Sailing To Guantanamo

A journey examining the 1991-1994 Haitian Refugee Crisis with riveting testimonies of untold stories of resilience, survival, and the pursuit of hope against the backdrop of a coup d'état, political unrest, and the Guantanamo refugee camps.

"Sailing to Guantanamo" explores the Haitian Refugee Crisis from 1991 to 1994, beginning with the coup d’état on September 28, 1991, that ousted president-elect Jean-Bertrand Aristide, orchestrated by General Raoul Cedras, who then established a regime marked by severe persecution of Aristide's supporters, resulting in over thousands of reported killings and countless imprisonments. This led many to flee to the seas in search of political asylum in the United States; however, they were intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard and taken to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, where the number of processed Haitians surged to over 40,000 by October 1994 as the crisis garnered international attention. Through testimonies of former refugees, immigration officers, and U.S. and Haitian government officials, the documentary delves into a journey to understand the tumultuous socio-economic landscape of Haiti during that period while also examining the historical relationship between the U.S. and Haiti, race dynamics in immigration, and ultimately culminating into a story of resilience of the human spirit and the profound effects of political decisions on the lives of everyday Haitians.

Project Website: https://sailingtoguantanamo.com

Director | Dudley Alexis

Cinematographer | Gil Anderson

Producer | Imani Waren