Born In Haiti To Mr. & Mrs. Lormeus Frederick, My Lifestyle

A few years had past since my family had become a statistic, when my sister and brother left home on their way to their own goals in life. This new change produced even a greater effect on me than did the departure of my father. Now came the time where I decided if no one else had to stay in the family, neither did I. I took this opportunity to become closer to my friends and their families hoping to become more welcome there than I did at home. It was not long after my constant deviation from what was left of my family that my mother decided she was going to keep me out of the house for extended periods of time. Now the time had come for me to really find my path in life.

My mother worked day and night so I had to care for my sister and cousins. On some occasions I had to help my mom clean houses to earn money. At the age of thirteen up until I was sixteen I was cleaning houses for the people we longed to be. I got a glimpse of a life I have never known. For the most part my mom’s boss was nice, but her family was ignorant at times. They would ask me where I have traveled and if I’ve been to all these kinds of expensive places. When I answered no they asked why not. I guess they didn’t comprehend the fact that my mom and I were cleaning their dishes and making their beds for less than the minimum wage to be able to barely afford the rent of the small room we all

In the 90’s, my parents immigrated to the United States. My father was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He escaped from a time of high level of recruitment for the nation's army. He eluded the government for years and eventually came to North Dakota as a student. My mother is from the Former Yugoslavia; more specifically she was born in what is now Bosnia-Herzegovina and grew up in what is now Slovenia. My mother came to America to escape the failing monarchy in Yugoslavia, which was a result of many wars

As a young girl growing up in Haiti, I experienced first hand that the path my parents chose for themselves was not the life that I wanted for myself. I was able to relate closely to Richard Rodriguez in “The Achievement Desire” because he faced many struggles that I too faced as a young girl. My parents always pressured me to work hard at school, I was always suppose to have my homework for Monday done by Friday night, which made

From the start life has always been a battlefield for me and my family. In Haiti my father had studied to become an engineer despite his poor upbringing and my mother had worked multiple jobs to help support the family. Life in Haiti had already been tough but after a coup d’état and an election there was finally hope that Haitians would have to live under a repressive government no longer. The new government created hope which was then solidified when Duvalier announced his candidacy, by this time he was already a well-known physician that took part in many public health campaigns. My father remembers when Duvalier was elected, with promises of rebuilding a broken country and the happiness that followed, but this did not last. Shortly after

This memoir has made me realize how much easier my life is than children who live in poorer countries, with many siblings. It has made me realize how lucky I am, because I was never told to watch younger siblings and take care of them. I never had to fight over clothes because we didn’t have very many, and it was a once a year event to get used clothes from family.

One’s family’s history, culture and environmental factors can influence a great deal of who they are. In fact, all three of these factors have influenced a great deal of the young woman I am today. To begin with, I am an African-American woman of Haitian descent. My family immigrated from Haiti years before I was born seeking a better life. I grew up in a close-knit family that worked odd jobs to reach ends meet. I remember fondly, my mother, a single mother working three jobs struggling to put food on the table, clothes on me and my three sibling’s backs, and electricity in the house. My mother never had time to rest, enjoy her day or spend time with me or my siblings. We often took cold showers, and had many hungry nights. Due to the amount

No one can control what family they are born into nor what struggles are destined for them in the future. By the age of nine, my parents could no longer help me with my homework, rather they could only offer a few words of encouragement. The language barrier and cultural clash we experienced as a family put me at a disadvantage compared to other children my age.

In a important decision, the Dominican Republic's Constinutional Court in September 2013 stripped 210,000 people--most of whom are Dominicans born from parents of Haitian decant leaving them stateless. children born to undocumented Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic are not eligible for Dominican citizenship as of September 23, 2013 (Arbichold 2013). The court, permitted by law, made actions that the Dominican people in charge had already been making for the past 15 years - immediately and then in an organized way denying citinzenship to people of of Haitian people . The court ruled that a person born in the Dominivsn Republic to Haitian parents, was not Dominican. The court also ordered a scan of the civil registry to classify

I was just a small town girl living in Grants, New Mexico. There is a saying that if you blink you will miss it driving down the highway. I was born and raised in Milan; it was just a little portion of Grants. My entire mom’s side of the family lived close by us and my dad’s side of the family was in Espanola, except for my grandma Yolie my dad’s mom. I grew up knowing almost everyone in that small town. The challenge in living in Grants was there were no available jobs. My parents had to drive back and forth to and from Albuquerque. As I was in kindergarten through second grade I would stay at my auntie’s house early in the morning or with my grandma while both my parents were in Albuquerque. Family was everything to me or at least what I

I am the seventh of eight siblings, born and raised in Port-au Prince, Haiti. On January 10, 2010, my family was victim of a major earthquake resulting in my parents losing their business, house and a one of my siblings. We suffered from economic difficulties and my parents were no longer able to provide for us. Consequently, we departed to the U.S. to find a better life and live “the American dream.”

Being an only child from a middle class family, I grew up a very sheltered life. My biggest worry under the age of 12 consisted of getting my homework done in time to play outside before the street lights came on. My favorite childhood memories all revolve around my grandparent’s beach house where I would spend my summer’s with my family and friends. I was naïve to the fact that every other child in the world didn’t think of their family and friends as their biggest support system. I was naïve to the fact that every other child in the world didn’t experience the sense of happiness in life as I did.

I am Daphline Louis, who was born in the remote mountain village of Savaan Roche. My mother Jolucia died of complications shortly after my birth. My father left me with my mother’s sister, whose husband had recently been murdered. She was unable to take care of me because she already had nine children, including a newborn baby. Trying to find food for all of us was too much for my aunt. She brought me and my cousin Jolina to the Love A Child Orphanage where we live today. I like playing with my sisters, going to school and

As the eighth child, I received little to no attention from both mother. Partly due to my father deceased a year after I was born, which dispersed my whole family structure. The loss of my father put my mother into a confused state, which forced her to seek out help from my father brothers and sisters. My six oldest siblings sent to live with my uncle and some close friends of my parents who were kind enough to accept my mother’s request. My sister and I stayed with my mother for short a period, then my mother moved into a new city left with my aunt.

I was never the model Congolese daughter. Never perfect in my domestic duties. Social views more liberal than conservative. Felt that absolute compliance of my parent’s demands were a bit much. My parents informed me that my ideals didn’t reflect on them well. Both in our culture and as they were pastors, image is everything. I then felt pressured to succumb to their traditional values. It seemed as if I was living a double life, one for my parents and the other for myself. This internal conflict made me miserable as I fought to be my own person on a daily basis.