Haitians in the Dominican Republic

Haitians in the Dominican Republic and Dominicans of Haitian descent
Haitianos en la República Dominicana y dominicanos de ascendencia haitiana
Total population

458,233 [11] 
Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic
(5% of the Dominican population)
209,912 [11] 
Haitians born in the Dominican Republic and Dominican citizens born to a Haitian parent
(2% of the Dominican population)

1,100,000 [12] 
Both Dominican citizens and Dominican-born Haitian citizens with any Haitian ancestry
(11% of the Dominican population)
Regions with significant populations
The borderland, the North-Western Cibao valley, and the Southeastern (including Santo Domingo) Region[13]
Languages
Mother tongue: Haitian Creole (96.3%), Spanish (1.7%), French (1.5%)[14]
Speak Spanish: 73.8%[14]
Religion
Roman Catholicism, Evangelicalism, Adventism, African traditional religions, None[15]
Related ethnic groups
Haitian people, Haitian American, Haitian Brazilian, Haitian Canadian, Haitian Chilean, Haitian Cuban, Cocolo

Haitians in the Dominican Republic consist of migrants from Haiti and their descendants living and working in the Dominican Republic. Since the early 20th Century, Haitians have made up the largest immigrant population in the Dominican Republic.

History

In 1937, Rafael Trujillo, in an event known as the Masacre Perejil (Parsley Massacre), ordered the Army to kill Haitians living on the border because, it is believed, he rejected Haitians because he believed they were of a "inferior race" and desired to stop their massive emigration to his country (however, actually were other factors, both political and economic that led the tyrant to grant enforcement of genocide). The Army killed an estimated 17,000 to 35,000 Haitians over six days, from the night of October 2, 1937 to October 8, 1937. To avoid leaving evidence of the Army’s involvement, the soldiers used machetes instead of bullets. The soldiers of Trujillo interrogated anyone with dark skin, using the shibboleth "parsley" to differentiate Haitians from Dominicans when necessary because the "r" of parsley was difficult for Haitians to pronounce. As a result of the slaughter, the Dominican Republic agreed pay to Haiti the amount of $750,000, later reduced to $525,000. The genocide sought to be justified on the pretext of fearing infiltration, but was actually also a retaliation, commented on both in national currencies, as well as having been informed by the Military Intelligence Service (the dreaded SIM), that the Haitian government was cooperating with a plan that sought to overthrow Dominican exiles.

After the earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010, the number of Haitians doubled to 2 million, most of whom illegally crossed after the border opened for international aid. Human Rights Watch estimated that 70,000 documented Haitian immigrants and 1,930,000 undocumented immigrants were living in Dominican Republic.

Economic and social issues

Many Haitians migrate to the Dominican Republic primarily to escape the poverty in Haiti. Haiti is much poorer than the Dominican Republic. In 2003, 80% of all Haitians were poor (54% in extreme poverty) and 47.1% were illiterate. The country of nine million people has a fast-growing population, but over two thirds of the jobs are not in formal work places. Haiti’s GDP per capita was $ 1,300 in 2008, or less than one-sixth of that in the Dominican Republic.[16] As a result, hundreds of thousands of Haitians have migrated to the Dominican Republic, with some estimates of 800,000 Haitians in the country,[17] while others believe they are more than a million. Many Haitian migrants or their descendants work in low paid and unskilled jobs in building construction, household cleaning, and in plantations.[18]

Boys from a batey in the Province of San Pedro de Macorís

Children of illegal Haitian immigrants are often stateless and they are denied services because their parents do not have Dominican nationality. Even if they live in the Dominican Republic for many years, they are considered transient residents due to their undocumented status. Children often have to choose only Haitian nationality.[19]

Some Haitian women, often arriving with several health problems, cross the border to Dominican soil during their last weeks of pregnancy to obtain necessary medical care for childbirth, since Dominican public hospitals cannot deny medical services based on nationality or legal status. Statistics from a hospital in Santo Domingo report that over 22% of births are to Haitian mothers.

A border watch tower to control illegal immigration from Haiti, located in the Cordillera Central, Dominican Republic

In 2005 Dominican President Leonel Fernández criticized that collective expulsions of Haitians were "improper and inhumane." After a delegation from the United Nations issued a preliminary report stating that it found a profound problem of racism and discrimination against people of Haitian origin, the Chancellor Dominican Carlos Morales Troncoso gave a formal statement saying "Our border with Haiti has its problems, this is our reality, and this must be understood. It’s important not to confuse national sovereignty with indifference, and not to confuse security with xenophobia[20] "

Demographics

Haitian workers being transported in Macao, Punta Cana
Percentage of the people of Haitian origin among the population for each province in the Dominican Republic; Pedernales has the highest proportion, 30%, and San Cristóbal the lowest, 2%. Nationwide, they are 7% of the population.[21]
Place of birth of the Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic. The majority is originally from Ouest (24%) and Nord (19%). Just 0.2% of the Haitian immigrants in the D.R. are from Nippes.[21]

Almost 75% of the Haitians living in the Dominican Republic have been residing in the country for less than 10 years.[22] Almost 70% of Haitian workers earns less than 10,000 Dominican pesos (DOP) per month; about 7% earned more than 20,000 DOP per month.[23] Those who lives in urban areas earn up to 70% more than those who lives in rural areas.[24] The average median income is of 10,262 DOP per month; in comparison, an average Dominican earns 12,441 DOP and an average non-Haitian immigrant earns 39,318 DOP per month.[25] Just 10% of Haitians send remittances to Haiti, with 5.4% sending with a frequency of once per quarter or higher.[26]

The 1920 Census registered 28,258 Haitians;[27] the 1935 Census registered 52,657 Haitians.[28] The Haitian population decreased to 18,772 in the 1950 Census,[28] as an aftermath of the Parsley Massacre.[28] In 2012, there were 458,233 Haitian immigrants living in the Dominican Republic, 65.4% of them were males and 76.1% between 18 and 39 years old. [29] Also, they represent 81.1 percent of the population in the tourist area of Punta Cana, almost all of them working for the hotels.[30]

See also

Citations

  1. ↑ Cypher, Luke. Haitian Sensations: Behind the rise of the Haitian-Dominican player, ESPN The Magazine. Published March 10, 2009 By Luke Cyphers | ESPN The Magazine. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  2. ↑ Guillermina Santos (4 December 2011). "La sorpresiva muerte de Sonia Pierre enluta comunidad haitiana" (in Spanish). El Día. Retrieved 3 May 2014. Sonia Pierre, hija de inmigrantes haitianos, nació en la República Dominicana y se crió en el batey Lechería de Villa Altagracia.
  3. ↑ Dan Connolly; Jeff Zrebiec (15 January 2010). "Haiti quake hits home for O's Pie". Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014. Pie said he was born in the Dominican Republic, but his mother, Hidalia Dofen, and his father, Alme Pie, were both born and raised in Haiti. The couple moved to the Dominican Republic before Pie was born, "for a better life."
  4. ↑ "La sentencia no afectaría a Peña Gómez" (in Spanish). El Caribe. Retrieved 3 May 2014. A prueba en contrario, Peña Gómez era hijo de María Marcelino, dominicana, y Oguís Vicent, haitiano ilegal.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Ancestros, descendientes y parientes colaterales de Joaquín Balaguer". Cápsulas Genealógicas (in Spanish). Hoy. 16 September 2006. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  6. ↑ Myers, Samuel L.; Corrie, Bruce P. (Norton 1994). "Racial and Ethnic Economic Inequality: An International Perspective". American University Studies. p. 29. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  7. ↑ Antonio José Ignacio Guerra Sánchez (12 April 2008). "Trujillo: Descendiente de la Oligarquía Haitiana (1 de 2)" (in Spanish). Santo Domingo: Instituto Dominicano de Genealogía. Archived from the original on 1 May 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  8. ↑ Antonio José Ignacio Guerra Sánchez (24 April 2008). Instituto Dominicano de Genealogía, ed. "Trujillo, descendiente de oligarquía haitiana (2 de 2)". Cápsulas Genealógicas (in Spanish). Hoy. Archived from the original on 1 May 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  9. ↑ "Origen franco-haitiano de apellidos dominicanos" [Dominican surnames with French-Haitian origin]. Hoy (in Spanish). 19 October 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2014. Ferrand, para defender la plaza envió proclamas a todas partes, viniendo del exterior 300 personas, por lo que es probable que colonos venidos por este llamado se asentaran en el este de la isla, tal y como se lee en el libro citado: “Entre los franceses que se mencionan en distintas escrituras, establecidos en el este y dedicados a la extracción de maderas, estaban: Juan Pion, F. Doumas, Francoise Gilbert, Mr. Carton (en La Romana), Francois Nole (en la boca del Yuma), Mr. Claude Montás, natural de Mirabalais (en Quiabón abajo), Mr. Terrien, Jean Lampiére, Siló, Lamota o Lamothe en Yuma. Al comentar la situación en el Sur, se lee: “En Baní había un espíritu de quietud causado por la influencia de residentes franceses…” (...) “Así podemos leer sobre Dousón Montás que vivía en Chavón Abajo y para 1801 ganó un proceso judicial a un protegido del general Ferrand. Dousón Montás es el tronco de los Montás en la región. (...) Como otra muestra de la presencia francesa y haitiana en la genealogía dominicana señalo que en San Cristóbal, en 1814 Juan Francisco Nival casó con Marta Larcehit, naturales de Francia, en 1820, María Francisca Montás casó con Pedro Langumar Feisé, y en 1822 Juan Celestino Nosé casó con María Francisca La Chapell (Lachapelle), todos naturales de Mirebalais, Haití.
  10. ↑ Guégan et al. 2002, pp. 60, 168.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Viviano de León (2 May 2013). "Determinan que en RD residen 524 mil 632 inmigrantes de los que el 87.3% son haitianos" (in Spanish). Santo Domingo: Listín Diario. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  12. ↑ EFE. "Unos 200.000 haitianos se han quedado ilegalmente en República Dominicana" (in Spanish). Santo Domingo: El Mundo. Retrieved 3 May 2014. A juicio del titular de Migración, en la República Dominicana residen más de 1,1 millones de haitianos, la mayoría de ellos de manera irregular.
  13. ↑ ENI-2012 P. 75
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 ENI-2012 P. 163
  15. ↑ ENI-2012 P. 129
  16. ↑ "CIA - The World Factbook - Haiti
  17. ↑ Dominican Republic: Deport Thy (Darker-Skinned) Neighbour
  18. ↑ ["Migration in the Caribbean: Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Beyond"]
  19. ↑ "Dominican Republic, Haiti, and the United States: Protect rights, reduce statelessness"
  20. ↑ Dominican Republic: Gov't Turns Deaf Ear to UN Experts on Racism
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Primera Encuesta Nacional de Inmigrantes (ENI-2012)" (in Spanish). Santo Domingo: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (former 'Oficina Nacional de Estadística') & United Nations Population Fund. 2012.
  22. ↑ ENI-2012 P. 174, 183
  23. ↑ ENI-2012 P. 251
  24. ↑ ENI-2012 P. 254
  25. ↑ ENI-2012 P. 253
  26. ↑ ENI-2012 P. 259
  27. ↑ Historia, Metodología y organización de censos en Rep. Dom.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 Flady Cordero (30 July 2013). "La desregulación de la inmigración es el negocio del siglo". Hora Cero (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  29. ↑ García, Samantha (11 September 2013). "La presencia de inmigrantes haitianos en República Dominicana" (in Spanish). Santo Domingo: Observatorio Político Dominicano. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  30. ↑ "Peligrosos enclaves haitianos en el Este". Listín Diario (in Spanish). 30 November 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2014.

References