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Summary
The Nameless, Nation-less Children of the Dominican Republic
The residents of Batey Mao--a poverty-stricken community on the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic--live with the constant threat of massive deportations and expulsions by the corrupt Dominican military. To single out a Dominican of Haitian descent, the military asks him or her to say “perejil” (parsley), a Spanish word that brings out the Créole accent.
In 2005, three Haitian women living in the Dominican Republic lost their children. During the expulsions that took place in May of that year, Motrine’s 3-year-old daughter, Christian, and Fifa’s 8-year-old, Leonisa, disappeared on the Dominican/Haitian border. In October, Solange brought international attention to human rights violations against children of Haitian descent. As a consequence, she and her children received threats to their lives. Her children were sent into exile, while Solange stayed behind and continued to fight.
Though born in the Dominican Republic, these innocents--like thousands of others --are denied the right to obtain their birth certificates and claim Dominican nationality. Nameless and nation-less, they are, in essence, invisible children. After a century of being indoctrinated into believing that they are undeserving of basic human rights, these Haitian immigrants are now fighting for their identities--and their lives.
While Fifa and Motrine are illiterate, live hand-to-mouth, and have little knowledge of their human rights, they still hope to find their daughters alive and well. Meanwhile, the educated Solange fights tirelessly for naming rights and Dominican nationality for all children born of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic.
Say Parsley is a film about the efforts of these women to establish the identities of their children and to raise them freely in the Dominican Republic. It is also a chronicle of their attempt to bring together two languages, two societies and two cultures—in the name of peace and justice.
Directed and Produced by Irene Rial Bou
Cameras: Dediego Rivera, Tony Rigus, Esteban Vargas
Original Music by Jose Miguel Cabrera
Editor: Gisela Rosario
Associate Producer: Dennis Rodriguez
Photos: Guianni Dal Mas
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