Haiti – Dominican Republic - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP
Haiti – Dominican Republic - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP Haiti – Dominican Republic - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP
carrying money, and missing their documentation,which makes them highly vulnerable to theft andextortion.The combination of having no rights on theDominican side and, in the absence of effectivestate institutions, no recourse to justice on theHaitian side, migrant labourers are left with little orno opportunity for redress.On the Dominican side, there is a general viewthat many of the problems encountered, bothsocial and environmental, originate from theHaitian side of the border, nurturing mistrust towardsHaitians. Dominican complaints and fears aboutHaitians can be summarized in two categories:delinquency and intimidating behavior, and fearof economic and demographic “invasion”. 292Since the earthquake, there has been an influxof unemployed Haitians and a real, rather thanperceived, increase in the incidence of robberyand violent crimes committed by Haitians. 293Haitians are mainly employed to work in jobsthat Dominicans do not want to do themselves.Nevertheless, the most frequently articulatedDominican fear about the Haitians concerns the“takeover” of many economic niches, includingnot only rural agricultural field labour, but alsourban construction sites. 294 For the Dominicans livingin the border area, the Haitian presence withinvarious sectors is a valuable and valued source offield labourers who will work for lower wages thenDominicans. However, local and national mediaoften portray this labour force as an “invasion”(albeit sometimes “peaceful invasion”), 295 whichrisks increasing the tensions between Haitians andDominicans. Dominican authorities also complainabout the lack of Haitian authorities. Haitianswho have committed crimes in the DominicanMany Haitians – or people born in the Dominican Republic but of Haitian descent – live in rural parts of theDominican side of the border zone. Many of them are uneducated and live in poverty, such as this woman inthe Pedernales watershed, who has four children, none of whom attend a school.© UNEP90 Haiti – Dominican Republic: Environmental challenges in the border zone
Evidence that Dominicans are leaving the border zone and moving to the cities can be seen in some areasin the border zone: like this vacant house in the small Dominican border town of Mencia in the PedernalesWatershed.© UNEPRepublic, they point out, can escape justice simplyby returning to Haiti.Since the outbreak of cholera in Haiti in 2010,the Dominican authorities have taken a morehostile approach towards Haitians in the border,and established more border controls. As aconsequence Haitians find it harder to cross theborder, even when they are looking to trade inthe bi-national markets or to access medicalcare.8.5 Environmental aspects of miningand industrial developmentDespite expert confirmation of the presenceof deposits of precious and base metals onHispaniola, mining has previously not been a keysource of income for either country. This is aboutto change because recently, the price of preciousmetals has increased and a large gold minehas opened in the Dominican Republic. Miningmay well present both countries not only withopportunities, but also with risks. There are, after all,many places around the world where mining hascaused environmental damage and social unrest.Indeed, political unrest led to the closure of Haiti’slast copper mine in the early 1970’s. 296, 297 Despitethese caveats, if economical, environmental andsocial concerns are handled correctly, mineralexploitation can bring much needed revenues tothe country, and create job opportunities for bothskilled and unskilled labour.Mining is an important potential issue for theborder area because the geology of interest runseast-west and the formations that contain goldand other minerals on the Dominican side, arealso present on the Haitian side. Mining companiesactive in the Dominican Republic, such as EurasianMinerals, claim that Haiti has mineral potentialsimilar to that of the Dominican Republic. 298Mining activities in the Dominican Republic havegreatly increased since 2010. The main mineralsconcerned are gold, copper (the exploration ofwhich is concentrated in the Eastern Cordillera andthe Central Cordillera) and nickel (mainly in the beltHaiti – Dominican Republic: Environmental challenges in the border zone91
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- Page 123 and 124: Annex I - Report terminologyArgumen
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- Page 127 and 128: Annex IV - Table connecting thereco
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- Page 131 and 132: 73. UN Development Programme - Haï
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- Page 137 and 138: 204. Peralta, C. (2012, 18 April).
- Page 139 and 140: 246. González Sánchez, F.F. (2012
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carrying money, <strong>and</strong> missing their documentation,which makes them highly vulnerable to theft <strong>and</strong>extortion.The combination of having no rights on the<strong>Dominican</strong> side <strong>and</strong>, in the absence of effectivestate institutions, no recourse to justice on the<strong>Haiti</strong>an side, migrant labourers are left with little orno opportunity for redress.On the <strong>Dominican</strong> side, there is a general viewthat many of the problems encountered, bothsocial <strong>and</strong> environmental, originate from the<strong>Haiti</strong>an side of the border, nurturing mistrust towards<strong>Haiti</strong>ans. <strong>Dominican</strong> complaints <strong>and</strong> fears about<strong>Haiti</strong>ans can be summarized in two categories:delinquency <strong>and</strong> intimidating behavior, <strong>and</strong> fearof economic <strong>and</strong> demographic “invasion”. 292Since the earthquake, there has been an influxof unemployed <strong>Haiti</strong>ans <strong>and</strong> a real, rather thanperceived, increase in the incidence of robbery<strong>and</strong> violent crimes committed by <strong>Haiti</strong>ans. 293<strong>Haiti</strong>ans are mainly employed to work in jobsthat <strong>Dominican</strong>s do not want to do themselves.Nevertheless, the most frequently articulated<strong>Dominican</strong> fear about the <strong>Haiti</strong>ans concerns the“takeover” of many economic niches, includingnot only rural agricultural field labour, but alsourban construction sites. 294 For the <strong>Dominican</strong>s livingin the border area, the <strong>Haiti</strong>an presence withinvarious sectors is a valuable <strong>and</strong> valued source offield labourers who will work for lower wages then<strong>Dominican</strong>s. However, local <strong>and</strong> national mediaoften portray this labour force as an “invasion”(albeit sometimes “peaceful invasion”), 295 whichrisks increasing the tensions between <strong>Haiti</strong>ans <strong>and</strong><strong>Dominican</strong>s. <strong>Dominican</strong> authorities also complainabout the lack of <strong>Haiti</strong>an authorities. <strong>Haiti</strong>answho have committed crimes in the <strong>Dominican</strong>Many <strong>Haiti</strong>ans <strong>–</strong> or people born in the <strong>Dominican</strong> <strong>Republic</strong> but of <strong>Haiti</strong>an descent <strong>–</strong> live in rural parts of the<strong>Dominican</strong> side of the border zone. Many of them are uneducated <strong>and</strong> live in poverty, such as this woman inthe Pedernales watershed, who has four children, none of whom attend a school.© <strong>UNEP</strong>90 <strong>Haiti</strong> <strong>–</strong> <strong>Dominican</strong> <strong>Republic</strong>: Environmental challenges in the border zone
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