An opinion from a single white male of English background with no experience or preconceived ideas of this Island (Hispaniola) prior to arriving and having spent 3 years in both the DR and Haiti.
Santiago DR, I don't know if you have visited or lived in Haiti but I suspect not. Your comments reminded me of so many that I heard about Haiti in the 3 years I lived in the DR.
During my 3 years in the DR all of my Domo friends had me convinced Haiti was the most dangerous place on earth. Then I walked across the border at Dharbon into Haiti with a back pack on my back to have a look myself and I've been here for 3 years now. I've traveled and worked all over the country, no security needed, I don't speak Creole or French and I have been earning a very comfortable living since arriving in Haiti (Project Management).
I have never been shaken down by the police or anyone in that matter. I have imported over 80 containers through the Port in Haiti and unlike the DR it is a consistent process without the corruption. I have had many expats working here for me in Haiti as well as a lot of contractors and local staff. In contrast I found the Port in the DR to be very corrupt and administratively cumbersome and local DR employees to be lazy and the contractors to be less than adequate. My dealings with municipalities in the DR on simple or complex issues were equally corrupt and those dealings were expensive and inconsistent. I found the DR to be a very dangerous country to live in and I have lived and worked in the Middle East, Sth East Asia and Central America and I rate the DR at the bottom of that list! You only have to check out the news on DR1 for the last 12 months to see that the DR is a dangerous and increasingly corrupt country to live in.
Having lived in both countries for the same amount of time it is my opinion that Haiti is dangerous in some locations and you need to be sensible about where and when you travel but this risk can be self managed. However in the DR it was my experience that if you have some money or assets or you are simply conducting business then you are at risk all of the time because of the corrupt police, lawyers, fiscals, municipalities and authorities (and I have not even mentioned any of the so call real bandits). Its my opinion based on equal time in both countries that the security in the DR is more difficult to manage due to the constant nature of the corruption and the deep level to which the drug trade has permeated the Armed forces, Police, Legal profession, Judicial system and the Government.
It should be noted that having the UN in Haiti keeping things on an even keel and supervising and training the institutions has created an uneven playing field with respect to this comparison and my experiences in Haiti are therefore of a system that is not fully controlled and run by Haitians. I would go further to note that I believe if Haiti were left to its own devices (UN to leave - perhaps to go over the border to fix the DR) then I have no doubt that the corruption would creep if not flood into the institutions just as it has in the DR.
I hope this is taken for what its worth - an unbiased view from someone who has lived and worked in both countries for the same amount of time.
