Introduction
Since the 1990s the steady rise of the Internet has facilitated many avenues for change in our contemporary world. Not least contributing to an ease in travel and communication which could well give the impression of a globalscape constructed . with very few boundaries. A glance at any Western World news source will undoubtedly report on the ‘problem’ of immigration, as though Europe is under siege by scores of deterritorialized people and “transmigrants” who have exploited the fluid boundaries of postmodern hyperspace. It is in this area of social conflict that the discipline of anthropology best serves as a sort of practical philosophy; examining the social queries of humanity, alongside examining our interactions and
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Borders of life and lands - Gregory
Boca Chica is municipality of the Dominican Republic, located upon the island of Hispaniola in the Gulf of Chiriquí. The history of conflict between the Dominican side of the island (influenced by Spanish colonial rule) and the Western Haitian side is long standing, dating back to the 1880’s. Upon the modern day landscape there is an imaginary line which divides Hispaniola into a land of two countries. One side of which is Haiti and the other the Dominican Republic. It is on the Dominican side where Gregory focuses his ethnography.
Through anecdotal interviews bureaucratic and social borders are described, which not only exclude and disempower the Haitian residents of the country, but which also also alienate citizens of Dominican descent due to their financial state. Dominican parents are required to register the birth of a child at office of Civil Registry so as to be issued with a birth certificate. When the child reaches the age of eighteen, this certificate can than be exchanged for an ‘adult cédula’, which is required for voting, securing formal employment and obtaining licenses and other documents. However, many parents, especially those in rural areas, may delay or neglect registering their children’s birth, through oversight, ignorance, or lack of resources to travel or to pay the required taxes (Gregory 2007:36). As such it is estimated
The Dominican Republic is situated on the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola. The remaining one third of the Island belongs to the country of Haiti. While it is not the intent of this essay to discuss the complete history of the country, it is important to mention that the Haitian side of the island was colonized by France while the Dominican side was colonized by Spain. The Spanish oppressed the indigenous native population that was on the island for a long time and after three centuries of occupation by the Spanish, the Dominican Republic
In Marcelo’s Gleiser’s “Globalization: Two Visions of the Future of Humanity,” he explores both the positive and negative outcomes possible if the world were to become one globalized society. Gleiser paints a picture of futurist’s supposed utopia that is predicted for the future of the world. This includes major technological advances that would bring every country and society together, therefore sharing the same goods and values and eliminating war. Gleiser questions how accurate this is and contrasts this view with an article from Michael Shermer. This article argues that due to our natural human tendencies to stray away from other walks of life besides our own, a seamless utopia isn’t realistic. Gleiser provides his readers a reminder about how strong fundamentalism has presented itself when situations of integrating cultures come
Decena, Fatima as well as from speaking to people from CENIFE and to people from the hostel that I stayed at and from the streets of where I visited in the Dominican Republic-from Santo Domingo to Boca Chica. This fascinating history goes something like this: The Dominican Republic became a nation on February 27, 1844 when a group of revolutionaries seized power from the Haitian rulers of the island of Hispaniola. When Christopher Columbus first discovered the island in 1492, he named it La Isla Española, which became Hispaniola. The city of Santo Domingo became the Spanish capital of the New World, and because of its location it was the gateway to the Caribbean. France gained some Hispaniola real estate on the western end of the island, which became prosperous, and by 1795 Spain yielded the entire island to France. By 1804 the black African slaves in the western portion of the island, which is now Haiti, rebelled against the French and took over and ruled the entire island. French troops eventually took back control of the island, and they were able to occupy only the western end of this island. In 1838 a small group of Spanish-speaking Dominican intellectuals from Santo Domingo organized a secret society called La Trinitaria to overthrow the Haitian rule. The society was established by Juan Pablo Duarte, and after the overthrow of the Haitian rule, Pedro Santana, one of the leaders in the revolution, became the first president of the Dominican
The decision making is coming from the top, from the elite, from those people who do not really understand what is happening at the bottom, where most of the people are. Furthermore, Haiti seems to be plagued by corruption where the top take president. This structural inequality is even seen in the local health initiatives such as that of the Centre pour Development et la Santé (CDS), or family planning center. Maternowska sheds writes about the hierarchy that is in place, which have profound effects on the health experiences shared by the community. Instead of having a center that is helpful to women, the staff, especially those at the top which include Doctors. They ignore those who speak the Creole dialect and not French. The staff tends to have no respect and there is no quality of care. What was very shocking, is the fact that Haitian women are being used as test subjects for clinical trials of birth control methods. Even worse, the clients have to pay for these
The Dominican Republic and Haiti have had a resentment of one another for centuries. “It's an uneasy coexistence for countries whose intertwined histories of colonization, conquest and racism over the centuries have left deep wounds” (Castillo). The Haitian and Dominican relations have been disrupted and shattered since the 1400s, which has continued till today’s day in age due to the harsh treatment of Haitians, and the grudges each country has held over the centuries. This all began with the fight over the land of Hispaniola and the colonization between the Spanish and French. This has led to constant battles today between the two governments.
The Republic of Haiti is in the western part of the island of Hispaniola in the West Indies. It is densely populated and has the lowest per capita income in the western hemisphere (Kemp, 2001). The population of more than seven million is made up of mostly descendents of African slaves brought to the West Indies by French colonists. The horrible conditions in Haiti, such as crushing poverty, unemployment and illiteracy, and high rates of acute and chronic illnesses and child and infant mortality, result in the illegal immigration of many Haitians to the United States, France, and other countries in Western Europe. Most immigrants are adults and teens who leave Haiti in tiny boats, despite the
In order to understand Haiti we must first put ourselves in their shoes. At one stage or another, every man, woman, or child will be faced with at least one issue that is now happening in Haiti. The issues involving Haiti has been a popular topic for the past two years. Since January twelfth two-thousand and ten. There are many factors which influenced the development of Haiti. Many people have abandoned Haiti over the past years. They have also given up hope for Haiti. Haiti is heralded by economic issues both political and social, foreign issues, military issues (minustah), presidential issues, and the recent earthquake. I plan to explain each of these factors in detail and give
The Dominican Republic and Haiti are close in geography, but not much else. Both countries exist in the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. But historically they rarely see eye to eye. Before the discovery of the new world the island of Hispaniola was occupied by an indigenous group of people called the Tainos, who were descendants of the Arawaks (Corbett). The Tainos were originally from South America. According to Corbett, many Tainos were killed by
This article discusses the history of immigration policies between the United States and Haiti and the consequences of these policies. On September 22, 2016 the Obama administration made the drastic decision to close its doors to Haitian migrants. The administration announced that it would tighten its immigration policy on Haitians, limiting the amount of refugees that would enter. Which was a drastic change from their 2010 immigration policy that open its doors to the Haitian refugees. This new policy affected many migrating Haitian who where just days from their immigration appointments. The article recalls personal experiences about the racism and the dangers Haitians face throughout the journey. Also describing the poor conditions immigrants
It is more than evident that the U.S. is confronting a public health concern with the influx of immigrants entering the U.S. Education should top priority. There are limited community based programs and workshops available to Haitian immigrants. There are government based programs that aid in healthcare such as WIC, Healthy Start, 4 C’s, the county health departments offer vaccinations, healthcare and resources. There are Haitian American programs that aid in reformation (education, job employment and even healthcare) and generous Haitian American foundations that offer money to provide resources and services for the Haitian immigrant populations. One of the problems that impede the Haitian immigrants from benefiting from many of these benefits is that many of them are illiterate and can not read nor fill out the paperwork to receive such benefits. Another major problem that Haitian immigrants have in the U.S. is the stigma that Haitians were the ones who
The ruling in favor of Pierre did not reflect a change in the government's stance on these matters” (93). In the Dominican Republic it is very hard to get granted citizenship if you have parents of Haitian descent because of the racial discrimination and racial profiling. There are many difficult barriers for the Haitians to overcome if they want to be granted citizenship in the Dominican Republic. Another author talks on the racial discrimination as well. Bartlett notes “In the midst of such legal uncertainty and change, people of Haitian descent living in the Dominican Republic are regularly denied civil and human rights” (588).
Haiti has long been known for its major export of Haitian migrants in search of a better way of life. It is an exodus that goes back several decades, however with recent times the numbers have increased dramatically. In fact, that numbers of Haitians fleeing Haiti in the early 1990's far exceeds the numbers recorded in earlier years. Between 1972- 1979, some 8,000- 10,000 Haitians arrived in the United States. Compare this number with the 14,443 Haitians interdicted between September 30, 1991 - January 1, 1992. By early 1994, this number totaled over 41,000 (Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Haiti, 1994). Economic deprivation has always been the predominant influence for the migrating of Haitians, yet in the
The rates of unemployment are extremely high, that is why Haitians migrate to the Dominican Republic to perform the lowest job positions at a minimum wage jobs that Dominicans will never do. (Minority Rights Group International, 2008)
Migrants are defined as all those who were born outside the UK and were known as ‘aliens’ or ‘foreigners’. Kostakopoulou calls this assumption into question, arguing that ‘aliens’ are by definition outside the bounds of the community by virtue of a circular reasoning which takes for granted the existence of bounded national communities, and that this which takes for granted the existence of bounded national communities, and that this process of collective self-definition is deeply political and historically dated. The composition of the current UK migrant population has of course been conditioned by immigration policy over the past 50 years. Immigration has become a major debate across the UK, with many different reasons given for and
Globalization is commonly examined by simply dissecting its political and economic consequences. As a result, the effects on culture are often overlooked. According to U.S. Census projections, by 2043 non-Hispanic whites will become a minority consisting of 47 percent of the U.S. population (Barreto, et al 1). Examining the world as a whole, a 2015 study by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs/Population Division found that between 1950-2000, an average of 2.8 million people per year migrated to North America and Europe. From 2000-2015, that rate accelerated to 4.1 million per year. What is more, this study projects that from 2015-2050, 91 million people are expected to migrate to high-income countries and produce an 82 percent increase in population in destination countries. Clearly, the prospect of steady migration and the continuing effects of globalization are expected to produce more multicultural societies. Unfortunately for many, “foreign” has become synonymous with danger (Rothkopf). The debate between cultural unity and cultural plurality dates back to the Greeks where they questioned universal human goodness and the differences between societies. More than two millennia later, the issue of a common versus diverse human culture remains contentious. This paper argues that a diverse human culture is more desirable than a universal culture because states and societies benefit from promoting and protecting diversity.