Anne Owers, in blue blouse. Photo Jose Luis Fernandez SJRM.
Dajabon, Dominican Republic.- The head of England’s Christian AID visited Dajabon’s cross-border market and met the leaders of the Jano Siksé Frontier Network (RFJS) and Border Solidarity (SF) on Wednesday, and hailed their defense and promotion of human rights
Anne Owers hailed the efforts to help migrants on both sides of the island’s North border, in a meeting with the representatives of the groups which work to improve and education and health.
Luis Felix, of the RFJS, told Owers that they meet regularly with civilian, military and police officials to make them aware of the problems and abuses against migrants, not only in the market, but in Dajabón province’s various communities.
“Many of these events are not investigated and almost none get to court, for which we resort to Border Solidarity’s legal assistance,” Felix said in a statement.
Owers also praised the Network’s work the in the northwestern province, which she said contributed to the formation of the rights and duties of civilians and military for the defense and protection of communities, and to help the people and the sectors, based on recognizing their needs for justice.
Written by: generoso, 19 Aug 2009 11:11 AM
From: United States, DR
He should also cross the border into Haiti and investigate the harassment, insults, beatings, kidnappings, blackmails, and murders committed on Dominican "ladies of the night" making a living, mainly off the foreign UN troops stationed in PAP and other Haitian cities.
From: United States
Tell it like it is Roso !
Written by: Lautaro, 19 Aug 2009 3:41 PM
From: Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo
I can understand the interest of the US and France for the DR to swallow up its neighbors' problems, but what is the bloody interest of the blasted british in this? ¿Acaso tienen ellos alguna vela en este entierro? It's not as if someone is going to see haitian peasants walking on the streets of Liverpool on a daily basis.
From: United States, New York
Britain visiting, EU giving funds to education, all right before the new Constitution changes the nationality clause - sounds suspicious to me!
From: Dominican Republic, vieja Santo Domingo
I can only express total amazement at some of the postings here ,,they are so full of distrust. England is one of the great countries in the world where the welfare of people in poor countries regardless of their colonial history weighs on their minds and when I go to England twice a year and go to my church , prayers are often said for people living in countries such as Haiti and the DR and there have Aid workers from Australia, New Zealand and England working in Haiti , and visiting DR for quite a few years. It is simply christian good will towards people who live in less fortunate circumstances.
From: United States
So far so good.The racists are off today.
alleluyah !!
From: United States, New York
Ricardolito, most Dominicans can only express distrust. Sadly there are very few non-Dominicans that care for the well-being of native Dominicans. Even today, most of the humanitarian work done by foreigners only focuses on Haitians and their descendants, completely ignoring the poverty millions of Dominicans live in. Hate to break it to you, but to most of us these organizations and missions are futile. If England really wanted to help, it should invest some pounds in Haiti and provide them more visas to Great Britain so they can work and send money back home to uplift their economy, not throw money at NGO's that do nothing but trash DR (Jesuit Refugee Services included).
From: Dominican Republic, PROUD & Glad to have a Spanish last name and ancestry
Well said Generoso!
Well said DominicanChic! alleluyah !!
From: United States
It is a nice day in the neighborhood
would you be , would you be, would you be my friend, neighbor ?
Written by: antonioj, 20 Aug 2009 8:02 AM
From: Canada, home safe
Generoso, your comment above I would not expect nothing less from someone that know the terrain, by the way this subject appear to be taboo, no one have yet venture to discuss it in the forum.
Slight correction it's not UN TROOPS it's MINUSTHA (The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti )
Written by: Lautaro, 20 Aug 2009 8:17 AM
From: Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo
Sadly Ricardolito, DominicanChic is right. Every damn time that the british are here, they only focus on the haitians, totally ignoring the fact that close to half of our own population is living well below the international poverty levels. If they really want to make a difference, they have to put their efforts where it counts the most, that is, on the western part of the island. As such, by focusing their help to the haitians on the DR, they're only encouraging the others to inmigrate here by any means necessary.
From: Dominican Republic, vieja Santo Domingo
Although I am not British , I was educated there at university and also was raised in the Church of England , (episcopal) and I am in total admiration of the good and charitable works that emenate from that country ..and especially the emphasis the Church places on helping the poor throughout the world ..I do not care if they mainly help a black child from Haiti or a brown child from the DR because I am sure God sees no boundaries ,,but the English charitable work is magnificent and even if they fall short of the mark sometimes, they have my full support and encouragement
Written by: Lautaro, 21 Aug 2009 8:07 AM
From: Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo
They can do whatever they please with their damned blood money, what they don't have the right to do is to portray us as a bunch of good for nothing slavers and executioners of the "poor haitian" as they have been doing with their NGO's like Anti Slavery International, as if every single tragedy that have befallen on them have been somehow our fault. Slander does not sound like a very christian trait to me. Also, they don't have the right to to do their good deeds if these ones are going to exacerbate the problem as it is the case on this issue, cuz' the dominicans of lower strata will feel (with good reason) that they are being left out, despite the fact of being in a similar dire condition, something which will in turn feed the anger, suspicion and distrust that they already feel for the haitians. (cont...)
Written by: Lautaro, 21 Aug 2009 8:15 AM
From: Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo
(cont...)
To sum it up, this bias of the english for the haitians over dominicans of similar dire conditions shows that, more often than not, people can do a lot more harm with an open hand than with a clenched fist. It is said that the pathway to hell is made out of the best of intentions.
From: Dominican Republic, vieja Santo Domingo
let me put it to you this way .Lautaro. You are dying of hunger, your wife is hungry and your baby undernourished but the sugar factory offers you a job in the sugar fields for 90 pesos a day and a tin shed to live in a batey with no lavatory , no bath or no clean water and maybe only a little electricity ..you are guarded when you work by men on horses with rifles and sometimes when your wife or baby is sick you can not afford any medicine ,
In the meantime the sugar factory makes hundreds of millions of dollars every year from your cheap labour while you die young . Let us just call that cruel opportunism rather than slavery but to me it is worse than any getto in south Africa and when help is offered to these poor souls ; I say it is a wonderful act of charity
Written by: Lautaro, 21 Aug 2009 11:14 AM
From: Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo
I don't deny the fact, Ricardolito, my complain is that they're blaming every single one of us for the evil doings and misdemeanors of a few, and also struggling for the country as a whole to be punished accordingly. Also, there are MANY of our people that are living in WORSE conditions than the people of the bateyes, which are not that many, anyway, seeing as how the majority of haitians and/or people of haitian descent are making a living in the main cities of the country, and this is a well established fact. Until they change tactics, I'll always regard every single act of them for what they are, that is, a poisoned gift, and another act of arrogance of the european man, as if we will not be able to see through their acts.
From: Dominican Republic
Migrant on both sides? Dominican do not migrate to Haiti!
Human abuse on the Dominican side? Like Generoso said, what about the Haitian side and how they treat their own kind when they are returned back to Haiti?
The two organizations are proHaitian and they gave the U.K. curch the Haitian side of the story!
What about the thousands of Haitian children being dumped on DR every year? Why doesn't the U.K. church takes them back to U.K.?
Written by: abc200, 20 Sep 2009 8:53 AM
From: United Kingdom, Dominican Republic
I guess the Brits focus on Haiti because the GDP per person is one quarter that of the DR. Thios is not to say there are not poor Dominicans.
S.
Written by: Lautaro, 21 Sep 2009 7:31 PM
From: Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo
That might be so, abc, but could it be too much to ask for your compatriots to focus on the plight of the haitians IN Haiti?
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alleluyah !!
Well said DominicanChic! alleluyah !!
It is a nice day in the neighborhood
would you be , would you be, would you be my friend, neighbor ?
Slight correction it's not UN TROOPS it's MINUSTHA (The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti )
To sum it up, this bias of the english for the haitians over dominicans of similar dire conditions shows that, more often than not, people can do a lot more harm with an open hand than with a clenched fist. It is said that the pathway to hell is made out of the best of intentions.
In the meantime the sugar factory makes hundreds of millions of dollars every year from your cheap labour while you die young . Let us just call that cruel opportunism rather than slavery but to me it is worse than any getto in south Africa and when help is offered to these poor souls ; I say it is a wonderful act of charity
Human abuse on the Dominican side? Like Generoso said, what about the Haitian side and how they treat their own kind when they are returned back to Haiti?
The two organizations are proHaitian and they gave the U.K. curch the Haitian side of the story!
What about the thousands of Haitian children being dumped on DR every year? Why doesn't the U.K. church takes them back to U.K.?
S.