Wednesday, September 20, 2024, as part of the 266th anniversary of the birth of Emperor Jean-Jacques Dessalines (September 20, 1758), Founding Father of the Haitian Nation, the Former Consul General of Haiti in Chicago Lesly Condé (August 2004 - May 2018), delivers to us, as every year, his message of reflections that we invite you to read and share.

"Dear fellow citizens and friends from everywhere,

I am immensely grateful to you for honoring me with your precious company as we proudly commemorate the anniversary of the birth of the extraordinary being that was Jean Jacques Dessalines, the Father of our Nation. September 20 of each year must be an important date for every Haitian since it is the date that our Nation has chosen to honor the one who, through his bravery and determination, wrote one of the most glorious pages in the history of humanity. The darkness surrounding the childhood and adolescence of our hero, makes him an even more fascinating being and his story a cause of great pride for our children.

It is an anniversary that all Haitians must celebrate with the greatest pride, because this Father of the Haitian Nation is the very definition of the kind of man that the whole world should welcome as a model of heroism.

It must be said that nature always arranges things well when one is predestined. Jean-Jacques Dessalines really did not know his mother because the latter died when he was still very young. Before dying, however, she had the presence of mind to entrust her son to a lady, also a slave, whom we know as Aunt Toya. It was a wise decision because Aunt Toya, a former amazon of the famous army of Dahomey, took charge of all aspects of training young Jean-Jacques. She made him a strong man of character, a formidable soldier and a skilful tactician.

For having been born in the dehumanizing conditions of slavery, and breaking all the barriers to become General-in-Chief of an indigenous army which routed the slave forces of France, Jean-Jacques Dessalines demonstrated extraordinary qualities which place him in a league far above that of much admired conquerors. He is a true liberator whose vision has inspired other liberators. Today we celebrate the birth of the father of our nation; a hero like no other.

Our country, the homeland of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, is currently experiencing its darkest moments. It is to believe that this independence acquired by our ancestors at the cost of such admirable sacrifices, has never been anything but a curse. To our great misfortune, generation after generation, we have deviated from the recommendations of our ancestors concerning the slave world in which our Haiti was born. It is a world that has hardly changed. We must therefore, like our ancestors, unite beyond our differences in the name of our precious freedom which is, more than ever, threatened."

See also :

Message from Lesly Condé 2024:

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-42991-haiti-history-message-from-lesly-conde-on-the-occasion-of-the-233rd-anniversary-of-the-bois-caiman-congress.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-42670-icihaiti-father-s-day-message-from-lesly-conde.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-42423-haiti-mother-s-day-message-from-lesly-conde.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-42158-haiti-national-diaspora-day-message-of-reflection-from-lesly-conde.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/article-42158-haiti-journee-nationale-de-la-diapora-message-de-reflexion-de-lesly-conde.html

2024 :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-42061-haiti-221st-of-thedeath-of-toussaint-louverture-message-of-reflection-from-lesly-conde.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-42012-haiti-easter-2024-reflection-message-from-lesly-conde.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-41981-haiti-holy-week-message-of-reflection-from-lesly-conde.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-41944-haiti-international-day-of-la-francophonie-message-of-reflection-from-lesly-conde.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-41837-haiti-social-international-women-s-day-message-of-reflection-from-lesly-conde.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-41575-haiti-black-history-month-message-of-reflection-from-lesly-conde.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-41414-haiti-14th-of-the-2010-earthquake-message-from-lesly-conde-video.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-41336-haiti-220th-anniversary-of-independence-message-of-reflection-from-lesly-conde.html

Message from Lesly Condé 2023 :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-41316-haiti-social-new-year-s-message-from-lesly-conde-2024.html

Message from Lesly Condé 2022 :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-38451-haiti-christmas-end-of-year-message-from-lesly-conde.html

Message from Lesly Condé 2021 :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35584-haiti-social-wishes-from-lesly-conde-on-the-occasion-of-the-new-year.html

HL/ HaitiLibre