Doña Pico’s Story and the Long History of the Haitian-Dominican Borderlands

Résumé

This document explores the complex identities and citizenship issues along the Haitian-Dominican border, focusing on the life of Doña Pico, whose experiences reflect the fluidity of nationality in the region. The borderlands are characterized by daily cross-border movement, economic interdependence, and kinship ties, with many residents having lived on both sides and often lacking formal documentation. Despite official policies like the 2013 'sentencia' that sought to strip citizenship from Dominicans of Haitian descent, local realities show strong dual allegiances and practical solutions to legal challenges. Historically, the region has been shaped by contraband trade, shifting borders, and resistance to state authority, fostering a unique identity that resists simple national or racial categorization. Anti-Haitian sentiment, while present in national discourse, is less pronounced in the borderlands, where everyday interactions, mutual dependence, and shared poverty blur ethnic divisions. Ultimately, the document argues that Haitian-Dominican relations in the frontier are defined more by entanglement and adaptation than by hostility or exclusion.