Sonia Pierre with Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama 2010-03-10 (cropped)

Solange Pierre (July 4, 1963 – December 4, 2011), known as Sonia Pierre, was a human rights advocate in the Dominican Republic who worked to end ''

antihaitianismo ''Antihaitianismo'' (; french: Antihaitienisme), also called anti-Haitianism in some English sources, is prejudice or social discrimination against Haitians in the Dominican Republic. Antihaitianismo includes prejudice against, hatred of, or ...

'', which is discrimination against individuals of Haitian origin either born in

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

or in the Dominican Republic."A Rights Advocate's Work Divides Dominicans"
by Marc Lacey, The New York Times, September 29, 2007. For this work, she won the 2006

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, was created by the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial in 1984, now known as the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights to honour individuals around the world who have shown great courage and have made a significant contr ...

."DOMINICAN BORN HAITIAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST WINS 2006 RFK HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD"
Press Release, RFK Memorial Center, accessed September 28, 2007.

Early life

Pierre was born in Villa Altagracia, San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic, on July 4, 1963 to parents of Haitian origin (her mother migrated with a temporary work permit in 1957 but overstayed this permit, and her father entered the Dominican territory irregularly). One of twelve children,"Activist Sonia Pierre Receives RFK Award"
by Andrew Miga, The Associated Press, printed in the Washington Post, November 17, 2006. she was raised in a migrant worker camp called a '' batey'', where many of the Dominican Republic's people of Haitian descent live. Her birth certificate lists her name as Solain Pie, which Pierre "says is the result of an error by a government clerk." Her nationality was disputed by the ' on the grounds that her birth certificate is forged, the residence status of her Haitian parents and the lack of evidentiary documentation from Haiti. At the age of 14, she organized a five-day protest by sugar cane workers on one of the country's bateyes, which led to her being arrested. However, the protest attracted enough public attention that the workers' demands namely, to have their living quarters painted and be given better tools and pay raises were met."Dominican-born Sonia Pierre Wins Amnesty International's 2003 Human Rights Award for Working for Her People"
by Tequila Minsky, April 2003, Haitian Support Group website, accessed September 29, 2007.

Career

Pierre became an activist at the age of 14, when she was arrested for being the spokesperson of a group of Haitian sugar-cane cutters in her migrant labor village who were protesting for better wages and living conditions. Pierre worked as director of the non-governmental organization Movement for Dominican Women of Haitian Descent (MUDHA), which aims to end

or bias against individuals from Haiti or people of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic. In 2005, Pierre petitioned the

Inter-American Court of Human Rights The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR or IACtHR) is an international court based in San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it was formed by the American Convention on Human Rights, a huma ...

on the case of two ethnic Haitian children who were denied Dominican birth certificates. Called ''Yean and Bosico v. Dominican Republic'', the case "upheld human rights laws prohibiting racial discrimination in access to nationality and citizenship." The court also ordered the Dominican government to provide the birth certificates. However, the Dominican Supreme Court later ruled that Haitian workers using work visas were considered 'in transit' or 'not legally in the country' and that their children were therefore not entitled to citizenship."

Awards and honors

For her work, Pierre won the 2006

handed down by former US

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Ted Kennedy. In presenting the award to Pierre, Kennedy quoted a longtime friend of hers who said: "I am a better person today for having met, worked, and traveled this road with Sonia Pierre. With certitude, I can affirm that Sonia is one of the most selfless, courageous and compassionate human beings of my generation." Pierre also won

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

's 2003 Human Rights Ginetta Sagan Fund Award, and she and MUDHA were nominated for the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education in 2002. In 2008, she was awarded the

Giuseppe Motta Medal Giuseppe Motta Medal is presented annually since 2004 by the Geneva Institute for Democracy and Development to the people from any country or region of the world for exceptional achievement in the promotion of peace and democracy, human rights an ...

for the protection of human rights. She was also honored by the United States Department of State with a 2010

International Women of Courage Award The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...

Death

On December 4, 2011, Pierre died at the age of 48 from a heart attack while being rushed to the hospital in Villa Altagracia, San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic.

References

External links

* Leticia Pierre remembers her mother's legacy, video from

Barnard Center for Research on Women The Barnard Center for Research on Women (BCRW) is a nexus of feminist thought, activism, and collaboration for scholars and activists. Since its founding in 1971, BCRW has promoted women's and social justice issues to its local communities at ...