ARTICLE - DIASPORA - CALL TO REBUILD

FEATURE - CALL TO REBUILD PROVES IRRESISTIBLE FOR HAITIAN DIASPORA
(AlertNet) - By Anastasia Moloney

PORT-AU-PRINCE – When the earthquake struck Haiti in 2010, the decision for Haitian-born Nathalie Tancrede to leave behind a successful career in finance in New York was easy. She flew to Port-au-Prince and has not looked back since.

"I always knew that I wanted to return to Haiti but I just didn't know when. So when the earthquake happened I asked myself what I could do to help," she said.

Tancrede now heads Pathways Haiti and co-founded the Artisan Business Network in Port-au-Prince. Both organisations help 700 local artisans sell their pieces - from handmade cow horn jewellery to bowls made from recycled oil drums and soapstone candlesticks - in places like Macy's store in New York.

"I help artisans better their business, find a niche for their products so that they have sustainable incomes and jobs," 37-year-old Tancrede said. "I feel like I'm making a real difference here."

She left the Caribbean nation as a teenager with her family, one of hundreds of thousands of Haitians, driven away by high levels of crime and the desire for a better life.

Others fled the country to escape the brutal reign of Francois 'Papa Doc' Duvalier and his son, Jean Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier.

For years the Haitian diaspora have provided a lifeline to their families back home, sending annual remittances of roughly $2 billion - which is equivalent to nearly 20 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

But after the quake many among the three million-strong diaspora wanted to do more than send money home. The disaster prompted much soul-searching among Haitians abroad about their role in rebuilding and shaping Haiti's future.

Many of the diaspora's young, educated professionals view themselves as Haiti's best hope and the driving force behind the development of the Western hemisphere's poorest country.

BRAIN DRAIN REVERSAL

Their return could slowly help reverse Haiti's brain drain, which in recent decades has depleted its middle class and skilled labour force, including the country's doctors, teachers and business leaders.

Since the earthquake the Haitian government — once known for dismissing elected officials who held a U.S. passport - has been courting the Haitian diaspora to return.

"Haiti has a human resources problem which is very serious," Haitian Foreign Minister Laurent Lamothe told France Info radio during a visit to France in January. "There is a shortage of executives, therefore, we must have the return of the diaspora to help us, to accompany us in the re-founding of Haitian society and the reconstruction of Haiti."

Like Tancrede, Haitian-born Johnny Celestin felt the pull of home.

He left his job at a grant making foundation and sold his bustling café in New York's Harlem. Within weeks of the disaster, he was back in Haiti.

For him and many other returning Haitians, it is a homecoming fuelled by a mix of duty and nostalgia.

"Haiti is a place where I thought I could make an impact and really change the lives of Haitian people. It's very natural for me to be here," Celestin said. "When I’m in the U.S., I feel like a cog in the wheels. But here I can be part of something, of history. I can say to my daughter that I played a part in this change in Haiti."

"On my flight back to Haiti I started thinking what can I do, what can I bring. I realised I've been picking up skills to return home all along in technology, consulting, business and management," he added.

He first put those skills to use by fundraising for the humanitarian effort in the early days after the disaster. He then founded the Haitian Fund for Innovation, which helps Haitians start and build small and medium-sized businesses and local grassroots groups access grants and free accounting services.

"Haiti is a place where there are tremendous opportunities to help people create their own wealth, which is what Haiti needs right now," Celestin said.

Fluent in French, English and Haitian Creole, Celestin sees himself as a bridge between two worlds – the international aid community and local Haitian communities – whose relationship is often marked by mistrust and misunderstanding.

"We can be the interlocutor of both worlds. I can see the limitations and challenges of both worlds," he said.

CULTURE CLASH

Getting things done in Haiti, though, is fraught with difficulties.

Red tape, slow internet connection, intermittent electricity, long delays at customs and in setting up bank accounts and registering foundations and businesses, are just some of the daily challenges often cited by Haitian immigrants returning home.

"The bureaucracy is frustrating. We're still using bureaucracy that the French left us in the 1800s," Celestin said.

It also takes time to build trust among local communities, as Tancrede who runs the local artisan network, found out.

"In Haiti, most of the management roles are done by men so coming in as country director, it was at first a bit of a challenge because a lot of artisans are males and they thought I would be coming into their lives as a boss and telling them what to do," she said.

"But in turn they have found I’m an ally, so now that they can trust me, they can really speak freely and ask questions."

Carving out a role for the Haitian diaspora in the country's reconstruction - beyond propping up an ailing economy through remittances - is proving to be difficult.

Many from the Haitian diaspora feel the government needs to make them feel more welcome and included in the rebuilding effort. They are urging the government to introduce constitutional reforms, which would give them more rights.

Under the country's constitution, Haitians cannot hold dual nationality. It means those Haitians living abroad, who take up another nationality, are no longer considered Haitian and basically have the same rights as tourists.

More importantly, it means they cannot vote in Haiti's presidential elections and or run for office.

But that has not dampened Tancrede's enthusiasm.

"Being here is so special to me because it's home, it's home. I fell in love with Haiti all over again,” she said.

(Editing by Katie Nguyen)