Haiti circa 1992: Haitian boat builders construct wooden boats on the beaches of Leogane, Haiti. Wooden boats are used to transport goods, fuel, and sometimes human cargo to the shores of the United States. The Haitian boat people who washed up on Florida’s shores by the thousands during the ‘80s and ‘90s were mostly displaced peasants fleeing political violence who jumped on flimsy boats with little planning. But with more surveillance of U.S. waters and tougher immigration laws, the stakes are rising. Smugglers have to be more creative in order to successfully get their human cargo to the shores of South Florida. Unlike Cuban migrants, Haitian do not have a “dry foot, wet foot” policy. If they are intercepted on U.S. soil or at sea, they will probably be repatriated back to Haiti.
Leogane, Haiti
