NewsWhore
09-29-2009, 04:30 PM
In an editorial published today, Listin Diario warns that the growth of the new Haitian majority towns on the border pose great threats to our country. There can be a real loss of rights over those territories as they are taken over by Haitians, says the columnist.
The newspaper says there are lessons to be learned from similar takeovers of another country's territory by a culturally distinct population. The takeover of land is not the result of a political concession by the state, but the gradual human occupation by desperate Haitians leaving their country to seek food, housing and better living conditions, writes the newspaper. "Nobody has kicked them out or bothered them in that process, which contradicts the claims of abuse, discrimination or exploitation. On the contrary, the reality is that we have been indifferent to the process and still keep observing it with indifference.
The progressive occupation of areas abandoned by Dominicans on the border has implications on the framework of the national sovereignty because they can physically change the territorial limits and consolidate elements that are part of life and culture in Haiti. These would acquire the force of the law and proper customs that would later be difficult to dismantle or revert".
The editorial concludes. "These realities cannot be ignored under any circumstances unless the government is definitely not interested in the future or the fate of these areas and is blind, deaf and mute in response to this apparently unstoppable and risky takeover process."
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#3)
The newspaper says there are lessons to be learned from similar takeovers of another country's territory by a culturally distinct population. The takeover of land is not the result of a political concession by the state, but the gradual human occupation by desperate Haitians leaving their country to seek food, housing and better living conditions, writes the newspaper. "Nobody has kicked them out or bothered them in that process, which contradicts the claims of abuse, discrimination or exploitation. On the contrary, the reality is that we have been indifferent to the process and still keep observing it with indifference.
The progressive occupation of areas abandoned by Dominicans on the border has implications on the framework of the national sovereignty because they can physically change the territorial limits and consolidate elements that are part of life and culture in Haiti. These would acquire the force of the law and proper customs that would later be difficult to dismantle or revert".
The editorial concludes. "These realities cannot be ignored under any circumstances unless the government is definitely not interested in the future or the fate of these areas and is blind, deaf and mute in response to this apparently unstoppable and risky takeover process."
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#3)