The Dominican Republic is a country located in the Caribbean. It has a lot of future potential thanks to a number of resources and a great location. Resources may help stimulate the economy, but tourism is one of our weapons, as our kindness and good treatment of visitors ensures excellent service.
While it is true that many positive aspects of our country can be highlighted, when we dig deeper into the reality that is lived day by day, we can see that the differences and the present struggles people have are quite serious. The differences are very noticeable. Visiting one part of the country and seeing the luxury that surrounds it is impressive, but it is sad to go to one of the poorest neighborhoods and witness the little access they have to basic services that every citizen should enjoy. Here we begin to see a part that many people have little or no knowledge of.
 |
| Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic – Crossing – Aleksei Denisov |
When we talk about social inequality, studies have shown that it has increased in recent years. Why has this happened? Where is all the growth the country has had economically? This is one of the most critical issues that our island faces. The majority of the population only accounts for 7% of the country’s wealth, while 30% belongs to the richest – something very distorted, right? We can see that not enough work is being done to eliminate the disparities that exist and create a more egalitarian society.
It is true that, over the years, few efforts have been made to provide a more satisfactory standard of living for all citizens, but not everything is negative and we must also highlight the good work that has been done in other areas of Dominican society.
 |
| Higuey, Dominican Republic – One the street – Mariusz Switulski |
In 2013, the Dominican Republic obtained the long-awaited 4% increase in spending for education. Something the people claimed was necessary for the improvement of the education conditions for students. The government has an obligation to provide high-quality education until high school, and this increase was supposed to help with resources and staffing. The increase has also ensured that not only the middle and upper class would benefit from better educational conditions, but every student would gain the right to have good school supplies, classrooms with the equipment every school needs and well-prepared teachers to provide high-quality instruction to the students.
 |
| Higuey, Dominican Republic – Coconuts – Mariusz Switulski |
Furthermore, not only students benefited from the increase in funding, but also parents and founders of informal businesses, because the creation of a large number of educational facilities in each part of the country, in cities and neighborhoods, helped the private economy establish nearby businesses like coffee shops, computer centers and transport stations; it allowed parents to have greater mobility because the funding also extended to daycare, causing them to have less worries about what to do with their children when they have to work. In this respect, people who did not have the opportunity to go to school also benefited. A plan was created to ensure the literacy of the entire population and to this day it continues to produce good results.
 |
| Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic – Lifestyle – Aleksei Denisov |
Definitely, we can ignore this great work our government has done for the improvement of education, which is a transformative weapon and which everyone is entitled to, without exception. This was achieved thanks to the outcries in a country that seeks improvement for each of its citizens.
This is one of the struggles we have won as a country. Every day we become more aware that we must work to obtain greater benefits so that we can all live a more dignified life. This is one of the many battles that remain for a significant improvement.
 |
| Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic – Waiting – Aleksei Denisov |
Another crucial aspect of inequality present in our Dominican society has been the issue of immigration. Many Dominicans dream of leaving the country and being in places like the United States or some parts of Europe, with the goal of working to send money to their relatives on the island and giving them a better life. The work done by Dominican immigrants is not easy, but they have seen leaving the country as an option to provide greater stability for their family.
These cases are sad. Many have seen that the salary they had in the Dominican Republic did not let them meet the basic needs of their family and forced them to make the hard decision to leave. It’s not easy but someone has to do it.
 |
| Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic – At the counter – Aleksei Denisov |
Several circumstances have caused people to describe being here as “every man for himself!” Everyone thinks individually and not in a collective way, something that has caused great damage to our country.
So what can be said about the current situation in the Dominican Republic? We still have to grow as citizens and learn to recognize the needs we have as a united country. We must learn to look beyond what is offered first and to determine what our people need. We have to realize that we are the country, and, as we fulfill our role, things will begin to change. Looking for a guilty party is not progress, but working and thinking about the welfare of the country as a whole, not of oneself, will be advantageous for all of us and usher in an age of prosperity.
Credits
Snapshot 1: Punta Cana, Dominican Republic – Rippled – Tim Mossholder (Unsplash)
Snapshot 2: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic – Crossing – Aleksei Denisov (Shutterstock)
Snapshot 3: Higuey, Dominican Republic – One the street – Mariusz Switulski (Shutterstock)
Snapshot 4: Higuey, Dominican Republic – Coconuts – Mariusz Switulski (Shutterstock)
Snapshot 5: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic – Lifestyle – Aleksei Denisov (Shutterstock)
Snapshot 6: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic – Waiting – Aleksei Denisov (Shutterstock)
Snapshot 7: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic – At the counter – Aleksei Denisov (Shutterstock)
Cinemblem voiceover: Talia Stotts
Locations
Home: www.perypatetik.net
Social: www.facebook.com/Perypatetik
Cinemblem: Perypatetik youtube channel
The Syncretion of Polarization and Extremes
Ahmed, Amina. Growing up with Abuse: A Life of Extremes – Lebanon. April 2019.
Alencar, Joana. Lack of Social Trust – Brazil. January 2019.
Antonyan, Hayk. Polarization Does Not Equal Extreme – Armenia. September 2019.
Awdejuk, Pawel. Pole-arization – Poland. June 2019.
Awuah, Kwasi Amankwah. The Family: Bringing Us Together, Tearing Us Apart – Ghana. November 2019.
Baccino, Alejandra. Polarization within Ourselves – South America. January 2019.
Bondarenko, Evgeny. What You Sow Does Not Come To Life Unless It Dies – Ukraine. May 2019.
Butt, Kashif. Shrinking Space for Dialog – Pakistan. October 2019.
Cannarella, Daniela. A Past-Present Dicotomia – Italy. June 2019.
Casas, Marilin Guerrero Casas. Balance – Cuba. May 2019.
Cordido, Veronica. Hanging by Extremes – Venezuela. January 2019.
Dastan, S.A. Polarization and the Epidemic of Extremity – Turkey. August 2019.
Deiana, Sarah. The Unbearable Weight of Being a Woman – Italy. September 2019.
Escandell, Andrea da Silva. The Illogic of Extremes – Uruguay. May 2019.
Escobar, Christian. Between the Sky and the Earth: Looking for Love – Columbia. October 2019.
Gomez, Javier. The Canyon Inside Us – Argentina. July 2019.
Hernandez, Jonay Quintero. Extremism Is Now the New Hype? – Spain. February 2019.
Husseini, Maha. Bilingual Par Excellence – Canada. August 2019.
Israyelyan, Mania. Polarized Within Ourselves – Armenia. June 2019.
Julber, Lillian. Difficult to Understand – Uruguay. July 2019.
Kanunova, Nigina. Role of Polarization in the Life of an Individual and Society – Tajikistan. July 2019.
López, Virginia Sanmartín. Why Live on an Edge? – Spain. August 2019.
Montano, Osvaldo. Progress in the Face of Polarization – Bolivia. February 2019.
Mwangi, Kenn. Religious Extremity and Exploitation – Kenya. October 2019.
Pavicevic, Nikolina. The Law of Silence – Montenegro. September 2019.
Protić, Aleksandar. Linguistic Balkanization as a Means of Polarization – The Balkans. June 2019.
Ranaldo, Mary. Social Polarization – Italy. April 2019.
Ray, Sanjay Kumar. At the Crossroads – India. August 2019.
Romano, Mavi. Censorship and Cultural Survival in a World without Gods – Spain. January 2019.
Çakir, Peren. Needing a Sustainable Future in the Midst of Political Polarization – Argentina and Turkey. September 2019.
Sariñana, Alejandra Gonzalez. Student Movements – Mexico. March 2019.
Sekulić, Jelena. The Polarizacija of Serbian Culture – Serbia. June 2019.
Sem, Sebastião. Brandos Costumes – Portugal. July 2019.
Sepi, Andreea. A World of Victims and Perpetrators? – Germany and Romania. February 2019.
Sevunts, Nane. The Era To Close – Armenia. March 2019.
Tammpuu, Mari. Thoughts of Two Generations – Polar Opposites? – Estonia. November 2019.
Skobic, Alexandar. The Loss of Identity – The Balkans. April 2019.
Sitorus, Rina. Polarization in Politics: All a Cebong or Kampret – Indonesia. March 2019.
Spirito, Julieta. A Thought about Polarized Insecurity – Argentina. April 2019.
Valenzuela, Monica. Adults and Children – Peru. April 2019.
Vuka. Extreme Immunity to Functional Tax and Judicial System – Serbia. March 2019
Wallis, Toni. Walls and Resettlement – South Africa and Angola. February 2019.
Williams, Jazz Carl. Unfinished Episodes – Spain. May 2019.
Zakharova, Anastasiya. Feminism – Russia. August 2019.
Forthcoming
CW 47 – Montenegro – Nikolina Pavicevic
CW 48 – America – Talia Stotts
CW 49 – Philippines – Kristian Uusitalo
CW 50 – Italy – Martha Corzo
CW 51 – Hungary – Zoltan Monar
CW 52 – Syria/UAE/Egypt – Ahmed Ibrahim
Source: The Codex of Uncertainty Transposed