Dominican Republic - Haiti Observer Blog

Paul Magloire, Haiti's 35th president, was born in 1907, heir of a military father. He followed his father's career path, enlisting in the army and rising to Chief of Police in Port-au-Prince.

Paul Magloire played a pivotal role in overthrowing two Haitian presidents, Élie Lescot and his successor, Dumarsais Estimé. President Estimé, in a fruitless effort to draw out his time in office, attempted to amend the Constitution. The mulatto elite aided Magloire in deposing Estimé. Magloire then took the reins of power as President of Haiti.

During his term, Paul Magloire poured money into tourism, Haiti becoming known as a desirable vacation destination for foreign travelers. Imposing a tax on coffee-bean exports, he used the monies for development projects, raising living standards of the impoverished, as well as improving city services. Most notably, he gave the right-to-vote to women. In foreign policy, he forged stronger relations with the Dominican Republic, reversing the violent and unstable history they had shared in the past.

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On Sunday February 17, 2013 while navigating a corner on a road in the Dominican Republic, Dr. Daniel Mathurin suffered injuries from a car crash that would later claim his life. In the wake of this tragic loss of one of Haiti's most venerated scientists, his achievements in research and geophysics, including his speculations on the wealth of tangible and intangible resources to be found in Haiti, is cast back into the forefront of public awareness.

Extensive work he carried out with the wife he has succeeded, shows that Haiti is rich with hydrocarbons. Together, they had also discovered 20 oil sites in the country, five of which they described as being of great importance in the realms of oil speculation and politics. It is research that has led some to question whether or not the 2010 earthquake which all but leveled Haiti and left over 300,000 dead was not caused by clandestine drilling by foreign governments or entities.

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Born on November 2nd 1932 at Cap- Haitien, Henri Namphy was another military leader who became the president of Haiti. In the army he rose to the post of a general. His first stint in the political area was as the President of Haiti during a period where the interim body ruled.

Interim Council

The interim body was the National Council of Government and they ruled from February 1986 to February 1988. This interim council consisted of six civilians and six military personnel. This interim body assured elections and reforms that would be people friendly.

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Haiti and the Dominican Republic have teamed up to improve both of the countries' power sectors. Haiti Energy Security Minister Rene Jean-Jumeau and Dominican Republic National Energy Commission Director Enrique Ramirez recently signed an agreement linking the two countries' power grid. Under the agreement, both parties will create a plan on how to boost the production of energy and lower the price of electricity to benefit the public.

The agreement is expected to help both Haiti and Dominican Republic to ensure energy security and deal with problems that may arise. If one faces a challenge in its energy security, the other would be there to help out. However, there are no specific details yet. Jumeau said an actual agreement will be made based on the countries' technical capabilities, access to funds and their social and commercial relations. The current agreement only touches on bilateral projects and relations with international organizations.

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Haiti was under military occupation for around 19 years. In the Dominican Republic from 2nd October 1937 to 4th October 1937 fifteen thousand to twenty thousand immigrant workers from Haiti were massacred. Machetes and bayonets were used to slaughter them by big landowners and the army in Dominican Republic.

Pitchforks were used to spear women and heads of infants were smashed against the walls. No firearms were used in the Parsley Massacre. The ones who tried to escape were captured at the border and then killed.

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In the Dominican Republic the communities inside the sugarcane plantations are called batey. Many Haitians and Dominicans who have migrated from Haiti, work in the sugarcane plantations. Many people from Haiti have been fleeing Haiti to work as seasonal laborers in the sugarcane industry in Dominican Republic.

Poor Working Conditions

Access to healthcare and working and living conditions in the Dominican Republic are very often poor. There is lack of electricity, sanitary facilities and running water. After Christopher Columbus's colonization, the sugarcane plant was introduced.

However it was in the 1900s that the sugarcane industry started in the Dominican Republic with United States acting as a catalyst for developing it. In 1905 the DR was controlled by the United States under the Big Stick policy of Roosevelt. In 1915, Haiti was invaded by troops from America. Political stability was established in the island after the occupation of United States.

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The Hispaniola Island is shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti for around 150 years. But both countries do not share an amicable relationship. Antihaitianismo is a set of anti prejudices that have been created by antagonism in the Dominican Republic.

Evolution Of Racial Prejudice

Antihaitianismo is the evolution of racial prejudices manifested for a long time, misinterpretation of selective historical facts and creation of false consciousness in the Dominican Republic. The elite groups, who were powerful and having strong interests to defend, orchestrated the long term revolution.

Inhabitants from Spain colonized Santo Domingo and it was then that racial prejudices started leading to antihaitianismo. Racial prejudice, slavery besides sugar was brought to the island due to Spanish colonization. Administration was controlled by elite white Spanish who ruled over the slaves and creoles.

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While Haiti suffers, Dominican Republic is well off and occupies Caribbean Island of Hispaniola up to around 30,000 sq m. It is filled with resorts, is prosperous and healthy while Haiti continues to be poverty stricken. The Dominican Republic is ranked 90th on the human development index out of the 182 countries while Haiti comes 149th.

In Haiti the life expectancy is 61 years while in the Dominican Republic it is 74 years. In case a person lives on 2/3rds of eastern Hispaniola then he is more likely to write and read and live on less than 1.25 dollars a day.

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University Henri Christophe gets a donation of around 13,000 books from the former President of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernandez. With the addition of these books, the number of books for reference available for students at the University has tripled.

These books have been offered by a book distributor group called Follett, based in the United States. Contribution to the donation to a lesser extent has been made by UNESCO as well.

Gratitude Expressed

Teachers and students of Haiti expressed their gratitude to Leonel Fernandez and the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic had helped the construction of the University Henri Christophe in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake at a cost of 30 million dollars. It was also assisted by Supervising Engineers Office of State Works of the Dominican Republic.

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Danilo Medina, President of the Dominican Republic focused on having an agreement for free trade with Haiti. He stated this in the meetings. In May, he won the election in the country.

Agreement On Free Trade

On taking office on August 16, 2012, Danilo Medina stated that efforts would be made towards an agreement in free trade with neighbors of the Dominican Republic in Hispaniola. Such an agreement would help producers at the domestic level to take advantage of services and goods available in Haiti.

He made this announcement after a courtesy call with Albert Ramdin, the Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States. The meeting was attended by Michelle Cohen, Ambassador and Shelly Dass-Clark, the policy advisor of Ramdin. Ramdin also happens to be the Chairman of Group of Friends, in Haiti.

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