Bittersweet
I will never again stir those white crystals into my tea or coffee without thinking about a documentary I saw last night concerning the sugar industry in the Dominican Republic. Haitians are being lured to the DR to cut sugarcane, where they are treated like slaves.Life in Haiti is certainly no picnic, since Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world. The promise of work in the more prosperous Dominican Republic attracts Haitians to cross the border under the blind eye of the police. Once there they are stripped of all identity and forced to live in batayes, where they work for something like 90 cents a day doing grueling work.
Just as Californians complain about Mexican illegals, the Dominicans don’t want the poorer, blacker Haitians in their country.
The Haitians are being supported by a saintly priest, Christopher Hartley, who has helped them organize and seen small but significant improvements as a result. He has also brought in much needed medical care for the Haitians, who are plagued by things like malnutrition, TB, and parasites from impure water.
The film claimed that the US is paying twice the world market value of sugar to the DR for its sugar. I’m sure this is somehow related to CAFTA (the Central American Free Trade Agreement), but I can’t make sense of it.
Whenever I think of migrant workers, or any illiterate, unskilled workers like these, I always get this feeling of hopelessness. It seems like these people are destined to remain in an endless cycle of poverty that never gives them a way out.
Seeing this film put our economic problems in perspective. There still exists the memory of Horatio Alger in this country that reminds us that anything is possible. Unfortunately that is not the case for many of the poor Haitians cutting sugarcane in the Dominican Republic.
posted by Barbara at 7:59 AM
9 Comments:
I keep getting more and more overwhelmed. There's so much in the world of which we need to be aware, about which we need to make conscious decisions. Even sugar.
Kristin -- I keep coming back to the realization that I am just one person and the world is a very big, troubled place. What can I possibly do to make a real difference?
Just educating yourself makes a different. You are a kind soul doing lots of good work...there will always be things you cannot change, but you are trying.
Lemmonex -- I keep thinking that if I could organize 1,000 people to try together, we might be able to accomplish something lasting.
Maybe some of these issues will come to surface with this economic meltdown. Capitalism has not been kind to the poor nations of the world.
It seems a catch 22 for if we don't buy the products then the poor really suffer, and even if we pay more it seems that they don't share in the increased monetary exchange.
Fair Trade or direct trade is one way but it is limited in products.
Chocolate and its slave children, coffee, and then there is all the mining the list is endless and depressing.
How great that the priest is there, working on the Haitians' behalf. I love it when the church sticks up for the poor and espouses some good old-fashioned liberation theology, instead of obsessing about contraception and other less worthy social issues.
Since you asked what one person can do, go back to the page for the documentary that you linked to in your blog and click where it says Take Action at the top of the screen.
There are several very good suggestions there for people who are motivated to do something.
As my friend Marjorie, Colette Amelia, and E have suggested, a good way to be proactive is to buy only Fair Trade sugar.
Steve -- The priest does so much more than provide mass for these people. He has devoted his entire life to helping them, often putting himself in life-threatening situations.
Yes, one wonders what a single person can do. But I believe that just thinking about it, sharing views (like you do) is GOOD and not lost. The progress we make is so little, but just think WHAT has been achieved - there is such a thing as human rights, at least as an idea, if not accessible for all. Slavery is not longer seen as a profitable business and okay for those who need workers. Wars are not generally considered as a means of politics. Women`s rights are not unheard of anymore, etc. See what I mean? It begins with a thought, then it is spread, and the old ideas are no longer "normal". So do what you do, Barbara, and spread your humanistic and responsible ideas!
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