Ok, I have decided to resurrect this thread since HQueen has just informed me that it had made a huge spash upon its publication...So ENJOY! Oh, if u are of Arab descent, or possess sum ancestry, I invite you to be active member on this thread! It would greatly be appreciated. I don't know much about Arab Haitians and would like to know more...NOW ON WITH MY SEARCHES....
Let's start off with the first article ever to be published on Arab Haitians...
Arab Haitians become more vocal, visible
Haitians of Arab descent are a small group in South Florida, but they are fast emerging as more vocal, more visible and even more political.
He grew up eating traditional dishes such as kibbe and tabbouleh. He listened to the lilt of the Lebanese dialect as his grandfather passionately discussed the issues of the day. He danced to the distinct sound of the music.
But even as Pierre Saliba enjoyed Middle Eastern culture, it was the cultural nuances of his real homeland, Haiti, that came to define much of his character.
''I am Haitian. My heritage is Lebanese,'' said Saliba, 43, a Pembroke Pines accountant who was born in Port-au-Prince and raised in Les Cayes, an isolated seaport on Haiti's southern coast. ``All of my core values, what I believe in, my basic education, I got them in Haiti. All were shaped in Haiti.''
Several generations after their grandparents arrived in Haiti from Lebanon and other Middle Eastern countries, Saliba and other Haitians of Arab descent are still fighting for inclusion in a Haitian community that sometimes considers them outsiders.
Now their battle has been transplanted to South Florida, where the Arab-Haitian community is concentrated in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.
Their numbers are small, but growing. Of the 214,893 Haitians living in South Florida, only 201 identified themselves as Haitians of Arab descent, according to a Herald analysis of U.S. Census data from the Minnesota Population Center at the University of Minnesota.
The Arab Haitians say they're proud of both sides of their heritage.
''I always let people know I am Haitian,'' said South Dade's Delices De France bakery owner Patrick Baboun, whose mother emigrated from Palestine to Haiti in the 1940s after meeting his father, a Haitian of Palestinian descent. ``They are surprised, but I want them to see that we are hardworking people.''
And it's not just non-Haitians who are surprised to see a white or olive-skinned person speaking Creole.
''Yesterday, I was at a supermarket and talking Creole to a cousin of mine, and the people at the cash register were surprised,'' said Ronald Rigaud, owner of Miami's Citronelle restaurant whose mother is of Lebanese descent and whose dad's French-German roots date to before the Haitian Revolution.
'They asked, `You're Haitian?' I answered, 'Yes I am. What do you think?' I am beyond being offended by it.''
From Haitian bakeries to shipping companies to Coral Gables' upscale Galerie d'Art Nader, which promotes high-end Haitian art, the community is making its presence known in South Florida.
It is becoming more vocal and visible, and even political, as Haitians of all backgrounds debate the ouster of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
''You reach a point where you can no longer stand on the sidelines,'' said Dr. Ranley Desir, 46, a South Florida cardiologist whose father is a black Haitian and whose mother was born in northwest Haiti to Lebanese parents.
For Desir, the point arrived in December 2003, when university students in Haiti led one of the largest demonstrations against Aristide. More than 500 Haitians and Haitian Americans subsequently held an anti-Aristide rally in front of downtown Miami's Torch of Friendship. Among them were Arab Haitians like Desir.
''I don't usually go on the streets and protest, but you have to defend what is right,'' said Desir, who shares a medical practice with his cousin and fellow cardiologist Dr. Ralph Nader. Nader's siblings run the family-owned Coral Gables art gallery.
''Things were not acceptable in Haiti,'' Desir said.
The events in Haiti and the high-profile involvement of one of their own -- wealthy U.S.-born businessman Andre Apaid Jr. -- in Aristide's ouster have served as a rallying cry for the local Arab-Haitian community.
Apaid, who is of Haitian-Lebanese parentage, is the public face of a coalition of more than 300 public and private groups in Haiti, which in addition to demanding Aristide's resignation, called for a new social contract between all Haitians.
The revolt against Aristide, who portrayed himself as a champion of the poor masses, resurrected old class and racial tensions in Haiti's highly class-conscious society, where until recently, Arabs were not embraced by Haitian elites.
Aristide became public enemy No. 1 to some after publicly berating the elite -- including Arabs, often prosperous business people in Haiti -- for not doing their part to improve the lives of the poor.
''How many generations does it take for one to be Haitian?'' said Mario Delatour, an independent Haitian filmmaker who has spent the past year filming a documentary on the Arab-Haitian community, tracing its migration from Syria, Lebanon and Palestine in the 1800s and during World Wars I and II to the Port-au-Prince waterfront.
``They still point the finger to them because of their flesh tones. We are talking fourth-generation now -- 1890 to 2005. Can you call them Arabs? No. They are of Arab extraction, but they are Haitian.''
Delatour said the first documented group of Arabs arrived in Haiti in 1890. Christian minorities, they were leaving the Ottoman Empire.
''They came dirt-poor, and now a hundred years later they are a force to be reckoned with,'' Delatour said.
Once in Haiti, they were shunned by the elite but embraced by the poor masses, to whom they sold textiles. They also mastered the Creole language, sent their children to Roman Catholic schools and taught them the Haitian way of life.
When various Haitian presidents attempted to expel them from the country by enacting anti-Arab laws, some left but soon returned.
It wasn't until Haiti's president-for-life, Francois ''Papa Doc'' Duvalier, seized power in 1956 that Haitians of Arab decent began to see progress. Duvalier made them political allies and named Carlo Boulos as the first Haitian of Arab descent to be health minister, Delatour said.
Today, Boulos' son Dr. Reginald Boulos is a physician who serves as president of the Haitian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Port-au-Prince.
Carl Fombrun, a South Florida Haitian radio commentator who is not an Arab, said the Arab Haitians have been successful because they have focused on business enterprises. Fombrun, a light-skinned Haitian from a prominent family, said members of his class have tended to obtain professional degrees while the Arab Haitians provide services, mostly in the textile business. Haitians, he said, need to overcome their biases and suspicions of Arabs. Still, some Haitians remain skeptical about the group.
''I am very cautious of this growing involvement,'' said Gepsie Metellus, a local Haitian community activist. ``Frankly, they don't have a good track record of affirming their Haitian-ness, of actually contributing to the social, political and cultural growth of the island they claim to be their homeland.''
Metellus said that while she agreed with many Arab Haitians in denouncing Aristide's ''dictatorial tendencies,'' ``I clearly know they are not my allies.''
Saliba, the forensic accountant who helps build Habitat for Humanity homes in Little Haiti and lobbies Gov. Jeb Bush on Haitian issues, doesn't disagree that there are those among his group who should do better at sharing the wealth.
''I cannot say 100 percent she is right and 100 percent she is wrong . . . this is a fight we cannot win,'' he said. ``It's very hard for good people to help this community. They don't make it easy for you even if you are not Haitian. When they see you really want to help and the community is responding to you, they will pull the race card.''
Haitians, he said, have to learn to live with each other.
''We are proud to be Haitian,'' he said. ``Right now, in this community, whether they like ir or not there is an emerging [Arab-Haitian] community, people moving down from New York, Boston, to South Dade. You will see more of us.''
Herald database editor Tim Henderson contributed to this report.
Most of Haiti's Arab community can trace their roots to Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, with a few families from Jordan and Algeria. Key dates:
• 1890: A group of 30 Arab Christians arrive from greater Syria (which then included Lebanon) in Port-au-Prince's harbor, where Italians and Germans ran many of the businesses.
• 1890-1903: The migration continues. Shunned by the elite, Arabs head to the countryside, where they peddle textiles on the streets and open businesses. They are said to have introduced the concept of ''credit'' in Haiti.
• 1912: Haitian President Michel Cincinnatus Leconte orders them to leave Haiti. He later dies in an unexplained explosion in the national palace. Arabs, fearing for their lives after some attempted to blame them, flee to Cuba and South America. Many later return; some change their last names.
• 1914-1918: Turkey aligns itself with Germany during World War I and abolishes Lebanon's autonomy, causing another migration toward Haiti and elsewhere.
• 1930s: Arabs are protected during the U.S. occupation of Haiti, but more anti-Arab laws are enacted following the U.S. forces' departure.
• 1940s: A wave of Palestinians arrive during the Arab-Israeli war.
• 1950s to present: Smaller groups of Arabs continue to migrate to Haiti. Many speak a hybrid language of Creole and Arabic. Some are owners of the country's larger supermarkets.
A little more Arab Haitian history...
Arab Haitian
In Haiti, exists a small yet visible number of Haitians that are of Middle-Eastern stock or trace their origins to Arab descendants. Hadrami ancestry can be found within the Arab Haitian community. Lebanese and Syrians ancestry however are the most common origins of Arab Haitians, albeit a significant Palestinian contribution as well. Arab 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 have been shunned by the poor black Haitian because of their association with the "elite" but have gradually begun to become accepted and amicably interact with the poor masses. Arab Haitians are prominent 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 Arab Haitians often are the owners of many of the city's supermarkets.
The first Arabs to arrive in Haiti reached the shores of the Caribbean country during the middle to late 1800s[1]. During the time, Haiti's business sector was dominated by German and Italian immigrants.[1] Many of them 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.[1] Haiti received a score of Palestinian refugees during the Arab-Israeli War[1] during the 1940s; Haiti at this time had a heavily marked Arab presence.
To many of us who are interested in Haitian art, Issa is a legendary figure. Visiting him in his emporium, Galerie Issa, on the Rue du Chile near the Grand Hotel Oloffson, is one of the memorable experiences one can have in Haiti.
Relax and sit in one of the well-worn chairs by the open windows that overlook Port-au-Prince, the bay and the mountains to the north. When he's not with a customer, Issa will sit there with you, telling silly jokes and recounting the stories of his life. He may show you the picture of himself in a club in Harlem with Charlie Parker and a girl singer in the 40's. If he can't find it, he will yell " Josie!" and his cook of 40 years will come and locate it. If a visitor comes in while you are there and Issa leaves to show them some art, you can wander in the gallery, a misnomer for this series of rooms that is a magical mystery tour of Haitian Art. Paintings cover every inch of wall space and are stacked haphazardly against any vertical surface that will support a pile. Art is leaning against the poles that hold up the once-elegant ceiling and against the old pegboard display fixtures that look like they came out of a depression-era department store. There are thousands and thousands of paintings that have been accumulating since the gallery opened in 1954.
Before he was an art dealer , Issa was a musician and band leader. The band played in Port-au-Prince from the early 1940's until the late 50"s. This collection of wonderful, infectious music was recorded in Havana in 1957, according to Bebo Valdes.
From the liner notes "...His band is the best evidence of that time showing that traditional Haitian music could be merged with the Cuban panache and the modern harmony particular to jazz without ever losing it's basic african and creole essence."
Issa was one of five "giants " of Haitian music to be honored at Lincoln Center on June 27, 1998.
Some of the biographical information in the notes is also incorrect; Issa was actually born on February 22, 1919 of Palestinian parents in Petit Goave, Haiti and became a Haitian citizen at age 21.
The tunes are great to listen to and even better for dancing!
--------------------------
Back in 1997, well-known Haitian producer Fred Paul released a CD by one of the best known Haitian musicians, composer, writer and much more, named Issa El Saieh. Born on February 22, 1919 in Petit-Goâve, from Palestinian parents who were among the many Arabs who emigrated to Haiti at a time when many of us, readers and participants on this forum, were not even born.Once again, those of us who appreciate good , early Haitian music, may be quite grateful to Fred Paul who in the last decades, has been doing a fantastic job keeping Haitian music, both old and new, alive and kicking. He did it again a few months ago when he produced : Issa El Saieh: La Belle Époque, Vol I and II. Yes, 2 volumes of highly prized music reuniting some of the icons of Haitian musicians of the era of the Haitian Big Band sound.
Issa El Saieh was a real believer of the big band sound. You just have to listen to his music as a testimony of this. His genius was that he took Haitian music to its highest level by modernizing it, while at the same time introducing Haitian folklore in every aspect of his music. Songs like “Fèy Nan bwa”, “Makaya”, “Fèy” and so many more are an absolute delight to listen to. The 2 volumes comprise 30 songs by this fantastic Band leader, innovator, visionary, you name it. I am running out of terms to describe him. I have written elsewhere in these Chroniques that today’s Haitian musicians, the so-called New Generation groups, everyone, would do well to go back, listen and learn abot some serious harmony and arrangementsto what our music sounded like in terms of arrangements, harmony, structure. Listening to Guy Durosier, Raoul Guillaume, Ernest “Nono” Lamy, Bebo Valdes, is a real delight to your ears! Fred Paul has provided a good reference material which I hope will frequently consulted by our musicians of today.
El Saieh’s band was comprised of some of the greatest names in Haitian musical history. Apart from those I cited above, hre are some oher names: Joe Trouillot, Raymond Baillergeau, better known as the famous “Ti Roro”; Marcel Jean known as “Ti marcel” – both of them probably the best Haitian conga players of the time - , Herby Widmaier; René Dor, the great Cuban pianist Bebo Valdés and many many more. As you listen to this music, you better understand the tight bond between Haitian and Cuban music, a bond that was never broken even after the dictator Duvalier cut diplomatic relations with Cuba. Cultural ties however always remained strong.
This 2-volume CD is important for two reasons. Not only is the music unique and represents a fitting monument to this great pioneer of Haitian music, but it constitutes a frame of reference for today’s musicians, whatever the age. In fact, age should not be a factor, as Saieh’s music remains as vital and vibrant as ever. The liner notes on these CDs offer invaluable historical information on Maestro Saieh. Written by Louis Carl St Jean, an extremely valuable source of information on our music and musicians, and Mats Lundahl, an economist who has written extensively on Haiti, the story gives an extremely interesting account of the evolution of Issa El Saieh and describes his contribution to Haitian music. This is precious reference material, which makes it doubly important that you obtain your copies at your CD store.
Ten years after the release of “Issa El Saieh et son orchestre”, Fred Paul has greatly contributed , with this new release, to keeping alive the memory of this “Belle Époque” of Haitian music, an era of creativity, of harmony, of solid musicianship, all that thanks to Issa El Saieh who certainly belongs to the virtual Hall of fame of Haitian artists. This is a CD that every Haitian should have at home and listen time and again, catching something new at every audition. Issa El Saieh’s music is that rich and that much full of nuances and harmony. My hats off to Fred Paul!
Serge Bellegarde
For Windows on Haiti, May 2007
--------
Issa el Saieh passed away early in the morning of February 2, 2005. Undoubtedly he had an amusing wisecrack for St. Peter about arriving at the Pearly Gates on Groundhog Day. He would have been 86 years old on February 22nd.
Issa was a pioneer in the world of Haitian art; he was the first ( or second, depending on who you ask) to sell the art in a commercial space after the Centre d'Art. He first sold it in his brother's restaurant, then at La Belle Creole, a department store in downtown Port-au-Prince in the early fifties and opened his own gallery a few years later on the Rue de Quai downtown. In 1964 he moved the gallery to his home on a mountainside around the corner from the Grand Hotel Oloffson where he did business for over 40 years until he passed. In all that time he never had a sign to indicate that the place was a gallery and since he didn't pay commissions, guides and taxi drivers feigned ignorance when asked about him. But people found him. In the 60's and 70's about a dozen artists painted together in his gound floor atelier. Some of the most important names in Haitian art painted there: Andre Pierre, Gourgue, the Bottex brothers, Sisson Blanchard, Jacques Chery, Gabriel Alix, Gesner Armand, Fernand Pierre, Andre Normil, The Saul brothers, St. Louis Blaise and many more. There was a long table in the studio where the artists discussed things while eating the lunch that Issa provided.
He was a complex character, a bundle of contradictions: He was exceedingly kindhearted, gracious and generous but could also be curmudgeonly at times, especially when discussing competing galleries or painters that he did not happen to represent. He had a marvelous sense of humor; nothing was too sacred to jest about and nothing was more fun than hanging out at his gallery interacting with him and the interesting characters who were drawn there to listen to his wonderful stories and drink the hot sweet coffee that his cook Josie would serve. Haiti has lost a major icon, a treasure. Godspeed, Maestro.
In a bittersweet coincidence, it happens that Issa's lifelong friend, Michelange Voltaire, had passed away 3 days earlier so it was fitting that they had a joint funeral and journeyed to the afterlife together.
----------------
An amazing man, Issa died on February 2, 2005 at the age of 86 in his beloved country, Haiti.
Internationally famous as an art dealer, he was in his early years an equally famous musician and orchestra leader.
His CDs of Haitian mambo and merengue music are still on the market. For 40 years he provided this gallery with works of art. Without him we would not have existed.
He was kindness itself to everyone, in particular the poor. At his weekly lunches one could be sitting with the ambassador to England and Didi, a little girl in saffron robes who had a home for the poorest Haitian children.
In Haiti’s days of fine French restaurants, Issa was a well known figure in his black velvet suits and designer clothes, driving the “Issa Machine” and taking large parties out to dinner. Dashing in and out of the Oloffson Hotel, then the haunt of the rich, famous and titled, everyone loved him, but most of all he loved the poor and his painters. Caring for the nuns across the street from his gallery, inspiring, encouraging and helping his artists, many became famous, and staggering works of art came forth.
I do not think there is a book on Haitian art that does not mention Issa El Saieh. Who will ever forget his sense of humour and his hilarious jokes!!! “Issa, How could you”-------- leave us?
It was an honour to have had Issa as a friend.
To his children Mannu and Babette and his grandchildren Tomm, Cleo and Victor, the deepest sympathy. Our love and thoughts are with you.
Myriam Nader; she is from a well-known wealthy Arab Haitian family. Her father, Georges S. Nader, owned an Art Gallery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Myriam F. Nader was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 1964 and is the daughter of the notorious Haitian art dealer and art promoter Georges S. Nader, founder of the internationally renowned Galeries d'Art Nader (Nader's art Galleries) and Musйe d'art Nader (Nader's Art Museum) in Haiti since 1966.
Myriam F. Nader made her primary studies up to her Baccalaureate II at the Congregationalist school "Sainte Rose de Lima "in Port-au-Prince. In 1984 she left Haiti for college in New York City. She graduated from New York University with a Bachelor degree in Information Systems in 1988. She lived in Miami Florida for two years before going back to Haiti in 1990. There she assisted her father in managing both art galleries downtown and in Desprez and also worked closely with Mr. Gйrald Alexis who was at that time the museologist and art critic for Musйe d'art Nader. In 1998 she left the art gallery to open a refrigeration parts store, Cooltec with her husband then in Pйtion-Ville, Haiti.
In 1999 when she returned to live in Miami for her children's sake, she started a home based-business: Myriam F. Nader Fine Haitian Art dealing with Fine Haitian art as before. In 2001, she was awarded as an honored member of the International Executive Guild for her excellence in her occupation. She also became a member of both NAFE (National Association for Female Executives) and the Haitian-American League Against Cancer.
In March 28th. 2003, she opened in Coral Gables, Miami the select Galerie d'Art Nader with two of her six siblings John and Georges Jr. who is also the owner of Galerie Nader in Pйtion-Ville, Haiti. Since its grand opening the art gallery has been acclaimed many times in local newspapers namely in the Miami Herald.
The Mayor Alex Penelas of Miami-Dade County and the Board of County Commissioners proclaimed March 28th, 2003 Galerie d'Art Nader Day.
In May 2003 Galerie d'Art Nader was honored by the County of Miami-Dade for exhibiting the renowned Haitian artist TIGA for the 3rd Annual Haitian Cultural Month with Emeline Alexis and Dr. Rosy Toussaint, the president of the Haitian American Cultural Society.
In December 28th ,2003, The Herald came out with an article on Myriam F. Nader : "Art Transplanted to Gables: Succeeding against the Odds
In May 2004, the Miami-Dade County Office of the Mayor and Board of County Commissioners presented to both Myriam F. Nader and Galerie D'art Nader respectively a Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of their valuable contributions to the community for their participation in 4th Annual Haitian Cultural Month Art Exhibit: Heza Barjon.
Since 2003, she has been a loyal member of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and in 2005 the founding member of the Haitian-American Chamber of Commerce of Florida. She has been interviewed in many radio stations about Haitian art and has been a panelist in different art conferences. She has been the project assistant for the Haitian American Cultural Society, the Haitian American Historical Society "The Haitian Memorial Monument, The Savannah Project".
Since 1999 Myriam F. Nader has been participating in many cultural activities nationally to promote the Haitian art and culture. She is a strong believer in the rich culture of Haiti and has always valued the uniqueness and beauty of the Haitian art. Today, she lives in New York State.
Nathalie Handal is a Haitian born poet, writer, playwright and literary researcher of Middle Eastern background. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines, including Ploughshares, Poetry New Zealand, Stand Magazine, Crab Orchard Review, and the Literary Review. She has lived in the United States, the Caribbean, Europe and Latin America.
Born in the Caribbean island nation of Haiti in 1969, Handal's family hails directly from from the Palestinian town of Bethlehem. Handal has lived in several countries; France, various countries in Latin America and New York, United States.
Handal began writing creatively in high school, and also acted in plays, danced and sang in school productions. Later, at Simmons College, she was introduced to literary journals and magazines, and started writing poetry. She graduated from Simmons with a Master of Arts in English and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Communications. Subsequently, Handal earned a MPhil in English and Drama at Queen Mary College, University of London, and a MFA in Creative Writing and Literature from Bennington College, Vermont.
Dr. Ranley Desir (farthest right, with his wife in the middle) works as a cardiologist; he was born to an Arab-Haitian mother and a Black Haitian father. His cousin is Ralph Nader who is related to Ms. Myriam Nader...
It would greatly be appreciated. I don't know much about Arab Haitians and would like to know more...NOW ON WITH MY SEARCHES....
