Haiti and DR: the long and boring thing again
Few phenomena have such large impact on a society as massive immigration, its effects only comparable to war. These newcomers have a profound effect on the society at all levels: economic, cultural and political, therefore massive immigration has almost always been feared, rarely ever desired. When immigrants are members of another ethnic group, have another culture or language as that of the natives of the land where they have moved in, there is always a potential for conflict.
Throughout history people have moved from place to place, it is the natural order of things, eventually human groups created barriers to keep closed territories in which they could build their society and protect their properties. It is amazing how people from countries that today have high standards of living were less than a century ago places from which people wanted desperately to leave. Europe is being invaded, as was the Roman Empire by hordes of people looking for a better life, mostly people from their former colonies. All the United States is full of descendants of Italians, Irish, Scandinavians, etc. all running from the poverty and despair in their own countries and faced discrimination in “the promised land”. There has always been a promised land.
Just like today the “Latinos” are considered “unskilled labor” and a “burden to the system” the Italians were kept in ghettos and considered the scum of the earth. Today no one would dare to deny the contributions of these Italian’s descendants to the United States; nobody would consider them less American because their ancestors didn’t arrive in the Mayflower. After all very few people arrived in the Mayflower and fewer survived long enough to have offsprings.
Discrimination is a natural but undesired reaction to the unknown, many times a sign of ignorance. It is natural that the original settlers would like to preserve their way of living, their status quo and the purity of their culture, if such thing ever existed. Dominicans are not different from the rest of the world. For reasons known to most, but not necessarily understood, our neighbors have not being able to make their country any better than it was they day it was founded. In the natural order of things, Haitians migrate towards the territory that would provide them with better chance of survival. Dominicans do it everyday too; the only difference is that Dominicans expose themselves to death when fleeing the country. Not in our wildest dream would we think that the Americans would forfeit their right to dictate their immigration policies and allow everyone who so wanted to get into their territory.
Dominicans have the right to control and enforce their immigration policies based in their best interests, but some of the posts I have seen today are truly a shame to a Dominican that would like to think we are somewhat better to these close minded people that throw dirt on our country because in other countries we are in the same position that Haitians are here.
Have we not criticized the Spaniards for their harsh treatment of Dominican women when they arrive in Spanish territory? Have Dominican women not being discouraged to travel to some European countries for fear of being profiled as sexual workers? Don’t your hearts take a leap when you read/listen/watch stories of the high percentage of Dominican women working in the sex trade throughout the world? Have you not defended the quality and morals of Dominicans in general when our country has been called a whorehouse and a paradise to gay/children prostitution? Have we not suffered enough discrimination as to know better?
Expose your views but show respect, you maybe introducing our country to someone today and I don’t want that person to believe that being Dominican is all about bigotry and ignorance. Show how much better we are than many people think we are, be smart. Discrimination is WRONG AND DANGEROUS. It can always backfire. Do unto others…
Ready for the hate mail.
Pib
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