El Caribe newspaper carries a feature on one young man’s odyssey from his architectural studies at the state university to a would-be illegal immigrant on a boat to Puerto Rico. His story ended last Thursday in the early hours of the morning when the US coast guard intercepted the craft he was traveling in with 240 others and arrested 27 Dominicans as they approached Puerto Rican shores. “Pedro” was repatriated, but the experience has not deterred him, even though he claims that US authorities mistreated him and his fellow voyagers. Having been denied a visa by the US consulate because of his unmarried status, he took this last step as a result of the economic situation in the country and his hometown of Sabana la Mar, where he says there are no opportunities beyond “fishing or motoconcho”. He stated he would try again. “I want to leave the country to establish an economic base, to set up a business here some time in the future, in my own country, because after all there is no place like one’s own country.” Pedro said that while those making the rides are charged RD$15,000-RD$20,000, he got a “bola” or a free ride because the captain just told him to come along in a friendship gesture.
Diario Libre gives the increased flow of migrants some prominence, with detailed figures of frustrated journeys intercepted by the US coast guard and the Dominican navy. The record-breaking year was 1996 with 5,430 people caught, which declined sharply to 1,143 in 1997 and continued to decrease until 2002 when only 177 people were apprehended making the perilous journey. Numbers rose dramatically to 1,748 in 2003, however, and with 2004 just one month old, a figure of 2,290 has already been reached, according to the newspaper’s statistics, which is more than during the previous two years combined.