DOMINICAN-IMMIGRATION/PROTEST Hundreds of Haitians protest in Santo Domingo, claiming they have not yet received documents to register in DR

Record ID: 146049

  • Title: DOMINICAN-IMMIGRATION/PROTEST Hundreds of Haitians protest in Santo Domingo, claiming they have not yet received documents to register in DR
  • Date: 28th July 2015
  • Summary: SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (JULY 28, 2015) (REUTERS) SUGAR CANE WORKERS MARCHING TOWARDS THE EMBASSY A WOMAN WITH A BASKET ON HER HEAD MARCHING AND CHANTING PROTESTERS MARCHING PROTESTERS CHANTING POLICE BARRICADES OUTSIDE THE HAITIAN EMBASSY RIOT POLICE GETTING OUT OF TRUCK VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS GATHERED OUTSIDE THE HAITIAN EMBASSY (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) COORDINATOR OF NATIONAL UNION OF SUGARCANE WORKERS, JESUS NUNEZ, SAYING: "We are calling for the 4,608,000 (102,230 U.S. dollars) that were deposited in the BHD Bank in the name of Haitian Embassy to be returned. Until now, not one sugarcane worker has a certificate, an identity card or a passport." WOMEN WAVING THEIR ARMS AND CHANTING IN PROTEST PEOPLE CHANTING AND BANGING DRUMS AN EMBASSY EMPLOYEE PHOTOGRAPHING THE PROTEST FROM THE WINDOW ON HIS MOBILE PHONE CLOSE-UP OF A COPY OF IMMIGRATION DOCUMENTS BEING HELD UP BY A PROTESTER A WOMAN STARING FORWARD (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PROTESTER, MICHELLE JOSSEF, SAYING: "The Haitian President has to give us greater support, because we are Haitians living in the Dominican Republic. This is why we have come here, to demand our rights, for the money they have taken from us to give us our documents, false documents." PROTESTERS STANDING ON FENCE HOLDING A BANNER READING (IN SPANISH): "HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE WAITING IN VAIN FOR PROMISED DOCUMENTS. 44,310 YOUNG PEOPLE ATTEND STATE UNIVERSITY AND PRIVATE CENTRES." VARIOUS CLOSE-UPS OF HAITIANS SHOWING DOCUMENTS POLICEMEN STANDING OUTSIDE EMBASSY
  • Embargoed: 12th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Dominican Republic
  • Country: Dominican Republic
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA1L9W23SG67K6AWIHHQKAUSLPE
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Hundreds of Haitians gathered outside their embassy in the Dominican capital on Tuesday (July 28) demanding the return of over $100,000 U.S. that had been paid in order to process immigration papers which protesters say have not been received.
    The protest comes after the enactment of a 2013 court ruling in the Dominican Republic that, according to Amnesty International and the United Nations, has denied children of Haitian migrants their birth certificates, identity documents, and stripped them of their nationality.
    The Dominican government also set up a registration program that would grant two-year temporary migrant status to those who could meet requirements, reporting that more than 210,000 people have enrolled.
    But protesters are complaining that despite many having enrolled and having paid costly fees, they have not received any documents.
    Jesus Nunez, Coordinator of the National Union of Sugar Workers, demanded that the sum paid to the Haitian embassy to process the documents be returned to those who enrolled.
    "We are calling for the 4,608,000 (102,230 U.S. dollars) that were deposited in the BHD Bank in the name of Haitian Embassy to be returned. Until now, not one sugarcane worker has a certificate, an identity card or a passport," Nunez told Reuters on Tuesday (July 28).
    Activists estimate that up to 200,000 people are in legal limbo and stateless - not recognised as a citizen by Haiti or the Dominican Republic.
    While the Dominican government says the legal changes aim to tackle illegal migration from neighbouring Haiti, human rights groups say the move is rooted in long-standing racism and xenophobia in the Dominican Republic towards darker-skinned Haitians.
    Last month, Haiti's Prime Minister Evans Paul said the influx of Haitians returning from the Dominican Republic was causing a humanitarian crisis, as 14,000 people had crossed into Haiti in just one week, according to The Guardian.
    For protesters such as Michelle Jossef, however, Haitian authorities have not done enough to act on this concern.
    "The Haitian President has to give us greater support, because we are Haitians living in the Dominican Republic. This is why we have come here, to demand our rights, for the money they have taken from us to give us our documents, false documents," said Jossef.
    Thousands of protesters marched on the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince last week in solidarity with their compatriots living without documentation across the border and facing deportation.
    They demanded that the Haitian government ban the import of goods from the Dominican Republic, and wore T-shirts calling for migrants to be respected.
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