Haiti and Dominican Republic History of Mutual Distrust

Haiti and the Dominican Republic are neighbors, sharing the beautiful island of Ispanola. The two countries also share a long history built on mutual distrust and resentment.

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On the one part, Haiti has not always been the victim in its relationship with the Dominican Republic. From 1822 until 1824, Haiti occupied the Dominican Republic. Although it was a brief period of occupation, however, the period was marked by brutal dictatorship and violent uprisings.

On the other hand, in 1937, between 12,000 and 25,000 Haitians living along the border were slaughtered by Dominican armed forces.

Recently, the influx of Haitian migrants to the Dominican Republics does not settle very well with many Dominicans. Ongoing acts of violence are frequently erupting between Haitians living in the Dominican Republics and the locals. The bad feelings never really abated. Anti-Haitian violence had reached fever pitch: Haitian migrants were routinely lynched, burned, and beheaded in the Dominican Republic.

The Haiti earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people may finally make friends between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Since the Earthquake, Dominicans responded promptly and with great charity to their Haitian neighbors. They threw open their borders to Haitians in need of medical care, halted the deportation of thousands of illegal Haitian immigrants, and sent millions of dollars worth of urgently needed supplies--along with debris-removing heavy equipment and an army of volunteers to use it.

Additionally, the Dominican Republic pledged over $110 million to build a Haitian university. Violence inside the Dominican Republic against Haitian migrants has stopped.

However the distrust between Haiti and the Dominican Republic can not be eliminated. Dominican Parliament even passed a constitutional amendment that denies citizenship to the children of undocumented Haitian immigrants. The change in law was proposed in 2009 and implemented just weeks after the quake.

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