Some common ground needs to be found here…
Vehicles at the Elias Piña border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic have been seen carrying Haitian migrants back to their native land in cages designed to carry livestock, The New York Times reported.
As a result, Haitian migrants have heightened usage of Dominican government services such as public health, and authorities are fed up. “The general feeling of the Dominican population is that we are providing social services greater than what the Dominican Republic is responsible for,” foreign minister Roberto Álvarez said.
“And that the international community has left us alone to attend to Haitian needs.”
Activists like Sam Guillaume of Haiti’s Support Group for Returnees and Refugees feel the deportations are putting the lives of thousands at risk, according to the Associated Press. They are also accusing the Dominican Republic of “hunting down” Haitians with claims of extortion, rape, or being held behind bars without food or water. Some are allegedly being subjected to beatings or tear gas “if they dare say boo.”
“There are a great number of armed groups that are just like birds of prey waiting to swoop down and take advantage of these people,” Guillaume said.
Coordinator for the Dominican-based National Coalition for Migrations and Refugees and activist William Charpentier called the deportations “a type of persecution against Black people, against everything they presume to be Haitian,” and an increased presence of abandoned children across the Dominican Republic.
Radhafil Rodríguez, the adviser to the OAS’ Dominican Republic mission, said all accusations of mistreatment had been rejected by DR’s government and promised all complaints would be taken “very seriously” and investigated. He continued to say his country stands in solidarity with the people of Haiti in their time of need. However, there is no expectation for a pause in deportations.
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Source: Black Enterprise
