Haiti’s Changing Colors – Extreme Fanaticism or Treason? By Jean Claude Elie

A world Cup Phenomenon

What is the explanation for the uncontrolled fanaticism that drives Haitian nationals to wrap themselves with another country’s flag as if it was theirs, especially nations we share no  major historical/cultural connections, or significant mutual obligations? What is the driving force compelling so many of us to pay allegiance to another nation’s flag simply over a game?

For some unexplainable reasons, Haitians have chosen to bow to, and get emotionally attached to the yellow/Green and Blue/White colors of the Brazilian and Argentinean flags.

This phenomenon of a nation adopting the colors of other nations is unprecedented. National pride of a people prevents them from embracing the colors of another nation. In many parts of the world, this would be seen as treason. But in Haiti, this inexplicable phenomenon is practically taken as normal.

I understand very well reasonable sports fanaticism, or personal attachment to a sport team. As a young boy growing up in Haiti, I remember the way that young boys playing football idolized Pele, the legendary football player from Brazil. Most of us had never seen him play, but we knew from word of mouth that Pele was the greatest football technician with unparallel skills and magical moves. We spent our afternoon playing football in a dusty backyard using an orange as ball, or one made of wrapped socks. The kid who managed to get this home-made ball past the barefooted goalie, and between the two rocks used as goal posts, would yell in victory “Min Pele pou ou”. Any good football player was referred to as a “Pele”. Thus, we were all fanatics of Brazil being the country of our idol Pele.

But understand, we were kids and as we grew older, the fanaticism gradually wore off, especially when Pele was no longer an active player. This was not different than the fanaticism displayed in music those days when Port-au-Prince was divided between Nemours Jean-Baptiste (Compas Direct) and Webert Sicot (Cadence Rampa). It was an extremely deep fanaticism that would not be negotiated. You were either for Nemours or for Sicot. Some of the older folks were still stuck on “Jazz des Jeunes”. No one was allowed to be neutral. This choice was not based in musical knowledge, but purely on emotions that were developed either by your family’s influence, your social standing, who your friends were, what neighborhood you lived in, etc.. So based on these elements, you associated yourself with Nemours or Sicot. If you were from Cap-Haiti, the same formula applied. Either you were Septentrional or Tropicana. As a general rule, the higher your social standing or education, the more likely you were for Nemours or Septentrional. On the other side of the spectrum would be the Sicot or Tropicana fanatics. Again as a general rule.

From these facts, one can develop some logical reasoning that explains our fanaticism in those days. Fanaticism which was usually expressed in good taste.

Now, let’s get back to sports. As we got older, the strong fanaticism gradually wore off’ We no longer called ourselves Pele, and we could objectively enjoy music from Nemours, Sicot, Septentrional, Tropicana etc. Excessive fanaticism becomes manageable with maturity as logic and analytical abilities develop.

I also believe that as adults, our choice of team to support in a competition is derived first, by our country of origin, followed by the country, town and neighborhood of residence. Other factors such as the schools we attended etc. can affect this choice. So in reasonable individuals, the choice can be attributed to a personal connection that is easily identified.  Lacking all these elements, a logical person chooses to side with the underdog team..

Personally, in any competition, I rout for my country of birth Haiti, regardless of who, what or where the Haitians team is playing. Lacking Haitian team participation, I rout for America, being the country that gave me my education and professional career, among other things. Finally I rout for NY as my home state. And if Queens, NY is competing, I am Queens 100%.

By now, you should begin to understand my frustration over my inability to develop a scenario that justifies the behavior and extreme fanaticism of such a large portion of the Haitians population with its adoption of the Brazilian or Argentinean colors.

The 7-1 defeat of Brazil by the Germans is not only a humiliation to Brazil, but also a humiliation to Haitians. When you adopt something or someone, you take the good with the bad. You don’t get to choose. On the day of the infamous game, Haiti lost its blue and red identity as it was draped with Brazil’s yellow and green colors. Businesses, vehicles etc were displaying the Brazilian flag, while our citizen was wearing the Brazilian color everywhere.

While Brazil’s defeat became our defeat, the contrary would not hold. A Brazil victory would not have belonged to Haiti, but only to Brazil and the Brazilian people.

It has even been reported that when the Brazilian team had traveled to Haiti for a friendly game, the Brazilian team got most of the cheers and a stronger fan base at Stadium Sylvio Cator. What a demoralizing atmosphere for a home team. So the end result of the game was overly predictable.

• Where else in the world have such events taken place? Jamaica, Trinidad? Martinique? Mexico?, Dominican Republic? No.


• Will we ever see Americans nationals draped this country with the Canadian, French, English, etc. flags for any reason one can imagine? Again: NO.


•  If Haiti makes it to the next world cup, will Brazil and Argentine dress their country in Red & Blue? One more time: NO.


• And to anyone who says yes to any of the above, come see me because I got a bridge to sell you.

Starting today, with the upcoming world cup final game which includes Argentina, one can assume that Haiti’s colors are changing to white and blue. We might as well refer to Haiti as the chameleon land for its color changing abilities.

Finally after watching the video below, please try to answer the questions that follow

[youtube=http://youtu.be/MDX0K6ET30A]

It is obvious that Haitians have spent a fortune to support Brazil and Argentine. All these shirts, flags, caps etc come with a cost. Multiply the cost of these items by thousands or millions of items sold and you can imagine the magnitude of the number.

• Question#1: How much better Haiti’s team would be 4 years from now if all that money was donated to support Haiti’s national team or Haiti’s youth football programs?


• Question 2: To anyone who invested in Brazil or Argentina by purchasing a jersey, how much have you contributed to a Haiti’s sports program or national team?


• Question #3 (Conscience check): If you are wearing a Brazilian or Argentine shirt now, or when you put it on later or tomorrow, ask yourself this question:  If I had contributed this money to support Haitian football, wouldn't I be a better citizen?


• If you start feeling the guilt, then the answer is yes.

We have the unique ability to adopt what belongs to others
while not appreciating what is ours

Our colors are Blue and Red

 

Eng. Jean Claude Elie, MS, ME
CEO: RockMasters Marketing Services.
http://www.rockmasters.com
jeanelie@aol.com