Civic Participation of Haitian Immigrants in the Dominican Republic: An Urban-Rural Comparison

Abstract

Using data on 91 respondents from a 2017 household survey, this studyexamines the civic participation of Haitian immigrants in the DominicanRepublic. We analysed self-reported attendance at voluntary associationmeetings (labour, community improvement, sports/recreation, religious, andparent-teacher). The purpose was to identify the extent to which respondentsengaged in civic life and to determine whether there were significant urbanrural/peri-urban differences in attendance, in order to shed light on if the locationof residence may or may not shape participant involvement. The resultsrevealed that participation was highest in parent-teacher meetings (78%) andlowest in labour meetings (18%). Across all five meeting types, there was ahigher percentage of attendance by rural/peri-urban than urban participants.The differences between urban and rural/peri-urban participant attendancewere significant for all of the association meeting types, except for parentteachermeetings. This research is important for appreciating the previouslyunder-examined issue of civic engagement of Haitian immigrants in theDominican Republic with special attention given to geographic variation.