NewsWhore
05-04-2006, 02:10 PM
For 23 years, a retired Catholic religion teacher from Mississauga, Ontario has dedicated herself to taking young people and adults to Third World countries to expose Canadians to poverty afflicting people elsewhere in the world. The trips first were to Haiti, but in recent years she has moved on to take her students to watch the hardship in the rural bateyes (cane cutter settlements) where the most destitute of Haitian immigrants work in the Dominican Republic.
Sugar cane cutting jobs are considerably diminishing as more and more harvesting is being mechanized, especially in the east coast. Nevertheless, Petrone circulates information that claims there are 750,000 cane cutters in the DR, earning Canadian $1.20 a day, cutting for 12-16 hours a day, and working six and often seven days a week.
Stella Petrone stresses the low wages that cutters are paid and the long working hours for those still doing the physical work. "You're looking at modern-day slavery, that's what it is," says Petrone. "They live on the cane fields, including the children. We spend most of the time with the children." Inquiries to Petrone's e-mail yielded a reply with information about anti-slavery sites, linking the Dominican Republic to slavery practices, and pleas for spreading the word on the hardships that Haitians experience in the DR.
"If you can, inform others about the trips to the DR to spend a week with the Haitian (Dominicans don't cut cane) slaves (forced labour) in the Dominican Republic," she responded to an inquiry about the trip. As part of the trip, participants organize a summer camp-style program with toys, games, and arts and crafts activities for the children.
Trips this year are scheduled for the first and second weeks of July, 23-30 August and the third week of December. Visitors pay US$25 per day for lodging, and share guide and transportation costs. As part of the visit, participants are recommended to report back to the Canadian media to give an audio report from the cane fields. Accommodation for the participants is in a residential teachers' college near the batey they will be visiting.
Link To Original Article (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#14)
Sugar cane cutting jobs are considerably diminishing as more and more harvesting is being mechanized, especially in the east coast. Nevertheless, Petrone circulates information that claims there are 750,000 cane cutters in the DR, earning Canadian $1.20 a day, cutting for 12-16 hours a day, and working six and often seven days a week.
Stella Petrone stresses the low wages that cutters are paid and the long working hours for those still doing the physical work. "You're looking at modern-day slavery, that's what it is," says Petrone. "They live on the cane fields, including the children. We spend most of the time with the children." Inquiries to Petrone's e-mail yielded a reply with information about anti-slavery sites, linking the Dominican Republic to slavery practices, and pleas for spreading the word on the hardships that Haitians experience in the DR.
"If you can, inform others about the trips to the DR to spend a week with the Haitian (Dominicans don't cut cane) slaves (forced labour) in the Dominican Republic," she responded to an inquiry about the trip. As part of the trip, participants organize a summer camp-style program with toys, games, and arts and crafts activities for the children.
Trips this year are scheduled for the first and second weeks of July, 23-30 August and the third week of December. Visitors pay US$25 per day for lodging, and share guide and transportation costs. As part of the visit, participants are recommended to report back to the Canadian media to give an audio report from the cane fields. Accommodation for the participants is in a residential teachers' college near the batey they will be visiting.
Link To Original Article (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#14)