The insecurity plaguing Haiti also attacks memory, that fragile link between the living and their ancestors, which is under attack from armed groups.

In Port-au-Prince, where terror rules the roost, historical, archaeological, and cultural sites are becoming forbidden territories, abandoned for lack of protection.

Voodoo, the beating heart of Haitian identity, has not escaped the destruction. The "Sosyete Lafrik Ginen" peristyle in Martissant is a silent witness to this. Set ablaze by armed men, its deities were thrown into the flames.

But amidst the ashes, a few artifacts survived. Thanks to the vigilance of the Hounsis (initiates) and the intervention of the National Bureau of Ethnology (BNE), some sacred objects have been saved, mutilated witnesses to a memory that is being erased.

From this tragedy was born a collection with the meaningful title "Violated Objects of Martissant." Now preserved at the BNE, this collection embodies the resilience of a wounded but living heritage.

It's not just a temple that's burning. It's not just wood and stone that's being destroyed. It's a culture that's being slowly murdered.

A people who abandon their memory are creating their own disappearance. The National Bureau of Ethnology calls on the collective conscience : "Protecting our heritage means defending our identity. A people without memory is nothing but a silence destined for oblivion."

BNE/ HL/ HaitiLibre