Joshua Jelly-Schapiro

A gruesome humanitarian crisis is unfolding on Hispaniola, in the wake of renewed efforts and legislative support for the expulsion of potentially hundreds of thousands of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian extraction from the Dominican side of their shared island. Journalist and writer Joshua Jelly Schapiro has been covering this story for the New Yorker and has made many trips to both countries. In this discussion with Richard Fleming, he lays out much of the tortured history between the two neighboring nations and describes the situation on the ground based on his visit to the Dominican-Haitian border only two weeks before the interview.

The pair discuss why the fraught story is getting so little attention, and consider a variety of possible outcomes.

Joshua Jelly Schapiro is the author of the forthcoming book Island People, a portrait of the Caribbean's central role in modern world culture. You can read his writings for the New Yorker, Harper’s, and other publications at www.joshuajellyschapiro.com.

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