My sentiments exactly!

Hell granted DR is making strides where Haiti and perhaps many other caribbean Countries are not as thus I must give credit where they are due, I am not that naive now. Believe it or not, I am all for developments on the Island as I know for each of those buildings being built, for sure a Haitian construction worker is benefiting as well as reports has it that most of what are built in DR has been in help to the cheap Haitian labor.

Dear friends, I am all for improvement and developments on the Island and the caribbean, trust me. However, with moderation to and in keeping the aspect of Caribbean beauty of Caribbean Countries that makes them such paradise for tourists and their natives without having to give in to Foreign investors frenzy racing craze & competition of their egos with the United States and other major infrastructural Countries as to who can built the tallest, grandeur High Rises which has made living in those regions unbearable and are driven out of their natural habitats for the construction of mid and high rises they will never get to live in, those poor, hard working natives of the land in DR, specifically Santo Domingo. Ever thought about their plights and what they have to endure as the life expenses there is getting steeper that even tourists and foreign diasporas with money can start noticing those increases of living expense there. Those so called investors whom we do not know nothing of anything about, where or how they go about getting their money are investing so much money only to dip when disaster was to set foot and guess what, by that time they will not care since they've already made their money to dip with and also cash in on the Property Insurance which they could also sue DR in Negligent Charges for having not thought or have those preparedness systems in place to could have saved their investments and so called interests.

They will claim they have invested so much in those establishments and even in the Government to justify their claim and guess what again... and because DR's economic will have then be tied to those infrastructural vestments, it could be devastating in the even a geological event were to taken place as mentioned by both Lautaro & DreadLocks.

PS: As have asked by both Lautaro and Dread, if all those emergency and precautionary measure systems are in place and there is such a level in plan of preparedness in the event tragedy were to occur, hell I say...

YOU GO DR, YOU GO AND KEEP ON BLOOMING IN BECOMING THE NEXT CARIBBEAN METROPOLIS!

dreadlocks I hear what you guys are saying, it is a valid concern. I hope to not wake up one morning to news of an earthquake made worse due to men rushing into development too fast, like just occurred in China. I've read that the use of cheap materials magnified the tragedy there considerably...that in some places tall, well designed buildings stood while smaller, newer & cheaper buildings collapsed on inhabitants. Then again I saw headlines this very morning here in New York about suspicions of corruption in fraud by the ppl in charge of testing the quality of concrete in our new developments. To some extent there is no escape from this risk while there is such a rush to progress, and all we can do is plan accordingly when we choose where we live

As the following article will show, Mr. Dom and NY4LIFE, not everyone shares your opinion that the current abundance of constructions is benefitting the dominican low classes. As we will see, the current situation is far from this assumption being the truth, let´s see:



Denuncia

Criollos dicen haitianos les quitan empleo

Por EFE / elcaribecdn.com
Viernes 20 de junio del 2008 actualizado a las 6:14 PM


Alegan que el 80% que laboran en la construcción en la zona norte son haitianos. (El Caribe)

La Federación de Sindicatos de Trabajadores de la Construcción de la región norte del país denunció hoy que unos 95.000 dominicanos están sin empleo en la construcción en esa zona debido a que los haitianos indocumentados desplazan a los trabajadores locales.

El portavoz del gremio, Domingo Rodríguez, dijo que más del 80 por ciento de las personas que trabajan en la construcción en la zona norte son de origen haitiano.

Indicó que muchos empresarios del área de la construcción prefieren como mano de obra a haitianos en situación ilegal para no pagarles un salario justo y quedar exonerados de condiciones laborales que exigen por ley los dominicanos.

Subrayó que a los haitianos se les paga la mitad de los salarios que cobran los dominicanos, aparte de que no tienen seguro médico, no se les paga horas extra y muchas veces se les niega las prestaciones cuando terminan su contrato de trabajo.

Esa situación incentiva la emigración de miles de haitianos ilegales a República Dominicana, consideró.

Rodríguez negó que los dominicanos no quieran trabajar en la construcción y dijo que, por el contrario, es deprimente ver a miles de personas que buscan empleo y son rechazadas por los empresarios y contratistas porque esos puestos están reservados a los haitianos.

También se quejó de que hace varios años la mano de obra bruta de la construcción se reservaba a los haitianos indocumentados y la cualificada a los dominicanos, mientras que en la actualidad los extranjeros hacen ambos trabajos.


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¿Cómo les quedó el ojo, my friends?

Yes, Haitian influx of cheap laborers hurts the Dominican labor and is of major concern for Dominican laborers. It's always going to be a problem when cheap labor is chosen over the native more expensive labor. These illegal immigrants are taking the jobs away from Dominicans. Since they are illegal, there rights are waived and as a result are paid lower and are not provided healthcare coverage etc. This is a standard procedure that occurs here in the US with illegal immigrants who are paid under the table at a lower rate and with no healthcare. Is it right? No, but that's the way it is across the board. From a super power country to a third country that is trying to develop its infrastructure.

The U.S. can handle the fact that illegal immigrants are taking up jobs at lower rates from its native population b/c there are other means and opportunites to become educated and work in the U.S. However, the DR doesnt' provide that oppt yet for its people so the majority who are poor suffer from the influx of poor Haitians that come in and take over jobs from the majority native poor population. It's not a solely Haiti's fault but I think they should be blamed as well as the Dominican authorities for contracting illegal immigrants. We all know business just cares about the bottom line how much they make so they are willing to pay cheap laborers rather than the more expensive native population. With that being said, as it has been stated numerous times on this site on ways to solve issues btw. both countries, these business man should be penalize for contract such illegals to the point where they should lose their licenses after repeat violations. A campaigin should be sponosor by the Dominican gov't to condemn the hiring of illegal Haitians. Haiti on the other hand has to develop and create jobs for its people, attract the disapora to help develop the country, and create a campaign to denounce illegal immgration to the Dominican Republic. In my point of view, neither have done anything to stem or curtail the situation and now the country is feed up with the situation. When you have countries so corrupt as ours (both), LA, Asia, and all third world countries, these ideas are very revoluntionary and extreme b/c everyone is perceived or in directly involved with said corruption.

What we must realize at the end of the day is that there is always a positive side and negative side to everything. The upside is that DR is buidling its infrastructure and creating a more livable city. Jobs are being created, the city is being developed, and FDI is being invested in these projects. (gov't getting money). This is a signal of having a stable and democractic government. Downside, jobs are mostly benefiting Haitian illegal immigrant laborers, homes built benefit the minority, and questions arise about the safety of these projects. Overall, I still see this a positive for the Dominican Republic. It's getting developed and becoming a better country and will continue to attract people from all over the world which is the base of our economy. Is this the only financial model we should have? No, we have other things to offer such as agriculture, mining, free-zones, and hopefully creating a strong financial center to service the Caribbean. We have to let this play out and see where it will go and how people will benefit. Questions about the bldgs are legit but at the same time there is no way you can say it's not safely built. I guess time will tell wether or not this is good for the DR. Like I previously said, I hope all studies were made and information should be readily avaliable to the public. Let's hope for the best while expecting the worse!!

i get it, NY4LIFE. by your calculus, ill conceived development which results in the possibility of catastrophic injury and death, overcrowding and stress on the infrastructure, and methodologies for construction which disenfranchise the local workers ,are better than no developments at all. i beg to differ. first of all, what infrastructure do you say is being developed? have the powers that be resolved electricity delivery? pollution and its debilitating effects? do you realise that haina is the third worst polluted spot on earth? you are so busy raving over tall buildings with shiny window frames that you cannot see the meltdown that could result from this strategy.

It's called the culture of parade at its best, mr. dread. Or should I say at its worst? That culture of parade is the main reason why the DR is still an under developed country, because governments and private firms prefer to invest in pharaonic monuments and other quick cash projects, instead of investing in things that, although their benefits might not be seen on the inmediate term, they might do more for the country's welfare on the long run, investments such as education, health, and agriculture, this last one in order to secure the first thing that should be a country's priority: it's nutritional safety. In short, on this parade culture pervading our country, it's not the substance of a given person what counts, but the benefits that only money and looks can buy!!

P.S.: The shame of enduring this type of shallow culture is all the more poignant when it's the direct cause that situations like this keep surfacing from time to time: http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/poverty/2008/6/23/28407/The-UN-gives-Dominican-elementary-education-a-failing-grade

Have you seen a building in Santo Domingo collapse?

I haven't.....

thanks for that wonderful insight, Mr Lautaro. sadly, i read the education report, which is just a recurring theme without an end in sight. this is what i call jeepeta mentality; it looks great, and makes you look rich and important. but when it gets a flat tire, some people do not even have a spare!

You are talking like if the govermment is the builder or the money come from them.

That's because major earthquakes (like the one that destroyed the main cities of the island in 1842) haven't reared their ugly face, yet. Trust me, you really don't want to see an earthquake like the ones that shook Tokio, Taipei, Mexico DF or San Francisco on the past century being reenacted here.