Vybz Kartel Salutes Haiti On Flag Day
Dancehall star Vybz Kartel saluted Haiti on the country’s Flag Day yesterday.
The Life We Living singer took to Instagram to pay tribute to the country on the occasion of the Republic’s annual flag day, which is an important day in Afro-Caribbean history.
Haiti’s Flag Day symbolizes the creation of the Haitian flag and the revolution that gained freedom for the country from France. Originally made on May 18, 1803, the flag set the stage for Haiti’s declaration of independence from then colonizers France later in 1804. Since then May 18th has been observed in Haiti and her diaspora as Haitian Flag Day.
Kartel shared three Instagram posts with the Haitian flag on Instagram yesterday. The first was captioned “Sak Pase?!” which means “what’s happening?” in French. The second caption read simply “#haitianflagday”, while the third caption readm “1st Black Republic. 1st Independent Caribbean State🖤.”
Kartel’s fans joined him in celebrating one of the Caribbean’s most important historical events by showing their support in the comment section.
@tizi_gang_oficiel wrote, “Nap boule Gaza gaza” while @ani_whoo wrote, ” if u read up JA and Haiti history we have been mixing, breeding with each other even up to tiday.. A nuff JA/Haitian baby out dey.. Sak Pase family”.
From its inception, Haiti’s flag has been modified several times, but Flag Day itself has remained the same as the day the flag was first sewn together.
May 18 is a major national holiday in Haiti and is celebrated in a number of U.S. cities where there are large populations of Haitian Americans. Often marked by parties and flag-waving celebrations, this year’s Haitian Flag Day observances have taken on a more reflective tone as Haiti faces the COVID-19 pandemic and a deepening political crisis.
As reported by the Miami Herald yesterday, the United States Biden administration has called on Haiti’s diaspora to help find a way out of the crisis which involves protests against the current president Jovenel Moïse and strong opposition to a planned referendum to change the constitution.