When 120 Haitians were detained for more than two days at Viracopos International Airport in Campinas in March of this year, Guerby Saintè, a doctoral student at the Institute of Geosciences (IG), received a phone call asking for help. Most of the group had landed in Brazil with irregular documentation and remained confined to an area of the airport, awaiting analysis by immigration authorities.
“They were saying, ‘We arrived here and it feels like we’re trapped,’” recounts the Haitian researcher, who spent hours at Viracopos Airport working as an interpreter and liaison with the Public Defender’s Office and immigration agencies. “Many were scared, not quite understanding what was happening.”
The scene encapsulates a reality that has become recurrent in recent years: the intensification of the migratory flow of Haitians to Brazil in search of safety, work, and stability in the face of the worsening crisis in Haiti. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that the Haitian community in Brazil numbers around 200 people. According to Itamaraty (the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), between January 1st and April 9th, 2026, 9.575 visas were issued to Haitians, including humanitarian and family reunification visas.
The support networks organized by the immigrants themselves have become fundamental in welcoming newcomers. Guerby and other Haitian colleagues created, in 2024, the Association for Social and Cultural Integration (AISC), which currently has nine members on its organizing committee and is in the final stages of legalization. Although it does not yet have a formal institutional link with Unicamp, it counts on the participation of students and researchers from the University and intends to expand partnerships with areas related to human rights and university extension.
The association offers support for document regularization, CPF (Brazilian taxpayer ID) issuance, guidance with the Federal Police (PF), job placement, and free Portuguese courses for foreigners. The classes, taught on a voluntary basis, currently serve more than 30 people. “Many people arrive here without speaking the language, and this makes everything difficult: getting a job, understanding documents, finding their way around,” explains Guerby. “We created a basic Portuguese course to help these people integrate. We went through this when we arrived, so we know how difficult it is to disembark in another country without speaking the language, without understanding the documents, and without knowing where to go.”
In addition to providing support, the association also aims to expand spaces for discussion about the Haitian reality. On Sunday (May 17), AISC will hold the Haitian Flag Festival in Barão Geraldo, a symbolic date for the Haitian community, celebrated every May 18. The event will bring together Haitian researchers to discuss identity, migration, mental health, and the social impacts of the humanitarian crisis in the country. The program also includes cultural presentations of Haitian music and dance.
Just 'good morning'
Guerby's trajectory intersects with the recent history of welcoming Haitians at Unicamp. He arrived in Brazil in 2011, initially as an exchange student in a program supported by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes), created after the earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010. At the time, he spoke only a few words of Portuguese. "I only knew 'good morning'," he recalls, smiling. "I arrived alone, but with a large group of Haitians who also came to study."
At Unicamp, she completed her bachelor's and teaching degrees in Geography, earned her master's degree, and is currently pursuing a doctorate at the Laboratory of Geography of Risks and Resilience (Geoplan). Her research investigates territorial vulnerability, urbanization, and sovereignty in Haiti, analyzing the impacts of international interventions and historical inequalities.
Over the years, many of the Haitian students who arrived at the University followed similar paths. Some became researchers and university professors; others migrated to different regions of Brazil or to other countries. Today, according to Guerby, eight Haitians remain affiliated with Unicamp as students and researchers.
Haiti, the first independent Black country in the Americas, with an estimated population of 12 million, has faced decades of political crises, institutional instability, natural disasters, and successive international interventions. In recent years, the advance of armed groups on Port-au-Prince has further aggravated the situation. "Today we live in a territory practically controlled by gangs," says the researcher. "Much of the capital is occupied; people have difficulty moving around, working, and attending school. Many people leave because they feel their lives are threatened."
The issue of Haiti is present in his academic work. In an article published in the GeoUSP journal of the University of São Paulo (USP), the researcher argues that the country has become an example of the limitations faced by vulnerable states in the face of major international powers and successive external interventions. According to Guerby, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), which ended in 2017 after 13 years of operation, failed to resolve the country's structural problems.
“Sovereignty does not exist in practice,” he states. “Haiti continues to face the same problems that existed before the interventions, with new marks on the landscape and in the relentless pursuit of sovereignty and control over its own territory and population.”
Guerby follows the situation of his family, who remained in Haiti, from afar with apprehension. His parents died, but his siblings are still there. Returning has become increasingly difficult, both because of immigration restrictions and the worsening violence. "No one leaves their country without a reason."
Humanitarian reception vs. obstacles
Anthropologist Omar Ribeiro Thomaz, a professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences (IFCH), visited Haiti on several occasions between the late 1990s and 2014, conducting research on poverty, violence, inequality, and social organization.
In his assessment, what happened in Viracopos was not merely an episode of irregularity, but rather the result of a policy that, while announcing humanitarian assistance, imposes almost insurmountable obstacles on those trying to legally enter Brazil, with difficulty accessing humanitarian visas and a lack of more effective reception policies. "Brazil says it facilitates things, but in practice it makes them difficult. There is enormous bureaucracy involved in obtaining visas and regularization," he says.
The professor highlights that the experience built by Unicamp after the 2010 earthquake became one of the most successful academic support initiatives in the country in 2011. “We received 48 Haitian students in situations of great social vulnerability, and 47 completed their undergraduate degrees. Many went on to pursue master's and doctoral programs,” he emphasizes.
According to Thomaz, the initiative was only possible thanks to the mobilization of different sectors of Unicamp. He cites the support of the then Pro-Rector of Undergraduate Studies, Marcelo Knobel, and professors Eliana Amaral and Silvia Santiago, from the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FCM), in addition to the involvement of faculty and staff from various units. "Without this institutional coordination, it would not have been possible to receive and support these students," he says.
According to the professor, the welcoming process involved everything from intensive Portuguese courses to academic support and assistance with adapting to life in Brazil. "It was hard work, but it showed that it's possible to build concrete policies for internationalization and welcoming," he says. The professor emphasizes, however, that experiences of this kind remain isolated in Brazil.
Thomaz draws attention to the untapped potential of Haitians living in Brazil today. According to him, many arrive with technical or university degrees, but encounter barriers to validating their diplomas and practicing their professions. “These are qualified people with experience who could contribute much more. Brazil wastes knowledge and manpower by hindering professional recognition processes.”
"You don't hear about Haitian crime or crime networks. It's an extremely hardworking, organized community committed to its own collective survival," he adds.
Despite the severity of the crisis in the capital, Port-au-Prince, Thomaz emphasizes that other regions of Haiti continue to function precariously, but actively, sustained mainly by the rural world and the family networks of the Haitian diaspora scattered around the globe. "Haiti continues to function because there is an enormous capacity for organization and survival within the population itself," he states.
According to Thomaz, the weakening of international interest in Haiti contributes to the country's isolation. "International tragedies end up failing to garner attention, even when the suffering continues," he says.
The professor argues that Brazil should advance more effective policies of reception, professional integration, and international cooperation aimed at Haiti. For him, the reconstruction of the country does not depend on large-scale military interventions, but on the gradual strengthening of local institutions, education, and public services. "The solution will not come from spectacle or large-scale operations. It depends on institutional reconstruction, training people, strengthening health, education, and the very organizational capacity of Haitian society," he emphasizes.
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