(task) Haiti, a Caribbean country, is joining the African Union | Public Radio International

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> http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-05-13/haiti-caribbean-country-joining-african-union <http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-05-13/haiti-caribbean-country-joining-african-union>
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> Haiti, a Caribbean country, is joining the African Union
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> Credit:
> Marie Arago/Reuters
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> Haitians dance under a sacred ceibo tree in a voodoo ritual on the third day of the annual gathering in the Souvenance community. Descendants of the people of Dahomey, a former kingdom in what is now present-day Benin, show their devotion to their ancestors and various spirits, The third day of ceremonies represents their journey back to Africa. Picture taken April 1, 2013.
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> The African Union has 54 member states. Actually, make that 55: Next month, Haiti will officially become a member.
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> Yep, Haiti — in the Caribbean — will become part of Africa. It will be the first non-African country to join the AU bloc.
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> Culturally, though, a lot of people feel like the two are already joined.
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> “Haiti always calls itself ... a little piece of Africa in the Caribbean, so I think it’s only fitting that now they made it official,” said Garry Pierre-Pierre, publisher of the Brooklyn-based Haitian Times <http://haitiantimes.com/>.
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> “We share so much of the African culture from religious practices to the way we interact,” said Pierre-Pierre. “When I lived [in West Africa], it reminded me so much of Haiti, it was uncanny.”
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> The primary benefit for Haiti in joining the AU will be the economic ties.
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> “Haiti wants to develop a lot of industries, tourism one of them,” said Pierre-Pierre, a former New York Times reporter. “I think there are a lot of opportunities for commerce, for raw materials that are plentiful in Africa.”
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> It works both ways.
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> “As Africa develops industries it will be looking for markets, and Haiti will be one of them,” said Pierre-Pierre.
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> Beyond the economic ties that bind, joining the AU is for most Haitians a symbolic step — the union has been discussed for several years <http://www.pri.org/stories/2012-10-16/haiti-brink-becoming-latest-member-african-union>. Pierre-Pierre thinks that in 20 years, Haitians will look back on the decision and say, “What a brilliant move this was. What took it so long?”