{"id":2508,"date":"2018-09-12T14:15:44","date_gmt":"2018-09-12T18:15:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/?p=2508"},"modified":"2018-09-12T14:15:44","modified_gmt":"2018-09-12T18:15:44","slug":"happening-namoni-and-serena-after-the-match","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/?p=2508","title":{"rendered":"Happening : Namoni and Serena After the Match"},"content":{"rendered":"

Happening : Namoni and Serena After the Match<\/strong> by RAJ<\/em><\/p>\n

It happened on Saturday, September 8, at the U.S. Open\u00a0Tennis Tournament, at the\u00a0Arthur Ashe Stadium in\u00a0Queens, N.Y.: 20-year-old\u00a0Naomi Osaka defeated her\u00a0idol, the 36-year-old tennis\u00a0queen Serena Williams in two\u00a0sets \u2013 6-2, 6-4 \u2013, thwarting\u00a0Serena\u2019s dream of breaking\u00a0two records.<\/p>\n

Forget the controversy surrounding the upset which caused\u00a0Serena to lose her cool, even violently breaking her racket and\u00a0getting in a verbal match with the\u00a0chair umpire. She\u2019s been fined\u00a0$17,000.00, a pittance for her. Serena, a six-time U.S. Open\u00a0champion could not swallow her\u00a0pride for being humiliated by the\u00a0younger upcoming star.After all, she waslooking forward to tying\u00a0the standing record of grand slam\u00a0tournaments by winning her 24th\u00a0major title, equaling thereby that\u00a0of the retired Margaret Court of
\nAustralia, now a Christian minister. She would also be the pride of\u00a0all mothers for holding on the\u00a0title even after having given birth. Meanwhile, Naomi\u2019s victory has\u00a0boosted the pride of most\u00a0Haitians because of her Haitian\u00a0ancestry.<\/p>\n

With a family name like\u00a0Osaka, and playing for Japan, there\u2019s no Haiti here, some said. But, in an interview with Black\u00a0Kryptish Show, Naomi clarified\u00a0things. The interviewer asked, \u201cIn your relationship with\u00a0Japanese culture and your relationship with U.S. culture, what\u00a0country affects you, that has\u00a0made you who you are ?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad is Haitian,\u201dshe\u00a0began. \u201cSo, I grew up in a\u00a0Haitian household inNewYork. I\u00a0lived with my grandma. And my\u00a0mom is Japanese and I grew up\u00a0with the Japanese culture too. If\u00a0you say American, I guess, \u2019cause\u00a0I live in America, I also have that\u00a0too.\u201d What a boost for multiculturalism in an age where racism\u00a0and chauvinism are making a big\u00a0comeback with support even\u00a0fromtheU.S. president ! Remember \u201csh\u2026..le countries ?\u201d<\/p>\n

Anyway, there\u2019s no doubt in\u00a0Naomi Osaka\u2019s mind about what\u00a0cultures influenced her to be the\u00a0person she is. In an interview\u00a0with the New York Times, she\u00a0talks about her cultures: \u201cJapanese culture ? I love everything\u00a0about it. \u2026America, I live here. I\u00a0train in Florida. \u2026And Haiti, if\u00a0you\u2019ve ever met a Haitian person, they are really positive, and\u00a0literally if you\u2019re friends with\u00a0them, then they will do anything\u00a0for you. That\u2019s something that is a\u00a0really good trait, and I\u2019m really\u00a0happy that my grandparents and\u00a0my dad\u2019s side of the family is like\u00a0that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her father, L\u00e9onard Fran\u00e7ois, hails from Jacmel, in Haiti\u2019s\u00a0southeast region. He studied at\u00a0New York University before\u00a0moving to Japan to work and to\u00a0find the love of his life, Tamaki\u00a0Osaka. Naomi\u2019s older sister, Mari, 22 years old, is also a tennis player, ranked 289 by\u00a0Wikileaks as of April 2018. For\u00a0practical reasons, the parents\u00a0decided to adopt the mother\u2019s\u00a0name for their girls who were\u00a0born in Japan. That facilitated\u00a0schooling and other things. In\u00a0fact, this has paid off handsomely because Japan has\u00a0 sponsored\u00a0Naomi\u2019s rise to fame.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s understandable that Naomi mentioned her father first\u00a0when asked about what culture\u00a0(Japanese or U.S.?) had influenced her most. He began training the girls when Naomi was\u00a0three years old. In fact, Mr. Fran\u00e7ois was inspired by Richard\u00a0Williams, the American tennis\u00a0coach whose two daughters, Serena and Venus, became an\u00a0awesome pair on the worldwide\u00a0tennis circuit. The Haitian father\u00a0fancied his two girls becoming\u00a0like Serena and Venus. They\u00a0have competed against each\u00a0other, just as Venus and Serena\u00a0have. And Naomi, especially, grew up idolizing Serena and\u00a0hoping to be like her one day.<\/p>\n

Naomi\u2019s wish began to hap- pen last March 21st. when she\u00a0defeated Serena in straight sets \u20136-3, 6-2\u2014 at the Miami Open. But that could have been a fluke, considering that it was Serena\u2019s\u00a0second tournament since she\u00a0gave birth. Certainly, she had\u00a0learned the weakness and, no\u00a0doubt the strength also, of her\u00a0young opponent. Next time she\u00a0will handle her better. But last\u00a0Saturday, with Serena going
\ndown 6-2, 6-4, it was a repeat\u00a0performance for both. And the\u00a0young Japanese-Haitian has\u00a0more than fulfilled her dream. Naomi dethroned her idol of so\u00a0many years. She deserves all the\u00a0praise. And she got $3.8 million\u00a0to boot. Already the press in\u00a0Japan mentions sponsorships\u00a0into $100 million. Serena fetched
\n$18 million a year in such sponsorships.<\/p>\n

For two days, the Japanese\u00a0press, newspapers and television, praised their new \u201cTennis\u00a0Queen.\u201d Her grandfather, who\u00a0broke communication with his\u00a0daughter for 10 years when he\u00a0found out that she was romantically involved with a black man, is reported in the Japanese press-saying that he will meet his
\ngrand daughter soon when she\u00a0will be playing in Japan. Interestingly, the strain in family relations, was instrumental in Fran\u00e7ois and Tamaki moving to the\u00a0United States with their young\u00a0girls in 2000.<\/p>\n

During the whole weekend, Haitians were engrossed in\u00a0Naomi\u2019s victory which dominated the conversation on the social\u00a0networks. A few said she\u2019s not\u00a0Haitian. She\u2019s Japanese by her\u00a0name and nationality. \u201cShe didn\u2019t\u00a0win for Haiti,\u201d was the comment\u00a0heard, \u201cshe won for Japan.\u201d But\u00a0most people said, \u201cWere it not for\u00a0her Haitian father, Japan wouldn\u2019t win anything.\u201d After all, this\u00a0is the first victory for Japan in\u00a0grand slam competitions.<\/p>\n

Moreover, the amended Haitian constitution provides Haitian\u00a0nationality for any child born of a\u00a0Haitian mother or father who was\u00a0born in Haiti. Meanwhile, Haitian President Jovenel Mo\u00efse\u00a0quickly claimed Naomi for Haiti. He issued the following statement: \u201cBravo, and thank you, our\u00a0Naomi for making us proud\u00a0today. Haiti shares also in the\u00a0immense joy to see her realize\u00a0such an exploit in the grand slam
\nso coveted. Continue to make us\u00a0dream, Naomi, and to show to\u00a0the youth of your generation the\u00a0path to take.Continued success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Had the Haitian government\u00a0been more supportive of our talented\u00a0young people by investing\u00a0in sports activities, the likes of\u00a0Naomi could compete under the\u00a0Haitian flag in international competitions. For example, Schnidine Louis, a promising tennis player in Haiti in her early 20s, was\u00a0quick to issue a statement complaining about how she finds no\u00a0support for her training. What\u00a0about the U.S-based, 23-year-old\u00a0Haitian-born Victoria Duval, who could also go far, were she\u00a0to find the supportfor good training ? Were they to be victorious in\u00a0any international competition, the government would be first to\u00a0claim them for Haiti.<\/p>\n

The situation is dire for\u00a0Haiti\u2019s talented sports men and\u00a0women. Last Sunday, Haiti Premi\u00e8re Classe, the weekly television show in metropolitan New\u00a0York, presented the plight of basketball players in Gona\u00efves who\u00a0are considered among the best in\u00a0the country. Antoine Saint-Jean, the trainer, was pleading with the\u00a0Gonaivians in the Diaspora to\u00a0helpwith an electrical unit to provide power to their gym on a\u00a0property provided by Pastor\u00a0Alexandre for the Christian\u00a0College.<\/p>\n

Recently, when the Haitian\u00a0women\u2019s soccer team under 20\u00a0lost in the World Cup in France\u00a0while playing brilliantly, it was\u00a0noted that the Grenadi\u00e8res, as the\u00a0team is called, could have done\u00a0much better if they had proper\u00a0training. They were praised to the\u00a0high heavens by most, including\u00a0the government.\u00a0 Reginald Boulos, the businessman whose\u00a0stores were looted during the July\u00a06-7 fuel riots, announced that his\u00a0foodmarketswould provide food\u00a0for a whole year to the members\u00a0of the team, more than 20. He
\nalso called on the business community to do what they can to\u00a0encourage the young women. Gary Bodeau, president of Haiti\u2019s\u00a0Lower House, issued a statement\u00a0that he would provide a cellular\u00a0phone to each girl. Really ? And\u00a0that\u2019s it as far as government support is concerned.<\/p>\n

Just consider what could have\u00a0been done for our youth with a\u00a0few millions from the $3.8 billion stolen and wasted from the\u00a0PetroCaribe Fund<\/strong> ! What have\u00a0they done with the money from\u00a0PetroCaribe\u00a0<\/strong>? Accountability\u00a0and restitution are in order. Down\u00a0with impunity! May the demon- strations continue !<\/p>\n

Naomi Osaka in Haiti<\/strong>
\nLast year, for her October 16, 19thbirthday, Naomi went to\u00a0Haiti for her first time to the land\u00a0of her father. Pictures of her visiting the famous Bassin Bleu waterfall in the Jacmel area are to be\u00a0found on various internet sites. Commenting about the country\u00a0she had just discovered, she was\u00a0quoted in an interview in French\u00a0saying, \u201cI have no problem to\u00a0become an ambassador for my\u00a0father\u2019s country. Haiti deserves to
\nbe known by the entire world for\u00a0her magnificent beauty and especially for her delicious cuisine. \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

She continues: \u201cI know my mother\u2019s country. I began to play in\u00a0Japan since I was three years\u00a0old. I always hear negative\u00a0things being said about my\u00a0father\u2019s country. I wanted to see\u00a0whether what was said was true. I asked my dad to accompany\u00a0me, and I found another reality. The people are kind, respectful\u00a0and courteous. I visited the city of\u00a0Jacmel with itssuperb beaches. I\u00a0am very happy to come to Haiti\u00a0for the first time.\u201d And she concludes that she was ready to\u00a0become \u201cAmbassador of this\u00a0beautiful sun-bathed country, to\u00a0present to the rest of the world\u00a0this little despised gem.\u201d<\/p>\n

May the young people of\u00a0Haiti, in and out of the country, be inspired by Naomi Osaka to\u00a0do something great and very dif- ferent for the land of their fathers\u00a0and forefathers which has been\u00a0dragged into the mud by the socalled leaders who have enriched\u00a0themselves, their families and\u00a0friends at the expense of a prostrate nation.\u00a0RAJ\u00a0September 12, 2018<\/p>\n

\n

this article is belong to the Haiti-Observateur newspaper weekly, edition of september 12 2018 and will be found at :\u00a0P. 1, 16<\/strong>\u00a0at http:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/HO12septembre2018.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Happening : Namoni and Serena After the Match by RAJ It happened on Saturday, September 8, at the U.S. Open\u00a0Tennis Tournament, at the\u00a0Arthur Ashe Stadium in\u00a0Queens, N.Y.: 20-year-old\u00a0Naomi Osaka defeated her\u00a0idol, the 36-year-old tennis\u00a0queen Serena Williams in two\u00a0sets \u2013 6-2,… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2506,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,25,52,53],"tags":[244,325,1495,1670,2392,2505,2687,2915,2992,3049,3099,3242,3259],"class_list":["post-2508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anglais","category-haiti","category-sports","category-usa","tag-arthur-ashe","tag-bassin-bleu","tag-haiti-observateur","tag-jacmel","tag-osaka","tag-petrocaribe","tag-raj","tag-serena","tag-stadium","tag-tenis-us-open","tag-tournament","tag-waterfall","tag-williams"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2508"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2508\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}