ABSTRACT
The Presidential Palace in Haiti, for decades under the Duvalier regime a location rumored to be the site of terrible tortures and beatings, was eagerly entered in January 1991 by over one hundred visitors from the Haitian diaspora. While many were U.S. citizens, most had been born in Haiti. Some had fled Haiti into exile and struggled to rebuild their lives, while others had grown up abroad and obtained educations, professional careers, and social standing in the United States and Canada. Both men and women, they were a prosperous group, well incorporated into their new societies. But their visit to Haiti was more than a sentimental journey. Their special invitation to the palace to witness and celebrate the inauguration of Father Aristide, Haitians’ new and freely elected President, marked them as active participants in efforts to rebuild the Haitian nationstate. This became clear when the newly inaugurated President greeted them as members of Dizyèm Depatman-an, “the 10th Department,” although the territory of the country of Haiti is divided into nine administrative districts, each called “Depatman.” In this pronouncement, which had no legal substance, Aristide was directly 2articulating what many Haitians had long maintained. No matter where they settle, or what passport they carry, people of Haitian ancestry remain an integral part of Haiti.
