THE JEWISH COLONY OF SOSlJA*

RICHARD SYMANSKI AND NANCY BURLEY 1,000 Jewish refugees fromEuABSTRACT. In the early 1940s approximately rope established a colony on the northcoast of the Dominican Republic and beA symbiotic betweenthe Jewsand the relationship came successful dairyfarmers. beneficial, but the former prosperedwhile the latterreDominicanswas mutually is making mainedpoor. The present Jewish populationis small and aged, tourism in the area; most signs of Dominicansare settling noticeableinroads,and wealthy a few decades. KEY WORDS: Colonization, the originalcolonywill disappearwithin Dominican Republic, Jews,Poverty,Tourism. tion,characteristics, and typesof colonization projects in Latin America, why some have failed but others have succeeded.' The Dominican Republic has been notable among Latin countriesin attemptsto colonize new lands,bothin the past and in the present.2 One of these efforts, which was initiated just over thirty years ago, was a JewishrefugeesettleAccepted for publication 13 March 1973. Dr. Symanski is Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of Texas in Austin, TX 78712; Ms. Burley has completed doctoral degree requirements at the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, OH 45221.

MUCH

coast. This colony abouttheconcep- menton theRepublic'snorth has beenwritten

not because it is representadeservesattention tive,whichit mayor maynotbe, butbecause it change exampleof geographical is a fascinating among people, land, and town, and a striking case of juxtapositionand symbiosisbetween successfulEuropean capitalistsand long exploitednationals.Our purposeis to describethe of thiscolony,how and the geography history a small numberof Jewscame to an alien envito their ronment,quickly made adjustments grew both as a natural and cultural setting, and dispersedand died, groupand individually, the latterprocessesbeginning early,continuing to thepresent, and intowhatwe believeto be a predictable future.

1 See, for example, W. L. G. Joerg, ed., Pioneer Settlement:Cooperative Studies by Twenty-six A uthors (New York: American Geographical Society, 1932); J. V. Fifer, "Bolivia's Pioneer Fringe," Geographical. Review, Vol. 57 (1967), pp. 1-23; and N. R. Stewart, Japanese Colonization in Eastern Paraguay (Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, 1967). 2 John P. Augelli, "Agricultural Colonization in the Dominican Republic," Economic Geography, Vol. 38 (1962), pp. 15-27. Data in the Department of Colonization and the Dominican Agrarian Institute, Santo Domingo, show that the countryhad more than sixty colonies in 1962, but in 1972 therewere approximately 130. These figuresare somewhat misleading, however, since all lands previously described as colonial have been included in the 1962 agrarian reform program, and virtually no distinctionis now made between the settlementof new lands and the parceling out of land that has been in use for some time.

* Field workfor thisstudywas carriedout during LOCATION AND SIGNIFICANCE thesummer of 1972.We wishto acknowledge financial fromthe ResearchCouncil of the University support Sosu'a is twenty-five kilometers east of Puerto of Cincinnati, and to thank themanyJewsand native will be theDothe site of what Plata, very near Dominicans who gave so generously of their time,esairport minicanRepublic'ssecond international peciallyJosef Eichen and Felix Koch. is moving (Fig. 1) .3 Today the government

to developits muchneglected tourist vigorously industry.4 The northcoast, whichencompasses

3 Presently all international carriers must land in Santo Domingo. The new internationalairport,which is less than ten kilometersfrom Sosuia, is under constructionand has a projected completion date of 1975. 4 In 1971 the Dominican Republic received a total of 106,000 tourists, an increase of 39,000 over the previous year, Direccion Nacional de Turismo, Republica Dominicana, "Personas Procedentes del Extranjero Que Han Entrado a la Republica," Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 1972 (mimeographed). The number of touristsannually enteringPuerto Rico, Jamaica, the Virgin Islands and the Bahamas ranges from five to ten times these figures.In order to improve its relative position in the Caribbean, the Dominican governmenthas commissioned a number of feasibility and development studies, such as H. Zin-

ANNALS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN GEOGRAPHERS Vol. 63, No. 3, September 1973 ( 1973 by the Association of American Geographers. Printed in U.S.A.

366

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JEWISH SOSUA

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0 10 km Puerto
Plata

as PuertoPlata and Sosuia,has been designated the firstarea in the countryto be developed afterthe Santo Domingo region.5At present, attraction of littlemore than Sosu'a is a tourist Dominiespeciallyto wealthy nationalrenown, cans fromSantiagoand the capital,and to forand theirfamiliessuch as eign entrepreneurs Its drawing the large Falconbridgecontingent. half-moon bay poweris based on an impressive limestone terraces. Both and beach withvertical populated,and bay and beach are clean, lightly unknownon yet virtually ideal for skindiving, circuit." the Caribbeantourist When originallyfounded, Sosuia occupied sides of Sosuia and southern both the northern Bay, using the former(El Batey) as a settlementand the latter(today knownas San Antonioor Charamico) as pasturelands (Fig. 1). El Batey was simplySosuia to the Jews,their town and the location of theirbusinesses,and impoverCharamicodevelopedintoa relatively ishedDominicantown.These twoseparateparts of what is to the outside world a singletown different that are so physically and culturally theycould be treatedalone, and yet in significant ways the Dominican sectoris as much a configuand present partof thecolony'shistory rationas are the Jewsthemselves.
INCEPTION AND THE EARLY YEARS

20

o~

mbert

To Santiago

Sosu'a

0 km

80

Santiago

(I

~~~~~~Domingo

Snto

~~~~~~~~~~N
FIG.

1. Locationof Sosuia.

ininicana (Santo Domingo: Edes-Mendar, 1971). 5 Five tourist development poles have been designated by the government,and ranked both in terms of importance and the order in which they are to be developed; Angel Miolan, "We Must Sell the Dominican Republic," Bohio Donfinicano, No. 17 (1971), pp. 29-34. 6 In March, 1972, a cruise ship based in Miami began making a weekly stop at nearby Puerto Plata, and for the firsttime the area was subjected to a regular number of tourists,but only a small proportion of the 400-500 who disembark weekly go to the beach at Sosuia.

of the IntergovernSosuiawas the outgrowth was the Dominican to the refugees mentalCommitteeConferenceheld in Evian, fullliberty was called Republic.7 When the offerwas extended by 1938. The conference Francein July, Roosevelt,and its purposewas to PresidentRafael Trujillo, the Dominican Reby President Association (DORSA) was findhomes for the thousandsof people who public Settlement arm of the AmericanJewish a special formed, their to leave forced were oppressedand being Corporation (JDC) which na- Joint Distribution of thirty-two homelands. Representatives the project.8 but the only one agreedto providefundsto initiate tionscame to the conference, and Before the covenantwas signedbetweenJDC a home,citizenship, whichactuallyoffered as it was knownto thecolonists) (or the"Joint" a numberof der and Associates, Inc., The Outlook for Tourism in and the Dominican government, the Dominican Republic (Washington, D.C.: H. Zin- specialists, of the noted geunderthe direction der and Associates, Inc., 1968); and Edes-Mendar, Isaiah Bowman, carriedout a survey ographer Estudio de Desarrollo Turistico de la Republica Do7 The Brookings Institution,Refugee Settlement in the Dominican Republic (Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution,1942), p. 281. 8 DORSA was conceived as a voluntary nonprofit organization of American citizens who wanted to find asylum for refugees,and though nonsectarian in aim, it mainly sought to assist German Jews; Dominican Republic SettlementAssociation, Sosu'a: Haven in the Caribbean (New York: Dominican Republic Settlement Association, 1941); and Dominican Republic Settlement Association, Report, December 15, 1948, p. 7.

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368

RICHARD SYMANSKI AND NANCY BURLEY

September

id

~-

1WEIN~~I

AS

whichis seldomused today,is half of one of the barracks synagogue, FIG. 2. The Jewish upon theirarrivalfromEurope. colonists whichhousedthe original

inthe Republic toevaluate possible colonization colonists to come,from continued Austria and sites.9 but also fromPoland, Germany principally, on a listofareas Switzerland, The Sosuta areawasnotfirst andCzechoslovakia, viaconcentraIt wasdescribed tion recommended for colonization. andcountries campsandsuchports as Lisshallowsoils,and bon and Casablanca, as an area of low rainfall, and the England, France, rocky terrain, containing sizable areasofswamp, Netherlands.12 After theWarsomefamilies arand was estimated to have no morethan500 rived from Russia, China, Italy, andIsrael.The hectares of plowable land.'0It was eventuallyrefugees from camein groups as fewas six (the chosenforJewish be- very colonization, however, first to 150. Theywerepredomisettlers) cause of its accessibility to the cityof Puerto young, with a variety ofprofessional and Plata,andbecauseoftheimprovements already nantly and were nonprofessional skills, weighted The 8,000 hectareestate on the property. unmarried males. of 1940 By Christmas hadbeena bananaplantation around Sosuta un- toward numbered about200. A yearand a a number til 1916, and contained of usable thecolony later thetotal reached 413, with 264 men, and a water reser- half buildings, milesof fencing, voir."Thus,in 1940 when Trujillo offered this 109 women, and 40 children. By theearly part estate to DORSA, it was accepted by theJDC of 1942 there wereapproximately 500 refugees thatTrujillowould receive in Sosuta. on the condition of reAlthough Trujillo had visions in DORSA. $100,000in stock intohis counceiving 100,000Jewish refugees The first settlers arrived in Marchof 1940. 12 In the 1950 census, Fromthenuntil theend of WorldWar II the the first in whichofficial fig9 The

85.

Brookings Institution, op. cit.,footnote 7. 10The Brookings Institution, op. cit.,footnote 7, p. 11The Brookings Institution, op. cit.,footnote 7, p.

285.

of ures were available on the Jewsand theircountry source regions for origin,the two most important Jewswere Germany(93) and Austria (59) respecOficinaNatively;DireccionGeneral de Estadistica, cional del Censo, TercerCenso Nacional de Poblacion, 1950 (Ciudad Trujillo,1958).

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1973

JEWISH SOSUTA

369

try,the settlement nevergrew to more than a agreedto pay the cost of passage and to mainthousand.'3 fora shorttime,but the colotain the refugees werelodgedin bar- nistswere expectedto reimburse DORSA for Upon arrival thecolonists racks in El Batey, where up to 100 of them all otheritems.16 The homesteadwas to provideforthe minisleptand werefed (Fig. 2). They weredivided into work teams or ."groups,"each of which mal needsofindividual buteach housefamilies, was headedby a leader,and they becameidenti- holdwas to workwithgroupsin theneighboring fiedby his name,their predominant nationality, area. These groups had built homes in small or the location of theircommunalsubcolony. clusterswhich approximated the work groups. social units Thus,there was theDrucker, theFreundlich, or They tended to be self-contained the Katz group,or the Swiss ones, or those in thatwould intermix only when theymet in El or largercommunity Bombita,Laguna Ferrocarril, Garden City,or Batey forweeklymeetings Bella Vista. These groupswere assignedtasks planningefforts. The largestof the communal forthecommunity as a whole.They clearedthe groups, called Bombita, was about six miles land of forest and overgrown brush,theymade fromEl Batey, which was littlemore than a charcoal,fences,and plank boards forhouses, half-dozen largebarracksand some old United and they used primarily by arplannedand builtroads,bridges, water FruitCompanybuildings familiesand bachelors.Both because of and homes.This partof a largercom- riving systems, munaleffort was a success. size in relation to theothergroupsand distance Although onlythirteen percent of thesettlers fromEl Batey, Bombita startedits own store who arrived bymid-1941had been engagedpre- and a small school, and was the initialsite of whichwas laterrelocatedon the viously in agriculture, the refugeeswere ex- a dairyfactory pectedto grow crops and to work the land in fringe ofEl Batey. communalunits,sharingthe work and profits Attempts at a profitable crop-basedeconomy The twenty equally.14 Dairyingand poultry raisingwere to failed almost fromthe beginning. be secondary or complementary pursuits.15 or so groupseach had two hectaresper houseDORSA was responsible forrecommending the hold on whichtheytriedto growsuch crops as castorbeans, spinach,corn,lettuce, cropsto be grownand formarketing beets,eggthem. Some work and livinggroupswere initiated plant, and othervegetables,but a numberof hindered theirefforts. In general,the by men or womenwho had knowneach other problems in concentration camps,othersgot together be- soils werepoor, and in mostseasons therewas cause of theircommonpredicament: theywere a lack of rainfall.On more than one occasion bachelors.The groupsvaried fromfouror five therewas overproduction relativeto local deto markets. As a result, unmarried males to one of ten or twelvefami- mand and accessibility werecompensated lies, including children and a bacheloror two. although thesettlers fortheir Each group was givenland proportional by DORSA, muchof theproduceduring to its output size and the qualityof the land. The average thesetimeswas thrown into the sea. Not only was approximately amount 30 hectares network foreach did thepoorlydevelopedtransport preor unmarried clude getting family the freshproduce to urban marmale withina group. Each family butthelocal Dominicansplaced little receivedtwo hectaresof land to kets, value be personallycared for, a horse and mule, a on such traditional European crops as spinach. realizedearlythatbothsiteand situnumberof dairy cattle,othersmall livestock, The settlers farmequipment, a small cash allowancebased ation demandedthat theyshift theireconomic on familysize and age of the children,and focus. credit at the cooperativestore. DORSA had Originally, DORSA's agriculturalexperts had recommended thatdairying be confined to 13 The Brookings Institution, op. cit., footnote 7, p. supplying onlythesettler's needs,and thateach 281. Much of our informationis based upon personal family shouldcare foritsowncows,butas crops observation, interviews with Jews and Dominicans, and the Sosu'a Bulletin, a colony newsletterprinted in became impractical the coloniststurnedtheir Spanish and German between 1940 and 1946. entireattention to raisingdairy cattle,at first 14 The Brookings Institution, op. cit., footnote 7, p. Holsteinsand thenstrains mixedwith imported 87.
15 Chicken raising apparently never prospered, and was eventuallyabandoned by most of the Jews because of widespread thieveryby the Dominicans. 16

289.

The Brookings Institution,op. cit., footnote 7, p.

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370

RICHARD SYMANSKI AND NANCY BURLEY

September

FIG.

3.

The Sos_ dairy plant.S_

FIG. 3.

The Sosiia dairy plant.

real- exceptionis the singlevote whicheach Jewish they and butter, Milk,cheese, Brahmans. has in how the dairyand meat factories By the family to theeconomy. suited better ized,were are dividedaccordingto investweresending are run.Profits end of theWar all of thesettlers withinthe Jewish ownedand ment,and thisvaries greatly to their wholly products farm their communal advan(Fig. 3), or to a population. One remaining dairyoperation collectivized hams,sausages, tageis thattheJewstake all of theirmilkto the whichproduced meatfactory re- dairy plant, and are given certainpreferences and bacon, and Sosua becamenationally over Dominican suppliers.The shiftfrom an andmeatproducts. dairy nowned for socialisticmode of ownershipto a in essentially effort was nottheonlyabortive Cropping one has, in littlemore than twentyThe ideaofcom- capitalistic ofthecolony. years theinitial within theJewunit(be fiveyears,producedinequalities eachhousehold in which farms munal of Sosutawhichare as greatas or bachelor)re- ish community children withthree it family was those betweenthe Jews of El Batey and the profits ceivedan equal shareof thefarm a wife DominicansofCharamico. Those with butunworkable. admirable, thepurchaseof lands the factthatbachelors Since DORSA financed resented and children could pay thecolonists loans until Some and necessary an equal shareof theearnings. received control. it had considerable of fortheirproperties, share were a disproportionate doing felt they thatbecause the communaleffort or weretoo It stipulated wereloafing while others thework in had no in- was abandoned,therewas littleemployment simply sick.Stillothers frequently or electri- El Batey, and most of the colonistsstill owed weredoctors in farming-they terest would have to live families to pur- DORSA, theJewish andwanted ciansor menofcommerce, on the farms.The only exceptionswere a few sue their professions. and those who workedforthe dairy in 1945 merchants led to an agreement Theseproblems to live who were permitted its and meat factories, be given should eachbachelor or family that of in El Batey.In the earlyyearsthe townwas an A farm wouldconsist farm. ownindividual forsocial center thana regular and each family occasionalrather hectares, thirty approximately and whatever contacts;it was a servicecenterin the literal barns, wouldhaveitsownhome, after senseof theword. Within justa fewyears elsewas required. Even before the first colonists arrived, in mode of operation, arrivalthe capitalist counted DORSA solicited for Dominican laborers to andfrugality initiative which individual To thisday,theonly build barracksand othersheltersin El Batey becamethemodel. most,

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1973

JEWISH SOSU"A

371.

NU&M~

A
-# I

r~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Q
4L

-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A -~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

to the and Dominicanfarms bothJewish milkfrom FIG. 4. Dominicanchildren dailybring dairyplant.

and to beginclearingsome of theland of scrub forest.This labor demand increasedconsiderably afterthe Jews arrived,because although DORSA wanted to avoid hiringDominicans, the Jews needed assistance both in clearing A few Dominicans fieldsand in the factories. lived in Charamico prior to 1940, but most lived at greaterdistanceson small parcelas or in nearby villages. Slowly, and then more quicklyas timepassed, the Dominicansdecided to be nearersourcesof employment. Dominicanscould not squat or purchaseland in El Batey,because DORSA had reservedall but on the south side of the land forrefugees, SosutaBay were pasturelands thathad successively belonged to Cubans, the United Fruit Company, Trujillo, and then DORSA. These lands were partof the package purchasedfrom Trujillo,and were to have been utilizedby the on thisascolonists.Reportsvaryconsiderably pect of the colony's history, but the chain of eventsseems to have been as follows.Initially a few Dominicanslived on or near the pasture lands,and morebegan to squat on themas jobs

clearthebarracks, becameavailablein building in the ing scrub forest for pasture,or working to evictthem dairyfactory (Fig. 4). An attempt titleto the lands was unsuccessful, and official by the Jews. was returned to the government None of thisland was ever sold to thoseliving in Charamico;instead, it was leased on a yearly needs exceeded the Dominican employment job opportunities available fromJews by the and the slaughearly 1950s. The two factories whichtodayemployonly140 Dominiterhouse, whichemcans, and the fincasor dairyfarms, ployanother 200 to 300, are theonlymajorand in the Sosuta steady sources of employment area.'8 With a high birth rate, Charamico ("place of little sticks") soon found itself trappedin the familiarcycle of poverty-high poor unemploymentand underemployment,
17 Althoughthe annual lease or rental charge is verysmall,mostDominicanshave neverpaid it and, are illegally on theland. strictly speaking, 18 Each factoryemploys sixty workersand the twenty. slaughterhouse accountsfor another

basis.17

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372

RICHARD SYMANSKI AND NANCY BURLEY

September

I',~~~~~~~~~~~~~I

Rit

4A.

FIG. 5.

Bohliosmade frompalm fronds,having dirtfloors,in Charamico.

health and housingconditions,and numerous unprofitable pettybusinesses(Fig. 5). 5' By 1946 the War was over,Jewshad nearly stoppedcomingto Sosuia,and many began to homesand leave. They returned to remembered relatives in Europe, or went the fewremaining or to the UnitedStatesforbetteropportunities Some wentto the largercities distantrelatives. Santo Domingo. of the Republic, particularly In spite of this exodus, the colony reached its zenithfrom about 1943 to 1948. The greatmawere stillyoung,many in jorityof the settlers their30s, and socially quite active. Weekends were timesto go to El Batey on horsebackor by horse-drawn buggyto see a movie,go to a dance, sponsor an occasional Dominican conFrom 1941 to 1946, cert,or dine withfriends. the colonyeven had its own newspaper, which was printedunder several flags,among which The Sosua Bulletin, and The wereThe Bulletin, Voice of Sosua. It was in both German and local eventsand accomplishSpanish,featuring

news, and German poetry ments,international Indeed,the postalongsideSpanishvocabulary. The conWar years were a time of optimism. flict in Europe had ended,therewas theremote with thatcolonistsmight be reunited possibility theirfamiliesin Europe, and the visible signs of success could be juxtaposedwiththeirposlittle more arrival in winter overcoats sessionless thanhalfa dozen yearsbefore.
MATURITY AND AGING

The middle years of the colony, from approximately 1948 to 1960, were a period of for the factories, slowlydeclining slow growth El Batey, within farmoccupancy,littlegrowth of the Jewand a slow but gradualdissipation ish population. Growth of the factorieswas steady,but not as spectacularas it had been. New jobs were created,thoughnot as manyas therapidly populationof Charamico expanding could have used. And the demand for capital was not such thatassistanceoutsidethe Jewish was sought. In theseyearsthere was community 19The 1950 populationof Sosu'a, which includes of the preceding the obvious growth neither was 1,790; DireccionGeneralde EstadisCharamico, tica, op. cit., footnote12. This would place the Do- period, nor the inevitabledecline of the succeeding. minican population in excess of 1,400.

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1973

JEWISH SOSUJA

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The incomegap between theJewsofEl Batey ments would react. They felt they would be and the Dominicans of Charamico increased. saferin El Batey. barracks thathad housedthe original The Jewish sense of saving and investment The five the old core of the whentheyarrived, the local refugees combinedwithhard work imprinted Dominicans with an image of them as "hard town,had been turnedinto a Dominican govworkers" and "people who watchtheir money." ernmentbuilding, a factoryoffice,a movie Social exclusiveness was apparent. Jewish gath- house, "apartment"rental units, and a synawhat was now a eringswere onlyforJewsand forthe Domini- gogue. Scatteredthroughout thana commercial townwere can wivesthatmanyJewish bachelorshad mar- residential rather a tiendaor small store,a miliof a supermercado, ried,but not forothers.In theentire history womanevermarried taryheadquarters, and one or two othercomthecolonyonlyone Jewish large (Fig. 6). The relatively a Dominicanman. The Jewish view of the Do- mercialstructures minicanwas that he was lazy, had littlesense residential lots, the well-kept and sizeable of investment or hard work, and multiplied wooden and concretehomes,and the verylow much too quickly. densitygave the town the appearance of a United Automobiles or smalltrucks werebeyondthe middle-income villagein themidwestern meansof mostJews,and mostof themwanted States (Fig. 7). farmto moveto El Batey.Wives on individual FamiliesstillleftSosuiawhentheopportunity the originalsettlerswere steads were unhappybecause of theirisolation arose. Furthermore, and lack of contactwithotherJews,and in at getting old; some were dying.Those leftwho skillsthatcould be easilymarketed least one instance therewas a divorceover just had definite were now entirely lacking.At thisissue. Friendsleftnearbyfarms, whichsev- and professions ered close ties and created a need for others. one timeSosua had six Jewishdoctors,but in Because of poor transport facilities it was diffi- 1972 therewerenone and the townspeople are cult to move fromfarmsto the factory, the servedby a Dominican.Estimatesby residents school,and the otherservicesin El Batey. populationin 1960 at no more gave the Jewish The area had onlya primary school,and chil- thansixty families. dren had to go away to school when theybeSince 1965 the Jewishpopulationhas concame teenagers.Some went nearbyto Puerto tinuedto decline,as has theJewish of character Plata, others to Santiagoor to Santo Domingo, thetown.Estimatesof the 1972 Jewish populaand some wentto college in the UnitedStates. tion rangedbetweenthirty and forty families. of even forthe inducement The majority livedin El Batey.One indicator Many neverreturned, of receiving the parentalfarm,because oppor- thechanging ofJewsto Dominicans relationship tunities werebetter elsewhere and lifein thearea is thatthe latternow supplythe dairyfactory was not appealing.The pattern was never re- withnearlyas much milkas do the Jews.Part versed.Today it is rareto see Jewish of thefactory, but partis also teenagers of thisis growth in Sosua, and it is not quite the joke it seems a resultof thedeclining Jewish population.Anwhen a sixtyyear old man says thathe is the otherchangeis reflected in the structure of the Jew in Sosua. The few marriedcou- schoolin El Batey.At one timeit was primarily youngest ples in theirthirties complainthatthereare no populatedby Jewish children and classes were otheryoungpeople withwhomto socialize. taughtin Spanish, English, and, for a while, Hebrew.20 percentof the Today, about ninety THE LATTER YEARS childrenare Dominican, and there is neither Afterabout 1955 Jewishfamiliesgradually demand nor pressure for foreign language began to move intoEl Batey,maintaining their teaching. farmsbut stayingthereinfrequently or not at Richer DominicansfromPuerto Plata, Sanall. Many had repaidDORSA fortheir passage tiago, and the capital, have moved into town, fromEurope and theirland, and were suffi- purchasing and buildingsummerand weekend to build a home in town. In homes. Other Dominicans have come from cientlyaffluent 1961 movement fromthe farmsto El Batey nearby Sabaneta since 1968 when a flood increasednoticeably afterTrujillo was assassi- nearlywashed away the town.They have built nated. Although the Jews had been largely had been openlygrateful to Truapolitical, they 20 Harry Klemfuss,Jr.,The Open Door (New York: jillo, and were uncertain how anti-Trujillo ele- Caribbean Library, 1956), p. 15.

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374

RICHARD SYMANSKI AND NANCY BURLEY

September

6.Te6arecaoi FIG.~~~~~~~gi

dBty

F..

6.

The

supermercado

in

El

Batey.

bet- addition which newhomes inEl Batey andenjoy to Spanish and English, makes attractive Jewish- Sosua the mostlinguistically diverse place in terservices, including thelocalandstill is mainly forDomini- theRepublic. runprivate school which Dominicans In one two-week have also The moodis notyouthful. can children. Wealthy we heard purchased Jewish farms or DORSA landsthat period that haddied, twoelderly Jews Jews lack thatanother had never beensold.The remaining and that had committed suicide, to prevent thiscul- onefarm enough capitalor interest andonebusiness wereforsale.There Therehas also been wasalsotalkofbringing Dominican capital into turaland spatial dilution. buy thedairyand meatfactories consolidation of farmlands.Dominicans so they couldbe from Jews, relatives expanded. adjacent farms departing Ten years ago theJewish-owned resofthedeceased or DORSA, and a fewremain- taurants offered such dishes as gefilte fish, ener- stuffed ingJews do thesame.A fewofthemore derma, matzoball soup,and Fridattenadditional lands suppe, buttoday therestaurants areDominican getic Jews have purchased colonial landareaandhave owned, outside theoriginal and a goodJewish dinner is onlyto be in expensive equipment and had by private invested irrigation invitation. Even synagogue sera highriskbe- vices, Swissbrowncows,the latter which were a natural andregular event in causeofpoorveterinary services inthearea. Sosuia until recently, arenowheldirregularly.21 Perhapsmoresignificant is the sense of fate AN INEVITABLE FUTURE the held by remaining Jews. Theytalk about El Bateynowseemsas much a town forvatheir age and oncoming death, theirchildren Dominicansas a once flourishing cationing will who have and not gone abroad return, and The predominant skincolor is Jewish colony. stillan unmixed white, and one willstillhear 21 Klemfuss, or Polishin Italian, German, Russian, Yiddish, 20. op. cit.,footnote

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1973

JEWISH SOSUA

375

In_

FIG.7. High qualityhousing and thepresence of automobiles and pickuptrucks are visible indications of contemporary in El Batey. prosperity

their Dominicanwivesand children who willin- dustymain street,and talk away the day for herittheirproperties in Sosuia. lack of more productive work. Outside of the Charamicois todayas different from El Batey twoJewish factories, slaughterhouse, and farms, as are most otherDominican towns (Fig. 8). a fewjobs are available at a nearbyingenioor The streets are unpavedand narrow in contrast sugarfactory in Monte Llano, driving publicos to those in El Batey, and the populationand or public taxisand, forwomen,as maids in the small businessdensitiesare veryhigh as com- homes of El Batey. Charamico seems to have pared to its bayside neighbor.Little children enough businessesto supporta town twice its are often bare, and show signsof undernourish- size, but a centrally located store will sell no mentand worms.The populationin 1970 was morethana fewplantainsor mangosin a day. over 4,000, more than double the 1960 fig- Prostitution was once a good source of income ure.22 A singledoctoroccasionallycomes from fortheurbanpeasantmother withchildren and Puerto Plata, whereas a doctor is residentin no husband,but thishas been curtailed severely El Batey, where the population is not much Protestantsmoved into more than 200. Fortunately, some Charamico since fundamentalist town. residentsavail themselves of the misallocated Interaction between theJewsand Dominicans medicalservices by making thelongwalk across is minimal. Jews are never seen in Charamico, thebeach front. who nightly entrepreneur Businessin and aroundCharamicois difficult. exceptforone Jewish Unemployedmen of many ages stand on the tendsto his movietheater, theonlyJewish business on that side of town.The Dominicansgo 22 The 1970 populationof Sosu'a, which includes to the Jewish homesor farms to workat $25 a both Charamicoand El Batey,was 4,204; Secretari- monthif a woman, or $2 a day if a man, to ado Tecnico de la Presidencia, RepublicaDominicana en Citras,1970, Vol. 5 (Santo Domingo: Oficina Na- clean or cook in the house or garden,to clear new pasturelands, to weed pastures,or to decional de Estadistica, 1970).

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376

RICHARD SYMANSKI AND NANCY BURLEY

September

An

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FIG. 8. Children are numerous in Charamico, where the population has more than doubled in a decade.

to seventyFifty livermilkto thedairyfactory.23 fivefamiliesare housed in shacks and paid an equally small salaryto watchover the farmsof ownerswho live in town,and to milkthe Holsteins,Criollas, and Swiss Brownstwice daily. Each day some come to El Batey on foot,by bicycle,or by horse to sell avocados, mangos, eggshouse to house. bread,or fresh vegetables, The two groupsdo meet at the beach on Sunday,whentheJewscome to sun bathe and rest, theDominicansto skindive forshellsor to sell cooked fishand largepieces of coral. of superiorquality A new east-west highway coast, and for now connectsmuchof the north of one of the facthe first timein the memory thereis a surplusof milkat the torymanagers, dairyplant.Rains and a floodedroad or bridge of factors in thegrowth limiting werepreviously Today the problems the two local industries.24 are capital, and the question of how long the

of Dothe entry Jewswill be able to forestall intotheirbusinesses. minicans second inof the country's The construction in scheduledforcompletion airport, ternational years,is well underway,and about twoor three there are plans to get loans fromthe World to develop much Bank and otherorganizations of the northcoast for tourism.Recent years as a result,risingland prices have witnessed, of luxuriand theconstruction and speculation, ous Dominicanhomeson thehillsback of Sosuta JewsrecogBay. Even someofthestillenergetic nize this kind of change, and theyhave built small roomsor cottageswhich,along withtheir only occasionally used farmhouses,will be rentedto tourists. In recenttimesDominicans have made the changes, and they will conmore significant The mostimportant tinueto do so in thefuture. change may well be the eventualpurchase of land and lease rightsin Charamico (Fig. 9), 23 The manager that whichfaces El Batey across the bay fromthe reported of the dairyfactory to the plantmustbe carefully edge of a spectacularwall of volcanic rock. the raw milkdelivered milkmade This premium since some Dominicanspresent inspected, land is near one of the Repubaid. milkbase received as foreign from a powdered beaches. The rich and the most beautiful lic's 24 The Brookings 7, p. op. cit.,footnote Institution, are cognizantof risingland values government 87.

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1973

JEWISH SOSU6A

377

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imIt is virtually fortourism. and thepotential possibleto buy land in Charamicotodayunless and position.The poor who one has influence land, but they "rent"their live theresupposedly cannotand do not pay any rent.Alreadya few houses have been built in Charamicoby wellNot morethana fewhunto-do Dominicans.25 Dominicanbohios,palm stand away dredyards thatch shacks with dirt floors whose value cannotbe morethan $50 to $100. Under such conditionsanyone will sell his house and his to lease a givenpiece of land forlittleor right nothing. What today remainsfor most Jews are the prosperous thatmanyold and relatively things and evepeople enjoy. Cool tropicalmornings nings are for relaxation,periods to chat with or to play cards. Saturdayeveningis neighbors to see an old a weeklytreatat the local theater French or American movie, or an outdated
25 The two major competing rum familiesin the DominicanRepublicare the Bermudezand the Brugals. Both appreciateand have taken advantageof The BruSosia, and each has claimed"its" territory. El Batey,whereastheBermudez is settling gal family in Charamico. is moreprominent family

Once or twicea year RollingStone production. thereis a trip abroad to the United States to The newest son or daughter. visita prospering major change in the lives of Sosuta'sresidents of telephones. is the installation
SUMMARY

to theircoThe changesof Jewswithrespect Domintown,and thewealthy loniallands,their The initial icans can be summarizedbriefly. living periodlastedforovera yearof communal of brushand scrub,division clearing and eating, units,and work of theland intolargecommunal on roads, bridges,water and electricsystems, The secondperiodcovtownservices. and other ered fiveyears,fromabout 1941 to just after were theend of the War. Clusteredfarmhouses became dairying builton the communalfarms, the dairyand meat processthe major pursuit, began, and the colonyreached its ing factories height.El Batey developed slowlyas a service forthoseworking centerand place of residence in thefactories. was from1946 periodof stability The longest to 1960. The colonists moved to individual

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RICHARD SYMANSKI AND NANCY BURLEY

September

El Batey grewslowly,a numberof farmsteads, Jewsreturned to Europe or wentto the United States,sons and daughters began to leave for and a slowmovebetter opportunities elsewhere, mentto El Batey began towardthe end of the period. By the early 1960s farmvacancies became more noticeable,the proportion of Jews livingin El Batey increasedsignificantly, and was moreapparent. the agingof thepopulation a further The finalperiod witnessed decline in the sale of forthe numberof Jewsremaining,

Dominicans, mercolonial farmland to wealthy a consolidation through purchaseof the former of coloniallands by bothgroups,and a dilution the Jewishpopulationof El Batey by wealthy and weekend Dominicansin search of summer homes.We forecast the eventualdisappearance Dominoftheoriginal Jewish colony, increasing icanization of the farmlands and El Batey,adofthefarm lands,and sigditional consolidation around El Batey nificant touristdevelopment and extending intotheformer coloniallands.

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