Border towns need more developments, fewer walls

Dajabon, Dominican Republic.- In the crowded corridors of the Dominican market at Dajabón, of vital importance for the supply of food to the north of Haiti, the plans of the Dominican Government to build a fence on the dividing line between the two countries are viewed with suspicion.

The plans, announced by President Luis Abinader, clash with the vision of commercial opening intended to be promoted by the communities that live on either side of the main border crossing, which request more development plans and fewer gates.

The construction of the fence will begin in the second half of this year and for now the authorities have only clarified that the fence will not cover the entire 380 kilometers of the dividing line, but only the areas where today irregular immigration is more difficult to control.

Dajabón Merchants Federation president, Freddy Morillo, told Efe that in his city and the Haitian city of Ouanaminthe, “commerce is what sustains the border.”