The other heartbreaking side of the DR

Feb 7, 2007
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Translated by Bing and draft corrected.

El Caribe ? Familia muy pobre comparte medio colch?n entre ocho

Very poor family shares half a mattress among eight

06/18/2012 12: 00 AM - Amber Mena


A family of eight, consisting of the mother and seven children, share the adventure of discovering what to eat each day and a single mattress for the night.

Dilenia Rodriguez is only 29 years old, single mother of seven children, of whom three require health service, but she does not have the ability to take them to the hospital.

Precarity is extreme, to the point that Angelica Maria, 11 years old; Dileysi, 8; King David, 7; Luis David, 3; Diana, a year, and twins, Dariel and Dariana, of six months, have to share a medium mattress placed above four blocks, because there is no other bed to sleep on. The mother sleeps on the floor.

They live in a house of wood and partly of zinc, with no (concrete) floor and without power. The house is comprised of a single room. Nor they have potable water service and the house does not have even a bathroom.

Maria Angela Rodriguez, grandmother of children, expressed sadness that they are always looking for somebody passing by to ask them to give them some food. She added that the children have no clothes nor do they get the nutrients needed to grow.

Maria Angelica, the eldest of the girls is 11 years old but only seems to be 8. Almost reaching puberty yet her body has not developed properly yet, while Diana, one year old, was sick with flu and fever, but went barefoot. All live off charity from neighbors who come to them with some food.

King David, one of the children is also known as "The flea", already well known in the neighborhood, because he goes out to beg in order to buy some bread.

It is an action that he mimic from his mother, who also goes by the local Church to beg for money to buy some food. Her two elder children do not study because there is no money to buy school supplies.

Margarita Dom?nguez is one of the few persons that comes to visit this family to bring some clothes and food when you can. She talks about the face of happiness that she seen on the children when she gives them to eat.

Grandmother of the children appeals to solidarity

The malnutrition of children is marked on the skin and hair. The twins six months old had no milk yesterday or any diapers. In addition they were congested by the flu virus.

Grandmother Maria Angela, already old and with difficulties in the leg, said that she cannot stand watching grandchildren suffer from hunger and precariousness. She regrets she cannot help in any way because she also lives in poverty and does not have anything to give (the children). Faced with this reality, she cries for help to the authorities. In this case all the fundamental rights of children, such as food, health and education, among others are denied.
 
Aug 21, 2007
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This is a story typical of life in the bateys. It is not unusual, rather the way of life of many. And it is all they know. Sad, but true.

Lindsey
 
Dec 26, 2011
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thanks for this, Lindsey...and we argue and fuss about stupid things like watches, cars and towel warmers
 

NotLurking

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Jul 21, 2003
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Can she please stop opening her legs? And where the hell are the sperm donors? She doesn't have a bed or a bathroom but she is pregnant every other year. Life is good...whoopee all the time.

NotLurking
 
Dec 26, 2011
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Can she please stop opening her legs? And where the hell are the sperm donors? She doesn't have a bed or a bathroom but she is pregnant every other year. Life is good...whoopee all the time.

NotLurking

1. No tv.

2. She was abused as a child and has no self-esteem.

3. She was also malnourished, like her kids. The brain needs protein to develop and function properly. Her daughters will be pregnant at a very young age, with no further participation from the sperm donors.

Sad and vicious cycle.
 

AlterEgo

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Jan 9, 2009
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Like Lindsay, I've seen families like this first hand. I've seen kids wearing shorts with the thread from seams across their butts rotted away and barely covering them. Lots of kids naked around their houses - the ragged shorts are for 'going out'. Still smiling and playing, not a clue that the rest of the world is out there living very differently.

It's heartbreaking. We do what we can, but we're just one couple and we can't fix the whole town.

Like our housekeeper told us, "There are a lot of hungry people here".
 

Casino127

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Jan 13, 2012
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You don t have to go to Somalia to see it. It is all over the country. What s happen with the time passing by, there is everyday a big gap growing between filthy riches and dam poors in the world !! I think one day it s gona blow, as we can see it in the middle east and so on......
 

Lobo Tropical

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Aug 21, 2010
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Sad Reality

Can she please stop opening her legs? And where the hell are the sperm donors? She doesn't have a bed or a bathroom but she is pregnant every other year. Life is good...whoopee all the time.

NotLurking

Ever considered that there is no money for contraceptives, education and abortions are illegal.
This is the plight for many poor and abused women in the world.
 
Dec 26, 2011
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Ever considered that there is no money for contraceptives, education and abortions are illegal.
This is the plight for many poor and abused women in the world.

There are powerful organizations run by men that pretend to speak for imaginary friends that perpetuate this.
 

NotLurking

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Jul 21, 2003
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Ever considered that there is no money for contraceptives, education and abortions are illegal.
This is the plight for many poor and abused women in the world.

Abstinence needs no money. Common sense? If you can't feed one don't fornicate to avoid creating another which you can't feed either. My 8 year old can understand this. If you don't have enough for one, you'll certainly not have enough for two.

NotLurking
 

windeguy

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Jul 10, 2004
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Abstinence needs no money. Common sense? If you can't feed one don't fornicate to avoid creating another which you can't feed either. My 8 year old can understand this. If you don't have enough for one, you'll certainly not have enough for two.

NotLurking

Common sense does not apply here. If it did, the problem would not exist. Dig deeper.
 
Feb 7, 2007
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NotLurking my friend, some people cannot keep their physiological needs at bay. In the deep down of ourselves we are "beasts". Some can control it more than others, and it does not apply only to sex. It applies to violence, for example, as well.
 

Expat13

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Jun 7, 2008
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it is very sad to see and read such things and I know its difficult to find solutions. It would be great if local businesses could help with donations to such distressed families. Of course this could be a result of the customers contributing a little more than their factura owing which would be dispursed accordingly. But would the biz owners just keep it!
 
Dec 26, 2011
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Abstinence needs no money. Common sense? If you can't feed one don't fornicate to avoid creating another which you can't feed either. My 8 year old can understand this. If you don't have enough for one, you'll certainly not have enough for two.

NotLurking

I love the people that talk tough like this. Though I agree 100% with your logic, human beings don't operate like that. This is a glimpse into a cycle. Breaking the cycle is key- education, easy access to affordable contraception, help from the more fortunate, etc. Heartless judgmentalism hasn't proven too effective to date. Simply calling mom a "fornicator" will not fix the problem.
 

Aceleron

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Aug 9, 2011
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Ever considered that there is no money for contraceptives, education and abortions are illegal.
This is the plight for many poor and abused women in the world.


Education is free, and guess what, they also get free breakfast if they attend school.
 
My wife said almost the same thing as NotLurking. "Why does she produce babies like an hamster?! Look at these poor little innocent children"

I do not think it is easy like black and white- i also believe she is a victim for some ugly things when she was little girl. The article is just terrible terrible reading, my heart cries when i read the article in ElCaribe.
 

Aceleron

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Aug 9, 2011
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Contraceptive are as cheap as can be, $10 to $15 pesos per condom, much cheap that the beer the sperm donors buys every weekend.
 

Eddy

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Jan 1, 2002
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I think sterilization after 1 child would be the solution. The procedure can be reversed if conditions change. Or better still cut the b*lls off the useless "sperm donors".
 

NotLurking

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Jul 21, 2003
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Common sense does not apply here. If it did, the problem would not exist. Dig deeper.
windeguy, I don't want to dig deeper. I'm tired of making up excuses for people that actually do know better but choose to do the wrong thing just the same at the peril of others; the children & society. I can relate (understand?) that destiny can sometimes be a formidable foe (fickle friend?) and in many cases the situation is out of one's control but lets get a grip and look at this in prospective. Ms. Dilenia Rodriguez, had SEVEN kids. At some point, say, around the forth kid, she must have thought, uhmmm how am I and the kids going to eat. You are know telling me with a straight face that she didn't have the choice of not having more kids?????? Am I to accept that the animal instinct of sex clouded all reasoning? She has sufficient capacity to go out and beg, what is running through her mind when she begs? Isn't the same lame ass excuse applicable here? Her savage sexual desires ravage her every rational thought? I'm not buying into this.....

NotLurking
 
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