It is no secret that the issues in neighboring Haiti deeply affect nearly every sector of Dominican life. Health, agriculture, construction and the economy in general are all very tightly related to Haiti.
In the Green Room at the Presidential Palace, there were no cell phones allowed, and President Luis Abinader was all business on Thursday, 13 January 2022. One of the first issues that was on the table was the report from the National Health Service (SNS) which stated that over 35,000 Haitian women gave birth in Dominican public hospitals, completely free of charge. This was slightly over 30% of all births registered by SNS, and represented a near-18% increase over 2020.
Late last year, a presidential directive ordered a halt to Haitian women crossing the frontier to give birth. This has been highly criticized, since some women when some women were removed from the waiting rooms of maternity hospitals in Santo Domingo.
In the meeting with some 30 political entities of the Dominican Republic, President Abinader issued a call to the international community that repeated what he had said at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021: The situation in Haiti cannot be resolved by the Dominican Republic alone. He said: “There is no Dominican solution to the issues in Haiti.” His statements were endorsed by the 30 political parties represented at the meeting, and they also approved a “good-neighbor” policy in relation to Haiti.
On Friday, 14 Janury 2022, President Abinader would tell reporters that he favored the modification of the Migration Law, because it is extremely difficult for a Dominican company to contract Haitian employees. It is evident that Dominican agriculture and construction depend on Haitian labor. And, contrary to popular belief, these works are generally paid according to the Dominican Labor Code. However, current legislation requires an 80/20 ratio of Dominican/Haitian labor in any company.
The reality is instead that farmers will freely admit a 95/5 ratio of Haitian Dominican workers in their fields. Civil engineers will certainly echo this proportion.
As reported, President Abinader is trying to facilitate the acquisition of work visas, which is currently a long and arduous process and expensive.
Abinader told the reporters: “This can’t go on.” He further indicated that he was clear on the requirement to deport all the illegal Haitians, but he also urged the simplification of the visa process for temporary workers and the process for more permanent residence.
Read more in Spanish:
Presidency
N Digital
Diario Libre
N Digital
17 January 2022