Trip to the Dominican Republic turns into a vacation from hell: ‘We’ve lost everything’

[mountainannie]

Never seen that. It has to be different at the various locales.

There is always a strong resentment from Dominicans against Haitians who might be in competition for jobs that Dominicans might perform.

For instance, up in Samana (which has the darkest residents, having been "sent" up there to "fish" when Trujillo cleared the land for the park in St.Dom. Este) when the A-I hotel up there was bought and redone as the Grand Bahia Principe in Portillo, the local Dominican construction workers protested daily - because the owners of the hotel had brought in a crew of Haitians... they put the Haitians on the site - left them there to work- did not pay them for 24 days... And paid them about US $25 a day. The Dominicans WANTED the work -but Would Not Do It for that price - which was HALF of what they would expect to get.

There are laws about what percentage of Dominicans/Haitians any businesses can employ.

I doubt anyone minds if there are Haitians in the fields in Constanza spraying the fields with whatever chemicals without any sort of face masks... Nor those Haitians who do the construction in SD, living in the buildings that they are working in - since most of those jobs have Dominicans in charge of the labor teams.

But - for quite a while - there were a lot of Haitians who had jobs out in Punta Cana because they had language skills that Dominicans simply did not have... It is perhaps because they live in a dual language country that Haitians pick up other languages quickly.

Here is a report I wrote many years ago about one of the Haitian communities in the Capital. It is old but I doubt that the situation has changed.

HAITI-DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Solace in Solidarity

Elizabeth Eames Roebling and Auguste Cantave

www.ipsnews.net

 

[NALs]

Never seen that. It has to be different at the various locales.

Not only that, but every year there are multiple accusations of the police or drug enforcer putting drugs on innocent people, but these are Dominicans. It makes sense DR1ers don't even mention this, perhaps are not aware.

This is a typical case. Here a mother claiming drugs were placed on her son to arrest him and take him to the police station. Of course, 99.9% of the people claiming this predicament are Dominicans year in, year out. Nothing relevant on DR1.

As always, Americans using the Haitian nationality topic to make sense of something that has nothing to do with being Haitian. It is mostly Americans that do this and I have yet to figure out why.

 

[Big]

I tend to agree with you. How many times I have seen Dominicans riding down the street on their motors, passing the police without helmets. As soon as Haitian are passing, they are stopped, questioned and then beaten up. Countless times I have seen this. Ask any Haitian. They live in fear here. Those visiting from the US are naive. They are not accustomed to this. Thus, this time I agree with Windy.

Haitians: "stopped, questioned and beaten up" ... that's bogus !!!.. "live in fear" only the ones that are involved in illegal activity

 

[LindseyKaufman]

Haitians: "stopped, questioned and beaten up" ... that's bogus !!!.. "live in fear" only the ones that are involved in illegal activity

Really? I tend to politely disagree with you.

 

[johne]

And for sure, they miss many. Hence the daily news stories. One just the other day at POP of a catch ! But how many made it through?

A lot, of course.

 

[Big]

every single drug mule that gets nabbed says they were transporting a package for a friend and did not know what was in it. These clowns had the audacity to say it was already in the vehicle, what a joke. Now they are doing the predictable scam of making a side show to dup people into believing they were "set up". Don't do the crime if you cant do the time!!

 

[Big]

Really? I tend to politely disagree with you.

I politely say that advancing the notion that there is such an acrimonious situation between the P.D and Haitians that PD are pulling them off of motos and beating them is fiction

 

[Big]

 

[Tom0910]

Haitians: "stopped, questioned and beaten up" ... that's bogus !!!.. "live in fear" only the ones that are involved in illegal activity

That is absolutely bull poopy. My girlfriend is of Haitian heritage,black skin,typical Haitian facial features. Born and raised in the DR,has a Dominican cedula,by law she is a legal Dominican citizen speaks perfect spanish,has never been to Haiti and doesn't speak a word of creyol,doesn't dress or act like a puta yet can't walk alone in Sosua without the fear of being picked up and held overnight in jail,which has happened to her three times already. The one and only reason she has gotten hauled off to jail is because she "looks" Haitian.

 

[drstock]

That is absolutely bull poopy. My girlfriend is of Haitian heritage,black skin,typical Haitian facial features. Born and raised in the DR,has a Dominican cedula,by law she is a legal Dominican citizen speaks perfect spanish,has never been to Haiti and doesn't speak a word of creyol,doesn't dress or act like a puta yet can't walk alone in Sosua without the fear of being picked up and held overnight in jail,which has happened to her three times already. The one and only reason she has gotten hauled off to jail is because she "looks" Haitian.

I have a Haitian looking friend in exactly the same situation - not a hooker, born here, DR cedula etc. I had to pay a "fine" to get her out of Sosua jail a couple of months ago. Her "crime"? Being a passenger on a moto-concho and the driver didn't have his documents in order.

 

[Big]

That is absolutely bull poopy. My girlfriend is of Haitian heritage,black skin,typical Haitian facial features. Born and raised in the DR,has a Dominican cedula,by law she is a legal Dominican citizen speaks perfect spanish,has never been to Haiti and doesn't speak a word of creyol,doesn't dress or act like a puta yet can't walk alone in Sosua without the fear of being picked up and held overnight in jail,which has happened to her three times already. The one and only reason she has gotten hauled off to jail is because she "looks" Haitian.

fiction ! but it makes for a good story

 

[Africaida]

Another case of a visiting gringo who knows better than the ones living here with Haitian acquaintances *sigh*

 

[MariaRubia]

I also know of Haitians in the capital who have been stopped and arrested walking down the street. A few weeks ago a guy who was doing some tiling for me disappeared for three days, he was arrested leaving my place after finishing work and was detained by the police for zero reason. Eventually they let him use a phone to call someone to bring RD$ 5000 to pay for his release.

 

[Africaida]

I also know of Haitians in the capital who have been stopped and arrested walking down the street. A few weeks ago a guy who was doing some tiling for me disappeared for three days, he was arrested leaving my place after finishing work and was detained by the police for zero reason. Eventually they let him use a phone to call someone to bring RD$ 5000 to pay for his release.

If it happens randomly to poor Dominicans, I don't understand why it is so hard to imagine it could happen to Haitians.

 

[Big]

Another case of a visiting gringo who knows better than the ones living here with Haitian acquaintances *sigh*

Another case of someone throwing shade and providing support to criminals just because.!!!! I work and live here ( I doubt you do) and am from Africa as well. I will not be duped by the "oh the poor unfortunate Haitian" scam. Haitians are not randomly beaten and if they walk around Sosua at night monger bar hopping they do indeed get arrested just like the Dominican chicas as they have been warned countless times. I suggest some start a go fund me page and take up a collection for the drug mules. If they break 20 dollars I will build you a watch

 

[Big]

I also know of Haitians in the capital who have been stopped and arrested walking down the street. A few weeks ago a guy who was doing some tiling for me disappeared for three days, he was arrested leaving my place after finishing work and was detained by the police for zero reason. Eventually they let him use a phone to call someone to bring RD$ 5000 to pay for his release.

you should hire more reputable people

 

[keepcoming]

I find it amazing that some who claim to live here find it hard to believe that these types of things happen. My MIL had a woman who helped around the house, she was of Haitian decent. I can't tell you how many times this woman was stopped and questioned by police. She was legal and had all her paperwork in order. It is one of the reasons she stopped working for my MIL, so she did not have to travel a longer distance. Working closer to where she lived made it less likely for her to be stopped and questioned so much.

 

[johne]

What I don't understand is: Down the street from me there are two very substantial projets under construction. At 7:45 am dozens of worker walk to the job. Work day all day. Lunch wagon comes in (the back of a car). They work until about 5. Without a doubt in my mind they are Haitians. They live within-in about a 12 minute walk and I have never seen them involved with the police. In fact the police are nearby just about every day. One projct is across the street from a bank. The other is a 20 story tower a block away fom the bank.
If profiling and beatings are so prevalent (and I am not saying they are not) why then the scenario I described above is not the norm?

 

[Big]

I find it amazing that some who claim to live here find it hard to believe that these types of things happen. My MIL had a woman who helped around the house, she was of Haitian decent. I can't tell you how many times this woman was stopped and questioned by police. She was legal and had all her paperwork in order. It is one of the reasons she stopped working for my MIL, so she did not have to travel a longer distance. Working closer to where she lived made it less likely for her to be stopped and questioned so much.

well this thread is really about some drug mules being arrested. However if you believe that 10 % of the population in the D.R gets stopped "just because" that's an opinion. I guess the Dominican-Haitian population gets stopped as well. LOL, I am still chuckling about the "they are beaten all the time" comment

 

[Big]

What I don't understand is: Down the street from me there are two very substantial projets under construction. At 7:45 am dozens of worker walk to the job. Work day all day. Lunch wagon comes in (the back of a car). They work until about 5. Without a doubt in my mind they are Haitians. They live within-in about a 12 minute walk and I have never seen them involved with the police. In fact the police are nearby just about every day. One projct is across the street from a bank. The other is a 20 story tower a block away fom the bank.
If profiling and beatings are so prevalent (and I am not saying they are not) why then the scenario I described above is not the norm?

because they are not hauling drugs in a rental car and are not scofflaw violators