The first Arab immigrants to arrive in
Haiti reached the shores of the
Caribbean country during the middle to late 19th century.
[1] During the time, Haiti's business sector was dominated by
German and
Italian immigrants.
[1] Many of them migrated to the countryside where they peddled and were very informal economically speaking.
World War I, which took place when
Lebanon was part of the Germany-allied
Ottoman Empire, triggered a Lebanese migration to the
Americas, with Haiti receiving a large number of Lebanese immigrants.
[1] Haiti received a score of
Palestinian refugees during the
1948 Arab–Israeli War.
[1] The country was estimated to have about 257,000 residents of
Arab heritage.