Out of many, one. A simple phrase that characterizes the diversity of the American nation. However, there are individuals who, to this day, cannot bring themselves to accept the fact that America is a nation of many cultures and races.
An unfortunate incident that students say happened March 16 at P.S. 34 in Queens Village, Queens brought to light the stark reality that the Haitian community, in spite of the many issues of common interest, does not speak with one voice.
At issue was a fight between two Haitian students that supposedly escalated into a cascade of unwarranted ethnic slurs toward Haitians by Nancy Miller, an assistant principal at the school. Since then, parents and other members of the Haitian community have staged demonstrations in front of that school, demanding the resignation of the administrator.
Meanwhile, the incident at P.S. 34 continues to make its way through the world of politics, the media and the schools chancellor’s office. But reaction from both sides of the social divide in the Haitian communities of Queens are threatening to take the focus off the issue.
On broad stretches of Linden Boulevard, and Springfield, Hillside and Jamaica Avenues, the preponderance of Haitian-Creole is testament to the massive presence of Haitians in these parts of Queens, the borough most associated with middle-class New Yorkers.
The Haitian presence in Queens Village, Cambria Heights and the adjacent neighborhoods started during the late 1950s, when hordes of Haiti’s middle class fleeing the repressive Duvalier regime migrated to these areas in search of peace and serenity. Well-educated and civic conscious, some of these families, through their involvement in churches and other issues, became pillars in these communities.
Accordingly, in Cambria Heights and parts of Queens Village it is not at all uncommon to stumble upon mundane conversations where French is primarily used as opposed to the vernacular Haitian-Creole. As a matter of fact, new residents to these areas who came in contact with these folks are expected to conform to that rite of passage as a means to be accepted or simply tolerated.
Inevitably, waves of migration of underprivileged Haitians, who were also fleeing their country for political as well as economic reasons, followed the initial exodus of Haiti’s middle class to the United States. But unlike the first wave of immigrants, the newcomers settled primarily in less affluent areas of Brooklyn and the Tri-State.
Eventually, as had happened to many immigrants of different ethnic backgrounds, the new group, having secured a piece of the pie through hard work and feeling insecurity in their old neighborhoods, gravitated toward the more secure areas of Queens. Unfortunately, in the land of many, they came face to face with the same social divide that was and still is a fact of life in their native Haiti.
Nonetheless, it would not be fair to single out the tension between old timers and newcomers as the only issue that affects the Queens communities.
For starters, a good number of Haitian schoolchildren in these neighborhoods attend Catholic and other private institutions, creating what one would call a feeling of disinterest toward the whole episode.
Conservatives to the core and having pulled themselves up the ladder through hard work, most Haitians of these areas expect no less from their fellow compatriots. To some of these neighborhoods’ residents, the idea that a Haitian child would attend school and fight appalls them as much as the school official’s egregious behavior.
Moreover, unlike other areas in the country with high concentration of Haitians, these neighborhoods do not have a high-profile leader or a proficient organizer. Also, the residents’ lukewarm involvement in district politics, which incidentally is the venue where matters that directly affect their lives are decided, is an impediment to the empowerment of these communities.
It remains true that no self-respecting Haitian would ever condone the unruliness of the involved students, but this type of conduct is not at all uncommon among children their age. It happens at the nation’s elite boarding schools and does not, by any means, reflect intrinsic ethnic and anti-social behavior.
A school, whether public or private, is one of the few places where a person’s character is shaped, and educators more than anybody else are the purveyors of that highly valued human commodity. Therefore, an educator who equates children with animals in such an environment is undeniably hurting their psyche and that may ultimately prove detrimental to society as a whole.
The massive response to the Center for Diseases Control tagging of Haitians as HIV carriers and the Abner Louima police brutality case led outsiders to regard the Haitian community as one of the most cohesive in the nation. Sadly, the Queens residents’ tepid response over the alleged incident at P.S. 34 is dispelling that perception, which has always been a myth rather than reality.
Though the incident was widely reported in the media, most Haitian residents of Brooklyn remain unaware of the facts, and class-consciousness may be the overriding factor.
