“Miami Postcard”
The picture above was taken at Manno
Sanon Soccer Park in Little Haiti, Miami on May 3rd, 2008. After
many years of Haitians being treated poorly in Miami, starting with the refugee
camps like the Krome Avenue Detention Center, Haitians are now celebrating in
their new “home”. Manno Sanon Soccer Park was the first soccer arena built in
Little Haiti. It was built and finished in May of 2008. This was the first time
the city of Miami acknowledged the Haitian needs or desires. The city spent $37
million dollars on this 15-acre soccer park. They decided to name the park
after Manno Sanon. Manno Sanon was the most notable Haitian Athlete of this
century, who passed away a month before the building started from cancer. Following
the grand opening of the park three soccer games were played. The picture above
captures an image of the fans as they watch Eglise Catholique of Pere Reginald
Jean Marie of Notre Dame d'Haiti play Haiti International of North Miami High
School Principal Jean Coty Ridore. The image captures the change of
perspectives from once exiles to new locals. Like stated before Haitians in
Miami have been exiles, which means they left Haiti for political or economic
reasons. These South Florida Haitian residents have never once considered Miami
their true home until recently. The Haitians of Miami are finally starting to
call Miami their true home. This makes them locals as opposed to exiles. The
details of the picture show a crowded nice stadium. The stadium has clearly run
out of seating so people are standing in the space that is provided. This shows
that many people of Little Haiti have come to support and celebrate the
creating of their new soccer park.
The reason I decided to focus on
this image was because like the Haitians the Jewish people have gone through so
much struggle and adversity and until not that long ago it was hard to consider
anyplace our home. Obviously I personally have never experienced anything like
the Haitians when they were forced into refugee camps and were treated terribly
but my ancestors certainly have. Like many Jewish people in the world I have
met people who survived and lost love ones during the time of the Holocaust. It
took years until Jewish people finally had a home and were finally noticed and
helped. So like the Jewish people the Haitians went through suffering until recently
when they can finally call Miami home. For me what separated this picture from
any other picture of the opening day celebration was the sign in the background
that is a little bit cut off that says “The Pride of.” Since the banner was cut
off I couldn’t stop wondering if it said The Pride of Haiti, Little Haiti, or
Miami. But have the Haitian people of South Florida integrated completely in
the community around them? Obviously there is still room for growth and
development but for the most part Miami Haitians are now starting to consider
Miami their “home” and not just a temporary place they live in because they
were exile from Haiti. Regardless of what it states it is great to see the
Haitians feel proud of their new home.
When relating the punctum back to
the studium we can see that image is of the new Little Haiti soccer park, Manno
Sanon Soccer Park but it can also be seen as a new home. The soccer park is not
only a great new addition to the community but so are the Haitian people that
now consider Miami their home.
Before I comment, I just wanted to point out that you may want to avoid redundant sentences such as, "These South Florida Haitian residents have never once considered Miami their true home until recently. The Haitians of Miami are finally starting to call Miami their true home." Also, you may want to include commas where needed. You may want to try to tie "The pride of" with more about yourself or what your personal connection is with it, rather than talking so much about how the Haitian people can now call Miami their home.
ReplyDeleteThe analysis does a good job of examining this picture closely. The questions asked about "The Pride Of..." sign were great and can allow the author to look at more perspectives of this. The question at the end gives rise to deeper investigation should the author choose to do so. The advice that I'd give is to watch the use of "to be" verbs. Also, look at the fluidity of the sentences because there are a lot that begin with "this". The author can combine sentences to get rid of that word.
ReplyDeleteI feel like your punctum isn't as personal as it needs to be. If you're trying to relate the hardships of the Haitian people to stories of family pick a specific story and elaborate on it. Don't just say you connect with these people because it also happened to a different people in a different point in time. Show how the two groups, the Haitians and Jews, are similar as exiles in their emotions which you will draw from a more specific punctum (from above). Your studium (historical) analysis was very good but I feel the punctum anaylsis was too general and did not generate any emotion.
ReplyDeleteLike Matthew said, there are a few redundant sentences throughout, but overall I like the connection from Jewish heritage to the Haitian struggle in Miami. I especially like the sentence "The image captures the change of perspectives from once exiles to new locals." The fact that it has taken the city of Miami this long to really acknowledge the Haitian community is very sad, but we should rejoice that it has finally taken place, just as the Jewish people have finally been returned to their homeland.
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