At the border: On the head, in a wheelborow, on a bike or a motorbike...etc any goods bought at the Dominican are brought back in Haiti to be resold.
Trucks over loaded of goods and people, take the roads for different regions of Haiti.
The Dominican republic and Haiti have recently held a meeting in Ouanaminthe to develop a bilateral exchange between the 2 countries. From now on the border will be open to Haitian to buy goods in the Dominican from 07:00 to 19:00. The market days are held on Monday and Friday. The border is a blessing for Haitians but a disaster for Haiti. The bilateral exchange is to me rather an unilateral exchange. The Dominicans provide the goods and the Haitians buy them. Haiti has not much to offer than the Dominicans don't have; Cheap labor would be the only thing that comes to mind when thinking about it. In Ouanaminthe, there used to be an ice factory (since the electricity is rather sparse here, most of the people in this region of Haiti rely on big blocks of ice to keep their perishable food) but for years now the factory is closed and instead of trying to get it back on, the Haitians buy their ice in the Dominican Rep. Sure it is nice that the Haitians have access to what they need but on the other side of the coin, they are totally dependent of the Dominican Rep and no sustainable economy is developed here. According to an Haitian border officer I spoke to, approximately 10 to 20 thousands people are crossing the border during market days, and after patrolling the border on regular basis I believe these numbers to be possible. It is insane, from the moment the gate opens in the morning to the moment its closes, huge waves of Haitians are literally running to the Dominican Rep, buy their goods and come back loaded like donkeys. If I had to watch the border from up in the air I imagine it would be like watching ants at work carrying loads way bigger than their body and bring it to their nest. Add to these human waves, the permanent shouting, the noise from the motorbikes exhaust as well as the fumes and the heat and you have the perfect recipe for a headache. Not a place to relax for sure ;-)
At the border: On the head, in a wheelborow, on a bike or a motorbike...etc any goods bought at the Dominican are brought back in Haiti to be resold.
Trucks over loaded of goods and people, take the roads for different regions of Haiti.
The Dominican republic and Haiti have recently held a meeting in Ouanaminthe to develop a bilateral exchange between the 2 countries. From now on the border will be open to Haitian to buy goods in the Dominican from 07:00 to 19:00. The market days are held on Monday and Friday. The border is a blessing for Haitians but a disaster for Haiti. The bilateral exchange is to me rather an unilateral exchange. The Dominicans provide the goods and the Haitians buy them. Haiti has not much to offer than the Dominicans don't have; Cheap labor would be the only thing that comes to mind when thinking about it. In Ouanaminthe, there used to be an ice factory (since the electricity is rather sparse here, most of the people in this region of Haiti rely on big blocks of ice to keep their perishable food) but for years now the factory is closed and instead of trying to get it back on, the Haitians buy their ice in the Dominican Rep. Sure it is nice that the Haitians have access to what they need but on the other side of the coin, they are totally dependent of the Dominican Rep and no sustainable economy is developed here. According to an Haitian border officer I spoke to, approximately 10 to 20 thousands people are crossing the border during market days, and after patrolling the border on regular basis I believe these numbers to be possible. It is insane, from the moment the gate opens in the morning to the moment its closes, huge waves of Haitians are literally running to the Dominican Rep, buy their goods and come back loaded like donkeys. If I had to watch the border from up in the air I imagine it would be like watching ants at work carrying loads way bigger than their body and bring it to their nest. Add to these human waves, the permanent shouting, the noise from the motorbikes exhaust as well as the fumes and the heat and you have the perfect recipe for a headache. Not a place to relax for sure ;-)
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