Dariely De La Cruz
El Centro para la Observación Migratoria y Desarrollo Social en el Caribe (OBMICA)
Santo Domingo, The Dominican Republic
I am frustrated. I am so extremely hurt and bothered by the world we live in today. Not only with the deadly impact of COVID-19 worldwide but with the lack of regard and care for black lives. And not just in the United States, but in other countries too. This blog post, which looks at the transnational impact of COVID-19 and race on the lives of Dominicans (including Dominicans of Haitian descent) and Haitians, is dedicated to the incredible work being done at OBMICA.
Who is human and who “deserves” rights? The fact that an identification card and one’s socioeconomic status and ethnicity determines if one is considered “worthy” of belonging or receiving pandemic benefits from the government makes me sick. The injustices blatantly committed against poor Dominicans, Dominicans of Haitian descent, and Haitians have increased during the era of COVID-19, revealing deeper systemic issues at hand.
Just as there is the race war in the US between blacks and whites, there is a similar war between Dominicans and Haitians. Interestingly enough, as a result of the George Floyd protests, people are having uncomfortable and necessary conversations about blackness in the Dominican community. I’ve noticed frustration and continued denial from the Dominican government, Dominicans who have traditional Trujillista ways of thinking, and others. Working with OBMICA has pushed me to challenge those old ways of thinking, to encourage these conversations on a social platform, and to include people from various diasporic communities.
I cannot believe that by the end of this week, it will be a whole month since I started working remotely with OBMICA. While I do wish I was there in person, communicating with the team has been great. With our weekly meetings, which cover our goals for the week and detail what is happening politically, socially, and economically in the DR, I am constantly learning something new.
Though it is intimidating being the only young AfroAmerican-Dominican with a now-expanding professional Spanish vocabulary from the US, I appreciate their interest in what’s going on in the US and the welcoming of more modern conversations. Tonight, I am attending a webinar, “Racial and Social Terrorism: AfroFeminism in Action in the Dominican Republic.” This Thursday, I am co-hosting another webinar, “The Haitian and Dominican Diasporas in the US and Chile in the Era of COVID-19.” I am also currently creating OBMICA’s first Instagram page.
All this to say, I am so grateful for this opportunity and cannot wait to continue contributing to such meaningful research.