Haitians avoid speaking to Dominican press about the Massacre River

Haitian residents of “Little Haiti,” located in the San Carlos sector of the National District, refused to talk about the closing of their country’s border due to the construction of a canal in the Masacre River, alleging that they have been living in the Dominican Republic for more than a decade and are on the fringes of the situation.

In the attempt to be approached during a tour of the area, they shouted with gestures of indifference that they were Haitians residing in the country and working with dignity to support their families living in their nation.

Most of them resorted to sign language, claiming not to be able to speak Spanish, to avoid talking to journalists from Hoy.

Others asked for money in exchange for offering opinions on the subject while evading questions to avoid being caught on camera as they went about their daily activities in the various streets surrounding the sector.

Abinader, I voted for you, and look at what you are doing
Some Haitian traders who work in Santo Domingo exporting food to their country refuted the measure introduced by President Luis Abinader as being radical without measuring the consequences of a coming collective crisis that it would generate for both nations, as explained Manuel Alfonso Cuevas, food truck driver from Santo Domingo to Haiti.

“If they don’t open the border my family doesn’t eat and neither do I, that is why I ask that a logical agreement be reached that benefits both countries whether it divides the water in half or not, but that the punishment has only been for the Haitians,” he said.

Cuevas, who has been living in the country for 20 years with four children and family members who make a living from commerce in Haiti, reiterated that if the border were to last another week closed, it would be a crisis from which no one would benefit.

“Abinader I voted for you as well as many Haitian residents living in your country, I understand that you must manage and reevaluate better the measures which will also affect your nation,” he said.

On his side, “Roberto” understands that the measure may pressure his compatriots to stop construction. However, he said that those most affected by the closure of the border crossing are the Haitian consumers who are supplied in the binational market of Dajabón and the Dominican merchants who sell their goods at that border point.

He asked both states to resume dialogue in search of practical solutions to seek peace between the two countries.