On her 61st birthday, Carline Oriol Desgrottes pours out her soul
- THE SOCIAL CORNER By Raymond A Joseph
Today, December 11, Carline Oriol des Gottes turns 61 years old, and from Milan, Italy where she’s been living for decades, she’s sending a message to those who touched her life and contributed to her reaching this milestone. Though she doesn’t say it, she really feels somewhat guilty about her success in life while her younger sister, Nancy, born on the 12th of December, two years and one day after her, died at 35 in 1997. And her younger brother, much earlier! Her older sister, Marcelle des Grottes Mcleod, died much earlier, in 1987. When her uncle, Gérard Loiseau, who was the bedrock in her life, passed away a_year after the earthquake of 2010, she felt somewhat alone, because she had no one with whom she could discuss things in all confidentiality. In essence, around this time of year, Carline wonders about life and death. Why has she been spared death while others she cherished were cut off before her?
The person Carline felt closer to was her younger sister, Nancy, “much wiser than I,” she says. She touched people in a special way and though she died so early, her memory lingers, because a building bears her name: Nancy des Grottes Apartments at 106 Gerry Street, at Broadway, in the Williamsburg-Green point neighborhood of Brooklyn. She thanks the manager at the time, Mr. Michael Rockfort and the people at St. Nicks Alliance who so honored her sister who was the accountant/book keeper at St. Nicks. It should be noted that St. Nicks, founded in 1975, is a nonprofit organization which describes itself as being “committed to the comprehensive revitalization of Brooklyn,” focusing on housing, education, health care, as well as economic development. Carline boasts about holding three nationalities – Haitian, American and Italian. However, she’s much pained, she says, for what’s happening to Haiti, “the land of my birth to which I feel a special attachment.” As if she were preaching, she goes on: “I want to reach out to my people in Haiti. Let us unite and embellish Haiti. Let us stop with prejudices between those who speak French despising Creole speakers. We are lucky that our ancestors fought to make us free and break the back of slavery. It hurts me to see Haiti in the state it is now.” As the 10th anniversary of the January 12, 2010 earthquake approaches, she says, “We did not need that earthquake! And those entrusted with the funds for the reconstruction have absconded with much of it. What a shame!”
Of the United States, she says, “That’s the country that opened doors for me. I feel bad whenever I remember what happened on 9/11, the Twin Towers in New York disappearing with nearly 3,000 dead in one day.” However, she dwells on the doors that were opened for her. Earning a grant to study fashion design at Manhattan’s Fashion Institute of Technology, she says that opened doors for her in several fields, including modeling, acting and designing. She boasts about her many clients through the years, specifically mentioning Gene Anthony Ray who portrayed Leroy Johnson in the 1980 film Fame.
It is in the United States that doors were open for her when she met Carol Martin-Terry, news anchor at WCBS TV in New York, who introduced her to Susan L. Taylor, former editor- in-chief of Essence Magazine. “The story on me that appeared in Essence would later open doors for me in Europe, with the help of Iona Dunn Lee,” she says. She stops for a few seconds, then adds, “Certainly, all those people don’t know where I am now, but they did help me to be what I am today. I am saying thanks to them as well as to my mom Solanges, in Florida. May God bless them all. Happy holidays to them all!”
As if to let all know of her current status, she opens the door on her life in Italy. “I am the mother of a 24-year-old, very independent son, Francesco Oriol Buschi, whose father, Dr. Alberto Buschi, has been of great support since 1993.” She has modeled in Italy and has been in demand for reciting poems for various audiences. She mentions performing with Roberto Delle Donne, one of the highest-paid DJs in Italy. Another venue where she has performed is at the Mozart’s concerts, thanks to Arnaldo Volani, president of Italy’s Mozart Association, of which she’s a member.
Special thanks, she says, to the Gandolfi-Baldini family. “All of them have been very supportive, welcoming and hosting me and my friends in their hotels and restaurants.” And there is the “famous Enrico Beruschi with whom I have worked in the past that I must thank at this time,” she adds. “I would feel awful, if I didn’t mention another venue where I have performed: the Mozart’s concerts, thanks to Arnaldo Volani, president of Italy’s Mozart Association, of which I am a member.
Being away from friends and family in New York and elsewhere in America, Carline says, “Life in Italy wouldn’t have been as pleasurable as it is, were it not for some people whose names I won’t mention but who know who they are.” And she adds: “I have a special place in my heart for all those Jewish-Italian families who have done so much for me .I want to thank them all.”
Addressing Léo Joseph, the editor of the Haiti-Observateur, she says,“ Thank you, Léo, for allowing me to reach out to all those folks with whom I’ve lost contact for so long. May you be blessed in a special way this season!”
Addressing me, interviewing her, she really surprised me: “Uncle Raymond,” she said, “You know you’ve healed me when you published that article a year ago about me and my sister. More than that, you’ve become a replacement uncle for the one I lost. And thank you for your book, FOR WHOM THE DOGS SPY! I bought it as soon as I knew about it. I have learned a lot.” I didn’t ask for that plug, but I say thank you.
Anything else, Carline? She says : “Now I would like to work and study. It’s never too late. I’m concentrating on Spanish. Also, I pray for the opportunity to visit New York more often to see my friends and family. So, with this I want to conclude by wishing you and all safe and Happy Holidays! Thank you all for reading and a big thank you to the Haiti-Observateur!”
Raymond A. Joseph, December 11, 2019
this publication is a special collaboration with the weekly newspaper,Haïti-Observateur, edition of december 11, 2019, VOL XXXXIX No.48, and will be found at P.14 : http://haiti-observateur.info/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/H-O-11-d%C3%A9cemb-2019.pdf
