0:00:00.900,0:00:03.560 This message is dedicated to my fellow[br]Francophiles 0:00:03.560,0:00:08.626 who get alarmed or even offended at the[br]thought of eliminating French 0:00:08.626,0:00:12.147 as one of the official languages of the[br]Republic of Haiti. 0:00:12.664,0:00:15.984 I am speaking today as a Haitian who is 0:00:15.984,0:00:18.483 truly madly in love with the French[br]language. 0:00:18.483,0:00:24.303 I confess that my fascination and my respect for not only[br]the richness 0:00:24.303,0:01:17.337 of the language but equally for those who[br]master it without boundaries. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 However, these days, I reject the French[br]language. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I look down on it as much as some of my[br]fellow Haitians 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 look down on the Creole language. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Therefore, I have a lot of trouble expressing[br]myself in French. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Some may even say that I'm losing my[br]French. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I think it is sad how Haitians always think[br]they are able to lose something 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that in no way and at no point in time[br]belonged to them. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I say all that and still today I'm pushing to[br]deliver this message in French. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It's because I'm addressing those of us who[br]would have a hard time 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 taking me seriously if I had chosen to[br]share my ideas in my native language. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I want you to understand the damage you[br]are causing to your country, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to be fully concious of this damage and I[br]hope I'll manage to do that, in French. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 What I observed especially from the[br]Haitians living in Haiti is that 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 French isn't a tool for communication that[br]facilitates and allows the exchange of ideas, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the passing of customs and culture or the[br]expression of convictions. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 On the contrary, this languages diminishes the most[br]remarkable and precious aspects 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 of the human experience from us, which is[br]conversation. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 French has become nothing more than one[br]more way 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to segregate the Haitian population. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 To be able to tell from the get-go who[br]deserves your good manners 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and who you will snub, who you will barter[br]with, and who you will charge double. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So it really doesn't help us to communicate properly. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I've also witnessed the mistreatment[br]Haitians receive in Haiti 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 simply because they cannot speak[br]French; a colonial language, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a language that we don't even teach to[br]most of our people, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a language that is so foreign to us, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a language that despite the fact that it[br]has dominated our educational system 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 for over two centuries is still lost among[br]our people who are far from mastering it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So that is rather deplorable. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I remember well that in Haiti, [br]French was reserved for the formalities of meeting for the first time. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It was the initial move to [br]affirm one's social class. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And to identify at which level a relationship [br]could evolve between two people 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And it was not a language that[br]was used in familiar settings 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 or with those that we were close with 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 There is a very restricted group of[br]people in Haiti who insist on 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 always speaking the French language,[br]but we consider those people to be 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 pretentious and full of it 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and often, their conversations remain[br]very superficial 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and because of that, they struggle[br]to maintain relationships with people 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 outside of that very restricted circle. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So to say that French is an official language of the Haitians would be a huge exaggeration. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 What I can tell you is,[br]the percentage of Haitians that are able 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to easily and clearly express themselves[br]in french is probably less than those 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 who can fluently speak German or Mandarin. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Of course, there are Haitians in the[br]french diaspora like in France and Canada 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 They speak french because that is the[br]language they speak in those countries. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It's like me, I speak English and English[br]has become my first language 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Because I am obligated to speak well in[br]English in the United States. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But to say that Haitians speak French,[br]again, is completely false. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 What also happens in Haiti, is[br]that we substitute someone's ability 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to read a few phrases in French with their[br]intelligence or wisdom. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 We attribute the ability to get by in [br]French as wisdom 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and now there are a lot of Haitians who[br]fall into this trap because they 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 kill themselves trying to learn French and[br]imitate the "elite" pretentious 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 francophones of Haiti. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And they completely lose because[br]not only, are they not able to acquire 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the french language, but they're not fully[br]able to develop Creole which is their 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 native language. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So what happens is we end up with a[br]population that is not able to properly 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 express themselves. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And Creole loses in its vocabulary and[br]is constantly blocked by a stigma of 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 inferiority. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So it's quite a bummer. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If you have the intention to not agree[br]with what I'm saying, consider 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that to truly acquire a language,[br]you need to really learn it in advanced 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 classes, or even further in college[br]to really be able to manipulate a language 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 enough to be able to fully express your[br]ideas and to be understood. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 In Haiti, the majority of students do not make[br]it past elementary courses. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And even if we obtain a High School[br]Diploma in Haiti, it's not a very 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 robust diploma. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So the ability of Haitians to really[br]express themselves in this forced language 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 becomes very minimized. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So what I want to tell you and leave[br]you all with this message is, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 think about communicating, think about[br]sharing your ideas. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 What you say is far more important than[br]the language you are using. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 We have to remind ourselves that[br]each time we talk to someone in Haiti 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 or another Haitian, we really need to think[br]about how what we say is what we say is 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 what's really important.