VZCZCXYZ0015
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDG #0865/01 2191510
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 071510Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3153
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 0266
RUEHWN/AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN PRIORITY 2263
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 1015
RUEHGE/AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN PRIORITY 1171
RUEHKG/AMEMBASSY KINGSTON PRIORITY 2962
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ AUG 0607
RUEHPO/AMEMBASSY PARAMARIBO PRIORITY 1295
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE PRIORITY 5028
RUEHSP/AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN PRIORITY 2002

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 000865 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR, 
STATE FOR DRL, PRM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREF ECON EAID DR
SUBJECT: SUGAR-CANE BATEY CONDITIONS VARY GREATLY 
 
REF: A. SDO 297 
     ¶B. 08 SDO 1110 
     ¶C. SDO 236 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: This cable analyzes living conditions in 
sugar-cane bateyes in the Dominican Republic that are owned 
by Grupo Vicini, Centro Romana Corporation (CR), and the 
GODR's State Sugar Council (CEA).  During the last six 
months, PolOffs visited several bateyes throughout the 
country.  Many residents of these bateyes live in substandard 
or deplorable conditions, but many others have seen 
significant improvements in housing and human services.  Each 
batey visited faces very similar over-arching challenges 
(i.e., often inadequate education, health, electricity, or 
other services).  Moreover, many residents lack the 
documentation they need (whether from Dominican or Haitian 
authorities) to access health care and other services. 
Overall, the private  sugar refining companies are taking 
positive steps in improving the lives of workers on their 
bateyes. The CEA, however, remains relatively passive and 
unresponsive to their workers' needs or concerns. END 
SUMMARY. 
 
BACKGROUND 
---------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The state-owned sugar industry initially played a 
major role in the Dominican economy.  After the price of 
sugar fell in the late 1980s, the sugar market collapsed. 
The response by the GODR's State Sugar Council (CEA) was to 
reduce production, sugar fields, and the number of Haitian 
sugar laborers.  Even with the reduction of labor and costs, 
and an increase in privatization, the sugar industry has 
never fully recovered.  The sugar industry is now dominated 
by two major private firms, the Grupo Vicini LTD (Vicini) and 
Centro Romana Corporation.  The CEA owns many sugar fields 
where many of their "bateyes" (i.e., rural shantytowns or 
sugarcane work camps) are found. The CEA has not, however, 
produced sugar for over ten years, leaving their residents 
with little or no source of income.  Haitian migrants and 
Dominican sugar laborers continue to live and work on private 
and state-run bateyes.  Whether  privately owned or state 
owned, bateyes in the Dominican Republic have similar 
challenges and problems, namely deficient health, education, 
water, and electricity services.  The situation is made worse 
by a lack of resources from the GODR and the bateyes' 
isolation from the general population of the country. 
 
VICINI BATEYES 
-------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Poloffs traveled to bateyes owned by Grupo Vicini 
LTD (Vicini) in the San Pedro de Macoris area both with 
representatives from the Vicinis (reftel A) and separately 
with NGO representatives.  While conditions in the bateyes 
currently range from poor to deplorable, the Vicinis are 
implementing new development initiatives and making moderate 
upgrades to their bateyes.  The Vicini bateyes visited are 
typical of bateyes found throughout the Dominican Republic. 
Housing is provided for the workers, but not all have 
electricity or running water.  Medical facilities are 
available to the residents, but the clinics in each batey 
deal with only minor injuries.  For serious medical 
emergencies, workers must travel to the City of San Pedro 
(several hours away in some cases).  Workers are required to 
cover their own medical costs due to their inability to show 
documentation that might allow them to benefit from the 
state-run health plan (reftel B). 
 
¶4. (SBU) With respect to education, local primary and 
secondary schools are usually located within about 3 to 5 
miles, if not in a given batey.  In more isolated bateyes, 
children must walk along a dirt path through sugar-cane 
fields to reach them.  Batey residents reported to PolOff 
that adolescent female students, on their way to or from 
school, are sometimes raped by the same cane workers with 
whom their parents work.  Violators are not usually  punished 
mostly due to the transient nature of the work force and the 
lack of oversight by the Vicini administration. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Vicinis have invested millions of dollars in the 
construction of a larger, modern, and consolidated housing 
project for their batey workers and families.  Once the new 
housing community, named "Nuevo Cayacoa," is complete, the 
firm will demolish their existing bateyes (reftel A). 
According to PolOff's estimates given the current 
construction progress, completion of the project could be in 
less than a year. 
 
CENTRO ROMANA BATEYES 
--------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The bateyes owned by Centro Romana (CR) are 
noticeably better maintained than bateyes owned by CEA or the 
Vicinis.  Current housing is already comparable to the 
quality and size of the Vicini housing project, "Nuevo 
Cayacoa."  Centro Romana provides both single family houses 
and duplexes.  However, nearly all homes lack electricity, 
and communal bathrooms are located outside of the home and 
shared by three or four households.  Potable water is 
available at a central location in each batey.  Residents are 
not allowed to make renovations or to paint their homes, and 
the company places limits on house parties and general noise 
after hours. Upon termination or retirement, workers must 
vacate their housing, with most moving to live on CEA bateyes 
or relocating to Santo Domingo.  The company does pay a 
severance package to their employees.  Additionally, schools 
and medical facilities are available in many Centro Romana 
bateyes. 
 
STATE-RUN BATEYES: STATE SUGAR COUNCIL (CEA) 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) PolOffs visited several state-owned (CEA) bateyes in 
the areas of La Romana, San Pedro de Macoris, and Barahona. 
The CEA bateyes fall into two separate categories - those 
which are still producing sugar and managed by the Guatemalan 
firm Ingenio Barahona, and those which are no longer 
producing sugar for an individual company.  In the latter 
case, rural sugar-cane workers sell what they manage to 
harvest to middle-men who then sell that to any one of the 
existing sugar refineries. 
 
¶8. (SBU) People in the CEA bateyes that are not managed by 
Ingenio Barahona (IB) live in the most deplorable conditions 
of the bateyes inspected by Poloffs.  Their houses are made 
of whatever materials are available, including wood lath 
covered with mud and scrap metal held together with wooden 
sticks.  Most of these bateyes lack running water (whether 
potable or not) and sewage management is non-existent.  Homes 
that have electricity receive it from illegal connections to 
nearby power lines.  Schools are usually located in areas 
near the bateyes, but hospitals are either sparse or 
unstaffed, leaving the ill to travel tens of kilometers in 
search of larger towns with medical facilities.  The 
residents are destitute and seek work from any available 
source, including agriculture, begging, and prostitution. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Residents in the CEA bateyes managed by Ingenio 
Barahona, on the other hand, are in a much better situation. 
While their original houses are still fashioned from 
available materials (and many structures are on the verge of 
collapse),  several private donors have paid for the 
construction of new homes for IB workers.  PolOffs met with 
representatives of the company who spoke of  creating a 
housing project similar to the Vicini's "Nuevo Cayacoa." 
This would consolidate the sugar-cane workers' housing and 
improve overall living conditions. (Note: Construction has 
yet to commence, but IB officials claim to have selected a 
location for their new housing project. End Note)  The 
company recently built a new, modern dining hall for all of 
their workers, purchased school buses for transporting 
workers to and from sugar fields, and now has  an ambulance 
to use for serious medical emergencies, with plans to 
purchase another in the near future.  Each batey also has its 
own school, and families living in IB-managed bateyes can 
access a pre-school program for younger children that is 
organized by Futrazucar Barahona, the union operating in the 
IB-managed bateyes.  Generally, the bateyes run by the 
Guatemalan firm are better than standard CEA bateyes, but 
still are not on the same level as bateyes owned by Centro 
Romana.  They are,  however, on par with some of the Vicini 
bateyes. 
 
USG PROGRAMS 
------------ 
 
¶10. (SBU) Notable positive developments are on the horizon 
for the bateyes essentially abandoned by CEA, thanks only to 
USG assistance.  USAID has recently initiated a 
batey-improvement project.  This five million-dollar program 
seeks to provide assistance to the state-owned and neglected 
bateyes by building homes and schools, enhancing water and 
sanitation systems, and providing some employment 
opportunities in the immediate future and long-term. 
 
ANALYSIS and COMMENT 
-------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Bateyes still garner a significant amount of 
interest from NGOs and outside organizations as the center of 
abuse of Haitian migrants and/or their neglect in the 
Dominican Republic.  Bateyes have generally seen a recent 
surge in renovations and improvements, possibly because of 
more focused publicity on the issues of Haitians living and 
working on bateyes.  Attention now appears to be moving from 
the plight of Haitian laborers in bateyes to their 
exploitation in other sectors, e.g. the construction 
industry. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Although the sugar companies may justifiably be 
blamed for conditions they allowed to persist for several 
years, the private sector appears to be making some progress 
in providing some support and resources for their bateyes. 
Conditions in  bateyes owned by Centro Romana Corporation 
(CR) are exceptional: They are already on par with 
improvements seen in several bateyes across the country. 
Moreover, it appears CR did not allow the same deterioration 
and abysmal conditions to emerge on their properties. 
Indeed, the major complaint from CR residents was that 
company rules and regulations (regarding noise, etc.) are 
strictly enforced.  According to the residents, the company 
does not give workers sufficient freedom. 
 
¶13. (SBU) A serious and widespread problem affecting many 
residents of bateyes is a lack of proper documentation.  The 
GODR recently started a drive, run by the Central Electoral 
Commission (JCE), to confiscate documentation from those they 
feel may have received their documents through fraud or error 
(reftel B).  At the same time, the GODR has instituted 
policies to reduce the number of undocumented persons in the 
country (reftel C). Thus far, however, only the Ministry of 
Migration has issued temporary work permits.  The ultimate 
results of these initiatives (and the Haitian Embassy's 
efforts, if any) have yet to be seen.  Concern exists, 
however, that these seemingly contradictory moves by the 
GODR, and a failure on the part of Haitian government 
representatives in the DR to do much to help possible Haitian 
citizens, will only compound the problems of some batey 
residents and others of possible Haitian descent. 
 
¶14. (SBU) Post is guardedly optimistic about the recent 
efforts of sugar companies to improve living conditions for 
their sugar-cane workers.  Whether the GODR and the CEA will 
make improvements soon is less certain, although the USAID 
initiative offers some hope.  Also uncertain, but of 
potentially great importance, is the impact of bio-fuel 
initiatives on the sugar-cane industry. Post will continue 
monitoring the situation and report on any significant 
developments. 
BULLEN