Dramatic scenes have been unfolding at border crossings between the Dominican Republic and Haiti for weeks. After Dominican President Luis Abinader announced a large-scale deportation operation for Haitian nationals, large-scale mass deportations began at the beginning of October. Misereor and its Haitian partner organisation GARR (Groupe d'Appui aux Rapatriés et Refugiés) are calling on the government in Santo Domingo to immediately stop the repatriation practice, which violates human rights.
"The conditions under which Haitian migrants are detained in the Dominican Republic are inhumane," reads a GARR report. "Those affected are held for days without food or drinking water and crammed together. They are beaten at the slightest sign of protest, security forces keep the prisoners quiet with tear gas and electric shocks, and there is physical violence and sexualised assaults."
Pregnant women, sick people, minors
Among the people who have been deported or have returned voluntarily due to the massively increased pressure to leave are pregnant women, unaccompanied minors, people with disabilities, the sick, senior citizens and Dominicans who are mistaken for Haitian nationals. "Once they arrive in Haiti, they lack drinking water, food, medical care, clothing and psychosocial support," says Anja Mertineit, country officer for Haiti at Misereor, lamenting the untenable situation.
After crossing the border into their home country, Haitian migrants are in great danger when they try to travel to their home villages. They risk being attacked on roads controlled by criminal gangs. The gangs are also driving more and more people out of their homes in the capital Port-au-Prince. According to media reports, more than 40,000 people have fled within eleven days this November alone.
In October alone, more than 27,000 people were forced to leave the Dominican Republic. Abinader had announced that up to 10,000 people would be deported every week.
Longer-term accompaniment
There are currently almost 500,000 people from Haiti living in the Dominican Republic, where they have been used as labourers for many years, particularly in agriculture and the booming tourism industry. Misereor supports the work of GARR in favour of the displaced people. The organisation has been providing humanitarian aid for migrants since 1991 and also supports them in the longer term with their reintegration into their respective communities. GARR runs a reception centre in the municipality of Belladère near the border. Here, migrants receive accommodation, food and medical care, among other things. The centre also offers psychological and legal counselling.
Photo above: The situation in Haiti is becoming increasingly volatile. Here, residents of the capital Port-au-Prince build burning barricades to prevent criminal gangs from entering their neighbourhoods. Photo: Picture Alliance
