Complex. You will probably hear me use this word again and again to describe the Dominican Republic because, at its core, there is so much tension between all kinds of different identities. While I am residing in Santo Domingo, the country’s capital, so far I have also visited Punta Cana, a city full of beach resorts similar to the one that I stayed at with my family just prior to arriving for my program, and Villa Altagracia, a small town outside Santo Domingo where I will be interning for a workers union at a fábrica that bears the town’s name (don’t worry, more on this later).
I will do a small exercise to show you what I mean about the Dominican’s complexities. I am going to write the first three observations that immediately come to mind when I reflect on each city. Ready, go:
Punta Cana
- White
- Paradise
- Tourist
Santo Domingo
- Middle
- Diverse
- Change
Villa Altagracia
- Black
- Struggle
- Lack
When I would tell people that I was going to the DR to study abroad, the answer I would receive more often than not was, “Ugh, I’m so jealous, with those beautiful beaches and 80 degree weather, you will have the time of your life!” The reaction that I would overwhelmingly hear painted to me again and again was most similar to my experience at the beach resort in Punta Cana: a quite literal paradise.
However, drive maybe fifteen or twenty minutes outside this city, and you will begin to see towns that more closely resemble Villa Altagracia. Abandoned buildings that are falling apart, loads of garbage and trash on the ground, poverty.
And then there’s Santo Domingo that is somewhere between the two, with a metro system that is brand spankin’ new and citywide blackouts that occur every other day for small periods of time.
The point that I am trying to make is that the picture that is often painted of the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean in general is one of heavenly delight, where people recline on the beach all day sipping on coconuts without a care in the world. This is certainly the image that resorts such as the one that I stayed at make millions of dollars each year off of.
But, this could not be farther from the truth. Because the DR is, ah, what’s that word again? Oh yes, complex. Along with experiencing colonialism, the DR has historically undergone not one but two US military occupations along with the reign of a brutal, racist dictator. The DR has a tense history with its neighbor Haiti, and is currently under international pressure to repeal discriminatory citizenship laws that render Dominicans of Haitian descent stateless.
I know that I still have so much to learn about the DR and about the oppression that the country has both experienced and perpetuated. I want to be aware of the role that whiteness and American-ness have played in forming the country’s current dynamics. Throughout my time here, I hope to listen to the diverse narratives of the people I encounter and learn more about identity and what it truly means to be Dominican.
Peace.Love.Complexity
