Part of the aftermath of the 1991 Haitian coup d'état
Most Haitian refugees were interned in a tent camp on a disused air terminal at Guantanamo, seen here.
Date
1991-1994
Location
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Participants
Haitian boat people Government of the United States
Outcome
HIV outbreak at refugee camp
Refugees either immigrated or repatriated (forcibly and voluntarily)
The Haitian refugee crisis, which began in 1991, saw the US Coast Guard collect Haitian refugees and take them to a refugee camp at Guantanamo Bay.[1] They were fleeing by boat after Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the democratically elected president of Haiti, was overthrown and the military government was persecuting his followers.[2] The first camp reached a maximum of 12,500 people.[3] It was then reduced to 270 refugees who either had HIV or were related to someone who did.[4] The reduction was the result of the US policy adopting a strict policy of repatriation for both those found at sea and most of those living in Guantanamo.[5] The HIV+ refugees were quarantined in a section of the military base known as Camp Bulkeley and faced human rights violations.[3] They were brought to the United States after US District Judge Sterling Johnson Jr. ruled the camp was an "HIV prison camp."[6][1]
In 1994, Guantanamo was again used as a refugee camp.[7] This time both Cubans and Haitians were detained.[8] Roughly 50,000 refugees were held at the camp.[9] There were several important court cases and policies made that determined conditions and often location for the refugees. Haitians stopped being held at Guantanamo the mid 1990s.[9] The number of Haitian asylum statuses granted varied throughout the use of the military base as a refugee camp. It was as high 30% in the early 1990s[10] and as low as 5% in 1994.[7] Those who were repatriated were handed over to Haitian officials who made a file of them including photos and fingerprints labeling them to be Aristide supporters which was a dangerous title to have at the time.[3] Guantanamo was chosen to be a refugee camp because it was in between the US and Haiti and also primarily existed outside the jurisdiction of US constitutional law.[3]
^ abPaik, A. Naomi (Winter 2013). "Carceral Quarantine at Guantánamo". Radical History Review. 2013 (115): 142–168. doi:10.1215/01636545-1724751. ISSN 0163-6545.
^Gavigan, Patrick (1997). "Migration Emergencies and Human Rights in Haiti". www.oas.org. Archived from the original on July 10, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
^ abcdNaomi, Paik, A. (2016). Rightlessness : testimony and redress in U.S. prison camps since World War II. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9781469626314. OCLC 917888484.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Chávez, Karma R. (February 1, 2012). "ACT UP, Haitian Migrants, and Alternative Memories of HIV/AIDS". Quarterly Journal of Speech. 98 (1): 63–68. doi:10.1080/00335630.2011.638659. ISSN 0033-5630. S2CID 145318113.
^Crossette, Barbara (May 29, 1992). "U.S. to Close Refugee Camp At Guantanamo to Haitians". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 27, 2010. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
^R., Shapiro, Steven; (Organization), Human Rights Watch; Union., American Civil Liberties (January 1, 1993). A report on U.S. compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Human Rights Watch. ISBN 9781564321220. OCLC 55745830.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ abMcMichael, William (July 3, 1994). "Haitians Flee Fear, Pain U.S. Military Works Overtime". Daily Press, Newport News, Va.
^Devroy, Ann (August 24, 1994). "U.S. seeks help in harboring refugees // Clinton is pressing other countries to accept refugees from either Cuba or Haiti". Austin American Statesman; Austin, Tex.
^ abHerbert, Bob (May 10, 1995). "In America; Guantanamo's Kids". The New York Times.
^Kamen, Al (May 29, 1992). "U.S. Phasing Out Tent City for Haitian Refugees at Guantanamo Bay". The Washington Post.
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