Haitians leave Dajabon church
After a 24-hour occupation of a Dajabon church in protest against not being allowed their pre-arranged transport, Dominican military personnel repatriated an estimated 500 Haitian nationals. Priest Regino Martinez had opened the doors of his church to the Haitians who despite not having any legal documentation were asking to be allowed back into the DR to resume their work activities. They had traveled to Haiti for the holidays. Martinez is critical of border control inspectors who he says allow entry to anyone who pays people smugglers RD$2,500 in return for being allowed through. There are an estimated 13 military checkpoints on the routes used by the Haitians to get to their places of work. Martinez criticized the selective application of migration law and said that anyone willing to pay people smugglers gets to their jobs. He defended the people he was assisting, who had refused to pay the bribes. Several [...]
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