Putting the emphasis on the brotherhood, Christian principles and the knowledge the New York Dominican community has about discrimination and racism, several organizations and activists protested on May 23 in front of the Dominican Consulate against the deportations of Haitians which have occurred in the past few weeks.

The demonstrators, whose numbers never exceeded 30 people, demanded an immediate stop to the deportations and charged that the civil rights of the Haitian people are being violated with impunity.

The group, mostly consisted of Dominican activists and civil and religious organizations, was led by Coalition in Solidarity with the People of Haiti, whose members delivered a letter of protest to the Dominican consular officials with offices in the Times Square consulate.

“We are alarmed by the level of deportations among Haitian families, whose children are left without their parents. In addition we have two cases of girls who were raped at border crossings,” said Hortensia González of the Center for Dominican Women’s Development , Centro de Desarollo de la Mujer Dominicana.

The activists, including the Dominican Radamés Pérez and the Haitian Ray Laforest, demanded that the document be delivered to President Leonel Fernández personally, and that avenues of cooperation be developed to help this country, the poorest in the Americas.

The letter was accepted by Consuls Ernesto González, Cecilia Báez and Victor Acosta, who promised to send the letter without delay. The Consul General José Fernández is, at present, in the Dominican Republic.