Immigration from Haiti to Dominican Republic on the Rise
By Cosette Perez
Santo Domingo, Apr 25 (Prensa Latina) After the quake last January 200,000 Haitians have immigrated to the neighboring Dominican Republic, indicated Ramon Flores, advisor to the Dominican Ministry of Economy. The stats were collected by the United Nations to draw up its policy towards Haiti, said the ministerial aide.
A mass immigration is what concerns Dominican authorities, according to whom there are more than a million Haitians living illegally in the Dominican Republic. A delay in the solution of Haiti’s problems and the terrible quake consequences could significantly damage the Dominican society, the adviser said. He also spoke about the problems in arranging the world financial aid to Haiti and the slow pace of the rebuilding programs, issues to be discussed in a conference set for next June in Santo Domingo.
The Dominican media have expressed worries about the Haitian presence which they consider an unsustainable load for the economy, already damaged by the world economic crisis, underdevelopment, and the precarious condition of health and education. However, illegal Haitians are the main source of the non-skilled cheap labor in rural areas and in the cities they do what Dominicans scorn.