Five Hundred Thousand Haitians in the Dominican Republic

Abstract

Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent are subjected to forced labor in the Dominican Republic. The presence of up to 500000 Haitians in the Dominican Republic clearly does not correspond to classical migration dynamics but reflects the economic and political relations between the two countries relations of undifferentiation which include the persistence of smuggling between the two countries. The authors suggestion of such a large number of slaves allows a better understanding of the Haitian question which may help to identify the obstacles to a formalization of relations. Ignorance allows political undifferentiation to persist while the superpowers are presumed to be planning to unify Haiti and the Dominican Republic. There is no wonder that official sources about the numbers of Haitians and Dominico-Haitians oppressed in the Dominican Republic are so few and imprecise. The Haitian question requires a response in terms of migration policy. If forced to define their relations more clearly the two countries could deal with each other on a political level. The international campaign against slavery the use of statistics consequences for Dominican politics and consequences for Haitian policy are discussed.