(Pedernales) The dream tropical beach and its white sand are dominated by a viewpoint similar to that of a prison: this is where the 164 kilometers of wall that the Dominican Republic is building to “protect” itself from immigration begins. , violence and smuggling from Haiti.
Before Sunday’s presidential election, the wall is more than ever one of the symbols of political life, part of which revolves around relations with Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, undermined by gangs, with which the Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola.
Pedernales, located on the southern coast of the country, is the starting point of this wall which is to be erected along a little less than half of the 340 km of border. This barrier – a concrete base topped with a fence – the largest part of which remains to be completed crisscrosses the landscape linking official border posts from south to north.
“The wall has a symbolic side, it will help to have certain controls… (It’s) necessary,” says Odanis Grullon, seated in his restaurant on the heavenly beach of Pedernales, one kilometer from the imposing fence.
Candidate for his own succession and big favorite in the presidential election, the outgoing head of state Luis Abinader has made the fight against Haitian immigration one of his hobbyhorses and the construction of the wall is one of the flagship projects of his government. .
He maintains that livestock or motorcycle theft has fallen by 80% in some regions. He assures that the wall protects Dominican employment and trade. And, promises that in the event of re-election, its construction will not only continue but will be expanded.
His policy is approved by 70% of Dominicans and his main opponent, former president Leonel Fernandez, has said he is in favor of the wall.
However, some believe that the wall is not an “effective” measure for controlling immigration.
“Migration pressure is not limited to physical or technological infrastructure,” says border expert Juan Del Rosario.
He adds that while it is true that the wall and controls have helped reduce livestock theft, “illicit goods such as drugs and weapons” continue to pass through.
A “business”
Everything is calm today in Pedernales. On the Haitian side, we see children playing in the river. Haitian-registered trucks pass with clothes, food and household items.
The mesh door of the crossing point has been placed against pieces of wood… and the soldiers observe the traffic without intervening too much.
Residents of Pedernales stress that they are not in a crucial area, with the border post being furthest from the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.
“The gang members don’t come. Sometimes something happens, but they (local Haitians) are calm, they are brothers,” explains Eleodoro Matos, a notable from Pedernales, who approves the construction of the fence. He also cites cattle theft.
But far from the coast, at the Jimani border post, the situation is completely different. Here everything seems stricter. The doors are made of iron – like those of Dajabon and Elias Pina. The military presence is much stronger with patrols and numerous checkpoints on the roads. It is “forbidden” to approach the wall.
“The program is effective in part and only in part,” said Esmeli Benitez, manager of a bakery in the city.
“The wall doesn’t work here,” insists Juan Enrique Matos, a trader at the El Paso de Jimani market. Haitians “give their money to the guards who let them pass. That’s all there is to it. It’s a business,” he said.
Residents also point out that it is easy to pass far from the posts, through hills and valleys.
Brian Baptista, 25, a Haitian trader in Jimani, explains: “They (Haitians) go wherever they want, through the countryside or through the door.”