Moving on to two other occupations, work and education are two things handled completely horrifically in the Bateyes. First, the human right that handles work states, “Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 23). This supposedly guaranteed right is the furthest from the truth in the DR. Work is an important component of one’s life. Everyday, getting up to go to work should promote progress and well-being. For the people in the Bateyes, work is almost torturous. These men and women are basically lured over from Haiti in pursuit of a better life with a better job. Yet, as quoted from a report …show more content…
This was equally as sad in the Bateyes and Barrios as work was. Although each Batey and Bario is making strides to improve education, the majority of children are not attending proper school. Article 26 of the Declaration states, “Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 26). The problem is that education in the Batey and Bario is not free. The kids have to be sponsored and have the proper materials to attend school. This makes education a very last concern to families. If a mother cannot put food on the table, she is certainly not going to be worried about her children going to school. The sad part is that it has been shown that education directly correlates to getting out of poverty. Especially for the women in the Bateyes, education is forgotten even earlier because they are married off and start families. In the book, Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristoff, he states, “One study after another has shown that educating girls is one of the most effective ways to fight poverty. Schooling is often a precondition for girls and women to stand up against injustice…” (Kristoff 170). It is so sad when we can see that this is the truth, yet can barely do anything about it. Education is essential to a fulfilling life according to occupational therapists. If these children were being taught how to rise above the poverty they were born …show more content…
Yet, this is not even close to the end of what these people face. Two more occupations that are largely neglected in the Bateyes are play and leisure. These occupations are largely the same thing, yet play typically applies to children while leisure applies to adults. Each of these is about having relaxation and fun in life without having to worry for at least a few minutes each week. Again, Article 24 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, “Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 24). This should mean that our human rights guarantee us the ability to relax and enjoy ourselves. In the Bateyes, however, this is very clearly neglected. The whole time I was in the Bateyes, the men were hardly seen. This is because every single day, they go out from nearly sunrise to sunset, cutting sugar cane for the millionaires that own Domino sugar. Women spend the whole day tending to the large families they have and worrying about if there will be food on the table that evening. There are no chances for them to sit back and enjoy themselves because there are to many things on the daily that need to be done and worried about. Even the children, who do get the chance to