HaitiXchange was made aware of Haitians getting together for an event in Arizona. “Haitians in Arizona?” we thought. So we decided to make some phone calls to see what this was all about.

Mirlene Hans, who is organizing the event appropriately called “The First Annual Haitian Social Event”, moved to Arizona in 1995 from Nyack, New York, with her parents, in search of a better life. Her mom, who was tired of the cold weather of the North East, had gone to visit a friend in Phoenix and liked it so much that she decided to move the entire family out west.

When you usually think of the Haitian Diaspora, several well-established communities come to mind. In the United States, people take it for granted that Haitians will be found in New York and Miami. Most people also know that there is a strong Haitian presence in Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago, along with a growing community in Atlanta. Outside the US, of course there is Canada, France and the controversial, and booming, Haitian community in the Bahamas.

In the US, we seldom think of Haitians out West, and when we do, it’s usually in Los Angeles, which enjoys a spread out, yet established Haitian community with several radio stations and occasional, organized events.

Arizona, especially the Phoenix area, is experiencing heavy population growth. Haitians are among the many groups seeking a better life in this desert paradise. Much of the Phoenix area is filled with sprawling residential communities where many Haitians take advantage of the affordable real-estate market. Many Haitians there own more than one house!

With the favorable weather and economic situation in Arizona, it has been a magnet for retirees, people seeking jobs at high tech companies, and people seeking a general improvement in their way of life. Haitians are no exception.

Like many Haitians who have moved to Arizona, Rodney Montreuil, the event’s program director, left New York in a quest of a safer environment in which to raise his family, as well as better business opportunities. Like many recent migrants to Arizona, he is working in the state’s booming technology industry and has a goal of opening his own business tech network, in order to contribute to the narrowing of the “digital divide.”

Jimmy Inelus, the treasurer of the event committee, informed us that there were approximately 1500 Haitians in the entire state of Arizona when he first moved there from Orlando in 1997. Current estimates are that there are now several thousand Haitians statewide. (In 1990, the number of Haitians in Arizona was estimated to be less then 150.)

One of the reasons for putting on this social event, according the Mirlene the event committee president, is because many Haitians who live in Arizona, may not even know that they may have Haitian neighbors living across the street or down the road from them. She told of a man she recently met, who lives in her community and suspected there was a Haitian family living in her house due to the smell of good, Haitian food cooking whenever he passed by. This event will serve as a social gathering, a means of bringing Haitians together, as well as a way of educating their American friends about Haitian culture.

When Mirlene arrived in Arizona right out of high school, she was very skeptical as to whether or not she would like it and fit in. “I had no idea what I was going to do in this desert!” But according to her, she didn’t have a choice. She now does not regret her mother’s decision. Since she has been there, she has seen tremendous change in terms of the number of Haitians who have followed, and the many housing developments that have seemingly magically sprung up to accommodate new arrivals. She has even found inspiration in her surroundings in saying “If Arizona can make this desert turn into a paradise, can you imagine what we can do for our own country?”

The downtown Phoenix skyline at night.	A full moon over the Arizona desert.

“The First Annual Haitian Social Event” will take place on December 20th, 2003, at the Holiday Inn Express in Mesa, Arizona. Stay tuned to HaitiXchange as we will be there to cover the event. For more information, go to the event's home page.