Site Report- Mission Trip to the Dominican Republic

By: Regina Banks

Dr. Nikongo BanNikongo

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Abstract

A couple of weeks ago, about twenty Howard University students, including myself,

embarked on a trip to the Dominican Republic with Professor Nikongo BaNikongo, a Howard

University professor in the department of African American Studies, and advisor Crystal

Donaldson. This trip lasted 9 days, from November 17th through November 25th. This trip had

one core mission of community service, to provide aid and relief to the people and immigrants

living in the bateys of the Dominican Republic. The goal was to help those born in the

Dominican Republic without proper documentation to begin the process of citizenship, as well as

provide basic necessities to the community including food, clothing and toys for children. This

paper will detail observations on the physical and psychological conditions of the bateys and

those within them, cover the incident at Batey number 16 with the police, and contain a summary

of racism in South America and the clear effects. This paper claims to prove that through

providing aid and community service to the people of the bateys, their lives, in some margin, will

be improved.

Introduction

Before starting on this trip, through the classes taught by Dr. BaNikongo, I have read

three articles that have helped inform me before going on this trip. These articles helped me to

understand the history and current conditions in the Dominican Republic regarding racism and

Haitian immigrants. The articles being referred to are: #BLM beyond the US: Anti-Racist

Struggles in Latin America by Inés Pousadela, Latin America is Ready for Its Black Lives Matter

Reckoning by Bruno Carvalho, and Why A Howard Professor Filed A Lawsuit Against the

Dominican Republic's President for Humanitarian Atrocities Against Haitians by Blue Telsuma.
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In the first article, by Ines Pousadela, the history of racism in South America is

acknowledged and current conditions in Latin America are brought up in relation to their racist

history. The question is posed of the effects and possible benefits of a theoretical Black Lives

Matter movement like the one demonstrated in the United States. The author argues, and firmly

believes, the globalization of the United State’s Black Lives Matter Movement could be

replicated in Latin America and have an even wider impact. Bruno Carvalho offers a similar

perspective, agreeing that Latin America is ready to see a movement on this scale create a big

change to combat its racist history. This author is just as passionate about seeing a change in the

Latinx community as Pousadela. In the third article by Blue Telsuma, we learn about Professor

BaNikongo’s journey in suing the President of the Dominican Republic. This lawsuit was made

in Hague, Netherlands, on behalf of the Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic stating

that the Dominican Republic has denied housing and residency to Haitian immigrants and their

children living on the sugar cane plantations.

Something important to note is that in 2016 there was a court ruling that has caused

hundreds of thousands of immigrants to lose their citizenship. This had led to an increase in

deportation and loss of general human rights. In addition to this, just days before our trip, the US

embassy put out a statement warning all black Americans traveling to the Dominican Republic of

authorities accusing them of being Haitian immigrants and attempting to deport them. Because of

this, we were advised to carry our passports and forms of identification at all times. Between the

ruling and the statement, the racism in South America has been brought back into the forefront

and put on full blast. With outward racism being brought into the spotlight, it is important to be

aware that tensions were extremely high during our trip, later causing us difficulties with the

police and embassy.

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Having this prior knowledge gained from the readings, I was able to better understand the

situation that I was entering. By being hyper aware of the racism and conditions in Latin

America, I was able to be more aware of my surroundings and prepare myself for what I was to

face during my time in the Dominican Republic. I was better able to understand and relate to the

Haitian immigrants as the conditions they live under, and better able to understand the biases and

prejudices of the locals. The question often posed to those of Dominican descent is “are you

black?” which happens to be a complicated question that led us into a lengthy discussion on the

difference between being of African descent and being black. However the general consensus

among Dominican people, regardless of skin tone, is that they are not black, and those who are

are below them. They look down upon, see themselves as superior to, and therefore treat worse

those who have darker skin. Even just speaking to the locals, you can understand how the history

of racism has impacted their minds to the point where they have brainwashed themselves into

separating from a people they should identify with. These articles spoke heavily on this

experience, and they are what prepared me for these conversations.

In visiting the bateys, the effects of racism can be seen just by the conditions they are

subjected to living in. It is clear to see that there is no regard for their lives and very little

concern for their wellbeing. This is very clear in the way that they are forced to live five to a

room that is not bigger than a modern day american bathroom, have to bath outdoors with no

running water in their homes, have sores and open wounds because of no hospital access, have

very little food because they have such little money, and have to live and work on sugar cane

plantations getting paid nowhere close to enough to live. The fact that they are isolated so much

that they would have to walk hours just to get to civilization is testament to the fact that these

people do not have access to the things that they need and are being entrapped by the plantation
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owners. The years of racism have clearly affected the way immigrants live today, and covering

these articles beforehand has helped me to see this fully and clearly.

SUMMARY

This trip consisted of nine days and eight nights in the Dominican Republic. Out of these

nine days, seven of them were spent with the people of the bateyes. As stated previously, we did

things such as clothing, food and toy distribution to the community. We also made time to spend

with the school children and some of us provided books for them as well. The first two of the

seven days spent on bateys were at Bateye Belme. This was my first experience. Before we even

arrived, I observed how long it took to get there, and just how isolated these bateys are. The plain

dirt road we drove on for miles is what separates people on the batey from the outside world-

their only form of transportation being a motorcycle (which is rare) or hours of walking. Driving

past rows and rows of sugar cane, the next thing that I noticed, once finally arriving, is the

conditions of their village. It had rained the day before so the unpaved dirt roads were all mud

and puddles. The houses, all the same shade of green, on the outside all appear to be structured

the same. They are small, averaging five people to a home no bigger than an american living

room. It is clear that the conditions they live in are very poor.

This was a smaller batey, so the clothing and food distribution went very differently than

it did at the other locations. We began with food, and created an assembly line providing them

with an assortment of goods. This included oil, flour, sugar, spaghetti, rice, black beans, brown

beans, and canned sardines, giving one bag per household, and then began clothing distribution.

Separating out clothes for women, men, young boys and young girls, each person on the batey

received one new article of clothing.

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This part of the distribution was difficult because we witnessed a lot of pushing, yelling,

and rudeness. This was difficult, not because of the disrespect, but because it is hard not being

able to provide more for these people. Only being able to provide one article of clothing when

they need so much more, or only being able to provide a small bag of flour when they need triple

the size, is extremely difficult. It is hard to watch people in a position where they have to beg and

plead for things that we consider basic necessity and take for granted. This was my first

experience with hardship on the bateys and it hurt not being able to help more.

After this, toys and snacks were given to the kids, and we had time to talk to the

community and spend time with them. I spoke a lot with the children, asking about their

schooling and getting a better understanding of how they view their lives. These conversations

with the children and teenagers are not something to be undermined, as they are the window that

allows us to see the truth. At the second batey, on day three of the seven spent at the bateys, I

spoke a lot with teenagers as they told us about life on the batey. I learned that most children end

school around sixth grade because it is too expensive for them to continue after that, that most

girls get pregnant between the ages of twelve and fourteen, and that saving up just $300 is nearly

impossible. From a group of elderly men, I learned a lot of creole words and their alternates in

spanish and in english. I learned from a young girl that there are no books on her batey, therefore

she cannot read which she loves to do. Speaking to the people on the batey, specifically the

children, is an experience in its own that is alike to none because of the unique bits of

information that would not be received otherwise.

On this day we were at Batey 16, the biggest of the three we visited. Its size was so large

because others around it had recently been closed down and had been forced to merge with that

one. Food and clothing distribution were particularly difficult here because of the amount of
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people we were distributing to. We ran out of certain foods and clothing ended up giving some

less than others. We spread out the distribution across two days, same as the last batey, and on

the second day had an interaction with the police. This interaction is notable because it changed

the course of the rest of the trip, and put more things into perspective.

We believe this interaction was caused by hatred towards the ruling made by president

Biden that ended all trade of sugar cane with the Dominican Republic. On the day between being

at Batey Belme and Batey 16, we received news that president Biden got ahold of the work and

writings of Dr. BaNikongo and declared an end to the trading of sugar with the Dominican

Republic. These writing detailed the horrible conditions the Haitian immigrants are living under

and explained how they are living in modern day slavery. The receival of this news, while

exciting to us, was obviously the opposite for those who own the plantations. Because of this,

when on Batey 16 on our second day and while collecting information on the conditions of the

homes and the documentation status of the people in them, we were approached by a village

member. Though warned by this man that the police did not want us there and were threatening

us, we chose to stay and continue our work. Once two police officers showed up, and after

lengthy conversation, we found out that they were requiring a permit for us to be on the property.

Though we had permission from the US embassy, and this trip has been taken many times

before, the police were now requiring this additional piece of documentation in order for us to do

what we were doing. Though explaining we were only giving away clothes and food, they

noticed we were taking notes of the conditions, taking pictures, and trying to help with legality

status. Our translator negotiated with the police allowing us one hour to stay at the batey with

permission to only continue distribution. There was an emphasis on making sure no additional

pictures or videos were taken, no more data was collected about the living conditions, and no
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more homes were toured. We stayed our additional hour however police stayed around and more

police came to keep an eye on us and the rest of the batey.

Because of this incident with the police, we had to be escorted back to the batey the

following day. On this day, people were only picked up from the batey and brought to the beach.

This day was extremely important in that we allowed people who have never left the batey

because of the extreme isolation to be freed of the psychological oppression they endure. From a

sociological standpoint it is important to continue the improvement and well being of the mind as

much as the physical conditions they are living in. Therefore providing food, clothes, and toys in

addition to a carefree day at the beach full of relaxation and away from the torture of the

sugarcane fields, we provide a sense of freedom. Children and adults received new bathing suits,

were taught to swim, ate pizza and drank soda, and some even experienced the beach for the first

time. It was amazing to witness the joy on their faces throughout the day as well as partaking in

the making of long-lasting memories.

The next day we attempted to visit Batey Nigua. What we found upon arrival was that it

had been completely torn down and destroyed. Houses were demolished, roads were torn up, and

the school was destroyed. All of those living in Batey Nigua were forced out of their homes and

required to merge with a nearby batey, Batey 18. Deciding to go to Batey 18 instead, we did our

clothing distribution one final time. On this day we made our stop at Batey 18 before heading to

Santo Domingo to board our flight back to the United states. We did not spend as much time at

this batey because of this, in addition to the police incident instilling fear in us, causing us to be

extremely cautious in the batey. On this last day, we said our final goodbyes to those of the

bateys and therefore ended our journey of community service of time in the Dominican

Republic.
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DISCUSSION

The racism that we faced from the police and the racism that they Haitian immigrants

face on a daily basis are evident because of the biases and racism that has gone on for years.

They are subjected to living in modern day slavery, as they are denied access to basic human

necessities. Why is it that police attempted to convince us that the conditions they live in are

fair?

When compared to outside communities, the differentce between them clearly

demonstrate a classist and racial divide. In other communities there was running water in homes,

multi room houses, paved roads, and access to reliable transportation. None of these things are

ones in which each batey can confidently say there is access to. By denying people this access to

all the same things, other communities are fortunate enough to have, they are continuing the

disenfranchisement and promoting the racial seperation in the Dominican Republuc. The blind

eye they turn toward immigrant conditions is replicated through all of Latin America, further

endorsing the segregation and classist division seen througought. Similarly to the United States,

the Dominican Republic treats immigrants with as little respect as they can and still call it

humane, which claiming to be progessive and racism free. The false promise of peace and

equality does nothing byt deny the humanity of immigrants. Attempting to erase their

experiences and impact is a blatant disregard of and denial of their existence.

CONCLUSION

Overall, this trip was an exemplary demonstration of exactly the material being covered

in class. The work done by Dr. BaNikongo and the people on this trip is only one step in

beginning to change the circumstances of those living on the bateys. Through Dr. BaNikongo’s

lawsuit, Biden’s decision against trade, and continuous community service trips, long lasting
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changes are starting to be made. Though change on the grander scale is something not yet seen,

igt is being worked towards and they work being done is creating small changes in the meantime.

To truly undo the damage that has been done is not possible, but working towards the creation of

a new society, where equality and equity are at the forefront, is possible.

What struck me the most about this trip was the resilience and love of the people on the

batey. Though they are in the conditions that they are subjected to, they could not be more full of

joy, love and hope. The day on the beach was an example of this, and it is hard to know that no

matter how much work that is done, it will never be enough. However, the impact that we made,

no matter how small, has changed the course of their lives.

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WORKS CITED

Carvalho, Bruno. “Latin America Is Ready for Its Black Lives Matter Reckoning.” The

New York Times, The New York Times, 29 June 2020,

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/opinion/latin-america-racism-police.html.

Pousadela, Inés. “#BLM beyond the US: Anti-Racist Struggles in Latin America.”

OpenDemocracy, 26 May 2021,

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/democraciaabierta/blm-beyond-the-us-anti-racist-strug

gles-in-latin-america/.

Telusma, Blue. “Why a Howard Univ. Professor Filed a Lawsuit against the Dominican

Republic's President for Humanitarian Atrocities against Haitians.” TheGrio, 28 Sept.

2019, https://thegrio.com/2018/07/16/howard-dominican-republic-haiti-human-rights/.