Arab Haitians are

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...

an 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

, 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 the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and Palestine.

History

The first Arab immigrants to arrive in

reached the shores of the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both 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 List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, 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 America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

, 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 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...

. 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 Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

Middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Com ...

Arab Haitians often are the owners of many of the city's supermarkets.

Notable Arab Haitians

André Apaid André Apaid, Jr. is a businessman in Haiti known for leading the Group of 184, a coalition which forced Jean-Bertrand Aristide from power in 2004 through a coup d'état in collaboration with the United States. According to Guy Philippe Guy Ph ...

Jr., American-born tycoon (Lebanese descent) *

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 J ...

, 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 Compas, also known as compas direct or compas direk (; Haitian Creole: ''konpa'', ''kompa'' or ''kompa dirèk''), is a modern méringue dance music genre of Haiti. The genre was popularized following the creation of Ensemble Aux Callebasses in ...

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 National S ...

, professional soccer player * Pierrot Al-Khal, renowned musician for

band, Les Gypsies de Pétion-Ville (Lebanese descent) * Robert Malval, 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

band,

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

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