Haiti - Justice : Begging Network dismantled in the Dominican Republic
Following an investigation of 9 months, the Dominican authorities have dismantled a large network specializing in the exploitation of Haitian children and adolescents who, every day, were forced to beg in the main streets and avenues of the Dominican capital.
A series of police operations in different parts of the municipality of Los Alcarrizos (west of the capital), conducted by the Public Ministry in coordination with the Directorate General of Immigration, the National Council for Childhood and Adolescence and agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of the United States led to the liberation of 58 Haitian children forced to beg on behalf of their captors. During these operations, police arrested 20 people (most Haitian women) accused of using these children to beg in the streets.
Yeni Bérénice Reynoso, Santo Domingo Prosecutor stated that the children were taken to a shelter where they receive food, medical help and psychological assistance. She said that the Dominican authorities led coordinated activities with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other organizations (UNICEF, IOM) to locate the parents of young victims to facilitate their return to their families in Haiti.
