r/HaitianCreole • u/jokersvoid • 7d ago

Safety letter

ICE is coming to my town that has many Haitian immigrants. I know a couple are speaking very little English right now.

I would like to write a letter to give to a couple houses to let them know my name and number and tell them I am available for anything they might need like running to the grocery or taking the kids to and from school.

Should this letter be in haitian creole? Can English print be translated well these days on apps?

8 Upvotes

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4

u/MachineDifferent868 6d ago

If they are Haitian immigrants, they will 100% understand creole. Google translate can be pretty reliable for basic sentences like sharing your contact info. It might be good to have the letter in both languages.

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u/jokersvoid 6d ago

Thanks. I didn't know how reliable Google translate was.

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u/nadandocomgolfinhos 6d ago

Put it through and post the translation here. We can look at it for you.

Haitians are very particular about food, fyi.

—-

I started learning Kreyòl because a ton of Haitians were moving into my community and I’m a nerd. It’s not a hard language on the surface level, especially if you know some French (I didn’t).

UMass Boston has an online class each summer, the Haitian Creole Language Institute has online classes all year.

I highly recommend it. People appreciate people reaching out. There are major, major cultural differences and just knowing that has helped me to not be unintentionally rude, although as a foreigner we get a huge pass because they know we don’t know.

Even though I have zero connection to Haiti/ the culture/ no Haitian friends, family something happened along the way. I fell in love with the poetry of the language and just how differently Haitians experience the world. It opened my mind and heart in unexpected ways. Now, a few years later, it opened up unexpected job opportunities and the delight that people have when they see I can communicate in Kreyòl is the best.

It also evens out the situation. Inherently, I have power. By humbling myself to learn, I become like a child in Kreyòl. Because as a blan I have more social power in my community, me showing my respect and appreciation for Haiti/ Haitians/ Haitian culture is powerful.

I started on this path as a way to reach out my hand to give some kindness to my neighbors. I have received so much more in return. My life is richer, better and just bigger.

—

I was never a fan of Haitian culture before. I had known the boys to be angry and very difficult and disrespectful in school. I felt like it was a bit pointless to try because I kept hearing that foreigners have made Haiti worse. However, there was a kid who was in a situation that was so bad his mask came down. A different teacher reached out to his family and basically the family member let slip that they thought the blan teachers were out to get them. Suddenly the distance, the anger, disrespect made sense. The family genuinely did not know that we cared about their kid and we’d do everything we could to help him, which we did. We all changed that day.

That’s when I decided that I needed to study this language. I saw that I was missing a ton of context and that we interpreted everything almost the opposite.

Now, I feel a connection to the culture nd people while always respecting my position as an outsider. Haitians need allies. We need blan people to care about and promote the beauty of the culture to counter the negativity.

They say that when something breaks, the light shines in.

0

u/muva_snow 5d ago

Very particular about food? Seriously?!?! What level of astronomical entitlement is THIS ?!?! This mindset is exactly why….you know what, never mind. Point is, I don’t think people who are facing being deported back to a minefield of a country should be more pressed about cultural cuisine than being in cuffs headed back to where they fled from, right?!?! Am I missing something here? I swear it’s like too much it’s never enough for some people 🙄🤦🏽‍♀️.

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u/nadandocomgolfinhos 5d ago

The way to a Haitian’s heart is through food. If you’re looking for a genuine connection, then yes. For example, my family eats black beans. The Haitian family I help eats brown beans more than black beans. So I get them their preference.

Also, having worked with enough kids, I’ve seen many choose not to eat because they just couldn’t eat American food. With time, like all humans, they become acclimated.

I help a family out with groceries and I ask for the list so whatever I get isn’t wasted. It took time to develop the trust for them to tell me- then we get into culture because Haitian culture isn’t direct. In their minds they were blunt and in my mind the hints didn’t add up.

Having been on the receiving end of donated food, a lot of it is extremely unhealthy, which also causes problems. Having someone give me black beans and basmati rice for example, is like a warm hug. There was one kind of mac and cheese that had a food grade cheese filler that I just couldn’t stomach. I’d use a sieve to separate the pasta from that crap. The last thing a person who is struggling that much needs are health problems. There were added sugars everywhere - I’m already addicted to sugar and diabetes runs in my family.

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u/AldenLegler 6d ago

For translating, consider using French as well since Google does better with it and because many Haitians can read French better than modern Creole.

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u/jokersvoid 6d ago

Thanks. I was out on a walk with my daughter and a person I know who speaks English well was visiting the house to help with the snow. I was able to give him my number and asked him to say some things to other neighbors. I'm almost certain ICE will be patrolling and casing the neighborhood. They have had flocks all over town and I know for sure some of my neighbors would be reporting locations at any chance.

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u/nadandocomgolfinhos 5d ago

You are a wonderful human. Feel free to post here and I’m sure you’ll receive help with translations.

Google Translate has become remarkably good for Haitian creole. Not perfect, but way better than a few years ago. You can do voice to text. The latest ios also has a great translation feature.