Levantines in Haiti

Syrian-Haitian women ca. 1950, CIDIHCA.

Last but certainly not the least in this blog's series on immigration in Haiti, the Levantine presence warrants attention. While they continue to arouse the ire of some Haitians, often accused of selling out the country to the US, they are the products of the what is likely the largest wave of immigration to Haiti in the last century. Although estimates vary, perhaps 10,000 Syriens, mostly from Lebanon, were in Haiti by the early 1900s (Syrien being the general term for people of Levantine origin). Local newspapers of the era inflate the number to 15,000 or higher, but without reliable census figures, it was likely much smaller. Indeed, due to the animosity of Le Devoir and other Haitian newspapers in the early 1900s, it was likely in their interest to exaggerate the number of Syriens in Haiti to alarm the authorities. But assuming a lower estimate of, say, 3000 ca. 1910, which is Aubin's guess, remains a large foreign presence distributed in nearly every region of Haiti. Perhaps many or most of these waves of Syriens who came to Haiti between 1890-1915 left, relocating to New York, Mexico, Honduras,  the Dominican Republic, and other destinations. Clearly, there were thousands of foreigners from the Levant operating in Haiti for at least some period in the 25 years preceding the first US Occupation. 

Feminist Yvonne Hakim-Rimpel was the daughter of a Levantine, Eli Abdallah Hakim. Her sister made history as the first female dentist in Haiti.

In Anglophone scholarship, the best works on Levantines in Haiti are by Plummer and Nicholls. The former situates the growing economic power of Levantines within US economic interests in the Caribbean. In short, the Syriens were supported by the US, which sought to supplant Germany and France in Haiti and ensure the Caribbean remained an American lake. Nicholls, on the other hand, compares the Levantines of Haiti with their kin residing in other Caribbean nations. He uses a comparative approach to reach some conclusions about the nature of social relations, national identity, and assimilation in Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and the Dominican Republic through the incorporation or non-incorporation of Levantines in each aforementioned nation. At times, one questions the reasoning of Nicholls for some of his conclusions, especially since anti-Syrien sentiment or policy were present in places where Levantines were assimilable, including Jamaica and the DR. However, Nicholls is probably on to something. For instance, discussions with Haitians  or a quick perusal of Haitian social media do suggest that the Syrien has still not quite been accepted as a Haitian. Additional scholarship in English is difficult to come by, although references to Levantines abound in the literature on the US Occupation, commerce, or the biography of Issa El Saieh. Indeed, Mats Lundahl and Louis Carl Saint Jean's study of Issa El Saieh is a priceless source for information about a prominent Haitian of Arab descent. It explains his Palestinian roots, chain migration from the Levant, his mother's success as a businesswoman, and the ambiguous status of Syrians for much of his life, and El Saieh's role in Haitian music and art. 

Issa El Saieh, born in Petit-Goave to Palestinian parents, led an important band which fused jazz elements with Haitian music. He was immortalized by Graham Greene in The Comedians.

Besides Plummer and Nicholls, a Haitian historian, Joseph Bernard, has also chronicled the history of Arabs in Haiti. In Histoire des colonies arabe et juive d'Haïti, Joseph provides a basic overview of the Arab and Jewish "colonies" in Haiti. The two groups overlap due to the presence of Levantine Jews in Haiti. Bernard credits the Syriens with the introduction of credit in Haiti, outlines their accumulation of capital, and eventual prominence in commerce. Bernard includes cultural production of the era in his overview, such as Vendenesse Ducasse's play, Haitiens et Syriens, which, depicted Syriens in unflattering ways. From the perspective of a social scientist, Labelle's Idéologie de couleur et classes sociales provides a useful overview of social classes in Haiti, often referring to the Syro-Lebanese position in the local social structure. For those interested in literature on Levantines in Haiti, Georgia Makhlouf, a descendant of this community, has written a novel about Haiti, which may be interesting since her perspective is that of a Lebanese woman whose Haitian father returned to the Levant. In addition, a French language documentary on Arab migration to Haiti, Un certain bord de mer, un siècle de migration arabe en Haïti, summarizes the history of Levantines in Haiti while interviewing members of prominent families (Boulos, Acra, Gebara, Apaid, Khawly). 

Part of an article from the 17 Avril 1902 issue of Le Devoir, one of the most consistently anti-Syrien newspapers in Port-au-Prince. Le Devoir was an ardent supporter of the anti-Syrien campaign.

So, where does one begin with tracing the origins of Levantine migration to Haiti? In Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine of the late 19th century, religious persecution and other factors triggered migration to the Americas. These Arabs, mostly Christians with a few Jews among them, were from various villages of Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria, and many brought their families or relatives with them (or sent for them later, often becoming transnational across the Caribbean region). Haiti, along with other parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, received thousands of migrants from the Levant during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One of the reasons Haiti may have received 10,000 or more during the period 1890-1915 is the relaxed attitude of Haitian authorities with regard to documents. Gonzalez's  Dollar, Dove, and Eagle: One Hundred Years of Palestinian Migration to Honduras suggests this may be the reason Haiti was a popular first destination for Levantines coming to the Americas. It also may explain why the population lacked any formal institutions or organizations, since many were only in Haiti for a short period (in addition to official policy discriminating against Syriens after 1903). 

Within a few years of their earliest documented arrival in 1890, newspapers in Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien criticize the Syriens for selling goods in the streets and violating Haitian laws. Almost immediately, negative comparisons are made to the Chinese in the US, with various Haitian newspapers calling for and eventually succeeding in winning anti-Syrien legislation. In fact, heads of state, such as Leconte, provided explicit support for anti-Syrien movements. Laws designed to suppress their growing numbers and curtail their business operations to protect the already weak position of Haitians in commerce de détail were implemented. Furthermore, the 1904 centennial of Haitian independence may have fueled some of the anti-Syrien fervor as local writers and competitors exploited national sentiment or pride. Members of the French and German business community in Haiti also supported these efforts to ensure their own position as Levantines pushed US products in Haiti. Meanwhile, the Syriens, by selling on credit, minimizing their consumption habits (large families allegedly slept in the same room or small homes), traversing the Haitian countryside selling their wares, and receiving protection from US officials (some claimed US citizenship), were able to gradually accumulate capital, enlarge their business concerns, and establish a more permanent foothold.

Interior of the dry goods store owned by Antoine Moussa Talamas in Port-au-Prince. Founded in 1910, a brief description can be found in Haïti, 1919-1920, livre bleu d'Haïti, blue book of Hayti. This Talamas was the grandfather of Issa El Saieh, showing the familial and economic links that bound together various Syrien-owned firms.

Due to repression, looting, and groups like the Anti-Syrien Association, which was formed under Leconte and verified the documents of Syriens, the early Levantine migrants lacked an official association or institution. With the exception of a single restaurant, according to Aubin, they lacked any formal organization which represented them collectively. Since they claimed a variety of nationalities, Syriens could attempt to use French or US citizenship and appeal to those consuls for protection, which they would need. The resentment of the local retailers  and traders, foreign merchants, and, to a certain extent, the popular classes in Haitian towns, must have made the initial experience of Levantines a difficult one to endure. According to Camille Devereux, a cocoa exporter interviewed by The New York Times in 1904 after looting destroyed 3 Syrian shops in Arcahaie, their lifestyle, foreign origins, unhealthy living arrangements, and obsession with making money distinguished them as a problem. Other sources from this era cited by Nicholls also indicate the common perception that the Syrien raised revenue for their families back in the Levant, not investing locally or contributing to national development and industry. Le Devoir compared the situation to that of Argentina, where similar legislation against Syriens were instituted. Unlike other foreigners in Haiti, such as Cubans, who taught valuable skills and often married local women, or Germans who invested in railroads and small-scale industry, the Syrian was accused of parasitism. Indeed, Haiti was not alone in attempting to prohibit Levantine immigration or restrict their commercial activities.

An article from La Ruche also displays anti-Syrien sentiment with regard to corruption and the gros bourgeois during the 1940s. Syriens like Bouez and non-Levantine wealthy businessmen like Oswald Brandt were beneficiaries of Lescot's corrupt administration.

Things begin to improve for Levantines after 1915. The US Occupation completed Haiti's orientation to US finance, industry, and investment, which assisted Syriens who were already tied to US manufacturers or used their networks in New York to buy and sell US goods in Haiti. In 1920, the Syrien community established a formal organization of around 40 members, Club Commercial Syrien, which hosted balls, engaged in charity work, and pursued, as the name would suggest, commercial interests. Members of the organization in the 1920s and 1930s included many of the well-known Levantine families in Haiti: Gebara, Boulos Sada, Shemtob, Bigio. They also hosted Syrian cultural events, bringing speakers such as Habib Estefano to Haiti and promoting Syrian music and culture. Their economic power is also attested by receptions they held for visiting dignitaries, including Horacio Vasquez and Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic. A few, such as the Gebara brothers, launched a cigarette factory with Pantaleon Guilbaud, perhaps one of the first examples of Syrien Haitians investing in industry or manufacturing. These developments suggest a degree of stability for Levantines, as well as attempts to secure their position as well as retain or expand on their connections with other Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian groups in the hemisphere. Unfortunately, they do not appear to have established a newspaper, like their counterparts in the Dominican Republic and elsewhere, but a formal organization like the Club Commercial Syrien and their growing economic clout suggest a degree of permanence. Indeed, the Syrian "colony" were one of the groups who petitioned the US to prolong the military occupation. 

President Leconte was especially supportive of discriminatory policy against Syriens in Haiti.

However, resistance to the US Occupation brought with it noirism, Haitian indigenist affirmation of African-derived culture, the salient "color question," and suspicion of groups perceived as pro-US. The Syriens appear to have become targets under Vincent, since Syrian immigration was banned in 1931. Vincent also promoted a return of Haitians to commerce de detail, one of the things Surprise Jazz's ochan for the president in 1936 praised him for accomplishing. Yet by the 1940s, some Syriens, like Bouez, were able to amass fortunes under Lescot, which likely explains why Levantines were targeted by some of the leftists and radicals in 1946. Undoubtedly, some Syrien families, like their counterparts among the Haitian bourgeoisie and other foreign residents, were corrupt and venal, but political corruption, graft, bribery, and violence were never restricted to Haitians of Arab origin. Of course, for some Haitian leftists critical of the anti-national bourgeoisie, or others eager to find a scapegoat, Levantines were the perfect group to blame for the ills of modern Haiti. 

Ironically, only under Duvalier were Syriens to enter politics as officials. Under Francois Duvalier, a Haitiano-Arabe Club was founded, albeit from above and perhaps not representative of Syriens in any form. Indeed, Nicholls found in his interviews that Syriens who entered politics under Duvalier were the exception. Considering their undeniable economic clout by this time, many were likely used by Duvalier for sources of funds and a few opportunistic ones had no qualms with serving him. Later, by the 1970s, the rise of sweatshops also led to some Levantines founding factories in the 1970s and 1980s, under Jean-Claude Duvalier. But, like others, the Syriens were also targeted by Duvalierist violence, as the case of Issa El Saieh's imprisonment demonstrates. As a group with business interests, they may have preferred a Dejoie over Duvalier, but the stability of the dictatorship may have won some of them over. 

A beautiful song named after the Boutilliers restaurant of Elias Noustas. 

So, what was the impact of the Syro-Libanais in Haiti? After providing a brief sketch above of their history in Haiti, it is clearly tied to commerce, shifting geopolitics of the US in the Caribbean region, and Haitian economic dependency. As an unfamiliar "Oriental" group of the early 1900s, they sparked considerable discontent upon their arrival in a country whose local retailers and merchants were experiencing a decline from Europeans who gradually gained the upper hand. As illustrated by scholars like Michel Rolph-Trouillot, Haiti's economy had long been dominated by foreigners. After 1915, however, instead of French or German domination, the US, particularly through earlier Syrien intermediaries, became the clear hegemonic force. The question of Syriens is also intimately tied to the question of Haitian national identity. As they are neither European nor are they (usually) of African descent, Levantines were an "Other" whose assimilation (or non-assimilation) may reveal something of significance in Haitian national identity. 

The visit of Habib Estefano to Haiti in the 1920s may indicate how Syriens saw themselves in relation to Latin America and the broader Syro-Lebanese diaspora. 

That someone of Levantine descent, like Issa El Saieh, became such a major figure in mid-20th century Haitian music, while also openly embracing elements of popular culture, folklore and Vodou in his band, suggests a great degree of assimilation. Certainly, Issa El Saieh himself, who preferred to speak Creole and English over French (which he associated with the "mulatto" elite), knew of his insider-outsider status. His prominence in Haitian arts is also worth mentioning, as he supported a number of Haitian painters while selling their works through his gallery. Another example, Habib the Syrian in Alexis's In the Flicker of an Eyelid, is ambiguous politically. One does not know who he will support, but like the other Haitian social classes, he has a presence in the Port-au-Prince brothel. Habib is undeniably Haitian, but what kind of Haitian? If one subscribes to the Leyburn thesis, perhaps the Syrien is just an outsider to the Haitian color-caste hierarchy. But the complexity, nuance, and fluid social relations, one which likely assisted the Levantines in their social ascent, makes this less plausible. Particularly under the Duvalier dictatorship and later periods, a degree of intermarriage, business interests, and political goals unite Syriens with their black or "mulatto" peers of similar status or wealth.

Puerto Rican Emigration to Hawaii

This short Puerto Rican documentary on the diaspora in Hawaii is rather informative. It contextualizes Puerto Rican emigration to Hawaii by discussing the political, economic, and social conditions which led to an estimated 5,000 Puerto Ricans relocating to Hawaii in the early 1900s. Part 2 can be found here.

Afro-Asian Studies: An Important Understudied Field

A new area of interdisciplinary study I must learn more about is African-Asian encounters and exchange, both historically and in the present. Perhaps growing up with a half-Chinese brother was an influence on my interest in the subject, but taking a course with professor Michael Thornton at UW about mutual perceptions and intergroup relations of people of color in the United States, which focused on African-American relations with Latinos and Asian/Americans, was an even larger influence. Prior to that course, I had already developed a keen interest in African diasporic studies in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States, as well as a special interest to Africa, particularly pre-colonial Africa. Moreover, the field of African-Asian Studies is particularly relevant to our post-colonial (even if neocolonialism obviously perpetuates the older set of relations between the Global South and the North) world as diasporic communities of Africa and Asia mingle in the metropolitan centers of the former hegemonic powers as well as increasing trade, collaboration, and cultural encounters among African, Asian, and Latin American states increases. In addition, within the centers of former (and current) empire, such as the U.S., interactions between and among people of color may alter the white-black binary in upcoming decades (unless you adhere to black exceptionalism in U.S. racism), as one can see in the case of certain cities in the U.S. in California or New York, as well as London (I am thinking of the collective 'blackness' of South Asians and Africans/Afro-Caribbeans in the UK, who at times are both referred to as 'black,' as well as evidence of Japanese-Americans and African-Americans engaging in anti-racist organizing and radical political coalitions through organizations such as the Black Panthers, etc.). 

Besides social, political, and economic ramifications of increased global exchange between and among people of African and Asian descent both at home and in the diaspora from North to South, Afro-Asian studies is useful for academic inquiry into the presence, history, cultural creolization, and bidirectional influence Africa and Asia exchanged before, during, and after formal European colonial rule. These relations, of course, increased exponentially during and after the rise of European hegemony, against the will of some Africans and Asians while, in some cases, with direct participation of others, but, for me, the pre-colonial relationships are more interesting since so little is known or understood. As the above map indicates, Chinese porcelain and other products found their way well into the interior of Eastern Africa, stretching from the Sudan to what is now South Africa. The map also indicates possible locations along the East African coast that Chinese records occasionally alluded to, some dating back as far as the 8th or 9th centuries. To me, this is particularly interesting as it, well, for instance, indicates African agency, long-distance trade, and cultural and material interactions of local communities from the East African coast to the hinterland and deep into the interior or southeastern Africa, several centuries before the establishment of Portuguese and other European traders along the eastern coast of Africa. Furthermore, it contributes to the dismantling of white supremacist, Eurocentric historical narratives which, unfortunately, persist to this day. Evidence of Asian/African encounters also includes the presence of African slaves, pilgrims, traders, and travelers in Asia, such as potential Aksumite-affiliated traders in Sri Lanka and South Asia, enslaved African-descendants in India and Iran, cultural mixing in some Swahili architecture along the East African coast, and, in the case of Christian Ethiopia, influences from Indian Hindu art and religious symbolism in the Churches of Lalibela and triptychs of a religious nature. Naturally, Chinese and Asian silks, innovations, and artistic and religious symbolism likely impacted many parts of North Africa, too.

Image from a post by Eccentric Yoruba, possible depiction of an African "kunlun" slave in China

As I have blogged about here, East Asian regions such as the archipelago of Japan acquired substantial direct contact with Africans, through Portuguese, Dutch, and, eventually, American racist lens. Thus, the colonial period illustrates the spread of Western European racial theories, perceptions of Africa and African-descendants, and a "West is best" outlook of world cultures and civilizations (despite waves of Sinophilia or Japanophilia in places like France, for instance, other other parts of western Europe) spread to parts of Asia where some cultures in East and Southeast Asia had very little to no conception of experience with Africa, the ramifications of which persist through the recycling of Western European and North American-derived stereotypes, racist films and marketing, and old-fashioned, outdated racial pseudoscience. My aforementioned blog post endeavors to illustrate this rather nasty development through images of dark-skinned and African peoples in Japan from the 16th century to the 20th century, which undoubtedly adopt more Western sambo and racist depictions of Africa, Africans, and the African diaspora, which survives in Japanese popular culture's anime and manga, advertizing, and Japanese ethnocentrism. I am confident a similar analysis could be made in the case of China, or other parts of Asia, such as India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Korea, and other Southeast Asian nations (particularly during and after WWII, where Black soldiers from Africa and the US served). So, one can analyze relations and mutual perceptions between the two regions under the aegis of white supremacist world empire within Africa and Asia, as well as the relationships that existed between the two continents and their peoples in terms of the colonized Americas.

The Caribbean's post-emancipation societies in Trinidad, Guyana, and other parts of the Americas sought to exploit "coolie" labor to ensure the survival of the plantation system and/or cheap labor (the U.S. and the exploitation of Chinese workers for the continental railroad expansion, for instance, stands out, especially since the history of relations between the Chinese and African-Americans in the 19th century is mostly ignored and understudied (except for a great essay on the Chinese-American community in Mississippi that worked so hard to assimilate itself into the White, Anglo-Southern identity of the state). Interactions between Afro-Caribbean and Indian indentured labor in the Caribbean are also of interest for Afro-Asian studies, particularly regarding politics, anti-colonial movements in Trinidad and Guyana, race, and music, such as Trinidadian soca, which blends Indian and Afro-Caribbean influences such as calypso. Or perhaps in Peru and Brazil, where some small Japanese groups settled, provide another case study in Afro-Peruvian and Afro-Brazilian interactions with Japanese and other Asian-descended communities, another area of Afro-Asian exchange understudied. Of course, their movements around solidarity, racial justice, and cultural métissage
in other 'former' imperial centers, such as Desi hip-hop in Chicago or New York, or Trinidadian and Guyanese dougla and other "Blasian" peoples of the world, such as Malagasy, some South African coloureds (at least half of all slaves from the Cape were from Indonesia, India, and Sri Lanka, the other half mostly from Mozambique, East Africa, Madagascar, the latter a zone of Afro-Austronesia/Asian interactions throughout it's human history).

As for the present, China's increasing economic exchanges with Africa is of note, as well as relations between various African regions and India, or the current experiences and struggles of India's Siddis and Sri Lanka's "Kaffirs," minority populations descended from Africans over the last several centuries, mostly slaves. One can also look at the influence of Bollywood in Africa, such as the Senegalese groups of Indophiles or the depiction of Africa and African-descended peoples in Indian film and popular culture. Alternatively, one could focus on youth culture and identities, particularly in the case of "Blasians" in prominent positions or well-known (Tiger Woods, that's you!) or Asian rappers from India, Japan, or anywhere across the globe. Indeed, one could focus on a multitude of various cultural, musical, political, economic, religious, social, and linguistic encounters and mixing that have impacted Afro-Asian relations from ancient history to the unequally 'globalized' 21st century. That's why I love Afro-Asian studies as an academic field, because it challenges the Eurocentric mainstream narratives of world history and race, as well as troubling the narrowly focused lens of African Studies, Chinese Studies, etc. It reveals the intersectional framework's suitability for integrating area studies while illustrating the need for interdisciplinary collaboration and revision of established schools of thought on intergroup relations, race and critical race theory and studies, sociology, ethnomusicology, hip-hop and jazz, slavery studies, and economic and political theory.

Good suggestions for reading are the following:
1. India in Africa, Africa in India: Indian Ocean Cosmopolitanisms
2. Vijay Prashad has written extensively on the subject
3. A book entitled Bengali Harlem tells the unknown story of South Asian immigrants in early 20th century urban American communities who married African-American and Puerto Rican women.
4. This link is quite useful and includes images on Africans in the Indian Ocean world
5. Julie Wilensky wrote a brilliant essay on the subject, "The Magical Kunlun and “Devil Slaves”:
Chinese Perceptions of Dark-skinned People and Africa before 1500."
6. Various articles by sociologists, Asian-American studies academics and researchers, Africanists, African-American Studies specialists, and historians focusing on Africans and African-Americans in the imperial wars of Europe and the US, particularly those who analyze the mixed-race children of African-American soldiers and local Asian women in Korea, Vietnam, or Japan, for instance.
7. John Russell has written a lot on Japanese perceptions of blackness, I highly recommend him!
8. Wagatsuma, a Japanese sociologist, has written about Japanese perceptions of blackness, too, as well as Michael Thornton.
9. Learn more about the Swahili coast of East Africa, perhaps starting with my post on it, here!
10. A potentially useful starter for South Asian/American relations with people of African descent in the US can be found here, in a collaborative effort I wrote with an Indian-American colleague.
11. Literature also offers several interesting directions for Afro-Asian studies. Zadie Smith's White Teeth fuses the families of Bengali-Londoners with those of a mixed-race, Jamaican and white English family, with some useful insights on race relations between and among people of color and whites in the UK. Likewise, V.S. Naipaul, an Indo-Trinidadian-Briton, has written extensively on the Caribbean, Africa, and India, and some reviews of two of his novels by me may be of interest, particularly A Bend in the River. Check out A House for Mr. Biswas, too, if you want to read an epic about an Indian-Trinidadian male in the colonial British West Indies.
12. Keep looking for more, I have come across various academic articles on depictions of Asian/Americans and African-Americans in 'mainstream' (you know, white) films, including Rush Hour, and various blogs, such as "The Blasian Narrative."