Current Social Problems

[Chirimoya]

The first topic has been covered along with many others in the DR1 articles section
Street Vendors in the Dominican Republic
Street Vendors in the Dominican Republic

 

[minerva_feliz]

I would like to see photos or read a story about:
-The Statue of Fray Montesino on the Malecon, Santo Domingo. I went to see it when my family came down and was excited because I knew about it's historical significance from college as a monument to what is considered the first defense of human rights in the Americas. I believe it was donated by the Mexican gov't in the 80's. So when I finally got there, the place was disgusting. It was filled with human excrement and at least a dozen indigent and/or drug-using people. And that was only the first level, I didn't dare climb to the next levels even though I really wanted to out of fear and disgust. I was shocked and saddened to see how such a prominent and important monument, especially considering what it represents, that it was a gift and that it is a tourist attraction, to be in such bad shape. I didn't know who to complain to so I never did. It's prob. still like that.
-Women who rock natural (not chemically-treated) hair styles (because it's not common) and why
-Situation of stray animals-dogs and cats
-Female police officers: what's it like?
-The arbitrary rounding-up and deportation of Haitians
-Top 5 or whatever complaints tourists have about the DR (or problems with the tourism service industry) that could be improved, like pushy sales, inconsistent pricing
-Profile of different people applying for visas: who ends up getting it and why? is it luck or logic?
-Random health inspections of food establishments to see how they are in terms of sanitary food issues
-Secretaria de Juventud: What does it do? No, really. What is it supposed to do?
-Investigation into plagiarism/cheating/dishonesty/bribes for grades in prestigious colegios
-Contamination of rivers/water around Santo Domingo, analysis of tapwater
-Inside look at a factory of a well-known brand
-Sales of expired food in supermarkets and keeping it on the shelves, why the law states that to file a complaint you have to actually buy the food, not just report that the store stocks it?
-What projects the ayuntamientos funded with the 4% they are legally required to spend on gender, health, education and youth projects

Let me know if you pick one so I can look for it!

 

[bearcat]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

What is said about you only hurts if you believe it also. Dominican are defensive about everything about thier country ture or not true. Most of the things that they are defensive about are "fixable"; they have simply not around to it yet.

Rather than feel and express bad feelings about what people say about you, fix it.

In this country you can not brush you teeth with the water or turn on a light anytime of day and night and expect it to come on. Those are fixable problems.

People read and discuss baseball but not government. The baseball players get rich and invest their money outside the DR and the govenment robs everyone daily. Those problems are fixable. If there was a rule of law to protect investment then baseball players, might invest in home loans and not SUV's. If there was a government free of corruption the economy would grow. It will not grow until people demand by vote to make it so.

Let face it the educational system in this country is a joke but no one is laughing. You can not grow an economy without people who can read and write.

My company interviewed people for a job as an AA to do basic typing and translate Engilsh to Spanish. The lobby test was to translate the phase "I go" from English to Spanish. 76 appilicants failed all of whom had college degrees. I need point out to all of you that we pay US scale anywhere we are in the world; therefore I mean to suggest to you that we are not asking people to work for nothing.

My granfather told me once that humility works when boastful pride does not. There are no excuses; DR you need to get your stuff together and leave pride and ego at the door.

I spoke to a college class in Engish at the State University and they asked what do you think about our educational system? To be polite I suggested to them that they need look to other countries and judge for themselves. I pointed out that Korea became a parking lot as the result of a civil war in the 1950's yet today they more likely than not came to class in a car or bus made in Korea. Education did that not complaining about what people think of you.

What someone thinks of you matters only if you believe it.

Bearcat