this is how late I am in my readings...(sorry)

Haiti win Digicel Caribbean Cup

Haitians clinch title in 2-1 thriller in Port of Spain

Posted on January 24, 2007

Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007 – Hasely Crawford Stadium, Trinidad: After the toughest route to the final, playing more qualification games than any other team, Haiti lifted the Digicel Caribbean Cup after defeating Trinidad & Tobago 2-1 in a thrilling final.

Watched by an expectant crowd of 18,000, Wim Rjisbergen’s Soca Warriors could not break down a stubborn home defence, expertly marshaled by Digicel Man of the Match Richard Pierre Bruny, as Luis Amelia Garcia’s side took their chances to bring the Digicel Caribbean Cup back to Port-au-Prince for the very first time.

A cagey opening 20 minutes saw few chances created before the game burst into life on 21 minutes when the Haitians silenced the noisy home crowd by opening the scoring.

Cadet Elphine made a surging run down the right before squaring the ball for Brunel Fucien. Fucien’s first time shot was pushed away by Williams in the Trinidad & Tobago goal but Boucicaut Alexandre was on hand to turn the ball home.

Trinidad struggled to come back into the game but showed their first real threat in stoppage time at the end of the first half. Kerry Baptiste fired just wide 1 minute into stoppage time and Kerwin Jemmott came even closer seconds later, Gabard in the Haiti goal blocking his long range shot.

But Rjisbergen’s side couldn’t keep their momentum after the break and on 52 minutes Haiti seemed to have one hand on the Digicel Caribbean Cup. A goalmouth scramble resulted from a Williams’ fumble and Brunel Fucien turned the ball home to give the Haitians a two goal lead.

With the crowd silenced, Haiti seemed comfortably on top but the game changed with a set piece. Trinidad earned a free kick fully 35 yards out on 66 minutes giving Nigel Daniel a sight of goal. Daniel’s vicious right foot strike, a real contender for goal of the tournament, left Gabard with no chance and brought the game alive again.

With the crowd performing an enthusiastic Mexican wave, the Soca Warriors poured forward in search of an equalizer. Substitute Joel Bailey almost found the net on 76 minutes, his header from Power’s long cross well held by Gabard.

As the crowd grew increasingly tense, the Soca Warriors threw 4 up front in the closing minutes and goalkeeper Gabard became the Haitian hero. He denied Glasgow after a flowing move, tipped over a Theobald free kick and then with only 2 minutes left on the clock brilliantly saved from Darryl Roberts after a mazy run.

Despite 4 nail biting minutes of stoppage time, Haiti held on for a famous victory which will be celebrated long into the night in Port-au-Prince.

Trinidad and Tobago: Jan Michael Williams, Makan Hislop (Joel Bailey 64), Osei Telesford, Leslie Fitzpatrick ,Kerwin Jemmot, Darryl Roberts, Gary Glasgow, Kerry Baptiste, Seon Power, Nigel Daniel, Densill Theobold

Haiti: Fenelon Gabard, Gilles Frantz (Dacius Gilles 90), Guillaume Stephane, Brunel Fucien, Cadet Eliphene (Lormera Roody 90), Boucicaut Alexandre (Raymond Ednerson 63), James Marcelin, Richard Pierre Bruny, Chery Mones, Vubert Alain, Maynard Josue

Skeptic

I was catching up on a Haitian Mailing list I’m a part of:

“These are inhuman hatred acts towards not only a Haitian man and his son but towards the whole nation of Haiti, based on generalized ethnic prejudices.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed at the sensationalism of the writer. The whole nation? Really? Couldn’t it just be a slight against two men?

Then I remembered what acts were being discussed, and I repented of my prejudice. The story really does seem to show prejudice against Haiti as a country. A man is arrested, apparently, while entering America legally with a legal passport, his medicine is thrown out, (“his son is told he will be given ‘American equivalents.’”) and he dies.

A man with a passport and family in the country he is trying to enter dies in custody. I roll my eyes.

Something is wrong.

Maybe “generalized ethnic prejudices” aren’t so far-fetched.

The man was a Baptist minister, and Grandfather of a prominent Haitian writer, although that only makes the case more high-profile, it doesn’t actually prove the accusations true… but they deserve my researching further before rolling my eyes and going on to the next story of educational abuse.

Original story at : http://www.nchr.org/irp/Timeline.htm

The comment I quote from is part of a mail list, and not, as far as I know, available anywhere else.
The picture is from someone else's Haiti blog.

i wanna go back to school!

Well, maybe not, I'm still not convinced I'm smart enough to waste tax payer's dollars on it. and really, I also want to go back to see my friends and be with my books, so I'm not entirely making the decision with the right thoughts in mind. But also, my school is the coolest school ever because it made the coolest grammar aid ever, and I want to share it with you. If you ever want to write in French, this is the place to go.

http://bonpatron.com/

Also, just a note that I'm feeling grincheux towards the world this week, especially people writing blogs and seeming like they are ... just having a completely different understanding of the world than me. Like, I know they're trying, but I'm afraid they're making things worse, or at least, not making them better, and I wonder whether my judgement is really about them, or about myself, in a sell-out office job.

I accepted my job knowing that it wouldn't hurt anyone and would give me money and breathing space to figure out this whole life thing, so I don't think I could be feeling guilty about not doing more than that, especially after barely four weeks.

I think I may just be full of ranceur because these people have managed to find a way to think they are doing good but aren't using those opportunities how I would.

I'm further bitter because I don't want any one to feel like I'm attacking them, and I know how defensive people can get if they feel their work is being criticized, but... I really do wonder if I can support some of the stuff I'm reading about. So maybe I should go home to sleep instead. Except I guess 5:40 isn't really sleeping time. I could eat legitimately though.

(yup, I sure don't have to wonder how I end up fat and with no clean clothes- but at least my escape mechanisms don't affect my ability to walk normally:)

I'm also going to use hunger as an excuse to not correct the grammar and random cliches and lazy writing above. It will be good for my pride to have this up there and remember that I'm not an author, however much tripe I write.