Author: Yordy

Yordy Abreu

Prof.Andrew Stone

November 10, 2022

English 1101

Question: Why are Haitians migrating to the Dominican Republic? What conditions have led Haitians to leave their country? What new opportunity do Hatiains hope to find in the Dr? How is the Dominican Republic responding to the influx of Haitians? How does this fit into global politics?

Why are you interested in this question? This question is interesting because I’m Dominican, and Haiti is my neighbor on the other side of the island, which we Dominicans and Haitians share. My question involves a topic I’ve always been excited to learn more about and get into real depth. Another reason why I’m interested in this topic is that I want to know if Haiti is ever going be a drastic change in Haiti if there is ever going to be rightful law and order, and when is the criminal justice system ever going to be by the books and with reasonable leaders who want change for Haiti. When are Haitian leaders going to focus on trying to help Haitian society instead of blaming most of their problems on the Dominicans, and when are Haitian leader dropping their fear of the bandits who are terrorizing Haitian women, men, and kids and taking away their right to water, food, and health.

What do you expect to find in your research? I expect to see the main problems that are going on in Haiti and what are the main mistake Haitian leaders are making. Also, I hope to know why these gang leaders/terrorists have more money and influence than most politicians.

What will you do if you find information that goes entirely against what you had expected? I would try to connect the information that I already have because this isn’t a right or wrong type of question; it’s a question infused with my ideas and ideas of different information sites that talk about the same topic, just with different point of views.

Haiti and Dominican Republic

The Dominican republic and Haiti are two countries that share one island. One island lives in extreme poverty and the other lives in a rich environment. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The population is predominantly French Creole-speaking descendants of African slaves brought here during the slavery time. The Dominican Republic is the first place in the Americas that Christopher Columbus settled. And the capital of Santo Domingo was built. The Spanish-speaking locals are descendants of Spanish, Tainos (natives), and Africans. The country is stable and has been a popular tourist destination for many years and which is the country’s best way of making income.The French exploited the land. They brought in thousands of slaves from Africa and turned it into the most profitable colony. They destroyed the soil by aggressively harvesting the same crop year after year (mostly sugar.)After their independence, the following factors are the reason why Haiti is struggling today. Their land has been destroyed (due to heavy deforestation) and no vital economy was set up. They incurred a huge debt that they paid to France (to pay for their independence) and battled a war with the Dominican Republic. Add to this a few bad leaders and many natural disasters, you begin to understand why they are the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. There has been international pressure on France to pay Haiti the debt back.In short, history is one of the main reasons why Haiti and the Dominican Republic share an island, yet life here is so different.

#1                                                             Bibliography

Research Question: Why are Haitians migrating to the Dominican Republic? What conditions have led Haitians to leave their country? What do they hope to find in the Dr? How is the Dominican Republic responding to the influx of Haitians? How does this fit into global politics?

Al Jazeera, AL JAZEERA. “Dominican Republic Begins Building Border Wall with Haiti.” Migration News | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 21 Feb. 2022, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/21/dominican-republic-begins-building-border-wall-with-haiti.

Dominicans and Haitians are two countries well known due to their sharing of an island. The Dominican Republic has always been known for its unique and striving tourism, its primary income source. On the other side, Haiti has become the poorest country in the world due to the many natural disasters destroying everything. Politicians do not have an actual purpose of trying to change Haiti but instead use their power for wrongdoing, such as participating in criminal acts, supporting the oppressors, and accepting bribery. Also, the billions of dollars that Haiti owes to many countries prevent them from progressing. For Haitians living in those conditions, actions need to be taken. That action is to migrate to where there is more opportunity, to where there is not a group of gangs terrorizing, to where there is food and clean water, to be in an area where they feel safe, and that is to the other side.

“Amid a rise in gang violence and political deadlock over the holding of elections, many Haitians have been crossing the border into the Dominican Republic without documentation in search of work in agriculture or the construction industry.” This quote by Aljazeera explains why so much Haitian migration is happening into the Dominican Republic and responds to 3 research questions.

The Dominican Republic is dealing with many problems that it already has, such as gas prices, inflation causing prices of many products to go up, and the internal debt to the international banks and countries that must be paid. In addition, Haitians migrating in packs of thousands is a significant problem that will cost many Dominican resources and money. Therefore, the current president of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, created a project similar to former president Donald Trump: a long and tall enough wall that prevents Haitians from entering whenever they desire to enter the country. The article by Aljazeera Dominican Republic begins building border wall with Haiti and explains the importance of the wall/border. The author also puts the Dominican president’s purpose in creating this wall: “The Dominican president said the wall will reduce irregular migration and the smuggling of goods and weapons.'(Aljazeera). This quote explains why the Dominican president has started creating a wall through all the borders covering Haiti and Dr and why this border needs to be created for president Luis Abinader to maintain peace in the Dominican Republic.

Entry#2

Watch human rights. “Haitians Being Returned to a Country in Chaos.” Human Rights Watch, 24 Mar. 2022, https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/24/haitians-being-returned-country-chaos.

In Haiti, gangs are terrorizing civilians and kidnapping them to see if they will get money from them. These gangs have gained the eye of the human rights watch, which caused the information that Haitians who have left Haiti have a higher percentage of surviving outside of Haiti than inside due to “alarming levels of killings and kidnappings” (Haitians Being Returned to a Country in Chaos) to be spread worldwide. Therefore, human rights play a significant role in supporting and defending Haiti and explaining why they should not expel Haitians from their countries to world leaders and countries. Furthermore, human rights explain how these people who migrated from their homelands have nothing to return to.

“Returns to Haiti are life-threatening now and will continue to be so until security conditions in Haiti improve, Human Rights Watch said. Haiti is experiencing a dire security situation, including losing government control over strategic areas to the hands of dangerous armed gangs, widely believed to be financed by politicians and to have police officers on their payroll. In addition, violence has worsened an already severe humanitarian crisis.” This quote shows the dangers of Haitians returning to their homelands and a big push for human rights and demonstrates why going back is not an option.

Dominicantoday, Dominican. “Abinader Insists Haiti Crisis Threatens National Security.” DominicanToday, 16 Sept. 2022, https://dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2022/09/16/abinader-insists-haiti-crisis-threatens-national-security/.

“For the Dominican Republic, it is a matter of national security. I want to repeat it so that it is engraved in the memory of this solemn session in the Hall of the Americas: the crisis that overflows the borders of Haiti is a threat to the national security of the Dominican Republic”, said the President to emphasize his message.” The Dominican President, in short terms, is saying that he already has enough economic and social problems that need to be handled in the country, and having to maintain and give resources to 100 of thousands of Haitians will take a toll on the country.

Entry#3

ource entry #3

, Dominican Today. “Why Has the International Community Not Acted against the Crisis in Haiti?” DominicanToday, World/Dominicantoday, 24 Sept. 2022, https://dominicantoday.com/dr/world/2022/09/24/why-has-the-international-community-not-acted-against-the-crisis-in-haiti/. 

Quote“The lack of leadership, insecurity, a defective prime minister, Ariel Henry, criminal gangs, and social disorder aggravate the situation, says Garcia Javier, who also considers that added to the lack of action by the international community, there is no doubt that Haiti is at the worst moment in its history.”

Haiti’s lack of resources is a problem that countries worldwide are very aware of.  International countries all share common ideas which focus on how the Dominican Republic has to be a better neighbor and give more opportunities to Haitians which is something the Dominican republic has been doing for many years. From this article Dominican today we gain knowledge that Haiti’s biggest problem is national security which provides safety for citizens and its something that Haitians don’t have. 

Quote “On the subject, President Luis Abinader assured that for the Dominican Republic, what Haiti is experiencing is a national security problem. But in addition, said the Dominican president, it affects different sectors of the economy and the region’s countries”.

Many Countries world wide are wiling to help Haiti but many fear they will not get anything in exchange for their aid. Also, many countries share a common belief that money isn’t what’s going to change Haiti. Better politicians that want change and when talking about change its focus on better national security, education , health, system drinkable water without it being limited due to gang leaders controlling it, citizens feeling safe when going outside of their residential and not fearing being shot or kidnapped. These are what many international organizations and countries  see when talking on plans with Haiti.

Conclusion

This topic Between Haiti and the Dominican Republic is something that I choose because its something that I wish can be solved being a Dominican and observing the problem within the united states. Hatians migrating to the united states will be something that will continue to happen for a long time if national security in Haiti isn’t organized , if gangs control natural resources , if politicians keep accepting briberies from dirty organizations, and if Haiti doesn’t get a clean and lawful government that actually cares about their people and want national change. These things are what most authors and journalist focus on when they are writing about Haiti and the Dominican Republic. What surprised me about unlocking all of this new information is that many articles talk about different topics with both of these counties problems but all make sure to focus on attacking the Dominican Republic and how their not taking action to help Haiti. That peace of information is curious to me because Dominican Republic has always been positive on helping Haiti but theirs limit to how much they can help because dr has bigger problems then Haiti which is inflation, high amounts of debt have to be paid off, taking care of its citizens. Haiti has received enough helped but thanks to the corruption and bad leaders all the money sent for aid was for nothing since most of that money was not seen but instead used as a way for dirty leaders and politicians to have bigger pockets. This is a problem that human rights and us leader have to take upon because they are the only ones capable of creating a change since theirs a lot of influence and money being involved. I support my Dominican president with him creating a wall to stop illegal Haitians from entering the dr whenever they desire.