Dominicans in route to Iraq

Mr_DR

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May 12, 2002
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Santiago. Uno 65 choferes dominicanos nativos del Cibao parti? el pasado martes hacia Jordania para trabajar transportando combustibles con un salario de 1,500 d?lares mensual.

El ingeniero vegano Nicol?s Abreu, quien realiz? las pruebas a los conductores, dijo que ?stos viajaron contratados por la empresa WTT para transportar combustibles desde Jordania hacia Irak.

Inform? que otro grupo de 65 choferes evaluados viajar? el pr?ximo s?bado hacia Jordania.

Abreu inform? que la contrataci?n, que incluye seguros de vida y de salud por los cuatro meses de su estad?a, se hizo con la autorizaci?n de la Canciller?a.

Los conductores de veh?culos pesados son nativos de Santiago, Constanza, Bonao, La Vega, Espaillat, S?nchez Ram?rez y otras provincias.

- Cornelio Batista

I personally think this is a slap on the face by this company contracting this Dominicans to drive these heavy fuel trucks from Jordania to Iraq for only $1,500 per month especially after all the kidnappings and decapitations that is happening there, and while there are other U.S companies paying 8000.00+ per month just washing dishes.

Do these Dominicans think that once a few of them get caught and these rebels ask the company to withdraw to spare their lives, do they think that this company is going do that for them?

This just has me wondering, how much money is the Dominican Government pocketing from these pobre infelices ?

I thought slavery was bad but this is worst. This is your own government sending you to risk your life for pennies in a highly dangerous area while they are kipping all the big bucks that they most likely negotiated with the contracting company.
I would not have a problem if these people were risking their lives for much more
but for $1500.00 I rather take my chances to PR and deal with the sharks.

And on top of everything the DR goverment is in a win win situation here because i am very sure that they took large insurance policies on the lives
of these people. I can almost bet my head
I guess the DR finally found a way to pay their debts,
with Domincans heads.

Good luck to these 65 truck drivers because they are gonna need it,
and may god bless them.

I have nothing against Dominicans risking their lives for the sake of their family as long as they are not taken advantage of and are paid considerably.
 

deelt

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Mar 23, 2004
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I agree with you. But to their benefit. Dominicans will fade in well into the landscape they can pass for Middle E. and/or Arabs. If they knew Arabic it would be to their advantage. One Dominican-American I know who is a language expert over there is getting paid well. Jordan is also a great place to be based out of. Things are more calmer there. Other people I know of with Arabic lang. skills are earning around 100K. But your life is definitely on the line.

Mr_DR said:
Santiago. Uno 65 choferes dominicanos nativos del Cibao parti? el pasado martes hacia Jordania para trabajar transportando combustibles con un salario de 1,500 d?lares mensual.

El ingeniero vegano Nicol?s Abreu, quien realiz? las pruebas a los conductores, dijo que ?stos viajaron contratados por la empresa WTT para transportar combustibles desde Jordania hacia Irak.

Inform? que otro grupo de 65 choferes evaluados viajar? el pr?ximo s?bado hacia Jordania.

Abreu inform? que la contrataci?n, que incluye seguros de vida y de salud por los cuatro meses de su estad?a, se hizo con la autorizaci?n de la Canciller?a.

Los conductores de veh?culos pesados son nativos de Santiago, Constanza, Bonao, La Vega, Espaillat, S?nchez Ram?rez y otras provincias.

- Cornelio Batista

I personally think this is a slap on the face by this company contracting this Dominicans to drive these heavy fuel trucks from Jordania to Iraq for only $1,500 per month especially after all the kidnappings and decapitations that is happening there, and while there are other U.S companies paying 8000.00+ per month just washing dishes.

Do these Dominicans think that once a few of them get caught and these rebels ask the company to withdraw to spare their lives, do they think that this company is going do that for them?

This just has me wondering, how much money is the Dominican Government pocketing from these pobre infelices ?

I thought slavery was bad but this is worst. This is your own government sending you to risk your life for pennies in a highly dangerous area while they are kipping all the big bucks that they most likely negotiated with the contracting company.
I would not have a problem if these people were risking their lives for much more
but for $1500.00 I rather take my chances to PR and deal with the sharks.

And on top of everything the DR goverment is in a win win situation here because i am very sure that they took large insurance policies on the lives
of these people. I can almost bet my head
I guess the DR finally found a way to pay their debts,
with Domincans heads.

Good luck to these 65 truck drivers because they are gonna need it,
and may god bless them.

I have nothing against Dominicans risking their lives for the sake of their family as long as they are not taken advantage of and are paid considerably.
 

KateP

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May 28, 2004
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All I hope (and I doubt it'll happen this way) is that if something happens to any of them, people won't start making a bit "show" of it because these innocent "pobrecitos" got kidnapped/killed/whatever over there... They know what they're getting into (who hasn't heard about the war?) and all I can think is how desperate they must be to risk their lives like that. I seriously doubt that these truck drivers are fluent in other languages that could help them because I can't imagine an educated person putting his life on the line like that even for US$10,000! Especially after all the news that's been coming out of that part of the world!! Then I ask myself, how did Dominicans get mixed up in this?? Why Dominicans?

Oh, well. Good luck to them, my fingers are crossed, and hopefully they'll all come back in one piece...
 

Mr_DR

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May 12, 2002
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KateP said:
All I hope (and I doubt it'll happen this way) is that if something happens to any of them, people won't start making a bit "show" of it because these innocent "pobrecitos" got kidnapped/killed/whatever over there... They know what they're getting into (who hasn't heard about the war?) and all I can think is how desperate they must be to risk their lives like that. I seriously doubt that these truck drivers are fluent in other languages that could help them because I can't imagine an educated person putting his life on the line like that even for US$10,000! Especially after all the news that's been coming out of that part of the world!! Then I ask myself, how did Dominicans get mixed up in this?? Why Dominicans?

Oh, well. Good luck to them, my fingers are crossed, and hopefully they'll all come back in one piece...

I just bet that the DR governement has to do much more with this than we think.
 

deelt

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Mar 23, 2004
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It's called helping Bush create the facade of the "international coalition forces" of los tres gatitos. The bulk of this war is falling on the US tax payer and future generation. So what's 65 Dominicans going to affect in the scheme of things, not much in substance but it'll take you pretty far in establishing positive diplomatic relations with the new DR administration. That's Int'l Affairs 101.

Mr_DR said:
I just bet that the DR governement has to do much more with this than we think.
 

Spirit7

New member
Aug 26, 2004
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What people will risk for cash

These poor guys are just looking to improve their lot in life and their families'.
I will bet they don't know what they are getting into and the risks this involves. Driving fuel trucks from Jordan to Irak in a war zone for 1500 US
per month can only look good to these poor souls. I have no doubt that
the US embassy AND the DR government are involved in this 'legalized' slavery trade.
 

Pib

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Jan 1, 2002
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[Mod note]Do not even contemplate turning this into a US-politics thread if you like to keep posting on DR1 for a while [/Mod note]

I seriously doubt these people have any idea what's going on in Iraq. They just saw US$1500.00 and off they go. I would like to be proved wrong, but I think they are taking advantage of their ignorance. A pretty despicable thing to do IMHO. :tired:
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
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These Dominican guys are going after the money, but please don't think of them as the "poor Dominican guy that doesn't know better". I mean, everybody have heard about the beheadings and the war, for one thing.

Many of these guys probably have never seen $1,500 American dollars in one month! If they are poor living the humble campesino or inner city life, $1,500 could be more of a blessing for those particular families than most people would think, though given that DR1ers are wealthier than the poorer Dominican masses, we would look at $1,500 as pennies on the bucket.

In addition, I must say that one doesn't have to be stupid. Maybe a bit irrational when taking a decision to go to Iraq when you don't have to, but they are not stupid. They know what they are getting into just how the many westerners that are going over there also know about the situation.

Sure, the westerners are going with the hope of cashing in a $100,000 check while the Dominican does the same hoping to cash a $1,500 check. In the end, the amounts are huge sums for the respective people based on their living standards and as such, they both are on the same level when it comes to that mentality.

Don't think of the Dominican as the defenseless person being taken for a ride (literally), but think of the Dominican at the same level you think of the Americans, the British, and others who also decided to go to Iraq for the betterment of their families financial situation.

Sure, $100,000 is better than $1,500, but then again, its all relative one's perception of good salary based on one's living conditions.

The reason why I mention this is because I feel that people in general view Dominicans as little kids that never know better. I just hate that mentality.
 

juancarlos

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Sep 28, 2003
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They will become prime targets for the insurgents, particularly because they will be driving those fuel trucks back and forth from Jordan to Iraq. They will be atacked on the highways, taken prisoner, exhibited before cameras and decapitated when their demands are not met. You would think that by now everyone would be aware of this and have enough common sense to stay away from this place! It has been demonstrated that those groups fighting the Americans in Iraq do not make distinctions, do not discriminate according to ethnicity, nationality or even religion. They have decapitated Turks, Arabs, British etc. Dominicans would simply be the latest addition to their growing list.
 

Spirit7

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Aug 26, 2004
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They don't know any better!

Nal0whs said:
These Dominican guys are going after the money, but please don't think of them as the "poor Dominican guy that doesn't know better". I mean, everybody have heard about the beheadings and the war, for one thing.

The reason why I mention this is because I feel that people in general view Dominicans as little kids that never know better. I just hate that mentality.


They are hardly little kids but they just don't know any better. Believe me, your typical Dominican truck driver is not looking at CNN or very much aware of what's really going on in Irak. If they read newspapers it is the local ones with the typical daily Dominican goings-on.

Unfortunately, the great majority of our underdeveloped society is more into local themes and their typical TV fare is latin-american soap operas and baseball games and the consequence of this is they don't improve themselves culturally. That, again, is our sad reality.
 

AZB

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Jan 2, 2002
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Spirit7 said:
They are hardly little kids but they just don't know any better. Believe me, your typical Dominican truck driver is not looking at CNN or very much aware of what's really going on in Irak. If they read newspapers it is the local ones with the typical daily Dominican goings-on.

Unfortunately, the great majority of our underdeveloped society is more into local themes and their typical TV fare is latin-american soap operas and baseball games and the consequence of this is they don't improve themselves culturally. That, again, is our sad reality.
Exactly what I was thinking. These poor souls don't know what they are getting into. They only see a visa out of DR and american money. Once they are there, they will be begging to get back. They will talk to other folks there and see the horror with their own eyes. These Iraqi insurgents don't care who you are and what religion you belong to, if you help the americans, you are a fair target. Many pakistani, bangladeshi and other poor employees from arab nations have been targetted of kidnapping and beheading. The kidnapping and beheading is still on and people are being lost everday, you simply don't read about it in the news. All the american government wants is election is peace.
AZB
 

Mr_DR

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May 12, 2002
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Nal0whs said:
These Dominican guys are going after the money, but please don't think of them as the "poor Dominican guy that doesn't know better". I mean, everybody have heard about the beheadings and the war, for one thing.

Many of these guys probably have never seen $1,500 American dollars in one month! If they are poor living the humble campesino or inner city life, $1,500 could be more of a blessing for those particular families than most people would think, though given that DR1ers are wealthier than the poorer Dominican masses, we would look at $1,500 as pennies on the bucket.

In addition, I must say that one doesn't have to be stupid. Maybe a bit irrational when taking a decision to go to Iraq when you don't have to, but they are not stupid. They know what they are getting into just how the many westerners that are going over there also know about the situation.

Sure, the westerners are going with the hope of cashing in a $100,000 check while the Dominican does the same hoping to cash a $1,500 check. In the end, the amounts are huge sums for the respective people based on their living standards and as such, they both are on the same level when it comes to that mentality.

Don't think of the Dominican as the defenseless person being taken for a ride (literally), but think of the Dominican at the same level you think of the Americans, the British, and others who also decided to go to Iraq for the betterment of their families financial situation.

Sure, $100,000 is better than $1,500, but then again, its all relative one's perception of good salary based on one's living conditions.

The reason why I mention this is because I feel that people in general view Dominicans as little kids that never know better. I just hate that mentality.
I dont agreed with you on this one,
this company should not go by living standards because i am very sure that this company is not getting paid based on hiring this people at $1500.00
This company gets paid the same whether they hire British or Americans.
that is my main concern, that this company is no longer hiring their own people because money is too important for them and they rather hire people from other country so that when these rebels ask for withdrawl in exchange for these peoples lives they would just ingnore it because to them the
lives of these hostages would mean nothing and they could care less if their heads gets cutt off.

They now when these rebels ask them to withdraw they wont have to withdraw to spare these people's lives because they dont care about them,
and i am very sure that they are having a hard time finding people to work for them.

WHY CAN'T THIS COMPANY PAY FOR THEIR SACRIFICES WELL DESERVED ?
DONT TELL ME ABOUT LIVING STANDARDS WHEN WE ARE TALKING ABOUT RISKING HUMAN LIVES. AND THE FACT THAT THEY COULD DO MUCH MORE WITH THEIR MONEY IF THEY WERE GETTING PAID $8000.00+ PER MONTH SHOULD JUST BE A BLESSING TO THE FACT THAT THEY CAN DO MUCH MORE WITH THEIR MONEY WHICH WOULD BE WELL DESERVED.

NOW YOU TELL ME WHAT CAN THESE PEOPLE DO WITH $1500.00
THAT IS NOT MONEY. DONT FORGET THAT THESE PEOPLE ARE RISKING THEIR LIVES. I would not argue with you if risking their lives was not an issue but it is and if you dont feel bothered by this as a Dominican you are just as a bad as this company is.
 
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Mr_DR

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Pib said:
[Mod note]Do not even contemplate turning this into a US-politics thread if you like to keep posting on DR1 for a while [/Mod note]

I seriously doubt these people have any idea what's going on in Iraq. They just saw US$1500.00 and off they go. I would like to be proved wrong, but I think they are taking advantage of their ignorance. A pretty despicable thing to do IMHO. :tired:
Finally someone who is the same page with me.
 

Mr_DR

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juancarlos said:
They will become prime targets for the insurgents, particularly because they will be driving those fuel trucks back and forth from Jordan to Iraq. They will be atacked on the highways, taken prisoner, exhibited before cameras and decapitated when their demands are not met. You would think that by now everyone would be aware of this and have enough common sense to stay away from this place! It has been demonstrated that those groups fighting the Americans in Iraq do not make distinctions, do not discriminate according to ethnicity, nationality or even religion. They have decapitated Turks, Arabs, British etc. Dominicans would simply be the latest addition to their growing list.
You are right,
the question is how long will it be before the first one gets caught?
Is the DR gonna be willing to pull all these people out? because i am very sure that once the first one happends they will certainly want to come
back home.
 

Mr_DR

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Spirit7 said:
These poor guys are just looking to improve their lot in life and their families'.
I will bet they don't know what they are getting into and the risks this involves. Driving fuel trucks from Jordan to Irak in a war zone for 1500 US
per month can only look good to these poor souls. I have no doubt that
the US embassy AND the DR government are involved in this 'legalized' slavery trade.
I am sure that their is some connections.
 

juancarlos

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Sep 28, 2003
676
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What the Dominican authorities should do, but I seriously doubt it, is launch a media campaing warning Dominicans against going to Iraq because it is a war zone and if caught, the Dominican govt. won't be able to help them. Ideally, people should be made aware of what is happening in that country and the risk to their lives they face if they go there to work for any company.

The U.S usually warns Americans against travelling to conflict zones. The Dominican govt. should do the same.
 

Ricardo900

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Jul 12, 2004
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They know what's going on in Iraq, they've probably read it in the newspapers, but it's sad to see your family starving. So they'll go with GOD! They feel that they have no other choice
 

Pib

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Ricardo900 said:
They know what's going on in Iraq, they've probably read it in the newspapers, but it's sad to see your family starving. So they'll go with GOD! They feel that they have no other choice
You think they know. You don't know that for a fact. But I seriously doubt that. Truck drivers are not notorious for keeping up with world politics, reading newspapers regularly and having internet. I should know, I grew up surrounded by truck drivers.
 

Ricardo900

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Jul 12, 2004
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That's terrible

Pib said:
You think they know. You don't know that for a fact. But I seriously doubt that. Truck drivers are not notorious for keeping up with world politics, reading newspapers regularly and having internet. I should know, I grew up surrounded by truck drivers.

If they don't know what's the real deal in Iraq, they are getting set up from the start. Not only are they risking their lives, but it's at a cheaper rate. US citizens are getting $100,000US a year (equivalent) Those big companies figure they can get some unknowing suckers from a poor country and pay them less to boot.
 

Criss Colon

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What a bunch of Opportunistic Political Hypocrites you are!!!

We are talking about the law of "Supply and Demand" here.The jobs go to those who are willing to face the "risk" involved,for the least amount of money!You can try and "Spin" your comments anyway you want,but they still come out soiled with your anti-war,and anti-American propaganda!!!
You are not concerned about the "Poor,uneducated Dominican Truck driver!You are out to promote your agenda.
If you really had the Dominicans at heart,you should also be "Up-In-Arms"about all the "Dominicans" who are all over the World working as prostitutes,because they will have sex for less money than,American,German,Swedish,Spanish,Italian,and even the girls of Curacao,and Panama!!!!!!!
I would bet that more Dominicans will die from aids,both abroad,and those who will recieve,The "GIFT" that keeps on giving",after it is brought home with the returning prostiyutes,than will die driving a truck in IraQ!!!We are talking about 1,500 truck drivers,there must be 1,500 Dominican prostitutes in Rome alone!!!
So please,spare me the hystrionics,and your anti-war,anti-US "BS" at the same time! Cris Colon