[xanaxist]

From DR1 new today

57,000 more illegal Haitians

Statistics released by the Department of Migration show that after the 12 January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, some 57,119 Haitians who crossed the border to the DR on market days have stayed on in the country illegally. A spokesman for the department told Diario Libre that the figure probably does not even account for 50% of those who have entered illegally. The Migration Department says that 83 inspectors have been dismissed in the past 14 months for complicity with people smuggling, serious faults on the job, allowing the departure of people with legal exit restrictions, administrative corruption, forgery of documents or links to drug trafficking networks. "


Can anyone tell me how they know? Anyone who has watched the border crossing during market days can attest to the fact that it is chaos.. There is no one checking papers, no one standing with a clicker, no orderly one by one line...

I have watched Dajabon, Elias Pinas and Pedernales and it is the same for all three.. although Pedernales is smaller.

How can they possibly come up with these figures?

[Siffidiolla]

How can they possibly come up with these figures?

Because they are being paid a great deal and need to show something for it???

[xanaxist]

Because they are being paid a great deal and need to show something for it???

yes most likely! If people had never seen the border crossings during market days they might well believe this story.... and that would make them think that there is some sort of control....

Of course, how the press can just publish this sort of thing without any comment... I mean,, most of the nationals have reporters who have seen the market, I think.

Amazing!!

[Siffidiolla]

yes most likely! If people had never seen the border crossings during market days they might well believe this story.... and that would make them think that there is some sort of control....

Of course, how the press can just publish this sort of thing without any comment... I mean,, most of the nationals have reporters who have seen the market, I think.

Amazing!!

Dominican reporting is spotty at best. I can remember watching the World Series and the Olympics here in DR in 2000 and the little I understood made me embarrassed for the announcers. I can remember them saying Andy Pettitte's career was over at the point. Of course it's a good thing he didn't think so because he has made 99.7 MILLION US since then in salary alone. Good grief.

[Indoendris]

I'm personally familiar with two clandestine border crossings. They are land routes, and are used only during the night. One of the crossings enters the DR at a heavily forested region Northwest of the town of Hondo Valle, where travelers walk their way down the Sierra de Neiba south of El Cercado and down to Vallejuelo, to the highway leading to San Juan de la Maguana. Alternatively, travelers walk down toward Galván and then to the bateyes near Neiba, to link up with the Barahona highway. The other crossing is south of the town of Bánica, where travelers cross the Artibonite river hours before sunrise, and walk up the mountain toward the East, arriving early evening north of Sabaneta, where they walk down to the town of Juan de Herrera and toward the highway, to San Juan de la Maguana and beyond. Haitians have a system of clandestine motorcycle (motoconcho) transportation, with some stations within sight of military garrisons.

[spineeupsenry]

One simply answer - Money. It all boils down to Money. Haitians come to the Dominican Republic in search of better living conditions. Buscones do their part and help smuggle them in. The companies who run the Batey's are not complaining much either as they get 'free' labor. And the Dominican Government does not have the money nor apparently the organization to prevent both illegal crossing and illegal smuggling, as it would require an entire mentality change toward why accepting bribes is not a good thing and why. Things will not change greatly until CESFRONT really starts clamping down. And thats not going to happen until they can resolve within themselves why accepting bribes (and other benefits) is not worth it anymore.

[Indoendris]

One simply answer - Money. It all boils down to Money. Haitians come to the Dominican Republic in search of better living conditions. Buscones do their part and help smuggle them in. The companies who run the Batey's are not complaining much either as they get 'free' labor. And the Dominican Government does not have the money nor apparently the organization to prevent both illegal crossing and illegal smuggling, as it would require an entire mentality change toward why accepting bribes is not a good thing and why. Things will not change greatly until CESFRONT really starts clamping down. And thats not going to happen until they can resolve within themselves why accepting bribes (and other benefits) is not worth it anymore.

Actually, Haitians who cross the border in the two places I've indicated, don't have to bribe anyone. They have a well established underground transportation system of their own that ferries them anywhere in the DR. It is worth mentioning that all along the central border region, well into DR territory, Dominicans are abandoning their abodes and migrating to towns and cities, and all the abandoned houses and properties are being filled by Haitians. It's a real sight!

[AricGoffgog]

How can they possibly come up with these figures?

I always ask myself this same question, albeit I tend to do it whenever an NGO group appears in the press (especially the Jesuits) claiming that X number of Haitians entered the country with the complicity of the authorities.

How do they know?

Of course, a few years ago it was discovered that the Jesuit church in Dajabón was being used as a 'safe house' for illegal Haitian immigrants to spend the night before continuing towards Santiago with the priest responding with the excuse that Haitians are needed in Dominican farms.

So, maybe that's how they know and it makes perfect sense, they know X number entered illegally because that was the X number for whom they looked the other way, just like the Jesuits except that they can only count the number of Haitians they helped enter the DR by paying the bribes for them.

In either case, whatever numbers are made public are all understatements, and no one really takes those numbers seriously.

[ensuppono]

[QUOTE=elbachatero6504;912105] The companies who run the Batey's are not complaining much either as they get 'free' labor. within QUOTE]

Most of them don't end up in Batey's! Unless your calling little Haiti in Santo Domingo a Batey. Most end up in construction jobs, living in the building that they are building, or begging on the street.

[jackie Obrian]

[QUOTE=bienamor;912145]

The companies who run the Batey's are not complaining much either as they get 'free' labor. within QUOTE]

Most of them don't end up in Batey's! Unless your calling little Haiti in Santo Domingo a Batey. Most end up in construction jobs, living in the building that they are building, or begging on the street.

There are hundreds of Haitians in Jarabacoa and there is no such thing as a Batey in Jarabacoa. Most work in construction or farming (vegetables) and they either rent from Dominicans, or stay in a rooming house. Many stay in little huts behind poor dominican homes.

[AricGoffgog]

Originally Posted by elbachatero6504 The companies who run the Batey's are not complaining much either as they get 'free' labor. within

Most of them don't end up in Batey's! Unless your calling little Haiti in Santo Domingo a Batey. Most end up in construction jobs, living in the building that they are building, or begging on the street. And don't forget to add that it's not 'free labor' as Bachatero puts it, they make more than the average Haitian makes in Haiti!

[Julik19]

It was to be "570,000 more illegal Haitians" but someone messed up the zeros and ate one as they told him "coma"...

[Julik19]

Who the h*ll are they joking to? Looking out of your window in Santiago, one could just as easy think that a wrong step was taken, then went by a wormhole tunnel to Port-au-Prince...

57,000 maybe in Dajabon alone!

[spineeupsenry]

[QUOTE=bienamor;912145]

The companies who run the Batey's are not complaining much either as they get 'free' labor. within QUOTE]

Most of them don't end up in Batey's! Unless your calling little Haiti in Santo Domingo a Batey. Most end up in construction jobs, living in the building that they are building, or begging on the street.

I never said 'most of them end up in the Batey's', nor was that explicitly implied. My point was that the ones who DO (a number I did not indicate) make a 'virtual' free labor pool. Simply put, the ones who do benefit from 'free labor' (again basically, almost, virtually, not exactly) don't complain either....at least not yet they don't. And as sad as it is, these scanty jobs are better than nothing for many Haitians who come across the 'implied' but really non-existent border.

[spineeupsenry]

[QUOTE=bienamor;912145]

The companies who run the Batey's are not complaining much either as they get 'free' labor. within QUOTE]

Most of them don't end up in Batey's! Unless your calling little Haiti in Santo Domingo a Batey. Most end up in construction jobs, living in the building that they are building, or begging on the street.

Thats not what I said. I simply stated that some do, and the ones who do (and who end up in other work sectors) form a very cheap labor force of which the owners, companies etc benefit from and thus do not complain to much about the vast, 'disposable' work force.

[actrisski]

Who the h*ll are they joking to? Looking out of your window in Santiago, one could just as easy think that a wrong step was taken, then went by a wormhole tunnel to Port-au-Prince...

57,000 maybe in Dajabon alone!

57,000 moved to my block, alone.

[spineeupsenry]

And don't forget to add that it's not 'free labor' as Bachatero puts it, they make more than the average Haitian makes in Haiti!

Apparently today must be "Explicitly Clear Day". Of course its not literally free labor, thats why I purposely put it within 'quotations'. Its 'free labor' because they get paid little to nothing, or in some cases don't get paid with money at all but rather food vouchers. And yes "they make more than the average Haitian makes in Haiti".....yea, but thats still nothing is it not?? I mean to go from having absolutely nothing, to basically nothing is still nothing. Keep in mind these people have families to feed too, so even if one DID just happen to get a 'decent' job, they still have to support anywhere from 2 to 6 other people. You can only slice a pizza into so many slices.

[AricGoffgog]

Apparently today must be "Explicitly Clear Day". Of course its not literally free labor, thats why I purposely put it within 'quotations'. Its 'free labor' because they get paid little to nothing, or in some cases don't get paid with money at all but rather food vouchers. And yes "they make more than the average Haitian makes in Haiti".....yea, but thats still nothing is it not?? I mean to go from having absolutely nothing, to basically nothing is still nothing. Keep in mind these people have families to feed too, so even if one DID just happen to get a 'decent' job, they still have to support anywhere from 2 to 6 other people. You can only slice a pizza into so many slices.

It's not 'free labor.'

1. They earn more than a typical Haitian earns in Haiti (I highly doubt you have ever referred to Haitians employed in Haiti as 'free labor,' so don't do it to their better paid counterparts east of the border).

2. They are paid above the minimum wage for the sector.

3. Total wages in 2008 in the sugar industry was almost US$92 million vs. a little more than US$57 million the industry paid in taxes to the Dominican government, plus roughly US$10 million in company sponsored education, health, cultural and sports related activities towards their employees and families.

That's too much money for it to even remotely be considered 'free labor.'

[ensuppono]

[QUOTE=elbachatero6504;912228]

Thats not what I said. I simply stated that some do, and the ones who do (and who end up in other work sectors) form a very cheap labor force of which the owners, companies etc benefit from and thus do not complain to much about the vast, 'disposable' work force.

I got to get my cry goggles, I will feel just as sorry for them as I do the Illegal immigrants from across the US Mexico boarder. Some who are Dominican. Notice I did not say undocumented workers.

[xanaxist]

let's be clear on this

it is

57,119