Haiti - Dominican Republic : 50 Haitians repatriated in Haiti
Yesterday Thursday, September 2, 2010, more than fifty Haitians were repatriated in Haiti from the Dominican Republic, during an operation carried out by the members of the Border Security Specialist Corps (CESFRONT) in the border town of Jimani. According to the declarations of an official (anonymity), these operations occur regularly and are intended to repatriate Haitians without papers or which seems suspicious.
A witness of this operation said at least four of these returnees were women who lived in Jimaní for over three years and selling rice and beans on the local market.
Representatives of the Jesuit Service for Refugees and Migrants (SJRM) of Jimaní have tried to interview the Haitians being repatriated to ensure respect for human rights, "but they were repatriated before we can talk to them " said a member of this humanitarian organization. "We hope that the authorities establish mechanisms to ensure transparent and flexible respect for human rights and provide access to counsel to all persons who are detained and repatriated," said Jerpin Suero, coordinator of the Office of SJRM in Jimaní.
