The authors use the term living fence to illustrate that the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic is not heavily restricted. People of both nations can cross freely into the areas surrounding the crossing point everyday for a set number of hours. The people that live on the Haiti side of the border use this crossing much more than those that live on the Dominican Republic side. There is a better tourist network and job opportunities in the Dominican Republic which is the main factor for the Haitians regularly crossing the border. The movement of money between the two countries is mainly controlled by Western Union and Caribe Express. The main purpose of these two institutions is the sending of remittances to family members on both sides of the border. There are also informal financial service providers but it is generally more expensive, less secure, and takes a longer time for the money to be transferred. The chapter said that the people of Haiti prefer Caribe Express because it is cheaper and there is less of a language barrier.
In the article, there is an emphasis on inclusion and exclusion. In terms of inclusion, there are patron-client relationships that play an important role in the economy. These are not always equal as it is based on one's access to economic resources. Wage laborers often survive off of non-monetary such as food or possessions from their patron. Another form of economy is the transference of money through electronic means. Often, workers from Haiti come to the Dominican Republic to work and send remittances back to their family despite often working for lower wages than Dominicans. This is how the "living fence" works. It is a barrier that permeable, but also acts as a way to impose restrictions upon Haitians. There is the potential, however, for Haitians to achieve greater financial and social mobility working through this border.
This article discusses the economies of inclusion and exclusion in two towns on the border of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. They also discuss migrant economies, as they explain that families are often spread across countries, migrating in search of livelihood. More often than not this is Haitians settling in the Dominican Republic, which has a stronger economy and offers more economic opportunity. On the Haitian side they examine develop relationships and navigate the border in order to access economic inclusion. The border is described as a "living fence" because while it generates insecurity via state control and economic exclusion, it also generates differential economies and is a permeable barrier. By permeable it is meant that rather than existing as a immovable boundary, it is more flexible, allowing, almost inviting visitors to cross.
This article focuses on the economies on inclusion and exclusion, specifically in the area bordering the Dominican and Haitian national border. Due to the fact that the border is open from 8 in the morning and closes at 5 in the afternoon, people on both sides of this border are able to move freely on an almost daily basis. However, the vast majority of people moving across the border come from Haiti looking for ways to uplift them from abject poverty. Many achieve this by becoming a permanent resident in the Dominican port city of Pedernales, or the surrounding area, leaving behind their children and other relative behind while at the same time sending remittances to them for additional family income. Another way people find inclusion in the markets is by finding a client-patron relationship, which is best exemplified by the relationship between "Maria" and Variola. Variola lives in the Haitian city of Anse-à-Pitres, but works for Maria on weekdays as a house servant receiving the essentials to meet Variola's day to day family needs as well as small gifts of money for food. These are just two of the ways people have found inclusion within the influence of what the author calls a "living fence". The authors refers to the porous border between these two nations this way due to it enabling people to pass through it and interact in a much more diversified economy.
This article shows the Haiti and Dominican border economy. It focuses both on the mobility between borders and some of the difficulties that come with living between the boarding cities. The borders remain open for most art which makes it easy to travel between borders on a daily basis. It’s not unusual for someone from Haiti to work on the Dominican side of the border due to there being more employment opportunity. Even though this is the norm, the Hattians experience many discriminations, even in institutions like the Western Union. These discriminations include language barriers, Higher price for goods, random deportation, and denied citizenship for Haitian children born on the Dominican side of the border. The living fence referrers to these discriminations. In one case, Fredelina has three children born in the Dominican Republic, but none of them are legally Dominican citizens. This makes it so they can’t really travel outside the village they were born in and very unlikely to attend Dominican university. If it wasn’t for Fredelina’s Haitian citizen card she would lose access to medical care, her children’s chance for any education, and use of the Western Union, which is how she receives money from her boyfriend to live off of. The living fence also refers to the expenses of going anywhere beyond the bordering cities. Although traveling across the border is easy for anyone to do but going farther than the border cities requires a visa. Without the visa you are unable to go farther without bribes which makes it so the farther from the border you cross the more expensive it becomes. This leaves many families unable to move any farther from border cities to seek out more economic opportunities.
A "living fence" allows for citizens on either side of the border to develop economic and social mobility through maximizing their use of services from each country. While the Haitians in Pedernales are reliant upon Domican markets for things they cannot access in their country, Dominicans look to resources in Haiti for things like health care, education, bill pay, and recieving remittances. Because of the economic purposes for having social connections between the two countries, migration is a very solid and main stream part of life in therse countries. It is common for families to have members living across both regions to fulfill many social and economic needs. It is also important to emphasize the importance of remittances that comes with this social structure, which the article lists to make up around 24% of the nations GDP. All in all, the variable stability in infrastructure and economy cause for this migrational adaptation which provides a unique social structure for the people in these regions.
By viewing the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic as a "living fence" we are able to see the unique relationship that exists between towns along the border region. This relationship is built around allowing high levels of economic mobility as well as social mobility through having a relatively open border. Having an open border allows people from both countries to cross so they can have access to whatever resources they are in need of whether it be education, shopping, or a way to receive remittances from family members. An example of this would be the case of Fredelina, a woman who lives in a town just over the Dominican side of the border. To support her family she often crosses over to the Haitian side to sell her beans in the market. Though she is not a Dominican citizen she is able to both live there and receive remittances from her boyfriend because of her Haitian identification card. While for many people like Fredelina there are advantages to living in the border region it can also have its drawbacks. The borders are open and easy cross but the further you go into either country the harder it becomes to continue moving. This can cause challenges for people in Fredelena's situation because it can become increasingly difficult to move away from the border region.
The borders primarily disucssed in the article are between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The living fence metaphor is used to illustrate that the traditional binary of exclusion/inclusion is not on the whole useful for understanding microfinance or the way in which people are deliberately or systemically excluding from financial services. The living fence comes from the idea of having a fence of hedges that instead of blocking movement between two areas, it enhances them both, and movement between it is not impossible but managed in some way. Many Haitians live in the border regions of The Dominican Republic, and their movement and work there is basically unrestricted by the DR, unless they wish to move further into the country. Additionally, many only have cellphone access via an employer, and employee employer relations in the region are often paternalistic in nature, either to a degree in which they infantilize the employee by restricting choice and controlling how their money is spent, or simply by providing access to a cellphone that could later be revoked. The living fence metaphor thus also incorporates these situations, where they are not necessarily excluded from financial or social programs, but their access is managed by someone else. This can also extend to the border itself, which closes for long periods from time to time, as well as having a regular closure at 6PM every night. Any Haitians wishing to work at night in The Dominican Republic would have to cross illegally, and so the state also takes on a paternalistic presence for such individuals.
The authors use the term living fence to illustrate that the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic is not heavily restricted. People of both nations can cross freely into the areas surrounding the crossing point everyday for a set number of hours. The people that live on the Haiti side of the border use this crossing much more than those that live on the Dominican Republic side. There is a better tourist network and job opportunities in the Dominican Republic which is the main factor for the Haitians regularly crossing the border. The movement of money between the two countries is mainly controlled by Western Union and Caribe Express. The main purpose of these two institutions is the sending of remittances to family members on both sides of the border. There are also informal financial service providers but it is generally more expensive, less secure, and takes a longer time for the money to be transferred. The chapter said that the people of Haiti prefer Caribe Express because it is cheaper and there is less of a language barrier.
ReplyDeleteIn the article, there is an emphasis on inclusion and exclusion. In terms of inclusion, there are patron-client relationships that play an important role in the economy. These are not always equal as it is based on one's access to economic resources. Wage laborers often survive off of non-monetary such as food or possessions from their patron. Another form of economy is the transference of money through electronic means. Often, workers from Haiti come to the Dominican Republic to work and send remittances back to their family despite often working for lower wages than Dominicans. This is how the "living fence" works. It is a barrier that permeable, but also acts as a way to impose restrictions upon Haitians. There is the potential, however, for Haitians to achieve greater financial and social mobility working through this border.
ReplyDeleteThis article discusses the economies of inclusion and exclusion in two towns on the border of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. They also discuss migrant economies, as they explain that families are often spread across countries, migrating in search of livelihood. More often than not this is Haitians settling in the Dominican Republic, which has a stronger economy and offers more economic opportunity. On the Haitian side they examine develop relationships and navigate the border in order to access economic inclusion. The border is described as a "living fence" because while it generates insecurity via state control and economic exclusion, it also generates differential economies and is a permeable barrier. By permeable it is meant that rather than existing as a immovable boundary, it is more flexible, allowing, almost inviting visitors to cross.
ReplyDeleteThis article focuses on the economies on inclusion and exclusion, specifically in the area bordering the Dominican and Haitian national border. Due to the fact that the border is open from 8 in the morning and closes at 5 in the afternoon, people on both sides of this border are able to move freely on an almost daily basis. However, the vast majority of people moving across the border come from Haiti looking for ways to uplift them from abject poverty. Many achieve this by becoming a permanent resident in the Dominican port city of Pedernales, or the surrounding area, leaving behind their children and other relative behind while at the same time sending remittances to them for additional family income. Another way people find inclusion in the markets is by finding a client-patron relationship, which is best exemplified by the relationship between "Maria" and Variola. Variola lives in the Haitian city of Anse-à-Pitres, but works for Maria on weekdays as a house servant receiving the essentials to meet Variola's day to day family needs as well as small gifts of money for food. These are just two of the ways people have found inclusion within the influence of what the author calls a "living fence". The authors refers to the porous border between these two nations this way due to it enabling people to pass through it and interact in a much more diversified economy.
ReplyDeleteThis article shows the Haiti and Dominican border economy. It focuses both on the mobility between borders and some of the difficulties that come with living between the boarding cities. The borders remain open for most art which makes it easy to travel between borders on a daily basis. It’s not unusual for someone from Haiti to work on the Dominican side of the border due to there being more employment opportunity. Even though this is the norm, the Hattians experience many discriminations, even in institutions like the Western Union. These discriminations include language barriers, Higher price for goods, random deportation, and denied citizenship for Haitian children born on the Dominican side of the border. The living fence referrers to these discriminations. In one case, Fredelina has three children born in the Dominican Republic, but none of them are legally Dominican citizens. This makes it so they can’t really travel outside the village they were born in and very unlikely to attend Dominican university. If it wasn’t for Fredelina’s Haitian citizen card she would lose access to medical care, her children’s chance for any education, and use of the Western Union, which is how she receives money from her boyfriend to live off of. The living fence also refers to the expenses of going anywhere beyond the bordering cities. Although traveling across the border is easy for anyone to do but going farther than the border cities requires a visa. Without the visa you are unable to go farther without bribes which makes it so the farther from the border you cross the more expensive it becomes. This leaves many families unable to move any farther from border cities to seek out more economic opportunities.
ReplyDeleteA "living fence" allows for citizens on either side of the border to develop economic and social mobility through maximizing their use of services from each country. While the Haitians in Pedernales are reliant upon Domican markets for things they cannot access in their country, Dominicans look to resources in Haiti for things like health care, education, bill pay, and recieving remittances. Because of the economic purposes for having social connections between the two countries, migration is a very solid and main stream part of life in therse countries. It is common for families to have members living across both regions to fulfill many social and economic needs. It is also important to emphasize the importance of remittances that comes with this social structure, which the article lists to make up around 24% of the nations GDP. All in all, the variable stability in infrastructure and economy cause for this migrational adaptation which provides a unique social structure for the people in these regions.
ReplyDeleteBy viewing the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic as a "living fence" we are able to see the unique relationship that exists between towns along the border region. This relationship is built around allowing high levels of economic mobility as well as social mobility through having a relatively open border. Having an open border allows people from both countries to cross so they can have access to whatever resources they are in need of whether it be education, shopping, or a way to receive remittances from family members. An example of this would be the case of Fredelina, a woman who lives in a town just over the Dominican side of the border. To support her family she often crosses over to the Haitian side to sell her beans in the market. Though she is not a Dominican citizen she is able to both live there and receive remittances from her boyfriend because of her Haitian identification card. While for many people like Fredelina there are advantages to living in the border region it can also have its drawbacks. The borders are open and easy cross but the further you go into either country the harder it becomes to continue moving. This can cause challenges for people in Fredelena's situation because it can become increasingly difficult to move away from the border region.
ReplyDeleteThe borders primarily disucssed in the article are between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The living fence metaphor is used to illustrate that the traditional binary of exclusion/inclusion is not on the whole useful for understanding microfinance or the way in which people are deliberately or systemically excluding from financial services. The living fence comes from the idea of having a fence of hedges that instead of blocking movement between two areas, it enhances them both, and movement between it is not impossible but managed in some way. Many Haitians live in the border regions of The Dominican Republic, and their movement and work there is basically unrestricted by the DR, unless they wish to move further into the country. Additionally, many only have cellphone access via an employer, and employee employer relations in the region are often paternalistic in nature, either to a degree in which they infantilize the employee by restricting choice and controlling how their money is spent, or simply by providing access to a cellphone that could later be revoked. The living fence metaphor thus also incorporates these situations, where they are not necessarily excluded from financial or social programs, but their access is managed by someone else. This can also extend to the border itself, which closes for long periods from time to time, as well as having a regular closure at 6PM every night. Any Haitians wishing to work at night in The Dominican Republic would have to cross illegally, and so the state also takes on a paternalistic presence for such individuals.
ReplyDelete