Sunday, May 3, 2009

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC/HAITI: Border Market Embodies Inequalities

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC/HAITI: Border Market Embodies Inequalities

By Elizabeth Eames Roebling

Inter Press Service

ELIAS PINA/BELLEDARE, Apr 29, 2009 (IPS) - Elias Pina sits in a fertile high mountain valley on the border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Twice weekly, the side streets fill with Haitians and Dominicans trading produce, used clothing, kitchen equipment and shoes.

The merchants, predominantly women, pay a fee to the town for a place to sit and spread their merchandise. There is an occasional man selling low-end electronics, sunglasses, and pirated DVDs. Most of the men have tables while the women sit on the ground.

Juanita Duran, 48, comes down twice a month to buy because the used clothing here is cheaper than up in the northern market in Dajabon, Dominican Republic, where she lives.

Juanita returned to her native country after working for 18 years in the United States, taking care of the elderly. She speaks with mixed emotions of her life back there.

Read the full article here.

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