Haiti has never turnedits back on its African Heritage.So attached is Haiti to its ancestral homeland, that we continue to call it by its 17th century name, Ginen. Commonly, Haitians would say that the Lwas, meaning the Ancestors, divide their time between their children in Haiti and those in Africa.Today, President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal reached out to Haiti by explaining the bond that links us to Africa. The president said that as children of African ancestors, Haitians have as much right to African soil as Africans living there today. He has donated 1 million dollars to Haiti and offered fertile land to anyone seeking refuge from Haiti. He went on to add that Haitians did not ask to be taken to a land that is subject to floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes.Other African countries have joined in and offered monetary aid to Haiti. For example, the Kongo pledged 2.5million. Sierra Leone, the country of the Mede people, pledged 100,000.There is now an ongoing fundraising effort throughout Africa called Africa for Haiti.
As one Haitian song laments, - SiGinen pa te lwen kon sa, lontan mache chimen mwen. - if Ginen were not so far away, I would have long since found my way home.Today with airplane travel, Ginen is less than a day away, a far cry from the 3 months it used to take when our forefathers were forcefully taken to the precarious island of Haiti.Since it has been more than 200 years since the last Africans were taken to Haiti, many of us have dug deep roots in the country and will stay to eke out a living in Haiti no matter what. Whether or not some of us choose to return to Senegal, it is heartwarming that at a moment of need, the president of Senegal opens the door to us- Eritye yo rele n. Senegal has not forgotten us and we have not forgotten them.The former rulers of Senegal are referred to as Met Siniga in Haiti. One such former ruler remembered in Haiti is Kankan Mousa whose 14th century trip from the Senegal region to Mecca is legendary.The former rulers of Senegal practiced both Traditional African Religion as well as the Muslim faith. This is why in Vodou services when these ancestors are called upon for spiritual guidance they are greeted with the term Salamalekou which is the Creole way of saying the Muslim greeting Salamalekom.In appreciation of the president of Senegal reaching out to us, we say to him, thank you and Salamalekou Met Siniga.