Haiti documentary provokes controversy in Chile

Haiti documentary provokes controversy in Chile

This article was written originally in French by Kendi Zidor and published in Le National which is a Haitian digital Journal that depicts a documentary made by a Chilean journalist named 'Soy Leyton" over a real and maybe "shocking" situation in Haiti. Below you will find the analysis in French language and then the traduction into English for better understanding. 

Un documentaire diffusé dans la soirée du lundi 8 janvier 2018 sur Télé 13 à Santiago de Chili et disponible sur Youtube sur la situation socioéconomique d’Haïti gène énormément la communauté haïtienne dans ce pays. La journaliste Soy Leyton qui en est l’auteur, est restée en Haïti pendant un mois pour vivre la réalité de près afin d’étaler à ses compatriotes la situation qui explique la présence chez eux d’autant d’Haïtiens. Le premier chapitre du documentaire intitulé « Adios Haiti » (Au revoir Haïti) suscite de vives réactions et des controverses. D’une part, de nombreux Chiliens sont stupéfaits devant la « cruelle réalité » qui est celle d’Haïti. D’autre part, les Haïtiens se sentent affectés par ces images si plus horribles de leur pays.

« On ne cesse de me questionner sur Haïti depuis la publication de ce documentaire. Et cela me dérange de devoir raconter à des étrangers la situation peu enviable de mon pays », raconte Nadet Eric Cinéus au journal Le National. Ce jeune haïtien qui vit à Santiago estime que ce documentaire va nuire à l’image de ses compatriotes qui vont encore au Chili. Il dit craindre que ces images ne provoquent des réactions racistes et discriminatoires surtout de la part de Chiliens qui ne digèrent pas la présence d’autant d’Haïtiens dans leur pays. « Dans les milieux de travail, les transports publics, les hôpitaux, l’accueil risque de devenir tout à coup moins chaleureux envers nous », craint-il.

Le fait de présenter Haïti sous son angle le plus sombre n’est pas innocent, de l’avis de la jeune haïtienne, Johanne Guercin également très choquée par le documentaire de Soy Leyton. Se demandant si cette journaliste ne travaille pas au profit de secteurs xénophobes, elle trouve que ce n’est pas honnête de filmer uniquement des scènes qui montrent la misère et le chaos. « Dans tous les pays, il y a des endroits où on n’est pas fier d’emmener les touristes », affirme-t-elle pour soutenir que le documentaire a été orienté de manière à offenser la communauté haïtienne.

Les commentaires postés au bas du documentaire sur Youtube montrent des avis partagés au sein de la communauté chilienne sur la présence des Haïtiens dans ce pays d’Amérique du Sud. Ces réactions peuvent être classées en deux catégories. D’abord, il y a ceux qui soutiennent que la misère exposée dans « Adios Haiti 1 » est une condition suffisante pour aider les Haïtiens et donc les accueillir dans la dignité. Ensuite, d’autres croient qu’il est inacceptable que des étrangers soient aussi nombreux à venir profiter des ressources qui leur appartiennent et critiquent les autorités chiliennes de ne pas mettre un frein à cette vague de migrants.

Dans ce premier chapitre de « Adios Haiti », Soy Leyton tenait à présenter aux Chiliens le tableau peu reluisant de la capitale haïtienne où se rencontrent des montagnes d’immondices, des bestioles qui posent des enfants nus et des adultes affaissés par la misère. La journaliste décrit également la vaillance des femmes haïtiennes avec des images prises au marché Hyppolite dans l’insalubrité qui domine le décor. L’organisation du centre-ville de Port-au-Prince où « tout le monde est commerçant » est également exposée pour faire voir comment on gagne sa vie dans un pays où le chômage bat son plein.

Kendi Zidor

A documentary broadcasted on Monday, January 8th, 2018, on TV 13 in Santiago de Chile and available on Youtube on the socio-economic situation of Haiti caused enormously shocking to the Haitian community in this country. The journalist Soy Leyton who is the author, stayed in Haiti for a month to live the reality closely to spread to his country fellows the situation that explains the presence at home of so many Haitians. The first chapter of the documentary entitled "Adios Haiti" (Au revoir Haiti) provokes strong reactions and controversies. On the one hand, many Chileans are stunned by the "cruel reality" of Haiti. On the other hand, Haitians feel affected by these more horrible images of their country.

"I am constantly questioned about Haiti since the publication of this documentary. And it bothers me to have to tell strangers the unenviable situation of my country, "tells Nadet Eric Cinéus to the newspaper Le National. This young Haitian living in Santiago believes that this documentary will harm the image of his fellow countrymen who are still in Chile. He said he feared that these images would provoke racist and discriminatory reactions especially from Chileans who do not digest the presence of as many Haitians in their country. "In workplaces, public transport, hospitals, hospitality may suddenly become less warm to us," he says.

The presentation of Haiti in its darkest angle is not innocent, in the opinion of the young Haitian Johanne Guercin also very shocked by the documentary Soy Leyton. Wondering if this journalist does not work for xenophobic sectors, she finds it is not fair to film scenes that show misery and chaos. "In all countries, there are places where we are not proud to take tourists," she says to argue that the documentary was oriented in ways that offend the Haitian community.

The comments posted at the bottom of the documentary on Youtube show shared opinions within the Chilean community on the presence of Haitians in this country of South America. These reactions can be classified into two categories. First, there are those who argue that the misery in "Adios Haiti 1" is a sufficient condition to help Haitians and therefore to welcome them with dignity. Secondly, others believe that it is unacceptable for so many foreigners to come and take advantage of the resources that belong to them and criticize the Chilean authorities for not putting a stop to this wave of migrants.

In this first chapter of "Adios Haiti", Soy Leyton wanted to present to the Chileans the shabby picture of the Haitian capital where mountains of rubbish meet, creatures that pose naked children and adults squeezed by misery. The journalist also describes the bravery of Haitian women with images taken at the "Hyppolite market" in the insalubrity that dominates the ambiance. The organization of downtown Port-au-Prince where "everyone is a shopkeeper" is also exposed to show how one earns one's living in a country where unemployment is in full swing.

Kendi Zidor

Eighth Anniversary of a massive loses among UN family in Haiti.

Eight years ago today, Haiti suffered a catastrophic loss when a massive earthquake devastated the capital city of Port-au-Prince.

The UN family was also hard hit. The UN headquarters collapsed and 102 of UN peacekeepers perished. We mourn our friends, our family members, our colleagues. They embodied the UN’s global mission and gave their lives in the cause of peace. 

We pay tribute to their sacrifice today and remember them in our thoughts and prayers just as we honor their memory by continuing their work to rebuild Haiti and help its people move forward to a brighter future. 

About 1,000 zombies a year in Haiti

"About 1,000 zombies a year in Haiti". 
(taken from http://lenouvelliste.com/article/178460/environ-1-000-zombis-par-annee-en-haiti-selon-un-article-scientifique) and published on  2017-10-31 by Le Nouvelliste

Roland Littlewood of the Department of Anthropology and Psychiatry at University College London and the late Chavannes Douyon of the Medica Polyclinic in Port-au-Prince published in October 1997 in the prestigious British medical journal The Lancet an article entitled: " Clinical Findings in Three Cases of Zombification (1). In the reflection on the phenomenon of zombification in Haiti, this is a remarkable step forward that brings the debate to the scientific laboratories and classrooms of foreign universities. The article has been cited at least 44 times in other academic research by other researchers. Littlewood and Douyon (1997) point out that zombification has become a subject of great Western interest since the occupation of Haiti by the United States between 1915 and 1934.

But even more alarming, according to the authors' estimates dating back to 1997, the number of victims of zombification in Haiti amounted to about a thousand new cases a year across the country. Estimates supported by Dr. Louis Price Mars (son of Dr. Jean Price Mars) who was, at the time, professor-researcher at the State University of Haiti (UEH) and an official at the Ministry of Public Health. It would, therefore, be a worrying public health phenomenon that deserves State intervention. Of course, the rare cases analyzed by Haitian and foreign researchers are those zombies who return to public life by returning to their families. The best-known example is Clairvius Narcisse, which has been extensively studied by Lamarque Douyon (1980), Wade Davis (1983a, 1983b, 1983c, 1985), Bernard Diederich (1983), Nathan Kline (1980), Heinz Lehmann (1980) and Hulse (BBC, 1981).

If the estimates of Littlewood and Douyon (1997) were true, zombification would be a more frightening cause of death than kidnapping, road accidents and insecurity combined. Hence the need for the Haitian State to conduct a rigorous national investigation into the phenomenon in order to consider the appropriate measures. The Haitian interpretation, say the authors of the article, is that a zombie is a young person who, either through poisoning or witchcraft, falls suddenly and inexplicably sick, recognized dead by his family and/or by doctors, buried, then raised and captured by a bòkò who keeps him secretly alive with impaired.


Through the process of zombification, they say, the corpse of the zombie is separated from his "gro bon anj" and his "ti bon anj". The "gro bon anj" is picked up by the bòkò and kept tightly in a bottle. This is, say the perpetrators, the astral body of the victim who is completely different from the physical body, used as a slave. They describe three ways in which the zombie can return to normal life: i) the bottle containing the astral body is broken ii) the bòkò is dead and the zombie is released or escaped by loosening the surveillance iii) the zombie, very rarely, is released by a mysterious intervention. Even after the escape, her mental and physical state remains the same, making the victim always vulnerable to further capture to be reborn as a slave. He then needs a medical and mystical treatment to recover his initial faculties.

Littlewood and Douyon (1997) indicate that very few bòkò or Haitian doctors claim to be able to allow a zombie to recover from its original state before its apparent death. According to them, a zombie is identified by its nasal intonation which represents a manifestation of the "spirit of death", a frozen expression, clumsy actions, repeated and without precise objectives. His speech is also repetitive and limited. To prevent their deceased relatives from experiencing such a mishap, the authors of the study reveal that some Haitian parents purely and simply decapitate the dead before their funeral.

The authors have documented in great detail three cases of zombification identified in southern Haiti: two girls aged 30 and 31 years and a young man of 26 years. The researchers met their families, the villagers and bòkò practicing zombification. DNA tests were conducted to verify the relationship of zombies with their families. The causes of zombification mentioned by the victims and their relatives are jealousy, bitterness, sheer nastiness and conflicts related to family inheritance.

But the voodoo and communication specialist Norluck Dorange has a completely different justification for the phenomenon. For him, when a family member of a notable of the remote areas has committed a reprehensible act (like a flight for example), the father of the family can decide to make him zombify to wash the affront of the family. But that does not detract from the criminal nature of the act. In Canada, this type of crime is considered a "crime of honor".

Littlewood and Douyon (1997) report having interviewed two bòkò practicing zombification. They participated in a voodoo ceremony at one of them. The latter has its own peristyle and its secret societies: zobop, bizango, gray pig and a red sect that are involved in acts of zombification. While the other bòkò has become Protestantism. He was recognized at the time of the researchers' visit as a fierce opponent of witchcraft and zombification. The researchers note, with amazement, the cordial relations existing between the two men at the time of their visit. The bòkò practitioner showed researchers Littlewood and Douyon bottles containing, according to him, "zombies astrals" while confirming to have sold their corpses to growers and other bòkò. According to this bòkò, the physical contact would not be necessary to reach its prey as the approach to the poisoning suggests it.

Zombification and medicine

Clarvius Narcisse is perhaps the best-known case of zombification in Haiti

It appears from the various works that one of the explanations of the phenomenon of zombification is the existence of a poison of local manufacture. This poison, when administered properly, slows down the state of metabolism to such an extent that the victim can be considered clinically and theoretically dead. The antidote exists in parallel. And when it is properly administered, the victim can recover some or all of his cognitive abilities. So, the antidote holder can use the dosage to manipulate the zombie as it sees fit.

The medical potential of this substance, particularly in the field of anesthesiology, would be enormous. It could pave the way for major breakthroughs in this area of modern medicine. This is one of the reasons why zombification is of interest to foreign researchers. In the state of apparent death, the victims would be able to remain at least 6 hours, or even up to 24 hours, at the grave or under the ground. All a feat! But all the magic, notes a connoisseur of zombification, lies in the technique of raising the body on both feet. Holders of this secret will never share it with anyone, he admits.

Several Haitian doctors and scientists consider zombification solely as a consequence of poisoning by neglecting its mystical side, which is more difficult to apprehend. This is the case, for example, of Dr. Ghislaine Adrien, psychiatrist, who has been interested in the phenomenon because the parents of his patients speak to him quite often. She approached, at a certain moment, some hougan, especially the late Max Beauvoir to try to find out more. All that Dr. Adrien was able to glean the door to believe that there is in the fish called froufrou or fish globe a substance called tetrodotoxin that is also found in a species of toad and some tree roots in Haiti. Tetrodotoxin causes say she, a state of deep catalepsy that makes vital signs are not detectable with stethoscopes or other medical instruments. The effect of this substance seems to last more than 24 hours, she says. But this approach suggests that the victim should have direct contact with his executioner.

Tetrodotoxin has been widely studied by Japanese researchers. She was found in a fish whose consumption can make the person in a state of apparent and temporary death. The two bòkò encountered by researchers Littlewood and Douyon mention other local substances used in the process of zombification. Examples include human remains, toads, lizards, and tarantulas.

However, there is the other rather mystical hypothesis that is studied by Littlewood and Douyon (1997). For some hougan and followers of voodoo, zombification is only a justice parallel to the state justice, inaccessible to the mass of the underprivileged. As a form of capital punishment for people who would be guilty of reprehensible acts. But in the documented cases, one reports rather scenes of jealousy, bitterness, revenge, malice, settling of accounts or family conflict.

From the different cases studied by Haitian and foreign scientists, we can not find symptoms common to all zombies. Each case of zombification has its own specificities and manifestations. The usual medical techniques do not allow a rigorous characterization either.

In a collaboration with Heinz Lehmann of McGill University in Montreal and Nathan Kline of the Rockland State Research Institute in New York, Dr. Lamarque Douyon had done titanic work on the cases of zombies who returned to their families in Haiti from 1961 to death. Nathan Kline is a pioneer in the field of psychopharmacology who has conducted research, intermittently, for about 30 years in Haiti. This is why the psychiatric center of Port-au-Prince bears his name next to that of Dr. Louis Price Mars, one of the pioneers of research in the field in Haiti. Note that Dr. Lamarque Douyon completed his medical residency in psychiatry at McGill University.

Unfortunately, Dr. Douyon has all gone to the afterlife (not zombified, hopefully). Chavannes Douyon died quite recently, March 23, 2016. The Haitian state had not benefited during their lifetime to shed light on this phenomenon, recognized as a crime by Article 246 of the Haitian Penal Code.

The Euvonie mambo Georges Auguste of the "Konfederasyon nasyonal vodouyizan ayisyen (KNVA)" affirms it bluntly: "Haiti is a land of freedom, it must not tolerate that a group of its sons and daughters be treated as slaves under no pretext. " It indicates that zombification is contrary to the voodoo philosophy while admitting the existence of the phenomenon as a "form of parallel individual justice". It remains to be seen if this position is shared by all the vodouisants. Madame Auguste calls for the strict application of the law, especially against criminals who, after "zombifying" many people, testify their crimes in Protestant churches, under the pretext of a certain conversion to Christianity. "Do not crack down on these people is an incentive to extend the phenomenon of zombification in the country," she lamented.

 Haiti has lost scientists and scientists working on zombification in Haiti. Instead of being supported by their state like their foreign counterparts, they were often arrested and persecuted by the Duvalier regime. This was the case of Dr. Lamarque Douyon, who invested his time, resources and energy in research on zombification. It is incomprehensible that so far the Haitian leaders are not sufficiently interested in elucidating this phenomenon which marks so deeply the imagination and the functioning of the Haitian. The researcher Wade Davis still lives, as if to say that the research on the subject is almost left to the foreigners who will orient it for their ends.

1) Clinical Findings in Three Cases of Zombification, The Lancet, 1997; 350: 1094-96.