While waiting for her spouse in the car the other day, Bambi decided to listen to an old CD called “Ensemble pour Haiti” [“Together for Haiti”]. This CD was produced by a telethon relief concert, held by artists from Québec, in support of those affected by the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
One of the songs that Bambi listened to (and she cannot stop singing now!) was the national anthem of Haiti, which is called “La Dessalinienne”. The latter is perhaps one of the most beautiful anthems of the world.
Bambi does not know about you, but she enjoys listening to national anthems of countries of the world. Each anthem has its own story and beauty. We may associate it with either dramatic or more beautiful moments, like sport games. We may sing it on national days or… on unforgettable citizen ceremonies. We may perhaps try to have fun by playing it by ear or by notes. Anyhow, anthems are usually joyful and they celebrate unity. They are filled with both pride and love (this type of attachment is called patriotism).
In Bambi’s mind, one of the most moving parts of the “La Dessalinienne” are those words of respect for the ancestors or forefathers. Words repeated more than once in different ways.
For Bambi, there is something refreshing in witnessing such respect. Collectively embracing the past is a wise way of envisioning both the present and the future. Indeed, honouring our ancestors and being grateful for their legacy, with all its imperfections, is a sign of respect not only for our history, but also for ourselves (at least collectively speaking).
It is Bambi’s hope that the national anthem of Haiti can make us stop to reflect and learn something new about ourselves, especially in our sad times of fragmented visions of our society/country and… where many seem to have lost their references points.
Regardless of the above, Bambi feels like ending on this note: “Merci en pile” [= Merci beaucoup]. Vive Haiiti! Long live Haiti!
The link below shows La Dessalinienne, along with an English translation.”
To conclude this post, here is the Haitian creole version of “La Dessalinienne”!
