1st Lit. Circle Mtg. - Brother, I'm Dying

Quote #1

Quote by Edwidge
page 21

"I was eight years old and Bob and I were living in Haiti with his older brother, my uncle Joseph, and his wife."

Significance: Now I know that Edwidge's family lived in Haiti before they moved to America. I also know that Haiti is in the Caribbean right next to the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Cuba. So not only is Edwidge's family from Haiti, they're from the Caribbean. People in the Caribbean mainly have dark skin.
Personal Connection: We had to stay at my mom's aunt's house when we went to the family reunion in Virginia. I was nine when we went, so I was almost the same age as Edwidge when she lived in Haiti. I have always wanted to visit the Caribbean.
Question: Do you think Edwidge had been born in Haiti, or that she and her family went to live with her uncle for awhile?

Quote #2
Quote by Edwidge
page 31

"Each time his father left for a campaign, my uncle worried that, like the thousands of Haitian guerrilla fighters who were killed by the Americans and whose corpses were dumped in roads and public parks to discourage others, his father might never come back."

Significance: Edwidge's grandfather was part of the guerrilla resistance. Last year, I read a literature circle book that talked about guerrillas, so I already know who and what they are. In Pan's Labyrinth there were guerrillas, so I got to see how they clothed themselves and what they did to get the medication they needed for their numerous wounds.
Personal Connection: My dad is a firefighter so I know what it is like to worry if your father will come home. Firefighters have died just doing fire training. So imagine how dangerous it must be for the firefighters who are fighting a real fire.
Question: Why would Americans think dumping bodies in roads and public parks would discourage people? If I were in Haiti when this happened, that would have only made me madder at America.