A long history is shared with the island of Hispaniola - an island of which both the countries of the Dominican Republic and Haiti share. It isn't just the physical border, viewable by land and air as a stark contrast between deforested land (Haiti) and lush, green forested mountains (Dominican Republic), that separates the two nations.
Discrimination is still widely seen throughout the country, from Dominicans to Haitians. Unfortunatley, many people view Haitians as lesser people, and those sentiments are propagated throughout homes and daily life.
For example, a child running around screaming naked in the home might be reprimanded, having "turned Haitian." Children shouldn't misbehave or a "Haitian might come out of the dark and grab them." And, even more unfortunate, this permeates into the healthcare system.
Today, I witnessed a Haitian man, escorted by a friend, struggle into the ER. He muscles were tensed, his body trembling, his back bent to his side, and leg twisted. He writhed in pain on the small hospital bed and, unlike his Dominican counterparts with much less severe emergencies (waiting for shots, intravenous medication dosage, etc.), he waited about 15 minutes until he received care. Awkwardly sprawled on the small hospital bed, the nurse had some difficulty in finding the vein to start the IV, with Complex B and some type of pain medication in the mix.
Shortly after receiving the IV, he was moved to the triage room a short distance down the hall, where his blood was drawn for tests. A woman, with her granddaughter's IV bottle in hand, came back into the ER with her; she said she wouldn't wait in the triage room and wanted to sit in the ER - that her granddaughter was too frightened to be in the same room with "the Haitian."
Many people here are against all conversations for Haiti and the Dominican Republic to merge as one country - they don't want that. It will take time before Haitians have more rights in the DR, are able to work better jobs in the DR (than physically demanding construction or work in fields), and the stigma and discrimination to dissolve.
Discrimination is still widely seen throughout the country, from Dominicans to Haitians. Unfortunatley, many people view Haitians as lesser people, and those sentiments are propagated throughout homes and daily life.
For example, a child running around screaming naked in the home might be reprimanded, having "turned Haitian." Children shouldn't misbehave or a "Haitian might come out of the dark and grab them." And, even more unfortunate, this permeates into the healthcare system.
Today, I witnessed a Haitian man, escorted by a friend, struggle into the ER. He muscles were tensed, his body trembling, his back bent to his side, and leg twisted. He writhed in pain on the small hospital bed and, unlike his Dominican counterparts with much less severe emergencies (waiting for shots, intravenous medication dosage, etc.), he waited about 15 minutes until he received care. Awkwardly sprawled on the small hospital bed, the nurse had some difficulty in finding the vein to start the IV, with Complex B and some type of pain medication in the mix.
Shortly after receiving the IV, he was moved to the triage room a short distance down the hall, where his blood was drawn for tests. A woman, with her granddaughter's IV bottle in hand, came back into the ER with her; she said she wouldn't wait in the triage room and wanted to sit in the ER - that her granddaughter was too frightened to be in the same room with "the Haitian."
Many people here are against all conversations for Haiti and the Dominican Republic to merge as one country - they don't want that. It will take time before Haitians have more rights in the DR, are able to work better jobs in the DR (than physically demanding construction or work in fields), and the stigma and discrimination to dissolve.