Haiti: Resolving the issue of migration

A month after his installation as head of the Ministry of Haitians Living Abroad (LIFE-H), Edwin Parison, with several executives of his ministry, visited the Dominican Republic to discuss with contractors on the Haitian can creating a fund of private sector in Haiti moving neighboring republic and meet officials on the Dominican migration.

Minister of Haitians Living Abroad, Edwin Parison, is leading a delegation that is since the weekend passed the Dominican Republic. This tour started December 11, 2009 falls within the framework of a series of official visits to be made by that Minister. During his stay, the delegation of Haiti, among others, met with Dominican officials and the Haitian private sector business.

"We met Monday, December 14, 2009, Haitian entrepreneurs in order to consider establishing a fund of private sector in Haiti in the Dominican Republic, said Monday that Mr. Parison said he also met with Dominican officials the same day.

"The idea of this meeting," said Parison is trying to encourage the integration of these men and women entrepreneurs in the various programs and measures for the development and progress of Haiti, the Like men and women of Haitian or of Haitian descent settled in other parts of the world. " And to show their desire to cooperate, the minister said that the countrymen have already established a core group whose mission is to explore ways of establishing this fund.

In addition, the Minister Parison noted that the issue of panhandling and the Haitian case of women with children on his hands wandering the streets of Santo Domingo was at the heart of discussions between the delegation and some Haitian NGOs. "To resolve this problem, a kind of volunteerism has been considered among all the NGO run by Haitians or Haitian Dominican," he said. According to Mr. Parison, people in this situation are only victims of human trafficking considered by most as a form of export of the poverty of Haiti to the Dominican Republic.

Regulate the migration issue

The delegation met with Dominican Republic Minister of Interior responsible for Immigration, in order to propose the plan to regularize migration planned for early 2010 by the Dominicans to be done in concert with the Haitian authorities, with a view to taking better account of Haitians in the Dominican Republic. Mr. Parison would also meet his counterpart, Alejandro Santos, who heads the National Council of Dominicans living abroad, a body created 15 years after the existence of the LIFE-H.

Indeed, the regulation plan of migration come into force around March 2010, after full approval of the new version of the Dominican Constitution in January. In turn, the Haitians living in the neighboring republic to be eligible, must have documents Haitian.

Mr. Parison also visited a hospital in La Romana. The Hospital called "Good Samaritan", which 75% of patients are Dominicans, was founded by a Haitian pastor, the late Luc Phanord. Moreover, the minister said he met about a dozen leaders of student organizations in Santiago, representing nearly 3,000 students.

Minister Parison which made its first move into foreign territory wished "that the Dominicans can appreciate the positive work achieved by the Haitians for the Dominican community and also understand that we must not only seek to bring out certain behaviors negative Haitians.

After his stay in the Dominican Republic, the Haitian delegation will fly to Spain and return home on weekends.