Population composition, diaspora and language
The island's original Indianpopulation disappeared in the early days of colonization. European settlers, especially Spaniards, then slaves imported from Africa, and finally Asian immigrants, created the current population. Today, the Dominican Republic is certainly the most mixed of the Caribbean. Over 84% of the island's inhabitants are of African descent, but these roots are generally denied by Dominicans, despite the many African cultural survivals. Mestizos make up the bulk of the population (70%), blacks 16% and whites 14%. This ethnic mix can be explained by the two Haitian occupations the country has undergone in the course of its history. Social differentiation, most often the result of racial differences, is therefore less marked in the Dominican Republic than in neighboring countries. The creation of a modern education system and the country's economic development have, however, somewhat erased the social disparities that were once much more marked. A sizeable middle class has developed and now accounts for the bulk of the population. Despite this, the rural exodus is significant and has favored the development of poor neighborhoods on the outskirts of the largest cities.
There is a Dominican diaspora of around 3 million people, two-thirds of whom live in the United States, with the remaining third in Puerto Rico, the West Indies and, to a lesser extent, Europe, mainly Spain. The American emigrants, known as Dominican York, are easily recognizable because, back on their island, they proudly display the attributes and panoply of Hispano-American ghetto subculture: huge, faded tennis shoes and baggy Bermuda shorts for the youngest; gold and diamonds, chains, rings and bracelets for those who have made their fortune. To give the illusion of this North American success, some don't hesitate to rent gaudy jewelry for the duration of their vacation in the country, to impress friends and family. They've even earned the nickname cadenous, from the French word cadena ("chain")!
As for the language, Dominican Spanish has taken a few liberties between Creole influences and academic Castilian. Dominicans are fond of using diminutives, readily ignoring "n" and "s" as well as the rule of tense concordance, and don't hesitate to introduce numerous Anglicanisms into everyday language. What's more, Dominicans tend to speak fast and "sing" the language, which doesn't make it easy to understand. But don't panic: if Dominicans are talkative, they also know how to take the time to communicate and make themselves understood. The Taino linguistic heritage is still very much alive today. We still use many terms inherited from the pre-Columbian language, both in Spanish and in French. Here are just a few examples: Anana (pineapple), barbacoa (barbecue), caribe (Caribbean), Kaiman (cayman), guyaba (guava), huracan (hurricane), iguana (iguana), hamaca (hammock), maiz (corn), piragua (pirogue), tabaco (tobacco)..
Haitian immigration
No one knows how many Haitians live in the Dominican Republic. The constant political and social upheavals in the neighboring country have generated large-scale, uncontrolled Haitian immigration across the porous borders that separate the two countries. And since the earthquake of January 2010, immigration, although contained, has increased still further. Haitians also provide their richer neighbor with cheap labour just waiting to cross the border. The massive recruitment of Haitian braceros to cut Dominican sugar cane began in the early 20th century, during the American occupation of the two Hispaniola republics. Over the past twenty-five years, the number of migrants crossing the border between the two countries illegally has risen sharply.
Under agreements between the two countries, Haitian cane cutters and farm workers arrive in large numbers at the large farms during the harvest, the zafra, but do not systematically return to Haiti once the work is done. Those who stay see their children born on Dominican soil, making it difficult for the authorities to send them back to their half of the island. Crammed into bateyes, rough and often insalubrious villages, a population (estimated at between 500,000 and 1.5 million Haitians) survives miserably in a more or less legal situation. The bateyes, mainly found in the sugarcane plantation regions, are socially organized. Setting up shops and schools, the inhabitants have reproduced the social organization of Haitian villages, bringing with them traditional medicines and beliefs. The decline of the sugar industry from the 1980s onwards further exacerbated the misery in the bateyes, which are a thorn in the side of the Dominican government.
In 2013, the Supreme Court of the Dominican Republic ruled that people born to parents who entered the country illegally would no longer receive Dominican citizenship. The decision applies retroactively to all those born after 1929. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Haitians were stripped of their Dominican citizenship and deported to Haiti, where many had never set foot. Only around 10,000 people managed to obtain their document. The difficulty in obtaining the document is explained by the need to provide birth certificates issued in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The consequence is the creation of hundreds of thousands of stateless people, which is formally prohibited by international human rights agreements. Widely criticized by numerous international institutions, Danilo Medina's government has remained adamant in its position and has continued the deportations. In 2022, a 160 km wall separating the two countries was erected on the initiative of President Luis Abinader - a further step in the anti-Haitian campaign. Since its construction, the wall has posed numerous humanitarian, health and environmental problems.
