Toward Journalism More Respectful of the Rights of Migrants

The research study Study on Dominican media and migration at the insular scale: the case of the southern border - authored by the writer and supported by OBMICA and CEDESO within the framework of the "Trato Digno" project - identified different patterns used by newspapers...

The situation in Pedernales at the beginning of 2018, described below, was not the first event related to conflict and migration that the Dominican press had to cover. In previous years there had been clashes between Dominicans and Haitians in Hatillo Palma and Guayubin (Montecristi), San Jose de la Mina (Santiago), and Cacique Enriquillo (La Descubierta), among others. Although they may be considered a challenge, this type of situation also represents an opportunity for improvement and learning for those dedicated to journalism.

The research study Study on Dominican media and migration at the insular scale: the case of the southern border - authored by the writer and supported by OBMICA and CEDESO within the framework of the "Trato Digno" project - identified different patterns used by the newspapers Diario Libre, Hoy, and Listin Diario when covering the outburst in Pedernales. Among them were: little diversity of sources; the use of adjectivization and stereotypes; assuming the guilt of the accused; and the invisibilization of Haitian voices.

The Pedernales incident

The day all the Haitians left Pedernales is still etched in the minds of those who live there. Located on the border, and closer to Haiti than to the National District, the province of Pedernales shares its daily life with its neighbors in Anse a Pitres. It is a relationship marked by commerce and exchange, by joys and sorrows.

That dynamic was interrupted by an event that made the front pages of Dominican newspapers.

According to the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic, on February 19, 2018, on a farm located in the Las Mercedes section, Sitio Quemao district of Pedernales, the body of farmer Julio Perez Matos was discovered with wounds in different parts of his body. Later, on the road, his wife Neyda Miladis Urbaez Feliz was found alive but severely injured. She was taken to a medical center in the province and then transferred to Plaza de la Salud in Santo Domingo, where she was treated and admitted to intensive care. She remained there from February 19 until March 17, 2018, when she died as a result of her severe injuries. The events were attributed to Haitian employees.

At that moment everything exploded.

The death of the couple led, in March of that year, to Miguel Antonio Perez Cuevas "Chichi" leading a caravan with a loudspeaker truck in which he called on anyone who was Haitian to leave the province within 24 hours.

The announcement, protests, and reported aggressions toward people of Haitian origin caused the attention of both nations to focus on Pedernales. The press, as well as representatives of military, government, and judicial institutions, had to travel to the area in order to mediate and put an end to these events. They also traveled to Haiti and held meetings with Haitian authorities in order to manage the capture and the handover of the accused.

According to media reports, the intervention of the authorities put an end to the tense situation. A few months later, in October, the arrest of the migrants was announced and it was later reported that the collegiate court of Pedernales province sentenced Yeidys Novil and Wilkin Light Novil to 30 years in prison.

From Pedernales

Espensert Louis, a young Haitian, still remembers the days he spent hiding on the top floor of the Pedernales Fire Station.

"First time I saw something like that. It lasted like three months before things became calm. Haitians came to buy their goods, their food, entering through the crossing point. When you lose your mother or father it hurts you; one side has its rights. But not everyone does that. On the one hand I felt good, on the other hand it wasn't right because many people got beaten, were driven out, their clothes and beds were stolen. Many people lost many things."

Like Espensert, Maria, a Haitian woman who has lived in the Dominican Republic since she was a child, says it was the first time she had seen something like that. Standing at the door of her house, waiting for her daughter to prepare food over a small wood stove, she seems to see before her what happened on the day of the announcement. "The very instant they gave the 24-hour notice, in less than 15 minutes I heard noise in the street. I saw my sister running with people who were chasing her. They did not know her because she did not live around here. We are brothers, friends. My Dominican neighbor went and donated blood for me. There are good Dominicans and bad ones. There are good Haitians and bad ones."

Prior to these events, during February 2018, media in the Dominican Republic were focused on covering the commemorative events of National Independence. As usual, President Danilo Medina addressed the National Assembly to present an accounting of his government. He also announced tighter border control "to protect Dominican heritage and territory."

In addition to Medina's speech, during February the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) called for dialogue between civil society and the Dominican government to solve conflicts arising from the migration of Haitian citizens. During March and April, the press also covered a series of confrontations with the IACHR, among other events related to Haitian migration and collective deportations.

Three other events competed for the front pages of the newspapers:

• The granting of parole and periodic appearance requirements to Dr. Julio Gomez, arrested for the lynching of Miguel Baez Siri "Lagrimita", a "supposed criminal who robbed and beat him in his home."
• The confession of Ana Julia Quezada, a Dominican resident in Spain who, according to authorities in that country, admitted to the murder of the child Gabriel, the son of her partner.
• The heated public debate surrounding publication of the results of the Second National Survey of Immigrants, 2017.

Epilogue

At an event held on December 10, 2021, convened by OBMICA and CEDESO for journalists and social communicators, the author of the study, Acosta, discussed the following recommendations with participants.

Recommendations for better journalistic coverage

• Maintain ethics. Although in all disciplines the exercise of ethics based on human rights is important, one of the goals of journalism, especially in conflict situations, is to inform in a manner as close to ethics as possible.
• More context. Go beyond the news item and explain the context of people or migration.
• Tell their stories. The major pending task of journalism dealing with migration is to narrate about the people who migrate and not only about the institutions and officials involved in regularization.
• Avoid fake news. The problem of disinformation needs to be approached critically by the media: migration is fertile ground for rumors or fake news. According to Natalia Diaz, from the portal Maldita, the media must appeal to the public to fight that disinformation, but the media should also give people tools to dismantle and identify that kind of content.
• Include data. Beyond the facts, data are a vital tool in the fight against disinformation.
• Set prejudices aside. Through introspection about the way they see the world, those who practice journalism can come ever closer to the objectivity their profession requires.
• Broad vision. Migration deserves to be addressed comprehensively. For journalist Patricia Mercado, "people perceive that only migrants are given a voice, which creates a distance from the humanity of the irregular migrant. Sometimes a paternalistic approach is taken that creates a break with the ordinary citizen."
• Reveal what is being done badly. In addition to broadening the range of voices, one of the main objectives should be to denounce the lack of public policies that could respond to these kinds of phenomena.
• Be careful with sources. Official sources are important, but the information and data they provide must be screened and analyzed in depth.
• When covering migration issues, it is important to be there and not tell the story from afar. It is key to speak with migrants and listen to their point of view.
• Forge alliances with organizations that are always on the ground and can tell you about phenomena you may not manage to see.
• See the human being. Migrants must be followed with empathy and seriousness, without being trapped by alarmism or by caricaturing the actors involved.
• Different ways of narrating. Take advantage of the different journalistic genres, as well as storytelling, to provide new ways of communicating about migration.
• Use of terms. In order to generate ethical narratives around migration, journalists should avoid using terms such as "illegal immigrant" to refer to a migrant in irregular status. The Gabo Foundation also recommends not including nationality in headlines referring to persons accused of a crime.
• Handling the universe of victims. In conflict situations, understand that this is not a uniform mass of people, but individuals with their own histories and perceptions.