We return to the subject of the Dominican Republic (DR) to delve deeper into the current crisis caused by Dominican Constitutional Court ruling TC/0168/13 issued on 23 September 2013 that effectively rendered up to a quarter of a million Dominicans of Haitian ancestry born after 1929 in the country, stateless and facing deportation. To date 25,517 of the 180,000 people “unregistered” at the June 17th deadline left for Haiti voluntarily, according to the director general of the Dominican immigration authority, Ruben Paulino.
The show will continue to explore the origins and impact of antihaitianismo, the racist bias against Haitians/dark skinned people that causes most residents of DR (82%) to define themselves as Indio, i.e. descendants of the original Taino inhabitants of the island (even though they were virtually wiped out in the 16th century). We will also give consideration to the economic effect of the policy.
Dr. Ernesto Sagas, Associate Professor, Ethnic Studies Department, Colorado State University has asserted: “The foreign policy of the Dominican Republic revolves around two axis. The first one is, as for most countries in the region, obviously, Washington, D.C. The second one is Port-au-Prince. The latter has less to do with trade interests than with security concerns… The foreign policy of the Dominican government towards Haiti is in apparent contradiction to its domestic policies toward Haitian citizens living in the Dominican Republic. While Haitian migrants in the Dominican Republic are the subject of discrimination, frequent violations of their human rights, and deportation, foreign relations with Haiti are non-confrontational and sometimes even cordial. Also, while Haiti is popularly perceived in the Dominican Republic as a chaotic, unstable and undemocratic country, the Dominican government has been indifferent to and not supportive of democratic change in Haiti.”
Peter Hudson, editor of The Public Archive, and an assistant professor of history at Vanderbilt University, writing for Black Agenda Report claimed: “Yet while Blackness is rejected from Dominican identity, it is necessary for the Dominican economy. The four generations of Dominicans of Haitian descent that would be denationalized by the ruling are the children of Haitian cane-cutters who toiled in Dominican sugar plantations under conditions reminiscent of slavery. The importance of the Haitian market to Dominican commerce should also be noted. The trade imbalance between the two countries is stark. In 2012, the Dominican Republic exported more than $1.7 billion worth of goods through formal and informal channels. Haiti sent back just $50 million in goods.”
Finally, Sis. Ezili Danto notes that “big business fuels Haitian-Dominican tensions,” adding: “Who benefits most from the denationalization crisis created in the Dominican Republic? The corrupt Haiti and DR oligarchs work for the same Western/corporatocracy masters. The mining companies prefer to use created crises to take lands for their gold, old, iridium exploitations.” She reveals that the “corporatocracy” contains a range of interests from Monsanto, the Clintons, NGOs and the United Nations.
So we ask the question:
Crisis in the Dominican Republic – who benefits?
01. How are the “unregistered” people faring in the Dominican Republic?
02. Why is there such a contrast in the economic fortunes of Haiti and Dominican Republic?
04. What is the role of big business in the crisis?
05. Can the crisis ever be resolved?
Our special guests are:
Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and UNIA-ACL Ambassador for the UK. A veteran activist of over 30 years standing, a featured columnist in The Whirlwind newspaper and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An Africentric Guide To Excellence
Sis. Ezili Dantò: is founder of the Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network, a network of lawyers, journalists, activists and grassroots human rights and cultural organizations dedicated to institutionalizing the rule of law and protecting the civil and cultural rights of Haitians at home and abroad. She also runs the Ezili Dantò website, listserve (reaching over three-and-a-half million readers with its postings and newsletters)., eyewitness project, FreeHaitiMovement and the on-line journal, Haitian Perspectives. Sis. Ezili is dedicated to correcting the media lies and colonial narratives about Haiti. A writer, performance poet and lawyer, . Ezili Dantò is a pro-democracy Haitian-American activist who was once legal advisor to President Jean Bertrand Aristide of Haiti. She is a gifted spoken word artist and the writer, performer and producer of the “Red Black & Moonlight” series – her critically acclaimed one-woman Jazzoetry Vodun dance theater works and the author of Vodun Woman: A Performance Poetry Collection and the Kenbe La books.
Bro. Mario Gousse: is founder of the new organization the Jack The First Foundation that campaigns on Haitian issues. His is also a founder member of founding member of the group United Haitians in the United Kingdom (UHUK) and current serves on the Executive Committee of the Haiti Support Group. Bro. Mario was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He is a qualified translator and interpreter of Haitian Creole