dominican republic border

Rafael L. Trujillo welcoming newly-elected Haitian President Paul Magloire in Ciudad Trujillo, Santo Domingo in February 1951. also present were, army officer Hector and Trujillo's son Ramfis.

Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina (born on October 24, 1891) was a Dominican politician, soldier and dictator, who ruled the Dominican Republic from February 1930 until his assassination in May 1961. Trujillo was killed by a group of rebels determined to topple his regime. He was Dominican President between 1930-1938 and 1942-1952. In 1937, he ordered the massacre that took more than 35,000 Haitian lives on charges of invading the Dominican Republic. It was launched by the army with common criminals released for these purposes against Haitians living in the Dominican Republic's northwestern frontier and in certain parts of the adjacent Cibao region. It was a shameful and brutal event that harmed his prestige in the entire world. Punishment for the atrocity amounted to an agreement in which a paltry US $525,000 was paid to the Haitian government. Haitian President Élie Lescot put the death toll at 12,168; in 1953, the Haitian historian Jean Price-Mars cited 12,136 deaths and 2,419 injuries. In 1975, Joaquín Balaguer, the Dominican Republic's interim Foreign Minister at the time of the massacre, put the number of dead at 17,000. Other estimates compiled by the Dominican historian Bernardo Vega went as high as 35,000. Before the massacre, Trujillo made his intentions towards the Haitian community clear in a short speech which he delivered on 2 October 1937 at a dance in his honor in Dajabón. He accused Haitians on charges of thefts of cattle, provisions, fruits, etc., and thus they were preventing Dominican people to live a peaceful life.

Trujillo was a man of bad temper, but had many fabricated justifications of such mass genocide. With the crash of world markets and the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, the price of sugar fell drastically, sugar production was cut, and the Haitian worker was no longer in demand in the Dominican Republic. In 1931, Trujillo took power and began to deport Haitians living in the Dominican Republic using discriminatory and inhuman policy to the Haitians. However, when in the 1950s, when the economic situation became reversed, he took a different tone because, by then he had accumulated about 75% of the Dominican sugar mills and had forced many U.S. competitors out of business. To maximize his profit, he turned to the Haitian workers. In 1952, Trujillo and Haiti's President, Paul Magloire, signed a bilateral agreement in which the Dominican Republic bought 16,500 Haitian workers directly from the Haitian government. These migratory Haitian sugar cane cutters were kept in wooden barracks where there was no running water, no electricity, and no bathrooms; the workers were not allowed to leave except to cut sugar cane. Armed guards from the sugar companies kept close watch on them. However, the Haitian government received compensation in selling these men; the money never trickled down into the worker's hands.

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Here is a picture of Vice-Consul of Haiti Judnie Galdine Souffrant as she has decided to paralise traffic on the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic

Vice Consul of the Haitian Consulate, Judnie Galdine Suffering, obstructed the Ouanaminthe border road with her car, impeding traffic for two hours. She invoked diplomatic immunity for refusing to hand over identity documents and car registration.

Consulate and Human Rights Committee representatives arrived to remove the car blocking the road. International conventions still require diplomats ". . . to respect the laws and regulations of the State of residence . . ."

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Here is a picture of Haiti's Reception Center for Returnees at Malpasse following mass deportation of undocumented Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent.

Malpasse situated in the Ouest Department of Haiti, is one of the four land connections between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. To combat problem of statelessness of the Haitians deported from the Dominican Republic, the Haitian government reportedly set up reception centres at Malpasse. But these so called reception centres are far from capable to accommodate the deported people. The reception centre at Malpasse is nothing more than a flimsy plywood hut in the midst of desert of white gravel. The government had declared in June that the reception centres were ready to welcome the Haitians, but the reality of the situation is rather miserable. The migrants are in a devastated, homeless and stateless condition in Haiti.

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Here is a picture of the usual activities that take place regularly on the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic where many smuggling operations take place

As per news report dated July 1, 2015, Carl-Frédéric Madsen, the President of the Association of the Industries of Haiti (ADIH) has expressed his deep concern about the rising smuggling activities in the border area with the Dominican Republic and also in the provincial ports and the capital city. Smuggled merchandises create unfair competition and threaten the existence of the local Haitian traders and manufacturers by pushing them towards bankruptcy. Such act of smuggling is further weakening the national security through illicit goods and curbing the state revenue by $300 million, every year. ADIH has urged the state to take immediate actions to eliminate this scourge as it is threatening our national economy. The fight against smuggling will encourage our local businessmen and create many new investment opportunities. ADIH is ready to extend their unconditional support in this movement.

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As per news report dated March 9th, Blas Peralta, the President of Fenatrado (National Federation of Dominican Transportation) has said that MINUSTAH and National Police of Haiti have jointly established a safe corridor through which the Dominican trucks carrying merchandise from the Dominican Republic to Haiti can carry goods so henceforth under the protection of these two forces. Presently, the insufficient number of MINUSTAH member has forced to limit the stretch of the protective cover. Any driver deviating from the safe corridor will run on own risk. The corridor spans from Jimaní to the Haitian town of Kwadèbouke and from there to the area near the international airport in Port-au-Prince. However, Peralta has insisted for a full safety cover for the Dominican trucks until it completes its journey in Haiti.

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Here you have it. All the predictions suggest that Haiti has taken off economically. The slogan that Haiti is open for business may have some truth to it.

According to the latest update of the International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook report, the two countries that share the Island of Hispaniola, Haiti and the Dominican Republic , are expected to lead the entire Caribbean in economic growth in 2015 and 2015

In 2014, the Dominican Republic is projected to grow economically by 5.3 percent of their GDP. At the same time, Haiti is expected to grow by 3.8 percent.

In 2015, the two nations are expected to grow at even a higher rate. Dominican Republic is projected to lead the region with a GDP growth rate of 4.2 percent, with Haiti at 3.7 percent.

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Here is a picture of the border between Haiti and Dominican Republic on a market day. Market Day in Dajabon allows Haitians and Dominicans to buy and sell their products freely. The border betweenHaiti and Dominican Republic is closely monitored however, that does not prevent Haitians from crossing the border on a regular basis in search of job

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