The New York Times
In Exile
´Deportations and violence have driven tens of thousandsof people of Haitian descent from their homes in the Dominican Republic — whilethe world is silent´
The story by JonathanM. Katz dated Jan. 13, 2016 should spur Dominicans to write the prestigious newspaperand say enough already.
The article, withgripping images depicting dismal settlements near the town of Anse-à-Pitres,Haiti seems to blame the Dominican Republic for the plight of the perhapsthousands of repatriated Haitian nationals whom either failed to register or didn’tqualify for Dominican residency.
The parade of Dominicanbashers set off around Aug. last year, with calls from boycotts to the Caribbeancountry´s tourism, to repeal of funding for programs of cooperation.
Contrary to what thearticle claims, the world hasn’t been ¨silent¨ about the issue, and rightly so-whenever crises of such magnitude occur.
And far from defendingtheir government´s actions or lack thereof, Dominicans demand transparency inthe push to regularize an immigration gone amuck.
Many readers of The NewYork Times might get the impression that “Dominicans are massacring Haitians,” sowe again ask for a fair shake on your reporting, digging a bit deeper into theproblem to avoid becoming just another Dominican-basher.
Related: www.dominicantoday.com/dr/opinion/2011/7/19/40277/Aljazeera-Haitians-and-the-Dominican-dilemma
Jorge.pineda@dominicantoday.com