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Migrants in the Dominican Republic

多米尼加共和國的移民

No place like home

何處為家鄉

The travails of the children of Haitian migrants in the Dominican Republic

在多米尼加，海地移民的孩子承受著艱難困苦

NIGHTMARE is about to end for some 24,000 people in the Dominican Republic (DR).Formonths a court ruling has in effect rendered them stateless, in the process straining thecountry's tense relations withHaiti, its poorer neighbour on the CaribbeanislandofHispaniola.Butfor many others, the ordeal is continuing.

多米尼加共和國將近24000海地移民的噩夢即將消散。幾個月以來，一項法庭裁決致使他們進入了無國籍的窘境，因而使得多米尼加共和國和它在加勒比伊斯帕尼奧拉島上家徒四壁的鄰居海地關系愈發緊張起來，除此以外，其實很多時候移民苦難的余燼都生生不息。

Until a decade ago the children of Haitian migrants who were born in the DR were recognised asDominican nationals, even if their parents had immigrated illegally.The rules began to change in2004, and in 2010 a new constitution made a legally resident parent a requirement forcitizenship at birth.Then, last September, a ruling of theConstitutional Courtdenied citizenshipto the offspring of illegal immigrants who had arrived before that change.

但10年前的一項規定帶來一線轉機：即使父母雙方都為非法移民，但在多米尼加出生的孩子仍為多米尼亞公民。但2004年，政策開始發生變化，2010年新頒布的憲法規定，只有合法公民的孩子出生后才具有公民資格，去年9月，憲法法庭又規定，若海地非法移民在2010年法律調整前抵達多米尼加，則他們的孩子不具有公民身份。

The government maintains that these revisions justly removed an anomaly and conform withpractice elsewhere.Yet the children concerned—many well into middle age—were at a strokereclassified as foreigners, and have since been refused new identity documents.Instead theywere told to request new papers from their purported country of origin, even though the vastmajority have never been toHaiti, speak only Spanish and cannot prove they are eligible forHaitian citizenship.

多米尼加政府表示，這些修訂以合法的方式抹去了本國法律的特殊性，與其他國家一致。但該法律牽涉的孩子已步入中年，突然失去公民資格無異于晴天霹靂，從今往后也無權持有新的多米尼加身份證，而必須申請本土國身份證，但他們大多從未去過海地，只能說一口西班牙語，無力證明他們具有成為海地公民的資格。

Relations on Hispaniola have been tense ever sinceHaitioccupied the DR in 1821-44, but thistime the world took notice.Pressure groups and the Inter-American Commission on HumanRights condemned the ruling.Caricom, a group ofCaribbeancountries, suspended the DR'smembership application.Meanwhile Michel Martelly,Haiti's president, caused a stir by quoting aDominican journalist who called the decision “civil genocide”.All that left Danilo Medina, who wasinaugurated as the DR's president just a month before the ruling, in a fix.His nation can illafford to be ostracised, yet capitulating would make him look weak.He would risk seeming toofriendly toHaiti, which Dominican politicians have long used as a rhetorical punchbag.JoaquinBalaguer, a strongman who ruled the DR intermittently for 30 years, once warned of a“peaceful invasion” of Haitian immigrants.Leonel Fernández, who was Mr Medina'spredecessor and is married to his vice-president, won a close election in 1996 after accusinghis darker-skinned, Haitian-descended rival of wanting to reunite the two countries.

海地1821年侵占多米尼加，直到1844年多米尼加才獨立，兩國關系自此劍拔弩張，但這一次世界終于開始關注這里的緊張局勢，利益集團和美洲人權委員會都譴責了海地對多米尼加的統治，加勒比國家集團——加勒比共同體擱置了多米尼加的加入申請，與此同時，海地總統米歇爾·馬爾泰利因為引用一位多米尼加記者的話，稱該決定是“種族滅絕”而引起混亂，這將多米尼加新上任一個月的總統達尼洛·麥迪納置于尷尬處境，多米尼加固然不能承擔孤立無援的代價，但舉手投降未免也顯得自己是把軟骨頭,對海地示好更是暗含成為多米尼加政客眾矢之的風險，畢竟此舉此前就一直受其含沙射影的攻擊。強硬派所羅拉·巴拉格曾斷斷續續統治了多米尼加30年，他曾警告說海地移民會形成“和平侵略”勢力。麥迪納的繼任者萊昂內爾·費爾南德斯嫁給了麥迪納在任時的副總統，在對這位黑皮膚，海地裔的總統一番指手畫腳稱其企圖再次聯合兩國后，他在1996年贏得大選。

In the end, Mr Medina and his legislative allies chose a cautious middle path.For the groupmost starkly disadvantaged—the 24,000 people with previously valid Dominican identitypapers—help is on the way.On May 23rd the president signed a law reinstating theircitizenship.Although Dominican bureaucracy can be arbitrary and arduous, they are nowformally eligible to renew their birth certificates, driving licences and passports.People withoutsuch documents who can still prove to the authorities' satisfaction that they were born in theDR—a group that includes 21,000 children born from 2007-10—will also get a reprieve.After atwo-year waiting period they will be eligible to apply for naturalised citizenship, which carries allthe rights of the native-born except the ability to hold high office.

最終麥迪納及立法機關還是謹慎的選擇了一條折衷的道路，24000名海地移民現有身份證已經失效，深受其害，但對于他們的救助正落實到位，5月23日，麥迪納簽署了一項法案，重新授予他們公民身份，雖然多米尼加政府有時專橫霸道，難以對付，但它如今確實正式授予海地移民新的出生證，駕駛執照和護照。其他一些人比如2007至2010年間出生的兒童，即使沒有身份證，只要能向官方證明他們出生在多米尼加，也能延期2年申請公民身份，除無權擔任高級要職外，享有所有國民權利。

However, the law offers no solution for the biggest group involved: those who were born in theDR to parents without legal residence, but cannot demonstrate it.They will in effect remainstateless and officially eligible for deportation, though they have nowhere else to go.A UNsurvey of 2013 found there were 244,000 people in the DR whose parents were undocumentedforeigners, meaning around 200,000 may be in this predicament.

但該法律并未給最大受害群體指明一條出路，這些人的父母沒有也無力證明合法身份，他們無家可歸，流離失所，處于驅逐出境的當口。聯合國2013年的調查顯示，在多米尼加，244000人的父母都是無身份的外國人，這就意味著將近200000人或許還將深陷此等窘境。

Human-rights groups angrily point out that the new law thus leaves most of the peopleaffected by the ruling in limbo.All the same, Mr Medina's meticulous segmentation of theproblem will probably relieve much of the political pressure.People who already had identitypapers tend to be richer and more influential than those who did not; many of the mostoutspoken victims of the court decision were educated professionals who could use the mediaand lobby effectively.The new system placates this high-profile group, while leaving those onthe fringes of Dominican society to fend for themselves.

人權組織憤言新法律的出臺無法改變大多數被統治階層水深火熱的境況。但麥迪納這種管窺蠡測的做法將再一次減輕政治壓力，比起那些沒有身份證的群體，已經獲得的人更為富裕，也更具影響力，很多對法庭決定坦言不滿的受害者都是一些受過教育的專業人士，他們能有效運用媒體，游說打動人心，新的體系平息了這些高姿態群體的怒火，但那些處在多米尼加社會邊緣的人民只能自力更生。

【重點講解】

1.even if 即使;縱然;甚至

例句:Even if the amendment is passed it can bedefeated judicially.

即使修正案獲得通過，也有可能通過司法途徑被廢除。

2.conform with 符合;與一致

例句:Her ideas do not conform with mine.

她的觀點與我的不一致。

3.warn of 警告;警告某人

例句:These tests warn of impending disease, but do not cure.

須知,這類檢測只能預告可能發生的疾病, 卻不能治愈病人。

4.want to 想去;想要

例句:The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do.

你是什么樣的人和你想成為什么樣的之間的差距就是，你做了什么。