AN UNJUST AND ABSURD DECISION 

For several weeks now various different civil organizations and some sectors of the Catholic Church in the Dominican Republic have raised their voices in defense of the fundamental rights of all those wronged by decision 168-13 of the Dominican Constitutional Tribunal.  The international community has also begun to denounce the flagrant injustice of this decision, which threatens to leave close to 200,000 persons without a national identity.  Of course, each country is sovereign with regard to establishing its immigration laws and deciding to whom it grants nationality or not; but what cannot be agreed with is that by means of this decision the Constitutional Tribunal take away the nationality of Dominican citizens while also violating the Dominican constitution in place since 2010.

This conflict began in 2012 by the appeal for a constitutional review presented by Ms. Juliana Dequis Pierre, a woman of Haitian parents but who was born and has lived in the Dominican Republic all of her life. She made the appeal because the Central Electoral Board (Junta Central Electoral) refused to give her an original birth certificate to process her identification of citizenship. She was refused because she had Haitian surnames.  As a result of this process the Constitutional Tribunal ruled on September 23, 2013, in favor of the Central Electoral Board and Ms. Juliana was denied the right to a birth certificate, and with it, her nationality.  In the same decision the Court opened the doors to de-nationalize more than four generations of Dominicans that are in the same legal situation as Ms. Juliana Dequis Pierre. In it, it seems that the only crime that they have committed is being from Haitian ancestry.

In summary: this sentence snatches away their nationality from all those persons who during eight decades (since 1929) were registered as Dominicans but whose parents were “irregular migrants.”  It directly and above all affects thousands of persons of Haitian ancestry that until now were under the protection of the Constitution and of the laws in place at the moment of their birth and ratified in article 18.2 of the current Constitution of 2010.  It’s calculated that close to 200,000 Dominicans of Haitian origin will be affected by this law.  In the case that is be applied, they will lose their nationality and will thus become country-less, most of them retroactively for the supposed crime of their parents or grandparents who arrived and came to the country in an “irregular” way.

Furthermore, this controversial sentence has chosen to ignore something obvious: that the Haitian immigration in the Dominican Republic is, as in the case of all the migratory phenomena, a complex process caused by economic reasons in which both parties (the country that sends and the country that receives) obtain benefits. The immigrants look to escape poverty, and those that received them obtain a low cost labor force for its national economy.  To penalize the children and grandchildren of irregular Haitian immigrants, denying them the nationality after their parents and grandparents were brought through bilateral contracts between the two governments, and they established themselves and worked in the Dominican Republic under extremely difficult conditions is, in a few words, an exercise in effrontery and dishonesty.  

On the other hand, the decision debilitates the country’s state of law, and with it, increases the vulnerability of the poor, by violating the principles of favorability and of no retroactivity of the law, as established in the Dominican Constitution of 2010 in articles 74.4 and 110, respectively.  Those affected by the decision are men, women and children that consider the Dominican Republic to be their only country, as they do not know any other country or culture or language – they are 100% Dominican and yet, they are now being denied their nationality.

The decision is not only detrimental to thousands of Dominicans but it also feeds the anti-Haitianism in the rest of the population that has deep and complex historical and social roots.  It has always been inherent, but has now been made explicit, creating therefore more social unease and conflict.  Sectors that call themselves “nationalists” have taken the streets to back the Constitutional Tribunal’s decision and to deny the injustice that it presumes. If they were truly nationalists they would defend the right to the nationality of all those Dominicans affected by the decision.  Once more we see that in the background of the question is the resentment towards the Haitian people and their descendents in the Dominican Republic.

At this time the country is divided between those that applaud the decision, and those that deny its validity.  The polls show that more or less half of the Dominicans support the decision and the other half reject it.  There are also those who agree with the decision but not with its retroactive character, looking back to 1929.  This division, apart from generating social ordeal, also damages the relationship between the two countries and negatively affects the bi-national economy.  Those affected by the 168-13 decision will lack the legal documentation to study, to work, to register their children or to have access to any basic public service.  It’s a critical situation to which a democratic state in the 21^st century should know how to find solutions that respect the human rights of all those that live and work in its territory.  The way ahead for those affected by the decision is to strive so that their fundamental rights are respected, making their cry of anguish heard by the international community, hoping that the world is in solidarity with them.  And for those of us who work with them, the way ahead is to accompany them in their struggle out of respect for their fundamental rights and to help them to be heard.

Juan Manuel Camacho

CASA SAN JOSÉ IN THE “EXPOIGLESIA” IN COCHABAMBA (BOLIVIA)

“ExpoIglesia” (“Church-Expo”) took place on October 18, a wonderful fair in which the Archdiocese of Cochabamba informs the attendants of the different social works and projects that the Church does in service of the people of Cochabamba. Casa San José participated and showed the work that it carries out, taking in boys and adolescents in as well as the process of reinserting them into their families.

The boys, adolescents and the staff of Casa San José had the opportunity to offer the story book “Pequeñas Historias Fascinantes” (“Little Fascinating Stories”) and the pine trees and mushrooms produced in the mountainous area of Totorapampa. 

FINAL VATICAN II TALK

On Monday, October 28, Fr. Pere Cané, president of the Community of Saint Paul, gave the fourth and final Vatican II talk co-hosted by the Community of Saint Paul and Sacred Heart Parish in Racine.  The talk titled “The Church We Believe In: Understanding our Profession of Faith in the light of the Second Vatican Council” included a background of the Council and the documents it produced in order to then delve into the ways that the Council has invited us to better understand the four marks of the Church (one, holy, catholic and apostolic) that we profess.  The talk sparked much discussion amongst the 70 people that attended. Thank you to the speakers and the volunteers from Sacred Heart parish that made these four talks possible throughout the year, as well as to all who were able to attend them!

DANIEL’S STORY

In Casa San José, in Cochabamba, there are always stories to be told. Each boy that is welcomed in this home from living on the streets has a long story of suffering and sadness, but also of resilience and strength.

Daniel is 13 years old and has been in Casa San José for six months.  His stepfather abused him physically since he was very young, and abused Daniel’s mom too. The stepfather tricked him to go off on his own to the city of La Paz. Once there Daniel got lost and eventually was welcomed in a center for boys where he is spent some time.  The authorities then sent him to our center in Cochabamba, knowing that his mother and siblings were also in another center in the same city.  His mother was receiving psychological and emotional help to be able to move forward together with her children. Currently, his mother has move out of the center and lives with her youngest children. She is trying to find a job that will allow her to solicit Daniel’s reinsertion into the family.  She has not been able to do so yet, but everyone hopes that it will happen soon, once the family has an economic and social stability.

One of the family’s last visits to the center was for Daniel’s birthday.  The party with the family and Daniel’s companions in the Casa was moving. Daniel, his mother and his siblings are an example that sometimes it is possible to get out of the cycle of abuse within the family, and with much effort and love is possible to rebuild it again. We at the Casa hope that soon they will be back together again. 

REFLECTION

The Art of Attuning Our Emotions

Part of the many challenges of human coexistence is sometimes the difficulty to attune our emotions and moods with one another. Sometimes a great event, and others a chain of a few, very simple, uneventful circumstances can make our day bright. And that day we somehow fail to understand why it is that the person next to us seems unappreciative and unable to produce a smile. That can be highly irritating. Of course, the opposite can also happen. Those times when nothing seems to go right and it’s incomprehensible how people around us seem to be rejoicing in ignorance and smiling for the stupidest thing. That’s irritating too. The truth is that is hard to become attuned to other people’s moods. First, because we are deeply convinced, and rightly so, that our mood, the way I feel at this moment is so uniquely and intrinsically my own prerogative that no one has the right to make me feel otherwise. And second, because moods are very real, and it’s not as easy to change or modify them at will. It’s difficult but not impossible. 

Perhaps one of the attitudes that we all should try to master is empathy. As hard as it is, we all do have the capacity to adapt to the mood of others. We are endowed with the ability to go beyond our own states of mind. Empathy is an attitude by which we let others become, albeit temporarily, our own reference point. Through empathy we allow them to take our emotional space for their own comfort, consolation or rejoicing. Let’s not be mistaken, it’s harder that we can imagine. Imagine that someone is grieving the loss of a loved one. We would do this person no favor if, with the pretext of being empathetic, we started to explain our own experiences of loss. The same would apply, on a more positive note, to somebody that comes to us excited to share the adventures of a recent trip. Of course we want to be part of the conversation in a meaningful way, but we would show no empathy if we start showing off our own travel experiences, perhaps to more exotic countries and riskier adventures. Empathy is letting ourselves be emotionally conquered by the other. And yes, it has to be temporary. It’s not only hard but also very tiring, very consuming. We all need others who are empathetic towards us. We all need to occupy other persons’ spaces; that’s how and why we feel loved and cared for. In a group of people where all give up their spaces to empathy, our own individual and crucial need for understanding, compassion, a friendly voice and a comforting shoulder, is over-abundantly met. It is a very difficult task, the world of human relationships is extremely complex. But the more we work towards this sharing and giving of spaces, this network of empathy, the more we will be living in the Kingdom of Heaven.

A final note. As it happens with crying or laughing, moods are often contagious. The following saying is unfairly dramatic but brings the point right across: “One rotten apple spoils the whole bunch.” It is up to us to turn this uninviting image inside out. Perhaps we could say: “One ready smile, one warm heart, one gentle look, one kind word, an empathetic gesture, may spread and multiply in surprising, unexpected and remarkable ways.”   

Esteban Redolad