Editorial:
When we launched Discoverhaiti, one
of our objectives was to become a compelling Internet source of
information on Haiti and Haitians. As a people who has always been
a target of all kinds of misinformation whether conscious or unconscious
we believed that it was time for Haitians to direct and control
the source of information available on them and on their country.
That decision was also motivated by our desire to serve as a link
among Haitians at home and abroad in cyber world. We were particularly
concerned with the Haitian Diaspora, uprooted from home but with
a will to make it in often inhospitable foreign lands. We also thought
about the young generation born abroad and thus living with very
fragile links to the homeland, a place that often reaches them in
a purely negative package. We felt the need for role models in our
community to bring this new generation back to its roots.
 |
| ...The new generation living in the Diaspora
although needing images of past heroes, also wanted more contemporaneous
role models to whom they could better identify themselves... |
The first role models presented were
taken from our rich history. However, something was missing despite
the incredible strength and fame of our past heroes. The new generation
living in the Diaspora although needing images of past heroes, as
models of what they can achieve, also wanted more contemporaneous
role models to whom they could better identify themselves. These
new role models would bring the foreign born generation back to
their roots and instill in them a regained pride in their origin.
That is why we decided at Discoverhaiti to create this new section,
entitled In The Community to offer another channel
that will allow young haitians to reconnect to their roots while
providing a vivid document of accomplishment among haitians.
 |
| ... new role models would bring the foreign
born generation back to their roots and instill in them a regained
pride in their origin... |
In the Community will be about
being successful as a haitian wherever you are especially in the
Diaspora; it is about the people who are making it happen in our
community. It is about Haitian men and women living abroad who have
not only made it professionally but are also giving back to their
community in one way or another. It is about being universal while
preserving your haitianity. The profiles here will be diverse and
will represent thus the diversity and richness of our community.
We will also provide information about events taking place in our
community as well as tips on diverse issues of interest to the Haitian
community such as tips on career, education, technology, immigration,
business and so on.
This first issue of In the Community
features one of our most prominent journalists living in the
Diaspora: former NY Times journalist, and current editor of Haitian
Times, Garry Pierre-Pierre.
 |
| ... Garry founded the Haitian Times with
a focus on "Bridging the Gap" between those living
in the US and those living in Haiti... |
As you will read in the following interview, Garry Pierre-Pierre immigrated
to the United States when he was eight years old. While he spent most
of his life in the United States, he has not forgotten his Haitian
roots. After a successful career in the NY Times, Garry decided that
it was time to focus more on his community and thus founded the Haitian
Times, now a well known and widely read Haitian newspaper in various
communities . Garry was chosen for this month’s profile for In
the Community due to his successful career but mostly because
of his involvement in the Haitian community. Indeed, the Haitian community
long needed a newspaper such as the Haitian Times, which defined itself
as an ethnic newspaper with the following motto: “Bridging the Gap.”
We long needed a media that could bridge the gap between Haitians
living in the US and those living in Haiti, between the old immigrant
generation and the mostly foreign born new generation; we need to
bridge the gap to build a stronger Haiti and a stronger Haitian
Diaspora. This is what the Haitian Times is all about and we urge
you bridge that gap in your own micro-Haitian-Diasporic community.
Here is an excerpt from our talk
with Garry Pierre-Pierre
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Quick
Tips for First Time homebuyers
Basics
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