SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 9 to 12 October 2009

Philippe Armand

PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HAITI FOUNDATION AT THE INAUGURAL OF THE HAITIAN MEMORIAL MONUMENT IN SAVANNAH, GEORGIA ON OCTOBER 10, 2009.

Mr. Chairman Daniel Fils-Aimé,

Distinguished Officials of the City of Savannah,

Honorable Président du Senat de la République d’Haiti, Kelly Bastien,

Honorable Consul General d ‘Haiti en Floride, Ralph Latortue,

Mr. James Mastin, Sculptor of this great Work of Art before us,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HAITI FOUNDATION is honored to have been invited to be an official part of this great event.

Today we are gathered around the Haitian Memorial Monument in Savannah to honor and celebrate the courage of an unusual group of brave men: “Les Chasseurs Volontaires de Saint-Domingue”. These forefathers of the Republic of Haiti were unusual at the time in the sense that they were among the FIRST FREE MEN of African descent in the Caribbean. One of them was to later become King Henri Christophe, builder of La Citadelle Laferrière in Cap-Haitian at the beginning of the 19th century. Rather than comforting themselves in their newly acquired Liberty, these genuine “First Boat People” from our Island, went at Sea to generously offer their blood and courage voluntarily to the American Revolution in 1779. As brave soldiers, these Haitian ancestors were welcome to these shores of the North American Continent by the very 1st Americans who freed these Great Lands that were to become the United States of America. Given the conditions at the time, these men were not as many as they could and would have wanted to be, but this does not take away from the symbolic value of their accomplishments.

These are historical facts and all Haitians visiting the actual United States of America can pride themselves that some of their ancestors fought alongside of the first American soldiers of the Great American Revolution.

These are historical facts and may no one ever forget that the Haitian refugees to the shores of Florida are the descendants of these Voluntary Soldiers, the very “First Boat People” to these shores. From that standpoint alone, today’s Haitian Immigrants can pride themselves of being special immigrants to this Great Land “fought for” by some of their most courageous ancestors.

These are historical facts and not enough has been written about this part of History. This should be taught in Schools all across the Nation.

Haiti may be a small nation, Haiti may still be the poorest economy of the Hemisphere, but Haiti’s historical past is unique and rich. It is not only the world’s 1st Black Republic. Our forefathers who made it all happen and whose memory we are honoring today, are the men who besides fighting for our Independence, fought for Freedom in the region, i.e. in North America for the American Revolution, and in South America brought their support to the troops of Simon Bolivar. This is plain History and may this Memorial in Savannah be a Memorial to all our forefathers who fought these great battles in Savannah and elsewhere.

Therefore at this point, I want to praise and thank the Haitian American Historical Society for their accomplishment in offering to the Haitian legacy, this Haitian Memorial Monument. The Chairman of the Haitian American Historical Society, Mr. Daniel Fisl-Aimé whose restless determination and personal sacrifices to achieve his dream of the Monument are before us, deserves many Special Rounds of Applause today. Please join me in another round of applause to praise the commitment and achievement of Mr. Fils-Aimé.

Also special thanks to the Savannah officials and especially to former Mayor Floyd Adams, who made it all possible. Gentlemen: “we do appreciate very much your full support, and this vote of thanks comes to you from the bottom of our hearts”.

Neither can we go forward without expressing our congratulations as well, to the entire Board of the Haitian American Historical Society and to the many donors and especially to the largest donor of Haitian descent, Dr. Rudy Moise who secured the completion of the Monument . Please join me for another warm and sounding round of applause.

In closing, please allow me on behalf of the AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HAITI FOUNDATION, to praise the HAITIAN AMERICAN community for their work and achievements in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. We are proud of you as of our forefathers who fought the battle of Savannah and offered their blood to the Great American Revolution. Keep up the good work in America but remember that we need you back home to help us build our country HAITI at large, and the Haitian Economy in particular.

This is all part of our Heritage!

THANK YOU !

Philippe R. Armand

Haitian-American Dr. Rudophe “Rudy” Moise in his
U.S. Air Force reserve uniform.
With the important financial contribution of Dr. Moise,
the Haitian monument honoring Haitian heroes is on its way to be completed.

Rudy and Myriam Moise.

Public in attendance.

Part of Haitian monument in Savannah, Georgia.

(l to r) Philippe Armand, President of The American Chamber of Commerce Haiti Foundation, and Chairman Daniel Fils-Aimé, HAHS (Haitian-American Historical Society).

Part of Haitian monument in Savannah, Georgia

1,481,599
From: 15 July, 2009 To: 13 October, 2009.