By Pau Mompó Alberola
Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic (EFE).- The death of an 11-year-old girl of Haitian descent, who drowned during a school excursion in the Dominican Republic, triggered renewed accusations of discrimination from Haitian authorities and civil society, who denounce abuses and violence against Haitian migrants in the country.
Stephora drowned on Nov. 14 in a swimming pool while several classmates were nearby and allegedly ignored her calls for help, according to Miguel Valdemar Díaz Salazar, lawyer for the girl’s mother.
He told local media that none of the school monitors present assisted the student.
Her body remained underwater for more than 30 minutes until it surfaced. “It was heartbreaking,” Díaz told EFE.
A court has granted conditional release to three of the four school employees charged in the case and dismissed accusations against the school’s director. Díaz questioned why authorities waited until Dec. 5 to formally interview the girl’s mother.
“No statement had been taken from the mother despite more than 20 days passing since her daughter’s death. She is normally the first person questioned to determine the circumstances,” he said.
“We see discriminatory treatment toward this woman and her family. We’ve never seen a case handled like this,” the lawyer added.
The mother also reported that her daughter suffered bullying at school, including slurs such as “damned Haitian,” according to local media.
Haitian authorities call for transparency
The case has drawn attention from Haiti’s Presidential Transitional Council (CPT), which urged Santo Domingo to act transparently and enforce “required measures.” It also condemned “violence” and “abuses” faced by Haitian migrants in recent months.”
Stephen Junior, Haiti’s consul in Santiago, urged caution. He told EFE that any allegation of harassment based on the girl’s Haitian origin “must be rigorously investigated, without rushed conclusions
“This case must be handled with respect and without politicization. We trust the seriousness of the Dominican judicial process and reaffirm the importance of seeing every person as a human being with rights,” he said.
Junior stressed the priority is to determine what happened “exactly,” adding: “Without that, there is no justice. I believe Dominican justice is working without interference. The case is moving in the right direction.”
A demonstration was held this week on the Haiti–Dominican Republic border demanding justice for Stephora.
The collective HaitianosRD also filed a complaint urging prosecutors to investigate the girl’s death and 54 other documented deaths between 2021 and 2025 linked to mass deportations.
Mass deportations add tension
Tensions have escalated since Oct. 2024, when Dominican President Luis Abinader ordered mass deportations of undocumented migrants.
Authorities have since deported around 10,000 Haitians per week, despite warnings from international organizations against returning people to a country where more than 4,000 were killed by armed groups in the first half of 2025.
Amnesty International urged the Dominican government in November to revoke a protocol linking access to healthcare for undocumented Haitians with deportation, calling the measure “unjustified” and “discriminatory.”
Responding to questions about the girl’s death, Abinader said Monday that “there is no racism” in the Dominican Republic and that the incident “should not have happened.”
So far in 2025, Dominican authorities have deported more than 370,000 Haitians, a record figure. EFE
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