The complexities of race in a caribean country.

I am a Dominican. Born and raised in the Dominican Republic. Although I embraced America as my adopted hometown, Santo Domingo is where my soul was cultivated, and where I came of age.

The 80's where are prosperous time for any child growing up outside of a third world country, for the world was presented by the thick haze of optimism and the coolness of Mtv. I grew up with a television, and witnessed the birth of imagination every time I pressed that button. It was predominately white people on TV, while surrounded by people that most definately where not white, they where Dominican.

The politics (shall we say realities) of race where not in my sights during the Reagan and Beverly Hills Cop II years, for playing with WWF action figures and Transformers where the norm for any kid like me. The topic has resurfaced with urgency, now that distance and a good twenty years has enabled me to pass it by.

Dominicans, unlike ethnic puerto ricans, suffer from a transplanted set of conflicting values. Historically, we tend to be darker than our Puerto Rican neighbors. The racist mentality that still stains the country is a decease that runs across every social cycle, from rich to poor to poorest. It's stupid is as stupid does. Amnesty international conducted a report which brings discrimination center stage, with alarming findings. The country's history with neighbor Haiti has been a fractured one, with the racist mentality caused by this fracture still among most Dominican citizens.

According to the findings, deportations, "discrimination on grounds of ethnic origin, language and nationality, are a reality for many Haitian migrant workers and Dominicans of Haitian descent living in the Dominican Republic. Victims whose cases have come to the attention of Amnesty International are predominantly irregular and undocumented migrant workers, but also include Dominican nationals of Haitian
descent, including children".

This is alarming, specially considering the moral fabric that governs the Dominican mentality. Many a voice view Haitian people as second class citizens, people who are less than human. I've heard this echoed around from here all the way there, and it reminds of how conflicted we are as a nation. American influence has surely clouded our ethnic pride, for hordes of Dominican women (typically darker skinned ones) cosmetisize their appearance to their white counterparts, similar to how Black women tend to dress nowaways. This is not the root of the problem, for it's cosmetic, bloodline ignorance is to blame. I'm fairly medium complexion myself, and when I returned to the country after a 17 year absence my conscience was filled, my memories remained but reality confirmed times have changed. I recall walking into a club meeting all the requirements (you think clubs here are strict, think again) only to be turned down more than once while my lighter skin friends where welcomed and white tourists paraded about. Witnessing this ridiculous display caused me to reconsider what I had grown up beleiving, that Dominicans are racist the same way the black community feels about Gay people: denial. Denial of one's truth is denial of one's being, and the anti Haitian, anti dark skin sentiment was a harsh reminder of a country filled with a false sense of identity.

Being dark in Dominican Republic will call you a "negro", or "prieto". It's not as harsh sounding as "Negro" or American counterpart. Context is key here. I've been called Moreno before, as a term of affection. This is something any outsider finds hard to grasp, and it's the local culture that represents the true voice of the people.

The Amnesty article woke me up, shook me, for what it says speaks volumes about how fucked up the state of things are in times like these, times that need integration. We have a black president here, try explaining diversity to a country where identity is still at a crossroads. Haitian migrant workers are denied the rights and protection of ordinary citizens, and even if you where born Dominican and are from Haitian descent people are denied a Dominican "Cedula" (green card). This is astonishing. Dominicans, like our Latin counterparts, are comprised of every ethnicity. Black Dominicans, Brown Dominicans, light, ultra dark, Asian, white, all categories exist, thanks to the gift of a diverse set of people. Exclusion of our neighbors threatens to intensify the brigade, and further escalate tensions. Violence has already resulted, with lynchings reported as recent as 2006.

No isolated incident can destroy the spirit of the Dominican people, it will always be one of singular conviction over what's right or wrong. The case of ethnic confusion is a matter of debate among nationals, one that people far removed from the nucleus can observe.

I come from an ethnically diverse family myself, where my nucleus, my Granddad, was as dark as the beauty of confronting light while my grandmother was as light as early morning sunshine. Both produced my mother, while my father was a brown skin dominican man of middle eastern descent.

Just as the testament of unity seems to be coming true, I offer an glimpse at the kind of people that represent my great country, what a better way to show it than when I first had my Mtv?