Commentary: The Republic of Haiti and the Dominican Republic
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| Published on Saturday, November 14, 2009 |
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By Jean H Charles
I just spent a full week in the Dominican Republic visiting the cities of Santiago and Santo Domingo as well as the towns and the villages in between. The experience was as pleasant as my trip to Trinidad and Tobago during Carnival time. Compared to Haiti, which is still living in the stone age, the Dominican Republic is moving at full speed into modernity and towards development.
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| Jean H Charles MSW, JD is Executive Director of AINDOH Inc a non profit organization dedicated to building a kinder and gentle Caribbean zone for all. He can be reached at: jeanhcharles@aol. |
To start with the activities at the borders, you will notice a convoy of 10 to 12 long haul trucks filled with merchandise going towards Haiti while, on the other side, Haiti has only the hordes of the poor and the destitute to offer to the Dominican Republic. Its army is camped at the entrance of each town to check on the visitors. I have counted 19 military-security posts before entering Santo Domingo.
I have visited the Dominican Republic to check de visu the allegations of institutionalized mistreatment of Haitian people. I have found them baseless, I have spoken with enough Haitian church officials, Haitian university students, migrants on the street and ordinary Dominicans to confirm the fact that mob rule that strikes from times to times in isolated villages in the Dominican Republic has nothing to do with the policies of the government nor the attitude of the ordinary Dominican towards the Haitian people. A significant number of Haitian intellectuals have recently written a letter to President Leonel Fernandez objecting to the complicity of the State in incubating the de facto status of discrimination against the Haitian people in Dominican Republic. President Fernandez took offense to the letter, considering the fact he has taken the case of Haiti to all the international instances he has spoken to. The Haitian migrants and the Haitian students in the Dominican Republic have credited President Fernandez for a culture of detente towards them in the Dominican Republic.
I am sticking my neck out not to defend the Dominican Republic but to call on the Haitian intellectuals to form (with me) a coalition to render Haiti more hospitable to its own people so they will not have to endure the humiliation of being an unwanted belonger not only in the Dominican Republic but also in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos.
The arrogance of power, the determination to maintain the status quo in Haiti are clothed with the hypocrisy of self pity so as to confuse the issues and not taking steps to bring about needed change. The migrant advocates are now rewarded with ministerial positions. The revolving doors between fake advocates and policy decision makers blur the picture so the solution to the problem will never be found. The island of Ayiti made up of the Republic of Haiti and the Dominican Republic is destined to become a powerful engine for the Caribbean once it is in full gear. The Dominican Republic is now using Haiti as its dumping ground because there is not a minimum of governance in Haiti to create an engaging partnership that would be equally profitable to both countries. The politics of eating the seeds in Haiti is the praxis of the government.
Putting my shoes into those of the Dominicans, I find it hard for the Haitian people (with their culture of exclusion) to absorb, without an uproar, more than a million Dominicans into their territory, with a majority of them, with no basic education, no grooming and requesting essential services such as health care, housing and social services.
In the meantime, I have found in Santiago and in Santo Domingo most of the amenities that the ordinary Haitian person craves for: a vibrant night life, supermarkets filled with produce and goods at price competitive with the American stores, clean streets, a government that cares and works for its people.
The Dominican Republic is not without its faults, too many children begging on the street, too many prostitutes engaging in the first business of the world with no fear and no curb from the patrolling police squad. The small towns have too many unemployed persons spending the day waiting for a magic savior. The Dominican Republic could use more micro PPP (public-private partnership) to engage its creative population.
Yet, I have found enough seedling of good will in the Dominican Republic to believe once a responsible government is installed in Haiti, the wings of the bird named Ayiti will facilitate the flying of an eagle that chose the firmament as its final destination. | | | | Reads : 1093 | | | |
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