The Dominican immigration narrative is one driven by diverse factors and for a foreign born, the history is an enticing one on how we arrived in the United States. Universal history dictates that the immigration happened in four distinguishable groups: the "Trujillo era" (1930 – 1960), the "post–Trujillo era" (1961 – 1981), the "flotilla" group (1982 – 1986), and the "post–flotilla" group (1983 – present) (Torres-Saillant and Hernández, 12). Many of the Dominicans have a history that supersedes the current reasons for immigration, and every family has a history. This history goes back to the days when working the farms was the main source of livelihoods.
Oppression in the home country
The sugar plantations were the primary source of income for many of the nation’s farmers, an occupation driven by the development of a farm economy during the nineteenth-century Spanish rule. The sugar sector was, however, a vehicle used to pay foreign debts accumulated over the years as a result of successive corruption and inefficient government regimes. The political unrest caused by the corrupt Haitian forces that had occupied the land and Dominican caudillos led to a disruption of normal economic activity and hindered development. However, the small farms in which farming used to take place created a sense of ownership to the many farmers in the country. The occupation of the United States in the country created a sense of revival in the country’s economy as it resulted in the reduction of the country’s foreign debt. The United States also invested heavily in the sugar plantations but unfortunately the small sugar farms were absorbed into national corporations (CSCC, 1).
The new farms posed a new challenge to the farming community in the country as the new organizations began to depend on imported labor force. These new workers accepted poorer wages and little or no benefits as well as poor living conditions than the citizen farmers. The United States invasion showed some signs of restoration though there were those that opposed the invasion over the period of their rule, and more likely included the oppressed farmers that were citizens. The rule ended in 1922, and a new president was elected in 1924, a man by the name Horacio Vázquez Lajara. His reign in power was dominated by six years of stable government, and the countrymen enjoyed a peaceful atmosphere that saw the government respect both political and human rights, though it did not mean improvement for the financial status of the oppressed farmers.
The push to leave the country
Successive visits to the country reveal that the country is home to beautiful beaches like the Punta Cana, and home to several famous mountain ranges in the region like the Cordillera Central ("Central Mountain Range"). However, this peaceful landscape a source of heritage to the country could not be enjoyed after President Vasquez was overthrown by his successor General Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina.
During this reign, there was considerable economic growth though not overly beneficial to the citizens of the land. The sugar industry had evolved to a strong sector that stirred economic growth and much of the small farms as earlier stated on which the sugar plantations were set had been taken over by the national government. The Trujillo regime saw the president and his associates, as well as family, enrich themselves majorly through the domestic sugar industry. For a family that highly depended on wages from the sugar industry as their source of livelihood, the gains were not sufficient to sustain the growing family. It is during this time that decisions had to be made on what to do to escape this inhospitable hostile economy to the peasant farmer. As a starting point, the United States invasion had stirred a leaning of the Dominican citizens towards a more urban lifestyle, that which was also promoted by the current regime.
The search for a more stable lifestyle was prompted by the unequal distribution of the seemingly growing economy that had impoverished the rural Dominicans, a majority of who were employed on the sugar farms. Political unrest was also a factor as during the Trujillo regime as there were many political inspired killings a factor that contributed further to the citizens to seek for a better fulfilling life. Those that were not part of the impoverished society in the Dominican Republic and were part of the Trujillo regime were forced to migrate to the United States and other European countries after the assassination of President Trujillo as they sought political asylum.
The United States presented an excellent opportunity to secure this better future. The problem was that it was not easy to obtain entry to the United States because it required some resources to secure air tickets and visas. For the immigrant peasant farmer, this seemed to be an uphill task and was not favorable as only the middle, and upper class would afford it. Therefore, many of the people sought an alternative route, which was through Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico was a more pleasant land for a chance to make a better living as the wages were better, compared to the Dominican Republic but the United States presented more promise to the immigrants. Puerto Rico provided the peasant farmers that had migrated for the Dominican Republic with a new hope as the country also had large farms which the immigrants worked in as they transited to the United States.
Getting into the United States
Seeking permanence in Puerto Rico was an option for many of the immigrants from the Dominican Republic, but the desire to seek better livelihoods and better wages could not keep a majority from seeking entry to this great land of promise. The dawn of a new life once one set foot upon this majestic land that everyone dreamt about from a young age came to became reality. For the farmer or person brought up in a struggling farming home, the desire for a well-paying job, better living conditions that meant the availability of water and electricity as well as reliable transportation, this was it. Entry was made easier with the development of a U.S. foreign policy during the 1960’s that became a pull factor, although many other factors have propelled the move into the country.
New York was the final destination, and they settled in majorly two boroughs namely the Bronx and Manhattan. The immigration cycle had been created and more and more continue to pursue entry to this land, “Este país” as commonly referred to (Lobo and Salvo, 22).
Work Cited
CSCC. Dominican Sugar a Macro View of Today’s Industry. 2016. Web. 17 May 2016.
Lobo, Arun Peter and Joseph J Salvo. The Newest New Yorkers, 2000. New York, N.Y.: Dept. of City Planning, 2004. Print.
Torres-Saillant, Silvio and Ramona Hernández. The Dominican Americans. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998. Print.
