Fear of a Black Country: Dominican Anti-Haitianism, the Denial of Racism, and Contradictions in the Aftermath of the 2010 Earthquake.

Abstract

The Dominican Republic (DR) and Haiti are two Caribbean countries that share the same island, Hispaniola, and a tumultuous history. Both countries' historical relationship is ridden with geopolitical conflict stemming from the DR creating an unwelcoming environment for Haitian immigrants. This dissertation is a interdisciplinary study that investigates how Dominican thinkers play a significant role in creating the intellectual impetus that encourages anti-Haitian sentiment throughout Dominican society in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake. In this dissertation I examine how Dominican anti-Haitian ideals, as delineated by Dominican nationalist intellectuals, that I refer to as Defensive Dominican Nationalists (DDN), continue to resonate amongst "everyday" Dominicans and within the recently amended 2010 Dominican constitution that denies citizenship to Dominicans of Haitian descent in the aftermath of the earthquake. I conclude that although the new constitution reinforces the anti-Haitian ideals espoused by conservative Dominican elite thinkers, "everyday" Dominicans, in the post 2010 earthquake timeframe, rejected some of the DDN's beliefs concerning the true definition of Dominican-ness and how the Dominican government had recently amended its constitution. My methodology, consists of literary analysis, a survey, and focus group interviews conducted on both Dominicans and Haitians residing in the DR. Unexpectedly, I found that documented Haitians and second generation Dominicans of Haitian descent actually oppose the new influx of Haitian immigrants adopting some of the anti-Haitian attitudes of the DDN. In essence, this dissertation diagnoses a racial problem emanating from geopolitical conflict and the tumultuous history between Dominican and Haitian society.