Centre International de Documentation et d'Information Haitienne Caraibéenne et Afro-Canadienne
Centre International de Documentation et d'Information Haitienne Caraibéenne et Afro-Canadienne
Pic de la Mirandole, cit� par le cardinal Henri de Lubac, dit quelque part que Dieu, s�il a bien cr�� l�homme, avait bien pris soin de seulement l�esquisser, lui laissant le soin de se terminer lui-m�me. L�homme est devenu alors � une sculpture qui est son propre sculpteur, se donnant lui-m�me la forme d�finitive qu�il veut �, et son burin est sa volont�. En fin de compte, disait Pic de la Mirandole, en nous cr�ant, Dieu ne nous aurait offert que la mati�re premi�re que nous devions traiter.
Cette assertion de Pic de la Mirandole s�applique merveilleusement � Edouard Anglade. Au sens propre comme au sens figur�. Au sens propre d�abord : On ne conna�t personne qui autant qu�Edouard Anglade ait autant fa�onn� son corps. Tout au long de sa vie, il prit soin de le fortifier. Il avait, jeune, une constitution fr�le, et il a voulu la rendre forte, sans savoir encore que ce corps endurci allait plus tard lui servir dans le m�tier qu�il allait embrasser, celui de policier. Et jusqu�� la fin de sa vie, il devait exercer son corps, allant trois fois par semaine � la salle de gymnastique, participant r�guli�rement au marathon de Montr�al. Il devait �galement prendre soin de le nourrir sainement, mangeant selon une di�te tr�s stricte, salant � peine sa cuisine, n�utilisant que tr�s peu de graisse, et souvent pas du tout, consommant beaucoup de l�gumes, de fruits, constamment � la recherche des � produits sant� �. Il �tait tellement soucieux de maintenir son corps en �tat qu�un de ses amis lui lan�a un jour, en riant : � Mon cher Edouard, tu mourras en parfaite sant� ! �
Cependant, la r�v�lation de Pic de la Mirandole s�applique aussi, en ce qui concerne Edouard Anglade, � son �tre profond.
De l�enfant g�t� et choy� qu�il fut � l�homme responsable qu�il devint, c�est un itin�raire qu�Edouard Anglade emprunta et qui ne fut pas n�cessairement �vident. Filleul du pr�sident d�alors de la R�publique d�Ha�ti, Franck Sylvain, il fut tr�s t�t fascin� par les apparences du Pouvoir, par ses manifestations ext�rieures. Ces soldats claquant leurs bottes astiqu�es � miroir au passage du pr�sident, ces souhaits ex�cut�s aussit�t exprim�s, les parades de militaires sur le Champ de Mars, les d�fil�s incessants des flagorneurs, des solliciteurs, des demandeurs de � jobs � pr�ts � sacrifier leur �me pour une pr�bende� tout cela �tourdissait le jeune Edouard, tout cela lui montait � la t�te. Pourtant, exactement comme il l�avait fait pour son corps, il a remodel� son esprit, ou plut�t, pour rester dans la terminologie de Pic de la Mirandole, l�a termin�, l�a men� de l�admiration b�ate des expressions du pouvoir � la mise en service du pouvoir au b�n�fice du public. De celui qui admirait le militaire dans son uniforme chamarr�, fier et soumettant tout � son bon plaisir, au policier mettant tout au service des citoyens, ce fut tout un parcours pour Edouard Anglade !
Edouard Anglade arriva au Qu�bec en 1964. Il n�a pas trouv� imm�diatement sa voie, ou plut�t sa vocation. Cela lui prit quelque temps pour savoir ce qu�il voulait �tre, ce qu�il voulait faire, et ce fut seulement dix ans plus tard, en 1974, qu�il fut commissionn� policier de la Ville de Montr�al. Ce qui para�t aujourd�hui �vident ne l��tait pas � l��poque : en effet, la Ville de Montr�al, ce qui peut sembler bizarre aux jeunes d�aujourd�hui, ne comptait avant 1974 aucun policier noir, et Edouard fut le premier policier noir de cette Communaut� urbaine. Non seulement ce ne fut pas �vident, mais ce ne fut pas facile.
Le racisme, qui parfois est seulement la r�action d�un groupe ferm� contre toute intrusion �trang�re, un moyen de d�fense contre l�arriv�e d�un �l�ment allog�ne, un r�flexe d�autod�fense, ne mis pas longtemps � rattraper Edouard Anglade. Il dut se battre non seulement contre le racisme de ses coll�gues, mais aussi et peut-�tre surtout contre une r�action, qui pouvait para�tre normale, et qui �tait d�opposer une esp�ce de contre-racisme aux pr�jug�s ambiants. Il lui fallait lutter contre soi-m�me afin de ne pas d�velopper en lui une culture du ressentiment, et analyser et comprendre les r�actions de son milieu de travail : seulement alors, arm� de ce savoir, il pourrait lutter efficacement contre le racisme. C�est ce qu�il a fait avec bonheur. Il a compris qu�il ne s�agissait pas seulement de lutter contre le racisme, mais il s�agit de comprendre les conditions permettant l�existence du racisme et aider le raciste et la soci�t� � se d�barrasser de ce fl�au. C�est ce qu�Edouard Anglade a fait. Il a compris que se lancer dans des entreprises d�sesp�r�es, extr�mes, violentes, renforce le racisme et conforte le raciste dans ses pr�jug�s.
L�idole, en ce sens, d�Edouard Anglade, la figure qu�il se donnait en exemple, �tait Jackie Robinson., qui fut le premier Noir am�ricain � pratiquer professionnellement le baseball. La comparaison entre les deux hommes est en effet facile : ils furent, les deux, chacun en son genre, des pionniers. Les deux furent oblig�s de lutter pour faire reconna�tre leurs m�rites et leurs comp�tences, et les deux furent des exemples pour leur communaut�.
Il y a deux moment phares dans la vie professionnelle d�Edouard Anglade : la premi�re est son �quip�e comme agent double de la police, agent secret de la Brigade des stup�fiants, noyautant un groupe de trafiquants de drogue et permettant leur capture et la fin de leur trafic. Ce n�est pas sans crainte qu�il accepta cette mission. Le milieu des trafiquants de drogue n�est pas un milieu de boy-scouts et de bienfaiteurs de l�humanit� ; il risquait sa vie. Il avait peur. Il se persuada qu�il devait vaincre cette peur. Peut-�tre s��tait-il dit, comme le mar�chal Turenne s�adressant � son corps : � Tu tremble, carcasse, tu tremblerais encore davantage si tu savais o� je veux te mener. � Le vrai courage, ce n�est pas l�absence de peur, le vrai courage consiste � surmonter sa peur. Cet �pisode de la vie d�Edouard Anglade confirme encore sa volont� de se finir lui-m�me, d��tre son propre sculpteur. Son exp�rience est relat�e dans son livre paru aux �ditions du CIDIHCA sous le titre : � Nom de code Mao �. Cet ouvrage eut un succ�s consid�rable et est consid�r� par les �ditions du CIDIHCA comme son best-seller.
Le deuxi�me moment fort de la carri�re d�Edouard Anglade fut celui, en 1988, o� il fut oblig� d�intenter un proc�s devant le Tribunal du Travail un proc�s pour harc�lement et discrimination contre la Police de Montr�al. Il gagna son proc�s, et son cas fait jurisprudence devant les tribunaux. L� encore il lui fallut du courage pour se lancer dans ce proc�s, et du courage � un double titre : utiliser les moyens que la soci�t� qu�b�coise mettait � sa disposition pour combattre l�injustice, et non pas se lancer dans une entreprise d�sesp�r�e et ill�gale qui ne serait qu�un acte de pure vengeance. Et du courage pour entreprendre une action qui paraissait � prime abord comme insens�e � puisque les choses �tant ce qu�elles sont, le racisme existera toujours �.
Edouard Anglade a compt� trente ans de carri�re � la Police de Montr�al. Il a re�u beaucoup de prix pour l�ensemble de sa carri�re. Il est r�cipiendaire de deux Prix du Gouverneur G�n�ral pour services distingu�s, d�cern�s, le premier, en 1995, par le Tr�s honorable Rom�o Leblanc, le second en 2004, par la Tr�s Honorable Adrienne Clarkson. Par ailleurs, la police de Montr�al lui a attribu� un certificat de reconnaissance pour conduite exemplaire pendant plus de trente ans de service.
Quelque temps avant sa mort, Edouard Anglade s��tait lanc� � surtout pour le principe � dans une guerilla contre la Grc, la Gendarmerie Royale du Canada qui, malgr� ses �tats de service et sa conduite irr�prochable, a rejet� sa candidature � la participation du d�ploiement de policiers � la retraite que le Canadem a envoy� en Ha�ti pour entra�ner les policiers ha�tiens. La mort l�emp�cha de poursuivre son combat.
Ce fut dans son cercueil, quand on exposa son corps, que l�on put se rendre compte combien, effectivement, Edouard Anglade avait fa�onn� son corps � sa volont� : froid et dur comme l�acier de son revolver, il l�avait martel� son corps � son gr�, lui donnant l�aspect qu�il lui avait plus de lui donner, tendu, ramass�, � un pharaon � comme l�avait constat� un de ses cousins, � tel qu�en lui-m�me enfin l��ternit� le fit �.
Pic de la Mirandole, quoted by Cardinal Henri de Lubac, has apparently said that God, if in deed he created man, has only sketched him, leaving him to do the rest. Man has thus been �a sculpture that is its won sculptor, able to give himself the final form that he desires� and his chisel is his will. To sum it up, as expressed by Pic de la Miraondole, in creating us, God has given un the raw material that we have to master..
Such an declaration can very well apply to Edouard Aanglade both figuratively and otherwise. Realistically, we know no one, other than Edaourd Amglade, who has done so much to bring his own body into being. He spent his life giving it the best of care. As a young man, he was flimsy he wanted to become stronger although he did not know at the time the importance of a strong body in the career he would embrace, that of a policeman. Throughout his life, he kept in shape, going three times a week at the gym and taking part regularly in the Montreal marathon. He also took care of his nourishment, keeping a strict diet, using little salt, using almost no fat, eating lots of vegetables and fruits and constantly looking for �health foods�. He was so concerned with his health that a friend of his once joked: My dear Edoaurd, you will die in good health!�
the Pic de la Mirandole�s revelation does apply to Edaourd Anglade with a more profound meanings.
From the spoiled child that he had been to the responsible adult that he became, the road he took was not obvious at first. As the godson of Franck Sylvain, at the time President of Haiti, he was fascinated by the allure of the power and its exterior manifestations. Soldiers clacking the heels of their shiny boots as the president passes, his wishes executed as they are expressed, the military parades he would preside over, the constant flow of fawners, of solicitors, of people asking for jobs and willing to give their soul in exchange for an emolument�all this fascinated the young Edouard, it all went to his head. However, just as he had done with is body, he remodelled his spirit or rather, to stick to the words of Pic de la Mirandole, he finished it, moving from the blind admiration of displays of power to putting himself at the service of the power for the benefice of all. For Edouard Anglade, it has been a long road to go from the admirer of the military men with their brocaded uniforms, proud and submitting every little thing to their pleasure, to the policeman serving at the service of the citizens.
Edouard Anglade moved to Quebec in 1964. He had not yet defined his future, where he wanted to go, what would be his vocation. It took him some time to know what he wanted ot be, what he wanted to do, and it�s only 10 years after that he was sworn in as a policeman for the city of Montreal. What seems easy now was not so at that time. As a matter of fact, and it would seem strange to young people today, the city of Montreal had no black policeman in 1974 and thus, Edouard became the first one in this urban community. And that was not simple nor was it evident.
Racism, this reaction of a closed group to whoever comes from the outside, a mean of defence against a non native individual, a reflex of self defence, soon rose against Edouard Anglade. He not only had to fight the racist attitude of his colleagues, but also this reaction, which would seem normal to some, and that consists of displaying counter-racism in face of the prejudices felt. He had to fight against himself avoiding to give into a culture of resentment. He had to analyse and understand the attitudes he faced in his job. Only then could he fight racism, and this is what he accomplished well. He understood that fighting racism was his only goal; he had further to help the community get rid of this plague. And he did. He understood that going into desperate, extreme and violent actions only reinforces racism and reassure the racist in his position.
In dealing with those issues, his role model was Jackie Robinson who was the first African-American to be a professional baseball player. In deed, it�s easy to establish a comparison between the two men: In their respective fields, they were both pioneers. They both had to fight to be recognized for their merits and competence, and both have set example for their communities.
There are two distinct moments in the professional career of Edouard Anglade: the first being the time he was an undercover agent for the police, a secret agent of the Drug team, finding groups of dealers leading to their capture and the end of their traffic operations. It isn�t without dear that he accepted this mission. Dealing with drug dealers is not dealing with boy-scouts or with benefactors of humanity. He was risking his life. He was scared. He convinced himself that he had to overcome his fears. May be did he say to himself what General Turenne had said: �You are shaking old bones, you would shake event more if you knew where I was taking you�. Real courage is not to fear but to overcome fear. This experience confirms his will to accomplish himself, to be his own sculptor. This part of Edouard Anglade career is narrated in a book published by the CIDIHCA and titled: Name code Mao. The book had considerable success and the CIDIHCA publications consider it as his beset seller.
The second important moment in the life of Edouard Anglade was in 1988, when he was forced to take the Montreal Police force to Labour Court on the basis of harassment and discrimination. He won and his case is a precedent in local courts. There again, he needed to be courageous. He had to under take this action and use the possibilities made available to him by the Quebec society to fight injustice instead of taking desperate and illegal actions that would only be acts of vengeance. Et du courage pour entreprendre une action qui paraissait � prime abord comme insens�e � puisque les choses �tant ce qu�elles sont, le racisme existera toujours �.
Edouard Anglade had a thirty years career in the Police of Montr�al. He was awarded several prized throughout this career. He received the prize of the governor General twice for his services: The first time in 1995 by The Most Honourable Romeo Leblanc, the second time by The Most Honourable Adrianne Clarkson. Further, the Montreal Police gave him a certificate for his commendable conduct during his 30 years of service.
Shortly before his death, fighting the principle, he took action against the Royal Canadian Police which, in spite of his services and flawless conduct, rejected his application to joint the retired policemen sent to Haiti to train the local police force. His death put an end to this fight.
It is when he was laid for viewing in his coffin that one could really see how Edouard effectively had sculpted his body to his liking : cold and hard as the steel of his pistol. He has hammered it to give it the shape he wished to have, stiff, well groomed, a �pharaoh� as one of his cousins described him � as in himself eternity had shaped him�.
