VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDG #0019/01 0171803
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O R 171803Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0538
INFO WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHEHWSR/WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0010
RUEHC/USAID WASHDC 0008
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
RUMIESS/SOUTHCOM IESS MIAMI FL

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 000019 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL AMGT ASEC EAID DR HA
SUBJECT: DR-Haiti Border - Chaotic, But Functional 
 
REF: 10 SANTO DOMINGO 92 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1. (SBU)  Summary:  As of midday 1/17 a variety of American 
citizens working in the public hospital in the border town of 
Jimani report a disorganized yet functional situation in which 
hundreds of displaced Haitians seek, and generally receive, urgent 
medical assistance.  Witnesses report that they have not seen signs 
of tension between the host population and displaced people. There 
is an unconfirmed rumor of a Dominican businessman killed in a 
relief convoy in Haiti.  Key challenges appear to be 
poorly-organized assistance and resupply efforts.  According to one 
Amcit on the scene, a growing concern is that Haitian displaced 
have nowhere to go after receiving treatment.  The road to 
Port-au-Prince from Jimani was reportedly passable, though there 
were 'bottlenecks' caused by relief traffic.  End summary. 
 
 
 
Displaced Receiving Health Care, With Delays 
 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Amcit witnesses in the Jimani public hospital reported 
that as of midday on 1/17 a steady flow of displaced Haitians were 
being treated by doctors and nurses from the Dominican Health 
Ministry (CESPAS) as well as Haitian and international health care 
providers.  There were reports of delays in the provision of care - 
one source cited a young girl with a serious head wound who waited 
four hours for treatment - but the IOM representative in Jimani 
said the hospital was not hopelessly overtaxed. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Witnesses also reported that nurses were carefully 
managing supplies of scarce commodities, like saline, but that 
bottled water was widely available.  Resupply efforts by local 
authorities, GoDR entities, and relief workers were reportedly 
disorganized and infrequent;  Amcit witnesses characterized the 
relief effort in Jimani as poorly coordinated.  One witness cited a 
strong need for Haitian-Creole translators. 
 
 
 
Road to Port-au-Prince Open; DR Entries Steady; Some Enter Haiti 
 
 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  The route to Port-au-Prince was reportedly passable, 
though bottlenecks due to relief traffic were creating delays of up 
to an hour at the border crossing point, and disorganized relief 
convoys were creating further delays.  The IOM rep in Jimani 
reported that the GoDR civil defense forces were providing security 
for twice-daily runs to Port-au-Prince at 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. 
local time, though they usually ran late. 
 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Sources characterized the daily flow of approximately 
500 migrants across the border as steady.  Some of these migrants 
may be normally resident in the Dominican Republic and are 
returning from checking on family in Haiti. The IOM rep in Jimani 
said that she was hearing reports that the crossings at Dajabon and 
Pedernales were calm.  She also said she was seeing a flow of 
travelers into Haiti, as some successfully treated victims return 
to Haiti and as Dominican residents of Haitian origin head to Haiti 
in search of missing relatives.  (Note: some IOM sources say the 
flow from the DR to Haiti is greater than the flow in the opposite 
direction.  End note.) 
 
 
 
No Tension Evident in Jimani; Rumor of Attack on Dominican Relief 
Team 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Though Amcit witnesses in the Jimani hospital said they 
were not seeing signs of tension between displaced persons and the 
local population, there were persistent rumors, repeated by Amcit 
witnesses and the IOM rep in Jimani, that a Dominican businessman 
who had organized a relief convoy was killed in Haiti as well as 
another one wounded. 
 
¶7.  (U)  Minimize considered. 
Lambert