We are connected

by Richard Macien (United Kingdom (Great Britain))

I didn't expect to find Benin

I went to Benin for a photography project. As an Haitian born i have read many books about our links to west Africa. From the moment I landed in Cotonou, exiting the airport I did feel the connection. The warm air engulfing your body, the crowd of people waiting for love ones or people waiting for job opportunities. Driving around Cotonou, felt like driving around Port au Prince. The use of the scooters, the speeds of the traffic, the worry you have as a visitor when arriving at an intersection like who has the priority. How a simple scooter can carry a family of five or how can you fit a fridge at the back of your scooter. The many shops on the side of the roads from hairdressers to clothes shops or to the little cafes to get a small bites. I could definitely blend and many times people start talking to you in fon but realised you are a foreigners when you don’t get what they are telling you. The feeling you have when you are trying to buy product from the market for souvenirs and you need to be ready to bargain your way. All those reminded me my trip back to Les Cayes (Haïti) few years back, as it was my first trip to Africa I was not expected so many similarities. Our ancestors were from West Africa, Haitians are linked to Benin mainly because of the practice of Voodoo but the link is so much more then just spiritual. We do no wear Bomba in Haiti but our faces and body shapes are so similar. To top it up, I have assisted of the making of Sobadi (traditional alcohol) and when testing it, my tongue redirect you to our Clerin (traditional alcohol from Haiti). I grew in Haiti eating a lot of savoury corn style porridge with a red kidney beans sauce called mayi moulin avec sauce pois. Ending up having this in Ouida (Door of no return) was simply madness. I was seating in the town where most of the slaves were shipped to the Caribbean during the slave trades (Ouidah was the second largest port for shipping slave) eating a traditional Haitian meal in West Africa. I was definitely not expecting to find so much of my Haitian tradition in West Africa. Or maybe I‘m just astonished to see so much of West African tradition kept by my Haitian ancestors even though they have left the main land for so long. Am I naive to think like that or I have realised that we are just African out of Africa and our ancestors fought for their freedom and their Africans roots. Who knows, my relationship with reconnecting with Africa and the Caribbean through or history, music or food has started few years and ago I will keep finding opportunities to learn more. Many thanks for the opportunity to share my little story. Richard