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#765: HAITI AND ITS DIASPORA
From: Max Blanchet <MaxBlanchet@worldnet.att.net>
Ambassade d 'Haïti
Washington D.C.
HAITI AND ITS DIASPORA: NEW HISTORICAL, CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC FRONTIERS
Gérard Alphonse Férère, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, St. Joseph's University
August 27, 1999, Washington, D.C.
I.- Introduction: The Origin and Growth of the Haitian Diaspora
Originally, the Greek word Diaspora designated exclusively the Jewish
populations scattered over the world after the Babylonian captivity.
Today, its meaning has broadened, and it is employed to refer to any
dispersal of people to foreign soils. In this latter context, we use it
to identify the hundreds of thousands of Haitians living in many
countries of the world.
The Haitian Exodus began soon after rigged elections which put dictator
François Duvalier in power in 1957. Fearing the rampant political
repression and killings, thousands of people left the island and sought
political asylum abroad. Subsequently, the continued repression and
killings, compounded by the deterioration of the economy, compelled
thousands more to flee. During the presidency of Jean-Claude Duvalier,
we witnessed the massive departure of the so-called "Haitian boat
people", mainly toward the shores of the United States. This later wave
was responsible for the very significant growth in the demographics of
the Haitian Diaspora during the 70s and the 80s. In 1984, French
historian Jacques Barros estimated its population at about 800,000 or
even 1,000,000. Although there has been no recent scientific survey, we
can be sure that today's number surpasses the 1,000,000 mark, including
a high percentage of intellectuals, professionals, technicians, skilled
workers, etc. In the United States alone there must be more than 500,000
Haitian émigrés. Among the other countries or regions with a high number
of Haitian settlers, are the Bahamas, Canada, the Dominican Republic,
France, French Guyana, Jamaica, and Martinique. In the Dominican
Republic, there are about half a million individuals identified by the
Dominican Government as Haitians, many of which are not recent arrivals,
but actually native-born Dominicans, who are denied citizenship because
they allegedly "look" Haitian.
So well known is the saga of our "boat people" that there is no need to
dwell upon it here. Let me instead bring to your attention a
not-so-well-known page of Haitian-American history. At the beginning of
the 19th Century, just a few years after the triumph of the Haitian
Revolution, many Americans were given the opportunity to emigrate to
Haiti under a program initiated and financed by its government. In June
1824, when President Jean-Pierre Boyer announced the implementation of
the program, the news was warmly received in many circles in the North
of the United States. On August 23rd of the same year, the ship
"Charlotte Gray" left Philadelphia with a group of 58 people organized
by the renowned Bishop Richard Allen who, 30 years earlier, had to buy
his freedom for 2000 continental dollars. Among the 28 people was the
Bishop's own son, John who carried a letter from his father to President
Boyer, in which the elder Allen wrote:
My heart burns affectionately in acknowledging the kind offers you have
made to these poor oppressed people here in the United States, by
offering them an asylum where they can enjoy liberty and equality.
The US Gazette, Philadelphia, August 24, 1824
A week later, on September 2nd, 1824, 200 people organized by the
"Loring Dewey Society for Promoting the Emigration of Free Persons of
Colour to Haiti" left New York aboard the ship "DeWitt Clinton". On
September 10, the ship "Strong" left Baltimore, and on September 24th,
200 more people left from Philadelphia. It took less than a year for
6000 Americans, including several white families, to immigrate to Haiti,
and to be received with open arms thanks to the generosity of the
Haitians.
II.- The Diaspora and Foreign Immigration Policies
The adoption by many countries of policies unfavorable to our émigrés
has given rise to the creation of community and citizen groups including
both Haitians and nationals dedicated to their protection and defense.
In the United States for example, organizations like the National
Coalition for Haitian Rights, formerly the National Coalition for
Haitian Refugees in New York, the Coalition for Haitian Concerns in
Philadelphia, the Washington Office on Haiti, the Haitian Refugee Center
of Miami, etc., have been at the forefront of the struggle. But so far,
all legislation voted by U.S. Congress, and measures taken by the
Executive Branch have only offered short-term, temporary solutions to
long-term problems, since emigration from Haiti -and other regions -
toward the United States is bound to continue, until its causes are
addressed. It is neither realistic nor fair to expect that America adopt
an open-door policy. But in this country where the rule of law prevails,
our supporters can advocate and obtain due process.
However, such is not the case in some other countries. In the Dominican
Republic, for example, where there are about 500,000 Haitians or alleged
Haitians, as we previously mentioned, the official policy is the
arbitrary deportation, without due process, at any chosen moment, of
thousands of Haitians or people who "look" Haitian. The enforcer is not
their Immigration Service, but the Dominican Army. Paradoxically, every
year the Dominican Government requests the services of thousands of
sugar cane cutters from Haiti since their sugar industry would collapse
without the help of our 'braceros'. Pro-Haitian advocacy in the
Dominican Republic is weak, but we in the Diaspora can help by
supporting the actions of the National Coalition for Human Rights which
has developed a Caribbean Migration and Human Rights Project to
"investigate and propose solutions for the problems associated with
Haitian immigrants living in states throughout the Caribbean region,
particularly with the difficult situation of the various Haitian
populations in the Dominican Republic". The networking of other
pro-Haitian advocacy and community organizations of the Diaspora under
the umbrella of the National Coalition would provide additional human
and financial resources for that valuable agency. It bears mentioning
here that according to I.N.S. statistics, more illegal immigration to
the United States originates from the Dominican Republic than from
Haiti.
The Haitian Diaspora has often demonstrated its resolve. Case in point:
its success at having the Center for Disease Control and the American
Red Cross stop their nonsensical across-the-board inclusion of all
Haitians in their category of AIDS carriers. Properly organized, it can
be instrumental in finding solutions to problems both in Haiti and
abroad.
III.- The Diaspora and Post-Duvalier Haiti: Attitudes and Policies, Dual
Nationality vs. Preservation of Citizenship
After Jean-Claude Duvalier's departure in 1986, certain persons
connected with the old regime tried to rob the Diaspora of the
recognition it deserved for its decisive role in the struggle to defeat
the dictatorship. Those persons seemed anxious to express their
resentment. One of their tactics was to try to adulterate the
respectable meaning of the term itself by making it their favorite curse
word. To this date, such derogatory practice has not vanished from the
mouths of a few individuals. Let us not be misled however by the poor
attitude of a very tiny minority: actually, excellent rapport and
affectionate ties exist between Haiti and its Diaspora. Together they
are writing new chapters in the annals of our history, and opening new
frontiers for our future.
In 1987, in spite of strong opposition from several members of the
Assembly in charge of writing a new Constitution, the majority voted to
include in the Charter some Articles rather unfavorable to hundreds of
thousands of victims of the Duvaliers who had acquired foreign
citizenship during their long forced exile. Some legislators argued that
those expatriates had "renounced their nationality", when in fact, their
necessary, sometimes mandatory option for foreign citizenship was the
consequence of their banishment. Note moreover, that beyond all personal
reasons which may have motivated naturalization, that decision
contributed valuable benefits to Haiti in her struggle to get rid of the
dictatorship, since it allowed naturalized Haitians to act openly
against that regime, without having to violate their host countries
neutrality laws which bar foreigners from such activities.
The Constituents of 1987 ratified the "renouncement" position, but with
a serious flaw: they neglected a prime legal factor, the intent of the
individuals. In the name of justice and for the protection of the
citizen's basic rights, be it in civil, criminal or constitutional
cases, intent cannot be ignored. Moreover, nowhere in the new
Constitution do we find a definition of "renouncement", and the
conditions for its validation. In French, one of the two official
languages of Haiti "renoncer" means "to voluntarily abandon a right".
The Creole version says: moun ki deklare yo pa vle Ayisyen ankò (people
who have declared they didn't want to be Haitians any longer). The
English translation uses "renounce." In any case, renouncing one's
nationality is a voluntary action performed before a legally constituted
entity. No Haitian could have ever made any declaration of this kind,
since there is no such Haitian entity. Nor does American Law make
renouncement a requirement for naturalization. Rather, the United States
has statutes establishing the procedures to be followed by Americans who
wish to relinquish their citizenship. Since most naturalized Haitians
have U.S. citizenship, let us examine some aspects of the American
model.
U.S. citizens may renounce their nationality by formal declaration at
one of their consular or diplomatic representations abroad, or at the
Office of the Attorney General. The 14th Amendment prevents Congress
from revoking a person's citizenship without evidence of his or her
intention to give up said citizenship. American Laws are carefully
worded when they deal with situations where U.S. citizenship may be lost
or abandoned. For instance, for Americans to lose their citizenship
because of foreign naturalization, the law requires that they must do so
with the "intention of giving up their U.S. citizenship". Should the
loss be the result of Government action, there are appeal procedures. On
the other hand, the Government has the right to challenge a citizen's
renouncement. It is worth noting in this regard, that Haitian-American
citizens who have recovered their Haitian nationality upon their return
to Haiti may still hold American citizenship.
It is unfortunate that, after the overthrow of the Duvaliers, Haiti did
not emulate the example of Germany where, after Hitler's defeat, full
citizenship rights were restored to all expatriates who had adopted
foreign nationalities during the Nazi domination. One of those was Willy
Brandt who became Member of the West German Parliament, Lord Mayor of
Berlin, Foreign Minister, and President of the German Confederation.
Ironically, in the case of Haiti, the permanent loss by many former
exiles of their citizenship stands today as a perennial monument to the
Duvalier dictatorship, the Haitian counterpart of Nazism.
Let us hope that, some day, Haiti will find a way to reopen the
nationality door to its thousands of nationals who were first forced out
by the Duvaliers and are now fenced out by the Constitution. Revision of
that Constitution has been suggested, in order to allow
dual-nationality. However, before implementing that long and difficult
procedure, would it not be advisable perhaps to first seek the opinion
of constitutional jurists, regarding the following question: does the
lack of explicit inclusion in the Constitution of the "intent" factor
necessarily signify its ipso facto implicit invalidation?
Should revision be the chosen approach, I believe that the Articles
dealing with the loss and/or renouncement of nationality need not be
abrogated, merely amended in such a manner as to take into account the
intent of the individuals,, as in the American model. Dual-nationality
does not have to be necessarily acknowledged. For instance, while
protecting the right of the citizens to keep their nationality, United
States Law rejects dual-nationality. In our case, what is imperative, is
the promulgation of legislation similar to the American model, which
would formally recognize the concept of Preservation of Citizenship,
i.e. the guarantee that one's nationality cannot be taken away against
his/her will. In addition, a legally constituted entity empowered to
accept or reject voluntary renouncement would have to be created..
IV.- Human Resources of the Diaspora
In his book Haïti de 1804 à nos jours, Jacques Barros writes that in the
1950s, a United Nations report based on world-wide research had
concluded that among the underdeveloped countries of that time, Haiti
was the one Nation that possessed all the personnel it needed for its
development. Today, fifty years later, a similar investigation would
undoubtedly lead to the same conclusions. Even more so, because today's
available personnel is more abundant; even more so, because we have now
a new asset which did not exist in the '50s, i.e. the human resources of
our Diaspora. Never throughout its history has Haiti had among its
nationals, such a wealth of knowledgeable professionals, technicians,
and skilled workers. Ways do exist in which those who are abroad could
play valuable roles in its affairs. One immediately comes to my mind:
for example, why couldn't we ask that foreign governments and
international organizations which send advisers to Haiti consider the
availability of qualified personnel from our Diaspora?
One of the Post-Duvalier administrative measures was the creation of a
Government Office to deal with matters concerning Haitians living
abroad. Later on, the status of that office was raised to the level of
Cabinet Ministry. The present Minister, Mr. Jean Généus, in a letter to
the Haitians living abroad, dated April 29, 1999 lists several of his
planned initiatives. Among them (my summary and translation): the
creation at the international airport of a special information desk to
insure that visiting Haitians have an enjoyable stay in the country; the
organization, this year, of "Diaspora Week" (already took place from
August 16 to August 22, 1999); the discussion of the dual nationality
issue, and of the right to vote; the facilitation of investments
involving the State, the Haitian communities abroad and private sectors;
the utilization of the professional resources of the Diaspora by the
Government in conformity with agreements made with foreign Governments
and international organizations, etc.(end of my summary and
translation). May I respectfully suggest two other possible initiatives
to Minister Généus: 1) Many naturalized Haitians feel hurt when, upon
their arrival on a trip to their native land, they are given temporary
visas allowing them to stay for just a limited number of days in the
mother land they were forced to leave. Why not stop this practice - a
sad reminder that we are still victims of the Duvalier curse - by simply
enacting regulations granting all Haitian-born individuals, of whatever
nationality, the privilege of permanent residency? Such regulation
should require no constitutional amendment. 2) The organization of a
worldwide campaign of rehabilitation of our country's reputation, to
counteract the continued negative propaganda orchestrated by our
detractors. The campaign would be supervised by our Embassies and
Consulates, and the Ministry of Haitians Living Abroad, who would enroll
the help of professionals, intellectuals, artists, etc. from the
Diaspora and the mother country. The initiative taken by Chargé
d'Affaires Louis Harold Joseph to organize a series of cultural events
is a step in the right direction for which he and the personnel of the
Haitian Embassy in Washington deserve praise and encouragement.
In a talk I gave in December 1997 at the "Cercle Antilles" of the United
Nations Caribbean employees in New York, I mentioned some of the planned
initiatives listed by the previous Minister, Mr. Paul Déjean his "lettre
d'adieu"'. Among them (my summary and translation): the organization of
inter-Haitian exchanges within all the branches of the Haitian
communities abroad; the creation of Haitian cultural houses; the urgency
to solve the nationality problem, which, Mr. Déjean says, should not be
taken away or lost except by the voluntary action of the adult
individual before a legally constituted entity, etc.(end of my
translation and summary).
V.- Economic Resources of the Diaspora
In addition to the new human resources, the present economic resources
of our Diaspora did not exist in the fifties. It is estimated that the
financial aid provided by Haitians living abroad to their families,
relatives and friends in Haiti totals more than 600 million dollars
annually. The exact figure is probably higher. Fund-raising events
organized from time to time by charitable and political organizations
from Haiti are known to have brought substantial results. On a broader
scale, the country could benefit from many other advantages, if the
proper steps were taken. For instance, here are two suggestions: first,
an intensive campaign aimed at encouraging more Diaspora Haitians to
visit the country; second, the implementation of long-term plans for the
permanent return of expatriates who are already retired.
Because of the limitations of our physical infrastructures, it will take
a long time to see some improvement in foreign tourism. At present we
only have about 1200 hotel rooms compared to the Dominican Republic's
40,000. But our potential is practically unlimited. More than any other
country in the area, and because of our unique assets - historical
sites, artistic achievements, African-rooted religion and folklore,
excellent climate, cool mountains, miles and miles of beautiful
unspoiled beaches, etc. - we could market a variety of tourism with a
real "vive la différence" flavor. At the same time, we should not
neglect the taste of the more traditional tourist, especially the
American to whom we should be able to offer their favorite pastime:
golf.
Indeed we are now in no position to receive foreign tourists in any
significant number. But our Diaspora population has shown that, as
visitors, they are willing to accept some of the imperfections of their
own land. Nevertheless, their land must be able to offer certain
essential necessities to all, such as: security, water, transportation,
electricity, communication, sanitation, regular and emergency health
care including trauma centers, etc., all problems that Haiti has to face
anyway. Better business arrangements would have to be made in order to
obtain the inclusion of Haiti in the itineraries of more airlines, and
their participation in the improvement of our airport facilities. On the
other hand, the few existing hotels and restaurants of Port-au-Prince
and Pétion-Ville are too expensive. The construction of affordable
commercial lodging, as well as time-share complexes and inexpensive
pied-à-terre bungalows in resort areas, could be promoted by offering
tax incentives to investors.
Finally, my favorite suggestion: a long-term plan aimed at encouraging
the permanent return of retired nationals living abroad. There are now
among the former exiles of the 60s, 70s, and 80s thousands enjoying
comfortable retirement and social security revenues in addition to
personal savings and other assets. However, their return on a large
scale would need to be planned and predicated upon the improvement of
the aforementioned unsatisfactory conditions, especially security,
regular, emergency and trauma healthcare, and housing. In reference to
the latter, and in view of the demographic saturation of the
Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, the construction of new residential
and retirement neighborhoods outside the Capital would have to be
facilitated. The government could sell land at reasonable prices to the
retirees, or to other people who would want to participate in the
program, in regions of the interior or the coast already provided, or to
be provided with access roads. However, its role should be strictly to
facilitate the implementation of the program, without impeding its
progress and the free flow of capital through counterproductive demands.
Imagine the tremendous concrete impact the realization of such a plan
could have on Haiti's present and future. On the conservative assumption
that the retirees expenditures for the construction of a home would
average just about $100,000, the return of 2000 heads of households per
year would lead to the instant infusion of $200,000,000 dollars into the
economy, plus the immediate and consistent improvement of our housing
market. Note that the housing market is such an important factor that,
in the United States, it is among the indices used by financial experts
to determine the vitality or weakness of the overall economy.
Let us have a dream and envision the return, in a few years, of some
20,000 retirees who would spend an average of about $25,000 to $30,000 a
year for their living expenses. This would represent an annual input of
$500,000,000 to $600,000,000 into the economy, in addition to the
aforementioned amounts, all of it money coming from abroad. Among other
things, this influx of dollars would increase the country's cash flow,
strengthen its national currency, lower the cost of imports, and improve
its balance of payments. It would permeate through all layers of Haitian
society, and would not be charity from foreign donors with strings
attached. In addition, many fringe benefits would derive from the
presence of retirees who would volunteer their services to schools,
hospitals, churches, charities, community organizations, and so forth.
To some people who may feel apprehensive about Diaspora Haitians
arriving in Haiti to seek employment in an already depleted job market,
allow me to respond by stressing the fact that the returnees, in the
area of economics, would come not to take from their country, but to
give to their country, and in the area of human relations, to share in
the love that we all feel for our mother land. Therefore, let us not
think of such a project as an impossible a dream, when what is required
for its realization is only a vision of a better Haiti, and the will
that the vision come to pass. Let us not allow the present difficulties
faced by our country to cloud the horizon of our hopes. Instead, why not
together paraphrase the poignant quote from George Bernard Shaw, used by
Senator Edward Kennedy in his brother's eulogy: "Some men see things as
they are and say 'why', let us dream of things that never were and say
'why not'".
The remarks of Dr. Férère do not necessarily reflect the policies of the
Government of the Republic of Haiti
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