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Country Profile
 History
Political and Economic Realities
The Situation for Children
Country Comparison
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
The Dominican Republic is home to approximately 8.5 million people, approximately 30% of whom live in the capital, Santo Domingo. There is an additional estimated 1 million undocumented Haitians living in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican people live with constant exposure to two cultures at the opposite ends of the economic continuum. To one side lies Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and to the other, the U.S., representing a far more powerful influence.
The close connection that most Dominican families have with the United States results in the penetration of American culture into Dominican society. To a certain extent, community development efforts have been frustrated by the exodus of many enterprising Dominicans who have immigrated to the United States in an effort to resolve economic problems and pursue a better life.
HISTORY
Most of you probably associate the Dominican Republic with an all-inclusive vacation package at a luxury resort on a beautiful beach. Or if you're a sports fan you will know baseball stars Sammy Sosa and Raul Mondesi. And certainly tourism is the foremost industry of the DR now and baseball is the most popular sport there, but as you move towards the interior of the country, it is a country of great poverty and the complicated relationship with neighbouring Haiti has created tremendous racial tensions and human rights abuses which affect life for tens of thousands of Dominicans.
Pueblito wants to share with you some of the lesser known history and facts of the Dominican Republic so that you will understand why we are working there.
The Dominican Republic, population 8.7 million, occupies the eastern two thirds of the island of Hispaniola, which is shared with Haiti.
The island was originally inhabited by Taino Indians and was subsequently colonized by both the Spanish and the French who also brought African slaves to the island.
Haiti became independent from France in 1804 and the Dominican Republic from Spain in 1821.
The history of the DR has suffered regular outbreaks of civil war, political instability, economic and chaos making life for Dominicans more difficult than tourists realize.
Linguistic, cultural and racial differences that exist today between Haiti and the Dominican Republic stem from the colonial era. Although both countries clearly have both African and European lineage, Haitians speak Creole and Dominicans speak Spanish. Dominicans strongly claim European descent and generally consider Haitians as "blacker" than themselves. In the communities where Pueblito works there is a long and controversial history that stems from racism and poverty.
For more details please send for a copy of Pueblito's Roots & Realities - A view into marginalized communities in the Dominican Republic.
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POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC REALITIES
Another inhibitor to community leadership in the Dominican Republic comes from the Dominican tradition of "caudillo" (strong man) rule. For nearly sixty of the last seventy four years, Dominican politics have been dominated by just two men - first Rafael Trujillo and then Joaquin Balaguer. Decades of dictatorship and corruption have hindered the establishment of freedoms, rights and democracy in the Dominican Republic and have left a legacy of weak institutions.
Following the defeat of long-standing President Balaguer in 1996, both the PLD (1996-2000) and the PRD (2000-present) have struggled to professionalize the government and provide better services for the poor. The achievement of these goals has been slow due to lingering corruption, high levels of unemployment (16% nationally in 2002 and 42.9% in the bateyes in 1999) and an unequal distribution of wealth. President Hipolito Mejia was elected in August of 2000 and has made some progress compared to his predecessors. The next election is pending in 2004.
Since the 1980's the Dominican Republic has had variant levels of inflation and GDP growth. As the market failed after Hurricane George in 1998, the economy suffered and the cost of living rose significantly. In 2002, inflation was 10.5%. The following year the Dominican Republic suffered and is still suffering more economic hardship from a massive bank failure. In 2003 the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic publicly disclosed a huge case of fraud committed by the most predominant bank in the country, BANINTER. The embezzlement involved over $3 billion US, which is equivalent to 70 % of the national budget. This situation, among others is an indication that the Dominican government is beginning to politically regress back to the days before democracy. In response to this situation, over 50 civil society organizations gathered to lead 3 demonstrations demanding justice for those accused of fraud. These demonstrations also served to defend the country's democratic stability by reinforcing the Participacion Ciudadana which was a movement established in 1993 with the objective of increasing citizen participation in their democratic progress.
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In many respects, the socio-economic situation in the Dominican Republic is similar to that of many countries in Central America. While it has a powerful and entrenched elite, the majority (60%) of people are poor. According to UNICEF, 20% of the population lives in extreme poverty. The poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of the GNP, while the richest 10% enjoy nearly 40% of the national income. The restructuring of the economy which occurred during the 1980s and 1990s has continued with the promotion of exports as the solution to unemployment and debt. The proliferation of Industrial Free Trade Zones and tourism, however, has not resolved the deep social and economic problems of the country. The free-trade zones have only contributed to temporary wage labour that is very low paid; tourism is largely controlled by foreign tour operators and large international chains. The State has little direct control over these sectors and consequently its power and ability to alleviate social distress has been limited.
Poverty in rural Dominican Republic is widespread and land ownership is inequitable. A small group of elite (many are former military personnel) own most of the fertile land, much of which is not under cultivation but merely held in speculation. Increased urbanization has changed the country's economic focus with more Dominicans employed in the service and manufacturing industry than in agriculture. According to the 1981 agricultural census, 2 percent of the nation's farms occupied 55 percent of total farmland. Some 161 farms, 0.1 percent of all farms, occupied 23 percent of all productive land, whereas tens of thousands of peasants possessed only a few tareas . (The tarea , the most common measurement of land on the island, equalls one-sixteenth of a hectare.) The government was the largest landholder. Towards the end of the 1980's the Dominican Agrarian Institute (IDA) began redistributing land, but this progress has been very slow.
Due to lingering corruption and costly construction projects the government has been prevented from investment in much needed services. Corruption remains rampant in the police and legal systems while public spending on basic education is 2.5% of GDP and only 1.8% of GDP on primary health care - far below the 5% suggested by the United Nations (UNDP, 2000). As a result, basic infrastructure is often inadequate and tremendous work needs to be invested in improving hydro electric service, roads, and water and sewage systems. 43% of the total population do not have adequate sanitation facilities (UNICEF, 2004). Only 60% of the population has access to safe drinking water and only 50% of the urban homes (25% in rural areas) are connected to a sewer system, making solid waste disposal a real health problem . (UNICEF, 2000). According to UNICEF, in 2002, the infant mortality rate in the Dominican Republic was 38 per 1,000 live births, with the majority dying from respiratory and diarhea related illnesses.
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THE SITUATION FOR CHILDREN
Rural Poor:
The influx of rural poor has resulted in poverty and congestion in the marginal areas surrounding Santo Domingo. Approximately 7.5 percent of the country's population--live in shantytowns or sugar cane work camps known as bateyes , in harsh environments with limited or no electricity, running water, or schooling.
Families:
There are many indicators of a growing social deterioration within urban society. The evidence of this can be seen in the breakdown of community and family systems, reflected in increased delinquency and crime (particularly among youth), and a dramatic rise in the number of families led by single women. Studies suggest that single mothers now constitute 50% of all Dominican families, with an even higher percentage in the urban areas. The rising percentage has been attributed to the increasing breakdown in marital relationships among adults and an increase in provisional relationships and teen pregnancies. In 2002 between January and June there were 894 births by adolescents under 15 and 15, 600 births by adolescents aged 15 - 19. Many children grow up with absent or unknown fathers, and with mothers who must work five or six days a week in order to survive. Although the increase in mobile assembly plants (maquiladoras) has made it easier for women to find work, it has not made life any less difficult The work is hard, hours are long and wages are often lower than minimum ($4.37CAN per day). In addition, these operations are owned by transnational companies which can easily relocate their operations in other countries if more profitable locations are found.
Health:
Malnutrition and disease are constant problems poor Dominicans are faced with. Approximately 2.2 % of the Dominican population is HIV positive, of which 5,120 are children under five years old (UNICEF, 2003).
Child Labour and Abuse:
Child labour and abuse, and child prostitution are serious problems in the Dominican Republic. It is estimated that 40 % of women and children were victims of domestic violence and at least 15 women die monthly from domestic abuse. Trafficking and sexual exploitation of children is a problem in the Dominican, especially with poor children.
Although Dominican law prohibits employment of children less than 14 years of age, tens of thousands of children began working before the age of 14. Child labour occurs primarily in the informal economy, small businesses, clandestine factories, sugar cane fields, and prostitution. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimated that in 2002 more than 60,000 Haitian children worked in agriculture. Over 100,000 children and adolescents aged 7 to 14 years work in the Dominican Republic. In fact, 13% of children aged 7 to 14 do not attend school because they work outside the home or stay home doing house chores. Additionally, 11% of this group work and go to school at the same time. In other words, nearly a quarter of the population aged 7 to 14 are not able to pursue the education they need to become more skilled.
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Education:
Many aspects of the Dominican education system are in need of improvement. There is a great need for more schools, basic infrastructure and teaching materials. Classrooms are often overcrowded and unequipped to provide a stimulating all round education. Many poor children do not have the documentation required (Birth Certificates) to access basic social services. While access to basic education has improved since the Secretary of Education announced in 2001, that all children could enrol in school through the eighth grade without a birth certificate, many children still do not attend school. 40 % of Haitian children in the Dominican Republic never attended school in 2002. Although the Code for Minors mandates a minimum of 8 years of formal education, there are no legal mechanisms to induce parents or guardians to send children to school after primary schooling. Others factors affecting children's education include poverty and instability in the family. The high level of overall unemployment and the lack of a social safety net created pressures on families to allow or encourage children to earn supplemental income.
16% of Dominican youth cannot read or write at all, while a sizable percentage is only functionally literate. (Report on the Situation of Human Rights in the Dominican Republic, OAS, 1999) This high rate of illiteracy hinders the future development of the country. The weaknesses in the public education system have also prompted many communities to look for their own solutions. This has led to the establishment of backyard schools - a system of unregulated classrooms operating out of people's homes.
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