--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It seemed from the media that we were…" description: "\"It seemed from the media that we were being told that all Haitians had AIDS. At the time, I had just come from Haiti. I was twelve years old, and the b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/645/edwidge-danticat-2559_aids_it-seemed-from-the-media-that-we-were-be_1567714.jpg" --- # It seemed from the media that we were being told that all… ![“It seemed from the media that we were being told that all Haitians had AIDS. At the time, I had just come from Haiti. I was twelve years old, and the building I was living in had primarily Haitians. A lot of people got fired from their jobs. At school, sometimes in gym class, we'd be separated…” quote by Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/645/edwidge-danticat-2559_aids_it-seemed-from-the-media-that-we-were-be_1567714.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/645/edwidge-danticat-2559_aids_it-seemed-from-the-media-that-we-were-be_1567714.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/645/edwidge-danticat-2559_aids_it-seemed-from-the-media-that-we-were-be_1567714.jpg) > “It seemed from the media that we were being told that all Haitians had AIDS. At the time, I had just come from Haiti. I was twelve years old, and the building I was living in had primarily Haitians. A lot of people got fired from their jobs. At school, sometimes in gym class, we'd be separated because teachers were worried about what would happen if we bled. So there was really this intense discrimination.” [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator recounts intense discrimination against Haitians, describing fear and segregation in school and work. **In simple terms:** Haitians faced severe prejudice and fear. Key Takeaway Challenge and educate against xenophobia. Themes discrimination stigma fear identity Mood somber determined Type autobiographical social When to use this quote - school integration - employment - public health - community building - policy reform Key Concepts social justice racial prejudice human rights Questions to Reflect On - How can communities confront health‑related stigma? - What steps can individuals take to support marginalized groups? A Different Perspective Change requires systemic effort, not just personal resolve. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Discrimination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discrimination/) [Gym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gym/) [Haiti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haiti/) [Intense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Haiti is the poorest country in our hemisphere. The earthquake and the hurricanes, it has devastated Haiti. Bill Clinton and I have been involved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/haiti-is-the-poorest-country-in-our-hemisphere-the-earthquake-and-the/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I have been curious about Haiti for many years. The history of the country is as fascinating as it is turbulent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-have-been-curious-about-haiti-for-many-years-the-history-of-the/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [ AIDS was something that was put upon us \[as haitians\], and we were immediately identified with it. That is unfair. That is unjust. I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/aids-was-something-that-was-put-upon-us-as-haitians-and-we-were/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [One of the things that sparked my interest in this is the case of Emmanuel Constant, who started a militia called FRAPH that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/one-of-the-things-that-sparked-my-interest-in-this-is-the-case-of/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [Haitians don't like to say they are hungry because we are proud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-bertrand-aristide/haitians-don-t-like-to-say-they-are-hungry-because-we-are-proud/) [Jean-Bertrand Aristide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-bertrand-aristide/) > [I think it's really important for Haitians living abroad to go back and help with the development and infrastructure, especially because there are so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meta-golding/i-think-it-s-really-important-for-haitians-living-abroad-to-go-back/) Meta Golding > [The Haitians, who knew something about suffering and survival, had a beautiful phrase... The Translation is not perfect, but the nut of it was:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-bragg/the-haitians-who-knew-something-about-suffering-and-survival-had-a/) [Rick Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-bragg/) > [When I was a child, my parents took my brothers and me to Port-au-Prince during the summer so we could get to know the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/when-i-was-a-child-my-parents-took-my-brothers-and-me-to-port-au/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [One hundred and twenty Marines were detailed to officer a force of twenty-six hundred Haitians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/one-hundred-and-twenty-marines-were-detailed-to-officer-a-force-of/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [Since the 1960s, exile for Haitians is a condition that ends only to begin again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-smartt-bell/since-the-1960s-exile-for-haitians-is-a-condition-that-ends-only-to/) [Madison Smartt Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-smartt-bell/) > [Haitians do not need development programs imposed on them by expatriates. Instead, they need help in developing as self-assured persons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-campolo/haitians-do-not-need-development-programs-imposed-on-them-by/) [Tony Campolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-campolo/) > [We have problems which will be addressed by Haitians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-bertrand-aristide/we-have-problems-which-will-be-addressed-by-haitians/) [Jean-Bertrand Aristide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-bertrand-aristide/) > [Many Haitians don't want to participate in something they think will be violent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jovenel-moise/many-haitians-don-t-want-to-participate-in-something-they-think-will/) [Jovenel Moise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jovenel-moise/) > [Haitians must understand that they have to collaborate to resolve the country's problems - no one is coming to rescue them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jovenel-moise/haitians-must-understand-that-they-have-to-collaborate-to-resolve-the/) [Jovenel Moise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jovenel-moise/) > [On February 7, 2.2 million Haitians went to the polls and exercised their constitutional right to select a leader. They went by foot, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-foley/on-february-7-2-2-million-haitians-went-to-the-polls-and-exercised/) [Mark Foley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-foley/) ## More by Edwidge Danticat > [“Medicare rewards doctors far better for doing procedures than for assessing whether they should be done at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/medicare-rewards-doctors-far-better-for-doing-procedures-than-for/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I love the process of cracking the spine for the first time and slowly sinking into a book. That will soon seem old-fashioned, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-love-the-process-of-cracking-the-spine-for-the-first-time-and/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I remember reading an interview with a writer who said that in nonfiction if you have one lie it sort of messes it up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-remember-reading-an-interview-with-a-writer-who-said-that-in/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“Instead I dreamt of walking out of the world, of spending all my time inside with no one to talk to, and no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/instead-i-dreamt-of-walking-out-of-the-world-of-spending-all-my-time/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“Then what do you want with me?'... 'The pursuit of happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/then-what-do-you-want-with-me-the-pursuit-of-happiness/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I wanted to raise the voice of a lot of the people that I knew growing up, and this was, for the most part,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-wanted-to-raise-the-voice-of-a-lot-of-the-people-that-i-knew/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [Creating these messes that go from administration to administration and then you swoop in and clean them up - with that heroic Delta force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/creating-these-messes-that-go-from-administration-to-administration/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“Nineteen Thirty-Seven”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/nineteen-thirty-seven/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“From her experience working with the weak and the sick, she'd learned that the disease you ignore is the one that kills you, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/from-her-experience-working-with-the-weak-and-the-sick-she-d-learned/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I'm not saying Cubans don't deserve asylum, but if it is a national security issue, there are people who are coming from Cuba on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-m-not-saying-cubans-don-t-deserve-asylum-but-if-it-is-a-national/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“I owe Oprah and that show a tremendous debt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-owe-oprah-and-that-show-a-tremendous-debt/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [The greatest gift anyone can give to a writer is time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/the-greatest-gift-anyone-can-give-to-a-writer-is-time/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I think it is important to reach people through arts and literature, because then you establish a connection that's not an instant crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-think-it-is-important-to-reach-people-through-arts-and-literature/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [All anyone can hope for is just a tiny bit of love, like a drop in a cup if you can get it, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/all-anyone-can-hope-for-is-just-a-tiny-bit-of-love-like-a-drop-in-a/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I very much love a physical book myself. I think people who have had this experience of also seeing a book come together, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-very-much-love-a-physical-book-myself-i-think-people-who-have-had/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) [Explore all 161 Edwidge Danticat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) ## More Aids quotes > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I'm part of a team that raises millions of dollars and raises awareness of HIV and AIDS all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-evangelista/i-m-part-of-a-team-that-raises-millions-of-dollars-and-raises/) [Linda Evangelista](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-evangelista/) > [If you take all the food aid, America is by far the most generous country. If you take the direct aid, we're very generous.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-you-take-all-the-food-aid-america-is-by-far-the-most-generous/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [I donated blood today. That's what I call getting an AIDS test.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/i-donated-blood-today-that-s-what-i-call-getting-an-aids-test/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) > [Slavery, if it can be legalized at all, can be legalized only by positive legislation. Natural law gives it no aid. Custom imparts to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/slavery-if-it-can-be-legalized-at-all-can-be-legalized-only-by/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [Since I came to the White House, I got two hearing aids, a colon operation, skin cancer, a prostate operation, and I was shot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/since-i-came-to-the-white-house-i-got-two-hearing-aids-a-colon/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The European talks of progress because by the aid of a few scientific discoveries he has established a society which has mistaken comfort for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-european-talks-of-progress-because-by-the-aid-of-a-few-scientific/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Women's Aid is a fantastic charity which has my full support. I am proud to call myself a Real Man, a man who will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-fox/women-s-aid-is-a-fantastic-charity-which-has-my-full-support-i-am/) Neil Fox > [It has been hard to muster the resources to support fledgling democracies and to intervene on behalf of the most desperate. The AIDS orphans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/it-has-been-hard-to-muster-the-resources-to-support-fledgling/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [At the time when this famous historical battle was fought in Kosovo, the people were looking at the stars, expecting aid from them. Now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slobodan-milosevi/at-the-time-when-this-famous-historical-battle-was-fought-in-kosovo/) [Slobodan Milosević](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slobodan-milosevi/) > [Charles Darwin viewed the fossil record more as an embarrassment than as an aid to his theory ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/charles-darwin-viewed-the-fossil-record-more-as-an-embarrassment-than/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [I don't think I could compare myself to Macaulay Culkin, because we're pretty much two different kinds of actors. He's done a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-bonsall/i-don-t-think-i-could-compare-myself-to-macaulay-culkin-because-we-re/) [Brian Bonsall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-bonsall/) > [It is a great profession. There is the fascination of watching a figment of the imagination emerge through the aid of science to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/it-is-a-great-profession-there-is-the-fascination-of-watching-a/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) Browse all 1,983 Aids quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It seemed from the media that we were being told that all Haitians had AIDS. At the time, I had just come from Haiti. I was twelve years old, and the building I was living in had primarily Haitians. A lot of people got fired from their jobs. At school, sometimes in gym class, we'd be separated because teachers were worried about what would happen if we bled. 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