SPECIAL POPULATION

Special Population

Introduction

During the last century, thousands of Haitians have settled in United States the Dominican Republic, Canada, Cuba, and Bahamas but they still face systematic discrimination from the state and society in this country.  Many Haitians have been forced to emigrate to the USA, Canada and France to escape from poverty, violence and dictatorship. Haitian migration to the Dominican Republic dates back to 1915-1920 with the increase of sugar production in this country. For over three quarters of a century, each year, based on contracts signed between hiring the two countries, more than 20,000 people, mostly men, were hired to cut cane to sugar.

Today, Haitian migration to the Dominican Republic has diversified and has a tendency to feminize. Workers find themselves in different spheres of the economy (agriculture, construction, tourism, small trade).The economy has experienced strong growth over the past decade (averaging 7% per year), and it continues to attract Haitians to seek jobs and security because of the socio-political and economic conditions prevailing in their country. It is estimated that about 800,000 numbers of Haitians are currently living in Dominican Republic. The excessive exploitation of these workers and their continued illegality is part of a strategy of using labor "cheap" for profit maximization and display for improved competitiveness. (UN News Centre, 2007)

Discussion

The conditions of hire and abuse given to Haitian immigrant workers in the Dominican Republic have witnessed many complaints, as reports from human rights organizations both nationally and internationally have repeatedly talked about it. Organizations such as the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Amnesty International, are constantly talking about the discrimination and harsh treatment with which the Haitians immigrants are being exposed to. In 2006, more than 20,000 immigrants were deported and, while thousands more are employed illegally. Among the returnees, some are established in this country for over 10 years or have taken birth. Cases of family separation and abuse are common during these repatriations.

These migrant workers also face a greater marginalization. Access to citizenship is denied to their offspring on the pretext that their parents are "paperless". Several generations of children are deprived of all rights, including the right to education and health. Bateyes, communities inhabited largely by these immigrants and their families, are known as the poorest areas of the Dominican Republic.  A chronic racial discrimination against Haitian migrants living in the Dominican Republic is resulting in mass expulsions and arbitrary denial of birth certificates to hundreds of children, according to a new study published by Amnesty International on International Day for the Elimination of Discrimination Racial. (Aaron. T, 2010)

The attacks on Haitians that took place in 2009 when one of Haiti died after being beaten with sticks and stones in the city of Neyba in southwestern Dominican Republic, in reprisal for the murder of a Dominican immigrant. In another incident, a group of Dominicans of Haitian burned several houses in revenge for the death of a Dominican farmer of 80 years, allegedly murdered by an immigrant in the city of Guayubín, northwest of ...