Gammas Abroad
The First Step: Haiti Sister Bianca “Sparta” Salvant
My father left Haiti for New York in 1974 when he was 24 years-old and returned there in 1986, (when my oldest sister was only a few months old), to bury his mother. I was born two years after my sister, in 1988, and was raised by parents who spoke many different languages. My father, having come from an educated family in Haiti, spoke English, French, Creole and Spanish. My mother, who was born in Puerto Rico but raised in New York, spoke Spanish and English. Growing up my siblings and I were extremely deprived of traditional culture teachings. As an adult I learned that I, obviously, cannot control how I was raised or by who, but I can control how I choose to lead my life. I vowed that I’d teach myself everything there is to know about my people. I visited Haiti for the first time in December of 2013 with my significant other to celebrate my 25th birthday and it was a huge culture shock for me! For one, Portau-Prince is very congested with people because of the 2010 earthquake. Because of the high unemployment, the people have ventured to the capital in hopes of making spare change. The streets were filled, from block to block, with people walking around and selling things. The roads were infested with motorcycles and vehicles traveling however much they pleased. For an American, it was scary! No one paid any attention to the streetlights or the signs, cars swerved to the next
lane without blinkers and people hung on the outside of vans. Not being able to understand what was happening around me was a very tragic reality. I kept thinking of my childhood, wishing I could turn back the hands of time. But, I would tell myself, I am here now and that is what matters.
“I want to leave parts of me there and, of course, engrave many parts of them in myself.” We traveled to Wahoo Bay, a beautiful beach that, I am sure, is paradise on Earth. It is the side of Haiti that the media in America never shows and it was full of a large diversity of people with all different shades of colors, speaking in all different tongues of language. The water was so blue it looked like pool water. My significant other, of course, fit right in. After all, he was returning home. I tried my best to be a part of the group despite the obvious language barrier. I asked questions, even if they were stupid, and observed every aspect of my surroundings. Haiti is filled with the most beautiful mountains. We ventured off and drove to the highest point and, at first, it was very scary. The roads were very slim and cars pass very closely together. It is very difficult to see and know what is coming up at a curve. However, once we reached the top, it was the most magnificent view I’ve ever witnessed. We looked down at the throb of the island, watching the commotion below, and talked even more about the revolution, the act of independence and all of my best friend’s childhood experiences on the island. Through this trip I learned so many things, saw so many people, ate so
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