This past weekend I traveled to the deep southwest of the country (11 hour busride because there are no direct roads from the north) to the province of Barahona. There, I met my youth group from my American church, which just happened to be doing a service project during their spring break here in the DR!

While I traveled over 20 hours on bus just to be with the youth group for 24 hours, it was definitely worth it! Not only did I get to see a totally different part of the country (while I like the landscape of the north more, I may like the culture of the south better), I also had an opportunity to tour a batey. Bateys are Haitian communities traditionally employed by sugarcane companies. Up until 20 years ago, bateys were basically slave plantations in which Haitians were forced to work the sugarcane in inhumane conditions. Currently, bateys are the poorest, most marginalized communities in the DR (although are no longer ruled by sugarcane companies). Many of the “Haitians” in the communities are not actually Haitian; they are people have never been to Haiti and were born in the Dominican Republic. However, many of their Haitian ancestors never were registered, and thus, they do not have identification either. Without identification in this country you are unable to attend school past the 8th grade, cannot vote, cannot participate in many social service programs, etc. As well, military checks are ubiquitous in the south, as Dominican police do not want Haitians entering the country and moving east (toward the capital). Without identification, these Dominican batey workers cannot travel freely within the country without being declared illegal. Suffice it to say, these Dominican-haitians live in poverty and fear.

My youth group is actually working in different bateys this week, so we got to meet many of the community members they will be working with. Not surprisingly, for all the discrimination the batey people face, they are the friendliest people I have met in the DR (and that is saying A LOT; everyone is friendly here). We worshipped with them on Sunday, singing and chanting with hand-drums establishing the rhythm. We sang songs in English, Spanish and Kreyol. As Pam Emslie said “these people have made our songs sound infinitely better!”. The bateys have much more visible “culture” than my community in Guayabo. I think this is a product of the rich Haitian culture which is much more prominent than the Dominican culture.

Also, the bateys are needier communities; I felt guilty looking at these children with skin infections and malnutrition (which you do not find in my community). I hope to have the opportunity to go back to some of these bateys (which is definitely possible because there are lots of peace corps members already working there!). Hopefully I can do a bit of health promotion in the future!

Other Updates:
• I made a great corn chowder and calzones (with dough from scratch!). Both were delicious and definitely do-agains.
• One of my host family’s dogs died yesterday of poisoning (from the mean neighbor). Absolutely awful.