Life in the Bateyes - A Bittersweet Existence

excellent job bianca. your editing is right on. love the b&w to color transitions. your stills and video footage very niiicccceee. where can we donate to help the people?

love ya martin.

I like it, but...
While I watch it, I can't help but compare the conditions under which they live to those in Haiti, and I know they're better off in the Dominican Rep.
Workers are slaves. If all someone has to offer is their labor in exchange for something to live on, they're a slave, so it's not a stretch to say they live under the same conditions as slaves.
It's definitely a very interesting subject. I'd say this was a great skim of the surface, but I'm left feeling like I want more. The visual effects didn't do much for me. I'd really like to see more story.
It might be interesting if you contrasted the conditions they left in Haiti. I also think I'd like to hear from the Dominicans that are "cheating" them.
What sort of conditions does the average Dominican sugarcane farmer live under? Is there that much of a difference?

There is basically no Dominican sugarcane farmer. Like there is basically no American strawberry picker.

In late December Haitians are rounded up with the promise of a better life, a well paying job and papers to move to the Dominican Republic. They illegally cross the border and go to the sugarcane fields. Once they arrive they find out that all that was promised isn't really there. They basically work for free - what they earn only pays for their "rent", clothing and food, if at all - and find themselves in a vicious cycle from which they can hardly ever escape.

I tried talking to a couple of sugar mill owners and factory employees. Because the issue has been in the media recently, they are completely closed up and grant no access to anyone with a camera inside the mil or factories. That only lends me to believe that there must be something they are hiding.

I did talk to the PR guy of the Ingenio Barahona - the largest sugar mill factory of the region I shot in. The only way I was able to talk to him, was by saying that I was student doing a research paper on Agriculture. The first thing he told me, was that he knew nothing about the slavery issue and that he would not get into that, because I might sell the information to the media.

So, again.... I personally have no doubt that they are being cheated on.

I do agree with you that there is room for this subject. And that in a 5 min. doc you can only skim the surface. It is my wish to back and try to get inside a factory and talk to a factory owner.... But, I lack the financial resources and the time.

Martin,

One of the Organizations and people who have helped me the most while I was down there was the Peace Corps.

Joy Jacobs is one of the leading figures of the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic. She is absolutely amazing, and so is the work she has been doing down there.

I was in Batey 8. There is a volunteer there called Kaveh Azimi, who is trying to better the living conditions of the people, especially after Hurricane Noel hit a couple of months ago, destroying the few things some of these people had.

To help, please contact Kaveh Azimi or the Peace Corps.

Kaveh Azimi
kaveh.h.azimi@gmail.com

or go directly to:

https://www.peacecorps.gov/resources/donors/contribute/regioncontrib.cfm?&re...

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!

This is an amazing piece, the VO is really fantastic [and that's a hard thing to pull off!] I had no idea that this was going on, it's such an important topic. Thank you for bringing this to Current!

Great work! Current needs to air this.

I think this is both a beautiful and informative pod. I love the editing it creates great movement. The transitions from the color to the black and white mixed with the music makes a really interesting pod.

This was well presented and well shot, however I feel as though it could be shortened according to the amount of information in it. Perhaps the long intro is a bit misleading as to the length of the film or the depth of detail presented. It might have been good to follow one of the Haitian workers around for a bit of movement and character development. Otherwise, nice job with the visual effects and interesting subject. If I were there I would want to give all my clothes that I never wear to these people, and then consider the thousands of dollars that the camera I am filming them is worth to their survival. Interesting how we here in America could care less about giving up 10 minutes even for 4 dollars.

Good job, Ana Bianca!! Reports like this make me feel like a fool when I moan about how hard I work. Thanks for helping me to downgrade any of my problems to the lowest level.

This is a great exploration of a topic that so few North Americans know anything about. After reading "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" recently (about a Dominican-American family; a great book), I started to become more interested in this issue of identity and racism in Hispaniola, and this doc really helped to clarify a lot of the history, and current conditions, behind it. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for taking on this topic. I visited the Dominican Republic, and spent two weeks building houses for Haitian refugees. I have heard some of their stories, walked through their decrepit villages, and seen the hope in their eyes for a better future. I liked how you intermixed the beautiful still images with the interviews and video. I would have enjoyed hearing from a woman to learn about her struggles and day-to-day life. Also, it would have been nice to spend a bit longer with some of the men interviewed in the pod, and follow them through their days – let their stories tell us about their lives and struggles rather than hear about it in track. They were really compelling characters, and I would have liked to know them better. But, all in all, this is a great pod, filled with beautiful and moving images. Kudos for bringing this issue to our attention!

Powerful images, definitely, two notes come to mind though. First, the intro seems too long for a piece of that length. Second, it ends pretty abruptly, which is understandable, but maybe just something that looks forward, even if its just a final intertitle might resolve things more clealry.

I liked it alot but, the music was kind of annoying & I wanted to hear more from you as the POD went on, & the contrasting colours didn't help, good though.

I sympathize with Haitians as they are our brothers me being Dominican. There are many poor Dominicans also and many of these plants are not owned by Dominicans but American companies. mexicans in the states are treated the same getting somethimes less than minimum wage. This is a tragedy but smudging the Domincan Republic as using slavery is far fetched when many Haitians actually eat in the DR and would not in Haiti. Many scholars agree this is an effort to tarnish the image of our country as to fuse it with the DR pernamently and thus curb immigration by Haitians struggling to get into the US. Also with human rights groups condeming the DR they look past what the USA does to Mexican workers and Dominicans in the Zone of the Americas who also work for basically slave wages. The DR is exploited to my people are suffering just as Haitians ....also it is good to note in towns like San Pedro de Marcoris many Haitians are merchants etc.. living very well, some better than poor brown Dominicans. The USA is also racist as it does not want a surplus of black or brown immigrants but yet welcomes European and Asian immigrants and white Cubans. I did enjoy your editing techniques and the pod...but I am just saying this is just the surface. Good pod though..its just this is a very deep issue.

Image...

well my ancestors in the dominican republic on my mom side worked in a ingenio called consuelo in san pedro mostly us cocolos(people who came form the leeward and winward islands) and some haitian used to cut the cane and mostly dominicans too but now that they are letting haitians do the work iam appalled on how some dominicans are getting lazy and commiting crimes instead of working hard I get racist look because i am a dark complected dominican It was all trujillos fault cause back in the day he had something called anti-haitianisimo and he was scared of dark skinned dominicans and haitians.he murdered innocent haitians at Rio massacre in 1937 and the older generation in the Cibao taught those racist values to their children and grandchildren and why why some racism is so prominent int he Dominican republic today the picture i have is from ingenio consuelo san pedro de macoris and they are alot of bateyes in san pedro when the Americans used to own Haina,Ingenio Quisqueya,Angelina,Santa Fe and Ingenio porvenir