A Haitian Poet and Educator Visits Watertown

In the spirit of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the guest speaker for the MLK Day celebration at Perkins School for the Blind this week, local Haitian educator and poet Joel Theodat, shared a dream he'd had after the earthquake in Haiti last January, which he translated into a poem.

First, though, he captured the attention of the audience by blowing three times into a large conch shell, its bold and resonant sound reverberating in the auditorium.

"I was listening to the cries of children trapped in the rubble," Theodat began his poem. "Sometimes they were singing ... And I dreamt that I was a doctor ... I dreamt I was teacher ...."

He then sang a lilting Creole ballad, before sharing some thoughts about his homeland with the 250, or so, listeners.

"Haitians are thankful for the overwhelming support from all over the world (after the earthquake) – but especially from the United States," he said. "But now they're also tired, and sometimes angry, about too many empty promises .... They're beginning to feel hopeless."

Again expressing himself more as a poet than as an educator of health-care professionals at Harvard University, UMass, and nonprofits such as Partners in Health, Theodat described the situation in Haiti today using a metaphor:

"It's like all these expressions of help are drops into a bucket – but the bucket is also full of holes. And the NGOs stand around catching the water that leaks out of the bucket."

Theodat celebrated Haiti's unusual history, as well, reminding the audience that it was the first nation in the world to be ruled by ex-slaves.

He also recounted how the French had demanded millions in reparations from Haitians to repay white landowners who'd lost their chattel. And how the United States had joined in an embargo of the island.

"They were defeated by black slaves – and they were afraid it would happen in the United States," he said.

But the poet, educator, and activist also spoke about the many "corrupt Haitian governments" since their independence in 1804 and the destruction caused by hurricanes, which together have transformed what was once "the pearl of the Antilles" into an impoverished country.

"The problems did not start with the earthquake," he emphasized.

After a choir of Perkins students performed the rousing African-American spiritual "Children Go Where I Send Thee," the school's head of diversity, Jim Witmer, spoke briefly about the institution's efforts to become more open.

"We want to answer the question: What would Perkins look like if it were the most diverse school it could be?" he said.

Then Perkins President Steven Rothstein described Perkins' efforts in Haiti right now, which are focused on helping to restore St. Vincent's School for the Blind in Port-au-Prince, which was destroyed in the earthquake, and lost ten members of its staff and student body.

Perkins students are also creating cards to be delivered to their peers in Haiti by  Rothstein this month.

Rothstein then closed the event by quoting Martin Luther King, Jr.

"What are you going to do for others?" he said.

In an upcoming article, we'll talk with President Steven Rothstein about his trip to Haiti later this month and progress on their efforts to help rebuild its educational infrastructure.