G
Golfer
Guest
I was on the way to San Cristobal from Santiago with a friend when we passed through the small town of Villa Altagracia. My friend told me that he used to work on an assembly line in a large factory that manufactured hats near the center of town. He said that the entire operation was Korean and that they had a contempt for the Dominican people who worked in near sweat shop conditions in their factory. He went on to say that the Koreans lived in a compound outside of town and had little interaction with the locals. He said that the factory was the main employer in town but that all supervisory positions were held by Koreans. He expressed a curiosity to see some of his old friends that worked at the factory but indicated that the Koreans were very strict and would never permit such a visit.
This sounded a little extreme to me so being a westerner from the US I thought I would pull into the factory and see if we could get some sort of tour of his old assembly line. Now even though this wasn't NASA I knew it was a long shot to go in un-announced and get a tour of an operatering factory but I thought, "what the hell, I'll give it a shot. This is the DR, anything is possible." I was totally unprepared for what I encountered.
Upon entering the main office I saw about thirty Korean males staring at thirty spreadsheets on thirty laptops. So unusual must it have been for someone to breech this sanctuary that barely a person looked up, no receptionist, no conversation, no smiles, no frowns, no nothing! Feeling uncomfortable and like I was somewhere where I didn't belong I kept walking into an adjacent office in search of someone who would acknowlege that I was there. More of the same. I've been in many business offices in the US and never have I seen a more somber bunch of humorless drones than I saw in that office. I literally got a chill contemplating how different these people appeared from the wonderful Dominican people that labored for them. I finally was approached by a an office supervisor who asked me in Spanish what I was doing there. I explained in my best Spanish my desire for a quick tour of the assembly area where my friend had labored for two years. My inquiry was met by silence. I repeated myself but all he did was look at me as if I were from outer space. I said "forget it" and left the offices.
When I returned to the car I got that "I told you so" look from my friend. He said the Koreans had a reputation for being absolutly ruthless and were disliked by all the Dominicans that worked in the factory. As we drove away I couldn't help thinking about the economic condition that would induce these people to come from half way around the globe and set up shop in a country that they obviously would never appreciate. One could only imagine what opinions the Koreans held of their Dominican labor force. I wondered if this small town was better off with these jobs than before the factory was there. I suppose that it is but it seems like a high price to pay. My friend left little doubt that the Dominicans who live there know who the bosses are in Villa Altagracia.
Do the people who post on this board know if this type of thing is common throughout the DR? Is the government so enamered of foriegn investment that they would encourage these fiefdoms?
This sounded a little extreme to me so being a westerner from the US I thought I would pull into the factory and see if we could get some sort of tour of his old assembly line. Now even though this wasn't NASA I knew it was a long shot to go in un-announced and get a tour of an operatering factory but I thought, "what the hell, I'll give it a shot. This is the DR, anything is possible." I was totally unprepared for what I encountered.
Upon entering the main office I saw about thirty Korean males staring at thirty spreadsheets on thirty laptops. So unusual must it have been for someone to breech this sanctuary that barely a person looked up, no receptionist, no conversation, no smiles, no frowns, no nothing! Feeling uncomfortable and like I was somewhere where I didn't belong I kept walking into an adjacent office in search of someone who would acknowlege that I was there. More of the same. I've been in many business offices in the US and never have I seen a more somber bunch of humorless drones than I saw in that office. I literally got a chill contemplating how different these people appeared from the wonderful Dominican people that labored for them. I finally was approached by a an office supervisor who asked me in Spanish what I was doing there. I explained in my best Spanish my desire for a quick tour of the assembly area where my friend had labored for two years. My inquiry was met by silence. I repeated myself but all he did was look at me as if I were from outer space. I said "forget it" and left the offices.
When I returned to the car I got that "I told you so" look from my friend. He said the Koreans had a reputation for being absolutly ruthless and were disliked by all the Dominicans that worked in the factory. As we drove away I couldn't help thinking about the economic condition that would induce these people to come from half way around the globe and set up shop in a country that they obviously would never appreciate. One could only imagine what opinions the Koreans held of their Dominican labor force. I wondered if this small town was better off with these jobs than before the factory was there. I suppose that it is but it seems like a high price to pay. My friend left little doubt that the Dominicans who live there know who the bosses are in Villa Altagracia.
Do the people who post on this board know if this type of thing is common throughout the DR? Is the government so enamered of foriegn investment that they would encourage these fiefdoms?