The Cry of Vertières by Jean-Pierre Le Glaunec

Author:Jean-Pierre Le Glaunec
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MQUP
Published: 2020-07-14T16:00:00+00:00

Because it embodies heroism, the Battle of Vertières is also present in the world of sports, and not only through music. For example, the Battle of Vertières is mentioned in post-game accounts, such as the one following a meet on 14 April 2007 in Artibonite between the Racing Club Haïtien based in Port-au-Prince and the Tempête Football Club based in Saint-Marc. That evening, Charles Hérold Jr, a player with the Saint-Marc team and a rising national soccer star, recipient of the Ballon d’Or in 2011 and member of the Haitian team, was looked upon as a hero. He scored the winning goal with only seven minutes remaining in the game. His glorious feat was honoured not only by his teammates but also by his opponents. The sports commentator described the battle of 18 November 1803 during which the French stopped the fighting to congratulate General Capois for his bravery. “With the calmness of a surgeon, he lobbed defender Joseph Carl Henry and with an intelligent glance watched for goalkeeper Pierre Louis Michel Helton, and fired an unstoppable low cross-shot that landed in the net of the Racing Club Haïtien. A magnificent goal that only great players can carry off … This goal was such a great feat that he received compliments both from players and from the technical staff of the Racing Club Haïtien. And as General Rochambeau had done for Capois François [sic] at the Battle of Vertières, the trainer of the Racing Club Haïtien, Frantz Monpoint, after the game, went over to Charles Hérold to congratulate him.”37 While Vertières seems indissociable from the world of sports, the battle also holds a prominent place in the political arena, where it serves as an extended metaphor of Haitian resistance and cohesiveness, recalled at each anniversary of the battle. Vertières generally embodies the memory of lost unity and has become a model to follow in the face of national dissension. At least that is the meaning given it by many presidents, candidates for the presidency, and ministers and deputies of all political persuasions in their speeches, in defining their electoral platform, and in promoting their policies. There are numerous instances of this usage in the press over the last forty years. For example, the newspaper Le Nouveau Monde, the organ of the Duvalier press, published a speech by President Jean-Claude Duvalier on 20 May 1977 that focused on the country’s economic policy and ended with these words: “May you be guided by a great ideal that helps you overcome our difficulties so that we can soon build a new Vertières in the battle of Economic Development.”38 From Jean-Claude Duvalier to present day, the expression “a new Vertières” has become commonplace in Haitian politics. The words “Vertières,” “union,” and “victory” are interchangeable in this discourse. A more recent example is the interview given by Haitian Senator Céméphise Gilles, from the North department, on Télévision nationale d’Haïti in November 2008 as part of the commemorations of the 205th anniversary of the battle.39 The

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