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 color=#0000ffhome page.

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THIS IS AN ARTICLE FOUND ON THE US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE WEB SITE.

In FY 1999, CRS will continue to work with city officials and community leaders in predominantly Black urban areas of the Mid-Atlantic Region, where there continues to be a lack of trust among Black and Asian store owners. *

Region IV-Southeast Region

The Southeast Region, which includes the States of the Deep South, comprises the heart of historic racial conflict in the Nation and exhibits a multitude of continued conflict from traditional Black/White problems to emerging conflicts resulting from immigration. Florida has multiracial, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious problems, with large populations of Cubans, Haitians, and South Americans adding to the dynamic of racial conflict. Georgia has a growing multiracial population as do other States in the Southeast Region.

The most explosive racial problem in the Southeast Region continues to be conflict between police and citizens. Frequently the conflict is found in small towns and rural areas policed by county sheriffs with wide-ranging authority. Much of the concern centers on jail situations in which sheriff deputies are accused of brutal treatment of inmates. These situations are more difficult to address than major conflicts in urban areas because of the delay in learning about them, compounded by limited staff and extended travel time.

During the weekend of October 25-26, 1997, CRS deployed conciliators to St. Petersburg, Florida, for two protest demonstrations by a community group one year after the fatal shooting of a Black motorist by St. Petersburg police. CRS was on-site throughout the weekend to help prevent conflict or violence. It worked with officials from the St. Petersburg Police Department and the city government, along with community leaders, to facilitate communication and contingency planning among the parties.

Two major national racial events have become annual activities requiring extensive staff support from within and without the Region: (1) Freaknik, an April gathering of large numbers of African-American college students in Atlanta, Georgia, and (2) the Million Youth March held in October, an off-shoot of the Million Man March in Washington, D.C. Some local youth often use the Freaknik event as a cover for disruptive and unlawful activities, generating arrests and police-youth conflicts. A new annual event, the Million Youth March has conflict potential because of the large number of youths and visitors to Atlanta. But unlike the Million Youth March in New York, the Atlanta event in 1998 was peaceful.

Marabou7,

Why would you post an article you found on HatiiXchange.....on HaitiXchange!?

Neg New live her alone, We are supporting this great initiative and wish you well. Congratulations to our Haitian-Americans friends in Arizona.

Daniel

ooh, that reminds me of another question i had... Does anybody know if there's some sort of a haitian community in texas? more precisely, in austin? I just found out that I might be moving down there at some point, but i'd be sad to leave all this haitian stuff behind. (i am not haitian obviously, but in my current city i get to learn some haitian stuff and i play with a haitian folcloric dance and drumming group....and i like what i do)

Mezanmi,

Gade jan Mirlene anfom....manman myan. Bouch mwen kouri dlo.

NegNwe

I did not mean to post the article that was on the Haitixchange website if you look you will see the article that I meant to post from the US Dept of Justice follows the one that was on the website.

Don't know about you but we are only human so I do make mistakes. geez!!!

Pascal, where are the picture of the party of the arizona,I can't find them

                  heleze

pascal, I still don't the picture of the party of Arizona

          heleze