If you’re not sure what’s going on in the Dominican Republic, here’s the 411:
Background information:
- In the Dominican Republic, there’s a huge difference in being ‘moreno’ (brown) and negro (black)
- If you’re Haitian, you’re considered black and being black in the DR means you’re a second class citizen. Meaning, denial of job opportunities, public education, job accounts and health care. (sounds familiar doesn’t it?)
- Dominican hatred of Haitians extends back to 1822, when Haiti invaded and conquered the Dominican Republic and promptly freed the slaves.
- In 1912, the Dominican government passed a law limiting the number of black-skinned people who could enter the country.
- In 1939, Dominican President Rafael Trujillo ordered the genocide of Haitians costing approximately 30 000 lives.
What’s happening today:
- About a quarter of a million people will be made stateless. They will have no homes, no passports, and no civil rights. There are several reasons for this, but the primary reason is racism.
- According to a ruling by Constitutional Court; Dominicans born after 1929 to parents who are not of Dominican ancestry are to have their citizenship revoked. The ruling affects an estimated 250,000 Dominican people of Haitian descent.
- Many of the Dominican-born Haitians have never been, or even know anyone in Haiti.
- The criteria the government will use in deciding who is to be deported out of the country is “dark-skinned Dominicans with Haitian facial features.”
In other words, Dominica has said: if you’re black, bye.















