by Melisa Vargas

The border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti divides the Hispaniola Island in a north-south direction. The division of the island is a living trace of the arbitrary nature of colonialism, and consequently, it is evidence of how this has generated a continuum of social and political permutations. Still today, these permutations strongly inhabit the popular imaginary and political realms of both countries.. 

Until the cholera scare of 2010 the ‘international fair’ in Dajabón occupied the streets of the town spreading across nine blocks of the centre



The market has now been moved to the new border crossing with vendors initially setting up stall on the fields at the back of the new market hall (graphics: Tim Koblun and Patricia Roth)