Padre Granero: Life after Hatians

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GringoRubio

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Oct 15, 2015
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So, our neighborhood was repeatedly visited by immigration and it's fair to say they did their job well because I'm unaware of a single illegal living here. If they are, they need to hide indoors day and night which doesn't make for happy existence. These people were poor,, blamed for all social ills, but by and large were peaceful and church going crowd.

I think if you'd have asked any Dominican what to expect, they'd say that the barrio would be improved. I though it would stay the same. Maybe, it would decompress a little as the barrio seemed "full" before.

Surprisingly, we're being swept by a wave of crime and armed home invasions. People that have lived here for years are now considering renting their homes and moving out.

I'm not sure if this is a wider problem in Puerto Plata because I've noticed many residencias now have guarded gates and armed security guards. So, based on that alone, I have to suspect that criminals started at a higher economic rung and have worked there way down to our poor barrio.

I could move, but it seems just as easy to fund some escopeta action. There are more than a few volunteers.
 
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USA DOC

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GringoRubio said:
So, our neighborhood was repeatedly visited by immigration and it's fair to say they did their job well because I'm unaware of a single illegal living here. If they are, they need to hide indoors day and night which doesn't make for happy existence. These people were poor,, blamed for all social ills, but by and large were peaceful and church going crowd.

I think if you'd have asked any Dominican what to expect, they'd say that the barrio would be improved. I though it would stay the same. Maybe, it would decompress a little as the barrio seemed "full" before.

Surprisingly, we're being swept by a wave of crime and armed home invasions. People that have lived here for years are now considering renting their homes and moving out.

I'm not sure if this is a wider problem in Puerto Plata because I've noticed many residencias now have guarded gates and armed security guards. So, based on that alone, I have to suspect that criminals started at a higher economic rung and have worked there way down to our poor barrio.

I could move, but it seems just as easy to fund some escopeta action. There are more than a few volunteers.
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..Sorry you feel that way...

If the DR continues to let in people from haiti at the present rate ,this island will be one big Haiti, the schools and hospitals in the DR are already to the breaking point(believe me I know).............Doc.............
 
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mountainannie

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Dec 11, 2003
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So is the area not flooded with tourists now that the peso/dollar exchange is so low? I thought that magic number was always 50-1 -- when the tourists would come back and drop all their money on the streets.. but maybe inflation ate it. Have there been tourists?
 
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josh2203

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Dec 5, 2013
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mountainannie said:
So is the area not flooded with tourists now that the peso/dollar exchange is so low? I thought that magic number was always 50-1 -- when the tourists would come back and drop all their money on the streets.. but maybe inflation ate it. Have there been tourists?
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With all due respect to the OP, based on what I've heard, this particular barrio is perhaps not the best place in the city (we've lived in a few barrios in Puerto Plata over the years (we don't anymore), and I've always felt safe, but I would personally never be willing to live in the mentioned barrio), so IMO it's not correct to say that what's happening in Padre Granero equals to what's happening in Puerto Plata.

The OP started another thread a while ago stating that there are these shootings happening everywhere, but left first the name of the barrio out, and among others, I also commented that I've noticed zero difference in the safety topic around POP. I comment the same here. We live in a relatively nice area, and have no armed guards anywhere near, nor do I feel unsafe in any way - so IMO, zero change in safety where we live and where we move on a daily basis...

EDIT: Just to be clear, I know mountainannie is not the OP, so while quoting her, I'm referring more to the actual OP in my post.
 
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london777

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Dec 22, 2005
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GringoRubio said:
... I'm unaware of a single illegal living here.
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There are hundreds of Haitians currently living in Padre Granero. How would the OP know whether they are illegal or not? They do not go around with their carnets pasted on their foreheads.

I have had dozens of Haitian acquaintances for many years. In very few cases do I know which of them are legally or illegally resident here, and even in those few cases the answer has sometimes surprised me. It is obviously not a topic they discuss in front of those not within their own circle.
 
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windeguy

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Jul 10, 2004
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mountainannie said:
So is the area not flooded with tourists now that the peso/dollar exchange is so low? I thought that magic number was always 50-1 -- when the tourists would come back and drop all their money on the streets.. but maybe inflation ate it. Have there been tourists?
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MA, the DR gets about 10 million tourists annually. About 9 Million go to Punta Cana. The rest are spread over the remaining parts of the island. Punta Cana with its newness and push by tour companies with good deals is a huge reason that there are few north coast tourists, along with very high air fares with bad connections to POP airport and a lack of hotels that were turned into condos. The Canadian Looney is not doing nearly as well as the USD.

It will take a lot of time for tourism to return even in moderate numbers , if does return to the north coast at all.
 
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ohmmmm

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Jun 11, 2010
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windeguy said:
MA, the DR gets about 10 million tourists annually. About 9 Million go to Punta Cana. The rest are spread over the remaining parts of the island. Punta Cana with its newness and push by tour companies with good deals is a huge reason that there are few north coast tourists, along with very high air fares with bad connections to POP airport and a lack of hotels that were turned into condos. The Canadian Looney is not doing nearly as well as the USD.

It will take a lot of time for tourism to return even in moderate numbers , if does return to the north coast at all.
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There are plenty of resorts here on the North Coast and lots of small hotels and condos. The resorts make the deals with the airlines for a lower package deal. But the price of a flight for an independent traveler to POP is super high. Should there be a decrease in the price for a flight to POP to a reasonable level, I would guess that the North Coast would see a large increase in tourism. I don't know if it is the fault of the airport or not for the high prices. The completion of the renovation of the tourist road to Santiago can't come soon enough. That being said, I know many people living here that would like nothing more for the area to remain relatively undiscovered, quiet and as is.

Best wishes to Puerto Plata City. I don't hear about a lot of crime there for the size of its population.
 
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GringoRubio

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Oct 15, 2015
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london777 said:
There are hundreds of Haitians currently living in Padre Granero. How would the OP know whether they are illegal or not? They do not go around with their carnets pasted on their foreheads.

I have had dozens of Haitian acquaintances for many years. In very few cases do I know which of them are legally or illegally resident here, and even in those few cases the answer has sometimes surprised me. It is obviously not a topic they discuss in front of those not within their own circle.
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Well, I did qualify as not being aware of one. I'm plugged into the grapevine. I mean, everybody that lives her is, but immigration did a fairly thorough job as they routinely prowl the streets asking for ID. Let's just say that I participated in harboring such individuals and the numbers have dwindled to zero.

I'm sad that there are countless friendly faces missing. I'm unaware of any harm they did to Dominicans. Most were hard working and I'm noticing that there are a number of construction sites that seem thinly staffed.
 
bob saunders

bob saunders

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Jan 1, 2002
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Well immigration must be ignoring Jarabacoa because there are more Haitians than ever, many just loitering around. We have about ten Haitian kids in the school, all legal, out of about 850 kids. All but a couple of the little ones are fluent in Spanish.
 
U

USA DOC

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Feb 20, 2016
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mountainannie said:
So is the area not flooded with tourists now that the peso/dollar exchange is so low? I thought that magic number was always 50-1 -- when the tourists would come back and drop all their money on the streets.. but maybe inflation ate it. Have there been tourists?
Click to expand...

...cant believe it...I never see tourists in Santiago...maybe Amber Cove didnt work like the politicos promised????..........
 
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