Intro: Probably the most immediate and visual source of knowledge about the LGBT life in Haiti is the 2001 film ‘Of Men and Gods’ which documents the discreet world of gays and transvestites in this country where homosexuality is legal but not tolerated by the mostly Christian culture. Eighty percent of the country is Catholic and another fifteen percent are Protestant; needless to say, the Biblical curse is heavily upon gays here. Yet more than half the population also indulge in voodoo beliefs and rituals where it’s the spirit that matters, not the gender or orientation.
During the reign of the Duvalier dictators (1957-86), as well as today, Haitian gay citizens are forced to walk a shadowy line between revealing themselves to a select few friends and living discreetly in the larger disapproving heterosexual society.
Posted here are four stories about life in Haiti from different perspectives: (1) my own story based on a visit to Haiti , (2) a gay Haitian-American man’s testimony, (3) a commentary about gays and voudou, and (4) an article about Haiti’s economic conditions.
