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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Xenophobia Takes Hold in Dominican Agricultural Town Where Two Haitians Beheaded |
| 2005-06-10 |
| Vela Pie pokes her head out of a wooden tool shed before emerging slowly, afraid for her life after seeing two fellow Haitians beheaded with machetes. The assailants attacked a group of Haitian farm workers while they slept in wooden shacks in this northwestern agricultural town of 8,000. Residents and authorities believe they were seeking revenge for the killing of a Dominican woman, allegedly by Haitians. "They arrived at night and started shooting in the air, saying they were guards," said Pie, 68, hiding on the property of friendly Dominicans. "When people walked outside, the men started swinging their machetes." Hundreds of Haitians have fled or been forcibly repatriated since Monday's attacks, while others like Pie have gone into hiding. Many had arrived last weekend to work in banana fields during the June harvest. The May 9 attack that killed the Dominican woman prompted the government to expel more than 2,000 Haitians, while some Dominicans went on a rampage in Haitian ghettos, burning dozens of shacks. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #1 But I don't understand! The UN is in charge of Haiti - didn't they fix everything? Why would Haitians need to go someplace else to work? |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2005-06-10 19:41 |