Dominican Republic Deported 1,800 Children to Haiti, Says UNICEF

While Haiti is experiencing an unprecedented crisis, with violent gangs vying for control of the country and overwhelming police, the Dominican Republic is stepping up efforts to expel Haitians fleeing their country. However, UNICEF reported that these expelled Haitians include over a thousand children.

The UN organization stated that Dominican Republic authorities have expelled at least 1,800 unaccompanied Haitian migrant children this year. They have sent these minors back to face the crisis happening in their country.

This came as the Caribbean nation rejected criticism of its crackdown on Haitian migrants and deporting them back to their country. The Dominican government has also strengthened its border enforcement and ramped up the deportation of Haitians, according to the Associated Press..

UNICEF Receiving Deported Children at Dominican Republic-Haiti Border

The Dominican government denied the UNICEF claim that they deported children, but insisted they were intensifying the crackdown on migration as a response to the country's recent cholera outbreak. However, this move has gained criticism not just from UNICEF, but also from other countries like the United States.

The U.S. has already accused the Dominican Republic of mass deportations, racist treatment of migrants, and detentions of Haitians in facilities with poor conditions.

According to CNN, many of these children arrive in the Dominican Republic without any identity documents. They are "shipped" into the country amid adult deportees, says a UNICEF spokesperson.

One researcher for the Dominican migration policy think tank Center for Migratory Observation and Social Development in the Caribbean, Yoana Kuzmova, stated that she found a woman with a diaper bag with her, but not the baby. Kuzmova stated that the mother was told by Dominican authorities that she couldn't carry her baby with her and that they would bring it to the bus. However, the authorities did not do as they promised.

Around 14,801 people have already been deported from the Dominican Republic this year, with an average of 477 deportations a day. There are also allegations of the inhumane and degrading treatment inflicted on Haitian citizens in the Dominican Republic.

Cholera Crisis in Haiti Worsens

While an immigration crisis is already happening, as well as rising gang violence, Haiti is also facing a worsening cholera outbreak.

The UNICEF reported that there is a surge of malnutrition in Haiti, and this combined with the cholera outbreak has been a devastating combination,

Manuel Fontaine, director of UNICEF's Office of Emergency Programs, spoke to the Associated Press and said that they are already planning for the worst. Over 12,000 in the country have gotten ill due to cholera, which has already killed at least 216 people, with 9,300 people hospitalized. However, experts believe that the number is much higher due to underreporting.

Now, the UNICEF and the Haitian government are asking for help to curb the disease, and they need at least $28 million to help feed, hydrate, and care for 1.4 million people affected by the crisis. With malnutrition also gripping the country, experts are also warning this might get worse.

"Cholera and malnutrition are a lethal combination, one leading to the other," Fontaine said.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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