Urbanities,
Vol. 3
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No 2
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November 2013
© 2013
Urbanities
4
68 people were interviewed, 64 men and 4 women. In Brasiléia, 46 were interviewed, 43 men and
3 women. The data collected, while incomplete, helped us to outline a profile of Haitians in the
Amazonian context. It is important to note that in Tabatinga the Catholic Church’s Pastoral for
Migrants helped us to approach the Haitians. In Brasiléia we had support from the coordinator of
the lodging, Mr Damião Borges, an employee of the Secretariat for Human Rights of Acre. The
problem of communicating with the Haitians was partially solved by using Spanish, which most
of them speak. For those who only spoke Creole, we had volunteer help from those Haitians who
could translate into Spanish.
Brazil for Haitians: Building a Migratory Imagery
The Haitian presence in the Amazon began to be noted in early 2010. This phenomenon
intensified soon after the January 2010 earthquake that violently shook Haiti, and particularly the
capital, Port-au-Prince. Nevertheless, beyond the chaotic scenario produced by the earthquake,
the emigration of Haitians to Brazil is part of a broader process of reproduction of capital on an
international scale which since colonial times has made Haiti an exporter of raw materials and
labour. Research findings show that Haitians have traditionally emigrated to the Dominican
Republic (Perusek 1984), Cuba (Couto 2006), the United States (Stepick and Portes 1986¸
Schiller 1977) and to Canada, Venezuela, France, French Guyana and other Antilles countries. In
this perspective, the search for work has been one of the fundamental elements of this
phenomenon, which certainly not new in Haiti’s history took new forms in the aftermath of the
catastrophe that affected that country as a whole. Given that Brazil had previously not been part
of Haitians’ emigration route, it is important to ask why they ‘chose’ Brazil.
The examination of some less obvious issues involved in this new migratory flow can
help us understand the inclusion of Brazil as yet another option in a range of historically
established migratory flows. A key role has been played by the increased restrictions to enter
countries such as the United States. Particularly after September 11
th
2001, US immigration laws
have become more restrictive and those who are in the US without proper authorization are more
strictly prosecuted (Póvoa Neto 2010: 506). On the other hand, the economic difficulties faced by
the United States and by some European countries have significantly decreased their attraction
for Caribbean and South American immigrants. Another important factor is Brazil’s military
presence in Haiti since 2004, as leader of the U.N. peacekeeping forces, known as MINUSTAH.
Such presence can be viewed from different perspectives. For example, Fernandes (2011)
suggests that Brazil’s military role is more related to the country’s international political interests
than to a concern for providing humanitarian assistance.
We also should not underestimate the importance of structural factors, such as the
redirecting of relief funding, internal power disputes and corruption, environmental disasters such
as hurricanes that preceded the devastating earthquake, and a general lack of basic services and
facilities. The lack of hope for rapid change is due, at least in part, to the fact that Haiti is seen as
