Neighbours in Poverty

46%. That’s the percentage difference between the Dominican Republic’s and Haiti’s population under the poverty line. Haiti has the highest population under the poverty line coming in at 80%, the Dominican sits at 34% under the poverty line. The difference in  population poverty is huge, considering the two countries are neighbours.

Neighbors help each other. Or their supposed to I’m told. But I don’t see the Dominican aiding Haiti with its poverty problem. Most high income Dominicans act as if they are not aware of the poverty problems next door. While rich Dominicans step out of their Escalades and sip cocktails while sun tanning on roof top pools, dirt-poor Haitians crawl out of cardboard box shelters and sip at contaminated water dripping from dirty faucets after working low-paying jobs in the sweltering heat for hours.

Haitians are holding out a hand, hoping for help. We are standing above them, with a choice. We can ignore them and watch them struggle to eat, work, survive. Or, we can take that hand and help them up, as a good neighbour would do. Instead of turning away all Haitian refugees, we can take in a percentage each year. We can donate money, food, and other resources to help our neighbour up from their knees. We can help build schools to educate Haitian youth, hospitals to allow easier access to Haitians without medical help, and homes to help Haitians with sheltering their families.

If the Dominican Republic was at its knees, with over 80% of the population under the poverty line, disease and pestilence running rampant, and Dominicans not being able to fix these problems on their own, would you not want help. Perhaps, from a neighbour? A neighbour that is stabler and stronger, who has money and the resources to help us? That is what we are in Haiti’s eyes.

A neighbour.

A good or bad neighbour is up to us to decide.

A decision must be made.