Here is something we can all do

[mondongo]

as reported in the local papers...

http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991218928&Language=EN

"Letter to Dominican Republic President Hip?lito Mej?a

La CIOSL, se?or Presidente, hace responsable a su gobierno de las v?ctimas que cayeron durante el per?odo de la huelga y le insta a tomar en consideraci?n el justo reclamo de los sectores populares de su pa?s que debe ser atendido con medidas que permitan compensar la situaci?n de pobreza y exclusi?n que agobia a la mayor?a de la poblaci?n, abandonando f?rmulas econ?micas neoliberales que est?n en contraposici?n a los derechos fundamentales de la poblaci?n; condenamos por otra parte, la represi?n y los muertos, pidi?ndole exhaustivas investigaciones para establecer las responsabilidades administrativas y judiciales a que haya lugar....."

I don't know much about this organization.....and do not claim to agree/disagree with their politics...but at least they sent a letter to Mejia.

 

[RHM]

come on PIB..........

let's not make this political...........it's all about "awareness" right?...........O'Reilly may not be your cup of tea but he has the #1 rated news show on Cable......I have emailed with him personally in the past....(hint: he only replied when I disagreed strongly with him).........and even read my letter on the air! (my 15 minutes have been ticking ever since).

I wouldn't leave him out of the mix.

Side note: Lawrence, Massachusetts (aka Santo Domingo el Norte) has a huge Dominican population and a widely circulated paper (Lawrence Eagle Tribune, www.eagletribune.com). I am from a town close to there and will email a buddy who works there. Big Dominican and Puerto Rican influence in that city, Mejis visited Lawrence after Washington D.C. last year..................then again.........there are a lot of liberals at the Tribune...........well.........I guess it's all about "awareness"........kidding

I'll tell you what PIB...........you email Newt Gingrich and I'll email Hillary

Scandall

 

[Ken]

Are you saying, mondongo, that it took a letter from this organization to let the president know the Dominican people are pi$$ed off?

 

[Robert]

Looks like an ABC news crew took an interest.

http://dr1.com/blogs/playavista/

"We cannot help noticing though, that news of the situation here is rippling all the way up to the cold US north, because we had an ABC news camera crew doing interviews and taking footage from our terrazza? so you should be able to hear more of our comments on the subject as well as for once experience some shots in full color of Playa Vista and 50% of the management when they finally edit their program and transmit it sometime in February."

I will see if I can get more details and contacts etc.

 

[mondongo]

Scandall, I am in the process of contacting the Eagle Tribune (they dropped "Lawrence" from the official name). My goal is to be an asset to them, provide them with substantive, factual analysis of the situation in the D.R. If your buddy can find out if there is a specific reporter that would have an interest, I would like to speak to such person. An Editor would be best, of course.

Ken, I did not intend to imply what you inferred. I made that commment beacause I am exasperated at the lack of pressure from international organizations and governments. BTW, why haven't we heard from USA officials, especially in the Bush administration?

 

[Pib]

Re: come on PIB..........

let's not make this political...........it's all about "awareness" right?...........O'Reilly may not be your cup of tea but he has the #1 rated news show on Cable......I have emailed with him personally in the past....(hint: he only replied when I disagreed strongly with him).........and even read my letter on the air! (my 15 minutes have been ticking ever since).

I wouldn't leave him out of the mix.

I concur. What I meant to say is that since I am not a US citizen, and O'Reilly's show is about politics, he might not be interested in what I have to say. But any American out there that can reach him should do it. Since you caught his attention once, go ahead and try again.

 

[RHM]

modongo...

give me a few days and I'll try to call my friend and see if I can get some names and #'s for people at the Tribune who would be interested....I would definately wager that there are at least a few Dominicans on the staff...

Scandall

 

[Chirimoya]

BTW, why haven't we heard from USA officials, especially in the Bush administration?

Funcionario reitera interes EEUU en elecciones

"La embajada" has spoken. Let's see if they step up the tone of the message once Ley de Lemas goes through.

Chiri

 

[Tordok]

The sad reality is that the mainstream media in the U.S. will not report anything re. the DR until there is "action news", i.e. explosions, tanks in the streets, burning buildings, mass violence, etc.. because there is little "entertainment value" otherwise.

Please don't get me wrong, I still think that this writing campaign is worth the effort. but sinister political maneuverings by a corrupt "democratic" regime in a small Caribbean nation are not as newsworthy to them as actual riots or a military coup d'etat. Its hard not to be cynical. Perhaps we would get some attention if anyone could hint at the U.S. that Mej?a has links to the axis of evil ( that may not be hard to do given how trustworthy the intelligence on Iraq was).

-Tordok

 

[PJT]

The sad reality is that the mainstream media in the U.S. will not report anything re. the DR until there is "action news", i.e. explosions, tanks in the streets, burning buildings, mass violence, etc.. because there is little "entertainment value" otherwise.

The reality is the U.S. media is publishing stories about the increased Coast Guard intercepts of the illegals in the Mona Passage saying few words or with deeper explanation of what is the "economic" cause of Dominicans fleeing their country. It is up to us to provide the media with "The Rest of The Story".

There is a regional newspaper, The Lawrence Eagle Tribune, located in Essex County, north of Boston. It serves the area with its own publication and publications of its other news outlets such as the Salem News (MA). Lawrence has about 20-26 thousand resident Dominicans and the Salem/Lynn MA area has a similar amount.

Mr. Al White, The Managing Editor, of the Eagle Tribune has responded to an email I sent regarding the mess in the D.R. He said: "whatever happens in the DR has a huge impact on the region, particularly Lawrence. News from the DR also has high reader interest." He mentioned he is having his metro editor consider a story on the impact of the political and economic crisis is having on the area residents. I believe he will publish a story. If there is more communication from DR1' ers to this newspaper about the situation in the country a story will go to print faster. My hope is if the story does have the "reader interest" it will hit the national wires, expose the fraud in the D.R. for what it is, and force more international pressure on the present administration to cure the nation's ills.

The website for the Eagle Tribune is: www.eagletribune.com .

Regards, PJT

 

[ERICKXSON]

I've been hesitant about the situation and it is putting a burn in my pockets i'm currently in Miami and let see if i can gather afew hundreth people to rally in front of the DR consulate i have many many friends working in the Miami Media i can bring it up to (Neida Sandoval) personal friend of mine from (Despierta America) on Univision Telemundo etc.....

http://especiales.univision.com/contentuvn/rinconlatino/despiertaamerica/portada.html

let see what i can do i'm pretty sure we'll have atleast a hundreth people 2 spanish stations and 3 english let see i'm only going to be here for a month.......

chauuuuuuuuuu!

 

[Chirimoya]

It is true, even when there are "newsworthy" events like rioting the coverage is superficial. The BBC did cover the strike (blink and you miss it):

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3443973.stm

The references to why people were protesting did not go beyond the economic situation. I wrote to them about it, and also suggested that they should post a link to DR1 as well as (or instead of) the government and PLD websites which are in Spanish anyway.

Chiri

 

[Pib]

I received a reply from one of the journalist I had emailed. He said he's writting a follow-up article soon to be published.

Hoy reports that only today 500 more illegals were detained trying to reach Puerto Rico. Yes, 500! That is over half the inmigrants during the last YEAR of Leonel's government. We can use that other argument to get the US press interested.

On the other hand Mej?a blamed Leonel for the bad press he's getting abroad.

[Mejia] Expres? que Fern?ndez tiene de asesores incluyendo "cabilderos en algunos peri?dicos a nivel mundial" para colar informaciones de las que "da?an al pa?s" lo que Mej?a consider? no le importa al ex presidente.

 

[Jane J.]

Or maybe we're having an effect already, hmm. WE are the cabilderos!

(OK, so we're not, but let's keep going, eh?)

 

[mondongo]

Scandall, thanks for your efforts. Let me know if your buddy can help.

 

[BushBaby]

Pib,
This is Ginnie. I wrote to The Economist, as they did an accurate report on D.R. in their 13th. Dec '03 edition. Had to go in via subscription services, but the reply says they will pass it on. Vamos a ver! Keep up the good work!

 

[Tordok]

....my optimistic side

kicks my pessimistic side on the rear....

I wrote over 1 week ago to the Washington Post's Latin America columnist. No reply. No column. Typical? Should I give up? No way. We must be persistent and patient. Even when we know that these are urgent matters to millions of people who will find it very hard to maintain their already overtested patience. Even if we don't get the coverage that we think these issues deserve at this time, at least we are no longer passive bystanders anymore, we are speaking up. Having never before felt compelled to publicly decry anything , I suddenly now have a sense of what people mean when they say that they feel "empowered".

-Tordok

 

[Chirimoya]

Maybe the "threat to democracy" angle is not enough to make them sit up and listen. The fears of an Argentina type crisis? Or maybe the growing flood of economic exiles heading for Puerto Rico and the US will do the trick?

Chiri

 

[Tony C]

Here are some key words to use when contacting the media:

Illegal(As in Alien)
$ Dollars
Terrorism
$ Money
Jobs(As in Lost American jobs)
$ Dollars
Children(Suffering)
$ Money
Racism

There are approx: 200 countries on this planet. A large precentage of them have corruption issues. You have to make the DR story stand out from the rest.
Right now in our hemisphere Haiti, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Argentina are going through even rougher times. How much Media Coverage is getting play from these places? Not much!
In Todays NY Times there is a front page article about Zimbabwe. Why Zimbabwe? They article plays the "suffering children" angle. As bad as things are in the DR the truth is there are a lot of countreis out there that have it much worse. If you want the media to report what is going out there you have to make it stand out and grab their attention!

 

[sancochojoe]

Would the media take notice if there was protest in front of the American Embassy in Santo Domingo. Especially by Foreigners.
After all the states does influence elections in DR.

I know the State Dept would take notice immediately. They notice things when people spit on a foreign embassy wall.

Just a suggestion