Dominican Republic expelled 1800 children to Haiti without their parents
The Dominican Republic expelled around 1800 children to Haiti without their parents. The children, including children of Dominican women, were taken to Haiti via various means; including, but not limited to; the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the UNICEF, and other international agencies that serve children.
The children were expelled due to concerns over the safety of these children in Haiti in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. However, the children were never sent to Haiti by their parents and were, in fact, often abused and maltreated by the adults who took them from their parents. The majority of the children were under the age of 6 and were trafficked by their own parents.
The children were taken to Haiti by various means including; the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the UNICEF, and other international agencies that serve children.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) were instrumental in the removal of the children to Haiti through different means. These two agencies receive funds from the United States to assist with the humanitarian needs of Haitians in the wake of the Haiti earthquake. The Dominican Republic is a UN member nation and the United States does not fund these agencies.
“The United States is a generous nation and has provided vital humanitarian assistance to the Dominican people throughout the world, for over 60 years,” said Rep. Don Hice (R-NC). “When any country in the world experiences tragedy, it is only fair that the United States should stand with them and do everything in our power to help. We commend the Dominican Republic for making this courageous decision to provide aid to children who were being abused and victimized.”
The Dominican Republic was one of the first nations to give food, water, clothing, shelter and medical assistance to the survivors of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and South/Central America. This generosity of spirit was instrumental in saving
