The lies and the truths regarding the Dominican Republic

I have read several articles in the recent days about the issue regarding the deportation of thousands of individuals of Haitian descent. I would like to share my thoughts on the matter since I have strong ties in both countries and have gained considerable knowledge on the workings of both societies.  I will  try to dissipate some falsehoods that are being circulated by both sides on this argument.

There is not one problem but two. The first problem lies with the ruling of the constitutional court of the Dominican Republic. This ruling which took place on September 23, 2013 reinterpreted what it meant to be “in transit” in the Dominican Republic.  Why is that a problem? The Dominican Republic grants “jus Soli” (the right of soil) to any baby who is born of residing parents in the DR.  This form of “restricted Jus Soli” means that any baby born on the territory while their parents are “in transit” would not be considered for citizenship.  The ruling of 2013 formalized the definition of “in transit” to include any baby born in DR to illegally residing parents. Personally, I do not believe that part of the ruling to be a problem; the Dominican Republic has a right to take measures regarding its future.

However, when a ruling in 2013 is applied retroactively to all individuals born after 1929, I begin to think that some ulterior motives are at play.  Why? Because this law means this : if I was born in 1930 of illegal migrant parents in the DR, I would be  85 years old today; my language is Spanish, my culture is Dominican, my manners are Dominican. But, this law would cast me as something else. I have no other nationality, where do you deport me to?

To understand who this law was created against, you need to ask who it is going to impact the most. The simple answer is individuals of Haitian descent. Tens of thousands of them have migrated to the DR mostly to work on the sugarcane fields. This law is clearly aimed at their sons and daughters. The problem is that those people are less Haitian than they are Dominican because they don’t identify with Haiti. And who is to say that their parents were Haitian if they have no papers proving so? I am guessing it is the color of their skin. What the Dominican Republic is doing is simply rejecting a whole group of individuals, born in the DR, of darker skins which gives a very racist connotation to this law.  These people share a Dominican identity and casting them as Haitians is a major falsehood.

Because of this law, some defenders of Haiti have tried to make the points that Dominicans are racist and just hate Haitians. I am sorry but this is false.

Many think that the Dominican Republic is a rich country compared to Haiti like the U.S is to Mexico. This is also false. The Dominican Republic is a poor country, it is just a little less poor than Haiti. The DR also benefits from relative political stability and direct foreign investment as a result. But one only needs to walk the Dominican country side or the less glamourous parts of its cities to see widespread poverty and hardship.  The Dominican growth has not impacted the Dominican masses in a meaningful way yet.

This brings us to the second part of the problem; the perception of Haitian migration in the Dominican Republic.  Many Dominicans live side by side with Haitians. We have thousands of Haitian students and professionals living in the DR who have no problem at all. They are legally in the country and their kids are born Dominican with the full backing of the “Jus Soli”. They have Dominican friends and wives and husbands who would defend them at all cost. 

So how can such a law pass if Dominicans do not hate Haitians?  Part of the answer resides with the poorer and often less educated Dominican. This individual is often frustrated that the Dominican progress has not impacted his life; he spends most his time in a low paying job making almost nothing.  Some Dominican politicians, who have no immediate answers for these poor voting individuals, have pandered to an old Dominican idea that the Haitian is the problem.  Which Haitian? The poor black individual born in DR or Haiti, who is willing to do the dirty jobs that our frustrated Dominican does not even want.  This is not a particularly Dominican trait, most political parties in the world who have no solutions to domestic problems will cast foreigners as the culprits; The Front National is doing it in France, Hitler did it in 1939 and right wings parties are doing it all over Europe.  In other words, I consider such laws to be a diversion that only solves a political purpose. The Dominican Republic needs poor Haitians to do its dirty jobs as it moves towards greater modernity.

Another side of the same problem resides with Haiti itself. Haiti is a failed state that is held alive by the international community.  Political instability is the elite’s favorite sport. It is a country of men who have failed their country and all aspire to govern and embezzle the meager resources of the state. The main victims are the poor Haitians who do not see the light; they tend to buy a visa (or not) and cross the border with the hope of no return.  Looking from this point of view, all deportations are not bad.

Haitians need to remember that the Dominican Republic cannot be turned into a place that absorbs the failures of Haiti’s elites. The Dominican Republic needs that cheap unskilled labor if they are to continue to grow but they have a right to stem the flow also. Haitians need to take a look at themselves too rather than placing the blame of the entire migration situation on the Dominican Republic.

Finally, we should not forget that the Dominican Republic has more often than not been a good friend of Haiti; their economy requires it, their geographical position demands it. This new law is only creating an unnecessary problem on the island; an army of stateless individuals. Haiti (nor DR) cannot prove those deported individuals are of Haitian descent but our main certainty is that they were born in DR. The Dominicans should move ahead with their law, retroactively apply it from January 2005 (our most affected individual would be 10 years old) and grant citizenship to those born before. This would send a clear message that the Dominicans are serious about their immigration policies without rendering stateless an army of individuals whose heart only beat for the Dominican Republic.

( I am a Haitian citizen by the way)