The term “Haitian-American” typically refers to Haitian individuals who share a dual citizenship in both Haiti and the United States. At other instances, it can be used to describe the ethnic composition of a Haitian individual living in the United States, but who is not yet a citizen of the US. Although it is used quite commonly, the term itself tends to be more of an oxymoron than anything else because all Haitians who were born in the Western hemisphere are Haitian-Americans since Haiti is part of America (not necessarily part of the United States of America, but part of North America).
Redefining the Haitian-American
The term Haitian-American within the context of this article however is somewhat different from its connotative description. Haitian-Americans within the context of this article refer to Haitian individuals living in the United States who find themselves more entrenched within Haiti’s culture and customs than that of the states. They typically come to the United States after puberty, and have been in the country for more than a year. This specific group of people like the other two Haitian groups discussed in “Haitians in the Classroom, American-Haitian (marked by Haitian individuals living in the United States who have stronger ties with the customs and culture of the United States than that of Haiti) and Haitians-in-transition, (Haitian individuals who have just entered the U.S. and who have not yet fully transition into either an American-Haitian or a Haitian-American) is classified based on Haitian individuals’ affinity to either Haitian culture or American culture (the culture of the United States).
Haitian-American Students
In essence, Haitian-American students within this context are those Haitian learners with an affinity for Haitian customs and culture over that of the United States of America. Nonetheless, that does not necessarily mean that they do not like the US, rather they choose to identify more with the principals that they’ve learned in Haiti. The cultural lines nonetheless are becoming more blurred as the two cultures merge inside Haiti itself.
All around the streets of Port-au-Prince, Gonaivre, Cape Haitian, and the other major Haitian cities; music, art, fashion, movies, and values from the United States are being consumed by Haitian students. Therefore, even those Haitian students who have just entered the United States are already quite familiar with American culture. Therefore, when one speaks of the group known as the Haitian-Americans, one must realize that most of them do share a great deal of respect and admiration for the American culture around them and that the culture of the United States have been pretty much infused in that of Haiti.
Nonetheless, Haitian-Americans within this context are those who choose to live their lives without completely abandoning their roots. They continue to speak Haitian Creole in their homes and out. They tend to want to live in predominantly Haitian communities where they can express themselves more commonly. Many of them holdfast to their religious beliefs and seek out Haitian Catholic and Protestant churches. Still, others continue to practice Voodoo and still frequently visit their local Botanica. Also, most Haitian-Americans usually hold fast to their food, music, language, traditions and familial relationships from back in Haiti.
The better practices of approaching these type of students will be discussed in Haitian-Americans in the Classroom.
Family Ties and Haitian-Americans
Many Haitian-Americans have strong ties with their families back in Haiti and in the United States. In general, Haitians tend to have stronger familial relationships with family extended family members. Nonetheless, the subgroup of Haitian-Americans has even a stronger bond with their roots. Perhaps, the facet in their everyday lives that prevents them from losing most of their culture and traditions from Haiti is their family.
The strong relationship with relatives in Haiti causes them to maintain close personal relationships with parents, friends, siblings, uncles, cousins, and aunts in Haiti. Their relationship with relatives in Haiti is extremely important as it has become the greatest form of revenue that Haiti collects in general. Each year billions of dollars travel to Haiti via money and food transfers from Haitian-Americans in the United States without even counting the ones from other places like Canada, Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, etc. Yet all of these monies combined still can not help quail the mountain of issues and the economic desperation that most Haitians living in Haiti face. In many ways, Haitian-Americans are the ones that are causing the merging of the cultures by exporting many cultural goods and services from the United States to Haiti.
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