Leonie Hermantin was the
first guest on the program that was taped on August 20th, at the WPBT2’s
studios. She shared her thoughts on the former U.S. President Bill Clinton’s
speech that took place at the Haitian Diaspora Congress on August 9th,
2009.
Hermantin discussed
with host Jessy Schuster the major points of the speech. The emphasis was on the
numerous issues affecting Haiti such as poverty, lack of healthcare, deforestation
and the inadequacy of some of the NGOs among the 10 0000 present in the
country.
Hermantin shared her
hope of her better future for Haiti emphasizing the role of the Diaspora and
the projects being put in place to help the inhabitants of the first free black
nation in the Western hemisphere.
The second segment of
Pulse concentrated on Caribbean identities. U.S.
Representative Yvette Clark (D) introduced a bill this year to make sure the 2010
census includes a designation for those of Caribbean
descent. The questions remains…what does it mean to be Caribbean?
Radio personalities Guylene
Berry and
Tanto Irie shared the screen to answer that question. Tanto, born and raised in
Jamaica
explained that being Jamaican means to have been born there and been raised until
adolescence at least. Berry encouraged the
bill to make sure Haitians have representation in South
Florida. She defines herself as a Haitian American and believes in
a Caribbean identity, but still reclaims her
Haitian identity before all. She suggested having dual citizenship for Haitians
as a solution.
Tanto also shared that
he does not consider Jamaicans raised in South Florida to be “real Jamaican,”
because of the lack of experience that only an island born and raised person would be
indulged in, such as “eating ackee and saltfish, roast breadfruit and plantains
and washing it down with coconut water, then going for a swim in the crystal
clear turquoise sea.”
The program will be
first aired on Sunday, August 23 at noon, then Thursday August 27th.
In the meantime, share
your thoughts in the comment section.
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