http://www.tribune242.com/Print/01212010_nkn-senegal_news_pg5

Haitians respond to Senegal offer of free land

By NOELLE NICOLLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

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THE Haitian community is expressing mixed reactions to the offer of
free land and repatriation by the Senegalese president for people
affected by the earthquake.

"For me that is a good idea. Every black comes from black Africa.
Haitians come from Africa," said Marjoriee Pierre, a Haitian-Bahamian,
whose son has been living on the streets in Port-au-Prince after his
home was destroyed in the earthquake.

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake, which struck the island nation last
week, killed tens of thousands and left even more homeless.

The BBC reported Sunday that President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal
committed to donate $1 million in emergency aid to help Haiti, and was
ready to offer Haitians parcels of land and voluntary repatriation to
the West African nation, also a former-French colony.

"The president is offering voluntary repatriation to any Haitian that
wants to return to their origin. If it's just a few individuals, then
we will likely offer them housing or small pieces of land. If they
come en masse we are ready to give them a region," said Mr Wade's
spokesman, Mamadou Bemba Ndiaye.

Marirm Jean said she was touched by the president's desire to help,
but said she would not be interested in the offer.

"They have poverty over there too, and it is too far away. People
might want to visit their family, but it is too expensive," she said.

Recalling the ancestral ties between Haiti and West Africa, President
Wade said Haitians are entitled to a home in Africa. European
colonisers extracted Africans from the continent, taking them to the
Americas to work as slaves. While the offer by Senegal is appreciated,
many feel that the geographical distance to Africa is too great.

"For me, I think that is too far away. Africa is too far. They care
now, but later on what is going to happen? They might feel different
later on and then what will happen. I think it is better to send them
closer," said a Haitian-Bahamian business owner.

The Senegalese president said African states should also move to
naturalise those Haitians wishing to migrate, and if the numbers are
sufficient, to create a new state entirely. He plans to put his
proposals to the 53-nation African Union to solicit a buy-in from
other African leaders.

The move would not be unprecedented. Liberia was created in 1821 to
provide a home for freed Africans enslaved in the United States.
Israel was formed in 1947 to provide a homeland for Jews displaced
during the Holocaust.

With a population of 13 million, Senegal sits on the West African
coast, bordering Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Gambia.
Several African countries pledged help for Haiti. Rwanda and Liberia
pledged $100,000 and $50,000 respectively. The Democratic Republic of
Congo pledged $2.5 million. South Africa sent doctors and search and
rescue teams.

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