Haiti-Dominican Republic officials continue talks to ease border tensions

Authorities in Haiti and the Dominican Republic are continuing talks amid an escalation in tension on the border shared by the two states.

This country’s State Secretary of the Interior Georges Racine is meeting with Dominican officials at a military post in Jimani in the neighbouring country.

Haitian authorities said the visit is a “goodwill gesture”, which shows the government’s interest in the disappearance of two Dominican farmers on the Haitian side of the lake Azuei. The duo has not been seen since Wednesday.

“Preliminary research conducted by the Army of the Republic Dominifcaine revealed traces of blood leading to the lake,” the website Haitilibre said.
Haitians fear this incident could spark further reprisals.

The Haitian delegation said any national found to be involved would be punished according to law.

The dispute arose after two Haitians reportedly killed a Dominican at the Savann Bonm border on November 9.

The Support Group for Returnees and Refugees said four Haitians have been killed since and three others seriously injured.

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Source: Caribbean 360

Legislation eradicates Dominican “Indians”

Mulatto, black and white will be the only colors among Dominicans and will be stated thus in the citizens ID cards (cedula), effectively eradicating the nation’s “Indians.”

The bill “Dominican Republic Electoral Law Reform” states that in the master file of cedulas the color of Dominicans will be established by their ethnic group, and as such only three colors. The Spanish Royal Academy of Language defines ethnic group as “a human community defined by racial affinities.”

Organization of American States (OAS) and Central Electoral Board (JCE)technicians drafted the legislation to reform Electoral Law 275-97, and will be debated by the JCE prior to being submitted to Congress in the next few days.

The bill also states that in addition to the person’s ethnic group, in the cedulas master file information must figure the serial number for each municipality, the specific identity number, a citizen’s blood type, their father’s and mother’s full names, their digital photo and fingerprints, among others.

Rebuke

The measure announced late Thursday drew quick rebuke Friday morning, with prominent media figure Teo Veras asking the JCE to “leave that as is,” because in his view, it could only stoke “ill feelings.”

Although nearly all Taino Indians perished early during Spanish colonization, the term “Indio” lingered from the many remaining descendants of mixed blood also called mestizos.

The term over time came to describe a person whose color is neither black, white nor mulatto, the latter often called "moreno.".


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Source: Dominican Today

Dominican Republic Very Advanced in Fighting Child Labor, Dramatic Decreases Seen

According to the results of a study just published by local authorities, in the past 10 years there has been a 14% reduction of child labor in the Dominican Republic.

According to these data, the country is moving towards the eradication of the worst forms of child labor by 2015 and the elimination of all forms of exploitation by 2020, as planned by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Office of the United Nations for Childhood. The study, conducted between December 2009 and January 2010, involved 9119 households and interviewed 8540 children aged between 5 and 17.

According to the ministry of local labor, more than 89% of children and adolescents of Dominican workers are able to continue their studies. The country is among the most advanced in the fight against child labor, a significant downward trend. The highest rates are recorded in the provinces of the southwest such as Bahoruco, Independencia, Pedernales and Barahona with 24.5%, while the lowest in the National District and the province of Santo Domingo, with 8%.

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Source: Hispanically Speaking

Dominican Republic’s business attractions showcased in Australia

Around 1,400 business leaders, 16 heads of State and 120 exhibitors participated in the Commonwealth of Nations’ Business Forum organized jointly with its Council and the Summit of heads of State from the entity’s 54 countries.

Commonwealth leader Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain led the event with representatives from the countries scattered in six continents, 2 in America, 12 in the Caribbean, 3 in Europe, 19 in Africa, 8 in Asia and 10 in the Pacific.

Dominican Republic Round Table of Commonwealth of Nations president Fernando González Nicolas said his has historically been a front door for those who’ve conquered the Americas and stressed his country’s leadership in tourism and mining and with great potential to attract foreign investment.

The forum showcased the Commonwealth’s potential for Dominican exports, tourism and increasingly more attractive for foreign investments especially in sectors, petroleum and natural gas.

The Commonwealth countries are home to 20,000 companies trading in the stock markets and control 25 percent of the global trade.

Emerging countries like India, Nigeria, South Africa, Malaysia are becoming new economic centers. For example five Commonwealth countries -Singapore, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia- figure among the world’s top 10 countries with the best climate for business.

González Nicolas said even Dominican Republic isn’t an active Commonwealth member, it can take advantage of those relations to diversify international trade and increase exports as well as the investments.

In Forum, South African industrialist and director of the global miner Anglogold, Mark Cutifani, said the price of gold could climb to USD$2,200 the ounce in 2013, given the world’s many uncertainties.

Moreover, the business leader announced a visit by investment promotion agencies of various Commonwealth countries which attended the Forum, which agreed to meet in Santo Domingo in February to exchange experiences of how small countries can effectively attract investments.

Gonzalez Nicolas added that the President of Mauritius investment Promotion Council and his Singapore and Pacific islands pars also plan a visit, hosted by the Round Table of Commonwealth Countries.


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Source: Dominican Today

Tourist arrivals to the Dominican Republic grew by 3.7% during the January-August period.

Tourist arrivals to the Dominican Republic grew by 3.7% during the January-August period. Local airports report that during this same time period some 2.6 million visitors entered the country, almost 100,000 more than during the same period in 2010.

In all, the total arrival of passengers during January-August totalled 3.3 million visitors. During August alone, 381,000 passengers entered the DR of which 277,000 were tourists.

The authorities explained that of the 2.6 million tourists that entered the DR during the first eight months of 2011,1.4 million came from North America (56%) – 962,000 from the United States (36%) and 501,000 from Canada (19%). These two countries accounted for 56% of all tourist arrivals, while 255,000 South American tourists (10%) also visited. Some 76,000 more South Americans visited the country this year than the same time period last year. This number represents a 42% increase in overall arrivals from South America and 79% in overall growth.

The main South American markets are Argentina with 70,000, representing 28% of all South Americans and 2.6% of all visiting tourists; Brazil with 46,000 (18% of all South Americans); Chile with 35,000 (25%); Venezuela, 32,000 (13%); and Colombia, 25,000 (10%).

European tourists travelling to the DR reached 763,000, representing 29% of all visiting tourists. The breakdown is: 177,000 from France (the third largest market, representing 6.7% of all arrivals; 119, 000 from Germany (4.5%); 112,000 from Spain (4.2%); 95,000 from England (3.6%); 71,000 from Italy (2.7%) and 67,000 from Russia (2.55%).

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Source: Trav PR

Eveoke taking "Las Mariposas" to the Dominican Republic in three-city tour

Eveoke Dance Theatre became immersed in the history and culture of the Dominican Republic in creating "Las Mariposas," a piece inspired by the real-life Mirabal sisters. Three of the sisters, codenamed "Las Mariposas" ("the butterflies") were murdered in 1960 because of their roles in the resistance against Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo; a fourth sister, now in her eighties, has dedicated her life to preserving their memory. The story became known internationally through "In the Time of the Butterflies," a celebrated novel by Julia Alvarez.

Now Eveoke is taking "Las Mariposas" to the Dominican Republic. In a three-city tour at the end of this month, they'll perform for audiences including surviving members of the Mirabal family.

The audience will also include Alvarez, who set the wheels in motion for the Dominican tour. As part of the premiere of "Las Mariposas" last November, Eveoke and several community partners brought Alvarez to San Diego. After seeing "Las Mariposas" in rehearsal, she contacted friends in the Dominican Republic and at the U.S. Embassy about bringing Eveoke to the Dominican Republic. The U.S. State Department is sponsoring their tour.

Besides performing, Eveoke will teach classes and visit sites connected to the Mirabals' lives. And, in a cultural exchange, they'll learn merengue from Dominican dancers.

Catherine Kineavy, dramaturg for the project, says that "Las Mariposas" has been a high point for Eveoke. "Many of our artists have expressed that as artists doing this show, meeting Julia Alvarez, and going to the Dominican Republic is one of their greatest experiences of being an artist," she says.


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Source: Sign On San Diego

Dominican hookers, gays, citizens weigh in on bill to create red light district

The bill aimed at creating Dominican Republic’s first “zones of sexual tolerance” or red light districts again spurred heated debate among representatives of sexual workers and conservative groups present in the Chamber of Deputies’ public hearing Friday.

Members of the United Women’s Movement and the Transvestites, Transsexuals and Transgendered Community warned that the regulation of sexual work to specific zones or red light districts violates their rights and the sexual workers’ desire to surmount their condition of marginality.

“One prostitutes because we go though much need. Believe me it’s not easy to sleep with a man one doesn’t want, but when our children are passing hunger and there’s no work it’s not possible to do something else another thing,” said United Women representative Jacqueline Montero, who worked as a prostitute for 12 years until getting elected a councilwoman in the town of Haina.

Meanwhile the citizen Maria Carlos proposed that in any legislation which looks to regulate prostitution, sexual workers must be described with some other term, since that activity cannot be acknowledged as a job.

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Source: Dominican Today