Slowly, the good doctor began to break me down. He began educating me about the world and its hidden history. Through him I learned that Black men and Black women in ancient Africa were the fathers and mothers of human civilization rather than the naked savages that European historians made them out to be. Civilization began in the Kingdom of Kush, located in present day Sudan. The Kingdom of Kush was eventually renamed Nubia by its people. The Nubians brought civilization to Egypt and gave primitive Egyptians knowledge of mathematics and science, along with the Pharaonic system. For a long time, Black Pharaohs from the Kingdom of Nubia ruled over ancient Egypt. European scientists are just beginning to discover the remnants of the great civilizations which arose in the Kingdom of Nubia, located in the Republic of Sudan in deep Africa. I was blown away by that revelation. Like most White folks living in North America, I actually believed the myth that White folks were superior and that people of color were somehow made to serve us. The doctor forever shook up my world view. And he had amazing books and artefacts to back up his claims. Slowly, I began to see the error of my ways.
It seemed that there was so much I didn't know about the world. The doctor took me for a walk around North Montreal, home of much of Canada's Haitian community. I am not going to lie. The thought of walking through these Black neighbourhoods made me uneasy. However, with the doctor as my guide, I felt safe. He took me to Haitian churches, Haitian restaurants and Haitian clubs. I saw these remarkable Black men and Black women in their natural element, living their lives. You know what? The impossible actually happened. Slowly but surely, I began to see people of colour, especially Haitians, as people. They were good, bad and everything in between. Most of them were decent, hard-working and family-oriented people. I don't know exactly how this change came over me but it happened. I now see the error of my ways. I see the sins of White men and White women. I also see people of colour, especially Haitians, as infinitely kinder, braver and more forgiving than White men and White women will ever be. If we had endured what they endured, we'd still be vengeful and cruel. They don't waste their time hating today's White people for the actions of yesterday. They move on. They live. They love. They work. They do their own thing. I was in awe of these people.
Once I realized that, I had to do something. I couldn't live in Canada, a country built on the backs of Aboriginals with the forced labour of innocent Africans. I moved to Haiti, and relinquished my Canadian citizenship. I learned to speak Haitian Creole. I got a job as a translator of documents for a Haitian businessman named Jean-Paul in the city of Cap-Haitien, Haiti. That was in 2004. Six years later, I am fully fluent in Haitian Creole. I am happily married to a gorgeous Haitian man named Joseph Mercier. We have two sons and a daughter together. I am a proud citizen of Haiti. When the quake of January 2010 happened, I was with my family in Cap-Haitien. The U.S. and Canadian troops offered to send me back to Canada. I said hell no. I am a proud citizen of Haiti. My place is with my people, the Haitians. I see myself as a Haitian woman, and a wife and mother first. I don't think of myself as a White woman. I think of myself as a Haitian woman. And I cannot thank Dr. Etienne enough for putting me on the right path and saving my soul.
