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JDR Vol.6 No.3 pp. 331-342
(2011)
doi: 10.20965/jdr.2011.p0331

Paper:

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Disasters, Diasporas and Host Communities: Insights in the Aftermath of the Haiti Earthquake

Ann-Margaret Esnard* and Alka Sapat**

*School of Urban and Regional Planning, Florida Atlantic University, HEC 610B, 111 East Las Olas Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301, USA

**School of Public Administration, Florida Atlantic University, Social Sciences Building, Room 279, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL. 33431, USA

Received:
February 2, 2011
Accepted:
March 1, 2011
Published:
June 1, 2011
Creative Commons License
Keywords:
Haiti, disasters, diaspora, displacement, earthquake, migration, recovery, remittances, organizations
Abstract
The need exists to build knowledge toward addressing issues related to international disaster migrants into the United States, a phenomenon that the United Nations perceives as increasingly imminent in the next few decades due to potential refugees fleeing climate change-related events. There is a gap however in scholarly work on the role of diaspora groups and host communities in post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. The Haitian diaspora in the United States will be a lifeline as Haiti recovers and rebuilds from the devastating earthquake disaster of January 12th 2010. This article reports on observations and findings from our research to understand the specific roles of the Haitian diaspora associations based in South Florida, as well as the role of host communities, nongovernmental organizations and government agencies that assisted earthquake survivors and displacees in the South Florida region. The findings are based on twenty-six interviews conducted within the time-frame of June 2010 to December 2010. Half of these interviewees represented the diaspora associations based in South Florida. Findings indicate that these organizations and host communities played a vital role in disaster relief and response processes.
Cite this article as:
A. Esnard and A. Sapat, “Disasters, Diasporas and Host Communities: Insights in the Aftermath of the Haiti Earthquake,” J. Disaster Res., Vol.6 No.3, pp. 331-342, 2011.
Data files:
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