Haiti - Social : Census of Haitians in the Dominican Republic...
19/12/2011 10:25:56



The government of Dominican Republic announced that it would conduct a census of all foreign immigrants, especially undocumented Haitians present in the Dominican territory.

Temistocles Montas, Minister of Economy, explained at a press conference that the study will seek to understand the demographic characteristics of immigrants, economic activities in which they engage and their social contribution to national development.

Paul Tactuk, the Director of the Office for National Statistics said that the study will cost $1.4 million and will begin in June 2012 with the participation of international organizations and financial support from the European Union.

Irene Horejs, Ambassador of the European Union, stated that in Europe "we know how the immigration issue is delicate," insisting on the necessity of knowing objectively the migration policy of the Dominican Republic on a rational basis.

According to UN estimates, between 600,000 and one million immigrants from Haiti, living illegally in the Dominican Republic, where they work mainly in construction or as street vendors.

None of censuses conducted in the Dominican Republic, has so far quantified the number of legal and illegal immigrants.


http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-4522-haiti-social-census-of-haitians-in-the-dominican-republic.html

"According to UN estimates, between 600,000 and one million immigrants from Haiti, living illegally in the Dominican Republic, where they work mainly in construction or as street vendors."

Most certainly an understantement..................................

Four overseas immigration movements have taken place in recent decades: approximately 5,000 refugees from the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s; a Jewish refugee group, which arrived in 1940; a continuous flow of Japanese, mainly farmers, since 1950; and 600 Hungarian refugees invited by the government in 1957. These are dwarfed, however, by the influx of Haitians, some seasonal, others permanent. The number of Haitians living in the Dominican Republic has been estimated at 500,000 to 1,000,000.

Emigration became significant for the first time during the 1960s, when 93,300 Dominicans legally entered the US; during 1971–80, the figure rose to 148,100, and during 1981–85, it was 104,800. In 1990 there were 357,000 Dominican-born people living in the US, mostly along the eastern seaboard. This census total may have been an undercount, for estimates of the Dominican population in the US ranged as high as 1,000,000, including 200,000 in Puerto Rico.

An estimated 35,000 Haitians entered the Dominican Republic after the military coup that overthrew Haiti's president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, in September 1991. By May 1997, 20,000 Haitians had returned to their homeland, voluntarily or by deportation. The majority of Haitian refugees live outside the capitol, Santo Domingo. The Dominican Republic government initiated a program to deport illegal migrants back to Haiti. However, this program does not affect recognized refugees or asylum seekers, as they receive temporary residence permits. The net migration rate in 2000 was -1.4 migrants per 1,000 population, down from -3.3 migrants per 1,000 population in 1990. The total number of migrants living in the Dominican Republic in 2000 was 136,000.


Read more: Migration - Dominican Republic http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Dominican-Republic-MIGRATION.html#ixzz1h2qTxyco

Very infromative article.

It's a shame that people don't respect laws, they sneak accross borders, they wash up on shore, they jump in the front of a line. Hey, where does it end ?

A la buena, si. Pero, a l mala? Lo dudo. Al escondio' nada.

We're being replaced. I'm glad this is happening so that we may shut the UN when we find that half of haiti is living and depending on the DR.

CF,
Si tu supieras?

There's an international plan to abolish all borders. Haven't you heard of the U. N.'s Millennium Development Goals? How about the Jesuit Refugee Services? One of their precepts is that the downtrodden in any country have a right to go wherever they want to despite national boundaries and to be given what they lack.

Note: I don't agree with the Millennium Development Goals, Jesuit Refugee Services, or the United Nations; But, how can an individual resist such overwhelming organizations. It's a lost cause, it's the New World Order, it's Globalization, it's IMF and World Bank. It's the end of the world as we know it.

Haitians see neighbors' post-quake love dry up
This story was filed by CBS News' Adriana Diaz.



(CBS) - Almost two years after a devastating earthquake inspired solidarity between the estranged neighboring nations which share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, the relationship between the Dominican Republic and Haiti is descending back to business as usual.


"We have no value in the eyes of Dominicans," says Haitian construction worker Pierre Giraud, 24. Giraud snuck across the border into the Dominican Republic with the help of a smuggler after the 2010 earthquake destroyed his home, killing his parents.


Special section: Haiti, the Road to Recovery

An estimated 1.2 million Haitians live in the Dominican Republic, making up roughly 10 percent of the country's population.


Many Haitians view their eastern neighbor as a land of opportunity, and many illegally cross the porous border to escape poverty - often to take low-paying jobs in construction, housekeeping, or cutting sugar cane. But many say they face discrimination and live in constant fear of being deported.


Mass deportations of undocumented Haitians have been a practice in the Dominican Republic for years.


However, when the January 2010 earthquake struck Haiti, the Dominican Republic suspended the deportations. This was just part of the solidarity that the Dominican Republic showed Haiti after the quake. The Dominican Republic was the first to send supplies and dispatch relief workers. Injured Haitians were air lifted to Dominican hospitals and the Dominican officials even opened the tightly controlled border, allowing thousands of Haitians to enter freely.


"The demonstration of solidarity and generosity was extraordinary and very moving," says Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, director of the United Nations agency on refugees (UNHCR) in the Dominican Republic. "But as time passed those demonstrations of candid solidarity, good will, and fraternal feelings started to diminish to some extent. Towards the end of last year and beginning of this year, the government restarted some deportations of undocumented Haitians."


According to NGOs, Dominican authorities periodically round up undocumented Haitians, some of whom overstayed work visas, and drop them at the Haitian border without due process.


Dominican political analyst Cristhian Jimenez says the renewed deportations are necessary to relieve some of the pressure illegal Haitians put on Dominican resources.


"18 percent of the budget of the Dominican Republic's Health Ministry goes to serve Haitians," says Jimenez. "There are more than a million Haitians here. The majority work, receive healthcare, their children go to school, and most of the money that they earn they send back to Haiti. So not only are we taking care of Haitians here, we are helping support Haitians that are in Haiti as well."


With Dominican elections approaching next year, the deportations may also serve a political purpose.


"[The deportations] tend to be given quite a lot of publicity," said Vargas Llosa of the UNHCR. "They give it visibly so the average Dominican person knows that the government is trying to take some action to stem the flow of undocumented Haitians."


Tensions have been further strained over questions about the citizenship status of children of undocumented Haitians.


In this Nov. 2, 2006 file photo, Dominican-born human rights activist Sonia Pierre poses for a photo near Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
(Credit: AP)
"They're trying to erase us," said Sonia Pierre, a Dominican activist of Haitian decent and director of the Dominican-Haitian Women's Movement.


Thousands like Pierre, who were born in the Dominican Republic to Haitian parents, are at risk of having their Dominican citizenship revoked. Dominican citizenship is granted to all those born on Dominican territory. However, a 2007 law denies Dominican nationality to the children born to foreigners that are "in transit" in the country.



NOTE: After speaking to CBS News, Dominican-Haitian activist Sonia Pierre passed away suddenly on Dec. 4, 2011, due to natural causes. She was just 48.


The Dominican government applies "in transit" status to the country's illegal immigrants, most of whom are Haitian. Last year, the country's new constitution further specified that the children of illegal immigrants will not be granted Dominican citizenship.


"It's as if a grandchild or child of a Dominican born and raised in the U.S. was told by the U.S. government that they're not American because of a retroactive law," said Pierre. "Can you imagine that?"


Because of the policy, thousands have been denied Dominican birth certificates and national identity cards. These documents are required to enroll in university, marry, and apply for a passport in order to travel internationally.


Those affected are also at-risk of becoming stateless. Most have lived in the Dominican Republic all their lives and are not Haitian citizens, as Haiti does not recognize dual-citizenship.


Last week, hundreds of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian decent gathered in front of the Dominican Supreme Court to protest the de-nationalization practices. One protestor held a sign that read, "I am Dominican, you know it."


Some call the de-nationalization practices institutionalized discrimination against Haitians.


"This is not happening to the children of Europeans, Chileans, or Colombians," said Pierre, the women's activist. "We share an island where one part is extremely poor and darker skinned. There is discrimination."


Resentment toward Haitians is deeply rooted in the island's history. In the mid-1800s, Haiti occupied the eastern part of the island for 22 years. The day Dominicans celebrate as their Independence Day is the day they broke free from Haiti in 1844, not their independence from Spain in 1821.


"What is taught in history classes in schools is Dominican independence from Haiti and that has become deeply entrenched in the mentality of Dominicans," said Jimenez.


Pierre is not convinced.


"A lot of people say discrimination against Haitians has to do with history. I don't think so," she says. "If that was the case, Dominicans would have the same attitude toward Spain and even the U.S., which occupied the Dominican Republic more recently."


Despite the controversy over de-nationalization, the Dominican government is making strides to unify the island. It partnered with the UNHCR to launch a tolerance campaign titled, "Living With Everyone Is Living With Tolerance."


The campaign kicked off on Friday with a free concert in Santo Domingo featuring prominent artists from both the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The concert, which coincided with Human Rights Day (December 10), was to be followed by events throughout the year promoting Dominican and Haitian culture.


"We thought this would be a good time to try to revisit some of that spirit and dynamic that was created after the earthquake, but this time not prompted by a tragedy, but to the contrary, this time prompted by... a positive and constructive spirit," said Vargas Llosa of the UNHCR.


Some of the names in this story have been changed to protect the identify of sources.
[URL]http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-57341181-503543/haitians-see-neighbors-post-quake-love-dry-up/[/URL]

G:

Personally, I understand the plight of thousands of Haitians and the need for a solution; But, I resent the laying on 'our' laps all their misfortunes.
You can't pile your garbage in your neighbor's yard and expect them to get rid of it for you, and then serve you lunch? This attempt to blame this massive invasion as a fault of 'ours' is highly inappropriate. We are the good Samaritans! Do they offer our people the same hospitality in return? No, we look elsewhere when things are hard. We don't 'bum rush' their territory?

Now, to add insult to injury they demand this that and the other. This sure sounds like strong arm robbery to me; Like when a cat burglar breaks into your house while your are asleep and then wakes you up and asks you to cook them breakfast. They violate your privacy, steal your stuff, then want an egg sandwich and a thermos of 'Cafe Con Leche' for the road.

I say send them all back to Haiti. Now, if they are legal residents the can stay; But, if they raise too many issues and refuse to cooperate with the sovereign laws of the Republic (and jeopardize the rule of law), then, they should also be sent back over the border. No free lunches, especially to ingrates (mal-agradecios), and enemies of the state.

We share an island, yeah. That side is yours and this side is mine.

Now, good fences make good neighbors, as its been said. But, some people like playing on that concept; they are ruthless debaters, give them an inch - they take a mile. You're wrong and they are right, even when they jump over your fence (alambre de pua) and squat on you land.

Jealousy is a mother for you; But, that doesn't give anyone the right to take what's rightfully someone else's.
If you are dealt a bad hand? It's not my fault or responsibility, so don't mess with me and mine...

That border is not a whim, it's historical, it's cultural and it must be respected! Need we use Winston Churchill lines? Blood, Sweat and Tears.

Or, Juan Pablo Duarte: "Nuestra Patria ha de ser libre e independiente de toda Potencia extranjera o se hunde la isla."


I say if they don't like the heat, get out of the kitchen (go back home).

http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2011/12/our-blog-post-haitian-dominicans


Make your voices count on the matter. It's just The Economist, but lots of important people read the publication and some of them actually have some level of influence on the matters at hand. So go read and post your concerns. I did.