Trading Places

The Limye Lavi team in Santo Domingo

It seems that the last month has brought forth a momentum for exchange and cross-border learning that I personally have been craving for some time now. At the end of February, I hosted a group of co-workers from Haiti and was finally able to share with them much of what I’ve been learning over the last two years in the DR. While their visit was short, it was memorable and full.

The outpouring of love and openness that I often feel in their presence was amplified for me as together we visited different communities and organizations and participated in different activities. As we walked one day through a batey near Santo Domingo called La Lecheria, I watched as my co-workers interacted and carried on with different residents – young, old, those who were born in the Dominican batey and others who had arrived more recently from Haiti. I watched the look of surprise on their faces when they found out that the 76 year old woman we were speaking with was born in the batey and the looks of sadness as they listened to stories of struggles and the challenges faced by immigrants without legal documents.

La Lecheria isn’t an easy place. It’s a community full of Haitian immigrants and Dominicans of Haitian descent regularly challenged by discrimination and documentation issues. It’s also a community that, because of its proximity to the urban outskirts of Santo Domingo, has taken on the challenges faced by much of the world’s marginalized urban dwellers such as drugs, violence and prostitution. Spending time in the community, I’ve found that many of its residents are afraid to leave its boundaries. Many too try their best to hide their Haitian ancestry, speaking only in Spanish, no matter how thick their accents.

As we walked through the neighborhood, people were surprised to see this unusual group of visitors. Haitians, from Haiti, wanting to visit and talk with them, know more about their lives and understand their community. While they often see work groups of English speaking foreigners around, building latrines and painting homes, this was a group of people from their native Haiti, speaking their language and truly visiting. The community seemed equally surprised and interested and a lively two-way exchange ensued.

When the time came to leave La Lecheria, the nun who had hosted us and shown us around stopped me and said “please share with them how important their visit was to this community; to have visitors like this from Haiti brings them a sense of dignity – really, they don’t know what they’ve done here today…” Her words stopped me in my tracks. I had been so wrapped up in logistical planning for the trip and hopes of exposing the group to as much as possible in a short time that I hadn’t even stopped to think about the root of it all. Learning, exchange, dignity, the human spirit – they were all present that day in La Lecheria and throughout our trip. I am grateful for the growth and many lessons this type of exchange has brought me and my hope now is that the openness and beauty of exchange can continue between Dominicans, Haitians and the world at large.

- Anna, Santo Domingo, DR – March 31, 2008

Some photos for sharing...

Bi-lingual (Spanish / Creole) Open Space and Reflection Circles Training - March 1, 2008:

Visit to Montessori style after school program in La Lecheria:

Kids in La Lecheria

Independence Day