No one cared for this.
It was shocking to see how the outcries against this “xenophobic” act
continued to spread with a snowball effect, yet the information that it was
another Haitian who had murdered him was not important enough, or did not merit
the attention of the world.
It is during events like these that you realize that gossip
isn’t just something that happens between closed communities and or friends, it
is something that happens worldwide, with Facebook and Instagram as their
vessels. There is no difference between
localized gossip and grand scale gossip; they both lose their veracity as it
goes from one person to the next, they both get manipulated and molded by
opinion and lack of information.
What is happening right now regarding the Dominican Republic’s
migratory policy enforcement is no different.
Facts are being deformed and contorted by people with the right intentions,
but the wrong information. Outrage is spreading
with misinformation as its base. And
that, quite frankly, is not fair for anyone.
In an attempt to clear things up, and allow for the rest of
the world to make an educated judgment of the situation, here are the facts of
the current events regarding the treatment of Haitians in the Dominican
Republic, and the nationalization process in the country.
HAITIANS IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
In a census done in 2012, there were 524,632 legalized
citizens recorded to be living in the Dominican Republic, 64% of which were
Haitians. This represents around 5% of
the Dominican population, and did not account for the amount of illegal
immigrants residing in the country.
For a second let’s
ignore the legal population, because they have not said a word throughout this
ordeal due to the fact that their Dominican status is not being threatened by
this process (although this fact should be considered by people worldwide
because if they are so at ease, they are surely not being persecuted for
murder).
Those immigrants who are in DR illegally have had access to
the following privileges within the country, despite their status:
- Education. Illegal immigrants have been allowed and encouraged to enroll in schools and universities.
- Healthcare. Hospitals do not refuse medical attention to the constant inflow of Haitian mothers coming in to give birth, and leave the facility without paying a cent. Neither is it denied to anyone who shows up at a public hospital with an emergency. Dominican hospitals are deficient, but they are equally deficient to Dominicans as they are to Haitians.
- Work. Illegal immigrants are allowed to work without proper documentation. This is illegal by Dominican law, but the country has chosen to look the other way in order to mitigate the crisis of unemployed immigrants.
- Access. Hospitals have pamphlets and posters in Creole as well as in Spanish, giving Haitians access to information.
DOMINICAN AND HAITIAN TIES
It is no secret that the
relationship between the two countries has been turbulent throughout history. This has allowed for judgment, misconceptions
and even hostility between both sides.
Nonetheless, the Dominican Republic has consistently aided their neighboring
country in times of trouble.
- Haiti Earthquake. The DR was the first to assist a country in ruins. Not only did they send food, supplies, and water, but they also sent doctors and military personnel to aid in the rescue of those buried in buildings. Regular people, who did not have the obligation, risked their lives to go help those in trouble, despite the threat of being ambushed by desperate mobs who were hijacking aid vehicles. Dominicans didn’t see Haitians, or black people, or people with a different culture. They saw fellow human beings in distress, and responded accordingly.
- Cholera Outbreak. During the Cholera outbreak that followed the earthquake, it would have been perfectly logical to close the border between the two countries in order to avoid the spread of this disease. Still, the Dominican-Haitian border remained open, exposing the country to the outbreak, which they eventually had to fight together.
DOMINICAN NATIONALIZATION LAW
The law that is being imposed now has existed since
1929. People who are born in Dominican
Republic are not Dominicans by default.
This isn’t exclusive for Haitian descendants; it is inclusive for every
immigrant. This law is similar to around
70% of the countries in the world. On
the other hand, Haitian law states that those who are born of Haitian parents
are Haitian. There is no such thing as
someone without a nationality.
Who has a right to the Dominican Nationality?
- Anyone born of one or two Dominican parents
- Anyone living in the country for more than 6 years
- Anyone who can vouch for studying or working in the country
18 months were given for the process of legalization. 540 days to gather and deposit paper
work. More than one year to become a
Dominican citizen.
LIES REGARDING THE PROCESS
As previously mentioned, misinformation is a 21st
Century pandemic. Although not properly
a disease, it spreads with the same effectiveness, and generates devastating
damage. So in the spirit of clearing
things up, the following “facts” you have read, are not true.
- Haitians will be stripped of their nationality. The reason why nationalized Haitians are calm and doing nothing about what’s going on is because their status here is safe.
- Haitian genocide. No one is being massively murdered in the Dominican Republic. Rest assured that if this were so, extensive media coverage would be reporting things live, not manufactured videos with an anonymous informant.
- 200,000 Haitians will be affected. The current amount of illegal Haitians in DR is actually of 13,000. Those 13,000 were given the 18 month period to legalize their status.
SOLUTIONS
There is no reason in reporting a problem, if a solution doesn’t
accompany it. Sadly, the living
conditions in Haiti are detrimental, and as any population in desperation,
groups in the country have sought media attention by trying to harm those who
they view as the only ones that can help.
Unfortunately, the Dominican Republic, a “third world country” as well,
lacks the resources to help at the capacity that is needed for Haiti. So, what is the world to do with Haiti? HELP THEM.
Help them even though the international community stands nothing to
gain. Direct all this energy and all these
funds devoted to berating the Dominican Republic, to elaborating and carrying
out a long term aid plan that will help Haiti improve their living
conditions. Instead of playing the blame
game, all countries should work together to fund the rebuilding of Haiti.
A FINAL NOTE
The Dominican Republic is a sovereign country just as every
other country in the world. It is not
viable, or even fair, that everyone suggests a neo fusion of both countries by
demanding a flexible border and weak migratory regulations. Every country has the right to regularize the
status of those who inhabit it, and no country has the right to force another
to bend the rules in order to make things easier for them.
Everyone, especially those starting petitions to shun
Dominican Republic, forwarding lies, demanding exclusion, needs to set their
sight on positive solutions. Haiti will
not gain anything if the international community turns their back on the
Dominican Republic. On the contrary, it
will affect them just the same. If those
concerned are as worried about the Haitian community as they say, why not work
WITH Dominicans in order to devise a plan to help improve Haiti's current state? The solution is not to allow 13,000 people to
stay illegally in one country while millions starve on the other side. The solution is to focus all the attention and
all the desire to help towards actually helping.
