Speaker Addresses Injustices of Dominicans of Haitian Descent

Students who attended Campus Ministries' International Service Trip to the Dominican Republic in 2018 wanted to share their experience with their University of Scranton community by inviting Isidro Berique to campus. Isidro is a human rights advocate who works to address the injustices that Dominicans of Haitian descent are currently facing concerning denial of citizenship in the Dominican Republic (DR). Over 200 students attended the viewing of the documentary "Hasta La Raíz" on Oct. 1. Isidro is featured in the documentary and is a leading figure in Reconoci.do, an activist movement in the DR that advocates for the rights of Dominicans of Haitian descent. He also addressed over 20 faculty and staff at a luncheon on Oct. 3 hosted by The Jesuit Center.

The situation in the DR is similar to that of the “dreamers” in the United States. Like the dreamers knowing only the United States as their home country, Dominicans of Haitian descent born in the DR only know the DR as their home country. The government has passed laws that have effectively invalidated their Dominican nationality and made them stateless.