OBMICA Bulletin March 2020

OBMICA presents the first edition of its institutional bulletin in 2020, corresponding to March. You can download the content in PDF format here March 2020 Bulletin, or click the links below to read the articles on the site.

On the cover we see the bronze sculpture by artist Kristen Visbal titled The Fearless Girl, outside the New York Stock Exchange. As the medical importance of masks increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, so did their symbolic value. The photo is by Kevin Hagen.

The bulletin opens with a reflection by our director Bridget Wooding: How can a mobilities perspective shed light on the current COVID-19 crisis? What can we learn about mobilities during the pandemic and for the future?

Haiti prepares for the pandemic: Haiti's health system leaves most Haitians without protection because the necessary resources have not been dedicated to institutions and hospitals that lack the means to confront the emerging pandemic there. Read more...

The Haitian diaspora in the Anglophone Caribbean: The Turks and Caicos Islands have the largest Haitian diaspora in the English-speaking Caribbean in proportion to their population, with 9,437 Haitians, or 30 percent of their population of 31,458 according to the 2012 census. According to Dominica's latest census in 2011, Haitian-born citizens made up the largest immigrant population in Dominica. Read more...

Island migration dynamics in times of COVID-19: On February 7, 2020, the project Trato Digno (EuropeAid/16923/DD/ACT/DO) was launched in Santo Domingo by CEDESO and OBMICA to prevent arbitrary detentions and deportations of immigrants and their descendants. Read more...

Trafficking in persons and children in domestic servitude: Observatorio La Trata's Dominican chapter and its Haitian counterpart convened a border meeting in mid-January on trafficking in persons and child domestic servitude, with technical support from Save the Children and funding from the European Union. Read more...

Also in this issue

Interview with Kamilah Morain: Readers can learn more about our associate collaborator from Trinidad and Tobago in the bulletin.

NEW RESOURCES AVAILABLE

Year of action against deprivation of nationality: The Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI) declared 2020 the year of action against deprivation of nationality. Read more...

Former OBMICA intern Rabea Niggemeyer also participated in a webinar on childhood and statelessness in Europe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFony9iGldM

An English-language contribution from OBMICA on the COMPAS blog at the University of Oxford focuses on new mobility challenges across Hispaniola under COVID-19: COMPAS article

In keeping with public health guidance, this month our publication did not circulate in print as usual.