Are you traveling with us? Or just interested in learning more about human rights issues in the Dominican Republic? Below is a list of resources that we recommend to delve deeper into this topic.
Books
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
This historical novel tells the story of the Mirabal sisters during the time of Rafael Trujillo’s dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. The sisters were murdered just three months after their father got involved with an underground movement to overthrow the Trujillo regime. Over his 30-year reign, Trujillo killed more than 50,000 Haitians and Dominicans.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
This award-winning novel is set in New Jersey, where Diaz was raised, and deals explicitly with life in the Dominican Republic under Trujillo.
The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa
A novel by the Peruvian Nobel Prize laureate Mario Vargas Llosa, this book is set in the Dominican Republic and portrays the assassination of Trujillo. The story is told from two distinct standpoints a generation apart: during and immediately after the assassination itself, in May 1961; and thirty years later, in 1996.
The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat
This story is set in the Dominican Republic in 1937, when dictator Trujillo began his effort to ethnically cleanse the country of black people. The novel follows Amabelle and her lover Sebastien, Haitians who have crossed the border into the Dominic Republic. Amabelle is a servant to a wealthy family, while Sebastien endures the brutal conditions of work in the cane fields.
Recent Articles and Opinion Pieces
“Thought you were a citizen? Dominican Republic changes the rules,” by Ezra Fieser
Christian Science Monitor, October 2, 2013
“How Not to Solve the Immigration Issue: Lessons from the Dominican Republic,” by Francis Torres
Brown Political Review, October 2, 2013
“Experts fear Dominican ruling could cause crisis,” by Ezequiel Abiu Lopez and Danica Coto
Associated Press, September 27, 2013
“The bitter lives of sugar workers,” by Mark Curnutte
Cincinnati Enquirer, September 27, 2013