Haiti and the Dominican Republic have always had underlying conflicts with each other. DR’s conflicts mostly stem from racism while Haiti’s conflict stem from anger of being oppressed. Because of economic hardship, many Haitians have been forced to flee to the other side of the island in search of a better life. This has in turn resulted in a large population of illegal Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic over the years. The solution the government reached in a 2013 ruling is to outlaw and deport illegal immigrants, as well as Dominicans born to non-Dominican citizen parents after 1929. Yes, 1929 is not a typographical error. 86 years, multiple generations being discarded from a nation they call home.
As of Thursday June 18, 2015, these people are stateless. Following the ruling, the government opened registration for migrant workers and those born to foreign parents to create a path to citizenship. The majority of Haitians have however been unable to complete the registration process. As tensions and pressure grow from the international community, Dominican Republic has said that as many as 250,000 people have already successfully registered. This, however, is a means to deflect the attention from the atrocities they’re forcing on Haitians in the DR. Over 200,000 people will be displaced out of the country.
These rulings and mistreatment of the Haitian people is a disgrace to humanity. We, in the Haitian diaspora, we who are able to live in a free country, must speak up for the voiceless. We cannot turn a blind eye and pretend this isn’t happening. We can’t remain silent while others are being thrown from the land they call home. We can’t read and forget. Imagine if it happened to you. Speak up until we are heard!