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MRG launches campaign to fight racism in the Dominican Republic

26 April 2016

Minority Rights Group (MRG) has launched a crowdfunding campaign to fight racism in the Dominican Republic where over 100,000 Dominicans of Haitian descent are stateless and face discrimination. The campaign aims to raise £5,000 to help 12 Dominico-Haitian community leaders empower youth and stop discrimination through training, cultural actions and expert advice.

A history of discrimination

From the 1920s, Haitian migrants moved to the Dominican Republic to work on sugarcane plantations. Over time, they integrated into Dominican communities, becoming the country’s largest minority group. However, there is a long history of discrimination against Dominicans of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic. Most recently, in 2013, a constitutional court judgement deprived thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent of their Dominican nationality, leaving them in a tragic limbo. Despite efforts by the government to solve the issue, thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent still have no identity documents and so cannot access school, healthcare or work. Thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent face discrimination because of their skin colour and ancestry every day.

How you can help

MRG’s fundraising campaign will help empower young Dominicans of Haitian descent by giving them tools they need to challenge discrimination. Campaign proceeds will enable 12 leaders of Dominico-Haitian community train and empower youth in at least five informal settlements to boost their confidence and help them find creative solutions to their challenges. The campaign will support those young leaders to build a social movement in each informal settlement to demand access to the services they are entitled to, such as running water, roads or education.

MRG is partnering in this campaign with Movimiento de Mujeres Dominico-Haitianas (MUDHA), a Dominico-Haitian women’s organization, with whom MRG has successfully implemented cultural and training projects in Dominico-Haitian communities for six years.

To learn more about the campaign and to make a donation, visit the campaign website.

For further information, contact the MRG Press Office on [email protected].