CARICOM suspends consideration of island joining member states
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – REPORTS reaching SKNVibes state that hundreds of Haitians and people of Haitian descent born in the Dominican Republic have fled the Spanish-speaking Caribbean country, while some have been deported after two Dominicans were allegedly killed by two Haitian men.
According to The New York Times, at least 350 Haitians have either been expelled from the Dominican Republic or left on their own concurrence in recent days after two Dominican nationals were killed.
This information, the online media house said, was confirmed on Monday last (Nov. 25) by Lolo Sterne, Coordinator for Haiti’s Office of Migration.
It also stated that “the two Dominicans were killed last week in the town of Neiba during what appeared to be a burglary, and a Dominican mob retaliated by killing a Haitian man”.
“Migrant advocates said that many of those who were deported had gone to a police station seeking refuge, and that some volunteered to leave the country because they feared being victims of mob violence. Others left because the Dominican authorities rounded them up in the streets,” the online media house noted.
The New York Times further stated that the Dominican police noted that the Haitians were not debarred from the country, but rather went to the police station because they feared retaliation, and requested that the authorities accompany them to the border so that they could cross it themselves.
Haiti and the Dominican Republic have had a volatile relationship as neighbors on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.
However, another online media entity, Aljazeera.com, has confirmed that the Spanish nation is withdrawing itself out of an organised meeting with Haiti that would have addressed a Supreme Court ruling that strips citizenship from nearly 200 000 Dominicans of Haitian descent.
“The announcement comes just one day after CARICOM; a fifteen-member organization of Caribbean states denounced the court ruling. CARICOM also declared that it would be suspending its consideration of the Dominican Republic’s bid for membership.” Aljazeera stated.
The site further stated that according to the Associated Press, “Dominican immigration officials have rounded up an additional 88 people and transported them to the southern border with Haiti, bringing the total deported to 357 within the last week. The surge in deportations follows a string of violence stemming from the home invasion and murder of an elderly Dominican couple along the border in the town of Neiba. A Haitian man, accused of committing the crime, was killed by a group of Dominicans in retaliation.”
Meanwhile, according to Caribbean 360.com, the Dominican Republic has denied reports that several Haitians were killed over the last weekend in the violent incidents that followed the murder of an elderly Dominican couple in the town of Neyba, blamed on Haitians.
“In a statement issued by the Dominican Embassy here late Tuesday, the authorities in Santo Domingo reported that only one Haitian national, Andres Pierre, known as ‘Coito Pie’, was killed by a group of people who were outraged because of the crime he had committed against Jose Mendez and his wife Luja Encarnacion diaz.”
The Dominican authorities said another individual of Haitian origin, Papo Sani, is also accused of the murders. The statement said that the alleged murderers meant to rob the couple of part of their coffee crop.
“Under the influence of anger, some Dominicans have threatened to kill other Haitian nationals, reason why many of them feel threatened, abandoned their homes to seek refuge in the Military Base of the place where they received military protection," the statement from the Dominican Republic embassy said.
It also said that upon request of those who felt persecuted, military personnel accompanied them to the border of Jimani-Malpasse to help them get to Haiti.
"This sudden exit suggests that the Dominican Republic is currently conducting a massive deportation of Haitian workers and this is not the case," said the Dominican government.
Several hundred people, including more than 100 children were repatriated to Haiti over the weekend.
