Your Secrets Are Safe with the Roaches: A Lesson from Haiti on Keeping Things to Yourself

Let me break it down for you the way my mother used to do when I was growing up in Haiti...

You see, when you have something personal or sensitive, something you really don't want the world to know, your first instinct is usually to share it with someone you trust.

But what happens next?

That trusted person also has a most trusted person in their life and it may nt be you. And before you know it, your private story is circling in group chats, whispered in church pews, and trending on WhatsApp statuses.

Before long, your secret is already on social media with your name tagged in the comments.

That's why my mother had a simple rule: "Si ou gen sekrè, pa di pèsonn. Ale nan latrin lan, di ravèt yo."
(If you have a secret, don't tell anyone. Go to the latrine and tell it to the roaches.)

Now I know that might sound funny, but it's deep. In a world where everyone is connected, and gossip travels faster than Digicel data, the only way to truly keep something private is to keep it to yourself.

Here's some advice:

1. Test yourself first. If it's something you're not ready to see online or hear back in a twisted version, keep it locked in your heart.

2. Don't confuse venting with trusting. Just because someone listens doesn't mean they'll stay silent.

3. Ask: Would I be okay if this was public? If the answer is no, then don't put it in a text message, a voice note, or a chat group.

4. Speak to God, or... the roaches. At least they don't gossip.

In the Haitian community, we often live in tight circles -- family, church, diaspora networks -- where news travels at lightning speed. That makes it even more important to practice discretion.

So next time you're tempted to spill a secret, think of a dark corner of a latrine in Haiti and imagine all the roaches just sitting there, ready to listen, and never speak a word.

Some secrets are best left in silence. And trust me, not even the roaches will betray you.

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Written in the spirit of every Haitian mom who ever gave the realest advice. Stay wise. Stay private. Stay Haitian.

Read more: Haiti News Updates

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