Konsiderasyon sou rasis dominiken an
Nou tout konnen koulye a sa ki pase kay vwazen nou nan pati Lès zile Kiskeya. Dominiken touye konpatriyòt nou nan de kondisyon ki fè moun sonje sa ki te konn pase nan lane 60 yo nan Etazini ak ban rasis Ku Ku Klan yo. Yo boule drapo nou nan de kondisyon ki montre aklè nan ki lespri Dominiken sa yo ap aji. Mwen pap di se tout Dominiken ki aji ousman panse konsa, men moun kap fè zak sa yo montre yo gen ase pouvwa pou fè sa yap fè a, sitou si yo konnen gouvènman ak lelit politik la ap bay yo sipò anba anba. Rayisman Dominiken sa yo gen pou Ayisyen, se pa bagay ki rive lòt jou. Natirèlman, nap sonje Trujillo ki te fè touye preske 30 000 Ayisyen, siman paske li te vle fè moun bliye orijin ayisyen li. Men, kite mwen fè rapèl kèk ekzanp nan lista ansyen kap ban nou yon lide kouman rasis dominiken an gen rasin ki la lontan, depi epòk lè yap vin endepandan.
Nan liv li ki rele:" La République d'Haïti et la République dominicaine " (Volume II), gwo sosyològ ayisyen an Jean-Prince-Mars rapòte yon korespondans ke José Maria Caminero te voye bay John C. Calhoun, Sekretè deta Etazini. Caminero, sete ajan espesyal ke Prezidan dominiken an, Pedro Santana (ki li menm te gen san ayisyen tou) te voye kote Prezidan meriken an, John Tyler, pou mande li pou Etazini rekonèt peyi li kom peyi endepandan. Sonje ke lè sa, Etazini pat sou bò rekonèt Ayiti ditou ditou. Nan epòk sa, Prezidan ayisyen an, Boyer, te chaje ak pwoblèm. Apre move jesyon peyi a, li te prèt pou tonbe; Dominiken ap revolte kont okipasyon an, andedan Ayiti, Boyer ap chache kenbe, Men li sou pant koudeta. Men yon ti pasaj nan korespondans Caminero a ke Price-Mars repwodwi nan tradiksyon franse a: " Après avoir enduré pendant vingt ans le joug pesant du despotisme haïtien, les blancs dominicains, avant de mettre une fin à leurs souffrances.......". Pi lwen, nan menm korespondans la, Caminero ap pale de: « …: … l'oppression et les vexations des Nègres d’Haïti montrent et établissent le droit des Dominicains d’assumer leur propre souveraineté…. ».
Aloske que Lanperè Soulouque tap chache envayi Dominikani, Ajan meriken an nan peyi sila, Benjamin Green, nan korespondans li te kon voye bay John Clayton, Sekretè deta Etazini, te konn pale aklè sou pwoblèm Dominiken te genyen ak zafè lakoulè a. Men sa Price-Mars di nan liv li sou kijan Green tap fè gouvènman li konprann nesesite pou Etazini asire kontwòl li sou Dominikani : « … Il (Green) préconisait l'ascendance de la race blanche sur le territoire dominicain comme une mesure de défense contre les tendances et les visées de Soulouque. Il admettait bien que les métis et les noirs étaient plus nombreux que les blancs dans la communauté dominicaine……Mais il fit remarquer que le prestige du blanc en pays dominicain acquiert une si haute valeur que tout le monde veut se faire passer pour blanc…. ». Kididonk, "blan" dominiken yo pat gen okenn pwoblèm jwenn kalite sipò sa nan men Etazini, yon peyi kote esklavaj tap fè ravaj, kote gwo plantè te fin anraje kont zafè esklav ap vin endepandan an Ayiti e ki te fè kwa pou Ayiti pa jwenn okenn sipò. Price-Mars kap site Manning, repwodwi sa Green te rapòte bay Sekretè deta li, aloske ke li tap pouse pou gouvènman li rekonèt endepandans Dominikani prese prese: « L’objet de la guerre (haïtiano-dominicaine) est l’établissement d’une nation de pure race dans cette île. On en fera le nucléus d’un empire noir qui s’étendra dans toutes les Antilles…L’Empereur nouvellement couronné se propose de faire la reconquête du territoire dominicain comme la première étape de l’extension en incitant les noirs de Cuba et de Puerto Rico à se soulever et à s’unir à lui…. » Nan ki kondisyon yon peyi tankou Ayiti, ak mwayen li te gen nan men li, taka rive fè yon bagay konsa, fòk se yon rasis je pete sèl tankou Green ki pou ta konsevwa yon bagay konsa. Se poutèt sa otorite dominiken yo te nan tèt jwèt yo pou yo fè ajanda yo vanse. Yo te sou menm pant ak ni Lafrans, ni Etazini, ni Lespay, ki yo menm tou, te gen yon politik pou toufe Ayiti poutèt « move ekzanp » liberasyon esklav sa yo te bay. Nou ka wè nan tout korespondans yo, yo toujou pale kesyon lakoulè tankou yon pwen ki fèt pou kreye inite ant pèp yo. Men sa José Maria Caminero te ekri nan yon korespondans ki pote dat 25 janvye 1845 li te voye bay Sekrete deta John Calhoun: (tradiksyon angle a): “I avail myself of the opportunity to observe that the portion of the people of colour, that is mulattoes and samboes, free by birth are all natives of the same Spanish Dominicans soil, and not of the French part; that these have always been in contact with the whites and in the observance of the principles of religion and morality…” Li enteresan pou remake ke moun sa yo Caminero ap pale a, e ki fèt nan pati panyòl la, jan li di a, an 2015 jodya, gouvènman dominiken an ak Tribinal Kasasyon yo a rejete tout reyalite sa, paske dapre refòm Konstitisyon dominiken an, apre 171 lane endependans, non sèlman yo pa admèt ke moun sa yol fèt nan pati panyòl la, men yo di depi ansèt ou te nan peyi a ilegalman, yap depòte w. E paske majorite moun sa yo, se Ayisyen kit te zansèt yo, se yo menm ki plis ap pran kalòt. E paske gouvènman ak otorite jidisyè yo vyole yon prensip entènasyonal ki vle ke lalwa pa retroaktif, sa vle di ke menm premye prezidan dominiken ansanm ak omwens 6 lòt prezidan dominiken pat dominiken, paske zansèt yo te soti Ayiti.
Kididonk, si gen yon pèp nan Karayib la ki gen pwoblèm idantite, fòk se byen Dominiken. Se yon bagay ki bay anpil tristès lè wap tande yon Dominiken ki gen ti koulè marabou, ou byen po nwè kareman, tèt grenn, paka admèt se nèg nwè li ye ki gen zansèt li soti Lafrik. Gen kèk mouvman konsyans afriken kap fèt nan jounen jodya, men yo gen anpil fikilte pou gen enpak. Batay Sonia Pierre ak yon ekpi jen avoka dominiken ki gen orijin ayisyen tap mennen pou defann dwa nasyonalite tout Dominiken te montre kouman sa te difisil. Mouvman pèdi yon gwo potomitan nan Sonia Pierre ki te wè vi li andanje chak jou li soti nan lari.
Dapre World Factbook, 73% popilasyon peyi an se rezilta brasay blan ak afriken; 11% gen zansèt yo ki soti kareman nan Lafrik. Sa vle di gen 16% ki sanble ta gen desandans blan. Men, ou pap tande Dominiken pale sou sa. Sa ki gen po nwè pito di yo se desandan Endyen. Zafè desandans afriken an, li pa vle tande sa pyès….jislè li rive nan yon peyi tankou Etazini. Lè yo trete li tankou nwè, ke li gen po klè, cheve swa, ousman tèt grenn, se lè sa li koumanse pran konsyans ki kalite manti li tap bay tèt li. Souvan, se Dominiken sa yo , lè you tounen nan peyi yo, yo koumanse pale de orijin afriken yo. Kididonk, se yon bagay ki grav lè ou wè kouman Dominiken reyaji sou kesyon la koulè a.
Yon fwa nou konnen listwa Dominikani, nan pèspektiv pa mwen, noumenm Ayisyen pa fèt pou pi sezi pase sa devan konpòtman yo, men, sa ki pi grav la, se kouman nou wè jan otorite ayisyen yo ap jere dosye Dominikani, jan yo reyaji san diyite, san vizyon, san yon santiman ke yo konprann sa kap pase, poukisa sityasyon sa kreye e ki solisyon yo genyen pou yo kapab elimine pwoblèm yo. E poutan, se pa ke pa gen Ayisyen ki konn pwoblèm yo. Nou chaje ak ekspè nan zafè Ayiti ak Dominikani. Men, ou pap wè gouvènman an rele ekspè sa yo pou ede li mete kanpe yon politik, yon estrateji pou takle pwoblèm sou zile a. Nou gen dwa wè sa aklè nan reyaksyon gouvènman an apre yo fin pann frè nou ak boule drapo nan Santo Domingo. Gouvènman an pran plizyè jou anvan li reyaji. Ou pa tande yo di anyen sou fanmi konpatriyòt sa; nou pa konnen nan ki pwen ankèt la ye; nou pa tande si kadav la ap retounen Ayiti, si fanmi ap resevwa konpansasyon. Anyen! Etranje gen tan reyaji byen anvan Gouvènman an. Ane pase, bato dominiken antre nan lanmè nou, yo sezi byen ayisyen; ou pa tande otorite aysiyen di ou fè anyen pou sa; oubyen si yo fè ousman di yon bagay, se anba pay, jan yo di an franse, « à la cloche de bois ». Nou gen yon anbasadè nan Dominikani, men se kom si nou pat genyen. Lè nou sonje kote anbasadè sa soti, sou ki rejim li te travay, mwen sipoze nou pa fèt pou sezi si nou pa tande anyen de li, sitou si lap resevwa enstriksyon de yon Prezidan ki li menm pa gen ni konesans, ni kapasite, ni respè tèt li pou li pran desizyon sou baz yon politik ki byen chita. Dayè li klè pou mwen ke pa gen politik. Si nou te gen dout, nou annik gade kouman gouvènman an reyaji nan dosye nasyonalite Dominiken ki gen desandans ayisyen. Aloske yon pil ak yon pakèt gouvènman ak òganizasyon etranje kondane san gade dèyè Dominikani pou politik sa, Gouvènman ayisyen menm rete ap fè yon jwèt antre sòti, jistan li koupe zèb anba pye peyi ak òganizasyon ki te soti pou bal bon jan jarèt. Gouvènmn ayisyen an pito di lap jere pwoblèm lan sou baz « bilatéral ». Mwen konsidere sa tankou yon gwo lawont non sèlman pou Ayiti, men tou pou memwa pakèt gwo patriyòt ayisyen Ayiti pwodwi. Se yon gwo avilisman pou memwa Jean Price-Mars, Anténor Firmin, e konben lòt gwo entelektyèl, nasyonalis, patriyòt ayisyen ki te tèlman defann drapo ayisyen an.
Pandan Dominikani ap esprime rasis li nan rayisman Ayisyen, Leta dominiken ap rantre yon pakèt lajan sou do Ayiti, aloske li anvayi mache nou ak pwodwi yo. Jan pwovèb kreyòl la di, sòt ki bay, enbesil kip a pran. Olye nou mete lòd lakay nou, nou louvri pòt ba yo; nou pa louvri pòt la sèlman, nou kraze pòt la menm pou yon antre kom si se nan jaden lakay yo yo tap antre. Mwen ta renmen tout moun al li dokiman kap sikile sou Entènèt la sou Rapò envestigasyon ansyen PM Conille la sou kantite kontra konpayi dominiken an resevwa nan men Gouvènman ayisyen an apre goudougoudou, san konpetisyon, nan vyolasyon tout dispozisyon lwa peyi a ki di ke fòk gen konpetisyon lè gen kontra kap siyen. Mwen ta ankouraje tout moun degaje yo li dokiman pou yo reyalize ki kalite briganday sa ki koumanse depi sou gouvènman Préval-Bellerive la, rive sou Gouvènman Martelly-Lamothe la. Gen yon sèl mo nou ka itilize pou dekri tout sa nou sot pale yo: KORIPSYON. Wi, nou rive nan yon pwen kote koripsyon vin anpeche peyi fè devlope. Pa gen anyen ki ka fèt nòmalman nan peyi a san koripsyon pa vin bloke bagay yo, ralanti yo, fè yo fèt amwatye, oubyen fè yo fèt mal, opwen pou lajan an gaspiye. E pou mete abse sou klou, ou gen plizye ajan kominote entènasyonal la kap ankouraje koripsyon an lè yo konnen bagay yo pa fèt jan pou yo fèt la. Gen ase dokiman ki pibliye sou pwen sa, se pou sa mwen pap rete twòp sou dosye sa. Ke se gouvènman etranje, ousman enstitisyon entènasyonal, se menm kout baton an. Konsiltan ap fè lajan, Konpayi ap vin rich sou do pèp Ayisyen an, ofisyèl gouvènman an ap fè lajan, elatriye. Pandan tan sa, gouvènman an ap blofe, Leta dominiken an ap fè lajan sou do pèp ayisyen an, yon opozisyon enkonpetan, san vizyon, san planifikasyon panko kapab mete lòd lakay li pou pèp la ka chwazi lòt dirijan li, enstabilite blayi nan peyi a, nou vin devlope yon mantalite « d’assisté », kote nou paka fè anyen si blan pa ban nou lajan, eleksyon nou nan men yo,…..e nap kontinye desann pant la san fren….
Men, malgre yon sityasyon ki ta sanble san solisyon, fòk nou pa janm panse pèp ayisyen ap lage sa. Ekzanp 1986 ak 1990 montre aklè ke lè li vle, pa gen anyen li pap reyalize. Lè wap tande kalite revandikasyon nan manifestasyon yo, lè nou sonje kouman grèv lòt jou te rive reyisi, fòk nou apresye ki kalite sakrifis ti machann lan, chofè taksi fè lè patisipe nan grèv la. Chak jounen li pèdi, se yon pakèt bagay pou li, paske li pa gen kont labank tankou gwo zouzoun yo ki taka fè plizyè mwa san yo pa travay, e sa pata deranje yo ditou. Ti pèp la, se chak jou li fè ti kòb li. Li enpòtan pou nou kenbe sa nan lespri nou, sitou nou menm kap viv lòt bò dlo.
Pou men fini, nou nan yon peryòd difisil anpil e nou panko wè vreman kouman nap soti nan twou sa, paske panko gen yon vre lidè ki parèt sou teren an; men, mwen sonje gen plizyè lane, peyi Bolivi te nan menm kalite twou : latroublay toupatou, lame ap bay koudeta, manipilsayon politik, lelit reyaksyonè ap egle zafè li, menm jan ak lelit lakay nou an..Epi yon sèl kou, yon lidè parèt sou teren an, epi li kontwole tout moun, san vyolans, ak entelijans, ak konpetans, ak vizyon, epi li fè kominote entènasyonal respekte Bolivi komsadwa. Lidè sa pote non Evo Morales……
Yon lòt kalòt pou Ayisyen, kelkeswa kote nou ka ye
Re: Yon lòt kalòt pou Ayisyen, kelkeswa kote nou ka ye
Sou kesyon rasis kay vwazen nou, map poste piba a yon atik ke jounalis Jemima Pierre de "Black Agenda Report " (BAR) te pibliye sou koze sa. Na enterese li sa li te ekri nan lane 2011 lan sou pwoblèm sa. Sityasyon an pa chanje, li vin pi mal.
The Dominican Republic Hates Black People
Submitted by Jemima Pierre on Wed, 12/14/2011 - 00:44
by BAR columnist Jemima Pierre
The indefatigable Dominic-Haitian activist Sonia Pierre died recently, at age 48, outlived by the deep racism that poisons her homeland’s society. “Anti-Haitianism is deeply embedded in Dominican society and has spawned continued mob attacks and lynchings, as well as other sanctioned acts of violence [3] against Haitians or Black Dominicans assumed to be Haitian.” Dominican national identity is entwined with anti-Blackness and anti-Haitianess – which are the same thing. “To be Dominican, then, was to be Hispanic and Catholic, and anything but Black.”
[i]“In the Dominican Republic the cause is the consequence: you are Black because you are Haitian; you are Haitian because you are Black.”[/i]
On December 2, 2011, the Supreme Court of the Dominican Republic upheld [4] a racist law denying citizenship to the children of Haitian immigrants born in the country. Two days later, Sonia Pierre [5], the indefatigable activist for the human rights of those Dominicans of Haitian descent denied citizenship under the law, died suddenly at the age of 48. The Dominican anti-Haitianism [6] that Sonia Pierre fought her entire life has outlived her, and it will continue inflicting damage on a long-hated segment of the Dominican population: its Black citizens.
Born in the “batey” (the impoverished rural settlements for the mostly Haitian sugar cane cutters for the Dominican sugar industry) to Haitian parents, Ms. Pierre experienced the humiliation that accompanied the social, economic, and legal barriers of Haitian immigrants and Dominicans of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic. She began her fight early—she was arrested at the age of 13 for leading a strike of sugar cane workers—and has since been the most outspoken critic of the unrelenting xenophobia, racism, and sexism faced by Dominico-Haitians. She has worked incessantly to guarantee citizenship rights for children born on Dominican soil, regardless of parentage, and her work, recognized around the world, was often derided in her own country.
“A deep-seated racism in Dominican society which affects dark-skinned people in general and Haitians and Dominico-Haitians in particular.”[/i]
To borrow the phrasing of Frantz Fanon, in the Dominican Republic the cause is the consequence: you are Black because you are Haitian; you are Haitian because you are Black. This reasoning, circular though it appears, undergirds the logic of Dominican anti-Black anti-Haitianism. Carmen Mojica describes anti-Haitianism as the “present manifestation of the long-term evolution of racial prejudice, the selective interpretation of historical facts, and the creation of a nationalist Dominican consciousness.” This anti-Haitian and anti-Black racial prejudice emerged at the beginning of the European colonization of what they dubbed “Hispaniola,” the island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The Spanish inhabitants of the eastern side of the island were adamantly against the Blacks of the western side of the island who had defeated Napoleon’s armies in 1804 to form the first Black Republic—Haiti. When the newly formed Haitian state occupied the entire island to prevent the return of European rule and slavery, Spanish animosity towards Haiti increased. The push back against Haitian control of the island was accompanied by anti-Black propaganda; the Dominican elite—who always aligned themselves with the “whiteness” of Spain—talked of Haitians as heathens, savages, and African voodoo worshipers who were not fit for civilization. Because the Dominican Republic also had large numbers of Blacks and mulattos, they needed to create a sense of Dominican identity that had nothing to do with Blackness. To be Dominican, then, was to be Hispanic and Catholic, and anything but Black. To be Haitian was to be Black. In fact, despite its history of slavery, most Dominicans are loathed [3] to describe themselves as “Black.”
“The Dominican elite sees their Black selves in the faces and bodies of the Haitians, are embarrassed by it, and have been trying for more than two hundred years to kill it.”
This anti-Black, anti-Haitianness was taken to its logical conclusion under the dictatorship of Rafael L. Trujillo. In October 1937, Trujillo ordered the massacre of Haitians living and working in the border areas of the two countries. Over a period of five days, approximately 30,000 Haitians were brutally killed with guns, machetes, and knives by Dominican troops, civilians and local political authorities. Some were killed while trying to escape across the aptly named “Massacre River [7]” into Haiti. The reasons for this massacre vary but Trujillo’s anti-Blackness was key. However, in an absurd twist it was so difficult to distinguish the Haitians from the Dominicans that the soldiers seeking Haitians needed to listen for the Haitian accent in the Spanish word, “perejil” (parsley) to determine the difference between non-Black “native” and Black “foreigner.”
The reality is that anti-Haitianism (antihaitianismo) in the Dominican Republic is Dominican self-loathing anti-Blackness. The Dominican elite sees their Black selves in the faces and bodies of the Haitians, are embarrassed by it, and have been trying for more than two hundred years to kill it. In the process, thousands of Haitians have paid and continue to pay the price.
Currently, there are an estimated 500,000 to one million Haitian immigrants and Dominican children of Haitians parents in the Dominican Republic. As Christian Aid, among others has reported, the “problem” of Haitians in the Dominican Republic stems from “a deep-seated racism in Dominican society which affects dark-skinned people in general and Haitians and Dominico-Haitians in particular.” Sonia Pierre devoted the majority of her life working against this racism and for the human rights of Dominico-Haitians. In 2005, her organization, MUDHA (Movement for Dominico-Haitian Women), presented a case against the Dominican Republic at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on behalf of two Dominican children with Haitian parents who were denied Dominican birth certificates, despite proof of their births in the country. When human rights court voted against the Dominican Republic, the Dominican media [8] savaged [9] Ms. Pierre, while the country’s supreme court was unrepentant. It changed its classification of long-term Haitian immigrants to that of “transients,” claiming that children born to such group did not merit Dominican citizenship.
“Despite its history of slavery, most Dominicans are loathed [3] to describe themselves as ‘Black.’”
And while the Dominican Republic gained recognition for its efforts to aid Haiti after the January 2010 earthquake, it also used the opportunity to ramp up its anti-Haitianism. Two weeks after the earthquake the Dominican government even amended the country’s constitution to deny [10] citizenship to children born in the Dominican Republic to foreign parents. The amendment was seen as directed specifically against Dominico-Haitians. As a result many Dominicans of Haitian origin were denied [8] the renewal of their identity documents such as passports, cedula (ID card) and birth certificates. Furthermore, the new constitution had the provision to make the law retroactive, revoking the citizenship of thousands of Dominicans of Haitian ancestry, effectively rendering them stateless [11] and without human rights. Even Sonia Pierre, who is well known as Dominican-born, needed special intervention to receive a copy of her birth certificate.
Pierre always said that she was “not against the Dominican Republic” which she considers her country, but against the actions of her government. But she also realized that this anti-Haitianism is deeply embedded in Dominican society and has spawned continued mob attacks and lynchings, as well as other sanctioned acts of violence [3] against Haitians or Black Dominicans assumed to be Haitian. Pierre herself was not immune from these attacks and, as a recent article in Defend Haiti [12] noted, “powerful sectors in the Dominican Republic including members of civil society and the Catholic hierarchy, politicians and relatives of the government of President Leonel Fernandez have called Ms Pierre a “cancer” for the Dominican Republic.” It is, however, anti-Blackness and anti-Haitianism that are the real cancers of that society.
Pierre fought against Dominican racism. She fought as a Black Dominican, and ultimately for the recognition of Black humanity. It is a struggle that we in the African Diaspora must continue.
The Dominican Republic Hates Black People
Submitted by Jemima Pierre on Wed, 12/14/2011 - 00:44
by BAR columnist Jemima Pierre
The indefatigable Dominic-Haitian activist Sonia Pierre died recently, at age 48, outlived by the deep racism that poisons her homeland’s society. “Anti-Haitianism is deeply embedded in Dominican society and has spawned continued mob attacks and lynchings, as well as other sanctioned acts of violence [3] against Haitians or Black Dominicans assumed to be Haitian.” Dominican national identity is entwined with anti-Blackness and anti-Haitianess – which are the same thing. “To be Dominican, then, was to be Hispanic and Catholic, and anything but Black.”
[i]“In the Dominican Republic the cause is the consequence: you are Black because you are Haitian; you are Haitian because you are Black.”[/i]
On December 2, 2011, the Supreme Court of the Dominican Republic upheld [4] a racist law denying citizenship to the children of Haitian immigrants born in the country. Two days later, Sonia Pierre [5], the indefatigable activist for the human rights of those Dominicans of Haitian descent denied citizenship under the law, died suddenly at the age of 48. The Dominican anti-Haitianism [6] that Sonia Pierre fought her entire life has outlived her, and it will continue inflicting damage on a long-hated segment of the Dominican population: its Black citizens.
Born in the “batey” (the impoverished rural settlements for the mostly Haitian sugar cane cutters for the Dominican sugar industry) to Haitian parents, Ms. Pierre experienced the humiliation that accompanied the social, economic, and legal barriers of Haitian immigrants and Dominicans of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic. She began her fight early—she was arrested at the age of 13 for leading a strike of sugar cane workers—and has since been the most outspoken critic of the unrelenting xenophobia, racism, and sexism faced by Dominico-Haitians. She has worked incessantly to guarantee citizenship rights for children born on Dominican soil, regardless of parentage, and her work, recognized around the world, was often derided in her own country.
“A deep-seated racism in Dominican society which affects dark-skinned people in general and Haitians and Dominico-Haitians in particular.”[/i]
To borrow the phrasing of Frantz Fanon, in the Dominican Republic the cause is the consequence: you are Black because you are Haitian; you are Haitian because you are Black. This reasoning, circular though it appears, undergirds the logic of Dominican anti-Black anti-Haitianism. Carmen Mojica describes anti-Haitianism as the “present manifestation of the long-term evolution of racial prejudice, the selective interpretation of historical facts, and the creation of a nationalist Dominican consciousness.” This anti-Haitian and anti-Black racial prejudice emerged at the beginning of the European colonization of what they dubbed “Hispaniola,” the island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The Spanish inhabitants of the eastern side of the island were adamantly against the Blacks of the western side of the island who had defeated Napoleon’s armies in 1804 to form the first Black Republic—Haiti. When the newly formed Haitian state occupied the entire island to prevent the return of European rule and slavery, Spanish animosity towards Haiti increased. The push back against Haitian control of the island was accompanied by anti-Black propaganda; the Dominican elite—who always aligned themselves with the “whiteness” of Spain—talked of Haitians as heathens, savages, and African voodoo worshipers who were not fit for civilization. Because the Dominican Republic also had large numbers of Blacks and mulattos, they needed to create a sense of Dominican identity that had nothing to do with Blackness. To be Dominican, then, was to be Hispanic and Catholic, and anything but Black. To be Haitian was to be Black. In fact, despite its history of slavery, most Dominicans are loathed [3] to describe themselves as “Black.”
“The Dominican elite sees their Black selves in the faces and bodies of the Haitians, are embarrassed by it, and have been trying for more than two hundred years to kill it.”
This anti-Black, anti-Haitianness was taken to its logical conclusion under the dictatorship of Rafael L. Trujillo. In October 1937, Trujillo ordered the massacre of Haitians living and working in the border areas of the two countries. Over a period of five days, approximately 30,000 Haitians were brutally killed with guns, machetes, and knives by Dominican troops, civilians and local political authorities. Some were killed while trying to escape across the aptly named “Massacre River [7]” into Haiti. The reasons for this massacre vary but Trujillo’s anti-Blackness was key. However, in an absurd twist it was so difficult to distinguish the Haitians from the Dominicans that the soldiers seeking Haitians needed to listen for the Haitian accent in the Spanish word, “perejil” (parsley) to determine the difference between non-Black “native” and Black “foreigner.”
The reality is that anti-Haitianism (antihaitianismo) in the Dominican Republic is Dominican self-loathing anti-Blackness. The Dominican elite sees their Black selves in the faces and bodies of the Haitians, are embarrassed by it, and have been trying for more than two hundred years to kill it. In the process, thousands of Haitians have paid and continue to pay the price.
Currently, there are an estimated 500,000 to one million Haitian immigrants and Dominican children of Haitians parents in the Dominican Republic. As Christian Aid, among others has reported, the “problem” of Haitians in the Dominican Republic stems from “a deep-seated racism in Dominican society which affects dark-skinned people in general and Haitians and Dominico-Haitians in particular.” Sonia Pierre devoted the majority of her life working against this racism and for the human rights of Dominico-Haitians. In 2005, her organization, MUDHA (Movement for Dominico-Haitian Women), presented a case against the Dominican Republic at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on behalf of two Dominican children with Haitian parents who were denied Dominican birth certificates, despite proof of their births in the country. When human rights court voted against the Dominican Republic, the Dominican media [8] savaged [9] Ms. Pierre, while the country’s supreme court was unrepentant. It changed its classification of long-term Haitian immigrants to that of “transients,” claiming that children born to such group did not merit Dominican citizenship.
“Despite its history of slavery, most Dominicans are loathed [3] to describe themselves as ‘Black.’”
And while the Dominican Republic gained recognition for its efforts to aid Haiti after the January 2010 earthquake, it also used the opportunity to ramp up its anti-Haitianism. Two weeks after the earthquake the Dominican government even amended the country’s constitution to deny [10] citizenship to children born in the Dominican Republic to foreign parents. The amendment was seen as directed specifically against Dominico-Haitians. As a result many Dominicans of Haitian origin were denied [8] the renewal of their identity documents such as passports, cedula (ID card) and birth certificates. Furthermore, the new constitution had the provision to make the law retroactive, revoking the citizenship of thousands of Dominicans of Haitian ancestry, effectively rendering them stateless [11] and without human rights. Even Sonia Pierre, who is well known as Dominican-born, needed special intervention to receive a copy of her birth certificate.
Pierre always said that she was “not against the Dominican Republic” which she considers her country, but against the actions of her government. But she also realized that this anti-Haitianism is deeply embedded in Dominican society and has spawned continued mob attacks and lynchings, as well as other sanctioned acts of violence [3] against Haitians or Black Dominicans assumed to be Haitian. Pierre herself was not immune from these attacks and, as a recent article in Defend Haiti [12] noted, “powerful sectors in the Dominican Republic including members of civil society and the Catholic hierarchy, politicians and relatives of the government of President Leonel Fernandez have called Ms Pierre a “cancer” for the Dominican Republic.” It is, however, anti-Blackness and anti-Haitianism that are the real cancers of that society.
Pierre fought against Dominican racism. She fought as a Black Dominican, and ultimately for the recognition of Black humanity. It is a struggle that we in the African Diaspora must continue.
Re: Yon lòt kalòt pou Ayisyen, kelkeswa kote nou ka ye
Kèk ti remak rapid:
Jodya, gen yon gwo mach pasifik kap fèt nan Pòtoprens ke Kolektif 4 desanm lan òganize pou defann dwa Ayisyen nan Repiblik Dominiken.. Anpil òganizasyon etidyan, sosyete civil, pati politik elatriye ap patisipe. Eske se revèy patriyotik la? Sanble sa. Dapre nouvèl map tande nan radio, gen anpil solidarite pou mouvman sa. Gen yon trantèn mizisyen ki mobilize tou. Aswè a, gen apeprè 25 a 26 mizisyen ki pwal anrejistre yon mizik sou koze sa. Mwen kontan wè anpil kalite solidarite kap tanmen sou koze sa. Nan kontèks sa, li ta bon pou nou li editorial Frantz Duval la kap mande kesyon an: Sou ki bò ou ye?, Prezidan. Wi, tout moun ap mande kote Martelly ye nan dosye sa.
Jodya, gen yon gwo mach pasifik kap fèt nan Pòtoprens ke Kolektif 4 desanm lan òganize pou defann dwa Ayisyen nan Repiblik Dominiken.. Anpil òganizasyon etidyan, sosyete civil, pati politik elatriye ap patisipe. Eske se revèy patriyotik la? Sanble sa. Dapre nouvèl map tande nan radio, gen anpil solidarite pou mouvman sa. Gen yon trantèn mizisyen ki mobilize tou. Aswè a, gen apeprè 25 a 26 mizisyen ki pwal anrejistre yon mizik sou koze sa. Mwen kontan wè anpil kalite solidarite kap tanmen sou koze sa. Nan kontèks sa, li ta bon pou nou li editorial Frantz Duval la kap mande kesyon an: Sou ki bò ou ye?, Prezidan. Wi, tout moun ap mande kote Martelly ye nan dosye sa.