Haitians not allowed on buses

AlterEgo

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Jan 9, 2009
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Conatra Buses will not allow Haitians as passengers, beginning today, regardless of their immigration status. This is because the government has confiscated some buses that were carrying illegal Haitians. Owners say since they are not immigration officers and cannot determine who is legal and who is not, they will refuse them all.

https://www.elcaribe.com.do/2018/12...-montar-nacionales-haitianos-en-sus-unidades/

https://listindiario.com/la-republi...aitianos-en-sus-unidades-sin-importar-estatus
 

cavok

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Jun 16, 2014
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I think this is the reason why my friend had a problem on the bus west of Santiago a couple of months ago. There were a lot of Haitians on the bus.
 

suarezj519

Member
May 14, 2014
115
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Theres no way this is real. But then again I have been surprised many times in this country. So what about all those Americans, Europeans, etc. Overstaying their tourist cards then, they're gonna be denied too? *sarcasm:rolleyes: Our house maid that takes care of my grandpa is Haitian and her grandma in Haiti just died, hopefully they don't have any trouble getting back in the country for this ridiculous policy.
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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Conatra Buses will not allow Haitians as passengers, beginning today, regardless of their immigration status. This is because the government has confiscated some buses that were carrying illegal Haitians. Owners say since they are not immigration officers and cannot determine who is legal and who is not, they will refuse them all.

https://www.elcaribe.com.do/2018/12...-montar-nacionales-haitianos-en-sus-unidades/

https://listindiario.com/la-republi...aitianos-en-sus-unidades-sin-importar-estatus

this should get interesting if it is taken to its logical extreme, i.e. all the public transportation providers refusing access to Haitians, using that same reason. my guess is that this will all evaporate, post haste, and will go back to business as usual.
 

Naked_Snake

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Sep 2, 2008
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this should get interesting if it is taken to its logical extreme, i.e. all the public transportation providers refusing access to Haitians, using that same reason. my guess is that this will all evaporate, post haste, and will go back to business as usual.

By this time tomorrow the government will be giving Conatra its confiscated units. It simply can't win this one, not only because of the electoral power these transportation syndicates hold, but also due to who those syndicates are victimizing.
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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By this time tomorrow the government will be giving Conatra its confiscated units. It simply can't win this one, not only because of the electoral power these transportation syndicates hold, but also due to who those syndicates are victimizing.

just as i thought...
 

Garyexpat

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Sep 7, 2012
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Using this same logic all businesses in the country should be shut down. I agree with Gorgon and Naked _ Snake (aren't all snakes naked)? This can't stand. Just another knee jerk action of someone doing something foolish.
 
Jun 18, 2007
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www.rentalmetrocountry.com
Conatra Buses will not allow Haitians as passengers, beginning today, regardless of their immigration status. This is because the government has confiscated some buses that were carrying illegal Haitians. Owners say since they are not immigration officers and cannot determine who is legal and who is not, they will refuse them all.

https://www.elcaribe.com.do/2018/12...-montar-nacionales-haitianos-en-sus-unidades/

https://listindiario.com/la-republi...aitianos-en-sus-unidades-sin-importar-estatus

Hey it's Christmas time, time for a shakedown. ;)
 

CristoRey

Welcome To Wonderland
Apr 1, 2014
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It is discrimination, and even in the DR it is illegal.

I disagree. Based on his statement this has nothing to with discrimination. The fact
that 10 of CONATRA's buses have been confiscated and their drivers thrown in jail for human-
trafficking/ smuggling, simply for failing to recognize (specifically) a Haitian's legal status, is more
than enough reason (in my opinion) for this decision.
 

josh2203

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Dec 5, 2013
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I disagree. Based on his statement this has nothing to with discrimination. The fact
that 10 of CONATRA's buses have been confiscated and their drivers thrown in jail for human-
trafficking/ smuggling, simply for failing to recognize (specifically) a Haitian's legal status, is more
than enough reason (in my opinion) for this decision.

I agree with CristoRey, I don't understand why the government punished a private company for not doing a job that the government should do, but is apparently failing. Unless Conatra would operate a route that crosses the border, I don't think they have any responsibility in checking whether or not a passenger is legally in this country? The government could and should stop the busses, and check the IDs/status of the passengers and take appropriate actions with the passengers (not with the buses) that are not legal, but again, unless it was that bus that took the illegals to this country, the bus company has nothing to do with the passengers.

I used Metro buses in the past, and nobody checked my papers ever... What Conatra did was an action towards the incompetent government, who needs to work with the illegals, not towards the Haitians, who are their passengers just as the ones of other nationalities.
 

mobrouser

Bronze
Jan 1, 2002
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Antonio Marte apologizes for Conatra order

Antonio Marte, the leader of the National Confederation of Transport Organizations (CONATRA) apologized late last week for his order to Conatra affiliates to not board Haitians. Marte had issued the order to protest for several of the Conatra buses having been seized by the authorities.
Following a generalized uproar among Dominicans at the order, Conatra tried to backtrack:
“Regarding my statements, I would like to apologize both to the Haitian people as well as the whole country in general,” he said. He assured the general public and the local Haitian population in particular, that the units belonging to the Confederation would provide service to everyone. Nevertheless, he would add that transportation in the Cibao would be paralyzed if the buses are not returned to him....


Full story in DR1 Daily News today:

https://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php/173988-DR1-Daily-News-Monday-17-December-2018
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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Antonio Marte apologizes for Conatra order

Antonio Marte, the leader of the National Confederation of Transport Organizations (CONATRA) apologized late last week for his order to Conatra affiliates to not board Haitians. Marte had issued the order to protest for several of the Conatra buses having been seized by the authorities.
Following a generalized uproar among Dominicans at the order, Conatra tried to backtrack:
“Regarding my statements, I would like to apologize both to the Haitian people as well as the whole country in general,” he said. He assured the general public and the local Haitian population in particular, that the units belonging to the Confederation would provide service to everyone. Nevertheless, he would add that transportation in the Cibao would be paralyzed if the buses are not returned to him....


Full story in DR1 Daily News today:

https://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php/173988-DR1-Daily-News-Monday-17-December-2018

that was quick...
 

frank617

Member
Jan 12, 2009
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To any who doubt that buses are being seized and drivers are being thrown in jail, I have a family member who has run into this very issue twice in the last few years. Mind you, he was not transporting Haitians across the border! He was simply taking them from Santiago to the capital. He stayed in jail until his wife could get there with $$ to free him. As for the bus, not his, but it was impounded for two weeks. So, on top of being thrown in jail and having to get bailed out, he lost two weeks of work while the bus was impounded. I know it's hard to wrap your brain around it, but this stuff really happens!
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
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Jan 9, 2009
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Reminder to new and old posters......do not bring Trump or American politics into the regular forums.
 

chico bill

Dogs Better than People
May 6, 2016
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To any who doubt that buses are being seized and drivers are being thrown in jail, I have a family member who has run into this very issue twice in the last few years. Mind you, he was not transporting Haitians across the border! He was simply taking them from Santiago to the capital. He stayed in jail until his wife could get there with $$ to free him. As for the bus, not his, but it was impounded for two weeks. So, on top of being thrown in jail and having to get bailed out, he lost two weeks of work while the bus was impounded. I know it's hard to wrap your brain around it, but this stuff really happens!

This is because some miscreant in the Gobierno has a bias ( racism most people call it ) plus they dream up ways to make a little extra cash by disrupting lives & inventing fines.

Many Haitians were born here, & lived here their whole lives and returning them to Haiti would be akin to deporting Dominicans to Haiti too, or maybe to Spain and Africa (the origin of the bloodline of many) and returning this country to the Taino Indians, should any of pure blood be found.
Can we create "Brown Guilt" ?

I'm for DR controlling it's borders - but since they don't control it (just as in the US and Europe) they will continue to have impoverished refugees from Venezuela, Haiti and other origins seeking to find the 'better life' they have heard of from their friends and relatives
 

drstock

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Oct 29, 2010
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Cabarete
Yesterday I was driving along Route 5 along the north coast near Cabrera. We were a little way behind a guagua which was stooped by a group of heavily armed military looking guys (although the friend I was with said they were Policia Nacional). As I concentrated on driving past the guns and boots my friend was watching what was happening and said it looked as if they were taking all Haitian looking people off the guagua. Hopefully, they were just checking documents and allowing the legal ones to get back on board and continue their journey.
 

CristoRey

Welcome To Wonderland
Apr 1, 2014
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Antonio Marte apologizes for Conatra order

And what is the moral of this story folks might ask?
Dominican's are a reactive society, not proactive.
If/ when they do react, they have a tendency to overreact,
hence the apology :cheeky: