As with the international aid community, Haitians living overseas are seeking ways to help from a distance after a devastating earthquake struck Port-au-Prince on Tuesday evening. Many migrants already send significant proportions of their earnings each week or month in the form of remittances. Rather than foreign assistance from governments, they may provide the most important and steady rebuilding effort over the coming years.
The Haitian diaspora now numbers around 1.5 to 2 million, meaning that as many as one in six persons live outside the country. Most reside in the Dominican Republic, the United States, Canada, and France. US cities with the greatest population of Haitian immigrants are New York, Miami and Boston.
For political or economic reasons, these migrants moved overseas to seek a better life. Their thoughts, however, often remain with family and friends who remain in Haiti. Despite the fact that many work in low-paying jobs in more developed countries, they make sure to send funds that support loved ones back home. The sending of remittances to Haiti occurred long before the massive earthquake focused international attention on the country’s plight, and enables many recipients to survive day-to-day.
A 2006 survey sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank found that nearly one-third of adults in Haiti regularly receive funds sent from overseas, and nearly half of them spend all of this money on daily living expenses. Total remittances sent to Haiti during 2006 were an estimated $1.65 billion.
In comparison, Haiti received more than $5 billion in international aid between 1990 and 2009. This was not enough to prevent the desperate living conditions of most of the 9-10 million Haitian citizens. Before the earthquake, an estimated 80% of them already lived below the poverty line of $2/day. Now it appears that even this intolerable statistic could worsen.
The U.S. government pledged $100 million in aid to support Haiti in its recovery, with more to follow. This is a start. History and statistics show, however, that most of the funds used to rebuild the country will come from the country’s very own people – via remittances sent by migrants of the diaspora.
