Danticat, Haitian born, has been living in the United States for more than twenty years yet finds difficulties in coping with life in both cultures. The main theme in her book highlights the lives of families of Haitians in the US. In her book, ‘Brother I’m Dying,’ she focuses her work on the following themes; division or separation, get-together importance of a home and how it shapes a person.
Two situations are described: where a man looks for a new home for his family and another man believes in redemption of his home using any means.
Danticats’ book is a description of events that took place in her life and which contributed to shaping her mindset as it is described in the first chapter of her book. Her parents, father and mother left her in Haiti when she was two and four years respectively.
She was later united with her brother twelve years afterwards in the United States. While in Haiti, she lived with her uncle, Joseph and aunt, Denise. Joseph died in the hands of immigration officials while looking for provisional asylum in the US.
Due to the fact that her book is an autobiography, it is biased in nature. Apart from expressing her views, judgments and intentions, she tries to make the reader believe her testimonials yet it cannot be confirmed.
In her book, Joseph and Mira, his biological father, represent separate immigrant experiences. She writes that among the problems Haiti is facing, some originated from occupation of United States in Haiti between 1915 and 1935.
She believes the impact of the US stay is the cause of constant devastations and rebuilding, self governance and suppression in Haiti. According to Denticat, this cycle of events created the wish to migrate to United States with the hope of beginning life and protection from chaos in Haiti.
Political instability in Haiti led to massive immigration until the election of Aristide in 1990, who initiated stability but was later ousted by the military. According to the author, Haitian immigrants always encountered hostile reception than any other group in the United States. There was a serious crackdown for immigrants after the September 11 attacks which had serious effects on Haitians in the US.
Though immigration issues are widely covered in the book, another main theme in the book is the fact that people are constantly looking for stable homes. This is seen in both Joseph and Danticat adventures. Danticat seeks to reunite with her parents in New York while Joseph hopes to return to Haiti in his stable home.
The three characters, Joseph, Mira and Danticat are always struggling to find a stable home irrespective of whether it a fixed location offering better opportunities and security or a shifting place that offers hope. In his article in the New Yolk Times, Danticat wrote, “New Yolk was our city on the Hill.” Mira and her daughter Danticat are fast while Joseph is not fit. Their testimonies help provide information on the importance of a home, social responsibility and justice (Coles, 33).
Despite the fact that Joseph had a valid entrance visa, he chose to take political asylum on his entrance to the US. He was denied medication by immigration officials on the grounds that he was faking illness even when he vomited in the interview.
The story of Joseph is an undeniable torture that refugees and immigrants go through in Haiti and United States. Danticat shows how policies and regulations of immigration work against Haitian immigrants on US borders and the incompetency of immigration officials and their abuse of humanity and rights of detainees.
Detention and mistreatment of Joseph led to the questions of which groups of people are detained and who are not. These biased immigration policies are dated back to the year 1980s when Haitians arrived in mass numbers in Florida by boats. Danticat reveals that there was a difference in treatment of immigrants for instance immigrants from Haiti received hostile treatment while Cubans received fair treatment. This led to the question of whether Joseph was detained because he was Haitian, or whether he was black.
During his lifetime Joseph had never intended to leave Bel Air because it was his real home. But due to insecurity and constant threats from a gang in his hometown, he had no option but to move out in search of a peaceful place.
From these stories, Danticat makes some sense about life and death basing on family history, political history and legend tales from her grandmother. His father tells her that Joseph had never intended to be buried in the United States; he says that if Haiti was stable and peaceful, none of them would have moved out of it. We are therefore, left to wonder how their children would feel about this statement. Do they really like the American identity, Haitian American identity or they hope that the future would do the good and return?
The stories of Danticat (94) show that it is possible to be diverse and alike at the same time. Immigrant population in the United States continues to grow despite the treatment they receive in the borders. The author asserts that even people who were born in the US should know that they are immigrants because the nation is a collection of people from different countries, regardless of their race and ethnicity.
They came looking for a stable society, security and a home. Their hope was to find reception and respect in the new country even though other people might define it differently. Even the native people of America desire for a home, stability and respect. The main characters in the book are ready to face any challenges and roadblocks to find a home.
Some incidents in the story raise the concerns of how immigrants are treated differently. The way Joseph was treated upon requesting asylum in the hands of immigration officials shows lack of sympathy and caution from the administration.
Historical evidence reveals that some groups of immigrants were persecuted, and the author wonders if this is what Joseph went through. The author brings out the issue of discrimination as it can be seen in her questioning of whether his father was discriminated against because of the color of his skin.
Through her book, Danticat will leave the readers with a better perception of Haiti and Haitians that defeats the perception of “The boat people.” In the same manner the poems of Phillis Wheatley defied stereotypes that slaves were academically inferior, Danticat defeats the stereotype of Haitian immigrants and gives a different outlook of Haiti and its people. In my opinion, the work of Danticat in this book is all about his family background and immigrant issues while race is a secondary factor.
Works Cited
Coles, Robert. The Call of Stories: Teaching and the Moral Imagination. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1989.
Danticat, Edwidge. Brother, I’m Dying. New Yolk: Knopf, 2007.