the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Dec 16, 2024
This article is translated from the November issue #320 of La Voix des Travailleurs (Workers Voice), the journal of the Organisation des Travailleurs Revolutionaires (Organization of Revolutionary Workers) active in Haiti.
In just 21 days, over 40,000 Haitian migrants living in the Dominican Republic were repatriated, including 31,000 deported by the Dominican state. These record-breaking waves of deportations represent yet another offensive by the Dominican state against Haitian migrant workers.
On October 2, 2024, Dominican President Luiz Abinader announced a plan for the mass deportation of Haitian migrants. The aim is to deport 10,000 each week. To justify this odious measure, he cited the security crisis in Haiti, which is causing Haitians to flee to the Dominican Republic, overwhelming Dominican public services.
Since this announcement, a veritable hunt for Haitians has been launched in the Dominican Republic. Pregnant women, mothers with babies and children are being deported, with the immigration authorities showing them no consideration. Children are snatched from schools, women from hospital beds or their homes, workers from building sites, businesses or on public transportation. Every day, hundreds, if not thousands, are taken to the border after suffering violence at the hands of Dominican immigration agents and soldiers. Some human rights organizations have even reported cases of rape.
In the Dominican Republic, xenophobia and anti-Haitian racism have risen to the level of a political doctrine, on the basis of which nationalists orchestrate propaganda and campaigns against Haitian migrant workers. And the Dominican government’s migration policy is nothing other than an echo of these racist campaigns. Since coming to power in 2020, Luiz Abinader has done nothing but persecute migrants by tightening migration policy and orchestrating mass deportations. This has made the situation of Haitian migrants even more difficult.
He had a 100-mile-long wall built along the border to separate the two countries. In 2023, the construction of a canal at Ouanaminthe was used as a pretext to close the border for several months and to deploy soldiers at the border, provoking a crisis between the two states. Since then, the Dominican state has suspended granting visas to Haitian nationals. Many Haitian students are unable to renew their visas.
Only solidarity between the Dominican poor and Haitian migrants can prevent the spread of anti-Haitian xenophobia in the Dominican Republic.