Urbanities,
Vol. 3
·
No 2
·
November 2013
© 2013
Urbanities
7
If their geographic knowledge of Brazil appears to be superficial, the same cannot be said
about the assistance network offered particularly by the Catholic Church, beginning in Tabatinga
and extending through Manaus to other Brazilian cities. Since the start of this migratory flow, the
Pastoral Care for Migrants Refugees and Travelers has been one of the main points of reference
for these immigrants in Brazil. This organization not only provides for humanitarian assistance,
such as shelter, learning Portuguese, legal advice; it also operates as a monitoring committee,
directing workers to the local and national labour markets, and as a space for religious and
cultural expression, even if most Haitian immigrants do not declare themselves to be Catholics.
Haitians in Manaus: A Profile in the Making
Data collected in Tabatinga, Brasiléia and Manaus show that the Haitians that enter Brazil
through the Amazon fit the profile of labour migrants – most are young and male. In the three
cities, men account for 88.5%, and women for 11.5 % of the Haitian population in Manaus itself,
it is 84% and 16.0% respectively. Their average age is 28.7, while most range between 20 to 40
years old
3
. The age range has been broadening and Haitians younger than 15, as well as older
than 50, have recently increased. Although most are single, some men report that they have
children or have lived with a companion in Haiti. While women with children are rare, at least in
the first year of the Haitian immigrant wave in Brazil, this is changing as more women and
children, and even some complete families, have arrived.
As regards to schooling, nearly 60% of the Haitians had an elementary school level of
education. Although there is a high degree of illiteracy in Haiti, about 38% of the population
older than 15 (Godoy 2011), and only about 1% of the immigrants said they were illiterate. As far
as basic education is concerned, women have lower schooling than men, reflecting social and
gender inequalities in Haiti. Nevertheless, a significant portion of the immigrants, nearly 30%,
said they had taken technical courses in the Dominican Republic or those offered by international
support institutions in Haiti.
Approximately 5% of the immigrants interviewed had a college level education. Many
had not obtained a degree and seek to continue their studies in Brazil. Concerning their relation to
the labour market, in Haiti men had been working in civil construction, retail commerce,
agriculture, services in the transport sector, and women in hair styling and manicuring, for
example, as well as in informal activities such as food vendors.
The majority of the Haitians came from the capital, Port-au-Prince, and its surroundings,
such as Croix-des-Bouquets, Carrefour, Ganthier and Cabaret. There were also immigrants from
the cities of Gonaìves, Cap-Haitien and Port-de-Paix, which are outside the area struck by the
earthquake. This shows that the reasons for domestic and foreign migration in Haiti goes beyond
current and situational issues, like natural catastrophes. Thus, although the capital, Port-au-
3
A survey conducted by Alex Stepick and Alejandro Portes among Haitians in Florida found an average
age of 29 (Stepick & Portes 1986: 332).
