DO NOT DELETE THIS SECTION THIS IS PART OF THE CUSTOM CODE
DO NOT DELETE THIS SECTION THIS IS PART OF THE CUSTOM CODE
Christine Suero
Writer and Actor
My Perejil
Their sweat is considered their pain.His name gave him power to reign.My ignorance is my shame and my shame only.Every ounce of blood that was shed unjustly should resonateAs if you were hearing the droplets of a steady yet deafening leaky faucet.
It is not Haitians who live beyond my Dominican borders but more so my brothers and sisters-
And it pains me to speak of the injustices they have endured-But it is through this very pain that we must shine a light.A gleaming light so luminous that regardless of your color or place of origin will be in your grasp and will ignite at the very center of your soul.His life, her life and your life should be equally valued as the one given to me.
Never should a neighbor so close to home have so much hate inside where they are driven to unleash such a force.
He had them chopped, strangled and choked with the very herb that fed their souls. And in just a slight mispronunciation of the word it was enough-enough to take the life. Say it! Pronounce it! It’s perejil…perejil…If only to go back in time and order the wind to whisper it to their rescue. It may be too late to despair now but with our voices we can educate those who come-And like this rich soulful ingredient we continue to use in the basis of our nutriments;
We must find vitality and strength in our own roots to nurture one another with an abundance of love.
It should never be a matter of sides. I still stand proud of my people and the many things my culture embodies but I am left distraught in learning of the horrific acts that occurred in 1937 by those who I quote on quote call my people. As I questioned the reign of Lionel Trujillo to both of my parents I received two very different responses. My mother was the daughter of an air force general who served under Trujillo’s command and my father was from a family who feared the very whisper of his name. This was life in the Dominican Republic. A divide in the life of people of the very same kind. And during his reign both Haitians and dark skinned Dominicans took to suffering. The Massacre that took place in 1937 was horrific, inexcusable, and completely unjust. We are here to voice and shine light on the evils of the past because as most may know history disguises itself and comes back with a vengeance in the sliest most deceitful ways. If society is not learning about our past we are fueling the ignorance of our future. Haitians like Dominicans are human. No people should have to endure such suffering because the color of their skin or where they come from. It is when we start viewing one another as human beings equal human beings and not by color or place of origin is when we will begin to put an end to all this hate.
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