Malaria In Gone from the DR...

[Kuda]

You recently published a story from your own sources that says the following:
"The outbreak coincides with Hurricane Jeanne's passage through the DR in September and an extraordinary boom in local construction as new hotels...(are built) resulting in an increase in imported labor from Haiti" --DR1 12/13/04.

At the same time you publish:

what is important is that any person developing a high fever upon returning from the Dominican Republic should visit their medical service, explain they were in an area where there have been malaria cases and get checked.

Are these the areas where Haitian people prosper?

If so, where are these areas?

Is this a Haitian issue....or is it a DR issue. Do Haitian construction workers cause a problem, or is it the place that they are compelled to toil?

Please advise.

[PJT]

Originally Posted by Kuda

Are these the areas where Haitian people prosper?

If so, where are these areas?

Is this a Haitian issue....or is it a DR issue. Do Haitian construction workers cause a problem, or is it the place that they are compelled to toil?

Please advise.

I try to answer your questions as best I can.

1) Haitian work in these areas. Prosper is a relative word, as there is bountiful work in construction in the East. But, the pay is low, the work is hard, there is no job security, and it is better than the instabiltiy and chaos in Haiti.

2) The Haitians will work in any area of the country, where there is available work, mainly in construction (Punta Cana building boom), and in the cane fields.

3) The problem is in the DR, it is a Dominican issue. The Haitians do not cause a problem as long has they contribute to the society - same as in any country. They are not compelled to toil, if they do not contribute, the government will round them up and ship them back across the border.

Regards,
PJT

[Dolores]

Haitians working in the Punta Cana area do very well by Haitian laborer standards. There is abundant work at a better pay than what they get in other parts of the country.

They are contracted by the engineers because they are cheaper labor. They come in droves attracted by the work. At present, the director of the hotel association says that of the 20,000 population in Punta Cana, 9,000 are Haitians, almost all undocumented workers. Most of the Dominican personnel that works in Punta Cana lives in Higuey and commutes to the area.

The health department is now requiring that all construction workers take malaria tablets in order to control that malaria not be imported into the country with the coming and going of the workers back to Haiti. There was a construction boom in the area with more than 1,600 rooms being completed in time for December, in addition to renovation works underway at hotels after Hurricane Jeanne.

It is a fact that controls need to be constantly in place while there is imported labor from Haiti. The industry has realized this and engineers are being made aware to maintain the controls.