Levantine Haitians ( French: Levantine ''haïtiens'';

Haitian Creole Haitian Creole (; , ; , ), or simply Creole (), is a French-based creole languages, French-based creole language spoken by 10 to 12million people worldwide, and is one of the two official languages of Haiti (the other being French), where it ...

: ''Ayisyen levantin)'' are

Haitians Haitians ( French: , ) are the citizens and nationals of Haiti. The Haitian people have their origins in West and Central Africa with the most spoken language being the French based Haitian Creole. The larger Haitian diaspora includes individu ...

of full or partial Levantine ancestry, including Levant-born immigrants to

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

History

The first Levantine immigrants to arrive in

in the mid 19th century. During the time, Levantine business secnated by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

immigrants. Many of Levantines migrated to the countryside where they peddled and were very informal economically speaking.

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, which took place when

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

was part of the Germany-allied

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, triggered a Lebanese migration to the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

, with Haiti receiving a large number of Lebanese immigrants. Haiti received a score of

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

refugees during the 1948

Nakba The Nakba () is the ethnic cleansing; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; of Palestinian Arabs through their violent displacement and dispossession of land, property, and belongings, along with the destruction of their s ...

. 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 The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...

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 Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

Middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

levantine Haitians often are the owners of many of the city's supermarkets.

Notable peoples

* Sherif Abdallah, Egyptian-born insurance businessman *

Gilbert Bigio Gilbert Bigio is a retired Haitian businessman. He is the founder of GB Group and Haiti's only billionaire. He was sanctioned by the Government of Canada for his involvement in arms trafficking and human rights violations in Haiti. Bigio is als ...

, 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 Jean-Claude Duvalier (; 3 July 19514 October 2014), nicknamed "Baby Doc" (, ), was a Haitian dictator who held the presidency of Haiti from 1971 until he was overthrown by a popular uprising in February 1986. He succeeded his father François ...

(Lebanese descent) *

Antoine Izméry Antoine Izméry (died 11 September 1993) was a Haitian businessman and pro-democracy activist. Career Izméry, who was of Palestinian descent, was among the wealthiest people in Haiti. He was one of the most prominent backers of former President ...

, 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 Issa Joseph El-Saieh (22 February 1919 – 2 February 2005), also known as Maestro, was a Haitian – of Palestinians, Palestinian descent – saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, composer, arranger, businessman, gallerist and art collector. T ...

, musician, band leader, businessman, gallerist, art collector and philanthropist (Palestinian descent) * Jessie Al-Khal, manager for the

compas Compas (; ; ), also known as konpa or kompa, is a modern méringue dance music genre of Haiti. The genre was created by Nemours Jean-Baptiste following the creation of Ensemble Aux Callebasses in 1955, which became Ensemble Nemours Jean-Bapti ...

band

T-Vice T-Vice is a Haitian konpa band currently based in Miami, Florida. The group has performed throughout the world, most notably in cities of Miami, New York City, Chicago, Toronto, Paris and throughout the Caribbean through various concerts, carniva ...

; mother of Roberto Martino and Reynaldo Martino (Lebanese descent) * John Boulos, professional soccer player * Pierrot Al-Khal, renowned musician for

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

band,

(partial Lebanese descent) * Roberto Martino, lead singer and guitarist/composer for the popular

band,

(partial Lebanese descent) * Steeven Saba, Haitian soccer player

References

External links

Al-Shorfa - From Lebanon to Haiti: A Story Going Back to the 19th Century
{{Haitian people Ethnic groups in Haiti Arab diaspora in the Caribbean

History

Social relations

Notable peoples

See also

References

External links