BRA’s 2nd International Conference, February 27, 2004 – Barnard College, New York City.
?It is virtually impossible for Haiti or the Dominican Republic to think that one country can live on the island pretending that the other does not exist. Despite past historical unfortunate experiences or even current unresolved bilateral issues, economic globalization and day-to-day migratory realities alone have shown that the two societies rely tremendously on each other. Those in charge must find the right political will coupled with effective collaborative paths to help maintain an environment of mutual trust, cultural understanding and economic growth,? said Ulrick Gaillard, Executive Director of the Batey Relief Alliance.
More than 100 students, faculty, government and NGO representatives and concerned citizens gathered at Barnard College?s auditorium on February 27th, 2004 to be part of the Batey Relief Alliance?s 2nd International Conference, entitled, ?Haiti and the Dominican Republic: New Relations in the XXI Century.?
Co-sponsored by Columbia University and Barnard College, the forum was held on Friday, February 27th, 2004, from 2:30 p.m. ? 6:30 p.m., at Barnard College, The Julius S. Held Lecture Hall (304 Barnard Hall) in New York City, New York.
The event provided a unique opportunity for key academic leaders and government representatives from Haiti and the Dominican Republic to gather and engage in an exchange of ideas with community organizers and leaders, students and faculty, and the general public about current and future opportunities for bilateral partnerships in the achievement of mutually beneficial solutions that honor and respect each society?s way of life. ?Despite the chaotic political crisis in Haiti, and the absence of both countries’ government representatives, the conference went on schedule,” added Gaillard.
Speakers for the event included: Héctor R. Cordero-Guzmán, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Chair Department of Black and Hispanic Studies at Baruch College ? CUNY. Professor Guzman presented for Dr. Ruben Silie who was unable to attend due to his swearing in last week as the Association of Caribbean States? new Secretary General. Other speakers included Nexcy DeLeon, former editing reporter of Dominican?s Daily Newspaper El Listin Diario and BRA Dominicana?s current Board President; Michele Wucker, author, ?Why the Cocks Fight: Dominicans, Haitians, and the struggle for Hispaniola? and senior scholar at the New School University; and Ulrick Gaillard, Executive Director of the Batey Relief Alliance. Carol King, Board President of the Batey Relief Alliance, made the opening remarks. Welcoming the participants and moderating the day?s proceedings was Michele Wucker.
The purpose for the forum was: to assess historical realities and political misconceptions that have plagued the two societies for more than a century; to highlight positive economic, cultural and diplomatic initiatives that illustrate partnership efforts between the two States; to identify the opportunities and challenges of expanding bilateral collaboration with the support of an organized civil society and the international community; and to offer a framework that helps create, respect and sustain bilateral commitments.
The themes discussed were: The main actors in the relations between Haiti and Dominican Republic, Cooperation as a political axis with Haitì, Migration and frontier issues in the context of insular relations, and contributions and vision of the Batey Relief Alliance to help improve bi-lateral relations, including efforts to enhance the conditions of the inhabitants of the bateyes and other localities where Haitian immigrants reside. “This conference was crucial in light of the current situation in Haiti ? as the public attended in full, asked key questions and understand better the complexity in the bilateral relations between the two States,” added Gaillard.
Inspired by a humanistic view, the Batey Relief Alliance has linked its humanitarian efforts to interested individuals and institutions wanting to facilitate a ?mutual understanding? notion as the first step in the search for a lasting solution to the problems that have caused Haiti and the Dominican Republic to distance themselves from each other. Such include establishing collaborative humanitarian health projects providing an opportunity for Dominican as well as Haitian professionals to work along side each other providing life-saving health care to impoverished populations living in the bateyes, the border zones and rural and urban slums ? and organizing conferences inviting nationals from both countries to discuss bilateral issues. ?The relations between the two countries will not be fruitful as long as these nations refuse to know each other and understand their common histories. Only by being conscientious about their realities, will they be able to overcome the prejudicial gap that separates them,? said Nexcy DeLeon, President of BRA Dominicana.
President Jean Bertrand Aristide of Haiti, and President Hipólito Mejia of the Dominican Republic have referred to their nations as ?two birds from the same wing? and as ?a marriage without a divorce? as evidence of both leaders being aware of their common destiny and the way in which events in one country affect the other.
Michele Wucker and Professor Hector Guzman reflected on the end of dictatorships in both republics that has led the Dominican Republic and Haiti to a fluid path of dialogues and meetings between their respective heads of States. Their presidents, Rene Preval and Leonel Fernandez, have met in Port-au-Prince and in Santo Domingo, and have become aware of the need to formalize commercial and cultural trades. Agreements have been reached in common areas such as health, tourism, sports, youth, agriculture, security, the environment, drugs, crime, and border issues, among others.
?This openness in the countries? relations has given hope for a change in the future of the bateyes made up of a considerable number of Haitians, people of African/Haitian descent, Dominican-Haitians, and Dominicans, specially children, who are not recognized by either country, as well as for the hundreds of working families who have spent all their strength working in the sugar mills and cane fields in the past and now lack even the most basic services,? added De Leon.
De Leon continued by saying that the batey populations have endured other difficulties no less painful, as they affect directly their human conditions: injustices derived from the lack of labor protection, migration laws, and naturalization rights.
Even though many Haitians have been living in the Dominican Republic for over 30 years, their stay has not been legalized, nor have they been provided with any official documents. Their children are usually the most damaged by the situation, as they are not extended a birth certificate. Their citizenship is not recognized, and they are not allowed to enroll in public schools easily.
The reality of their physical, human, and legal status conditions has resulted in having batey communities with a series of serious problems that need to be treated as a whole, with development plans and programs that warrant the concrete involvement of Haitian and Dominican authorities, the sugar companies, the U.S. government, NGOs, humanitarian societies, churches, and cultural and civil organizations. ?The chaotic situation in the bateyes is not the problem of the Dominicans alone. It is not the problem of the Haitians alone. It is not the problem of the international community alone. Both countries have the moral obligation to invest concretely with those of us who want to help improve the socio-economic conditions of a population that has no hope for a brighter future,? responded Carol King.
The Batey Relief Alliance is concentrating on the reduction of the human tragedy experienced by families in the bateyes who are without work, homes, social security, education, food or health. This tragedy has been exacerbated by the privatization of the Dominican Republic?s sugar mills in 1997, following the politics of structural adjustment ?recommended? by international entities to Latin American countries.
?With this goal in mind, we have reached a variety of institutions dedicated to human promotion and community development, not in the United States, but also in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, France, Canada, etc., in order to involve in our humanitarian projects which will help address the basic human needs of the people languishing in the bateyes and their rural surroundings,? commented De Leon.
The Batey Relief Alliance believes that these actions of social and human promotion being materialized in the bateyes would not make any sense unless they are integrated with other cultural activities that allow for the residents of both nations to get to know each other and unify themselves based on their origins, their believes, their languages, and their environments.
This is the reason why BRA seeks to promote the exchange of ideas and constructive debates around areas of common interests for both countries. This conference is the perfect example of a forum in which we aspire to create a space to bring together all of those who share our beliefs and philosophy that in between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, there should exist a relationship of peace and confraternity.
We need binational development plans to correct the injustices placed upon the bateyes where thousands of retired and unemployed workers, both men and women, find themselves completely forgotten, living their last days in infrahuman conditions ? a situation has been one of the main causes for a tensed relationship between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
We need bilateral programs that give priority to investments that create employment and profits at the border zones; recovery programs and natural resource conservation projects, with special emphasis on waterways, sustainable agriculture, and forest production in the border areas; the creation of educational, cultural and national identity reaffirmation programs based on a sincere and opened relationship; to strengthen and institutionalize bilateral commissions in order to take on the most urgent problems.
Besides the joint creation of initiatives that allow for the development of common funds to reduce poverty and its effects on the most vulnerable communities, it is also necessary to define structural policies to reorganize both economies in order to stop and reverse the growth of our foreign debts. ?It is virtually impossible for Haiti or the Dominican Republic to think that one country can live on the island pretending that the other does not exist. Despite past unfortunate experiences and even current unresolved bilateral issues, economic globalization and day-to-day migratory realities alone have shown how the two societies rely tremendously on each on economically, socially and culturally. Those in charge must find the political will coupled with effective collaborative paths to help maintain an environment based on mutual respect, cultural understanding and economic growth,? commented Gaillard.
We are aware of the fact that in the last few years the Dominican authorities have demonstrated concern about the problems the batey populations are facing. They have allocated some resources and put into effect various collaborative programs to help improve living conditions. Without discounting these programs? positive impacts, it is important to say that they are not sufficient to end the horrible conditions in the bateyes.
The efforts to improve the lives of those who live in the bateyes, the frontier zones or the urban and rural slums could be affected by the political crisis in which Haiti finds itself at this moment, as well as by the acute economic crisis in the Dominican Republic. ?The Batey Relief Alliance is responding by planning a humanitarian relief intervention providing emergency assistance to Haitians who are fleeing their country,? added Gaillard.
?These series of circumstances, however, emphasize even more on the need for those working together to stay firmly committed to their obligations in the improvement of human conditions for the most disadvantaged regardless race, sex, creed, national origin or political affiliations,? Concluded De Leon.
The Batey Relief Alliance (BRA) is a not-for-profit humanitarian aid entity that unites local grassroots organizations, government agencies, universities and the international community in a strategic partnership to help create a productive and self-sufficient environment for poor marginalized populations in the developing world. Toward this end, BRA Dominicana is actively involved in addressing the socio-economic ills facing thousands of children, their families and others languishing in the bateyes, urban and rural slums and the frontier zones of the Dominican Republic and Haiti ? by raising public awareness ? facilitating thoughtful dialogues ? and delivering services in primary health care, HIV/AIDS prevention/education, child development, domestic violence, improved water and sanitation, shelter reconstruction, micro-credit projects, legal aid and education.
A complete copy of the transcripts of the conference will be made available on our website at a later date. Please remain in contact with us for a copy at www.bateyrelief.org.
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