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






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