Dajabon, Dominican Republic.- The Dajabon Inter-institutional Committee, the Our Lady del Rosario Parish, Radio Marién, Border Solidarity (SF) and other community organizations today announced a “rally for the market,” on the lands where the work is being built.

The groups’ spokesman Jesuit priest David Pantaleón said the activity to start at 6 p.m. is to demand the expansion and completion of the cross-border market’s infrastructure.

He said the Dominican Government had pledged to matching funds for the European Union’s donation of more than 40 million euros for the structure, which includes new Customs and Migration offices, and will boost commerce for the medium and small Dominican and Haitian vendors  

The prelate said despite that senior Government officials had announced the conclusion for March, 2008, almost two years later only the highway which links Ouanamenthe with Cape Haitian is finished, whereas the structure to house the market, the Dominican Customs and Immigration offices continues as a “steel skeleton” erected on the land adjacent to the Masacre River more than one year ago.

“Open the door, Open the door the Dajabón market is on the streets/waiting for construction to finish quick,” says the song intoned by Pantaleón in the church.

The market’s importance for cross border trade

With per capita income of barely 450 dollars per year, one tenth of what Dominicans make, Haiti buys 10 percent of Dominican exports, which led the priest Guillermo Perdomo, director of Radio Marién, to quote United States embassy Commercial attaché Christopher Lambert, who said “it’s necessary that the income of Haiti improves, which will result as a benefit for Dominican production.”