Boston Attorney Jacques Dessin speaking on Wednesday evening at Cabot Auditorium about his home country of Haiti stressed the need to focus on the actual process of rebuilding Haiti instead of appropriating blame.
"We need to think of what we can do instead of simply blaming the Haitian government," Dessin said.
Dessin was speaking as one of the panelists at "What it Means to Rebuild Haiti," a discussion in which distinguished panelists shared their insights on the process of rebuilding Haiti in the aftermath of the massive earthquake that in January devastated the country.
The panel was made up of Tufts faculty members with specific connections to Haiti, as well as specialists within the local Haitian community.
Students at Tufts Advocating for Immigrant Rights (STAIR), the Haitian Coalition of Somerville and the Depar−tment of Sociology hosted the event in order to gather people to discuss the steps needed to restore and rebuild Haiti's infrastructure and society.
Dessin spoke further about the problems that he believes Haiti currently faces and noted that many areas other than the Haitian capital city Port−au−Prince were equally devastated and required as much attention.
Professor of History Peniel Joseph, one of the panelists, spoke about the part of Haitian history that he feels is never acknowledged.
"We can't act like the [United States] has nothing to do with Haitian poverty," Joseph said. "In the process of rebuilding Haiti, we have to re−cast the narrative of Haitian history, even though the [United States] fails to recognize the history that is generative of the revolution of 1804."
The other panelists were the Haitian Government Minister for the Diaspora Edwin Paraison, Patrick Sylvain, who has taught courses in Haitian language and culture at Brown and Harvard Universities, Center for Haitian Creole Development Founder Yvon Lamour, Tufts Lecturer of Community Health Linda Martinez and Institute for Global Leadership Director Sherman Teichman.
A lengthy question−and−answer session followed the panel, spurring discussion on the real situation in Haiti during the earthquake and whether the government did all it could with the available resources.
"There are experiences and then there are facts," Sylvain said in response to an audience member who said she felt the Haitian government did all it could to help its people.
Senior Marie−Gabby Isidore, member of STAIR and event organizer, believes Haiti has been deprived of respect as a country.
"It is important for people to know that Haiti isn't just a place of misery," Isidore said. "The first thing you hear in the news is ‘Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.' This is the biggest injustice that could be done."
Isidore highlighted the importance of seriously studying the country and the challenges it faces.
"We had this panel to remind people of the power of branding a country without evaluating other problems that exist, such as those within the Haitian government," Isidore said.
Junior Kenneth Burris found the event to be an overall success, highlighting many lesser−known issues Haiti faces, including the issue of what it means to be a Haitian citizen.
"I didn't realize there was such a big discourse about citizenship," Burris said. "I think right now the only way you can be counted as a citizen in the nation is if you are born in Haiti. If you are born outside of Haiti, with Haitian parents, you essentially cannot be a citizen. They are trying to change citizenship so that it doesn't just apply to those on soil, which I think is really important."
