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Response to Ruth Messinger

I have just read the article posted by Ruth Messinger titled “American Jews Must Speak out for Haitians in the Dominican Republic”.
[additional-authors]
August 14, 2015

I have just read the article posted by Ruth Messinger titled “American Jews Must Speak out for Haitians in the Dominican Republic”. It is obvious that Ms. Messinger has never been to the Dominican Republic, knows nothing about the Dominican Republic and is totally ignorant on the subject of which she gives opinions. I was born in China; my father was in Buchenwald for 6 months and I have lived in the Dominican Republic practically my whole life.

I will not deny that there are individuals that discriminate, just like in the US, Israel and most other countries. I will categorically deny that it is government policy. There are an estimated 2 million Haitians living in the Dominican Republic. For whatever reason they are here, many of them have no identity papers, but the large number that do, have them because the Dominican Government provided them free of charge, something that the Haitian government won’t do, not even at a price.

Some Dominican public hospitals are overwhelmed by the number of Haitian women who cross the border without papers, just to give birth without any of them being denied that service which these hospitals can ill afford. The public university has large numbers of Haitian students and in any aspect of Dominican life, Haitians are involved. These examples are not a justification for anything, but just a contradiction of the ridiculous comparison made by Ms. Messinger to the situation here to the Holocaust. She obviously doesn’t even know about the Holocaust. Dominicans are no like those Germans. Dominicans are human and humane and for Ms. Messinger to imply otherwise only depicts her total ignorance on the subject. I would expect more from a Jew or for that matter from any other intelligent human being.

She repeats outright lies without bothering to search for truth. I say to her: come and visit. Live among Dominicans. Research their faults and benevolences and you will become a different human being. If you need to criticize, pick your own country which ever you consider it to be. You’ll find more there than here and don’t involve the Jews in your agenda. We do speak out and try to be righteous, but not based on your ignorant perceptions.

Joe Benjamin

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