#borderoflights

Dinner with Julia Alvarez

After we completed the mural, we went to dinner down the street with the whole Border of Lights staff (including Julia Alvarez). Julia spoke briefly about how it was important to empower the next generation and remember the past. She is very petite and incredibly sweet! I am happy that I got to meet her :). She remembered me because I was the only volunteer dancing in the Zumba class earlier that day. 

Here's a picture of Julia Alvarez and I:

Dajabon has 2 bridges giving access to Haiti. After dinner, we tried to go on the official bridge, but it was closed. However, we went down the street to access the second bridge. There, I saw Haiti. The closest that I've ever gotten to Haiti. You could already tell the country was poorer by looking across the border. It seemed very disorganized and very crowded. The only thing that separated Haiti from the DR was a decrepit, rusted fence and the River of Blood. During the Parsley Massacre of 1937, it was said that the river that separated the two countries ran red for 3 days straight with Haitian blood. 

View of Haiti from the DR border

 Church + Candlelight Vigil

Once we explored the border, we went to a Church directly across from the park. The Church service was incredibly long and I could understand some of the lectures. 

As we exited the Church after the service, we were all handed candles. We then lit our candles and walked to the second bridge. Once we arrived at the bridge, we had to wait 20 minutes for the border patrol to call their boss and ask if it was okay for us to enter. During this time, Julia Alvarez and friends started to chant things like "Let us enter" or "Peace." Eventually, we got permission and we flooded the bridge. Everyone adorned the bridge with their candles. Hopefully, the Haitians could see our candles from their side. The vigil was a nice way to commemorate the massacre. It really did bring everyone together and include people who did not even know the event was going on this weekend. On the bridge, Julia Alvarez read a poem and people spoke about the importance of this vigil. Before I could hear more, I had to go. 

We drove to a hotel in Montecristi and that night and reflected the next day there on the beach. 

Friday, I travelled to Dajabon with the Foundation and the oldest Mariposa girls! In a previous post, I talked about this event:

The Border of Lights is an event commemorating the Parsley Massacre [of 1937], uniting Dominicans, Haitians, and different non-profit organizations. My roommate, Johannil, is responsible for making a mural that we will install on the bridge separating Haiti from the DR.

Our schedule was this:

Friday 

9am- Depart the Foundation. Travel over 3 hours to Dajabon (a town that borders Haiti).

Dajabon Market- Once we arrived in Dajabon, we took the girls to Dajabon market (which is absolutely CRAZYYY) for an hour to shop. Each of the adults was responsible for 4 girls. Luckily, I was paired with Ekwo (Krista's boyfriend) who is fluent in Spanish. Read this blog post to understand how crazy Dajabon market was. Anyways, I was terrified of losing my girls. The market was mere chaos. Plastic bags were littered on the ground in some places, and people were trying to get through the crowded street with motos and wheelbarrows of goods. One of my girls kind of got run over by a wheelbarrow. We all had to hold hands in a chain to keep track of each other. 

At one point, my girls pulled our group in a direction where a fight broke out. I think someone stole something and the vendor and the culprit were yelling and throwing punches. At that point, I turned my group around to the disappointment of one of my girls who said, "I want to watch." 

Anyways, I was so glad when we escaped that market. Historically, people have been robbed there so you only need to take what is minimal. I did no shopping because keeping track of 4 teenage girls in a market as crazy as Dajabon is no easy feat. Here is a picture of my group: [L-R- Vivana, Yesselin, Yafreisy, y Yenifer]. 

Border of Light Activities- After Dajabon market, we travelled to the main Park in Dajabon. It was absolutely gorgeous! The weather was perfect and Julia Alvarez and all of the Border of Lights creators were there to enjoy the festivities.  Througout 3 hours, we hosted different activities in the park, including:

Gluing bottle caps/putting the finishing touches on the mural (the mural was made with recycled material)

Friendship bracelet making

Zumba class by Elyse, the dance teacher

Music performances by some Mariposa girls (they write and sing their own songs! SO MUCH TALENT!) 

The whole event was open to the public. All different kinds of people participated: children from the local schools and young Haitian vendors. It was amazing to unite strangers and still have a ball. 

The final event was putting the two sides of the mural together. The left side represents the Dominican Republic and the right side represents Haiti (each modeled after their flags). Both countries have a silhouette of a face and then are united through a tree. Lining the tree's roots are words that the Mariposa girls brainstormed like: care, peace, sincerity, love, etc. I am so proud of my roommate, Johannil, who planned, designed, and created this gorgeous mural!

Johannil and the always fun-loving, Julia Alvarez, showing off the mural.

During 1931-1960, the Dominican Republic had a dictator named Rafael Trujillo. Trujillo implemented anti-Haitianism throughout the country. He denoted that Dominicans were derived from the Taino Native Americans and the Spanish, while he classified the Haitians like Africans who he considered “barbaric.” Of course, this is ridiculous because both the Tainos and the Africans were enslaved by the Spanish. If anyone was barbaric, it was the Spanish trying to enslave other people. When Christopher Columbus landed on the island in 1492, the Spanish originally enslaved the native people, the Tainos. However in 1514, a local fray demanded to “stop the suffering of the Indians under Spanish exploitation.” Thus, began the importation of African slaves for labor. Dominicans in general descend from all three people: the Tainos, the Spanish, and the Africans.

However, Trujillo still thought Haitians were barbaric. From October 2-8, 1937, Trujillo massacred over 25,000 Haitian immigrants living near the border of Haiti. This became known as the Parsley Massacre. The genocide of the Haitian people in the Dominican Republic was an effort for Trujillo to control the race and color of his population. Trujillo wished to lighten the skin color of the Dominican population so much that he welcomed Jewish refugees fleeing from the Holocaust. The effects of Trujillo’s anti-haitianism can still be seen today.

Until May 24, 2014, people of Haitian descent born in the DR were denied Dominican citizenship. If you want to find out more about those laws, you can read this article: Dominican Republic Ctizenship Law Ends Limbo for Haitian Descendents.