Part 3: REBELLION
Self-Defense
Mirogoane Stronghold
They get back to the house and are unloading the truck when there’s a loud commotion outside their gate. A few dozen neighbors are shouting and shoving Ti Mon around. He slipped away after they’d arrived at the house and now the crowd has him. He’s surrounded and they’re calling him names like, “Ti vagabon. Tet cho”. Ashley tries to speak with a neighbor at the edge of the crowd but the noise is so loud they can’t hear each other. Ashley steps toward Ti Mon and tries to take his hand but the crowd absorbs him too quickly. She follows the crowd and Matt and Kevin join her. Jocelyn calls something to Matt, who looks back at her and nods before Jocelyn steps back into the courtyard.
The crowd grows larger as they approach the police station. A few cops are lounging outside with cigarettes and a bottle, but they stand and get weapons ready as the crowd approaches. One calls back into the station and a Haitian man in plainclothes and dark glasses steps into view, holding a handgun. A handful of uniformed cops form a line behind him, still smoking their cigarettes, but the bottle has been replaced with rifles at the ready.
Ashley, Matt, and Kevin are now part of the crowd. Matt is acting as a fullback, pushing his way toward the station steps. Ashley’s behind him, her hands holding onto belt. Kevin tucks in behind her. He feels a lot of groping and grasping hands but ignores them and keeps his hands on Ashley’s shoulders ahead of him. Suddenly the crowd stills and Ti Mon is shoved onto the station steps, stumbling and sprawling at the feet of the police. One slings his rifle and grabs Ti Mon by his ear, yanking the boy to his feet as he screams in pain.
Ashley lunges toward Ti Mon when he seems to be dangling in the air by one ear. The plainclothes officer stops her with an outstretched hand, shoving her back into the crowd with Kevin and Matt. The cop holding Ti Mon’s ear lowers him slightly, so that the boy’s toes can barely touch the ground. Plainclothes asks something to the crowd and everyone begins shouting at once. Kevin can’t understand what they’re saying, but Matt is just shaking his head. Ashley looks horrified and she cries out toward the cops in English, “Please stop! He has done nothing wrong.” The uniformed police don’t seem to hear her but Kevin notices that Plainclothes is looking only at Ashley. His lips part in a sneer and he slowly says to her, “M pa pale Angle.“
The crowd begins shouting their accusations at Ti Mon. Kevin hears, “today” and “steals” and “vagabond”. Then, his stomach is in his mouth as he hears, “Pere Lebrun”. The cops begin nodding and one pulls out a wooden matches, lights it, and passes it slowly back and forth in front of Ti Mon’s eyes. The boy squeezes his eyes shut and another cop slaps him on the back of the head until he opens them again. The crowd is cheering now, as Match Cop takes another from the box and tries to light it on the top of Ti Mon’s head. He drags the wooden stick through his short hair, tearing away clumps of skin and hair with each attempt to strike the match.
Kevin freezes in horror as another cop emerges from the station with a tire and bottle of kerosene. The crowd hushes as the police continue to slap Ti Mon and shove him around like a pinball, striking matches on his head and face. The one holding Ti Mon’s ear lets go when a match lights near his own hand. Ti Mon falls to the ground and lands in the fetal position, rocking and sobbing, “Mama. Papa.” Ashley is finally able to push herself to the front of the crowd and faces the plainclothes officer. She looks into his reflective dark glasses for a long moment, before partially turning toward the crowd. In Creole, her voice cutting through the silence, “What would President Titid say? Is this how he would want a small boy to be treated?”
The cops are laughing and pretending not to hear her but Plainclothes is watching her closely. Ashley continues, “This boy was with me all day. He has done nothing wrong.” Then she gestures to Matt and Kevin standing at her side and asks them dramatically, “Was Ti Mon with us all day?” Matt nods in agreement and when she repeats the question in English, Kevin starts nodding his head too. Ashley turns back to the cop, “Are you calling us liars?” Then back to the crowd, “Are you saying Ti Mon is worth nothing?” After a pause, “I will not watch this anymore.” Her face changes and she draws herself upright, looking like an aggrieved mother. “We will take this boy back home with us. Do not do this to our family again.”
Kevin holds his breath as Ashley steps past Plainclothes’ gun and gently pulls Ti Mon to his feet. No one moves or makes a sound as she puts her arms around him, picks him up, and carries him toward the gate where Jocelyn is waiting and watching. Kevin turns to follow and glances over his shoulder. Two of the cops are starting to move toward Ashley and are raising their weapons. Plainclothes gestures for them to stop. He sees Kevin and Matt watching and says in clear English, “Follow your white bitch!” Kevin and Matt say nothing but continue walking backward toward the house gate, keeping their eyes locked on Plainclothes. When they get inside, Jocelyn quickly shuts and locks the gate behind them. She calls out to Matt, “Key on peg” before joining Ashley and hugging Ti Mon. Kevin offers to take Ti Mon from Ashley’s arms so she can wipe the tears streaming down her face. But the little guy has a death lock around her neck and won’t let go. They slowly exhale and look at each other. Then Kevin’s chosen family has a tearful and joyful reunion like no other.