Arab Haitian

infobox ethnic group
group = Arab Haitian


poptime = 4,600 Fact|date=September 2008
popplace = Port-au-Prince, Les Cayes
langs = French, Haitian Creole, Arabic
rels = Christianity, Islam
related = Arabs

In Haiti, exists a small yet visible number of Haitians that are of Middle-Eastern stock or trace their origins to Arab descendants. Hadrami ancestry can be found within the Arab Haitian community. Lebanese and Syrians ancestry however are the most common origins of Arab Haitians, albeit a significant Palestinian contribution as well. 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 and white Haitian populace. For years, they have been shunned by the poor black Haitian because of their association with the "elite" but have gradually begun to become accepted and amicably interact with the poor masses. Arab Haitians are prominent 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.

The first Arabs to arrive in Haiti reached the shores of the Caribbean country during the middle to late 1800s [http://www.heritagekonpa.com/Arab%20%20Haitian%20History.htm "Arab Haitian History"] , "heritagekonpa". Accessed October 22, 2007.] . During the time, Haiti's business sector was dominated by German and Italian immigrants. Many of them migrated to the countryside where they peddled and were very informal economically speaking. World War I, which took place when Lebanon was part of the Germany-allied Ottoman Empire, triggered a Lebanese migration to the Americas, with Haiti receiving a large number of Lebanese immigrants. Haiti received a score of Palestinian refugees during the Arab-Israeli War during the 1940s; Haiti at this time had a heavily marked Arab presence.

Notable Arab and Arab-descended Haitians

*Nathalie Handal renowned writer, poet, and literary researcher
*Antoine Izméry murdered businessman and pro-democracy activist
*Roberto and Reynaldo Martino Compas musicians (partial Arabic ancestry)
*André Apaid American-born Haitian businessman
*Samir Mourra Haitian businessman and 2006 Haitian Presidential candidate

References

ee also

*Arab diaspora

External links

* [http://www.haitixchange.com/hx/forum/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=1&TopicID=4618 HaitiXchange Forum - Arab Haitian History]