As a columnist and concerned Haitian, I have over the years written a few articles on the state of the thorny relationship existing between Haiti and the DR, and have tried to be as objective as my knowledge of the subject allows. I know that any of my arguments would not be valid without the counterarguments of the other side. The anticipated counterarguments from the other side however have not only overlooked the relevant subject-matter but came in the form of demonizing or lecturing Haitians on their presumed failings that the international community has been propagating as the “factual” reasons behind Haiti’s torments.
In fairness, the comments that I received from many Dominican readers, some of them preposterous and vitriolic, never rose to the level of counterarguments. They were emotional reactions of seemingly misguided Dominican patriots that refuse to accept the notion that the future of both nations is forever intertwined by fate and geography, not by a desire of some Haitians to become Dominicans, as one commentator boldly asserted. “You killed off your colonizers we partnered with ours. No country in the western hemisphere has practiced more racial killings and executions than Haiti. Have you read your history” argued another commentator.