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Article Excerpt
Its economy on the rocks, the Dominican Republic is now a major contributor to the hoards of boat people adrift in the Caribbean, rivaling its island mate, Haiti. Dominicans are dying out there in impressive numbers. They are fleeing their country's worst economic crisis in decades. The inflation rate is fast approaching 30%. Unemployment is conservatively estimated at 16%. Frequent blackouts darken the nights. Since the 1990s, the peso has fallen from 16 to the US dollar to a most recent 45 to the dollar (see NotiCen, 2004-05-20).
Many have headed for Puerto Rico, where 7,000 Dominicans have been placed in detention since Oct. 1, double the number for the previous 12 months.
The Mona Passage is an 80-mile-wide channel between Puerto Rica and the island of Hispaniola where the powerful Atlantic and Caribbean currents meet. Sharks abound there. Columbus and Ponce de Leon visited there. Now Dominicans die there.
Rescues uncoordinated
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement patrol, search, and occasionally save people from capsized vessels. Searching for 20, they rescued 12 in July. Reports say more...
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