Dominican Republic: Haitian immigrants die during trafficking

Progressio development worker Gianni dal Mas reports from Dajabon, where trafficking of Haitians into the Dominican Republic has led to tragedy.

Twenty-five Haitian immigrants have died from suffocation while travelling illegally with 45 others in a crowded van from Haiti to Santiago, the second largest city in the Dominican Republic. The Haitians were not carrying any identification and their deaths on 11 January have made them the year's first victims of human trafficking.

There were 24 fatalities during the journey and one other person died in the public hospital of Santiago. The repatriation of the corpses triggered a wave of riots in the Haitian city of Ouanaminthe: two more people died in confrontations with soldiers from the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and the border was then closed for a few days. The outcry also meant the corpses had then to be returned to the Dominican Republic and buried in a common grave, where Father Regino Martínez Bretón, director of Progressio partner organisation Solidaridad Fronteriza, could celebrate a religious ceremony.

Solidaridad Fronteriza is a Jesuit organisation that works with immigrants and refugees in Dajabon, a town that borders Haiti in the northwest of the Dominican Republic. Its members have been collecting testimonies to establish what happened. According to Alexander Pierre, an 11 year-old boy whose mother died in the van, a group of 200 Haitians had crossed the border by foot to go back to the farms in the Dominican Republic after spending Christmas in Haiti.

Alexander told Solidaridad Fronteriza: 'The trafficker told us that they would transport us in five trucks but only one arrived, which had no windows and no ventilation. Around 60 to 70 of us got in the truck, paying between US$50-80.' Alexander told how, during the journey, some people fainted and died from suffocation, while others tried to wave to the driver. 'They broke the door of the truck and many jumped onto the road, but some of them died doing this, while others were injured. The driver stopped to unload the corpses and then continued on to the next village where he left the rest of the passengers.'

Father Regino believes the Dominican authorities are not doing enough to investigate the incident. He said: 'The Dominican government cannot think of solving the problem of illegal immigration and militarizing the border with Haiti without eradicating the corruption behind their uniforms.'

He added: 'Until today the Dominican authorities have not had the political will to avoid these mortal accidents by establishing a real, legal and fair migratory policy. Immigrants are needed in the Dominic Republic but this is not publicly admitted. While they order mass and indiscriminate repatriations of Haitians, people continue migrating, attracted by the demand for workers.'

During January 2006 more than 3,000 Haitians were repatriated to Haiti. In response, Solidaridad Fronteriza and the Jesuit Refugee and Migrant Service (JRMS) have been lobbying the Dominican government to urge it to establish a legal and fair framework to regulate the migratory flows within the island. This would involve a change in the migration law, which the organisations consider to be unconstitutional.

Fr Regino said: 'What we need is legality at every level. The paradox is that not only farmers and builders need Haitian workers. The Dominican state itself depends on that for most of the public work. This is illegal but is, in fact, allowed so that some people can benefit from human trafficking.'

(From: Gianni dal Mas, Progressio DW with Solidaridad Fronteriza)