Tribute to Ernst Louis Pierre (Capi)

The sad and overwhelming news reached me this Tuesday, December 16, first through my predecessors who became friends and role models, Reverend Father Ronel Vildor and Lesmarges Valnord, then through my classmates from sixth grade to senior year at Collège Notre-Dame de Lourdes (CNDL) in Port-de-Paix: Ronyde Bélizaire Imbert and Alix Lalanne. A little later, a message from my comrade Yves Martial, a judge at the Gonaïves Court of Appeal, who, like me, began to 'tease the muse' very early, asked me if I had any information about Ernst Louis Pierre, known as Capi.

Finally, through the poignant text 'Adieu Bouboul, un homme et son calcaire,' signed by his faithful friend Jean L. Théagène, and a call from Jackson Pléteau, Inspector General and my former chief of staff at the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training, I was able to confirm the terrible news: my former and eminent professor, mentor, and guide, Ernst Louis Pierre, whom his students and loved ones affectionately called Bouboul, Ti Ernst, or Capi, passed away this Tuesday morning, December 16, at Diquini Hospital.

Ernst Louis Pierre was successively a star journalist at Radio Voix du Nord-Ouest (4VTS) in Port-de-Paix, a French and social sciences teacher and discipline manager at Collège Notre-Dame de Lourdes, a discipline director at Petit Collège Saint-Martial, and a social sciences and literature teacher in numerous schools in Port-au-Prince, notably at Collège de Madame Frank Paul, in Canapé-Vert. He belonged to that rare category of teachers who do not merely teach a subject but shape consciences and awaken vocations. It was through his influence that I chose, with love and and conviction, the noble profession of teaching.

An exceptional educator, Ernst Louis Pierre deeply loved his profession and his students. Rigorous without being rigid, demanding without being humiliating, he knew how to combine discipline with benevolence. He believed in the potential of every student, even the most vulnerable, and took the time to uplift them with the right words, an encouraging look, and a constant example. His pedagogy was based on respect, effort, intellectual curiosity, and a love for the French language. He taught not only how to write and speak well, but above all how to think straight, act justly, and remain dignified. For him, school was a sanctuary, and the teacher, a servant of the spirit.

He went to join his Creator as he lived his entire life: with simplicity, discretion, and serenity, head held high and spirit at peace. An honest and upright man, he always refused, despite numerous solicitations, to get involved in politics as it is practiced in Haiti to this day, preferring to remain faithful to his values and his educational mission.

With the passing of Ernst Louis Pierre, the Haitian school system loses a pillar, and several generations lose a master. But his legacy lives on in the memory of his former students, in the words he sowed, in the lives he illuminated. Rest in peace, dear Master. Your voice is silent, but your teaching continues to speak within us.