Haitians in Dominican sugarcane fields endure abuse while fighting for better conditions 

PORT-AU-PRINCE — Junior Baptiste arrived in the Dominican Republic in 2017, fleeing hardship in Haiti after his mother’s death. With no passport, he paid 3,000 pesos (about US$50) to smugglers to help him cross the border, hoping for a better life on the other side of the island shared by the two countries. He immediately found work as a sugarcane cutter at Consorcio Azucarero Central (CAC), a sugar production company in the south. However, what he thought would be an opportunity to improve his life turned into a struggle for survival under brutal working conditions.

Now, after being shot in the eye during a protest for better wages and conditions in May 2024, Baptiste, 30, can no longer work. He, like many other Haitian sugarcane workers, has faced low wages, physical violence, movement restrictions, and illnesses like renal failure and heat stroke due to harsh conditions in the Dominican sugarcane fields.

“Even when we suffer, the management believes we have no right to demand better working conditions,” said the native of Fond Parisien, reflecting on his experience. 

“When we protest, they send us home, fire some of us, threaten us, and even shoot at us to death.”

Abuse in Dominican sugar cane production

Human rights organizations have flagged the Dominican Republic as a hotspot for human rights abuses against Haitian immigrants, especially those working in the sugarcane industry. Many of these workers are undocumented and vulnerable to exploitation due to the constant threat of deportation, often used as a hostage maneuver.

According to Charity Ryerson from Corporate Accountability Lab, an organization in the U.S. defending human rights from enterprise abuses, cutting sugarcane in the Dominican Republic is difficult work, as the hours are long and the pay is very low. She estimates that the refusal to provide work permits to sugarcane cutters is a way to control workers who are fearful and have a lot to lose.

“The sugar sector is reliant on Haitian migrant workers to function, and in fact, some of the sugar companies refuse to hire non-migrant workers,” says Ryerson to The Haitian Times. “So, unfortunately, this appears to be an intentional strategy by the government to create a captive workforce.”

Another U.S.-based international workers’ rights organization reports that Haitian workers are often forced to work 10 hours a day, six days a week, for 15,000 to 20,000 pesos (about $250 to $333) over six months and a half. This largely is insufficient to meet basic needs. 

“The conditions are so precarious that often ten workers share a single room,” the organization stated in a document shared with The Haitian Times. “CAC only houses male workers in the pavilion; partners or families are not allowed.”

Moreover, many lack proper documentation, preventing them from accessing social services or moving freely within the country.

“Since my arrival, I have worked very hard after joining the company,” Baptiste said. “The small amount they pay us doesn’t match the kind of work we do.”

The dangerous conditions in these sugarcane plantations are exacerbated by the lack of personal protective equipment and safety measures, leaving workers vulnerable to fatal accidents. Two recent incidents reported by the organization in the email shared with The Haitian Times include a worker who was electrocuted after coming into contact with an electric cable and another who was killed after being caught in the wheels of a moving train.

Baptiste, the eldest of two children, told The Haitian Times that despite years of hard work in these hazardous conditions, he has been unable to improve his living situation. He now dreams of leaving the Dominican Republic for Chile or Brazil but struggles to save enough money to make the move.

“Returning to Haiti is not my current goal, Baptiste said, as he has already undergone three eye surgeries at the company’s expense. “I dream of having enough financial resources to leave Santo Domingo and move to Chile or Brazil. But I cannot manage to gather the money needed to cross into another country,” he added.

 “Even when we suffer, the management believes we have no right to demand better working conditions. When we protest, they send us home, fire some of us, threaten us, and even shoot at us to death.”

Junior Baptiste, Haitian Sugarcane Field Worker in the Dominican Republic

Protest violence and life constant threats

In recent months, violence against Haitian workers has escalated. In May, during a protest at CAC and Central Romana, another major Dominican sugar company, workers were denied wages, beaten, shot at, and threatened with deportation for demanding better working conditions. Baptiste was among those injured, leaving him with a damaged eye after being shot.

Steve Perrin, another Haitian worker, witnessed the May 26 violence. He has since gone into hiding to avoid raids by immigration agents. According to Perrin, workers were beaten, shot, and had their feet and heads broken during the protest.

“We work in the blazing sun, sometimes fainting and ending up in the hospital,” said Baptiste, describing the grueling conditions. Despite the dangers, he continues to call for legal work permits and the freedom to move without fear of deportation.

Many sugarcane workers live in company-controlled housing, where conditions are often deplorable. Workers lack access to clean water, adequate food, electricity, and sanitation. According to Ryerson, at the Consorcio Azucarero Central, ten workers may share a single room.

Ryerson emphasizes that “generally though, workers have not had access to sufficient juridical representation, and most of the labor rights violations they suffer are not remediated.”

Additionally, workers are under constant surveillance by armed security personnel and military agents. The lack of documentation prevents them from leaving for anything other than essential needs. Workers are forbidden from owning cell phones, which cuts them off from the outside world and makes it difficult to report human rights abuses.

Perrin, who worked for three years at CAC, explains that without legal status, workers have to pay smugglers to move around. Due to their undocumented status, a journey that should cost 500 pesos (about $8) can cost up to 10,000 pesos (over $166). 

“Once you’re Haitian and undocumented, everything here is more expensive,” Perrin said.

Deportation as a weapon of control

Haitian sugarcane workers are not immune to the deportation campaigns targeting Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic. Since last fall, President Luis Abinader has intensified deportations with a 10,000 expulsions weekly plan following tensions over an irrigation canal construction on the Massacre River. 

In recent months, the situation has been exacerbated, with children and even babies being taken away from their parents and deported unaccompanied. In the first week of this month alone, more than 11,000 Haitians were deported by the Dominican authorities.

The Haiti-based Group of Support for Repatriates and Refugees (GARR) reports that Haitian nationals are often tortured, extorted, and subjected to electric shocks and tear gas by Dominican immigration agents if they protest against the mistreatment they endure.

“With this decision, no category of Haitian nationals in the Dominican Republic is spared. Merchants, tourists, schoolchildren, and university students are all affected,” said Sam Guillaume, head of communications for GARR. “The process of repatriation does not adhere to any legal standards, and Haitian nationals are often tortured, extorted, killed, and even raped.”

While some workers resign themselves to living in hiding, others have returned to Haiti, refusing to go back to the Dominican Republic unless their demands for legal documentation and improved working conditions are met.

But someone like Angelo Prévilon, a worker from Ganthier, a border town about 18 miles east of Port-au-Prince, says he will not return to the sugarcane fields unless the companies guarantee him the necessary legal documents. 

“They treat us like slaves,” Prévilon said. 

“I have no plans to return unless they show us some respect.”

The post Haitians in Dominican sugarcane fields endure abuse while fighting for better conditions  appeared first on The Haitian Times.

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Haitians in Dominican sugarcane fields endure abuse while fighting for better conditions  was first posted on October 17, 2024 at 10:48 am.