Rich in faith, creativity

Sunday, January 04, 2004

By Ervin Dyer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On a warm, clear day 48 years ago, Leon Pamphile's scholastic gifts and the graces of a string of Pentecostal ministers gave him the wings to leave his impoverished Haitian village, Laboule.

The journey lifted him from a two-room schoolhouse to Port-au-Prince, the nation's teeming, dusty capital.

Martha Rial, Post-Gazette Leon Pamphile at his home in Stanton Heights. Pamphile, who was born in Haiti, teaches French at Schenley High School and is one of the organizers of the local celebration of Haiti's independence. Haiti bicentennial Schedule of events Local celebrations of Haiti's bicentennial will highlight its culture and history. Here is the schedule of events: Today: Worship service at St. Agnes Interfaith Center, Fifth Avenue at Carlow College. 4:30 p.m. Jan. 9: Slide show on Haitian art and culture, lower lounge William Pitt Union at University of Pittsburgh, 5 p.m. Jan. 5-17: Display of Haitian paintings at Kimbo Gallery at the William Pitt Union. Jan. 16: Colloquium on Haiti, with Marc A. Christophe, professor of French, University of the District of Columbia; 7-9 p.m., at 2K56 Posvar Hall, University of Pittsburgh. Jan. 22: Film, "Human Rights in Haiti." 7 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the William Pitt Union, discussion will follow. Jan. 25: Film, "The Agronomist," by Jonathan Demme, with discussion to follow; 7 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the William Pitt Union. Feb. 1: Film, "The Dreamers: The Painters of Haiti," a documentary on Haitian art and paintings; 4:30 p.m., Assembly Room, William Pitt Union. Feb. 28: Banquet and cultural performance, with Haitian ambassador as guest speaker; William Pitt Union, dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call 412-648-7814.

Pamphile eventually made his way to Pittsburgh and to a new life of teaching, writing and preaching.

The old life -- and the desire to make it better -- remained embedded in his soul.

Americans of Haitian descent began to mark 200 years of independence from colonial rule with the start of the new year, many commemorations being overshadowed by the country's continued strife and poverty.

Beginning today, Pamphile and other Haiti supporters kick off two months of local observances and hope to mount a campaign of awareness that can lead to an improved Haiti.

Located near Cuba, Haiti was once a French colony until an army of enslaved Africans defeated Napoleon's troops in 1803 to form the first free black republic.

The euphoria of the victory quickly dissipated as two centuries of political turmoil and economic despair turned what was once one of the wealthiest regions in the world into one of the poorest.

"I recall the toughness of life," said Pamphile, describing his days in a village where there was little electricity or running water. Most people there harvested coffee and bananas, but still struggled to feed their families.

"As I grew up, I was concerned for a better Haiti," said Pamphile, a chestnut-colored man with sharp, chiseled features.

The eldest of 10 children, Pamphile was the first in his village to escape the grinding, subsistence lifestyle.

He was aided by a school master who noticed the shy youngster's good grades and academic devotion, and arranged for him to attend secondary school in Port-au-Prince. Though 25 miles away, it was a world apart from the village.

The city was a political awakening.

The radio and other media exposed Pamphile to the outside. He was influenced by educator Dantes Bellegarde -- a former Haitian ambassador to the United States -- and his messages on health, education and work.

He observed overcrowding, the political system being used for personal gain and not the common good, and in the vast marketplace, experienced the enterprising spirit of Haitians trying to lift themselves up from poverty.

The city was a land of opportunity.

Pamphile finished high school there. In college, studying to be a teacher, he worked in the church school in the morning and went to classes at night.

When he graduated, he taught elementary school in a slum near Port-au-Prince for two years.

On occasion, Pamphile also worked as an interpreter for missionaries with the Church of God in Christ.

One of the missionaries recruited black students to the University of Pittsburgh, and he lured Pamphile here in 1970. He was 28 and went on to earn a degree from the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and a doctorate in education from Pitt.

Today, he teaches French and Spanish at Schenley High School and pastors the First Church of God in New Kensington.

Helping hands

Pamphile promised he'd return to make a difference.

He had his work cut out for him.

Much of Haiti, which means mountainous land, as it was known by the original inhabitants, the Arawak Indians, is depressing.

Under French rule, Haiti flourished as a resource for cocoa, cotton, sugar cane and coffee. But the French colonists were unduly harsh and the enslaved Africans grew to hate them.

They plotted to be free.

The rebellion began in August 1791, and after 13 years of conflict, a rag-tag army of slaves won their independence against the mighty French.

In the decades since, Haiti has been plagued by economic struggle, and the legacy of 19th-century colonial powers that worked against the success of a free black state, said Pamphile.

When the country gained independence, France refused to initiate a relationship with the nation, a stance that was supported by the newly independent United States.

A succession of corrupt leaders further eroded the country's political stability, including the brutal 20th-century dictatorships of Francois Duvalier, and his son, Jean-Claude, who fled the country in 1986.

Most recently, Haitians have been divided between support and contempt for President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was first elected in 1990 after decades of dictatorship, deposed in a military coup and re-elected in 2000.

Aristide, a former Catholic priest, is popular, but his desire to mainstream Creole and legitimize voodoo as a religion have been controversial.

Today, its 8 million people are crippled by rampant malnutrition, tuberculosis and AIDS, as well as a lack of food, plumbing and electricity.

Two-thirds of the country's people are unemployed, and most Haitians live on about $1 a day. Life expectancy is little more than 50 years.

Pamphile's affection for his country led him to found a ministry to improve these conditions.

"My greatest mission has been to fulfill a dream to better Haiti through education, health and work."

In 1983, he founded the Functional Literacy Ministry.

The group hires teachers to improve students' reading and writing skills. It built a school in his native village on land donated by his father. And, it supports struggling schools by providing scholarships that help with books and clothing.

"Kids don't go to school without uniforms," said Pamphile.

With the help of David Robinson, a Washington County Presbyterian minister, Pamphile expanded the ministry in 2000, to bolster the health of the poor.

Every summer since his departure, Pamphile returns to Haiti for about two weeks with as many as a dozen volunteers. They offer the medical attention that is desperately needed. In the country, there is only one physician for every 10,000 Haitians and one hospital bed for every 1,000. His group is seeking funding for a community health clinic.

In the two decades since he founded the charity, it has raised more than half a million dollars to support its missions.

Local ties

Pittsburgh has a deep connection with Haiti. There are about a dozen groups that promote social improvements in the tiny island nation.

Among the most noted supporters are Larimer and Gwen Mellon, who raise funds annually for the hospital Albert Schweitzer established in Haiti 47 years ago.

Though economically challenged, Haiti's spirit has long attracted Africans and black Americans.

When its enslaved community overcame the advances of Napoleon in 1803, it stood as an international symbol of black liberation.

Toussaint L'Ouverture, a self-educated slave with no military training, became the architect of Haitian independence.

He was honored as a general and was a celebrated figure of freedom, a sort of 19th-century Nelson Mandela.

"The revolution certainly made us think more broadly about human rights," said Richard Gosser, a Saint Vincent College professor and director of Partners in Progress, a Pittsburgh-based group that promotes and aids Haitian development.

"When the United States was still upholding slavery, Haitians told the world blacks could be regarded as equal to everyone."

Furthermore, scholars say the victory over Napolean opened the door for the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, when a disillusioned Napolean sold land to the United States to get a supply of cash for his war-whipped country.

Locally, a mix of churches, schools and solidarity groups have pushed Haiti into the spotlight, using its art and music to raise money and boost awareness of the plight of the little nation.

"I always say that economically Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere," said Gosser. He said he feels the distinction is important to draw because the "people are rich with deep faith, imagination, strength and creativity."

Correction/Clarification: (Published Jan. 5, 2003) An article on Haiti yesterday inaccurately stated that Larimer and Gwen Mellon are currently involved in fundraising efforts. Larimer Mellon died in 1989; Gwen Mellon died in 2000.

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