Hi to Keith and all--

Regarding "apartheid" and the DR, it goes along with " a rose by any other name"...or "a rose is a rose is a rose." The "color thing" going on there is not much different than the situation was in South Africa...just geography, that's all.

If apartheid/separation-discrimination [because of color] does not exist then tell me why Pena Gomez did not assume the presidency? Why did people have to resort to a political deal to salve their xenophobia?

Keith-- I lived in the DR for quite a while and had to return to the States with less notice than you but I fully sympathize and empathize. While I was there, I came to know many people and lots of them were Haitians and Dominico-Haitianos. The DR is one place that has a hold on my heart and Spirit...I miss it but cannot go back at present...I DID see alot of problems, especially in the sugar plantations; I don't want to say much more than that.

Written and other documentation of history will go to show that overt color/racial discrimination will not endear the DR to potential investors/businesses from the outside. National sovereignty is fine; the United States and her citizens [of which I am one] shouldn't butt in unnecessarily...HOWEVER...it must be remembered that the DR overcame Haiti in 1844 and Haiti doesn't want that side of the island back...they have enough to contend with in their own back yard...

This is not a simple situation...all I can say is that I remember the Civil Rights Movement in my own country and it is time to bury the hatchet...and not between each other's shoulder blades. GET OVER IT AND WORK TOGETHER.

THE GOOD NEWS IS: there are huge Dominican communities here in the US!!! I live in NYC and the Dominican community is wonderful...we have all the BEST of Quisqueya right here on the Hudson...Presidente, the newspapers, the parades, the politics, ALL OF IT. Plus, we have a wonderful Hispanic newspaper called"el diario/LA PRENSA" which keeps up with all the news from the Latin countries.

Also: there is the DOMINICAN STUDIES INSTITUTE at the City University of New York. Good stuff available here.

Thanks--

DEE