Haitian community plans ‘big mass” in remembrance of devastating earthquake

The Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake devastated the capital Port-au-Prince, killing over 300,000 people.

Plans are underway for what officials say could be the largest gathering of Haitian nationals living in Dominica.

President of the Dominica Haiti Friendship Association Roland Desire said he expects hundreds to turn out in solidarity for a “big mass” on Jan. 12 at the Roseau Cathedral to remember loved ones who were affected by last year’s devastating earthquake.

January 12 marks the first anniversary of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the island killing over 300,000 people and leaving over one million displaced.

“We want to ask everybody who has Haitians working with them to give them the day off so they could celebrate in that mass because it’s an important day for us. That day will be a Wednesday. We want to use that day to remember our brothers, sisters, neighbors…” he said.

Following the mass, the Haitians are expected to get together for a cocktail to socialize with each other.

“At that gathering we expect to recognize all Haitians who have contributed to the development of Dominica. There are those who have worked hard over the years, the market vendors, those who have been selling across the streets. We expect to give them certificates and gifts just to thank them for contributing to the country,” he said.

Desire wants all Haitians to make an effort to participate in the event which he says is essential to the culture of the Haitian community.

Copyright 2012 Dominica News Online, DURAVISION INC. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.

Disclaimer: The comments posted do not necessarily reflect the views of DominicaNewsOnline.com and its parent company or any individual staff member. All comments are posted subject to approval by DominicaNewsOnline.com. We never censor based on political or ideological points of view, but we do try to maintain a sensible balance between free speech and responsible moderating.

We will delete comments that:

  • contain any material which violates or infringes the rights of any person, are defamatory or harassing or are purely ad hominem attacks
  • a reasonable person would consider abusive or profane
  • contain material which violates or encourages others to violate any applicable law
  • promote prejudice or prejudicial hatred of any kind
  • refer to people arrested or charged with a crime as though they had been found guilty
  • contain links to "chain letters", pornographic or obscene movies or graphic images
  • are off-topic and/or excessively long

See our full comment/user policy/agreement.

26 Comments

  1. haitianbabes
    January 7, 2011

    to the president of the association, wouldn’t it have been a good idea to have gone on the radio, a radio station where we all listen, and pass this information? remember is not all of us that is so fortunate to go online, some don’t have or know how to use a computer. lets start to do things in ways that make sense for all of us, don’t give other persons reasons to bad talk us.

  2. The Initiator
    January 6, 2011

    well people can say what they want about Haitians, only one thing i know life is not fair but God is good. im a proudly 100% haitian i have been in Dominica for the past 7 years i have worked hard to survive inhere people i have worked for exploited me, you work for them helping them getting rich but they chose not to help you. but i dont really worry about my past experience with Dominican cause i know it is good to make experience in life now im only focusing in having my own business to help those who are in need and after to go back home like everybody does.

    • Dominican in T.O
      January 6, 2011

      Then hurry up and go back home to haiti…

    • proud dominican
      January 6, 2011

      well, well if you were being exploited in dominica and stayed for 7 long years, I really wonder how long you would stay if they treated you nice.You guys stayed because Dominica is not poor as haiti, and u all haitian people leached on us.Dominicans got a heart and most of them so stupid give haitians take over the market place.take your business to haiti, you sound like you want to bring your family down to.
      DOMINICA MAYBE full OF bedbugs BECAUSE YOU ALL BRING THAT EVERYWHERE U GUYS GO.take yourself,your business and everyone inneed and put it on the boat and migrate back to haiti.

      • Hey just giving my two cents
        January 6, 2011

        Do you have to be so insolent and rude? Love .. There are a lot of Dominicans all over the world. How would you feel if the Citizens spoke to them in the very same manner that you are speaking to someone. I am sure you have some relative somewhere in the wide world. Is that so??

    • haitianbabes
      January 7, 2011

      i hope that you have informed other haitians who are not so fortunate to use the internet of this mass, don’t u find it strange that most of us don’t have use of the internet and the information is being posted on DNO?, i wonder for who it is there i only just learnt of it and had to search for it, and i am internet wise, much less for those who aren’t

  3. child
    January 5, 2011

    I wish all these haitians would go back to their country.We have help them and their time to depart have long past.I do hope that skeritt would consider sending these people,i mean all even if they married a Dominican fool for their papers.Please Dominicans, we need to srtart demonstrating so that our words are heard.These people taking over our beautiful country and only in dominica u see these things.Go to Jamaica, hell no, they are not welcomed.GO BACK TO HAITI AND LEAVE OUR COUNTRY.Soon it will not be Dominica no more,it will be Haitica.Get out

    • Hey just giving my two cents
      January 6, 2011

      How would you feel is the same sentiments you just expressed,were said to our Dominicans who are out there in the world all over?

  4. urban maroon
    January 5, 2011

    The Haitians are children of our ancestors who were dragged from Africa to the West Indies. Haitians are our brothers and sisters.They are facing some hard times.The Godly thing to
    do is to help them.There are more than 50,000 dominicans abroad enjoying the fruits of other countries.So please lets extend some kindness to them

    • Hey just giving my two cents
      January 5, 2011

      Yes urban maroon, Our people seem to forget how most of our parents emigrated to the UK, US, Antigua, St Thomas and all the islands and sent us the pounds, dollars – US & EC’s, francs.etc.

      Remember how it was back then when we did not have castles like Hilton hotel as today. It was houses on stilts and “Boute Chambre” with “Card’ as dividers. They seem to forget the “matlat cooa” and the “bedding (‘Carban” under the big bed” and I can go on and on. We depended heavily on what our overseas relatives sent for us. We enjoyed going “a la poste” to get the registered slips.

      We have grown yes we have grown. Non of those things described above does not exist now except in very minor situations. We do have a lot of our people still in those countries still. I would really be interested in knowing how many Dominicans are in those parts out there?

      Now what we fail to realise is that we have prospered and now we are like the countries that our grand and parents went to get employment and a better living.. Let us praise the Father for his mercies. Even those of us who stayed back home can say that we are richly blessed.
      We have our homes and some of us even have got a vehicle whether it is a small buggy. Now inspite of this, we have some of our bros who are facing some hard time in their own country. We have to embrace other persons since we do not know when we are embracing angels or when it will be our turn. We seem to forget 1979 – Hurrican David and so many came to our assisance.. Our Father has commanded us to love one another and I would really like to get an accurate figure as to how many of our own people are enjoying the fruits of other nations.

      Let us treat others as the Father would want us to treat others and did not the golden rule say “treat others as you would like them treat you?

      Mr Desire and your team congratulations on your initiative and people, the Association is rcognisign those who contributed to the development of Dominica.

      Blessings to you and we wish your association the best in your endeavours.

  5. justice 4 all
    January 5, 2011

    kudoos to the haitian community

  6. KOKAY THERE
    January 5, 2011

    “MASS” is joke

  7. mouth of the south
    January 5, 2011

    hheeeellllooooo i’m getting concerned bout dem haitians enno,,,,my problem is them people populate very fast since they have a vast amount of people back home and non the less they’ll take over dominica,,,,everywhere u bounce in town a haitian knocking u wii as if u in port-au-prince,,,,,doh talk for some of dem d.a women,,,,they sayin oh haitian man better bcuz they cooking n doing house work,,,as if d.a man doesn’t do it lol,,,,see how one of dem scam young bull,,,,n escape with his niece lol

    • Anon
      January 5, 2011

      First of all, great idea. I hope it is well supported. Secondly, I’m always upset when people in one Caribbean country treat our Caribbean brothers and sisters like they don’t belong. In one breath we talk about Caribbean integration and CARICOM and in the next breath we say things like this about our brothers and sisters who are in Dominica to do nothing but make a decent living. Let’s welcome the Haitians as if they were born Dominicans of Dominican parentage. Our country and region will be better off for it.

    • :-)
      January 5, 2011

      True. I’ve already witnessed an incident where a Haitian lady ‘brainwashed’ and took a married man out of Dominica away from his wife and kid. Very Sad.

      • Anon
        January 5, 2011

        Is this comment about taking a married man from his wife and children meant to be a joke? Do Haitians have the monopoly on this? Weren’t Dominican men leaving their wives for other women long before Haitians ever came to Dominica? Weren’t Dominican women leaving their husbands for other men long before Haitians ever set foot here?

      • Do so never like so
        January 5, 2011

        So many Dcan women who go overseas and take people’s husbands??

    • WIKILEAKS
      January 5, 2011

      Mouth of the South is more like Mouth of Poopoo…talking crap all day on DNO

      Garcon, when are you going to grow up…what does have the Haitian Prayer Day in observance of the worst natural disaster in the Western Hemisphere have to do with the nonsense you wrote?

      You should be ashamed of yourself (as a black man…as you so frequently claim)

      Do you remember this song by the Great David Rudder…sing along for Haiti Mouth of the South

      Toussaint was a mighty man
      And to make matters worse he was black
      Black and back in the days when black men knew
      Their place was in the back
      But this rebel, he walked through Napoleon
      Who thought it wasn’t very nice
      And so today my brothers in Haiti
      They still pay the price…yeah, yeah…

      Chorus:
      Haiti, I’m sorry
      We misunderstood you
      One day we’ll turn our heads
      And look inside you
      Haiti, I’m sorry. Haiti, I’m sorry
      One day we’ll turn our heads
      Restore your glory.

      Many hands reach out to St. George’s
      And are still reaching out
      To those frightened,
      Foolish men of Pretoria
      We still scream and shout
      We came together in song
      To steady the Horn of Africa
      But the papaloa come and the babyloa go
      And still, we don’t seem to care…No, no…

      Chorus:
      Haiti, I’m sorry
      We misunderstood you
      But one day we’ll turn our heads
      And look inside you
      Haiti, I’m sorry. Haiti, I’m sorry
      One day we’ll turn our heads
      Restore your glory.

      When there is anguish in Port au Prince
      It’s still Africa crying
      We are outing fires in far away places
      When our neighbours are just burning.
      They say the Middle Passage is gone
      So how come overcrowded boats still haunt our lives
      I refuse to believe that we good people
      Will forever turn our hearts
      And our eyes…away…

      Chorus:
      Haiti, I’m sorry
      We misunderstood you
      One day we’ll turn our heads
      And look inside you
      Haiti, I’m sorry. Haiti, I’m sorry
      One day we’ll turn our heads
      Restore your glory.
      Haiti, I’m sorry, sorry…

  8. Anonymous
    January 5, 2011

    o good

  9. Dominichey
    January 5, 2011

    I think that this is a good idea. Thou I feel that Dominicans take some issue with Haitians and some may be justified while most not. I hope they use it as a time for pray and reflection as it is uncomfortable to see all this catastrophic incidents rain upon Haiti and Santo Domingo go virtually untouched, yet they are one physical space.

    • Man
      January 5, 2011

      It’s true. The Haitians have something going on with them, I don’t think all those horrible things that have been happening to them is mere co-incidence. Uh Uh.

  10. Anonymous
    January 5, 2011

    this is a good idea, but we must let them know that they are not encharge of dominicans but appreaciate the fact that we helped them in their trying time and we still continue to support them in watever way we can and so must have respect for dominicans.

    • Neutral
      January 5, 2011

      America, England, Canada, Barbados, every Caribbean island, I have met Dominicans in Africa, those countries should let Dominicans know that they are not in charge also. What I am trying to say is that for a country that more of its citizens live outside of the country that within its borders we sure do not like foreigners. We can go to our people country to better ourselves and make a living but nobody can come to our country and do the same. DOMINICANS ARE XENOPHOBIC. Look up the meaning of the word.

      • Hey just giving my two cents
        January 5, 2011

        Nicely said Neutral .

    • worried dominican
      January 5, 2011

      what are you talking about,.tyey are doing the jobs that we do not want to do and make an honest living give me a break.

      • Anonymous
        January 5, 2011

        well let us sit and let them run da nuh

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

:) :-D :wink: :( 8-O :lol: :-| :cry: 8) :-? :-P :-x :?: :oops: :twisted: :mrgreen: more »

 characters available