26696: Craig (news) An Island Rift, Repaired a World Away (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Dan Craig <sak-pase@bimini.ws>


An Island Rift, Repaired a World Away
By ALEX MINDLIN
Published: November 27, 2005

The neighborhoods of Washington Heights, Manhattan, and Crown Heights, 
Brooklyn, are miles apart, separated by almost two dozen intervening 
communities. Unlike the Dominican Republic and Haiti, countries that supply a 
large portion of their respective inhabitants, the two neighborhoods do not 
share an island, or a border.

But over the summer and the fall, the talk in both neighborhoods has focused on 
a single topic: the proceedings of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, 
which ruled in October that the Dominican Republic was illegally denying birth 
certificates, and therefore citizenship, to babies born to Haitian immigrants. 
Without these documents, children risk deportation and are cut off from state 
services, including education.

The two countries, on the island of Hispaniola, have a fractious history; Haiti 
occupied its neighbor from 1822 to 1844, and now sends it large numbers of 
illegal low-paid workers, who are both resented and depended on. Many 
Dominicans view the court's decision as unjust and believe that their country 
is ill-equipped to deal with large numbers of immigrants from Haiti, the 
poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

But many of New York's Dominicans find themselves unexpectedly sympathetic to 
the Haitians' situation. "We're immigrants, and as immigrants we understand 
what living in another country is about," said Dr. Rafael Lantigua, a 
Dominican-American internist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia hospital. "We 
understand that a human being moves to a town where they can improve their 
economic situation. You hear often, among the Dominican community, 'We're the 
Haitians here.' "

The issue even made its way into New York politics. In July, City Councilman 
Miguel Martínez, who is Dominican-American, introduced a resolution condemning 
discrimination against Haitians within the Dominican Republic. The resolution 
passed to widespread praise from Dominican leaders in New York, as well as some 
rebuke: Maximo Padilla, a special assistant to Leonel Fernandez, president of 
the Dominican Republic, was quoted as saying that the Council was "ignorant of 
private affairs being handled between Haiti and the Dominican Republic."

Interviews in Washington Heights suggested cautious support for Haitian 
immigrants. One Dominican-American who fell into this camp was Francisco 
Campusano, who cuts hair at the Celeste Beauty Salon on St. Nicholas Avenue. "I 
think if a child is born on the Dominican side, then he's Dominican," he said. 
"It's like my son; if he's born here, he's going to be American."


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/27/nyregion/thecity/27hait.html