Dozens attend Haitian solidarity event

In solidarity with Haiti

On Thursday, October 24, the New York City Dominican Haitian community organized a speak-out and rally to protest the racist violence against Haitians in the Dominican Republic.

In just 17 days, over 20,000 Haitians have been deported from the Dominican Republic since President Abinader announced earlier this month that his government would deport 10,000 Haitians every week.

People gathered outside the Consulado República Dominicana en el Bronx.

Some of the groups supporting the event included the Black Alliance for Peace, In Cultured Company, Rasanbleman NYC, Sisters in Struggle, and the Bronx Anti-War Coalition.

Before the rally, several people attempted to deliver a letter to the consulate, calling for an end to the mass deportations and the violation of Haitian rights. The attempt was rejected, and they were met with an employee who used extremely racist and violent rhetoric, with several folks describing the encounter to me as “disgusting.”

The rally followed a week of events in support of organizers on the ground in the Dominican Republic. Comrades in the Bronx talked to those on the island and held a panel Wednesday night to call upon those of us in the diaspora to reject anti-Haitianism.

I arrived at the rally at around 6 p.m. and walked around with community members while I took pictures and recorded some of the speakers. People spoke and chanted in Kreyol, English, and Spanish. They decried the violation of human rights and talked about Haitians facing ethnic cleansing, foreign occupation, displacement, and lack of access to food and water when detained by police.

Along with deportation, Haitians are being sexually assaulted by police. Many are losing their homes and savings. Many are imprisoned and completely disconnected from their families and communities.

“This is what comes of talking about Haitians and blackness like it is beneath us,” one speaker said.

Community members in attendance were met by a small group of counter-protestors whose rhetoric echoed the violent vitriol heard at the Dominican consulate.

These counter-protestors were separated from the rally by NYPD officers and tried many times to interrupt and shout over the speakers. Despite their attempts to destabilize the solidarity event, community members spoke and revitalized many in attendance.

Community members traveled from Harlem, parts of Brooklyn, and all over the Bronx in support of the Haitian community.

From In Cultured Company:

United as a community we are stronger, safer, more creative and able to find solutions to the critical issues we are facing. As #Dominicans, what we can’t afford to do is to be silent right now, when it matters the most. We have to stand up against hate and anti-Haitianism, knowing that each person’s life is just as important as the next person’s, REGARDLESS of whether they have papers or not.