Quisqueya the new Africa.

I did see the news about the new film done by the Italian director.

It may be that there are few Dominicanos that are mistreating the Haitians but that there are many many Haitians that are being treated improperly.
It is not something that is a maybe it is a fact that human rights violations have and are occurring.

It is too bad that you and your family feel frustration with this. I am sure that the Haitians are feeling frustrated as well. With the level of racism being so high coming from the barrios to the capital it is an unfortunate part of life.

Now having said this I have not seen the movie as of yet. I do not have any answers to solving the problem of illegal Haitians in the RD nor do I have a solution to the situation in Haiti. Most of the Haitians don't even like the RD and would rather be in their home country than with the Dominicanos.

There a quite a few Haitians in Jarabacoa, evenly divided between contruction workers and field workers. There are many that live in Barrio Don Bosco, the poorest neighbourhood in the city. Most of these young men are well dressed and clean, seem to get along with locals reasonably well. Many speak Spanish and I've spoken to several in English. They are certainly not slaves, but this is different than the sugar cane fields. These guys got here by themselves, and seem to live within the local community without much problem.

The argument is not whether human rights are being violated, because they have been, are, and most likely will continue to be violated. Not just human rights among the braceros, but human rights violations occur even on the Dominican population with much frequency. That's NOT what is causing the frustration in many Dominicans, even Dominicans who are pro-Haitian and pro-improvements of bateye conditions.

The problem lies in that many of these critics are claiming that slavery is being practiced when in fact, that is NOT the case. It may be abuse, it may be violations of human rights, it may be many things, but slavery is NOT ONE OF THEM!

Like Texas Bill once said, there is no major difference between the lifestyle of Haitians living in bateyes and the lifestyle of poor people living in slums on the outskirts of major Dominican cities, little to no difference!

Both are living a marginalized life, both are neglected, both suffer from malnutrition, easy to cure but yet endemic diseases, high mortality rate, a sense of powerlessness, an inhumane existance.

Similar conditions to those of the bateyes are also being experienced in places such as Cite Soleil and Delmas, slums of the worst kind in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

That is why their is much frustration among many people towards the critics. Its not that no one acknowledges that there are abuses of human rights, even the Dominican government acknowledges this by claiming to be working towards guaranteeing these rights to everyone.

However, what everyone doesn't acknowledge is the notion that slavery is being encouraged and practiced in the Dominican Republic with support from the government.

That is a false notion that is being spread by these critics, a notion that is as false as it would be to believe that the Haitian govenment supports slavery in Haiti because every year young girls are sold to become virtual endentured slaves in affluent homes all over Haiti. Of course, that is occuring, but to say that the Haitian government supports that is as irroneous as it is to claim that the Dominican government supports slavery in the DR.

That is a claim that has not merit.

Violations of many sorts is a valid claim, but slavery is NOT ONE OF THEM!

Child Slavery in Haiti

-NALs