The dividing median along the highway between Piedra Blanca and La Cumbre is turning into a residential area inhabited by the poor. How newspaper calls the situation an “invasion of impoverished townships.” The area was reforested back in 1996, but six years ago, Haitians seeking a place to live after the closure of the Rio Haina sugar mills, invaded the area and put up their shacks. They were quickly forced to move by the authorities but they have now returned and are occupying even more lands. When the dual highway was started at the beginning of Leonel Fernandez’ first term in office, the median area was barren, and, under the auspices of the Quisqueya Verde program, was replanted with evergreens and broadleaf trees. In 2000, the creation of the Ministry of Environmentsaw the end of the reforestation process. The first occupants of the area were careful to not be too obvious, but today the concentration of people far surpasses the capacity of the trees to hide them. And there they sit on the now barren hillsides.