Haiti - DR : Haitian passports in Barahona 2 times more expensive than in the USA
Earlier this week, several hundred Haitian migrants on the initiative of "Desarrollo Sin Fronteras" (a Barahona Human Rights Committee), realized a march that started at the Duarte Square in Barahona to end in front of the Consulate of Haiti. The protesters protested against acts of corruption and alleged irregularities within the Haitian Consulate, under the indifferent eye of the Haitian diplomatic staff and the Dominican Chancellery.
Augustin Moises and Sylvester Joseph, spokespersons say that the current Minister Counselor and the Consul of Haiti Barahona Mrs. Thérèse Longchamp, increase the prices of passports, birth certificates and marriage certificates among others, accusing them of bribe and misuse of Haitian public funds.
According to them, in Washington in the US, the Haitian government charges 45 US dollars for the issuance of a Haitian passport, while the consulate of Barahona charge without reason between 80 and 120 dollars.
Moreover, "Desarrollo Sin Fronteras" claims that according to his investigation, two checks, one of 974,860 pesos issued February 14 by the sugar cane company "Consorcio Azucarero Central" (CAC) to provide passports to Haitian cane cutters, was issued in the name of a person from the consulate and not in the name of the Consulate. A second check of 527,500 pesos also issued by the CAC, on January 17 for various documents and administrative documents, was also written in the name of another person, this check would not have been cashed, the person having preferred to resign from the consulate.
