The migration debate in the Caribbean reveals opposing perspectives: narratives portraying the undocumented as a threat and historical analyses linking mobility to global economic processes. Scholars and religious leaders urge recognition of labour contributions and an end to dehumanisation.
The person who emigrates to North American territory “without their documents in order is an animal to be despised”. They are people “to be rounded up and deported, regardless of whether they are in churches, schools or hospitals”.
Politicians with conservative ideas like the president of the United States, Donald Trump, see undocumented immigrants as outsiders and as “adventurers who roam the world uncontrolled”.
That is the perception of the Dominican journalist Ramón Antonio Veras who published an article entitled “The immigrant seen from different stances”.
For the Haitian historian Suzy Castor, who provides serious and deep analysis of the migratory process, “The migratory phenomenon is closely linked to the historical evolution of the Caribbean countries” and “European capitalism, when it developed the plantation economy in this area, turned to the massive immigration of Africans by trafficking Blacks”.
According to Castor, in Haiti the structuring of the nation state took place early from 1804, while in the other colonies the disruption caused by the abolition led to a lack of labour.
As a result, she says, “there was massive immigration of oriental people, Chinese, Indians, Japanese etc to the West Indies.
“However, beginning in the twentieth century, other phenomena start to appear in the region. The Caribbean, traditionally a receiver of immigrants, becomes an area of emigration,” she adds.
In her assessment, Castor highlights that the construction of the Panama Canal and the installation of North American sugar companies brought a movement of labour from less developed countries towards those that were booming.
She refers to the fact that, from the Second World War, the migratory phenomenon acquired different characteristics and the Caribbean became one of the regions with the most emigration to the United States, Great Britain, France, Holland and Canada.
“Emigration becomes an important factor in the framework of neo-colonial domination bringing large scale economic, political, social and ideological consequences,” the expert points out.
Veras says that in the Dominican Republic immigration is present, fundamentally, among Haitian nationals who work in different sectors of the local economy.
The journalist remembers statements by the bishop of Higüey, Monseigneur Jesús Castro, who affirmed recently that in this country double standards exist regarding migration.
The bishop advocated improvements to labour conditions for immigrant workers, called for their contribution to the national economy to be valued, especially in sectors such as agriculture and construction, and asked for a legal method of taking on workers.
“The noise from a self-conscious and manipulative minority does not represent the Dominican people’s friendly, fair and supportive spirit,” said Monseigneur Castro, quoted by Vera. The bishop pointed out that it is not in the interests of the boss or employer for the Haitian immigrant’s contribution or work to be formalised in the Dominican Republic; not doing so means the illegal private arrangements that make dehumanisation possible remain hidden. PL
(Translated by Philip Walker – Email: philipwalkertranslation@gmail.com) Photos: Pixabay
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