CULTURAL IMMERSION PAPER PART 3 1
Cultural Immersion Paper
Part 3
Cara Soto
Liberty University
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Cultural Immersion Paper Part 3
This paper will explore the discoveries that were made during the research and interviews
of Haiti and the Haitian people in their country and in America. This paper will introduce to the
reader a married Haitian couple who was interviewed for this project. During the interview we
explored their personal story as well as cultural norms that were discovered in prior research to
the interview, as well as new insights that were gained from the interview. This paper will start
out with the personal stories of the couple interviewed.
Interviewee Background and Personal Story
I know a Haitian couple from a previous city that I lived in. I first knew the husband
before he married. Jean was a single man with a son that came to our church sporadically. When
my husband and I got to know him we found out that he has the heart of a missionary. and he
spent every vacation he had in Haiti helping out with an orphanage, this is why we never saw
him consistently. Jean was born in Haiti and at the age of 10 moved to New York with his
parents. He is one of eleven children. He started school in 2 grade here in the United States
nd
(US). He knew two words in English, bathroom and please. Because of his lack of knowledge
about English, he did not move on to 3 grade but was held back. When he got to high school the
rd
teachers did not want an older teenager with the young kids. They suggested he take is GED and
attend college. He did that and scored so high on his GED that he got the next four years of
college tuition free. I asked about education and how his parents felt about him and his siblings
attending school. He said that for his parents, school and church were two things you always
attended. If you didn’t go you would have to have a very good excuse (like in bed dying, his
words) or Dad would administer corporal punishment.
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On one of his trips to Haiti Jean saw this young girl pass by his father’s house every day,
where he lived (by this time Jeans father had moved back to Haiti) Jean would see her with a
little boy. He wanted to know who the mother was because the girl was too young to be his mom.
When jean found out that Natou had taken in a little cousin and was raising him Jean saw her
heart and fell in love with her. However, he said that he did not want love to get in the way of
working for God so they remined friends for many years. Natou, said that Jean was very kind to
her and always walked her to school and home again when he was there in Haiti. Fast forward
seven years and Jean had left his corporate job in America to dedicate 6 months of living in
Haiti. After that six months when it was time for him to go back to the US, Natou said that the
night before he was to leave, he sat on the steps of her house crying because he had to say
goodbye to her. She told him he had to make a decision, was he going to marry her or not? Jean
told her that he needed to go back to the US and find a job, earn some money, apply for her visa
and get settled. In 2008 they were married. Natou came to the US not knowing any English.
Now, she knows English pretty good, she can communicate well. They have three children and
Natou’s mom and brother live with them. Jeans mother lives in a house down the street and his
dad is no longer living.
This couple was very open with me during the interview. Jean says that he is an open
book with everyone. He does not hide his feelings, thoughts or desires and wants people close to
him to know his heart and correct him when he is wrong. Natou on the other hand is very shy.
She did answer all my questions and sometimes would look to her husband to help her translate
her feelings from Créole to English. I truly believe that because I had previous history with them
that they felt very comfortable even when I told them that I was writing this paper and would be
sharing their story and experiences.
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Jean said that when he got here to America at the age of ten, he encountered a lot of
racism. He said the kids at school made fun of him for not knowing English. Then after he did
learn English the black kids at school made fun of him because he did not slur his words. He said
that an old white man had taught him English and that he had learned English so well that he had
no Haitian accent. Jean also said that his family was extremally poor and that he never had nice
or matching clothes when going to school, unfortunately the kids would make fun of him. This
pushed him to isolate himself from kids at school, he dedicated his time to studying. He said the
experience was not painful for him, but it was for his sisters who cared about their clothes and
how they looked. He did say that when he was not at school, he found Americans to be very
helpful and understanding.
When Natou came to America it was to marry her love. She said she was scared and
overwhelmed, everything was strange to her. She said she had never used an electric oven and
the first time she used Jean’s she broke the knob off of the burner. She said she was scared to use
a debit card and that even putting gas in the car caused her a lot of stress. She said that the
American system was very different and difficult for her to learn. She said Jean would push her
to learn English. He said that was the only way she would survive, so within weeks of getting to
America and getting married she was enrolled in English classes. Natou was afraid to speak
English, but Jean would reassure her that Americans are not like Haitians, they will encourage
and help her, not shame her like the Haitians. Once Natou was brave enough to try she found this
to be true and her confidence grew.
Acculturation level and racial/cultural identity
Jean is defiantly acculturated. He said he feels more comfortable speaking English.
However, when he went back to Haiti for the first few times his Créole was so bad that he was
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made fun of and decided to perfect it. Which he did. Now he says that he speaks Créole every
chance he gets to keep him sharp. Jean also says that he sees the positive aspects of Haitian and
American culture and he tries to take what is best for him and his family. He said that he sees
Americans love and respect their kids, he says that he has adopted that way of thinking into his
family. He says he sees Haitians as being community and family oriented and wants that for his
family.
Natou and Jean have not taught their kids to speak Créole. They said their kids
understand it very well because the grandmother lives in the house with them. I asked about the
way they eat, and they said it was more American then Haitian. They attend church in English
and Jean says his kids have way to much screen time. He wishes they were outside playing more.
Emotional Response and New Learning
The way I responded towards this couple is with an overwhelming feeling of love. It has
been over a year since we had seen each other. I had talked to Natou in April. I realized how
much I miss my friends. We have had many conversations in the past about child rearing, God,
jobs, church, family ect. But I had never really taken the time to know their story. Listening to it
I was moved to tears by the way Jean talked about seeing his wife walk in front of his house in
Haiti. I saw his heart and also saw Natou’s as she described how she cared for this little boy
because of her compassion towards him. Hearing their story let me see their hearts on a deeper
level and recognize that they are such loving, caring and compassionate people. They love their
Haiti and the people that live there. I felt privileged that they call me their friend and they were
just as excited to see (via facetime) me as I was them. I was moved by his generous offer, he
presented his newly built house to me so that when I decide to visit Haiti I will have a place to
stay.
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I learned from Jean that children are not supposed to look their parents or authority
figures in the eye. This was different than what I had read about keeping eye contact with the
person that is talking and looking away is a sign of disinterest (Brice International, 2020). I now
realize this is a conversation between adults or equals.
Because I watched a video on Voodoo (Guynup, 2004), and talked about it with another
person. I just wanted to ask them about their feelings about it. They both agreed that it is very
real thing in Haiti to see people possessed. They said that the older Christians don’t want to talk
about Voodoo. They both agreed that Voodoo can not be mixed with a Christian walk. Either you
worship God or the Devil. You can’t play both sides.
Another aspect that I learned from Jean is that it is very hard to establish a business in
Haiti. It takes lots of money to import goods to the island. Jean graduated with a business degree
and his plan was to set up a small business in Haiti. However, he found out that when the
shipping containers arrive in Haiti you must know someone up high in the customs office to get
your stuff off the ship. He said that they charge anywhere from $7,000 to $12,000 just to take
your stuff off the ship. I know that Jean sends lots of clothes and food to Haiti to support the
orphanages, so I asked him how he sent his stuff. He said he knows a business owner who allows
him a small space on his shipping container so that Jean does not have to pay to get it off the
ship. He only pays to have it shipped to Haiti.
This summer Jean went to Haiti. I asked about the effects of COVID-19 there. He said
that it was not a threat. He felt safe and there wasn’t much talk of hospitals being over run or
people scared of it. I thought this was interesting because in the article I read by Charles (2020) I
assumed that the population would be at a higher risk on the island. I got curious and made a
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google search about COVID-19 in Haiti and according to Bazell (2020) as of August there have
been a total of 183 deaths in a population of 11.2 million.
Ethical and Legal Aspects to Consider
For counseling Haitian clients, I found several techniques that can be incorporated when
in session Rahill (2011) suggests the use of metaphors and storytelling. Where as Nicholas, et al.
(2008) reminds us that family is an important part of the culture and Shillingford et al. (2018)
suggests the benefits of group therapy, incorporation of dance song and working with spiritual
healers. To help uncover the trauma experienced in the lives of Haitian Americans and those born
in Haiti McGoldrick et al. (2005), suggest the use of questions, which helps to uncover issues
that do not always correlate to the client’s physical symptoms.
During a counseling session it may come out that the client you are working with is an
illegal immigrant. ACA code of ethics (2014) does not directly address this issue, however it is
pertinent that you keep this information confidential. The ACA also admonishes us as counselors
to respect the clients rights B.1.a. says that we should maintain the meaning of cultural
confidentiality. Also if a client wants the family to be part of therapy or the counselor feels that
group therapy is in the best interest of the client, the counselor will adhere to section A.9 and
provide the best possible setting for the clients that will protect them from physical harm or
mental trauma. In section E.5.a it says that a counselor should recognize that culture affects the
manner in which clients’ problems are defined and experienced.
Multicultural Sensitivity and Biblical Worldview Reflection
As an up and coming Mental Health Counselor I must be sensitive to the Hattian’s view
of family. To see them as individualistic could be detrimental to the counseling session. They are
a people of community and family. One custom of Haitians is that during a conversation not
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looking at the speaker in the eye is a sign of disrespect and looking away while they are speaking
shows a sign of disinterest (Brice International, 2020). Haitians do not talk freely about their
feelings to a counselor. However, research has shown that by creating metaphors and stories a
client will more readily open up and feel more comfortable with the counselor because they can
relate to what is being illustrated (Rahill, 2011). Haitians are reluctant to go to see a counselor
unless there is some tangible outcome for them. As a counselor I am now aware of the stigma
and trauma that Haitians have suffered. Knowing this will help me be more sensitive to the
methods of counseling that I use.
While researching the first part of the project I was looking at the Haitian population with
an etic lens. I was reading all the information about Haiti and its people. The trauma, tragedy but
also the resilience. Even though it was a lot of information I admired them and also felt
compassion. However, what brought all of it together was the last interview I did with a married
couple. The wife, Natou, told me her story. She was 16 when her cousin had a baby out of
wedlock. Natou went to her cousin’s house to see the baby. The mother was letting the baby
starve. She could not feed or care for the baby. So Natou would go every day to care for the little
one after she got out of school. One day she asked her cousin, “can I have the baby?”. The cousin
gave her the baby. She asked her mom and the mom agreed to care for the baby while she was at
school. Natou cared for this child until she moved to the US to marry her husband at the age of
28. She now provides for her child back in Haiti by sending money to him and making sure he
has an education. Her compassion is an example of the compassion that the Haitian people have.
They are always willing to bless others with whatever they have.
Seeing this culture through God’s eyes has moved me to pray for their strength and
salvation. Sometimes we here in American believe that happiness is having everything you need.
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However, when I look at the Haitian people, I see the Christian Haitian people worshiping God
no matter the circumstances. I believe that we should pray for strength for our brothers and
sisters in Haiti and for the salvation of those who do not yet know Jesus as their Savior.
Conclusion
In summary, I believe that the most helpful part was the research I conducted on the first
part of the project. I learned to much about Haiti that I didn’t even write about. I had never
explored this culture in depth, I was also impressed at how many peer reviewed articles there
were on Haitians and their cultural tendencies and reactions as a people group. I asked my
interviewee, in part three, about the discoveries I had made in the peer reviewed journals and he
confirmed that they were all correct. I enjoyed this project because I believe it has given me the
tools to do in depth research about different cultures which I will need to become an affective
counselor.
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References
American Counseling Association. (2014). Retrieved from http://Counseling.org:
https://www.counseling.org/resources/aca-code-of-ethics.pdf
Brice International. (2020, September 19). Retrieved from Brice Foundation International:
https://www.bricefoundation.org/haitian-culture-and-tradition
Bazell, R. (2020, August 13). This physician has battled epidemics, quakes, and poverty in Haiti.
Now, she’s taking on COVID-19. Retrieved from ScienceMag.org:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/08/physician-has-battled-epidemics-quakes-and-
poverty-haiti-now-shes-taking-covid-19
Guynup, S. (2004, July 7). Haiti: Possessed by Voodoo. Retrieved from National Geographic:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/7/haiti-ancient-traditions-voodoo/
Charles Jacqueline, D. O. (2020, September 03). COVID-19, a stigma to many, quietly taking
toll on South Florida’s Haitian community. Retrieved from Miami Herald:
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-
world/world/americas/haiti/article244725852.html
McGoldrick, M. G.-P. (2005). Ethnicity and Family Therapy. The Guilford Press.
Nicholas Tekla, A. S. (2008). "Here's Your Diploma, Mom!" Family Obligation and Multiple
Pathways to Success. The Annals of the American Acadamy of Political and Social
Science, 237-252.
Rahill Guitele, M. J.-G.-L. (2011). Metaphores as Contextual Evidence for Engaging Haitian
Clients in Practice: A Case Study. , Vol. 65, Iss. 2 American Journal of Psychotherapy
133-49.
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Shillingford, M. A., Oh, S., & DiLorenzo, A. (2018). Using the multiphase model of
psychotherapy, school counseling, human rights, and social justice to support Haitian
immigrant students. The Professional Counselor, 8(3), 240-248.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.15241/mas.8.3.240
