INTL 190 - Haiti in a Transnational Context

Political and Economic Fixes

Brazil’s help to Haiti is not only reflected on the military side, but also on the economic side. In 2010, Haiti was struck by a 7.0 earthquake. Brazil soon donated to the Haiti Reconstruction Fund (FRH), in the amount of US$55 million. After Haiti experienced the earthquake, Haitian immigration to Brazil became a common phenomenon. The fact that the predominantly Brazilian UN military peacekeepers have prompted Haitians to begin to see Brazil as a point of reference has been reinforced by the disaster that sparked a massive migration wave that began in 2010. Another reason why Haitians choose Brazil is the hospitality of Brazilian culture. At the same time, many of Brazil’s soldiers come from poor slums and communities that share the same characteristics as those in Haiti. So soldiers usually keep an open and friendly attitude when they communicate with the Haitian people. For the influx of refugees from Haiti, Brazil also tried its best to help them. “In 2012, Jan 10, Brazil’s Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo said Brazil will grant work visas to 2,400 Haitians who are stuck in two Amazon border towns. He said another 1,600 Haitians in Brazil have been given visas already”. On February 1 of the same year, “In Haiti visiting Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, said Brazil will offer 6,000 visas to Haitians over a five-year period as one of several efforts that look to help the troubled Caribbean nation get on its feet”(Associated Press). 

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