17116: (Hermantin)Miami-Herald-Two nations mend relations, one plant at a time (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

INTERNATIONAL
Two nations mend relations, one plant at a time
A new free trade zone on the Dominican-Haitian border is bringing jobs and
providing a fresh start to two nations that share a troubled history.
BY NANCY SAN MARTIN
nsanmartin@herald.com

OUANAMINTHE, Haiti -- The sewing machines at a new Dominican-owned apparel
plant in this Haitian border city are stitching together not only Levi's
jeans but also a new chapter in the history of two nations with
centuries-old grudges.

The plant, in the first free trade zone established on the Dominican-Haitian
border, has created nearly 300 jobs for Haitian workers since operations
began six months ago.

Grupo M, the plant's owner and the Dominican Republic's largest apparel
producer, is taking advantage of the cheaper labor in Haiti and a U.S. quota
for Haitian goods that local manufacturers cannot fill.

''This arrangement gives us the ability to compete,'' said Fernando
Capellán, company founder and president.

For its part, the Haitian government has given its support to the project in
hopes that it will bring economic prosperity to the region. ''My arms are
wide open for Dominicans who want to invest in Haiti,'' Haitian President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide said during a visit to the Dominican Republic last
year.

But the Grupo M plant is also an unusual sign of cooperation between French-
and Creole-speaking Haiti and the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic,
longtime and sometimes bloody rivals who share the island of Hispaniola.

BORDER STRIFE

Ouanaminthe, with an estimated population of more than 42,000, has long been
a source of contention between the two nations, an illegal crossing point
for migrants and contraband such as drugs and weapons.

The Grupo M plant is a stone's throw from the winding Río Massacre, where
17,000 to 30,000 Haitians were slaughtered in 1937 by the Dominican army
under orders of then-dictator Rafaél Trujillo.

Despite its harsh history, Capellán sees a bright future for the shared
border.

''When a new path is open, others follow,'' he said. ``This is just a seed.
Let's see what it grows into.''

The Grupo M plant, across the border from the Dominican city of Dajabón, is
about a two-hour drive from Santiago, where the company is headquartered.
The cloth comes from the United States or the Dominican Republic, is cut in
Santiago and then transported across the border. Here, it is sewn together
and labeled with tags that say, ``Made in Haiti. Finished in Dominican
Republic.''

The jeans sewn in Ouanaminthe are transported to Santiago for washing and
final packing before being shipped to the United States.

Currently, the plant produces about 8,000 pairs of black Levi's 505 and 550
jeans each week with about 260 employees, who earn an average of about $16
per week. That is almost twice as much as Haiti's minimum wage of less than
$1.75 a day, but about 40 percent less than what Dominican employees earn at
the facility in Santiago, Capellán said.

JOB CREATION

Plans call for hiring as many as 900 Haitian employees to churn out 100,000
pairs of pants a week by next summer.

Luis Gil, a supervisor at the Ouanaminthe plant, said weekly salaries will
increase to about $24 per week with the rise in production. Employees say
that while wages are good by Haitian standards, they are still not enough to
live on comfortably.

''I'm working to support my mother, who is sick,'' said Carlos Dumone, 19.
``The money I earn here helps, but it's only enough to pay for food. I want
to go to school and make something of myself, but I can't afford that right
now.

''The good thing about working here is that the employers respect us,''
Dumone added. ``I just wish the pay was higher.''

TEACHER'S TALE

Joseph Egains, 27, left his job as a teacher in Ouanaminthe to sew pants.

''I like this job better, but life has gotten more expensive in Haiti,''
said Egains, whose salary doubled with the new job. ``Maybe things will get
better with time.''

In addition to Levi Strauss & Co. products, the company also makes a long
list of clothing for designer labels such as Tommy Hilfiger, Eddie Bauer,
Polo and Hugo Boss.

The free trade zone on the border, one of about 50 in both countries, was
inaugurated last year at a ceremony attended by Aristide and his Dominican
counterpart, Hipólito Mejía.

Plans call for the construction of up to 14 buildings on land allocated by
the Haitian government. A total of 95 people, including 56 landowners, were
displaced by the project. Compensation for the group totaled more than
$60,000.

Authorities hope that international loans will underwrite a seven-year
social development project in Ouanaminthe that includes new houses for some
of the displaced residents. Others have opted for a new plot of land for
farming.

''Many don't want a house,'' said Victoria Lora, who is in charge of the
social program. ``They would rather have money to fix their own homes or a
piece of land to farm. We're working to accommodate their requests.''

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