Arab Haitians are Haitian citizens of

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

descent. In Haiti, there are a sizable number of Haitians that are either of Middle-Eastern Arab ancestry or who trace their origins to Arab descendants. Hadrami and

Levantine Arabic Levantine Arabic, also called Shami ( autonym: or ), is a group of mutually intelligible vernacular Arabic varieties spoken in the Levant, in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, and Turkey (historically in Adana, Mersin and Hatay on ...

ancestry can be found within the Arab Haitian community known in Arabic as ''Bilad al-Sham'', primarily

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

, Syria and Palestine.

History

The first Arab immigrants to arrive in Haiti reached the shores of the Caribbean country during the middle to late 19th century. During the time, Haiti's business sector was dominated by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

immigrants. Many of them migrated to the countryside where they peddled and were very informal economically speaking.

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, which took place when

was part of the Germany-allied

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, triggered a Lebanese migration to the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

, with Haiti receiving a large number of Lebanese immigrants. Haiti received a score of

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

refugees during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The country was estimated to have about 300,000 residents of

heritage.

Social relations

Arab Haitians are commonly considered as part of the upper class within Haitian society, yet they maintain their own unique presence separate from the very influential and much larger

mixed-race Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-eth ...

and white Haitian populace. For years, they were shunned by the elite mulatto Haitians because of amicable interaction with the poor masses, their willingness to do business with masses and their inability to speak French. This relationship changed gradually over the years as their prominence grew in Haiti's business sector and consequently, a large percentage of them reside and do business in the capital of Port-au-Prince. Middle-class Arab Haitians often are the owners of many of the city's supermarkets.

Notable Arab Haitians

* André Apaid Jr., American-born tycoon (Lebanese descent) * André Apaid Sr., businessman and political activist who was a strong supporter of

Jean-Claude Duvalier Jean-Claude Duvalier (; 3 July 19514 October 2014), nicknamed "Baby Doc" ( ht, Bebe Dòk), was a Haitian politician who was the President of Haiti from 1971 until he was overthrown by a popular uprising in February 1986. He succeeded his father ...

(Lebanese descent) *

Antoine Izméry Antoine Izméry (died 11 September 1993) was a Haitian businessman and pro-democracy activist. Career Izméry, who was of Palestinian descent, was among the wealthiest people in Haiti. He was one of the most prominent backers of former President ...

, murdered wealthy businessman and political activist (Palestinian descent) * Claude Apaid, brother of André Apaid Sr. and owner of the computer company that has secured the government contract to supply voting machines in Haiti (Lebanese descent) * Issa el Saieh, musician, paint artist, and

mini-jazz Mini-jazz ( ht, mini-djaz) is a reduced méringue-compas band format of the mid-1960s characterized by the rock band formula of two guitars, one bass, and drum-conga-cowbell; some use an alto sax or a full horn section, while others use a keyb ...

band leader (Palestinian descent) * Jessie Al-Khal, manager for the compas band

T-Vice T-Vice is a Haitian compas band currently based in Miami, Florida. The group has performed throughout the world, most notably in cities of Miami, New York City, Chicago, Toronto, Paris and throughout the Caribbean through various concerts, carniva ...

; mother of Roberto Martino and Reynaldo Martino (Lebanese descent) *

John Boulos John "Frenchy" Boulos (June 7, 1921, in Haiti – January 16, 2002, in Brooklyn, New York) was a Haitian soccer player, who spent most of his career in the American Soccer League and German-American Soccer League. He is a member of the Nationa ...

, professional soccer player * Pierrot Al-Khal, renowned musician for compas band, Les Gypsies de Pétion-Ville (Lebanese descent) *

Robert Malval Robert Malval (born July 11, 1943 in Port-au-Prince) is the former prime minister of Haiti, his tenure was from August 30, 1993 to November 8, 1994. An industrialist and business leader of Lebanese descent, Malval was appointed on August 16, 1 ...

, Prime Minister of Haiti (1993–1994) (Lebanese descent) * Samir Mourra, businessman and 2006 Haitian Presidential candidate (Syrian descent) * Reynaldo Martino, singer, composer and maestro for the popular compas band,

(partial Lebanese descent) * Roberto Martino, lead singer and guitarist/composer for the popular compas band,

(partial Lebanese descent) * Steeven Saba, Haitian soccer player

References

External links

Al-Shorfa - From Lebanon to Haiti: A Story Going Back to the 19th Century
{{Haitian people Ethnic groups in Haiti

History

Social relations

Notable Arab Haitians

See also

References

External links