The Haitian-Dominican border divides the Caribbean island of Hispaniola into two dramatically different worlds, yet this long-neglected region holds the key to the further development of both countries and can serve as a model for how to manage difficult borders throughout the world.
We are working for the reduction of poverty and cross-border conflicts by creating opportunities for the residents of the Haitian-Dominican border–opportunities to improve their production, to improve their sales, and to work with their cross-border neighbors.
Join us! This is a chance to learn about a unique part of our world, dispel rumors that cause conflict, and help poor farmers to stand on their own. Take a look around our website to learn more about the area. When you are ready, click on “Get Involved” to see how you can help.
One month after the earthquake
Daniel O’Neil
It has been a month since the earthquake destroyed Port-au-Prince. Tomorrow was declared as the start of a week of mourning by the Haitian government. As I look back on the month, I am amazed at the changes, proud of some of my accomplishments, and saddened by my mistakes. Following are some of the main points:
- Instant Response: As soon as I heard about the earthquake, I began mobilizing to respond. We were fortunate to have a good relationship with the American Chamber of Commerce in the Dominican Republic. Their Executive Director called me the night of the earthquake and promised the first of the funds. The next morning, we loaded two of ourvehicleswith supplies and crossed the border. We were in Haiti within 24 hours of the earthquake. That was the hardest visit. Collecting the dead was the highest priority. Many people were trapped in buildings. There were no telephones and very little information.
First report on the Haiti earthquake
Collapsed building near Petionville
I am just back from a quick trip into Port-au-Prince to provide initial assistance following the earthquake. Although I lived for six years in Haiti and helped with the response following numerous floods, I’ve never seen anything like this. I did not go into the heart of the damaged area, but was amazed at the damage that was everywhere. As I drove into town, I began to see the first impacts–a section of wall that collapsed here or there. A bit later, I saw whole cinder block walls that were down. A bit later, whole neighborhoods with their walls down. Then I began seeing concrete roofs that had crashed down. As I got into the center part of town, there were buildings down everywhere and corpses left out on the sidewalk for pickup.
What really makes life tough is the lack of services. Everyone is desperately trying to find out who was hurt, but the cellphone service is just starting to work again and the landlines are all down. Port-au-Prince has run out of gas, so the gas stations have become large parking lots that spill out into the roads. There has been no electricity since the quake. Potable water, which has always been expensive, is no very hard to find.
I’m sure that the national authorities are doing their best, but they don’t have much with which to work. The Civil Protection Department does not have any fuel for their vehicles and no one seems to have satellite phones.
It is hard breaking to see the damage and even more to imagine how hard it will be to rebuild. Poor Haiti was hardly finished digging out from the four hurricanes that hit just two years ago. How will they ever recover from this?
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Collapsed supermarket
Book Launch delayed
Due to the earthquake in Haiti, we are postponing the launch of the book, “La Frontera Dominico-Haitiana” until next Wednesday.
Haiti Earthquake Appeal
If you would like to help us respond to the earthquake in Haiti, please donate through our secure donation site:
“This is a critical time for Haiti and our neighbors need our help,” says Amy Coughenour, Deputy Executive Director of PADF. “PADF will be working with civil protection authorities, the private sector and community organizations to provide immediate and long-term assistance.”
PADF – the natural disaster relief arm of the Organization of American States (OAS) – set up the safe and secure www.PanAmericanRelief.org so individuals may find out information and make donations.
Launch of the book “La Frontera dominico-haitiana”
We are proud to announce that we are launching the book La Frontera dominico-haitiana on Wednesday, January 13th at 7:00 pm at the Academia de Ciencias (Calle Las Damas, zona colonial, Santo Domingo). This is second book that we have published with Ciudades y Fronteras and their fourth publication. The book consists of ten essays and three annexes in Spanish written by authors from five countries. This is the most complete, most up-to-date reference book on the Haitian-Dominican border. It is available in the Dominican Republic for 500 pesos or internationally for $25.
La Frontera Dominico-Haitiana was published with support from the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Organization of American States.
Birdwatching in the Dominican-Haitian Borderlands
Tucked high in the mountains near the Jimaní-Malpasse border crossing is an ecological campground that caters to birdwatchers. Although this part of the border is very dry and barren, the mountains are lush and green.
In the video below, Kate describes the birds that can be seen in the area:
Why is cross-border commerce such a mess at the Haitian-Dominican border?
The border at Elias Pina-Belladere
Transporting goods across the Dominican-Haitian border is a mess. Large trucks are queued from the border far down the road into the Dominican Republic. There is no clear process to the inspections. Haitian market women stream through the border with goods on their heads. Little documentation is provided to anyone.
Whereas Dominican airports quickly and efficiently process large numbers of people, the border is a mess. This mess and confusion is also a significant source of conflicts. Both Haitian and Dominican exporters complain of arbitrary fees, excessive delays, and expropriation of merchandise. Haitian market women complain of their treatment by Dominican authorities and Dominican exporters complain of their treatment by Haitian ones. The arbitrariness of the treatment stems from the lack of clear rules governing cross-border trade. Although both countries have clear rules for imports, these rules were written for the ports in the main cities and require inspections and approvals that are not available in the border–this is the result in the odd process through which the border went from being a wall to being porous. Without clear policy guidance and in violation of their own laws, each country has developed procedures to allow for goods to flow through their border. These procedures are neither documented nor fixed. This lack of transparency and consistency creates confusion for importers and makes it easy for officials to solicit bribes.
Dominican businesses promoting cooperation with Haiti
New flyer from the mobile telephone company Orange promoting their service to Haiti
Today was an odd day for news on relations between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. On one hand, the reporting of interview that the Secretary General of the OAS, José Miguel Insulza, gave to a local newspaper focused on the “heavy weight” that Haitian migration imposed on the Dominican Republic (link to story in Spanish). On the other hand, Haitian and Dominican business leaders jointly announced a plan to increase binational cooperation.
However, my favorite item of the day was the flyer that the mobile phone company, Orange, is handing out in the Dominican border towns (shown above) that highlights their promotion of cheap phone calls to Haiti–”You can call Haiti for the same price as a local call.” This is quite a change from the normal pricing which has phone calls to Haiti at four times the cost of a local call. Not only is this a great message of solidarity, it is also accompanied by a great image.
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