--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We still have our people working in the…" description: "\"We still have our people working in the cane fields in the Dominican Republic. People are still repatriated all the time from the Dominican Republic to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/edwidge-danticat-2559_born_we-still-have-our-people-working-in-the_1867813.png" --- # We still have our people working in the cane fields in the… ![“We still have our people working in the cane fields in the Dominican Republic. People are still repatriated all the time from the Dominican Republic to Haiti. Some tell of being taken off buses because they looked Haitian, and their families have been in the Dominican Republic for generations…” quote by Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/edwidge-danticat-2559_born_we-still-have-our-people-working-in-the_1867813.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/edwidge-danticat-2559_born_we-still-have-our-people-working-in-the_1867813.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/edwidge-danticat-2559_born_we-still-have-our-people-working-in-the_1867813.png) > “We still have our people working in the cane fields in the Dominican Republic. People are still repatriated all the time from the Dominican Republic to Haiti. Some tell of being taken off buses because they looked Haitian, and their families have been in the Dominican Republic for generations. Haitian children born in the Dominican Republic still can't go to school and are forced to work in the sugarcane fields.” [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Haitian people in the Dominican Republic face systemic racism, forced labor, and denial of basic rights despite long‑standing residency. **In simple terms:** Haitian residents suffer discrimination and exploitation. Key Takeaway Advocate for equal rights and protection. Themes human rights racism migration labor exploitation Mood urgent empathetic Type social political When to use this quote - advocacy work - policy reform - community support programs Key Concepts systemic discrimination statelessness child labor Questions to Reflect On - How can international pressure help? - What local actions can improve conditions? A Different Perspective Complex political relations may hinder immediate change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Bus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bus/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Dominican republic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dominican-republic/) [Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fields/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Haiti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haiti/) [Haitian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haitian/) [Haitian Families](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haitian-families-2556513/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Repatriated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-repatriated-2556511/) [Repatriated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repatriated-2556512/) [Republic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republic/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken/) ## Related quotes > [To start with, for example this year, 2004, is the bicentennial of Haitian independence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/to-start-with-for-example-this-year-2004-is-the-bicentennial-of/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [The whole military structure in Haiti that existed until the early 1990s was put in place by the American occupation. At the top there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/the-whole-military-structure-in-haiti-that-existed-until-the-early/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [The whole history between Haiti and the Dominican Republic is complicated. We share the island of Hispaniola, and Haiti occupied the Dominican Republic for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/the-whole-history-between-haiti-and-the-dominican-republic-is/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [If I'm a national treasure, does that mean I'm like the Elgin Marbles and will get repatriated at some point?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bailey/if-i-m-a-national-treasure-does-that-mean-i-m-like-the-elgin-marbles/) [Bill Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bailey/) > [As a foreign worker in Haiti, speaking for myself, speaking for the workers, our organization is about 95 percent Haitian, but even foreign workers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-penn/as-a-foreign-worker-in-haiti-speaking-for-myself-speaking-for-the/) [Sean Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-penn/) > [The chief of the tribe is supposed to be the father of all people of the tribe. That is the Haitian way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-duvalier/the-chief-of-the-tribe-is-supposed-to-be-the-father-of-all-people-of/) [Francois Duvalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-duvalier/) > [You know, we do not want the militarization of Haiti. We do not see a Haitian as a protectorate where it relinquishes its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-glover/you-know-we-do-not-want-the-militarization-of-haiti-we-do-not-see-a/) [Danny Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-glover/) > [Haiti is a proud nation, rich in heritage and spirituality. How they have been able to not only survive but thrive is a testament…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arden/haiti-is-a-proud-nation-rich-in-heritage-and-spirituality-how-they/) [Michael Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arden/) > [The dignity of the Haitian people has been trampled on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jovenel-moise/the-dignity-of-the-haitian-people-has-been-trampled-on/) [Jovenel Moise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jovenel-moise/) > [When you put more than a million kids in school, you take a plane today and go to Haiti, you cannot see the results.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-martelly/when-you-put-more-than-a-million-kids-in-school-you-take-a-plane/) [Michel Martelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-martelly/) > [I am currently in Haiti to help the Haitian people in their reconstruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-duvalier/i-am-currently-in-haiti-to-help-the-haitian-people-in-their/) [Jean-Claude Duvalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-duvalier/) > [This election marks a significant moment in Haiti; it not only serves as the basis of hope along the road to democracy, but also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-meek/this-election-marks-a-significant-moment-in-haiti-it-not-only-serves/) [Kendrick Meek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-meek/) > [The structure of apartheid is still rooted in the Haitian society. When you have apartheid, you don't see those behind the walls. That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-bertrand-aristide/the-structure-of-apartheid-is-still-rooted-in-the-haitian-society/) [Jean-Bertrand Aristide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-bertrand-aristide/) > [The lessons are, unfortunately, that a small weak country that is facing an extremely hostile and very violent superpower will not make much progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-lessons-are-unfortunately-that-a-small-weak-country-that-is/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“It is with this surety that we must stand with Haiti, a country whose spirit and people will never be broken, and work in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-farmer/it-is-with-this-surety-that-we-must-stand-with-haiti-a-country-whose/) [Paul Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-farmer/) ## More by Edwidge Danticat > [“Medicare rewards doctors far better for doing procedures than for assessing whether they should be done at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/medicare-rewards-doctors-far-better-for-doing-procedures-than-for/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I love the process of cracking the spine for the first time and slowly sinking into a book. That will soon seem old-fashioned, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-love-the-process-of-cracking-the-spine-for-the-first-time-and/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I remember reading an interview with a writer who said that in nonfiction if you have one lie it sort of messes it up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-remember-reading-an-interview-with-a-writer-who-said-that-in/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“Instead I dreamt of walking out of the world, of spending all my time inside with no one to talk to, and no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/instead-i-dreamt-of-walking-out-of-the-world-of-spending-all-my-time/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“Then what do you want with me?'... 'The pursuit of happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/then-what-do-you-want-with-me-the-pursuit-of-happiness/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I wanted to raise the voice of a lot of the people that I knew growing up, and this was, for the most part,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-wanted-to-raise-the-voice-of-a-lot-of-the-people-that-i-knew/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [Creating these messes that go from administration to administration and then you swoop in and clean them up - with that heroic Delta force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/creating-these-messes-that-go-from-administration-to-administration/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“Nineteen Thirty-Seven”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/nineteen-thirty-seven/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“From her experience working with the weak and the sick, she'd learned that the disease you ignore is the one that kills you, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/from-her-experience-working-with-the-weak-and-the-sick-she-d-learned/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I'm not saying Cubans don't deserve asylum, but if it is a national security issue, there are people who are coming from Cuba on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-m-not-saying-cubans-don-t-deserve-asylum-but-if-it-is-a-national/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“I owe Oprah and that show a tremendous debt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-owe-oprah-and-that-show-a-tremendous-debt/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [The greatest gift anyone can give to a writer is time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/the-greatest-gift-anyone-can-give-to-a-writer-is-time/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I think it is important to reach people through arts and literature, because then you establish a connection that's not an instant crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-think-it-is-important-to-reach-people-through-arts-and-literature/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [All anyone can hope for is just a tiny bit of love, like a drop in a cup if you can get it, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/all-anyone-can-hope-for-is-just-a-tiny-bit-of-love-like-a-drop-in-a/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I very much love a physical book myself. I think people who have had this experience of also seeing a book come together, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-very-much-love-a-physical-book-myself-i-think-people-who-have-had/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) [Explore all 161 Edwidge Danticat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) ## More Born quotes > [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/) [Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [The real world out there isn't nearly as nice as some people prefer it to be, so don't swallow everything your high-born teachers tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-world-out-there-isn-t-nearly-as-nice-as-some-people-prefer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [I know that in the rap game you've got a lot of people, that come from poverty, was born in poverty and if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-connor/i-know-that-in-the-rap-game-you-ve-got-a-lot-of-people-that-come-from/) [Jon Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-connor/) > [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been born, will always reappear in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/nothing-old-is-ever-reborn-but-neither-does-it-totally-disappear-and/) [Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I'm not against gay people. I have a relative who is also gay. We can't help it if they were born that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-pacquiao/i-m-not-against-gay-people-i-have-a-relative-who-is-also-gay-we-can-t/) [Manny Pacquiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-pacquiao/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [If you can believe it, Hollywood wanted to change my birthdate. I was born after Valentine's Day, so they wanted to change it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-romero/if-you-can-believe-it-hollywood-wanted-to-change-my-birthdate-i-was/) [Cesar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-romero/) [Browse all 11,606 Born quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We still have our people working in the cane fields in the Dominican Republic. People are still repatriated all the time from the Dominican Republic to Haiti. Some tell of being taken off buses because they looked Haitian, and their families have been in the Dominican Republic for generations. 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