Excerpt:
PORTO VELHO, Brazil, Feb 21, 2012 (IPS) - Pierre was in the next-door country of Dominican Republic when the January 2010 earthquake destroyed half of Port-au-Prince and killed at least 200,000 of his fellow Haitians, including his wife and his mother.
His two sons, ages 13 and 14, survived. He left them with friends when he came to Brazil.
But his tragedy did not end there. His younger son later died of hunger. Now, in despair, he sends his surviving son whatever is left over from his wages at his job loading trucks. Meanwhile, he is doing everything he can to bring the boy to his new place in the world, in Porto Velho, the capital of the state of Rondônia in northwest Brazil.
Pierre is one of the hundreds of Haitians who have come to Brazil in search of a new life and an income that makes it possible for them to help their families back home, who are still suffering from the effects of the earthquake, said Marilia Pimentel, who works as a volunteer in a group that supports immigrants.
Porto Velho has become a magnet for immigrants because of the jobs offered by the nearby construction of two huge hydroelectric dams on the Madeira river, one of the main tributaries of the Amazon river, as well as the construction of bridges and the expansion of roads in the area.
The Santo Antonio hydroelectric plant, which will have a capacity to generate 3,150 megawatts, is located seven km outside of the city. It just hired 100 Haitians to work in carpentry, construction, electricity and hydraulics.
But there are nearly 700 Haitians in Porto Velho, and more are arriving every day, said Geraldo Cotinguiba, an anthropologist who, like his wife Pimentel, is helping the new immigrants overcome language and cultural barriers, to facilitate their social insertion and help them find jobs.
