HAITIANS IN THE CROSS HAIRS

On June 17 a registration period established by the government of the Dominican Republic for thousands of undocumented Haitians, living in the Dominican Republic, ended (It is said that there are 300,000 to 500,000 affected by this registration requirement.) All undocumented Haitian immigrants were required to register in Dominican government offices. To that end some were able to provide, at least, some type of current documentation from their country.  Many, however, had no documents whatsoever.

Beginning now and in the immediate future, those men, women and children, who do not have any document can be taken by security forces to hundreds of trucks destined for camps located on the other side of the border.  It seems that these people will have to leave with what they are wearing; they won’t be able to take their belongings.

How sad and hopeless it is to see the faces of anguish and fear of the people and families directly affected by this situation. They are men, young people, mothers and children that have established their lives in the Dominican Republic with much work and effort, many for a long time. It is distressing to see the extreme vulnerability with which they live these days. It is also infuriating that Dominican as well as Haitian people and institutions take advantage of someone else’s desperation to obtain some benefit by means of different corrupt practices.

The Dominican authorities have guaranteed the respect of human rights and civility in this process. We are left to trust in this good intention and that in the middle of this very delicate situation wisdom, justice, and respect for the dignity of all will prevail.

REFLECTION

SOLIDARITY: A POWER WEAPON AGAINST INJUSTICE

Juan Manuel Camacho

In September 2013, the Constitutional Tribunal of the Dominican Republic passed the law 168/13, which snatched away citizenship from people who had been registered as Dominicans for eight decades (since 1929), but whose parents and/or grandparents were “irregular migrants” in the Dominican Republic. The law above all directly affects thousands of people of Haitian descent who until now were under the protection of the Constitution and of the laws in place at the moment of their birth. It is estimated that this law has affected about 2.3% of Dominicans and its implementation means the loss of citizenship (they became country-less). For many of them this law has a retroactive consequence based on the “alleged crime” of their parents and/or grandparents who came to and lived in this country. For these Dominicans, who are for the most part young, this law makes them criminals just for the fact of being born on this side of the island.

The law has not only hurt thousands of Dominicans, but is feeding the rest of the population with an anti-Haitian ideology that is deeply rooted in complex historical and social events. This ideology has been latent, but now is made explicit and legal, therefore creating more discomfort and social conflict. Self-proclaimed “nationalistic” sectors have taken to the streets to support the law of the Constitutional Tribunal, denying the injustice that this decision entails. Once again, what looms in the background is the resentment towards the Haitian people and their presence in the Dominican Republic. This injustice should be strongly condemned. It is a grave injustice that is being committed to this group of Dominicans of Haitian descent, in that they are all Dominicans born and raised in the Dominican Republic. Their parents and/or grandparents were the ones who crossed the border, not them.

FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE HAITIAN MINISTRY IN LA SAGRADA FAMILIA PARISH IN SABANA YEGUA

On Saturday, June 15th, the Haitian Ministry program in La Sagrada Familia Parish celebrated its fifth anniversary.  As you may know, the Dominican Republic has a great flux of Haitian immigrants.  There lives about 5000 Haitian immigrants in the parish territory, most of which are undocumented and work as agricultural and construction laborers. The Haitians in the Domican Republic suffer many abuses when they try to get a step ahead in the neighboring country. Due to cultural differences including language and complicated historical and socio-economic differences, the fact is there exists a strong distrust towards Haitians in the Dominican society, resulting in discrimination in many different ways.  In La Sagrada Familia Parish we give priority to the pastoral and social work in the local Haitian population and their integration into the country, respecting their culture and traditions.  We are proud that the parish, and thus Church, is a place where they can encounter security, dignity and support, and is also a setting for intercultural dialogue.  This is why the celebration is a significant event for the entire parish community.