Updates

We added several new posts, including June 9,10, and 12. Be sure to check them out!!!
Contributed by Phil

June 12

Tonight we attended a performance put on by Justicia Global. They are currently trying to create a new nucleo in Santiago to add to the one in Santo Domingo. They read poetry and performed a play about the new metro system that was recently built in the city of Santo Domingo. It was a really good perspective to see what it is like when you are trying to start a new community organization. Each member of Justicia Global invited one of their friends and that alone left them with 10 new members and that is how social movements start. We could easily do the same thing when we all get home to Ithaca or wherever we might be. All it takes is one person who wants to organize and they invite their friends who invite their friends and then you have the beginning of a movement.

Contributed by Devon

June 12

Today we visited a Zona Franca, or Free Trade Zone in Santiago. A Free Trade Zone is a gated compound of factories that produce for a number of multinational corporations and are exempt from import, export, and income taxes, as well as some environmental regulations. The particular factory that we visited was the Swedish Match Dominicana factory that was producing cigars that would be sold as Game, White Owl, Garcia y Vega, and other brands. The factory had a sickeningly sweet smell (due to the tobacco flavoring) that left several of us feeling ill after having been there only a few hours. At this time, the factory employs 861 people and produces 190 products. The factory’s minimum wage is $1.36 per hour which is 35% higher than the nation’s minimum wage of $1,566 PD per 44 hour week, which is $44.70. The Zona Franca exemplifies Marx’s belief that under capitalism workers are alienated from what they produce. Because of the factory’s location in the FTZ, its products are exported mostly to the US, where workers never see the price for which they are sold, or to whom, nor do consumers see the conditions under which they are produced and by whom.
Later in the afternoon we were able to see a very different manner of production when we were able to purchase crafts from One Réspe’s craft workshop. We stood in the room in which they were made, and knew who had made them. Not only that, but the profits went to support One Réspe’s work with community schools and HIV patients.




Contributed by Hannah

New Masculinity and Machismo

Machismo is a common state of mind in Latin America. Being here, the class has learned a lot about how machismo manifests itself in the culture and actions of those around us. One of the first things that probably comes to mind for each of our women are the piropos. Piropos are cat-calls, and it is hard to walk more than two blocks without receiving one. I personally feel the objectification of my body as I stare down the men who look me up and down and tell me that my thighs are nice, or that god has blessed them today. Gabina from One Réspe works with a group of girls to teach them how to respond to such public display of machismo. One clever saying that these women now respond with is “Would you say that to your mother/sister/grandmother?” This is an effort to hopefully make them think, and even realize that these women are real people just like their beloved female family members.
Another way that machismo has manifested is with that of domestic violence. Many women are abused, and One Réspe is working on a program called “New Masculinity.” New masculinity means challenging the traditionally gender roles, and maybe thinking more seriously about what society tells you. They have posters and t-shirts (that all the young children wear at the schools) that have cartoons of a man first asking “Do I hit? (He is wearing boxing gloves)” and then “But only in the tournament (he is posed with his stick figure family).” Another says “Do I clean the bases? (He is carrying a bat and glove)” and then “Or help clean the house? (He is holding a broom).”
Every week One Réspe meets with a men’s group where they discuss their masculinity and what they are limited in and how they learned these roles. It is important to not only educate women in power of their own bodies and will, but also to educate men to challenge masculinity that encourages the subjugation, abuse, and misuse of women. They also meet weekly with a Haitian women’s group (as Farah discussed previously) where they discuss how as women and people of color they are horribly mistreated and marginalized.

Contributed by Ciara

June 11th

On our second day (tuesday) with One Réspe we visited two community schools that they operate here in Gurabo. My group ended up arriving at these schools during recess, and the kids could not have been happier. Although most of us had a language barrier with the kids, it didn't stop us from running around, playing ring around the rosy in spanish, picking them up and at one point I gave my camera to one of the girls. I suspected that she had seen digital cameras before because she knew that she could immediately see the pictures. After running around to her classmates and putting the lens about an inch away from their faces, I now have a set of photos from a three foot eye level. It took a bit of courage to allow a maybe 4 year old girl to run around with one of my most prized possessions, but I knew that it was something that would be good for both of us. I hope that there is some way to send the pictures back to the kids. After about ten minutes of photos, my batteries died and the flock of children dispersed pretty quickly.

On the way to the school and on our way home we had to pass through some neighborhoods that were not in the best shape to say the least. We saw a few of the kids getting rides home on the back of motorcycles, and although it looked like a fun ride, we weren't so sure about the homes they were going to. In spite of all of this, I still found it somewhat hopeful to know that there is a community here that is doing what they can to make sure that kids have a good place to go to school, even if it's only for those first few years.

Contributed by Becky Bowen

June 10

Today the group had lectures and discussions with two members of One Réspe. In the morning Catuxo, the co-coordinator of One Réspe sat down and talked with us under the beautiful pavilion at One Réspe headquarters. He has a background in Sociology and has conducted research within the community. After answering some of the questions of the class, he brought out some of his own materials to share with us. First we looked at fashion and product magazines. We reflected on the appearance of the models and the people in the magazine and what kind of message it was sending Dominicans. The women were tall, skinny, pale, had long straight hair, and were young looking. While women in the USA also have similar standards to fulfill, it is important to consider what proportion of Dominicans have African heritage. Catuxo also presented us with Catholic images of Jesus, Mary, and other biblical scenes. These images are revered by the many Catholics of the DR and often hung within their houses. All the images portrayed the holy family as Caucasian. Mary also seemed to be perpetrating this amazing phenomenon that I am sure many women in Western culture would be jealous of – she remained ageless.
So what are these images saying? The standard of beauty in many countries that were colonized by Europeans is that of a Caucasian. White beauty standards reinforce the hierarchy between races. If a woman has textured and nappy hair, she has African roots, and therefore straightening or hiding the natural hair is the solution. The DR also has a history reinforced by the nationalist Duarte in the mid 1800s to deny their African roots and be proud of their European ones. In part, this is a way they distinguish themselves from Haitians. Haiti has a larger composition of darker skinned colored peoples because Haiti was a more successful colony than the DR, and therefore more slaves were imported.
By prizing lighter skin and straight long hair, there is this oppression and shaming of those who do not fit these standards. There are 14 different racial classifications of race here in the DR. They range from cinnamon to light Indian, to brown. These classifications work to label with any name except African or black. They also serve to show the hierarchy of race within the DR. Walking around the DR, almost every woman I see has her hair relaxed, and the only women I can recall who do not have their hair relaxed, are those of One Réspe. This brings me to our second speaker, Gabina.
Gabina works in Los Perez at one of the schools run by One Réspe. She talked to us about racial issues and hair. She proudly wears her tresses in a poufy bun on top of her head - displaying her natural beauty with pride. Gabina also talked to us about the methods of teaching they use in the schools. Using methods like word recognition, visual aids/toys for math, and real life, these students were learning incredible amounts of information in their elementary education. Gabina also uses reflection to teach the children about issues of racism and sexism to encourage acceptance and discourage that continuing behavior.

Contributed by Ciara

The Haitian Women’s Meeting Group, June 9

Tuesday night I participated in a meeting with a group of Haitian women in the community. They discussed many issues that affect them in the Dominican Republic as a group. After hearing their stories of struggle, disrespect, and violence, I became frustrated by the way racism shapes peoples’ ideologies. I am frustrated because I feel like the world is trapped. The powerful oppress the less powerful. While the Dominican people struggle with many difficult issues, such as poverty and corruption, many feel powerful enough to oppress others. The Haitian women told stories of Dominicans who still find ways to oppress them even if they are in equal levels of poverty.
Haitians are considered illegal even if they were born in the Dominican Republic. Haitians are at risk of deportation at any time, even if they don’t speak the language (Creole) or have never been to Haiti. They are never considered Dominicans. The cause of Haitian mistreatment and deportation is not only racism; it is also motivated by the capitalist system. If a Haitian is deported they can bribe an immigration officer and be allowed to stay in the country. Many Haitian women in the group didn’t have a visa or passport; it was just about the money. People of color undergo many hardships with immigration in many countries. In the United States the immigration process is difficult regardless of your race. However, for a person of color it is more difficult to gain an entry visa.
Racism never works for a person of color. Even though racial prejudice might work for Dominicans for the short term, in the long term another group is benefiting.

Contributed by Farah