Haiti and the Haitian Diaspora in the Wider Caribbean: The Making of an Atlantic Slave Society, 1775–1807

3. “The Mirror That We Don’t Want”: Literary Confrontations between Haitians and Guadeloupeans

3 “The Mirror That We Don’t Want” Literary Confrontations between Haitians and Guadeloupeans Odile Ferly The Caribbean remains divided by rivalries and prejudices that most particularly affect the Haitians, who have long been considered in the region as “nègres des nègres,” or the niggers’ niggers.1 The thorny relationship between Haiti and its neighbor, which culminated in the 1937 slaughter of some 20,000 immigrant cane-cutters by the Dominican government, is by far the most gruesome illustration of this phenomenon (Ferguson 2003: 10; Matibag 2003: 139–155; Rodríguez 2005: 26, 40). With estimates ranging from about 500,000 to 1 million Haitians living across the border today, there are still important tensions between the two peoples. Cultural differences and the successive Haitian invasions of the Dominican Republic, especially the 1822 to 1844 occupation, partly account for this antagonism.2 Yet such tensions equally characterize the confrontation—at once encounter and conflict—between Haitians and Guadeloupeans, despite numerous affinities. Haitians share with French Antilleans similar customs, including healing and magical practices, the Creole language—with its proverbs, sayings, oral tradition, and the mindset it carries, notably popular wisdom—as well as a sense of identity derived from a common history of colonialism until 1791. The Haitian Revolution tightened the ties with Guadeloupe, as it effected the abolition of slavery in both countries in 1794; its subsequent restoration in Guadeloupe motivated the 1802 uprisings. Besides greater geographical proximity, the unique resonance of the Haitian Revolution in Guadeloupe may well explain why today Haitians emigrate in larger numbers to this island than to Martinique.3 These affinities notwithstanding, anti-Haitian prejudice is found in Guadeloupe as elsewhere in the region. Indeed, Haiti constitutes a paradox in the French Antillean (and wider Caribbean) imaginary. On the one hand, the Revolution with its cohort of heroes has aroused admiration and respect , inspiring a series of poetry, plays, and essays that most often center Literary Confrontations between Haitians and Guadeloupeans / 59 on the iconic figure of Toussaint Louverture. On the other hand, contemporary Haiti and Haitian immigrants commonly face contempt and hostility. Women writers from the French Caribbean more readily focus on this reality than their male counterparts such as Aimé Césaire, Édouard Glissant, and others.4 The depiction of Haitians in Maryse Condé’s novel Traversée de la mangrove and in Ton Beau capitaine, a play by fellow Guadeloupean Simone Schwarz-Bart, will be read against the representation of Guadeloupeans in “Seeing Things Simply,” a short story by Haitian diaspora writer Edwidge Danticat. Examined together, these three texts reveal the patterns of demarcation and demonization at work in the elaboration of Guadeloupean and Haitian collective identities, as well as the ambivalence that underlies the mutual perceptions of the two communities and conditions their interactions. This ambivalence largely stems from the widely divergent sociopolitical predicaments of the French Antillean territory and the first Caribbean nation to shake the colonial yoke. At the same time, this reading of Caribbean literature validates Stuart Hall’s contention that identity, particularly when it is diasporic, is “a production . . . always in process, and always constituted within, not outside representation” (Hall 2003 [1990]: 234) and that “cultural identities are . . . not an essence, but a positioning. Hence, there is always a politics of identity” (237, emphasis his). As will be shown in relation to both communities, the Haitian or Guadeloupean intruder generates a specific response, a positioning that aims to reinforce a sense of collective selfhood. As noted by Philippe Zacaïr, Haiti and its diaspora have had a cultural impact on French Antillean fine arts, crafts, and notably music; thus konpa, which gained popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, largely conditioned the emergence of zouk. Furthermore, Guadeloupean culture has now integrated elements such as Vodou and bolèt, an illegal lottery once played exclusively by the Haitian community.5 Similarly, solidarity wall slogans appeared throughout Guadeloupe following the fall of dictator Duvalier in 1986. Despite such cultural proximity, today many Guadeloupeans harbor a strong animosity toward the Haitian community. This feeling escalated in 2001 and unleashed verbal as well as physical violence incited by the television show host and local politician Ibo Simon. Although the confrontations rapidly subsided and some Guadeloupeans vehemently demonstrated in protest, the influx of Haitians—accelerated since Jean-Bertrand Aristide ’s departure in February 2004—is watched with increasing unease, as 60 / Odile Ferly attested by the live debates...