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Bittersweet: Evicted Dominican families search for justice in the U.S.
On January 26, 2016, armed officers from the Central Romana (CR) Corporation evicted 60 families from their homes in the Dominican Republic. The CR, a company that started operations in 1912, has become the largest sugar producer in this country. It has large tracts of land in El Seibo and maintains an expansion policy.
The first eviction occurred in the Los Cajuilitos and the second in the Villa Guerrero sector in the province of El Seibo, both rural communities where sugar cane crops, belonging to the CR, occupy most of the territory.
Clarivel Álvarez, an evicted mother of two, who now represents the families that lost their homes, was reluctant to leave her house, fearing for the lives of her children. She says she was afraid of the intentions of the armed CR guards who destroyed everything in their path. “At that time we got caught in a tremendous downpour,” explained Olga Mejía, another one of the evicted. “They never presented property titles or eviction papers.” Still, they destroyed the homes of some sixty families and even threatened to kill those who refused to leave their homes.
Four years later, having obtained the support of the United Nations, but not their own country, 24 of those families filed a lawsuit against the Fanjul Corporation, a sugar, agricultural, tourism, real estate, energy and transportation holding, headquartered in West Palm Beach, and against the Central Romana (CR), one of Fanjul´s “minority investments.” The lawsuit seeks compensation for injuries and damages both physical and psychological.
In the lawsuit, lawyers argue the case must be tried in the States as Fanjul is a Florida corporation and Central Romana, “operates, conducts, engages in business in Florida.” Moreover, the Dominican Republic is not an adequate forum for this case, adds the lawsuit: “Fanjul is the largest landholder and largest employer in the Dominican Republic, as well as the leading producer of sugar in the Dominican Republic. The Fanjul Corporation has influence in the Dominican Republic, including in government and the judicial system. Given its influence. Plaintiffs would not have a fair opportunity to fully litigate their claims.”
