Exercise 57 - Cry for Help

Vocabulary words:
Anmwe! - Help!   Help me!
Lougawou! - Werewolf!
Zenglendo! - Mob!   Gang!
Dife! - Fire!
Volè! - Thief!
Bare vòlè! - Catch that thief!

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Have you ever been in a situation where you needed to cry for help? 
If yes, was there any hesitation as to what word to cry out? 
You probably had no hesitation if you were in your own country. 
But what if you were in a different country, and you did not know their language too well, and you were in distress and needed to call for help, how would you get people's attention in that case?

I was about 11 or 12 years old in Arcahaie, Haiti.  I was leading a donkey to the market. Our house in Arcahaie was in the center of town, close to the market, the jail, St. Peter's Church, the plaza, and the all-girls and all-boys school.  It was a famous stop for farmers and school children, who came from afar from rural areas, to rest and camp the night before an event, may it be market day, school, or mass.  Market day was Wednesdays and Saturdays.  In any case, I remember jumping onto the donkey's back and ending in a twisted position with one foot on the donkey and the other foot on the ground.  The donkey then took off running. I remember screaming at the top of my lungs, "Anmwe! Anmwe!" At that time people were coming out from every corner to help me.

Fast forward about 15 years later to a bus stop in Hialeah, Florida, USA.  As I stood waiting for the bus, a couple approached me asking for direction.  In a flash they snatched my purse and took off running.  As  I watched them running away with my bus money, I tried to figure out what to yell.  I debated whether to shout, "Hey you!" or just "Hey!" or "Help me!".  But I just was not prepared for this.  If I were in Haiti I could have screamed, "Bare vòlè!" meaning "Catch that thief!".  I would have gotten my purse back.  But I just stood there... unable to do anything..., unable to say anything.

If you ever have to travel to a country where you don't know the language too well I believe you should practice yelling for help just in case you need to.  You should practice yelling for help out loud at least a couple of times until it the words come natural to you. 

In Haiti we do not yet have advanced Emergency Response Systems.  Getting emergency workers to come to you when you need it is not so easy.  Here is how to call for help or get people's attention in Haiti.

"Anmwe!" pronounced "amway" does not have a specific meaning.  It is a call of distress, an SOS, an attention getter.  Waving both your arms over your head while screaming "Anmwe!" seals the deal; you are in distress.  It's a universal gesture for distress in Haiti.

"Lougawou!" which is Creole for werewolf is another way to get people's attention.  Yes! Seriously!  I know it's weird.  If I was standing in the middle of Time Square, New York City crying "Werewolf!" people would think I was crazy.  But the cry of "Werewolf!" carries meaning  in Haiti, a country where people are regularly involved in voodoo practice, sacrificing animals, and securing amulets from a voodoo priest for good luck and for protection from evil, illness and harm.  I remember a case in Arcahaie where a lady had cried "lougawou!".  Me and my friends ran to her house.  I couldn't get in by the time we got there, there already was such a crowd of  people, many with machetes.  I never got to know her real story.  Whatever her problem was she did get people's attention.  Yes, you cry "lougawou!" and we'll come to your rescue with our machetes, especially in the outskirts of the country.  Don't get intimidated by the machetes, a lot of Haitian farmers carry them around.  It's sort of like, Have Machete Will Travel" kind of a thing.  It comes handy for picking coconuts, skinning pineapple cane, trimming trees in their garden, freeing a donkey from an entrapment, etc...

Crying "Zenglendo!" which is creole for mob! gang! or "a pack of malicious people" might get you some attention, too.

Finally, if all else fails cry "Dife!" which is Haitian Creole for "Fire!".  That should get people's attention .

Someone once asked me, "What if I was in danger of being raped?". 
If I had the misfortune of being in that situation and I knew people might be within earshot, I would cry, Dife!  which is Haitian Creole for fire or  Anmwe! Dife! Sove'm tanpri!" which means "Help!Fire! Please save me!"

Thanks
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Multiple Choice questions

1.  The Haitian Creole phrase for "help me" is
a. ede m
b. kite m
c. rele m

2. You're walking the busy streets of Carrefour, Port-au-Prince.  If it's your first trip to Haiti, you're probably distracted by the sight, sound, and feel of the island.  Suddenly you see a woman coming out of a gate, both arms over her head screamming, "Anmwe! Anmwe!".  You recognize that she is:
a. partying
b. running to meet her long lost daughter
c. in some type of distress

3. Haitians use these three words to describe rape
a. kadejak, vyòl, dappiyanp
b. lanmou, boubout, menaj
c. volè, asasen, mètdam

4.  The Haitian Creole word for fire is
a. flanm
b. dife
c. lafimen

5. These two Hatian creole words: Tanpri & Silvouplè both have the same meaning.  They mean:
a. you're welcome
b. thank you
c. please

Thank you!  Find the answers to the multiple choice questions below.

1.a, 2.c, 3.a, 4.b, 5.c