Due to time constraints on the last day, I unfortunately got bumped out of writing a blog entry! Now I want and feel obligated to write a reflection on what I experienced. I personally want to reflect on the over all trip rather than our daily routine, which I feel has already been fully described in previous posts.
Aside from the extreme poverty that we all saw in the Bateys, I was particularly shocked at the social structure in the Dominican Republic. (At least what I saw in the La Romana region.) Even in the city where our hotel was located there was widespread poverty. When we got off the bus for Jumbo (the Walmart on steroids) immediately elementary, shoeless children begged for money and food. At Bon ice cream parlor, through the large glass panes, children begged for water from our filled bottles. Most of these children seemed to be of Haitian descent and only a few seemed Dominican. None were Caucasian. (Even though in many of the pictures and descriptions of Bateys show unimaginable poverty, the doctors in our group saw very few malnourished workers. Despite their poverty, these sugarcane workers had enough food.) The city seemed to be inhabited by mainly the poor and lower middle class. While the poor begged, the lower middle class had jobs that barely covered the cost of living in modern society.
At the other extreme, Casa de Compo (the resort) was only for the wealthy. While in the resort, the temperature seemed more pleasant, bugs did not exist, water was clean, and the houses came well equipped with large lawns, driveways, cars and swimming pools. At the beach and later at the restaurant I saw no Dominican or Haitian who lived in the resort. Every resident of the Casa de Compo was Caucasian (probably foreign born).
Now looking back I don’t believe that this registered with me until we were leaving the resort. While being stopped at the gate by security, I noticed a second security booth where resort workers were leaving at the end of their shifts. None of them were Caucasian. As they passed through security, the women were forced to open their purse as the security guard, also Dominican, checked for theft.
People have told me that the United States is famous for a full economic distribution: poor, middle, and wealthy. In the Dominican Republic I saw no middle class and the economic classes seemed directly correlated with race.
It was not until the end of the trip that I could comprehend all that I saw. I feel proud for all the help we were able to provide but despite all the work we put in, there is still many more people who need our help in the Dominican Republic.
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