- Thread starter rubio_higuey
- Start date
The other heartbreaking side of the DR
Not that I'm advocating in favor of the government, but they do have the "Solidaridad", "Bono Luz" and "Bono gas" to help people. The government also spends $6 billion pesos a year on free health care for Haitians as well.
moderator........? solutions? this is why I didnt ever post here before.......too clicky.
there is no solution......we are talking about the poor standard of living. jeez, its probably only going to get worse if the DR stops gringos coming here for 6 months at a time. where i am on the north coast, EVERYTHING is for sale.....
the one great thing as I see it is the ever growing access to the internet. possible communication with others at little cost.
I am looking at online courses here in dr something which i know little about but something which can be a great help to many in the future.
I know a guy in SD a divemaster, who is studying to be a lawyer he has five years ahead of him..he want to be a dive instructor but cannot save the $2000 necessary for the course(s) if he was a DI he double his money right there.
Its everywhere I just deplore the all inclusive hotels that tell guests not to go out into the town because of beggars and puttas but this is real life.
tuna
there is no solution......we are talking about the poor standard of living. jeez, its probably only going to get worse if the DR stops gringos coming here for 6 months at a time. where i am on the north coast, EVERYTHING is for sale.....
the one great thing as I see it is the ever growing access to the internet. possible communication with others at little cost.
I am looking at online courses here in dr something which i know little about but something which can be a great help to many in the future.
I know a guy in SD a divemaster, who is studying to be a lawyer he has five years ahead of him..he want to be a dive instructor but cannot save the $2000 necessary for the course(s) if he was a DI he double his money right there.
Its everywhere I just deplore the all inclusive hotels that tell guests not to go out into the town because of beggars and puttas but this is real life.
tuna
Obviously it's not enough............they need to do more, a lot more........
B in Santiago
Solidaridad etc. are assistentialist (paternalistic) programmes - they don't do much to address the causes of poverty. There is one where it is nominally conditional on making sure the beneficiary's children are in school, which is something.
By all accounts, level of need is a secondary factor when it comes to beneficiary selection - political affiliation comes first.
By all accounts, level of need is a secondary factor when it comes to beneficiary selection - political affiliation comes first.
Alot of this has to do with the lack of education. Some women who are poor and not educated are not always motivated and think that their reason on earth is to reproduce so having numerous children does not seem to effect them. Again this is not all. I am sure that just like some American/foreign women think (again some not all) a Dominican woman would like to think that if she has this mans child he will support and stay with her. Even though the track record is not so good. To change your life you have to want to do this and with the right tools and education it can be done but again they have to want to do that. I personally have played "Santa Claus" one too many times thinking I was helping but it was a short term fix not long term which is what they need. Enpowerment and self-esteem go along way. So can something be done, of course but it will come with education and training. This past week I spent a few days in the campo with the in-laws (joy oh joy). My mother in-law just bought a new bedroom set and well it would be waste of time to sell the old one since it was like 15 years old. So she decides to give it to this woman with 4 kids living in a small wooden home, 1 bedroom and the kitchen living area are together. Bathroom outside. So we get some people to take it there and set it up. Previously they were sleeping 4 (sometimes 5) on a cot. A couple days later my nephew comes running home saying there are 2 men loading the bedroom set onto a truck. So I send my son to find out what is going on and he comes back and tells us she sold it. I was quiet about it, figured I would let my mother in-law handle it. Maybe she sold it for food I thought, who knows. Well later that night the neighbors come and tell us the woman went got her hair done, nails done, new skirt and top and she is at the local disco. Lesson I learned was not everyone really wants true help and things like this ruin it for the rest. I am sure I am not the only one with stories like this and that could be why some are reluctant to help. Again not all are like this some truly want and would appreciate the opportunity the help to better themelves. Ok I am done...off the soap box. Sorry it was so long.
I understand it's not enough, but it is something. Government assistance never really gets people out of poverty, if you want proof of this just take a look up north, to your own country. The US has many government assistance programs yet there are many people living in poverty. No one is removed from poverty through government programs, they must work their way out, by their own hard work.
If these awful conditions are rampant in DR, then why do the article? I noticed that in the picture the mother was not there, only grandmama and some of the children. Story is about her, so why not show her? Correct me if Im wrong, but isn`t that a fan I see in the pic. Thought there was no electricity. only saying. I still think there is alot more to this story than what we are reading. I think the Government has to take a big part of the blame here, as some suggested, and education is of the utmost key. Someone suggested that school is free.......but don`t families have to buy uniforms and supplies?
Someone was touched by this particular family............
And if you can't see poverty everywhere you go here, you should get your eyes checked........
How in the world can you possibly think poverty isn't rampant here..........
I live in a descent area and I bring food to my elderly neighbors across the street on a regular basis...............
They are 93 and 85, and their family has nothing......GOVERNMENT DOES NOTHING FOR THEM..........
B in Santiago
What do you think the government should do? If they give them a pension (not a bad idea) then somebody is going to have to pay for that pension(more taxes) or pension premium off all wages like in other countries that provide pensions.
aha, as all the locals know, the fan is used to go fishing in the river............
Start by cutting back on corruption, put that 4% into education, provide free lunches along with breakfast to students in school all day. Send those that need it with some galletas on Friday, or a sack of rice once a month. Give them a nice gift come Christmas and the end of the year when they haven't missed a day. Remove the barriers (no uniform, no supplies) to the poorest through private/public partnerships. Provide incentives for schools to find the unenrolled and to reduce truancy.
Using the existing resources to benefit more people would be a start that could be done without more taxes.
Ask foreigners who pay the entry/exit tax where they want their "donation to go" towards education/feeding the hungry or toward a government employee's pocket who is on the payroll but not on the job. Kind of like how when we file federal taxes in the US, we can opt to have a token amount go toward campaign finance. Have an accountability system that is transparent and public.
The Cibao reportedly (no I don't have a source) has the capacity to produce enough food to feed the entire Caribbean, no reason a single child should have to go to bed hungry.
Ok, so it's not going to happen any time soon, but there is a lot the government could be doing.
It's not a matter of more taxes, as it is now, you can't even pass gas without paying some kind of tax.
It's mis-management and theft without accountability............
And, why would they have an incentive to fix corruption when they are corrupt themselves................
GOVERNMENT HERE JUST DOESN'T CARE...........
They just do enough to keep the people quiet, and hoping and praying for more.............
B in Santiago
EXCELLENT POST........You`ve got my vote to head up the first Clean Campaign Task Force.
The sad thing is that culturally, Dominicans do tend to have a ghetto mindset in a lot of cases. They want to spend all their money on luxuries such as clothes, cars and jewelry. This is exactly what we do in American ghettos. If someone'e car is worth more than their home they are ghetto. If people wear designer clothes but cant pay the light bill, they are ghetto. If people will not eat unless they have a specific ingredient in their food or a certain flavor instead of eating to help with hunger, they are ghetto. If people have kids and use drugs and drink and make bad decisions and blame it on their environment. They are ghetto. Soo many people in NYC ghettos have hundred dollar sneakers but cant pay for food. That is ghetto. People got like eight kids and someone gives them money and they get their nails and hair done, that is ghetto.
But the main ghetto mentality that damages the DR is that people have this attitude like people owe them something. IN American ghettos, people sit there angry because their wealthy relatives and the government wont give them free money. They wait for handouts. They do not want to work, they want to sit on their butt and get free rides in life. I tried to get jobs to three different Dominicans. They told me "esa trabajo no sirve" The jobs were working online form home and makine 800 pesos per day for my company! I would have been their boss and been really easy on them. I would have trained them and possibly paid their internet bill. Their response was "gente no se usa esa. gente no lo hacen." People don't do that here. Then they told me, I do not like that job. Maybe you would work hard doing it but I will not work hard doing it because I do not like it. Even if i made the money, I would not do it because I do not want to put in the work. Later, the people then were angry because they did not get western unioned money for their bills from me. That is ghetttttooooO finishing with a capital O. They though I should give handouts and did not want to work. Two of them lost their home and another one just got money from a relative in the states. The same happens in American ghettos, people dont want to work but they want welfare checks and feel that people owe them money. They do not need to work two or three jobs. They do not need to go to school at night and educated themselves. They do not need to improvise but instead they should just get some job that they like but does not pay money. That is the same thing people do in American ghettos. You see them playing basketball, pool in pool halls or whatever just to avoid working in a job that they do not like.
Or women in American ghettos laying down with men to get money and child support instead of getting a J-O-B is ghetto just like many in the DR.
Ghetto is not a person, it is a mindset. DR people. sadly part of their problem is many of them have a ghetto mindset. Not all of them, some do not but many do.
Personally, I grew up watching ghetto mindsets, I just never thought like that. I would get three or 4 jobs I did not like before I sat and waited for handouts. I would not get the expensive clothing or jewelry or cars unless I had a savings set up monthly. I would eat meals I did not like to save money. NOt all, but some people there are victims of their ghetto mentality.
But the main ghetto mentality that damages the DR is that people have this attitude like people owe them something. IN American ghettos, people sit there angry because their wealthy relatives and the government wont give them free money. They wait for handouts. They do not want to work, they want to sit on their butt and get free rides in life. I tried to get jobs to three different Dominicans. They told me "esa trabajo no sirve" The jobs were working online form home and makine 800 pesos per day for my company! I would have been their boss and been really easy on them. I would have trained them and possibly paid their internet bill. Their response was "gente no se usa esa. gente no lo hacen." People don't do that here. Then they told me, I do not like that job. Maybe you would work hard doing it but I will not work hard doing it because I do not like it. Even if i made the money, I would not do it because I do not want to put in the work. Later, the people then were angry because they did not get western unioned money for their bills from me. That is ghetttttooooO finishing with a capital O. They though I should give handouts and did not want to work. Two of them lost their home and another one just got money from a relative in the states. The same happens in American ghettos, people dont want to work but they want welfare checks and feel that people owe them money. They do not need to work two or three jobs. They do not need to go to school at night and educated themselves. They do not need to improvise but instead they should just get some job that they like but does not pay money. That is the same thing people do in American ghettos. You see them playing basketball, pool in pool halls or whatever just to avoid working in a job that they do not like.
Or women in American ghettos laying down with men to get money and child support instead of getting a J-O-B is ghetto just like many in the DR.
Ghetto is not a person, it is a mindset. DR people. sadly part of their problem is many of them have a ghetto mindset. Not all of them, some do not but many do.
Personally, I grew up watching ghetto mindsets, I just never thought like that. I would get three or 4 jobs I did not like before I sat and waited for handouts. I would not get the expensive clothing or jewelry or cars unless I had a savings set up monthly. I would eat meals I did not like to save money. NOt all, but some people there are victims of their ghetto mentality.
Why is it that Americans come here and recognize poverty and poor living conditions when it is so common in any major city in the US?
Also, are blacks in the US less deserving than in the DR?
I don't see anything here that is not found in any Third World country...
Also, are blacks in the US less deserving than in the DR?
I don't see anything here that is not found in any Third World country...
Because those who write here in this thread have lost their heart to the RD and the people in this country. Anyone who manage to do anything to fight poverty (no matter where) should have a medal- i dont care if they come from the US, UK, or Tanzania.
And for all we know could it be the same people also fight poverty in their homecountries- US/UK or Tanzania. Aaand let me mention it AGAIN- Please look past the colour of a humans skin when you read most of the threads here on this forum. There is enough hate in the world based on colour of your skin and which magical wizard in the sky you believe in.
And for all we know could it be the same people also fight poverty in their homecountries- US/UK or Tanzania. Aaand let me mention it AGAIN- Please look past the colour of a humans skin when you read most of the threads here on this forum. There is enough hate in the world based on colour of your skin and which magical wizard in the sky you believe in.