Summary:
In the terminating pages of the book, politics was a continued topic. There were a lot more struggles with achieving the goal of becoming President, though, and police officers were out to enforce their own laws. For a change, Dominicans were put in the spot and were discriminated, just like they had done to the Haitians plenty of times before. Guillermo Linares was then brought up, who would eventually become a widely noted "caballero" (or gentleman of highest order). As a child, he struggled to find his identity, and he struggled in learning English. Eventually, he did learn the language and became an American citizen. He proceeded to become a teacher, but he also became an activist that pushed for the needs of Dominican students (214).
Through Linares' advocation, him and other community leaders gave a start for Dominicans to get elected to the school board, where they pushed for the inclusion of their culture to be incorporated more into education. Many Dominican role models rose above these circumstances, including Euclid Mejia. who became the first Dominican principial of a New York high school where three-quarters of the students were Dominican. Linares was gaining political fame, but it would not last long, because when a proposal came up to remove bodegas (corner stores), Linares voted to approve the person who proposed the plan. Because of this, he became known as traitor to his community and for "not being Dominican enough" (215).
It was then brought up how emigrating to the United States from the Dominican Republic was becoming a lot easier, especially obtaining a visa. More politics was brought up, including Jose Fernandez, who would become the representation of the Dominican community in Congress. Following all the politics, a quick synopsis of the biography of Leonel Fernandez was given, and how he got to the place he is today. Also, with the election of Bill Clinton, Dominicans hoped that the pressure of to limit the benefits that immigrants received would stop, yet Dominicans in New York still struggled to live between the two different worlds. Shifting topics, the concluding chapter basically talked about carnivals and festivities that both the Dominican Republic and Haiti celebrate. Each has its own style, yet both are parallel in their structure, and through this carnival, Dominicans and Haitians are brought together despite their constant conflicts.
Quote:
"During Carnival, the festival that flaunts limits and rules, real conflicts briefly disappear as Dominicans and Haitians celebrate their differences and their common roots. Haiti is no longer on the other side of the border, New York no longer across the water" (Wucker 251).
Reaction:
Through the ending of the book, Wucker gave a great sense of understanding the rest of the political history of the Dominican Republic. It was great to learn about all the Dominicans in New York that worked very hard and became very successful in achieving benefits for the Dominican community. Haiti had been shed a lot of light for understanding the living conditions the majority of the Haitians faced, as was with the Dominican Republic. Learning about each individual country with a designated chapter(s) really gave a lot of background knowledge in understanding why the people are the way they are. However, looking back through the history and all the struggles faced, it's very clear that these two countries that share the island should be united rather than separated, because their history and their suffering tie in together more than they realize.
I chose this quote because it is final proof that, despite it all, Haiti and the Dominican Republic can coexist in the same island in harmony. It's fascinating to see that through a common festivity, everything can be forgotten and everyone enjoys themselves. At the same time, it is sad to see that only through a big celebration can conflicts be set aside. It makes people reflect on what can be other possibilities on helping resolve the conflicts between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. However, through a festivity that reflects limits and cuts the perspective of things, the Dominican Republic and Haiti still manage to join together in celebrating what unites them.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Why the Roosters Fight (Pages 159-210)
Summary:
Picking up from where it was left off, life in "Little Haiti" was described, including the life of a man called Joseph, who works hard to make a living out of the little he makes. Politics is brought up with Dominican President of the time Joaquin Balaguer, who was doing as he pleased in the country, even though his time in presidency was slowly coming to a close. Even so, Balaguer has managed to manipulate the voting so that he ends up winning the election and presidency once more. Although it has repeatedly happened before, these ending results continued to schock Dominican voters.
Continuing on with the summary, politics was described with more detail. Readers learn about President Balaguer, who was fragile and old age. He would no longer be President due to the new elections that were coming up, considering he was the one that was ending his term two years ahead. He had done a lot of good things for his country, but he refused to step down in power when it was time to (just as Trujillo had done). He had been President for more than twelve years, and wanted to remain a legacy once he was out of presidency. He was blind due to glaucoma. but he had an incredible education. Once Balaguer lost the election and stepped down from presidency, Guzman became President, but committed suicide for an unclear reason. The next three available candidates were: Jacinto Peynaldo, Jose Francisco Pena Gomez, and Leonel Fernandez. He ends up being the elected President (who is still currently the President today). However, that doesn't mean Balaguer is done here. Help is still needed from him, and he still attempted to find a way to control history and threat candidates.
Quote:
"A month before the election, Leonel's Party alleged that massive numbers of Haitians were would try to vote using fake identification. Police swooped into the cane fields and into Haitian urban ghettos, demanding identity documents from anyone else who was dark. Dominicans interpreted the move as an attempt to intimidate dark-skinned voters who might have wanted to vote for Pena" (Wucker 187).
Reaction:
In this section, a lot of politics and background information on Joaquin Balaguer was described. Readers learn about the President that, although blind and old, had remained in presidency for twelve years. He was called a manipulator for what he had done with the presidential elections, and it is fair to say that that is what he did. He contributed to some good for the country but for the most part, was just like Trujillo in the sense that he did not want to step down from power. Learning about how the Dominican Republic has obtained their current president and all the struggles candidates faced makes it possible to see that, although Haiti has suffered more cruelly, the Dominican Republic had the same bad luck for some time.
I chose this quote because it was surprising for me to read it. I thought that with the change of President, Haitians would be given more attention and given the human rights they deserve. However, it seems as if history is willing to continuously repeat itself, and people never learn their lesson. They were not even given the right to vote, or if they were, were intimidated into not doing so. It's disappointing to see that the prejudice just won't end. It's also sad to see that the candidate Leonel didn't seem to have done anything to stop what his party was doing.
Picking up from where it was left off, life in "Little Haiti" was described, including the life of a man called Joseph, who works hard to make a living out of the little he makes. Politics is brought up with Dominican President of the time Joaquin Balaguer, who was doing as he pleased in the country, even though his time in presidency was slowly coming to a close. Even so, Balaguer has managed to manipulate the voting so that he ends up winning the election and presidency once more. Although it has repeatedly happened before, these ending results continued to schock Dominican voters.
Continuing on with the summary, politics was described with more detail. Readers learn about President Balaguer, who was fragile and old age. He would no longer be President due to the new elections that were coming up, considering he was the one that was ending his term two years ahead. He had done a lot of good things for his country, but he refused to step down in power when it was time to (just as Trujillo had done). He had been President for more than twelve years, and wanted to remain a legacy once he was out of presidency. He was blind due to glaucoma. but he had an incredible education. Once Balaguer lost the election and stepped down from presidency, Guzman became President, but committed suicide for an unclear reason. The next three available candidates were: Jacinto Peynaldo, Jose Francisco Pena Gomez, and Leonel Fernandez. He ends up being the elected President (who is still currently the President today). However, that doesn't mean Balaguer is done here. Help is still needed from him, and he still attempted to find a way to control history and threat candidates.
Quote:
"A month before the election, Leonel's Party alleged that massive numbers of Haitians were would try to vote using fake identification. Police swooped into the cane fields and into Haitian urban ghettos, demanding identity documents from anyone else who was dark. Dominicans interpreted the move as an attempt to intimidate dark-skinned voters who might have wanted to vote for Pena" (Wucker 187).
Reaction:
In this section, a lot of politics and background information on Joaquin Balaguer was described. Readers learn about the President that, although blind and old, had remained in presidency for twelve years. He was called a manipulator for what he had done with the presidential elections, and it is fair to say that that is what he did. He contributed to some good for the country but for the most part, was just like Trujillo in the sense that he did not want to step down from power. Learning about how the Dominican Republic has obtained their current president and all the struggles candidates faced makes it possible to see that, although Haiti has suffered more cruelly, the Dominican Republic had the same bad luck for some time.
I chose this quote because it was surprising for me to read it. I thought that with the change of President, Haitians would be given more attention and given the human rights they deserve. However, it seems as if history is willing to continuously repeat itself, and people never learn their lesson. They were not even given the right to vote, or if they were, were intimidated into not doing so. It's disappointing to see that the prejudice just won't end. It's also sad to see that the candidate Leonel didn't seem to have done anything to stop what his party was doing.
Why the Roosters Fight (Pages 105-158)
Summary:
In the following chapters of the book, the struggles Haitians encounter daily is what is being shed light on. It's learn about the abuse Haitians suffered under the hands of dictator Trujillo. He never accepted them, yet needed them for labor if he wanted them to supply to the economy. He, along with the Haitian president of the time Paul Magloire, made a contract in which Dominicans would "buy" Haitians. As a result, the Dominican government was paying Haiti as much as three million a year for the Haitians willing to work. Even after the assassination of Trujillo, this continued, and the U.S. decided each year how much sugar would be imported. The United States had to step in to control what was going on with the country.
There did come a point when Haitians demanded to be brought back to Haiti after abuse and intended kidnapping from Trujillo collaborator Felix W. Bernardino. Because they rebelled, they were shot. This occurred when the sugar prices were high, thus letting know that when the prices dropped, Haitians would expect on receiving worse treatment. Following this, it was mentioned how, despite the fact that Haiti had abolished slavery for more than two hundred years, Haitians are still mistreated as if slavery continues. They are given no sense of humanity; it is stripped away from them once they leave Haiti and arrive in the Dominican Republic.
To summarize the last chapter read, it was dug into why Haitian presidents have the reputation of being corrupt. It started off when Jean-Claude's son "Baby Doc" became president. He spent money living a lavish lifestyle, money from the government flowing into his bank accounts. Getting off topic, cockfights were mentioned again, in which it was mentioned that three type of men attend the cockfight (breeders, players and gamblers). It can be an allusion to the U.S., Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, in which the breeders relate to the U.S. (in the way they control certain things). the players being D.R. and Haiti bring the gamblers.
Quote:
"The voiceless Haitians cannot even defend themselves. Human-rights advocates say they are modern-day slaves. It has been nearly two hundred years since Haiti abolished slavery, but this denial of workers' humanity persists" (Wucker 113).
Reaction:
Reading this section of the book, it was amazing to see what the Haitians have had to dealt with throughout their history. They managed to fight off all the big powers that came in to try and control them, and they achieved the abolishment of slavery. However, it's as if their happiness gets stripped away from them in every possible chance. They are not given respect by anybody, including their neighboring country. It's sad to see that those Haitians who leave their country are never truly accepted with their people, nor with the people of the Dominican Republic. They lose their identity, forced to work for a living acting as if they do not exist.
The reason I chose this quote was because it relates perfectly to the way Haitians have always been viewed. Everybody may "feel bad" about their daily living conditions, but nothing is ever actually done to help them out. People just pity the Haitians, but no respect is ever shown towards them. It is correct to say they are "modern-day slaves", because that is the way they are treated. If Haitians leave their country in search of a better life (just like everybody else does with leaving their native country to come to the U.S.) they should be respected as the human beings that they are, not as objects that need jobs to make money. It's very unfair of what they have to live through, as if history will always repeat itself.
In the following chapters of the book, the struggles Haitians encounter daily is what is being shed light on. It's learn about the abuse Haitians suffered under the hands of dictator Trujillo. He never accepted them, yet needed them for labor if he wanted them to supply to the economy. He, along with the Haitian president of the time Paul Magloire, made a contract in which Dominicans would "buy" Haitians. As a result, the Dominican government was paying Haiti as much as three million a year for the Haitians willing to work. Even after the assassination of Trujillo, this continued, and the U.S. decided each year how much sugar would be imported. The United States had to step in to control what was going on with the country.
There did come a point when Haitians demanded to be brought back to Haiti after abuse and intended kidnapping from Trujillo collaborator Felix W. Bernardino. Because they rebelled, they were shot. This occurred when the sugar prices were high, thus letting know that when the prices dropped, Haitians would expect on receiving worse treatment. Following this, it was mentioned how, despite the fact that Haiti had abolished slavery for more than two hundred years, Haitians are still mistreated as if slavery continues. They are given no sense of humanity; it is stripped away from them once they leave Haiti and arrive in the Dominican Republic.
To summarize the last chapter read, it was dug into why Haitian presidents have the reputation of being corrupt. It started off when Jean-Claude's son "Baby Doc" became president. He spent money living a lavish lifestyle, money from the government flowing into his bank accounts. Getting off topic, cockfights were mentioned again, in which it was mentioned that three type of men attend the cockfight (breeders, players and gamblers). It can be an allusion to the U.S., Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, in which the breeders relate to the U.S. (in the way they control certain things). the players being D.R. and Haiti bring the gamblers.
Quote:
"The voiceless Haitians cannot even defend themselves. Human-rights advocates say they are modern-day slaves. It has been nearly two hundred years since Haiti abolished slavery, but this denial of workers' humanity persists" (Wucker 113).
Reaction:
Reading this section of the book, it was amazing to see what the Haitians have had to dealt with throughout their history. They managed to fight off all the big powers that came in to try and control them, and they achieved the abolishment of slavery. However, it's as if their happiness gets stripped away from them in every possible chance. They are not given respect by anybody, including their neighboring country. It's sad to see that those Haitians who leave their country are never truly accepted with their people, nor with the people of the Dominican Republic. They lose their identity, forced to work for a living acting as if they do not exist.
The reason I chose this quote was because it relates perfectly to the way Haitians have always been viewed. Everybody may "feel bad" about their daily living conditions, but nothing is ever actually done to help them out. People just pity the Haitians, but no respect is ever shown towards them. It is correct to say they are "modern-day slaves", because that is the way they are treated. If Haitians leave their country in search of a better life (just like everybody else does with leaving their native country to come to the U.S.) they should be respected as the human beings that they are, not as objects that need jobs to make money. It's very unfair of what they have to live through, as if history will always repeat itself.
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