Dominican Republic: The Financial Cost of Undocumented Haitian Immigrants

The countries of the Dominican Republic and Haiti share the same island, which has commonly been known as Hispaniola ever since its discovery by Christopher Columbus in 1492. During that time, the island was compromised of the same territory and remained that way until 1697, with the signing of the Treaty of Ryswick, Spain ceded the western part of the island to France, which was renamed Saint-Domingue.

Map of Hispaniola. From Traveling Man's Flickr and used under a Creative Commons license. http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingman/2816126909/

Map of Hispaniola. From Traveling Man's Flickr and used under a Creative Commons license. http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingman/2816126909/

This colony was gradually populated by African slaves, and who eventually rebelled against their French colonizers. It was in this manner in 1804 that Haiti was born, becoming the first independent country in Latin America. By 1822, Haiti had total control of the island and occupied Santo Domingo until February 27, 1844, when a secret society called “La Trinitaria” led by among others, Juan Pablo Duarte, was created to gain independence from Haiti and to create what is now the Dominican Republic.

Since that day, the Dominican Republic and Haiti have been two independent nations, with a different culture, beliefs, and system. Their paths of economic development has also varied greatly, with Haiti being the least developed country in the Americas and the Dominican Republic enjoys one of the largest economies in the Caribbean and Central America.

Despite these stark contrasts, it is the close proximity of these two countries that have the intertwined their own fates. A large number of Haitians cross the border on a daily basis, usually illegally, to look for work as construction workers or to work as street vendors selling fruit, candy or other small, inexpensive items. Others may be specially contracted to work on sugarcane plantations.

Haitian fruit vendor in the Dominican Republic. Photo by Caymang and used under a Creative Commons license. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dlakme/2903770065/

Haitian fruit vendor in the Dominican Republic. Photo by Caymang and used under a Creative Commons license. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dlakme/2903770065/

Due to the large numbers of undocumented Haitians in the Dominican Republic, a large percentage can be seen in the streets as beggars. These visible examples often leaves Dominicans with a negative stereotyped view of all Haitians. However, there is still a smaller percentage that arrive legally with intentions to study, often with scholarships, but may not be the typical profile of Haitans in the country. José Rafael Sosa introduces his readers to one of these successful students, named Gessy [es]:

Cuando uno conoce a Gessy, el esquema prejuiciado que tenemos de “los haitianos”, se va a casa del carajo. Gessy Bellerive nació en Grande Riviѐre Du Nord, cerca de la ciudad de Cabo Haitiano, y voy directo a la historia: acaba de graduarse Magna Cum Laude en la Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra. Ahora regresa a Haití a servir a su pueblo.

When one meets Gessy, the prejudiced idea that we have of “the Haitians” goes out the window. Gessy Bellervie was born in Grande Riviѐre Du Nord, near Cap-Haïtien, and I'll summarize her story: she recently graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Pontifical Catholic University Mother and Teacher. Now she is returning home to Haiti to serve her people.

Despite these positive examples of Haitians excelling in their neighboring countries, many Dominicans feel that immigration is out of control. Even though most arrive out of their free will, there are others that are brought to the Dominican Republic due to human trafficking and are taken advantage of in a network of beggars. There are estimates that there are approximately 1 million undocumented Haitians in the D.R., many of which are children who are working on the streets as window washers or shoeshiners. Manuel Vólquez of Diario Digital Dominicano [es] summarizes the situation this way:

Los haitianos se desplazan por el país como hormigas y han desplazado a nuestros obreros en sectores importantes de la economía como son la construcción y los negocios informales. Han llegado tan lejos que hasta usan niños en las avenidas para mendigar, han asimilado nuestra cultura y nuestras costumbres. ¿Cosas de la transculturización y la globalización?

The Haitians move around the country like ants and have replaced our workers in important economic sectors such as construction and informal business. They have arrived so far that they even use children to beg, have assimilated to our culture and our customs. These are things of transculturalization and globalization?

It is the economic impact on the Dominican State that worries many people, because of the funds destined to provide free medical care to the undocumented immigrants. There are cases where the number of beds available for patients are decreasing because they are often occupied by immigrants [es]. According to Dr. Bolívar Matos, the Health Director of the South Region, the cost to provide medical care to these immigrants in the San Juan and Elías Piña provinces [es]reached 55 million pesos (approximately 1.5 million dollars).

In the comments section of the Hoy article, many write about these increased costs. Rosado320 wonders how much the total cost on the entire island would be, since the estimates only included two provinces. Oscar Caceres thinks that taxes may need to be increased in order to meet these needs, and even suggests asking for international aid to help cover these costs. However, Davidlebron is a little more sympathetic and writes:

A nosotros los dominicanos ausentes, no se nos niega la atencion medica por estos paises tampoco…asi que estoy un poco sorprendido porque hay gente que considera que tratar a los hermanos haitianos es un problema. Claro que es costoso…pero a ninún humano se le debe negar el derecho a comer y ser atendido por probemas de salud…a muchos de nuestros niños se les atiende en hospitales del extranjero y nadie sale a relucir esto como si de algo negativo se tratara.

We, Dominicans abroad, they don't deny us medical attention in these countries either… so I am a bit surprised by the people who consider medically treating our Haitian brothers as a problem Of course it is expensive… but no human should be denied the right to eat and to be treated for health problems .. many of our own children are attended by foreign hospitals and no one brings this up as something negative.

These topics are often at the center of the discussion about Haitians in the Dominican Republic. As a result, Dominicans are often accused internationally of racism, abuse and mistreatment against the Haitian people, especially in the sugar industry. There are also outcries about the rights of Haitians when the Dominican Republic takes sovereign actions including deportation. There are non-governmental organizations that are active in these types of campaigns, and this is a topic that will be explored in the next article.

25 comments

  • Euro

    Your article does not reflect the very complicated history of Haitian migrant workers in the DR, nor does it reflect how difficult it is for Haitians to attend Dominican schools. The Dominican government (in a nutshell) imported and exported Haitians depending on the economic and political environment of the time. The situation is not nearly as simple as your article states.

  • Craig

    Why doesn’t France ever help Haiti. They made it into the mess that it is. Now it acts like it is too good to help.

  • hp

    You said the first country in the Americas to claim it’s independence. Actually it’s the second after America(USA). Now that’s if you consider that America is part of “the Americas”.

  • Samuel Taveras

    The solution is for the DR to invest in Haiti thereby helping to improve their economy. I would institute national identity cards for foreigners and illegals that they need to carry with them and a renewal fee every year to pay for social services since the borders are porous and illegal migration can’t be controlled. Haitians are smart people but the poor are in the majority and the power is in a few elitist men whom are confused by too many donar nations with contradictory and uncoordinated expectations and activities. I’ve been to Haiti and its capitol Porto Prince. It’s the shit hole of the world. What a mess. And its all about corrupt and inept governance.

  • Myrisa

    Discrimination against Haitians is a very serious issue in the Dominican Republic. But lots of Dominicans come to Puerto Rico illegally and they expect us to treat them fairly and provide schools, food, and health care for their children. I agree with taking care of any children, regardless of whether their parents are illegal residents. But most illegal residents do not want to pay back for the benefits they have received. The majority work and run small businesses making money off the books, don’t pay income taxes, and send their money to relatives back home, while participating in all sort of social welfare programs. If they become US citizens, they do not have to give up their Dominican citizenship! On top of it all, since they do not consider themselves part of this country, many do not take care of our environment and natural resources and violate our rules of coexistence. And if any citizen voices any protest regarding this antisocial behavior, a public accusation of racism follows immediately. I say the US must reach a deal with the Dominican government to make their people provide basic necessities and fair treatment for Haitian refugees in exchange for all the benefits enjoyed by their citizens in the USA and all the money they sent back home, which has been the backbone of their country recent economic growth.

    • Chari Roma

      Prove to all the garbage you spew there about Dominicans. Dominicans are the highest in the United STATES compared to other Hispanics graduatoing from highs school with roughly 80% – with 36% having at least an associate’s degree and 22% having a bachelor’s degree relative to OTHER Hispanics in the U.S. all This -DESPITE the fact that we are a very small majority in the US. We are roughly 1.3 million immigrants in comparison to Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, El Salvador etc.
      Yes, you may see some who do the things your hate-filled list mentions, however, it is not the norm.

      here: illustrate yourself about our wonderful, growing and successful journey in this country.

      by the way, stop the hate. it is very noticble.

  • Ramón Cedano

    Rocio,
    I insist that most universities in the D.R. charge Haitians the same tuition fees as locals.

    I work at the Universidad APEC. There, Haitian students pay the same as Dominican nationals. If anyone would like to confirm this information, please call 809-686-0021. You can call Mr. Julio Constantino, account receivables officer. The same can be said of the State University (the UASD). The catholic university PUCMM also does the same. Its Rector, Agripino Collado, told us that he himself has held talks with Haitian students groups to see how best to serve their interests. He, as most of us, have a high opinion of Haitian students. As a professor, I have taught some of them, and can attest to this fact.

    As for medical programs, if they are taught in the English language tuition payments are US. dollars regardless of nationality.

  • I would like to thank Ramón Cedano for the clarification in regards to the education costs for haitians in dominican universities.

  • To Hp, Haiti was the first country outside the U.S. to gain independence. This is a tricky issue, since the name Americas usually describes countries other than the U.S., with “America” being a direct reference to the U.S. To avoid confusion, i’ll say Haiti was the first country in Latin America to gain independence.

  • Dominican Republic already has diplomatic ties with Haiti, has formed a bi-national commission to work on issues that affect both countries and has tried to direct the international attention toward Haiti. The dominican president has worked for the inclusion of Haiti in regional organizations, such as Grupo de Rio. A dominican company, Grupo M, from Santiago, established operations in Haiti (specifically in Ouanaminthe, right on the border) not long ago, with the purpose of providing jobs to haitians in their own land. Grupo M has had the support of both the dominican and haitian governments on this venture.

  • […] cc creative commons, Bestimmte Rechte vorbehalten, via flickr Dieser Beitrag erschien zuerst auf Global Voices. Die Übersetzung erfolgte durch Tina Seidenberger, Teil des “Project Lingua“. Die […]

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