Beautiful Horizons

Luis Suarez

There is little question that race is a complicated issue in Latin America and there is little question that racism is a problem in football (aka soccer). I do not know the specifics of the accusations against Luis Suarez, the Uruguayan forward for Liverpool. I have heard rumours such as that he called Patrice Evra "negrito", which is a common expression in Uruguay and elsewhere in Latin America.

I have also read that this provides much of the basis for Suarez's defense: that this is not an insult and the issue speaks more to cultural differences than racism. I find this explanation alternately understandable and perplexing. Several years ago, I was having lunch with some friends at their apartment in Brasilia. They are attorneys who are politically center-left, who came from humble beginnings and, I believe like many Brazilians who can trace their lineage many generations back in Brazil, very likely have Afro-Brazilian ancestors.

Yet they called their housekeeper/cook "Neguinha," i.e., "Blackie." They explained that this was common. I was tempted to ask them how many whites were called "Branquelo", i.e., "Whitey" by Afro-Brazilians.

This is one place where Suarez's argument falls apart for me. I have no data to back this up, but I would find it difficult to believe that there are lots of Afro-Uruguayans who refer to whites they know as "Blanquito."

But beyond that, I find this argument compelling:

Also, people are making out that Suarez has an ignorance of how one is supposed to behave in Northern Europe, like he's just come off the boat or something. He hasn't — he spent five years in Holland (which, the last time I looked, is pretty well developed), including a season playing alongside Edgar Davids at Ajax.

Would he speak to Davids that way? Or Clarence Seedorf? Or any black Dutch player? I doubt it somehow, particularly given how annoyed a lot of Holland's black players have been in the past about perceived racial bias, let alone overt comments.

I do not know what Luis Suarez's intent was, if any. I have no interest in getting inside his head. I just wish that this was not an issue for this sport - or for the world.

A Dominican Heroine

There's a fascinating and disturbing profile of Sonia Pierre, the head of the Movement for Dominico-Haitian Women in Saturday's New York Times. Fascinating for the hard work that she has put in trying to fight racism in the Dominican Republic, disturbing for the depth of racism in that country.

WHEN Sonia Pierre won an international human rights award last fall, there were two diametrically opposite reactions here: “Way to go!” and “Oh, no!”

Ms. Pierre is the Dominican Republic’s most polarizing human rights advocate, a dark-skinned woman who says she can only dream of a country in which her color — and the skin tone of hundreds of thousands of other Dominicans like her who are of Haitian descent — is a non-issue.

Carlos Morales Troncoso, the Dominican foreign minister, was among those who were infuriated at the honor Ms. Pierre received from the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights. He fired off a letter to Mr. Kennedy’s widow, Ethel, labeling the award “ill advised” and “myopic.”

“I fear that, unfortunately, the Robert F. Kennedy Prize is divorced from reality on the island of Hispaniola, and unfortunately there was bad information on the consequences of the work of Ms. Pierre in these parts,” wrote Mr. Morales, who blames her for smearing the reputation of the country internationally and creating, rather than healing, racial divisions.

It's clear that she is shaking up the status quo, which is good, but it is a lie to say that she is creating racial divisions. They have been a part of Dominican society for generations. Mr. Morales would serve his nation, its citizens and its image better if he would acknowledge the problems and dedicate himself to bridging the gaps. How bad are things there?

The American Embassy recently urged its staff members not to patronize one of Santo Domingo’s most popular nightclubs, Loft, because African-American diplomats were denied admission at the door while whites got past the bouncer. Ms. Pierre said she was not surprised.

The racist attitude is also blamed on the difficult relationship that the Dominican Republic has with its neighbor on the island of Hispaniola, Haiti. The Dominican Republic's major sugar growers, with the government's approval, brings in Haitian workers to effectively act as indentured servants to the sugarcane industry there. It also helps explain Morales dishonesty and reaction to Ms. Pierre:

As if to underline the importance of the sugar industry in Dominican politics, Foreign Minister Morales Troncoso himself has a long-standing relationship as an executive and major shareholder of the Central Romana sugar concern, along with Cuban-American sugar barons Alfonso and Pepe Fanjul.

The author of the Times article does a good job of hoisting Morales by his own petard:

“Haitianization” is what Dominicans call the negative influences that poor Haitians bring to their side of the island. Mr. Morales, the foreign minister, explained in his letter protesting Ms. Pierre’s award that his country could not handle the huge numbers of illegal Haitian immigrants. He put the blame on the United States and other countries for failing to improve conditions in Haiti.

Mr. Morales did not mention that as Haitians head to the more prosperous economy of the Dominican Republic, many Dominicans emigrate to better opportunities in the United States — sometimes legally, sometimes not.

Even the president that appointed Morales, Leonel Fernandez, grew up in New York and had a green card when he was first elected. In Morales' world, if it's good enough for his boss, it's not good enough for his neighbors.