Remittances in crises: a haiti case study hpg background Papers Discussion papers

Chapter 1

Introduction

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An HPG background paper

HPG BACKGROUND PAPER

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Remittances in crises: Haiti

HPG BACKGROUND PAPER

This study of Haiti is part of the project of the Humanitarian

Policy Group, Overseas Development Institute (ODI) to compare

three cases (Sri Lanka, Somalia and Haiti) where remittance

flows are believed to have contributed to survival and recovery.

Remittances to Haiti over the past decade have far exceeded

foreign aid or international investment. Although ongoing

research has established the value of remittances to developing

countries generally, the particular issue of their role in

emergencies has yet to be examined. This study assesses how

people in Gonaives used remittances both from the Haitian

diaspora and from internal sources during and after the city was

all but destroyed by the September 2004 hurricane. It is based

on information obtained during fieldwork in Gonaives in January

2006, and is supplemented by reports issued by international

humanitarian agencies active in the country at the time of the

disaster. The findings encompass information from recipients of

remittances in Gonaives, but not from the Haitian migrants,

either inside or outside of the country, who provided them.