Making History in Haiti
King and gay Haitians wear their pride on their sleeves
There is no word for “gay” in Haitian Creole. The closest word is “masisi,” a slur that roughly translated means “faggot.”
Despite the homophobia permeating Haitian language and society, a dozen Haitians proudly wore shirts that proclaimed “Mwen Se Masisi” (I am a faggot) and “Mwen Se Masisi. M’Ap Viv Lavi Positif AK VIH/SIDA” (I am a faggot. I am living with HIV/AIDS) at a World AIDS Day march in the rural town of St. Marc last Sunday.
The group, organized by Haitian AIDS activist Esther Boucicault, made a splash at the march and a World AIDS Day concert the night before. Despite some boos, the response was overwhelmingly positive in the crowd of more than 1,000, with dozens of people joining the gay marchers as they line-danced at the front of the parade.
The appearance garnered local and international press, including a widely published Associated Press article.
“They suffer double the stigma and double the discrimination,” Boucicault told the Associated Press.
There were some instances of open bigotry. When the gay men and their allies chanted “Long live gays” and “End AIDS,” a group of teenagers started chanting “End gays.”
‘Now you know what it’s like’
The gay group first made an appearance when they marched single-file into a St. Marc World AIDS Day concert Saturday night wearing their T-shirts. When they received some boos, AIDS organization leaders took the stage and told the crowd that the men were part of the community. When Esther’s fiancé Cesar Vincent spoke, someone started heckling him. The emcee took the microphone and called out the heckler, saying, “Now you know what stigma feels like.” After the concert, eight of the gay men changed into drag and took to the stage.
“It was awesome. It all turned out to be an incredibly positive experience,” said Housing Works President and CEO Charles King, who helped facilitate the activities of the pioneering marchers.
This coming out was an important milestone for Haiti, where like many Caribbean countries, gay people are reluctant to be openly gay because of discrimination. Haiti has the highest HIV rate outside of sub-Saharan Africa, but the number of men who have sex with men in the reported data is unclear because of the stigma associated with homosexuality.
The openly gay participants at the World AIDS Day events were encouraged to participate after joining a gay men’s group in St. Marc, which the Update reported on in July. Since then the group has branched into meetings for men who are HIV-positive, and one meeting for those who are HIV-negative or don’t know their status. They are currently applying for funding from international groups in order to expand their efforts.
Posted on December 5, 2008 at 2:40 am
Share
Donate Today
Join our healing community by becoming a member today
