! QUE PASO, SANTO DOMINGO ?
LOUIS' HANDS
FREEDOM FOR RESTAVEK
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I met 60-year-old Louis while visiting a
batey in the Dominican Republic. He’s been cutting sugarcane for 40 years. His
hands have the texture of an elephant’s hide. He was born in Haiti, but he’s no
longer fluent in Creole, his mother tongue. He doesn’t have a nationality, for
his birth was never registered; he’s undocumented. He works twelve hours a day,
six days a week, and taxes are taken from his pay. He can barely feed his
family. Because he is undocumented, he’s not eligible for retirement benefits, and
his children, born on Dominican soil, are denied citizenship. Each time I consume anything sweet I remember Louis’
hands.
JR CADET
