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Commentary: The effects on the influx of deportees to Haiti
Published on Friday, July 11, 2008
by: Laurie Knop and Lee Chance
Over the past few years, the return of deportees from abroad to Haiti, mainly from the US, has created considerable concerns for Haitians; including many civil society organizations and human rights organizations such as Réseau National de Défense de Droits Humain (RNDDH1) (National Network of the Defense of Human Rights). The main concern that has dominated the public debates is the fact that the deportee phenomenon has considerably aggravated the criminal activities in Haiti; including the recent dramatic rise in kidnappings. This is a logical conclusion to believe that a rise in crime is associated with the return of these deportees considering that most people in Haiti believe that deportees are individuals who were involved in criminal activities back in the US; which in several instances is in fact true. Since 2006, the number of deportees to Haiti has quadrupled (both illegal immigrants and legal US residents who had served prison sentences) from 25 to 100 (and sometimes more) deportees per month. There has not been much study on the phenomenon and effect of deportees on Haiti, but in order to design the proper policy for reception, treatment and reinsertion of this population, it is important to develop an accurate understanding of the situation.
<span style="font-style: italic">Deportees and the Systemic Problem of Violence in Haiti </span>
Contrary to the dominant perception, not all deportees served time in the US correctional system, but we have to recognize that some of them have been involved in various crimes; such as drug trafficking, rape, murder, etc. Most of them arrive to Haiti which is a place that is alien to them. Many of these deportees left Haiti as children and in fact do not even speak the language (Haitian Creole) nor do they recognize the cultural codes. Additionally, Haiti does not offer them a third of the opportunities for reinsertion that they would have in the US and reverting to criminal activities could be an easy or only solution for some of these deportees.
The deportee phenomenon in itself would not necessarily be a problem if it had happened at the right moment and if the Haitian State had the capability to receive, support, accompany and monitor these individuals. Unfortunately, though, the increase in deportees to Haiti is happening at a critical moment and the State does not have the infrastructural capacity or the will to integrate them into society. The flow of deportees to Haiti constitutes a major risk for the Haitian government; not because there is a tangible relation between the deportees and the organization of armed violence and insecurity2, but because the flow of returned individuals with criminal backgrounds contributes in (i) stretching the capacity of the government in terms of monitoring criminal elements; and (ii) adding another priority to their agenda when they already have a hard time coping with their existing priorities.
The involvement of certain deportees in criminal violence in Port au Prince is not yet clear, but it has been a real concern for the Haitian government. Although it is a bit early to assess the impact of the deportees on insecurity and the development of gangs, particularly in the capital, some of them have been shown to be active in the kidnapping business that crippled the country throughout 2006/early 20073 And unfortunately, this kidnapping phenomenon is on the rise once again (since March 2008).
If we look at the relation between deportees and the development of gang culture in Latin America4, we can admit the hypothesis that certain Haitian deportees who were active in gang activities in the US and sent back to Haiti who subsequently found a way out of prison in Haiti, would certainly either seize the opportunity of returning to criminal activities or try to travel back to the US illegally (probably by boat).
The deportee phenomenon needs to be closely monitored because on the medium term the gang culture of the US will be exported to Haiti through these deportees. We cannot be oblivious to the fact that a few deportees have arrived in Haiti with experience in gang culture; sophisticated weaponry; networks to illegal trafficking (weapons, drugs, etc.), and above all the capability to link up Haiti with the international criminal network in the US and Canada and, in some cases, Latin America. Criminal activities will appear as a logical choice for many of them for the following reasons:
Haiti will never offer them the opportunities that can support a lifestyle similar to what they have experienced in the US. Therefore, criminal activities become a normal alternative because it means quick money in large quantities;
Many of them will find themselves in high demand for their (criminal) skills;
The justice system is so broken down that once more the social cost for these deportees will be lower than in the US. Unlike the US, a criminal can buy his or her way out quite easily by bribing a judge or a policeman;
For many others, violence will be an outlet for their frustration and their anger of being excluded and discriminated by the fact that they are deportees in a land already burdened by many recurrent problems.
The reintegration program for the deportees that is funded by the US government through the Office for International Migration (OIM) and managed by its national counterpart the Office for National Migration (ONM) is time limited and will not be able to respond to the needs and aspirations of the beneficiaries, particularly considering that the high risk deportees from the US will continue to flow back to Haiti.
Prior to being sent to their families (if they have any in Haiti) upon arrival to Haiti, the deportees are dispatched through various prisons around the vicinity of Port au Prince. The living conditions are far from pleasant and the continuous flow of deportees at a pace of 100 per month has aggravated a situation that is already on the edge of being critical.
The problem of dealing with the deportees is a historical and a recurrent problem for the Haitian government. Anna Wardenburg-Ferdinand for The Haitian Times remarked in September 20-26, 2000 that,
“Frustrated deportees who have been locked up for the last three months in Haiti's National Penitentiary rioted last week, injuring several prison guards and the director of the prison, bringing to light a problem most wish would just go away. The incident has highlighted the conditions in which the deportees are being detained...”
This frustration and anger combined with the continuous decline of the living standard in Haiti risks bringing many of these deportees to the edge of violence and the main consequence of this is a strengthening of the structure of systemic violence in Haiti. There is a risk that the continuous flow of deportees to Haiti combined with the lack of capacity of the State to deal with this, could create the conditions for deportees to form social clusters in order to deal with their strategic and political demands which, over time, could lead them to become a stakeholder in Haitian polity. This social cluster could develop strategies to compete with other groups in Haiti for limited (societal) resources. We have to keep in mind that competition between social groups to exert control over these resources is historically based on violent means rather than peaceful ones. In order to do this, the social group needs to neutralize or eliminate their challenger which obviously will increase the level of violence in Haiti.
The Haitian government has difficulty in efficiently dealing with this population.
Questioning the CARICOM nations' abilities to cope with this new dynamic, the Hon. Ralph Maraj, Chairman of the CARICOM Foreign Ministers, asked "If these people are uncontrollable in the large US system, with its level of resources and sophistication, are they likely to be controlled by small Caribbean States?" 5
Haiti does not have the proper infrastructure to recuperate, rehabilitate and support this population. Secondly, the social capital in the Haitian community is too low or non-existent to create a community based safety net around these new members who are essentially not welcomed.
There are so many priorities and challenges in this country that the social and economical integration of deportees is secondary in the political agenda of the government.6
Although there is not yet enough analysis and assessment on the role played by the deportees in the structure of gangs and criminal activities in Haiti, we can not totally rule out the potential risk that can come from the flow of deportees as a political and social phenomenon that negatively affects the equilibrium of Haitian society. There is an issue of critical mass: how many deportees with criminal records and strong experience in gang related crimes need to constitute a sufficient mass to influence the development of gang related activity in Haiti?
<span style="font-style: italic">Conclusion </span>
I argue that the deportee phenomenon is not an easy issue, but it potentially carries a constellation of factors that could provide the groundwork for a destabilizing force; particularly for a country which is struggling with a judicial system that has collapsed, prisons that are overcrowded, a police force that is weak and a tenuous political instability. The recent situation in Haiti urges the US to shift it is foreign policy towards Haiti. The deportation of undesirable Haitian individuals needs to be done within a policy and strategic framework that sustains the internal policy of the US while reinforcing the capacity of the Haitian State to deal with this population. As a matter of fact, better knowledge needs to be gathered in this area in order to design a proper program that eases the pressure and negative effects of deportees on Haitian society.
1 Previously known as the National Committee for Human Rights (NCHR)
2 Further research needs to demonstrate the link between those facts.
3 In a locality called Delmas 32 in Port au Prince, a deportee was leading a group of four criminals and was involved in the kidnapping of several young people in 2006/07.
4 Nacla Report on the Americas, Vol. 40 No 4, July/August 2007.
5 Privat Precil, Criminal deportees and returned teens; A Migration Phenomenon, A Social Problem, published by Panos International May 1999.
6 We have to also remark that only a few voices have raised the issue of deportees in Haiti. And as a matter of fact, this population has not yet been sufficiently monitored in order to assess its’ risk for the stability of Haiti.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Laurie Knop is a Director of QIFD (Quisqueya International Organization for Freedom & Development), a US based NGO working in Haiti Lee Chance is a Consultant for REACTIC (a US based consultancy firm working in Haiti)</span>
Published on Friday, July 11, 2008
by: Laurie Knop and Lee Chance
Over the past few years, the return of deportees from abroad to Haiti, mainly from the US, has created considerable concerns for Haitians; including many civil society organizations and human rights organizations such as Réseau National de Défense de Droits Humain (RNDDH1) (National Network of the Defense of Human Rights). The main concern that has dominated the public debates is the fact that the deportee phenomenon has considerably aggravated the criminal activities in Haiti; including the recent dramatic rise in kidnappings. This is a logical conclusion to believe that a rise in crime is associated with the return of these deportees considering that most people in Haiti believe that deportees are individuals who were involved in criminal activities back in the US; which in several instances is in fact true. Since 2006, the number of deportees to Haiti has quadrupled (both illegal immigrants and legal US residents who had served prison sentences) from 25 to 100 (and sometimes more) deportees per month. There has not been much study on the phenomenon and effect of deportees on Haiti, but in order to design the proper policy for reception, treatment and reinsertion of this population, it is important to develop an accurate understanding of the situation.
<span style="font-style: italic">Deportees and the Systemic Problem of Violence in Haiti </span>
Contrary to the dominant perception, not all deportees served time in the US correctional system, but we have to recognize that some of them have been involved in various crimes; such as drug trafficking, rape, murder, etc. Most of them arrive to Haiti which is a place that is alien to them. Many of these deportees left Haiti as children and in fact do not even speak the language (Haitian Creole) nor do they recognize the cultural codes. Additionally, Haiti does not offer them a third of the opportunities for reinsertion that they would have in the US and reverting to criminal activities could be an easy or only solution for some of these deportees.
The deportee phenomenon in itself would not necessarily be a problem if it had happened at the right moment and if the Haitian State had the capability to receive, support, accompany and monitor these individuals. Unfortunately, though, the increase in deportees to Haiti is happening at a critical moment and the State does not have the infrastructural capacity or the will to integrate them into society. The flow of deportees to Haiti constitutes a major risk for the Haitian government; not because there is a tangible relation between the deportees and the organization of armed violence and insecurity2, but because the flow of returned individuals with criminal backgrounds contributes in (i) stretching the capacity of the government in terms of monitoring criminal elements; and (ii) adding another priority to their agenda when they already have a hard time coping with their existing priorities.
The involvement of certain deportees in criminal violence in Port au Prince is not yet clear, but it has been a real concern for the Haitian government. Although it is a bit early to assess the impact of the deportees on insecurity and the development of gangs, particularly in the capital, some of them have been shown to be active in the kidnapping business that crippled the country throughout 2006/early 20073 And unfortunately, this kidnapping phenomenon is on the rise once again (since March 2008).
If we look at the relation between deportees and the development of gang culture in Latin America4, we can admit the hypothesis that certain Haitian deportees who were active in gang activities in the US and sent back to Haiti who subsequently found a way out of prison in Haiti, would certainly either seize the opportunity of returning to criminal activities or try to travel back to the US illegally (probably by boat).
The deportee phenomenon needs to be closely monitored because on the medium term the gang culture of the US will be exported to Haiti through these deportees. We cannot be oblivious to the fact that a few deportees have arrived in Haiti with experience in gang culture; sophisticated weaponry; networks to illegal trafficking (weapons, drugs, etc.), and above all the capability to link up Haiti with the international criminal network in the US and Canada and, in some cases, Latin America. Criminal activities will appear as a logical choice for many of them for the following reasons:
Haiti will never offer them the opportunities that can support a lifestyle similar to what they have experienced in the US. Therefore, criminal activities become a normal alternative because it means quick money in large quantities;
Many of them will find themselves in high demand for their (criminal) skills;
The justice system is so broken down that once more the social cost for these deportees will be lower than in the US. Unlike the US, a criminal can buy his or her way out quite easily by bribing a judge or a policeman;
For many others, violence will be an outlet for their frustration and their anger of being excluded and discriminated by the fact that they are deportees in a land already burdened by many recurrent problems.
The reintegration program for the deportees that is funded by the US government through the Office for International Migration (OIM) and managed by its national counterpart the Office for National Migration (ONM) is time limited and will not be able to respond to the needs and aspirations of the beneficiaries, particularly considering that the high risk deportees from the US will continue to flow back to Haiti.
Prior to being sent to their families (if they have any in Haiti) upon arrival to Haiti, the deportees are dispatched through various prisons around the vicinity of Port au Prince. The living conditions are far from pleasant and the continuous flow of deportees at a pace of 100 per month has aggravated a situation that is already on the edge of being critical.
The problem of dealing with the deportees is a historical and a recurrent problem for the Haitian government. Anna Wardenburg-Ferdinand for The Haitian Times remarked in September 20-26, 2000 that,
“Frustrated deportees who have been locked up for the last three months in Haiti's National Penitentiary rioted last week, injuring several prison guards and the director of the prison, bringing to light a problem most wish would just go away. The incident has highlighted the conditions in which the deportees are being detained...”
This frustration and anger combined with the continuous decline of the living standard in Haiti risks bringing many of these deportees to the edge of violence and the main consequence of this is a strengthening of the structure of systemic violence in Haiti. There is a risk that the continuous flow of deportees to Haiti combined with the lack of capacity of the State to deal with this, could create the conditions for deportees to form social clusters in order to deal with their strategic and political demands which, over time, could lead them to become a stakeholder in Haitian polity. This social cluster could develop strategies to compete with other groups in Haiti for limited (societal) resources. We have to keep in mind that competition between social groups to exert control over these resources is historically based on violent means rather than peaceful ones. In order to do this, the social group needs to neutralize or eliminate their challenger which obviously will increase the level of violence in Haiti.
The Haitian government has difficulty in efficiently dealing with this population.
Questioning the CARICOM nations' abilities to cope with this new dynamic, the Hon. Ralph Maraj, Chairman of the CARICOM Foreign Ministers, asked "If these people are uncontrollable in the large US system, with its level of resources and sophistication, are they likely to be controlled by small Caribbean States?" 5
Haiti does not have the proper infrastructure to recuperate, rehabilitate and support this population. Secondly, the social capital in the Haitian community is too low or non-existent to create a community based safety net around these new members who are essentially not welcomed.
There are so many priorities and challenges in this country that the social and economical integration of deportees is secondary in the political agenda of the government.6
Although there is not yet enough analysis and assessment on the role played by the deportees in the structure of gangs and criminal activities in Haiti, we can not totally rule out the potential risk that can come from the flow of deportees as a political and social phenomenon that negatively affects the equilibrium of Haitian society. There is an issue of critical mass: how many deportees with criminal records and strong experience in gang related crimes need to constitute a sufficient mass to influence the development of gang related activity in Haiti?
<span style="font-style: italic">Conclusion </span>
I argue that the deportee phenomenon is not an easy issue, but it potentially carries a constellation of factors that could provide the groundwork for a destabilizing force; particularly for a country which is struggling with a judicial system that has collapsed, prisons that are overcrowded, a police force that is weak and a tenuous political instability. The recent situation in Haiti urges the US to shift it is foreign policy towards Haiti. The deportation of undesirable Haitian individuals needs to be done within a policy and strategic framework that sustains the internal policy of the US while reinforcing the capacity of the Haitian State to deal with this population. As a matter of fact, better knowledge needs to be gathered in this area in order to design a proper program that eases the pressure and negative effects of deportees on Haitian society.
1 Previously known as the National Committee for Human Rights (NCHR)
2 Further research needs to demonstrate the link between those facts.
3 In a locality called Delmas 32 in Port au Prince, a deportee was leading a group of four criminals and was involved in the kidnapping of several young people in 2006/07.
4 Nacla Report on the Americas, Vol. 40 No 4, July/August 2007.
5 Privat Precil, Criminal deportees and returned teens; A Migration Phenomenon, A Social Problem, published by Panos International May 1999.
6 We have to also remark that only a few voices have raised the issue of deportees in Haiti. And as a matter of fact, this population has not yet been sufficiently monitored in order to assess its’ risk for the stability of Haiti.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Laurie Knop is a Director of QIFD (Quisqueya International Organization for Freedom & Development), a US based NGO working in Haiti Lee Chance is a Consultant for REACTIC (a US based consultancy firm working in Haiti)</span>
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