again, he cannot decide if she is really pregnant or not. His mind might have played tricks on him in the courtroom when he agreed with the attorney that she was pregnant. Yet again, he thinks. I am a man; they are women; they must know their things.

He feels now, he would really want to give her a last chance, to save her. He would want her to change, to do what the court says, and to do the right thing to raise her children well. He had never been in good term with her ever since he started her case. He has always considered her as an ignorant and wasted street-smart drug addict who is blaming all others for her own created monster while trying to get away with things. But today, standing there with her, considering that she is about to lose her children to a system that would not serve them any better, his heart is pushing him to be extra nice as a black man and to do some last efforts to help his kind.

He tells her, “Delaiyan, you know, I never tell you that, but you know your daughter is as pretty as you are with her milky skin and tender face.”

She replies. “Everybody say’in so.”

Naiim wants to remain nice. “I would really like to see you two back together, and the little one you are carrying too.”

She fumes. “I di’aint say I was pregnant.”

Naiim pokes. “The pregnancy test would tell everything Delaiyan!”

“I don care; I ain’t want to take no test,” she defies. She is thinking, this f’ing Haitian thinks he knows everything. She has mistaken the Nigerian for Haitian.

Naiim is also thinking. That’s it. I cannot help her if she does not want to be helped. He tells her, “Okay Delaiyan, I’ll see you on the 13^th. Remember! It is a Friday!”

She walks away sucking her teeth.  

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LWANVYO

By E.C. GRANMOUN
Other books:

The Social Worker
The Chaos Of Child Welfare: Revelation By X-DCF Social Worker
Bully: A Novel 
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