Archive for November, 2018
UPDATE: Investigation into border kidnapping continues
Media in the Dominican Republic exploded yesterday with the news story that well-known cardiologist Pedro Ureña had been held up for several hours by a crowd of 50-100 Haitians armed with stones, knives and machetes on Saturday, 11 November 2018. He was traveling with a group of motorcyclists along the Carretera Internacional (“no man’s land”) that divides Haiti and the Dominican Republic. He was traveling on the Dominican side of the mostly dirt road. He said they frequently had made the same trip and this was the first time he had been assaulted. They were making their way from the south to Puerto Plata along the border roads. They had started in Pedro Santana.
Once released, the physician contacted El Sol de la Mañana and reported on the scary incident. He said the Haitians created a fire obstacle on the road and then assaulted them taking their motorcycles, keys and cell phones. The men – Dr. Pedro Ureña, Oscar Valiente, Dr. Luis Cordero, Diego Cordero and Oscar Valiente, Pedro Ureña, Luis Andrés Cordero, Diego Cordero, Yoni Aquino, Gilberto Ureña and Juan Manuel Anico.– were retained with other Dominicans that had been assaulted for around three hours.
One of these told them not to speak, to keep their helmets on and pretend they were Americans. The Dominicans then told the Haitians that the new group was one of Americans and hence they were let free. Urena said the Haitian assailants returned their belongings. The Dominican urged that the doctors tell the story when they got back to Santo Domingo. Apparently, this is a frequent situation that has not been addressed by those responsible for border security.
Dr. Ureña said he felt sad and indignant. He was especially perplexed that two Dominican army men observed but did not do anything to help them. The men argued they could not use force by themselves and in the area there was no telecom signal to request help. They argued the Haitians committed the theft because one of them had had his motorcycle confiscated in Dajabón, a main border town. Dr. Ureña said the event took place in La Palmita, around 25 kilometers south of Restauración.
Dr. Ureña says this is an unacceptable situation. He said the other Dominicans had been there for hours, waiting in resignation, suffering these same experiences every now and then. In none of the situations do the military intervene, he said. “We were lucky that we passed for Americans, and they returned all our belongings and let us go,” says Ureña. “But, and those who live there? Why do they have to give up everything, why do they have to accept their cow is stolen, their vehicle taken, their motorcycle stolen?” he asks. With indignation, he said the Haitians only have to cross to the other side of the border and there is no way they can be reached.
“Here things have to change. Our border has to be a real border. There must be a military presence,” explains the cardiologist. “You have to do something different, what is happening does not work,” says the doctor.
Back in Santo Domingo the physician said: “What is most shameful for me is that I had to say I was an American to be let go, because if I said I was Dominican I would have been kept. In my country I had to pretend to be a foreigner to get out. That was the drop that made the glass overflow,” he said. He said he left another 10 Dominicans, including one who was transporting cows in a truck, and others in a pick up. He said when they got to Dajabon he heard the group was also let go.
Defense Minister Rubén Darío Paulino Sem has ordered an investigation into the kidnapping of the group by the Haitian mob on a border road within the Dominican Republic.
He said that he had called the doctor to hear his version of events and to understand the circumstances leading to the lack of assistance by Dominican soldiers stationed in the area. He told the press he had spoken with Dr. Ureña to hear his version of the events and to understand the circumstances leading to the lack of assistance by Dominican soldiers stationed in the area.
The United States Embassy in the Dominican Republic has announced the restriction of routine travel to Haiti by employees of the United States government, due to concerns about the levels of security in Haiti. The US recommends that its personal consider travelling by air to Haiti rather than by road. In addition, the US embassy in Port au Prince has announced a travel restriction for its personnel of a 15-mile radius of the capital for security reasons.
Source: DR1, Hoy
Nov 18, 2018
The foreign ministers of Uruguay Rodolfo Nin Novoa and Miguel Vargas for the Dominican Republic announced the signing of three agreements on migration, aviation and trade and investment on Monday, 12 November 2018 at the Ministry of Foreign Relations in Santo Domingo. Present for the signing agreement were Uruguay Ambassador Álvaro Gallardo, and Luis Ernesto Camilo, president of the Dominican Civil Aviation Board (JAC).
Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas said the aviation agreement formalizes commercial aviation relations between both countries. The Memorandum for Understanding for the Promotion of Trade, Investments and Productive Linkages calls for creating a joint council to promote cooperation in these areas. The Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation on Migratory Flows reaffirms the joint will to combat trafficking of persons and migrants, strengthening the work group with capacity to analyze migratory flows between both countries.
The ministers also announced that as of 1 January 2019, Dominicans that have a US or Schengen visa do not need to apply for a visa to travel to Uruguay. Likewise, new family reunification admittance measures will now facilitate travel for Dominicans that are related to relatives that are legal residents in Uruguay.
Source: DR1
Nov 18, 2018
The Ministry of Sports announced it has invited 325 athletes from abroad to participate in the December 2018 National Sports Games. The Hermanas Mirabal 2018 Games will take place 6 to 16 December 2018. The expat athletes will be coming from Florida and several states in New England region in the USA, Europe, and Puerto Rico. The largest delegation will be from the New England region, or 155 athletes. Another 3,700 athletes from five regions of the Dominican Republic will also compete in the 36 sports.
The organizing committee of the games said that 78 athletes that participated in the recent Central American & Caribbean Games Barranquilla 2018 will be participating. These include 46 that won medals in those regional games, including Crismery Santana who won two golds.
Source: DR1, Listindiario
Nov 18, 2018
The French Development Agency (AFD) announced it has approved US$100 million in financing for the expansion of the No. 1 line of the Santo Domingo Metro. The funds will be available in December 2018. The expansion is to meet demand by thousands of users.
The announcement was made by Sandra Kassab, senior charge d’affairs at the AFD when participating in the photography exhibition opening in Santo Domingo: “Rostros que se mueven con el Desarrollo” at the Juan Pablo Duarte Metro station on Máximo Gómez and John F. Kennedy avenues intersections. Kassab said the exhibition evidences the great impact the metro and skylift have had on the population of Greater Santo Domingo. Both were built with French technology.
Kassab said the agency has contributed financing for US$450 million for the Metro. Overall, over the past 20 years, AFD has provided US$625 million for city, sustainable transport, natural resources conservation, sanitation, water works, education and health projects. The AFD is also backing the Nueva Barquita urban renewal housing project.
Manuel Antonio Saleta García, director of the Metro Office (OPRET) said that on Monday, 12 November, two more cars would be in service. He said the OPRET has already contracted for five cars that would arrive next year.
Source: DR1, Hoy
Nov 18, 2018
The 22nd Dominican Republic Jazz Festival, sponsored by FEDUJAZZ and the Ministry of Tourism, successfully concluded a stunning four-city free concert and music education workshop tour of the northern island with acclaimed international artists. Thousands attended each show in Sosua, Puerto Plata, and Cabarete, on October 26 and from November 1-4, 2018. The concerts were held outdoors, at Centro Le ó n in Santiago, the town square in Puerto Plata and right on the beach in Sosua and Cabarete.
The Festival began in Santiago on October 26t h with celebrated Colombian harpist Edmar Castañeda and beloved Dominican singer Pavel Núñez who had the thousands in attendance singing along to his songs. It concluded on Cabarete Beach, with a magical performance from living jazz legend and original Buena Vista Social Club member Omara Portuondo, followed by a dance party to the sounds of accordion-vocalist El Prodigo and his band, featuring saxophonist Sandy Gabriel.
The Festival also featured GRAMMY-award winning Brazilian vocalist Luciana Souza, local Dominican musical ensemble Grupo Bonyé, Italian vocalist Sissy Castrogiovanni, Israeli vocalist Tutti Druyan (featuring saxophonist Edmar Colon), Dominican fusion pioneer Xiomara Fortuna, and a diverse group of musicians from the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, featuring director Marco Pignataro on saxophone.
Each year’s Festival is centered on a musical theme, and this year the Jazz Festival celebrated and explored the role of the human voice in the world of jazz. As Marco Pignataro, Artistic Advisor to the Dominican Republic Jazz Festival and Managing Director of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, put it: “This year’s festival theme is “Voices for Peace & Humanity” with a special emphasis on the impact of singers in jazz to bring forward a powerful message of freedom, creativity and hope for all mankind.” Maria Elena Gratereaux, President of the FEDUJAZZ board, thanks the public and the FEDUJAZZ team for helping to make this free event a reality, saying, “The DR Jazz Festival is handmade, with the soul, and the will of many who believe in the cultural and artistic contribution that this event offers to our country; and at the same time it helps us to fulfill the objectives of the foundation of bringing music education to more than 100 children playing instruments such as: piano, clarinet, drums, saxophone, guitar, drums. These children have the opportunity to live musically all their lives, and here they are imbued with responsibility, love, peace, honesty, teamwork and respect for the environment.”
About FEDUJAZZ
FEDUJAZZ is the educational foundation of the Dominican Republic Jazz Festival, which offers free music education to young people in the Dominican Republic. There are currently a hundred students at the center of the foundation in Cabarete and hundreds more from the North Coast of the Dominican Republic that also attend educational music workshops with the renowned musicians performing at the jazz festival. This year’s festival included eight free music education workshops in five Dominican cities. More than 1,000 children and youth attended the workshops.
For official photos, please click here. Higher resolution photos are available as needed. Contact FEDUJAZZ for more details at 809-571-9350, info@drjazzfestival.org
MEDIA CONTACT:
Dominican Republic Jazz Festival
Shaudi Bianca Vahdat, press@fedujazz.org | drjazzfestival.com
Nov 13, 2018
The municipality of Sosúa has ordered the construction of traffic lights at the crossroads opposite supermarket Super Pola. For years people living close and visitors of Super Pola have been complaining about this dangerous intersection. Almost every day small to large traffic accidents happen, and people get hurt. Especially around noon, it is dangerous to cross the intersection. Fortunately, the city council now listened to all these complaints and decided to set up traffic lights. In the coming week, the system will be in operation.
Source: Sosua News
Nov 10, 2018
Remittances sent by expats to their relatives in the Dominican Republic are up 10.2% in the first nine months of the year. The Central Bank reports these have increased from US$4,415.3 million from January to September 2017 to US$4,866.4 million for the same period in 2018, according to a story in Diario Libre. If the present flow of remittances continues, 2018 would end with an eight-year record. In 2017 total remittances were US$4,911.8 million, according to the Central Bank.
The Central Bank says that remittances make up 22% of all the hard currency that has entered the economy. Most of the remittances, or 77.34%, have come from the United States. Next were remittances from Spain (10.58%), Haiti (1.41%) and Italy (1.30%). There are also large Dominican populations that send remittances and are located in Switzerland, Puerto Rico, Panama, Germany, France and Canada.
The average remittance is US$221.14. But those living in Switzerland, nevertheless, on average send remittances of US$351.3. Those living in Spain and France also send above average remittances of US$343.7 and US$323.8, respectively.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
Nov 10, 2018
The president of the Union de Farmacias, Raul Hernandez, that represents working pharmacies, complained that the medical health providers (ARS) deduct 10% of sales of pharmaceuticals sold to ARS affiliates.
“And this happens under the indifferent and sometimes even complacent gaze of the agencies that must regulate their macabre actions,” he criticized. Hernandez criticized the complacency of the Superintendency of Health and Occupational Risks (SISALRIL).
He said as a result, owners of pharmacies now are only making gross profits of 13% because of the 23% earnings, they have to pay 10% to the medical health providers.
Hernandez says this 10% is not contemplated in Social Security Law 87-01.
ARS affiliates are authorized to consume up to RD$8,000 a year in pharmaceuticals prescribed by authorized physicians. In the case the fund is not used, the ARS gets to keep the difference, adding to the high profitability of the ARS companies.
“All because the business of these men should be more profitable so they can construct more buildings, buy boats, summer homes, take trips abroad to benefit them and their families. The indulgences of these businessmen in their pleasures are being paid for by patients and health providers in the Social Security system,” said Hernández.
The president of the Union of Pharmacies spoke during the celebration of the XIII Mortero de Oro awards, on the occasion of the Day of the Owner of Pharmacist.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
Nov 10, 2018
Stand-up comedy in the Dominican Republic is alive and well. A report in Listin Diario says that while Carlos Sanchez around 15 years ago pioneered stand-up comedy here, today he has inspired many new emerging comedians. These comedians are taking advantage of social media to spread their laughs. And they have their own Comedy Club, a National District location where patrons can be ensured of an evening of laughs. The comedians each have their unique style. Many use irony, tell of day-to-day occurrences, use black humor, make fun of government, society, culture, values, customs and even of themselves.
Listin Diario mentions emerging comedians José Delgado (Yodel), Starlin Ramírez, Miguel de la Cruz, David (Melaza) and Elías Serrulle as part of the new generation of comedians that perform live for audience.
Comedy Club is located on the first floor of Plaza Bolera on Av. Abraham Lincoln.
Source: DR1, Listindiario
Nov 10, 2018
