Hate on the radio waves
It's early morning, and we're on the road between Santiago and Puerto Plata. The drive is longer than an hour, and because we're tired, the small talk subsides and it's silent in the car.
Except for the radio.
Two hosts are talking about immigration. They are discussing a campaign by groups supporting Haitian immigrants to boycott Dominican exports to Haiti.
"The Haitians say they want to boycott Dominican products. So they will eat dirt, since you know the Haitians eat dirt," one host says.
The other host agrees: How are Haitians going to eat, since they don't produce anything? "They are ungrateful."
Dominican President Danilo Medina's restrictive immigration policies are good for the country, the hosts say, praising him for sticking to his guns.
One of the hosts suggests Haiti is trying to discredit the Dominican Republic in the eyes of the international community.
"I think this is the only country in the world where migrants aren't mistreated," he says. "Here, everyone is supportive."
We turn the dial and hear more of the same on another station.
Haitians "are unappreciative of this country," this host says.
Everything the international media has reported about the mistreatment of Haitians is wrong, he says.
"We are not the abusers of the Haitians; we are their saviors," he says.
The rhetoric is hateful and racist.
"(Haitians) lack hygiene, they're not sanitary," the host says.
We turn the radio off.
