Witnessing the Dominican / Haitian Divide

This is a topic that I get asked about a lot in my work and personal life. As I am neither Dominican, nor Haitian, I feel that I am not the right person to ask. BUT, I am witnessing the divide every day. Through working with local families, I have seen many different situations, some heart warming and others heart breaking.

I contemplated writing this piece as it is not my personal experience, it is a creative writing piece that compiles real people's experiences into one (fictitious) family's story. I eventually came to the conclusion that I want to take advantage of having an audience, an education and the means to share the reality in the island of Hispaniola. I wrote this with an appreciation for the people and families that have allowed me to be a part of their journey.

I hope this essay can be used to start conversation, spread awareness and empathy for people- Especially those that live in the Dominican Republic and are not paying attention to the situation.

Names, dates and specific details have been changed to respect the anonymity of these families.

STATELESS

Lou is one of five daughters, second to youngest to be specific. She is the daughter of René and Dolores Lucient. Unlike the older three sisters who were born in Haiti, Lou and her younger sister were born in the Dominican Republic. Their family illegally immigrated from Haiti to the Dominican Republic while Dolores was 8 months pregnant with Lou. Ever since the major earthquake in 2010, Lou’s parents had not been lucky in finding stable jobs or shelter. Like many Haitian citizens post-earthquake, immigrating to the Dominican Republic seemed like the best option for their family.

            Now Lou is in the 3rd grade. In addition to public school, she also attends a local girl empowerment foundation in the mornings, a nonprofit organization that organizes activities and program for girls within her community. The public school system in the Dominican Republic has extremely low resources and only has classes half day. Three of the five sisters have October birthdays. Shaura is the oldest sister, her birthday is on the 26th, Lou’s on the 5th and Ruth’s on the 12th. Their family always throws one big celebration, the girls believe it is only because it is more special that way, but really, Dolores and René cannot afford to throw three separate birthday celebrations. They usually celebrate on the 16th, their parents say because it is in the middle of the month, but the real reason is because René gets paid biweekly. They do not want their girls worrying about money as much as they do, they want them to stay young and carefree as long as they can.

This year on the 3rd of October, Shaura fell ill. It started with a common cold, then progressed into a fever and eventually what seemed like the flu. Dolores left all the girls at home with their neighbor so she could take Shaura to the local clinic. They did not have health insurance and as Haitian’s, they face the chance of deportation while in public spaces. Dominicans and Haitians have a long, painful history. Most Haitians fear being deported daily, and in 2023 it as only gotten worse as the Haitian president was assassinated, leading to unrest that eventually led to the Dominican government closing the border. Because of all this tension, immigration rates have risen, and the discrimination has gotten worse. Dolores knew that she was risking herself and her daughter to deportation by going to the clinic, but she knew that Shaura needed medical attention.

Once they got to the hospital, they did some blood test and diagnosed Shaura with dengue fever, a sickness that is spread by mosquitos and causes fever, body aches and can be deadly if not treated. They were given a prescription and the bill on their way out. The blood tests cost way more than Dolores imagined. She asked the clinic if she could pay it off over time and they refused. They told her she had to pay up front, if not, they would call the police- in their case, that would lead to immigration. Dolores did not know what to do, she did not have a phone to call René. Luckily, someone from her neighborhood was also at the clinic and was able to get a hold of René. He quickly came to the hospital with all the money they had saved for the birthday celebration, just enough to cover the hospital bill. Dolores and René were relieved that they were able to pay the bill, but their hearts were heavy as they knew that the birthday celebration was not going to happen this year.

As Shaura was being discharged, Dolores and René signed all the paperwork, which they did not completely understand as Dolores does not know how to read and René reads at a middle school level. After signing the paperwork, they get their things and head out to where their motorcycle is parked. As they are heading outside to the parking lot, they notice immigration officers blocking the exit and their hearts sink. Both René and Dolores’ residency cards have expired, and they have not been able to renew them since the border has closed. The immigration officers rush to the three of them and take them immediately into the immigration truck. René is trying to explain their situation and that they have children at home, but the immigration officers do not budge. The officers are given one mission every day- to find Haitians and send them across the border, no questions asked.

Lou is still home with the other three sisters, they put themselves to bed, assuming their parents were still at the clinic with Shaura. They have spent their day doing laundry, cooking, and playing in the house, a very typical day for the girls. Around 11pm, the girls are woken up by their neighbor pounding on their door. They live in a one-bedroom, wooden house with a tin roof and dirt floors. One bed for the four oldest girls, and the other bed for Dolores, René, and the youngest daughter. Lou and her sisters are confused, “why is the neighbor crying?”. Their neighbor tells them that her friend saw Dolores, René and Shaura being loaded on the deportation bus in town. The girls knew the reality of deportation in their community, but they never imagined that it would happen to their family.

            The next morning, the girls go about their routine. The neighbors make sure they are awake and dressed to go to the foundation that day. Once they get to the foundation, they tell their teachers what had happened, and they are taken into the director’s office. The director connects the girls with a local orphanage and contacts the immigration office to investigate where exactly their family has been deported to.

            It is now October 29th, three weeks and three birthdays have passed. René has called the foundation a few times to check on his daughters but the border is still closed. Dolores and René are still looking for options to get back to their daughters, they will not stop until their family is reunited.