The small Caribbean
island of Hispaniola houses two countries: Dominican Republic (DR) and
Haiti. Haiti was colonized by the French
and DR by the Spanish. They have had a tumultuous
history and continue to be at odds with one another. Although both countries are impoverished,
Haiti is considered the most impoverished country in the Western
Hemisphere.
For the past
three years, I have been blessed to visit DR on January medical mission teams. The people we serve are actually largely Haitian
by descent, though many of them have lived in the DR their whole lives. In the early 1900s, people emigrated from
Haiti to the DR to work in the sugar plane fields. As their jobs were gradually replaced by
machinery, they tried to go back to Haiti but the border was closed to
them. Since then, the people living in
bateyes (small communities surrounding sugar cane fields) have been stuck. They
are a lost people. Most of them have been born in DR, but they are not granted
the rights of citizenship because they are Haitian by descent. They have little access to health care, they
face major impediments to education, and they have few job prospects.
Recently, the
government has becoming increasingly less tolerant of the Haitian immigrants. President
Danilo Medina, who has brought many reforms to his countryside, has reinvigorated
efforts to deport people of Haitian-descent from his borders. He has
continued to blame the Dominican Republic’s financial problems on the Haitians
by stating people of Haitian descent are stealing jobs for little pay, draining
the country of resources for education and healthcare, and blaming them for the
ills of the country. His attitude and actions have inspired other
government and non-government agencies, which have previously sympathized with
people of Haitian descent, to publicly testify to “the burden” the Haitians are
causing. These feelings have reinvigorated passion for mass deportation.
From what our team of missionaries was told by several sources on the ground,
within the next two months people of Haitian-descent will have to possess a
national identity card or they will be deported.
The
government has been holding registration days where people can bring their
birth certificates and supporting documents to get their registration
cards. From what we understand, these registration days have been a sham.
Each time someone of Haitian-descent goes to a registration day, they will find
that the requirements for the supporting documents have changed. The Haitian
night guard of our resident missionaries has had to make over six trips to
Haiti to get the supporting documents required; he has tried for several months
to get his registration card to no avail. Each time he reports to a
registration day, he finds that he is lacking some new document, of which he
was not previously informed, that will require another trip to Haiti to
procure. These efforts have cost him over $1000 USD; resources he has
only because he is employed by an American missionary.
I am also
concerned that there is much confusion amongst Dominicans and people of
Haitian-descent as to who faces deportation. Several people have told me
that all people of Haitian-descent who were born in the Dominican Republic are
safe from deportation and that the deportation will only affect newly arrived
Haitian immigrants; others have stated that all people of Haitian-descent, even
those born in the DR, need papers. I am concerned that so many people are
confused by the new regulations and that many people who could be facing
deportation are unaware that they need to be taking actions to prevent such an
occurrence.
We have heard
that even people who were born in the Dominican Republic are still facing
trouble getting their national identity cards. If they were born in a hospital
in the DR it is possible that they were issued their paperwork; although there are
many cases of such people not being issued official paperwork or of them
receiving paperwork with inaccuracies (such as the wrong name) which is barring
them from getting their identity cards. For those who were not born in the
hospital, they have been told that they need seven Dominicans to testify that
they witnessed their births in the DR in order to get their papers. I do not
have to tell you how impossible that feat will be.
My concern is
also fueled by the following observations:
First, many
of the bateyes that we have visited over the years have seen drastic
improvements in the past few years due to government money: they have new paved
roads, their houses now have tile floors instead of mud, and a one of the
bateyes we frequent even has had a fish hatchery installed there. All of
this sounds well and good, except why would the government be investing money
in these communities for people they are about to deport? My concern is
that they are investing money in these communities so that as soon as the
people of Haitian-descent are mass deported, they can move Dominicans into the
bateyes in order to permanently displace the Haitians.
Second, many
of the missionaries we know who have been living in the Dominican Republic for
several years are all of a sudden unable to get their visas renewed. Many
of them are being forced to return to their native countries because they
cannot get visas. I am concerned that the government is forcing them out
because they do not want witnesses for what is about to occur in the next few
months. I have been told that the Dominican Archbishop of the Catholic
Church has been quoted as warning the missionaries “to mind their own business”
in regards to the government’s treatment of people of Haitian-descent. I
am concerned that some Dominican religious leaders are organizing against
people who are sympathizing and working with people of Haitian-descent.
Finally, what
I find most concerning is a report from our translators about events that happened
in the small village of Polo while we were there. As our team held a
clinic in Polo, our translators were graciously fed lunch by a local
woman. She told them that the night before a government vehicle had entered
the village, rounded up 15 unsuspecting people who did not have identity cards,
and deported them. This action defies the government’s own timeline; they
have been telling people that they still have two months to get their documents
before they will be deported. I fear that it foreshadows events to come
where the government will not play by its own rules.
With a reported
800,000 people of Haitian-descent living in Dominican Republic, I am concerned
as to what will happen when these people face deportation. We know that
families of people who have inter-married face being split up. What will
happen if people who have lived in the Dominican Republic their entire lives
(mostly in impoverished conditions) are forcibly removed to a country where they
have never lived without any resources? Furthermore, if Haiti closes the border
to the people who were born in the Dominican Republic, I fear violence could
ensue.
Tensions are
mounting in the Dominican Republic. The government is mobilizing. I think
expedient action is needed to prevent violence and chaos from ensuing. How can
we prevent this from happening?
The most
obvious way is by prayer. Changing governments
and affecting international politics are going to take divine
intervention. Praying for peace on the
island of Hispaniola is a way to dialogue with God to change the hearts of
leaders there and to help change our hearts towards compassionate action on
behalf of them.
Prayer is a
place to begin; it is not an ending to our actions. By praying, we are asking God
to use us to be His agents of change. Prayer is a call to action with God’s wisdom,
provision, blessing, and Holy Spirit guiding our actions and preparing the path
before us.
What can we
do? We can notify our legislators of
what is going on. I have already written
my Congressman U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, who served as a missionary in Latin
America before law school. I have also contacted the Human Rights Watch – an organization
with the mission of not letting actions like this go unnoticed. Their last report
on Haitian immigrants in Dominican Republic is from 2002 and can be viewed
here: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/04/04/illegal-people. I am awaiting replies from both and looking
for other people to engage in what I hope will be a fruitful dialogue.
Please join
me in praying for peace on the island of Hispaniola! Our God created the Universe, the island of
Hispaniola, and the soul of every single person who lives there. He can move hearts and restore peace. Please join me in praying and be called to
action!
I would love
additional suggestions of people to contact. I encourage you to contact your Congress-people
too!
Never
doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the
world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has. – Margaret Mead
Do
not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hears and your minds in Christ
Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7
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