Chapter 4
The Tipping Point.
According with this chapter I've learned that The Tipping Point is a small change that becomes significant enough to cause a larger, more important change. I decided to share with all of you this important news about our daily live. Hope you'll enjoy it.
Haitian Tipping Point In The Dominican Republic
In a recent court ruling, undocumented Dominicans of Haitian descent are being deported to Haiti sparking a human rights debate among the political elite and the Dominican Diaspora about the morality of deporting individuals living in the margins of the island’s society for generations. Many of the Haitian descendants were born in the Dominican Republic and have been assimilated into Dominican culture; this has been an ongoing political issue even before the passage of the court ruling. Historical relations between the two nations have been hampered with war and brutality. It started with the brutal treatment and occupation of Dominicans immediately after the Haitian revolution in 1803. Conversely, the October 1937 massacre of approximately 20,000 Haitians by the Dominican Dictator Rafael Trujillo’s shock troops worsened relations between both nations.
Today’s presence of Haitian descendants has reached its tipping point especially after several natural disasters including hurricanes and earthquakes where thousands sought refuge across the Dominican border with the hope of refugee relief. Considering the history of the two nations, the justifications put forth in the citizenship question are the following: the sovereign rights to protect its borders; homeland security and crime prevention; is just simply a pretext for their innate fear of further Africanizing Dominican culture through the increased population of Black Haitians.
The Dominican Republic is in the midst of tourism boom through its natural resources climate and beaches and cheap labor. Their national economic development strategy is to address the entrenched poverty in the Dominican Republic and project an international image that is attractive for investors and create employment for native Dominicans. In their world view, this can only be accomplished by creating a greater comfort level for White European and U.S. tourists to visit and spend their Euros and U.S. Dollars.
The complexity of the issue of race in the Dominican Republic is reflective of the history throughout the Spanish – Speaking Americas. It is important to distinguish between the pretext of creating an immigration policy and the underlying cultural history of White Supremacy on the island of Hispaniola. The new court ruling translates into a violation of human rights in a massive proportion adversely impacting the lives of thousands Black Haitian families living in the Dominican Republic for generations with no citizenship or legal status.
In a recent court ruling, undocumented Dominicans of Haitian descent are being deported to Haiti sparking a human rights debate among the political elite and the Dominican Diaspora about the morality of deporting individuals living in the margins of the island’s society for generations. Many of the Haitian descendants were born in the Dominican Republic and have been assimilated into Dominican culture; this has been an ongoing political issue even before the passage of the court ruling. Historical relations between the two nations have been hampered with war and brutality. It started with the brutal treatment and occupation of Dominicans immediately after the Haitian revolution in 1803. Conversely, the October 1937 massacre of approximately 20,000 Haitians by the Dominican Dictator Rafael Trujillo’s shock troops worsened relations between both nations.
Today’s presence of Haitian descendants has reached its tipping point especially after several natural disasters including hurricanes and earthquakes where thousands sought refuge across the Dominican border with the hope of refugee relief. Considering the history of the two nations, the justifications put forth in the citizenship question are the following: the sovereign rights to protect its borders; homeland security and crime prevention; is just simply a pretext for their innate fear of further Africanizing Dominican culture through the increased population of Black Haitians.
The Dominican Republic is in the midst of tourism boom through its natural resources climate and beaches and cheap labor. Their national economic development strategy is to address the entrenched poverty in the Dominican Republic and project an international image that is attractive for investors and create employment for native Dominicans. In their world view, this can only be accomplished by creating a greater comfort level for White European and U.S. tourists to visit and spend their Euros and U.S. Dollars.
The complexity of the issue of race in the Dominican Republic is reflective of the history throughout the Spanish – Speaking Americas. It is important to distinguish between the pretext of creating an immigration policy and the underlying cultural history of White Supremacy on the island of Hispaniola. The new court ruling translates into a violation of human rights in a massive proportion adversely impacting the lives of thousands Black Haitian families living in the Dominican Republic for generations with no citizenship or legal status.
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