Arab Haitians

History

The first Levantine immigrants to arrive in Haiti in the mid 19th century. During the time, Levantine business secnated by Italian immigrants. Many of Levantines 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 1948 Nakba. The country was estimated to have about between 500,000 and 1 million residents of Levantine heritage.

Social relations

Levantine 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 were shunned by the elite mulatto Haitians because of amicable interaction with the poor masses, their willingness to do business with the 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. Middle-class levantine Haitians often are the owners of many of the city's supermarkets.

Notable peoples

• Sherif Abdallah, Egyptian-born insurance businessman
• Gilbert Bigio, billionaire businessman and the wealthiest person in Haiti. (Syrian-Jewish descent)
• André Apaid Jr., American-born tycoon (Lebanese descent)
• André Apaid Sr., businessman and political activist who was a strong supporter of Jean-Claude Duvalier (Lebanese descent)
• Antoine Izméry, 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, band leader, businessman, gallerist, art collector and philanthropist (Palestinian descent)
• Jessie Al-Khal, manager for the compas band T-Vice; mother of Roberto Martino and Reynaldo Martino (Lebanese descent)
• John Boulos, professional soccer player
• Pierrot Al-Khal, renowned musician for compas 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 compas band, T-Vice (partial Lebanese descent)
• Roberto Martino, lead singer and guitarist/composer for the popular compas band, T-Vice (partial Lebanese descent)
• Steeven Saba, Haitian soccer player

References

References

1. "From Lebanon to Haiti: A Story Going Back to the 19th Century".
2. (2010-01-20). "Haiti: 2 local Jews helping Israeli aid".