Two common themes we studied this term are the themes of insiders/outsiders and media representation. In Dany Laferriere’s The World is Moving Around Me, he re-tells his experience of the Haitian earthquake of January 12, 2010. During this experience, Laferriere portrays himself as both an insider and an outsider due to his Haitian-Canadian background. These two statuses allows him to link the gap between the Haitians and readers of his memoir. Indeed, the book’s foreword states how “this is a story that’s not his to tell” (10), depicting how his status as a Canadian visitor to Haiti makes him an outsider. On the other hand, Laferriere also considers himself an insider since he is part Haitian. His insider status is especially useful as it allows him to speak up for the Haitians against the media’s negative stereotypical frames. One of these frames was how Haiti was a poor and corrupt country. Although he does not object to the country’s poverty, Laferriere claims that not all the people were corrupt, only the country’s ruling class. The rest of the population still kept their dignity, and “when the country [was] insulted, they – not the rich – [felt] the sting” (75). Indeed, Laferrier uses his insider voice to depict his country’s reactions to people’s negative labels.

Laferriere further makes use of his “insider” status to fight against another of the media’s negative frames. It frames Haiti as a cursed country, associating it with voodoo, cannibalism and blood-drinkers. Laferriere states how “all some commentator has to do is say the word “curse” on the airwaves and it spreads like a cancer” (76). Laferriere challenges the notion of Haiti as a cursed country by describing the nation’s energy and dignity in dealing with the Haitian earthquake. He also states that Haiti was the first black republic in the world, and the second to win its independence in the Americas. He describes how black slaves in Haiti had to fight against Napoleon Bonaparte’s army to win their independence, with nothing but “their longing for freedom and a senseless kind of bravery” (75). Through will power, they achieved their citizenship. Indeed, by describing his country’s past accomplishments, Laferriere gives readers a new respect for it. He not only portrays negative media representations of Haiti, but also uses his insider status to fight for his people.

Laferriere, Dany. The World is Moving Around Me. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2013. 9-183. Print.