A total of 2,420 Haitian families, or 12,642 people, are settled about 98% illegally on the 15-kilometer strip on the Dominican side of the five border provinces with Haiti. The families have been there for between two and ten years. Some 89% cook with firewood or vegetable charcoal, and 52% burn their garbage, causing serious damage to the environment and natural resources.
As reported in Diario Libre, a “Survey of Buildings and Inhabitants of Haitian Nationality” released by the Dominican Ministry of Defense and carried out by the Specialized Border Security Corps of (Cesfront) in the second half of 2013, collected data on the living conditions of these Haitian families on land that includes the border area in Dominican territory. The immigration is attributed to the search for a better quality of life that Haiti does not offer. Barely 32% of the 12,642 know how to read and write, and only 67% speak Spanish. Most of these immigrants live in wooden shacks with tin roofs, more than half of which are rented from Dominicans. Only 8% have indoor sanitary facilities and 78% use latrines. In total, 3,252 men were living in these areas at the time of the survey, as well as 3,176 women and 6,214 children. Minors under the age of 15 represent the majority, with 49%.
www.diariolibre.com/noticias/2014/03/20/i533851_420-familias-haitianas-viven-manera-ilegal-territorio-dominicano-frontera.html