The “N a Sonje” Foundation, created by Carla, Ari and Djalòki in 2000, will be on the road for 3 months around the USA from February 1^st, 2006.   The purpose of the tour is to raise funds for the launching of the Memory Village.  Dates and itinerary will follow later.

More information just below (you may have to click on “READ MORE” to open the rest of this document). Sorry for the (temporary) lousy formatting.

N A SONJE FOUNDATION

(The MEMORY VILLAGE)

Presents:

 “Three Innocents and a Spirit”

A Historical Drama to be Performed

In a United States Spring 2006 Fund-raising Tour

Tour Benefits

“The Memory Village”

A Living Museum in Haiti Where Visitors

Reenact the Historical Encounters of

Amerindian, European, and African Peoples

What is N a Sonje? 

ìN a sonjeî (pronounced ìnah sohn jayî) is an everyday phrase in Haitian Creole which means ìwe will remember.î  It recalls the African philosophy Sankofa, which means ìWe must go back in order to go forward.î  N a Sonje Foundation chooses to use this Creole phrase in order to affirm a language created under revolutionary circumstances and to fulfill its intention described here in its mission statement:

To contribute to the global healing

of collective wounds left by the traumatic historical encounter

of the Amerindian, European and African peoples

and their descendants

through a deep remembrance of that history

as well as the ancestral times preceding it.

What is the Memory Village?

N a Sonje Foundationís first project is the ìMemory Village.î It is envisioned as a living, participatory village where people from Haiti and around the world will have the opportunity to relive pre-colonial America, medieval Europe, and Africa from just before the turning point of 1492, through the period of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the ensuing 500 years, to the present.   By personally experiencing the historical reenactment of the capture, sale, shipment, and enslavement of African people through to the Haitian revolution and the 200 years of Haitiís independence history itself becomes internalized in each participant.  This participatory process fulfills the intentions of N a Sonje Foundation to provide a medium for personal and collective transformation.  Individuals may then begin healing the cultural traumas of the past in order to live in a reconciled present, and create hope for future generations.

The Memory Village also seeks to honor the Haitian people for their unique role in this historic struggle for freedom and respect.

(For more information about N a Sonje Foundation and the ìMemory Villageî, refer to the annex at the end of this document)

Tour and Play:

During the 2006 fund-raising tour, N a Sonje Foundation will present Three Innocents and a Spirit, a historical drama depicting the interactions of the peoples from the Americas, Europe, and Africa from before the time of Christopher Columbus, and the cultural crises that have developed as a result. The cast will then engage in a post-production discussion, creating an open forum for ideas and solutions that can help heal our fractured societies.

Three Innocents and a Spirit is performed by two Haitian men representing the Native American and African cultures, respectively, and an American woman representing the European culture. Dressed in era costumes, the three actors weave together mime, dance, puppetry, interactive participation, and live music to demonstrate the progression and effect of historical events.

The play exposes the destruction and acculturation of the Native Americans and the enslavement of Africans, which resulted in a transfer of wealth and natural resources to Europe.  During the drama the Native American, European, and African characters experience a transformational awakening through which they realize their physical and spiritual losses, as well as their mutual need for one another.  The three characters then offer each other gestures of compassion and forgiveness, ultimately recognizing the need for healing and reconciliation.

N a Sonje Foundation will also speak at high schools, colleges, universities, churches, businesses and organizations, as well as with local and national media about Haiti and its special role in this historical context.

Touring Schedule:

N a Sonje Foundation will be touring Three Innocents and a Spirit in February, March, and April 2006.  The tour will begin in Florida, cross through the southern half of the US, move up the west coast, into the Midwest, and finally return back down along the east coast.

Reason for the Tour:

For the past five years, associates of DOA/BN (see ìAbout DOA/BNî below) have  poured their own limited resources into the vision of N a Sonje Foundation.  They have also made numerous appearances on major Haitian television and radio stations, and have hosted a weekly radio show in Haiti about history (includes little known European, American, African, Haitian, Christianity and Vodou history, and current scientific findings).

Now N a Sonje Foundation is searching for funding partners, so it can  complete the acquisition of land for the “Memory Village” and begin construction on its buildings.

Who we are:

N a Sonje Foundation’s three founding members, Harry Nicolas, Carla Bluntschli, and DjalÚki Dessables, will present the drama and lectures on the tour.  These founding members are also associates of an educational, cultural, and historical tourism business in Haiti called DOA/BN. The trio offers theatrical experiences to visitors in Haiti so that they might retrace the history of the Americas, Europe, and Africa from the time before the trans-Atlantic slave trade to the present. These encounters expose historical truths (not often taught) about the consequences of these interactions, which continue to impact and threaten our societies to this day. The intention of N a Sonje Foundation is to provide a medium for personal and collective transformation and healing.

About Harry (pronounced ìAriî in English, and pronounced the same way in Creole):

Harry Nicolas was born July 22, 1962, in Cape Haitian and was raised by his paternal grandmother, who instilled in him the cultural tradition of respect, but he also went to Catholic school, which meant speaking French and wearing a suit and tie �”- essentially a rejection of his own culture.  For Haitian children, Catholic school meant being taught by French-speaking priests who were white and foreign, and who disciplined with a leather whip in the classroom (a striking irony for a nation that won its independence and freedom from France). It was only after he was out of school that he was able to free himself from that system and recognize the oppression of his own spirit as well as that of his country.

In spite of its oppressive educational system, the church was finding elements of change in its ranks: Liberation theology, with its demands for justice and truth, swept through Haiti in the same way as it was sweeping up the youth all over Latin America. It was in the midst of this fervor that Ari became involved in many church-related activities, seeking to change the social and economic injustices of his society.

These activities ultimately obliged him to leave Cape Haitian and come to Port-au-Prince.  It was there that he met the Bluntschli family. During this time, because of his experiences and enthusiasm in promoting understanding about the historic struggle of his people to the outside world, a new career path opened up for him.  In 1992, Ari co-founded DOA/BN with Carla Bluntschli.  Ariís charm, humor, and expertise in expressing his passionate respect for his people, culture, and history has helped transform hundreds of visitors whom DOA/BN has hosted.

Ari was married in 1994 to his Cape Haitian love, Nicole Emilien, (a fellow activist in the Catholic church youth movement), and has two sons.  He has established himself in the small, rural community of Gwo Jan, just outside Port-au-Prince, which has provided new opportunities for learning more about his cultural roots and his people, through understanding the depths of what it means to live in community.  Ari refers to himself as ìan ordinary, everyday ëmoderní Haitian, enthusiastically sharing his peopleís history and hospitality.î

In 2000, Ari was gifted with a vision of reconciliation and healing through a reconnection with Africa and its history, a vision which resulted in the creation of the N a Sonje Foundation.

From September 2003 to March 2005 Ari was one of the main personalities on a weekly historical/cultural radio program called ìChimen Memwaî (ìPath to Memoryî).  Ariís part was to relate African culture, Haitian history and the history of slavery to his Haitian audience.  His opening on the program as the popular Fey Vet, (ìGreen Leafî, Ariís radio persona) humbly spoken in his rich poetic Creole goes this way: ìTo all the living, with two feet and two hands balanced at their sides, to you - the greatest honor and respect. To the ancestors, itís enough! - for that which I am not the cause, but if I choose the wrong path, may the water of my body be spilled.î

Ariís Declaration of Intention:

ìRemember, for most people in the Americas, when they see a black person there, they probably arenít even conscious that those people are really the stolen children of Mother Africa.  Swept under the carpet and forgotten, they ARE the great, great grandchildren of those forced to become slaves on this side of the waters.

The way home was lost to them, they couldnít return.  Confused forever, no trace is left.  ìItís for this reason I give the rest of my life, so that everyone in the world will remember that if we are here today, itís not because we want to be.  Next time, when you see a black person in the Americas - look again -      N a Sonje.î

About Carla:

Carla Van Dusen* Bluntschli was born in Philadelphia in 1953. She graduated from high school in 1971, studied viola at music conservatory from 1971-1975, and married Ron Bluntschli in 1976. They moved to Colorado in 1978, where she birthed their 3 daughters in 1977, 1979, and 1982.  They moved to Haiti in 1985 as volunteers with the Mennonite Central Committee, a development arm of the Mennonite church of US and Canada.  Since 1992, Carla has been co-founder of DOA/BN and in 2000, she co-founded N a Sonje along with Harry Nicolas.  She is also one of the radio personalities on the ìChimen Memwaî radio show (see above), and a violinist/vocalist with the ì2 Rasinî** music group.

* The Van Dusen family, originating from Holland and Belgium, immigrated in the 1600ís to the so-called ìNew-World.î They were among the people who expropriated the lands where the original Weckquaesgeeks people of Manhattan and the Delaware (or Lenape) people of Philadelphia had lived for thousands of years.

**2 Rasin (2 Roots) �” music group combining the roots of 2 cultures, American and Haitian.

A word of dedication from Carlaís heart:

ìThere are no earthly words for the depth of gratitude I have for those individuals, living and passed, who have enabled the change that has done its work in me especially since I have come to live in Haiti.  For this type of thankfulness, only oneís life and blood are sacred enough to offer and so I dedicate the life and breath I have left in this world to being a part of healing the wounds left to us by this history.  It is only through the experience of living in Haiti that I have been able to remember the history of the native people from my own place of birth, Philadelphia, and have awakened to see that where my umbilical cord was cut, those people are no longer there.  Logically I have to conclude that in some way, my very ancestors had a part in their murders and in the theft of their lands.  It is only because of my experience in Haiti that my eyes have been opened to the white privilege that I enjoy.  It is a privilege that western ìscientistsî and education have manipulated into my brain to explain the hierarchy of races thereby justifying history, as well as the present situation around the world.  It has been my experience in Haiti that certain institutions work to maintain this status quo, instilling it ever deeper with each new generation. But it has been and continues to be an honor to do the work that I do amongst the every-day Haitian heroes so that I may help others see a little differently, and bring about an awakening in those people who share my skin color.  As they say here in the spiritual words of Vodou: Ayibobo ( or ‘so shall it be ‘or ‘amen’)

Carlaís part on the radio program (ìTant Kaî is her radio persona) exposed some of the untold and little-known history about Europe and the United States to her Haitian audience. This is how she made her introduction, in a Creole rhyming poem (it looses the rhyme in translation): ìGood evening, my hat is off to you all. Itís your little ìribî, Tant Ka. Theyíve invited me here to share some stories with you, with those who are near and those who are far, about the history of the United States and Europe. But, what I have discovered, what I have seen, my God, itís not just sweeping it under the carpet, itís lies that are not rare! In fact, that is what has made history, oh my goodness. As far as the debt that they talk about in the news, I stand to say instead, look here, after opening my eyes and listening closely to the proverb: ìthe one who hits forgets, the one who carries the scars remembersî, I declare that itís time for the people of the white countries to hit their chests saying, ìMea culpa, mea culpaî. Well, Jesus said that if we humble ourselves like children who have faith, we will become free in knowing the truth, if we look for it as we would look for diamonds in the mud.î

About DjalÚki :         DjalÚki N.J.L.B. Dessables was born in 1961, in Bruxelles, Belgium.  However, through his parents, he inherited his Ayitian nationality from birth and has kept it ever since.  His mother, Yolande Benjamin, and father, Necker Dessables, came from the two most extreme ends of Haitian society when they married in 1958.  This situation was exceptional and still is today. 

On his father’s side, DjalÚki traces his ancestry to Africa, through slaves and probably those who ran away from plantations.  Genetically and culturally, these relatives are strongly African.  The family settled in Leyog‡n (just south of Port-au-Prince), most of them are peasant; they speak Ayitian Creole, practice Vodou (or reject ancestral Vodou by converting to U.S.-based evangelical churches), have dark or black skin and are economically and socially under-privileged.  Many of them have been conditioned to believe they are of an inferior race.

On his mother’s side, DjalÚki traces his ancestry partially to Europe and to the First People of Ayiti.  The family settled in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Ayiti.  These relatives are members of the ruling mulatto class of the nation, which descends, in great part, from slave owners.  Genetically and culturally, they are partly European.  They speak French at home, practice Roman Catholicism, have light or white skin and are usually economically and socially privileged.  Many of them have been conditioned to believe they are of a superior race.

DjalÚki was raised in Europe (Belgium) and Africa (Senegal), where he completed both grade and high school.  He graduated in 1985 as a mechanical engineer from the Institut National des Sciences AppliquÈes (National Institute of Applied Sciences) in Lyon, France and later took additional training in business administration and consulting.  His experiences have been diverse:

In the corporate, scientific and university world, DjalÚki has been a technician and then the head of the department of “Training in Private Companies” at the National Institute of Professional Education in Port-au-Prince, Ayiti (1986-1988); Professor of Theoretical Mechanics (Gears, Mechanism Theory) at the Faculty of Sciences of the State University of Ayiti, in Port-au-Prince (1987-1988); sales representative (1988-1989); and Total Quality Coordinator at Shell Ha�”ti (1989-1991); voluntary professor of Total Quality at the Faculty of Administrative Sciences of the UCA (Centro-American University) in Managua, Nicaragua (1994).

In the cultural, artistic and entertainment world he has been host of several cultural and musical radio shows in France and in Ayiti since 1982; promoter of Ayitian arts and organization of cultural events in Managua, Nicaragua (1992-1995); road manager of the musical group Boukman Eksperyans (1993); Master of Ceremony in various concerts of Ayitian Rasin music in Ayiti and in the USA (1988-1999); co-owner of the club-restaurant “Roots, Rock, Reggae”, in Port-au-Prince, Ayiti (1995-1997); founder of the eco-cultural tour agency Teranga-Ayiti (1995); associate in DOA/BN (2000-present); founding member of N a Sonje Foundation (2000-present); founder of “21 Jenerasyon,” which specializes in cross-cultural-awareness-raising through international speaking and consulting (2003-present).

He has travelled and resided in several countries in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, as well as in North, Central and South America.  He has chosen to live in Ayiti for now.  DjalÚki is also the father of a teenage daughter.

Vision and Intentions

DjalÚki describes himself as a post-modern seeker of ancient wisdom, integrating his multicultural Ayitian roots (African, Native, European) and translating primordial vision and spirituality into todayís context, with the intention to help create a sustainable multicultural post-modern society in balance with herself, Nature and the Cosmos, and showing reverence for the diversity of life.  His intention is to promote mutual respect, understanding and comprehension between cultures and between people, as well as to raise awareness of the vital importance these values have for the peace and well being of humanity, through his own socially and culturally diverse personality and activities.

DjalÚkiís opening for ìChimen Memwaî was: ìMy family, greetings: Ayiti, Kiskeya, Boyo [ancient Taino indian names for Ayiti], the land of the First People, I greet you with my knees bent to the ground.  Ayiti, Toma, land of Africa, my backbone bows my whole body down before you.  To those living, standing tall on two feet, with five fingers, masters of the word, guardians of memory along with everyone else everywhere, DjalÚki greets you with honor and respect.î

About DOA/BN:

DOA/BN (Delegations, Orientations, Atizana / Bluntschli, Nicolas; http:// www.haititravels.org) was founded in 1992 by Ari and Carla. Its mission is to raise cross-cultural awareness and mutual respect between Haitian and western cultures by offering foreign visitors in Haiti (as well as Haitians themselves) a unique vision of the history, culture, language, spirituality, politics, and the society of Haiti.  DOA/BN believes in the necessity of challenging stereotypical notions of Haitian people in order to foster a better understanding of them and their country.

DOA/BNís activities range from orientation seminars of 2-4 hours to cultural immersion programs lasting up to several weeks. DOA/BN has offered its services to groups and individuals from around the world, including university groups, researchers, journalists, filmmakers, churches, solidarity and activist groups, embassies, international institutions and development organizations. Their clients have included the New York Times, the BBC, NPR, the Organization of American States, and the United Nations. DOA/BN has travelled on speaking tours to the US in 1995 and to Europe in 2000.

DOA/BN is also the major source of funding for N a Sonje Foundation.

Contact coordinator in Haiti:

Carla Bluntschli (in Haiti):  doabn@haiti.maf.net and/or doabnhaiti@gmail.com

* 011-509-511-5580  (home in Haiti)  (I’m more available at home now with internet installed, thanks to great friends)

011-509-257-5615  (part-time office)

*We are now hooked into Skype (skype.com) as a possiblility for those who download it for free!  Our name is Bluntschli DOA/BN

Mailing address in the US :                                      Mailing address in Haiti:

Bluntschli                                                                                Fondasyon N a Sonje             

c/o Lynx Air                                                      PO Box 15451

PO Box 407139                                                                      HT 6140         

Ft. Lauderdale, FL                                                                   Petionville, Haiti

33340-7139

Contact coordinator in the US:

Anny Koffler

aakoffler@yahoo.com

For internet info on N a Sonje, check our website at this page, you should get a Word document:

www.haititravels.org/underconstruction.htm or

www.haititravels.org/Nasonje.doc (download)

ANNEX

THE ìN A SONJEî FOUNDATION

N a Sonje Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in Haiti, which began to function informally in 2000, being legally recognized in August 2002. Based on the re-balancing of history, particularly focused on the tri-continental encounter (the European invasion of the American and African continents) this vision has been entrusted to and developed by its three founding members, Harry Nicolas, Carla Bluntschli and DjalÚki Dessables. They are also associates and founders of an historical, cultural, alternative educational tourism business in Haiti since 1992 called DOA/BN.

INTENTIONS

On January 1^st 1804, after more than 300 years of colonial rule, slavery and genocide of Amerindian and African peoples, the slave population of St. Domingue brought an end to the trans-Atlantic slave system and created a free nation, launching and succeeding in a revolution that shook the entire western worldís economic and political system. This challenge to established religious and scientifically based ìtruthsî and justifications that served the interests of the colonizing powers continues into our present day, affecting each of our societies with inherited complexes from this historical trauma.

N a Sonje Foundation is founded on the belief that it is vital that this trauma be treated carefully for the future health and well being of humanity, rather than with superficial, short-lived and ill-conceived compensation. In order for a deep and profound healing to occur, a potentially painful healing process needs to take place as ignored and suppressed truths are recalled and brought into a place for an individual, living experience. It is with this intention, to contribute to a place of healing for our world, that N a Sonje Foundation is offering to the worldwide public a permanent, interactive living museum: The Memory Village.

Because of Haitiís unique position both geographically and historically; in celebration of its more than 200 years of independence; and, in honor of its singular success in creating the beginning of the end to slavery on a tri-continental scale, N a Sonje Foundation believes Haiti is particularly appropriate for the location of the Memory Village

The Memory Village is the first project of N a Sonje Foundation. It is envisioned as a participatory, historical village where people from Haiti and around the world will have the opportunity to relive pre-colonial America, medieval Europe, and Africa from just before the turning point of 1492 through the period of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the ensuing 500 years, to the present. By experiencing in person the historical re-enactment of capture, sale, shipment, and enslavement of the African people through the revolution to the present day, history itself becomes internalised in each participant, thus fulfilling the intentions of the N a Sonje Foundation to provide a medium for personal and collective transformation and healing.

It is admitted that this experience can only represent a piece of dust in the universe of pain that has been suffocating so many souls over too many centuries in the history of our world. Nevertheless, it is offered in quiet and yet expectant hope.

The Memory Village will be situated on approximately 3-4 acres of land in the rural mountain village of Gwo Jan (a village established by Africans who escaped from the sugar plantations during the colonial era), a provincial community of the city of Petionville, a main suburb of Port-au-Prince.

THE EXPERIENCE

A typical dayís journey through the Memory Village begins at 7 AM and ends at approximately 7 PM. It includes seven main parts in different sites throughout the Village:

1) Preparation:

Reception, welcome, and selection of the degree of participation

2) Ancestors:

Activities in a Native American village, including an exploration of primordial sciences

Activities in commerce, science and religion in a small Medieval European city

Activities in an African village during a full celebration (ancestral/religious, agricultural, communal, etc)

3) Slave Trade:

Capture and imprisonment by slave traders

Embarkment on a slave ship

Arrival and sale in a slave market on the island of St. Domingue (Haiti)

4) Slavery

Submission by means of quarantine

Work on a sugar cane plantation

5) ìMawonî or Escape:

Escape to encampments of freed slaves and remaining original Taino people

6) Revolt:

Re-enactment of the first pan-African Congress meeting of unification to fight for freedom

Tribute to the ìAct of Independenceî and J.J. Dessalinesí speech January 1, 1804

Walk the ìRoad of Resistanceî

7) Reflection:

Partake in a bowl of ìIndependenceî soup

Complete the experience at the meditation monument over a cooling brook for a guided debriefing and personal reflection

CURRENT STATUS

Here is what has been accomplished to date, thanks to the enormous voluntary work and many professional hours by those who have graciously contributed towards this work along with donors and the sponsoring finance and vision of DOA/BN:

deposits towards land acquisition for the Memory Village, @ 40% of the land, at date of this writing (fall 2005)

topographical study completed

topographical miniature scale model built of the land (many thanks to architect and engineer, Jean Robert Gardinier)

layout designs for the land and village (continued thanks to “TonPolo” engineer Paul Sylvain)

detailed designs for each individual building (Paul Sylvain)

documentary video (special thanks to Rene Durocher and video company)

Haitian radio and television promotion

Major research and financing for the training and education of the local population, theatrical personnel, and administrative staff  will be essential to accomplish a true rendering of such diverse cultural histories by building authentic representations and reproductions necessary for deep personal experiences. The N a Sonje Foundation is now looking for partnerships and support to begin building the Memory Village.

Other materials available by request.  They will also be available on the N a Sonje website: www.nasonje.org (under construction, expecting to open December 2005)

geographical maps of the Caribbean and the Memory Villageís position inside Haiti

documents available in French and Haitian Creole

photos of land in process of being purchased       

topographical survey print out 

topographical 3-D map

layout designs of the Memory Village

conceptualized computer drawings of sites in the Memory Village.

video in Creole describing the Memory Village 

video of Haitian television appearances

investment and Operating Budgets

financial Reports 

original letters to the public about the N a Sonje Foundation and the Memory Village since 2002