Gripped by fear, Dominican villagers demand eviction of Haitians

Community organizations of the village Najayo Arriba, southern San Cristobal, today picketed outside the Immigration Agency to demand that its director Jose Ricardo Taveras evict a group of Haitian nationals they affirm "have illegally taken over " the sector La Coquera.

Community representative Daniel Bienvenido Rosa Benitez said the Haitians have invaded the property of Rafael Emilio Alonzo Luna, a situation thy say has made the area "unlivable because of the chaos which has been generated."

Neighborhood Board spokespersons Victor Lorenzo Florentino and Soraida Medina Martinez said the Haitians’ permanence in the sector is a violation of "national sovereignty", which also turns into unease and insecurity for its residents.

They said on December 12 they asked Taveras and other officials to repatriate the Haitians, who they affirm pose a threat because they’ve become “conspirators,” but the authorities have yet to respond.

The community leaders said the most recent act of violence allegedly committed by Haitians was eight days ago when a group of them stoned and injured several police agents who tried to shutter an illegal cockfighting ring in an area owned by Alonzo Luna.

The Board representatives said the fact the Haitians dare attack the National Police itself means they would do so more ferociously against the locals in the sector, for which they demand that the authorities to put an end to the violence they fear could lead to a fatal Christmas for the residents. "Now the Haitians want to establish the ground rules in the community, and since they rebel against the authorities, our greatest fear is that for every Dominican who lives here there are 10 Haitians, which increasingly puts us at risk."