General Sun, My Brother

"This book is about a massacre of Haitian cane workers in the Dominican Republic in 1937. It tells the story of this man who has just got out of prison and leaves to go to the Dominican Republic at the time when this massacre is happening. It is a beautifully written book with also a sense of the larger historical narrative. Part of it is set during the US occupation of Haiti so you have some of that history weaved in as well as what was happening in the Dominican Republic at the time. And you also have the journey of the man who crosses both countries. Actually, it is one of the books that I loved so much that when I started writing my own novel about the massacre of Haitian cane workers, The Farming of Bones, it was one of the inspirations for that. I thought that he did such an amazing job with his main male character that I wanted to do the same with a female character! Recently there’s been some rapprochement, since the earthquake. The Dominicans, because of their proximity, were the first foreigners on the ground to help and many Haitians ended up in Dominican hospitals after the earthquake. But slowly some old hostilities are creeping back, particularly due to the increased number of Haitians now in the Dominican Republic since the earthquake. (It’s estimated that the Haitian population in the DR has increased by 15 per cent since January.) Often when you talk to Haitians about the relationship between the two countries, unless they have more close personal connections, they will think about this massacre in 1937 and Dominicans often think of the years when the Dominican Republic was occupied by Haiti which was 22 years after Haitian independence. The leaders of Haiti took over the whole island in order to prevent the French from returning. And the Dominican Republic celebrates its independence from Haiti, not from Spain. So there is tension there and I think that, aside from the historical wounds, these tensions also arise from the economic disparities between the two countries and the fact that Haitians are, frankly, treated very badly there. Legally as well in that a family could be there for generations and have no avenues to get their papers. I’ve met people who can trace their roots there over 70 years, but they are not allowed to have Dominican birth certificates for their children. But maybe the response right after the earthquake is a sign that some healing is possible."