New hope for repatriated Haitians
-
Jul 9, 2009 Posted by Jorge Tellez
By Dan O’Neil in the Dominican Republic.
Somewhere on the order of a million Haitians live in the Dominican Republic, the vast majority without any legal papers. The Dominican migration authorities routinely round up several hundred undocumented Haitians each week and dump them on the Haitian-Dominican border. In the past, these repatriated people were left to find for themselves--begging for a place to sleep from the mayor and frequently trying to scrounge a means to return to the Dominican Republic.
The Pan American Development Foundation is helping the Haitian government to change this situation.With funding from the U.S. and Canadian governments, PADF helped the Haitian government to build a new border complex near the town of Belladère, the main repatriation point. The new complex includes not only modern migration and customs facilities, but also a social center with dormitory style rooms where the repatriates can sleep and a kitchen where they can cook.
The new border facilities should be completed by the end of next month.
It’s our goal is to help Haitians stay and work in Haiti. We give the repatriated people, some food, a place to sleep, and bus money to go home. We would love to expand the program to be able to offer job training and assistance in finding work in Haiti.Daniel O'Neil is the Director of PADF's Our Border Program. You can visit that website at www.OurBorder.org