Rocks in the Water, Rocks in the Sun A Memoir from the Heart of Haiti

When Joegodson Déralciné was still a small child, his parents left rural Haiti to resettle in the rapidly growing zones of Port-au-Prince. As his family entered the city in 1986, Duvalier and his dictatorship exited. Haitians, once terrorized under Duvalier’s reign, were liberated and emboldened to believe that they could take control of their lives. But how? Joining hundreds of thousands of other peasants trying to adjust to urban life, Joegodson and his family sought work and a means of survival. But all they found was low-waged assembly plant jobs of the sort to which the repressive Duvalier regime had opened Haiti’s doors—the combination of flexible capital and cheap labour too attractive to multinational manufacturers to be overlooked. With the death of his mother, Joegodson was placed in his uncle’s care, and so began a childhood of starvation, endless labour, and abuse.

In honest, reflective prose, Joegodson—now a father himself— allows us to walk in the ditches of Cité Soleil, to hide from the macoutes under the bed, to feel the ache of an empty stomach. But, most importantly, he provides an account of life in Haiti from a perspective that is rarely heard. Free of sentimentality and hackneyed clichés, his narrative explores the spirituality of Vodou, Catholicism, and Protestantism, describes the harrowing day of the 2010 earthquake and its aftermath, and illustrates the inner workings of MINUSTAH. Written with Canadian historian Paul Jackson—Joegodson telling his story in Creole, Jackson translating, the two of them then reviewing and reworking—the memoir is a true collaboration, the struggle of two people from different lands and vastly different circumstances to arrive at a place of mutual understanding. In the process, they have given us an unforgettable account of a country determined to survive, and on its own terms.

A beautifully executed first-hand account that provides a poignant and engaging portrait of how Haiti's working class people—peasants, workers, and unemployed—survive under incredibly difficult circumstances. Both entertaining and edifying, Joegodson presents his story unsentimentally and sincerely with many perceptive, nuanced, and eloquent observations about society and life, which, through their simplicity and frankness, are often as illuminating as those of any journalist or philosopher.

Kim Ives, Haïti Liberté

This book takes the reader places that he or she will not otherwise get to go and it deserves a spot on the shelf of worth-reading books about Haiti. If you are really interested in understanding Haiti today and the struggles and perspectives of the poor, this is one of the only books where you're really going to learn about that. The book is authentic and unique.

Timothy T. Schwartz, anthropologist

About the Author

Vilmond Joegodson Déralciné is a furniture maker and writer who lives in Canaan, Haiti. Paul Jackson earned his PhD in history from Queen’s University. His published work includes One of the Boys (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2004). Together, Joegodson and Paul maintain a blog at https://heartofhaiti.wordpress.com/posts/.

Table of Contents

1. Preface
2. Acknowledgements
3. Rocks in the Water, Rocks in the Sun
   1. A Memoir from the Heart of Haiti / Vilmond Joegodson Déralciné
4. Commentary
   1. An Essay on Haitian Politics and History / Paul Jackson
5. Glossary of Haitian Terms
6. Pawol Granmoun / Haitian Sayings
7. Chants

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). It may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, provided that the original author is credited.