Introduction

 

Preface

The island of Hispaniola is perhaps the most appropriate place in the world to study the impact of globalization and associated economic practices which put profits before the well being of people.   This August I led a group of ten teachers and two university students representing 6 different states on a ten day "Social Justice Tour" of the Dominican Republic. The group explored a myriad of social issues including global migration & human rights, free trade, sex tourism, and the double marginalization of women in each of these contexts.


    As we passed through town after town bearing the names given to them by the region's now extinct indigenous population, we were forced to recall the stories that were missing from our childhood history textbooks.


   
It was on this island that Columbus, seeking to enslave the indigenous Taino people and plunder the island's resources, established the first European colony in the North America. Building a fort from the wreckage of the Santa Maria, Columbus constructed what historian Howard Zinn refers to as "the first European military base in the New World."  The Tainos resisted their enslavement and retaliated against the rape and abuse of the Taino women. Within 100 years, through hunger, disease, and the cruelty inflicted upon them by the Spanish settlers, the genocide of the Tainos was complete.  Sadly, the decimation of the island's indigenous people would only lead to further inhumanity and cruelty with the importation of enslaved labor from Africa.


    The tour gave participants the opportunity to critically reflect and ponder connections between seemingly disparate events, observations and experiences. It also brought us face to face in discussion with community activists, NGO volunteers, representatives of transnational corporate interests as well as ordinary Dominican citizens and migrants. Several of the trip participants were classroom Spanish teachers. These teachers used the occasion to further hone their 2nd language and cross-cultural communication skills while facilitating translation and communication for the other members of the group.


    In addition to allowing group members to study these issues through first hand experiences, the project also created opportunities for collaboration and resource sharing in order to effectively bring this experience back to our classrooms and communities.


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