At a summit with Haitian president René Preval, Dominican president Leonel Fernandez, and Spanish vice-president María Teresa Fernández de la Vega a couple of interesting ideas came out. In particular, they suggest that debt payments from poor countries go to Haiti instead of their creditors. They estimate the payments would total $10,000,000 over ten years.
Dominican troops will not be added to beef up the UN Peace Keeping force in added. The two countries have a long and contentious relationship, and sending Dominican troops could be interpreted as an act of aggression by the Dominican government
The hospitals in Jamani, a major border crossing on the Dominican side, are full of Haitian wounded being treated. There is growing animosity from Dominicans that Haitians are clogging the hospital beds. More and more foreign doctors are arriving to support the hospitals on the Dominican side of the border.
Questions are arrising about the American military pressence in Haiti. The marines have staged several decades long occupations on the island of hispaniola, supported military coups, and propped up military dictatorships on both sides of the island.
From NPR: People are starting to leave Port au Prince en masse. It’s not entirely clear where they will go, but my guess is that they will head for the Dominican border. Relief efforts may need to begin in earnest on the Dominican side of the border in order to provide, housing, and medical treatment to refugees.
