Here are some more statements gathered during the Ghetto Biennale. Many thanks to Joseph Constant for collecting these from the Lakou Cheri community and to Alex Louis for the translations.
- Yo te kenbe Nadege avek mari moun yo – I saw Nadege with her man
- Le’w kon’n fè mange tan kou’m wap gen mari – The better you cook, the more men you get
- Nataly toujou app rete rad nam men zanmi – Natalie’s always borrowing clothes from friends
- Yap pale nap travay – They’re talking, we’re working
- Yok poupè, nou pakapè yo – Everyone’s afraid, I’m not afraid
- Ti machoun’n a yon dola ou fé sòs – With one dollar we can make a sauce
- Se annepye ki pou ba wou enpotans twal kay – A centipede can teach you the importance of an old rag
- Mete dlo nam diven’w – Put some water on your fire
- Sigen paròl pyej gen repons dyan’m – Difficult questions need a firm answer
- Chak pen gen fomaj yo – Every bread has its own cheese
- Chodye frete pa bouyi pwa chèche – When you borrow a pan you shouldn’t cook dry beans
- Range bretèl soutyen’w – Fix your bra strap (Pull your socks up)
- Tou nouvo, tou dous – Everything new is sweet (in romance)
- Kòmanse rasi bay degoutans – When things start to get stale it’s disgusting
- Mat lot sou ou, bay militon’w koulè – There is a woman who is with another woman’s man, so you better give more colour to your vegetable stew
- Se nan chemen jenen yo kenbe chwal malen – It is embarrassing the way they keep difficult horses (in the traffic)
- Parol pa tach – Words are not spots (bad words don’t hurt you)
- Chat konnen rat konnen bayik mayi a rete la – Cats know, rats know the corn pot will stay here
- Lè ti poulet cho, se mafini kidèyè – When the little chickens are excited, the hawk is coming
- Kenbe you’ni kenbe tout – To keep one is to keep all
- Bat chen an tarin met li – You beat the dog and wait for the owner (everyone has someone on his back)
- Jan chat mache se pa konsal peche – The way cats walk is not the way they fish
- Koule chen an, se koule gren n li – The colour of the dog is the colour of his dick (The way you act is the way you are)
- Sak pa gen dan yap manje chan m chan – Those without teeth have to eat the corn starch (Poor people have to eat anything)
- Pale pale w ou paka fèm anyen – You can talk all you want, but you can’t do anything to me
- Ou fin dim nou ren men, e pi wap trip sou mwen – You told me that you loved me, then you start to play games with me
- Kiyès ou ye pou’w gen yon fan’m pou kow? – Who are you to have a woman by yourself? (No matter who you are, your woman probably has another man)
- Mennen koule lekòl se you’n fèl chita se 2 – Bringing a snake to school is one thing, making it sit down is another (You can change a person’s life but not their personality)
- Pagen pryé ki pa gen amen – Every prayer has an amen (Every problem has a solution).
- Labouyi mwen pat konnen si ou t esho – I didn’t know the porridge was so hot (You underestimated someone)
Invisible Mirrors 