‘It’s the Day Without Haitians in Dominican Republic’
Roberto Lovato | June 19, 2015
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic—On most days, the simple act of walking down Duarte Street gives social worker Suzie Chery relief from the stress that is the life of any Haitian living in Santo Domingo. But on this muggy, overcast Thursday, her daily Duarte stroll only added to the tightening of her back and entire body.
“Usually,” she began, pointing at a crowded corner bus stop that looked, smelled and felt like northern Manhattan’s storied Dominican neighborhoods, “you see an older lady paletera [ice cream vendor] here, several friteros [fried food vendors] there and lots of men selling water over there.”
Haitians in the Dominican Republic have dominated the informal, urban economy since the decline of the sugar industry in the 1980s and ’90s. “On this strip here,” Chery said, continuing her tour, “there were three or four men selling clothes and a half a dozen men and women selling pikachu [creole for hot dog with mayonnaise on a stick], juices and other food.”
“All of this would have so many Haitians you’d be bumping into them left and right,” continued Chery, who feeds her love of this city’s streets by studying architecture and urban planning. “But now all those spaces are empty, because today is the first day the government said it would start deporting people, so some people have already left for Haiti, and others are hiding in their homes because they’re scared.”
As we headed towards Centro Bono, the Jesuit-run social service and advocacy agency where Chery is a social worker, she got several calls. The calls were from university students from around the small island nation whom she has organized to monitor the effect of the Dominican government’s deportation announcement [1].
“People in San Pedro Macoris are saying that Dominican businesses that sell 50,000 to 100,000 pesos of merchandise to Haitians are only selling 3,000 pesos worth,” she said. “Reports from Santiago and other cities are saying there are lots of abandoned streets and people in hiding. We’re hearing that many people are already leaving because they prefer leaving for themselves rather than having the humiliation of the government kicking them out.”
Looking out at the empty spots on Duarte, she squinted, looked up and nodded her head. “It’s the day without Haitians in Dominican Republic.”
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More:
http://www.thenation.com/print/article/210417/its-day-without-haitians-dominican-republic
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