Dominican Republic urged to stop deportations to Haiti as people flee gang violence
Human rights activists and the United Nations are calling on the Dominican Republic and other countries to halt deportations to neighboring Haiti, noting it's extremely unsafe.
DAJABON, Dominican Republic — Human rights activists are calling on the Dominican Republic’s government for a temporary reprieve in deportations as neighboring Haiti’s crisis spirals and people attempt to flee over the closed border from a surge in deadly gang violence.
Small trucks with customized cages are ferrying dozens of Haitians every day from a detention center in San Cristóbal to the border on the island of Hispaniola as the gang attacks paralyze parts of Haiti’s capital.
“If the government could postpone or diminish the push for deportations, it would be an achievement…an important contribution to the Haitian population,” said William Charpentier, coordinator for the Dominican-based National Coalition for Migrations and Refugees.
Charpentier said his organization has received complaints about Dominican authorities allegedly bursting into homes to arrest people believed to be Haitians, breaking belongings and extorting them at times.
People who were detained for deportation to Haiti stand inside a police truck on the border bridge that connects Dajabon, Dominican Republic, with Haiti on Monday.Ricardo Hernandez / AP PhotoThe United Nations also has called on the Dominican Republic and other countries to halt deportations, noting that Haiti is extremely unsafe.
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