Indo-Haitians are Haitians of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n ancestry who immigrated to or were born in
Haiti. As of 2011, there were about 10,000 people of East Indian ancestry or ancestry from the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
living in Haiti, with the overwhelming majority of them being mixed with people of African and European ancestry. Their descendants are known as
Marabous.
Overview
The Indian community in Haiti consists mainly of professionals, businessmen, and volunteers from the congregation of the Sisters of Charity. The community is made up of immigrants from
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
as well as other Caribbean islands such as
Martinique
Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...
and
Guadeloupe. Indo-Caribbean immigrants from other Caribbean islands have intermarried with other Haitian communities. Their descendants are known as
Marabous. There is also an influx of Haitian children born to Afro-Haitian mothers and Sri Lankan Tamil fathers.
2010 Haiti earthquake
During the
2010 Haiti earthquake
A catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest department, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's c ...
, many members of the Indian community have lost their homes had appealed to the Indian government to provide them financial assistance to rebuild their lives.
The Hindu - Indians in Haiti seek monetary help
/ref> There were about 40 Indian families scattered around the country at the time, some of whom had been living with the FPU for several days. Those who were wishing to return to India found themselves unable to do so as they could not get into the neighbouring Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
, which is the only way out of there since there were no direct commercial flights in and out of Haiti.
See also
* Asian Latin Americans
Asian Latin Americans or Latinasians are Latin Americans of Asian descent. Asian immigrants to Latin America have largely been from East Asia or West Asia. Historically, Asians in Latin America have a centuries-long history in the region, star ...
* Indo-Caribbeans
Indo-Caribbeans or Indian-Caribbeans are Indian people in the Caribbean who are descendants of the Jahaji Indian indentured laborers brought by the British, Dutch, and French during the colonial era from the mid-19th century to the early 20th c ...
* Haiti–India relations
References
{{Haitian people
Ethnic groups in Haiti
Haiti
Indo-Caribbean
Tamil Caribbean