GOOD NEWS..........................

WOW, i REMEMBER WHEN THE US AGRICULTUR COMPANY HAD CUBANS UNDER THE SAME CONDITION, ALL THEY WANTED WAS THE SUGAR AND THE PROFITS MADE IN THE MAIN LAND. ON THE OTHER HAND HATIANS WORKING ON THE SUGAR FIELD ARE NOT MANDATED ARE NOT FORCED AND YES THE JOB IS HARD. BUT LETS LOOK AT THE DEMANDS BEFORE WE SAY ANY MORE WHO IS BEHIND THE DOMINICAN SUGAR INDUSTRIES, M&M CO. HEARSHY, STARBURS ALL US COMPANY. WAOW ITS INCREDIBLE YES IT IS.

Hmmm....I highly doubt that the conditions that the Haitians work in are "Quasi-Slavery" like father Hartley(forgive me if thats not his name) said in the movie.....But quite frankly you all, working in the bateyes is not like a day at Puerta Plata. The work is hard, the days are long, and the pay is pathetic. He should have focus more on these topics within the movie than inciting conflicts between Haitians/Dominicans. However.....The Dominican government should put more pressure on the owners of the plantations to improve working conditions. On a lighter note though, I think a Haitian can beat a Dominican in a sugar-cane cutting contest anyday.

To jemesouviens: Is there any productive outcome in a sugar cane cutting contest between a dominican an a haitian??

To: JRRubirosa,
Technically there can be something productive with a contest like this. By using something that has been a divisive issue/topic within Dominican/Haitian relation and reverting it to creating laughter among both people, it will create less hostility and will bring both people together for the time being. Now dont get me wrong, Im not gonna go around petitioning people to start a contest like this... But creating laughter for both people out of something serious, might help us get pass our differences. Now, I dont know how you feel, but I would like to see Haitians and Dominicans laughing together and not at one another....This is why I wrote that.

The 2009 possible Oscar nomination for best documentary could be "The Price of a Metro!"

jemesouviens1804, great name. But not from Canada, eh? In any event, I agree with you. A sense of humor is helpful in many situations. Humor seems to be lacking in many areas these days, as evidenced by JRRubiarosa's question. The ability to laugh at our condition, and at ourselves, is a mark of maturity and confidence. A little more laugher and a little less defensiveness would go a long way toward solving countless problems. Of course, there is nothing funny about starvation and defacto slavery, but there are ways to address these issues without the usual rancor and divisiveness.

To: Davidjule,
LOL..... You are right on target. Clearly Im not from Canada but Im pretty sure you know where I got the screen-name from. Thank you for your comment and understanding my positon on this article.

If I'm not mistaken, it must be read as: "I remember 1804" or something like that. The bad thing is that the imperialistic powers won't forget it in order to keep their vendetta against the haitian people alive. This murderous vengeance get its full, horrible meaning with situations like this:

http://www.clavedigital.com/Portada/Articulo.asp?Id_Articulo=12452

???? Lautaro, I must be particularly slow, so please enlighten me. Why is remembering when General Jean-Jacques Dessalines declared Haiti’s independence, after crushing the French army sent by Napoleon to re-enslave it following the world’s first successful slave revolt a bad thing????

What I tried to say, mr. davidjule, is that the bad thing has been that they (the white powers) haven't been able (or aren't willing) to let the old grudges of the past to finally lie down, so that's the reason they're strangling Haiti with their economic measures today. That the haitian population will remain punished until those powers feel safe that Haiti's "dangerous example" won't be followed again, while, at the same time, they'll keep claimming that they're Haiti's "friends". As the saying goes: "With friends like those, who wants enemies".

Thank you Mr. Lautaro. I understand what you are saying, and it is a point well taken.

As long as everybody thinks that (WHITE POWER) is at fault for whatever black nations like Haiti are going through it will never be any mental growth.

What about South Africa as an example, They wait for their turn (blacks) and Nelson Mandela being always high class man that He is teaching the apartheid movement sooner or later
the time will come.

Same as USA blacks always blame whites for their own suffering, If you believe in yourself and your race you fight for your rights the right way (EDUCATION, EDUCATION AND CIVILIZATION).

Mr. Obama another great black example and very high class man too (HE COULD BE PRESIDENT).

But everybody with White stigma (negative assumptions) about white people it is RACISM
too same way that lots of Black people are so sensitive.

There is 2 ways street for RACISM, is not only about blacks...................LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE.

You get the MESSAGE???????

Wow, now there's a stretch of logic. So, the only reason certain economies do poorly is because of the race of the people living there? That reasoning would suggest there are no wars except for civil wars within countries inhabited by inferior races. Most of us understand history is full of wars of aggression, caused by one country invading another to acquire wealth. These are wars based on greed and economic control. We also understand there are many reasons for a country's ecomonic collapse, both internal and external. And no one could rationally argue that the US has never interfered in the affairs of Haiti. Obviously, there are many internal problem for Haiti to address, but anyone with just a basic understanding of history knows that outside forces played a major role in the collapse of Haiti's economic intrastructure. Of course, both black racism and white racism exist. But all racism is the result of stupidity, not the cause of it.