Haitian Braceros

Definition

Haitian Braceros, (from the Spanish word brazo, meaning arm), are Temporary Haitian migrant workers laboring in Dominican Republic.

Most the Haitian Braceros are hand farmers working in Dominican sugar plantations.

Thousands of these Haitian braceros are treated in less than human conditions in the Dominican Republic;

Haitians braceros in the Dominican sugar-cane fields:

Thousands of Haitian braceros – farm hands – live in these huts, scattered throughout the sugar-cane plantations which cover the country.

Conditions are often inhuman.

It is impossible to get a precise number of Haitian migrants who arrive in the Dominican Republic in the hope of profiting from that country’s prosperity, but who, in reality, fall victim to exploitation.

Depending on the source, the figures vary: some mention 500,000 Haitian braceros living on the other side of the border, others one million.

Haitians migrant workers in Dominican tourism:

Haitian migrants are found in the tourism, coffee-growing and construction sectors.

The only housing the Haitian construction workers have in the Dominican Republic is the building they are in the process of putting up.

Others get by as best they can in the informal sector, living in the district known as Little Haiti, in Santo Domingo, where they suffer repression.

Then there are those living in the shantytowns on the outskirts where their relationship with local Dominicans is often tense.

Based on an original article "Haiti: the other side of the border" published "The Courier No 187 - July-August 2001" by the European Commission Development I-Center http://ec.europa.eu

Related Terms

Other terms related to 'Haitian Braceros' starting with the letter 'H'

Haiti, Hispaniola

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