Former Miss Haiti in the 2010 Miss Universe pageant, lawyer Sarodj Bertin has gone public to defend the Dominican Republic from accusations of its being racist in the implementation of its national program to regularize immigration. Bertin, who is a legal resident in the Dominican Republic, pointed out “Dominicans are not racists. I do not think that the Dominican Republic is a racist country, I do not think Dominicans hate Haitians. What I think is that there are many international organizations, international interests that want to create this chaos between the DR and Haiti,” Bertin made these remarks in an interview with journalist Richard Hernandez or More Vip.
Bertin lives in the Dominican Republic and works on the Sunday TV show, “Aqui se Habla Espanol” (Spanish spoken here) on Antena Latina, Channel 7. She said there are international interests in creating the resentment and negative feelings so that the conflict may persist.
Commenting on the National Foreigner Legalization Plan (PNRE), she said she had expected that the plan would be extended, citing many reasons foreigners could not submit their paperwork on time. She mentioned that the Haitian government was not ready to issue essential documents. For example, for months there was a shortage of passport books available in Haiti, making it difficult to receive a passport.
She said the Dominican government had given undocumented Haitians a “chance” to get their legal residence. The Dominican government had good intentions, she said, and around 300,000 foreigners were registered in the plan, mostly Haitians.
She commented a large number of Haitian workers in the Dominican Republic who did not meet the requirements of the plan and will have to leave, and this will certainly affect the Dominican economy.
Bertin said she has always valued what the Dominican Republic has done for her and her family and especially for the people Haiti. I think that there is solidarity between Haitian and Dominican people.”
Modelo y presentadora de origen haitiano dice RD no es racista ni odia haitianos