Intercultural Competences and Religion

Intercultural Competence and Human Behavior

Professor José Vallejo García

Intercultural Competences and Religion in Haiti

Niesluchowski Dominique

IBM Promo 2015

Haiti occupies the western third of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Haiti is slightly smaller than the state of Maryland and lies just southeast of Cuba. Haiti is very mountainous. In fact, the word Ayiti was a Taino (the original inhabitants of Haiti) word for land of mountains. The capital of Haiti is Port–au–Prince, which lies in the center of the country, on the coast. Other important cities include Cap Haitien, which is in the northeast coast of the country, and Les Cayes, which is on the southwest coast.

Historically, 90 percent of Haiti was covered with forests. Now that figure is 4 percent or less. Most trees have been cut to make charcoal. This deforestation has led to erosion rendering much of the land unharvestable. Runoff into rivers has also affected fishing. The economic and environmental downward spiral results in poor farmers harvesting more trees to earn money. Environmental conditions continue to deteriorate. What was once called the Pearl of the Antilles is now an ecosystem on the point of collapse.

Haiti has two official languages: Haitian Creole (also known as Kreyòl) and French. Kreyòl is spoken by 100 percent of the population, while 8–10 percent of Haitians can speak French. Like all French–based creoles, Kreyòl is a mixture of French and the African languages that Haitian slaves spoke. It is incorrectly described as a French dialect or worse, as broken French. In fact, it is a distinct language with its own vocabulary and grammar rules. This negative comparison to French is a legacy of colonialism. Even after Haiti became independent, French has been the language of government and of power for most of Haiti’s history (Valdman, 1984). While Kreyòl has increased in status, French continues to provide access to power...