We Haitian citizens know the damages already caused by foreign forces in the country. Many questions need to be asked: Where did the guns and bullets… - Évelyne Trouillot

My youth longs for the calendas, the coral necklaces and images of sun-filled fields, where there are no bent backs, no overseers, no children dying. My youth wants to erase the stories of The Infamous Rosalie and barracoons, to lift off this weight that clouds my vision whenever I try to dream. (p64)

The solution for a country is never outside the country; it should emerge, and grow and develop, from within. We can’t all be Baydenns [emigrants]. A whole nation cannot leave. The more people leave, the more the country declines. It’s a vicious circle, we’re going round and round.

After each of our encounters filled with love and pain, she would tell me: "Your story must dwell, vigilant, under your skin, at the tips of your hair. Each piece that you add to it grows roots and stars for your dreams." (p20)