Jimaní
Encyclopedia
Jimaní is the capital and the second largest city of the Independencia Province of the Dominican Republic
. It serves as one of the two main thoroughfares to Haiti (with Dajabón
), with a duty free open air marketplace operating on the border with the Haiti
an town of Malpasse
. Half of the town was completely washed away in the flash flood of May 25, 2004, killing many of the citizens during the night. It is still in the process of rebuilding.
, El Estero, Las Salinas
, Azua de Compostela
, Santa Cruz de Barahona
and other communities, as well as the Haitian immigrants that married or had common-law marriages with Dominicans, forming families in the most populous neighborhood of the community, known as Jimaní Viejo.
By the decade of 1930, Jimaní belonged to Neyba and in 1938, became a section of the commune of La Descubierta
and Duvergé, all of them being part of the Province of Neiba, later to be known as Baoruco. At that time, Jimaní was not recognized by the historians and it did not even figured in the map of the Dominican Republic
, appearing only Arroyo Blanco and La Furnia, which do not survive to the present day.
Due to its border location, Jimaní became part of the strategic plans of Dictator Rafael L. Trujillo Molina for "Dominicanization" of all the region of the border with Haiti, which resulted in the genocide of thousands of Haitians by Trujillo's agents known as the Parsley Massacre
.
After a phase of moderate development, Law 299 of 1943 raised Jimaní to the category of Municipal District, belonging to the commune of La Descubierta
.
In 1948, Jimaní became a municipality. Dictator Rafael L. Trujillo Molina wanted to turn it into a more beautiful and magnificent city. At that time many concrete buildings were made for soldiers and public officials brought from the interior of the country to assume public duties, due to the lack of local qualified personnel and widespread low literacy levels in the community.
of the chieftainship of Jaragua (Xaragua) that had the control of these lands. Another version of the origin of the name attributes it to some "Count of Jimani" of French origin; however Dr. Pérez y Pérez argues the Count took his name from the town and not the other way around, and that the Jimaní name, being very old, predates the existence of the Count.
represent the main economic activities of this Municipality. In agriculture the main products are cassava
, batata
, melon
, pepper
s, cilantro and tomato
es.
Jimaní has a popular duty free open air marketplace with Haiti that is also visited by people from adjoining towns and even from distant regions of the country. In this market, products of the basic food basket are sold, as well as foreign beverages, clothes, shoes and new and used electrical appliances.
The customs zone of the border is called "The Door" and it is visited by foreign tourist that come to observe the dynamics of the business and intercultural and interracial relation between Dominicans and Haitians.
The municipal City Hall receives monthly RD$1,000,000.00 as mandated by the General Law of Budget, through the Dominican Municipal League. The authorities of the City Hall estimate the internal tax collection to be some RD$15,000.00 monthly.
The municipal districts El Limón y Boca de Cachón receive monthly $RD500,000.00 each one, from the transfer ordered by the law through the Dominican Municipal League.
There are two financial institutions in Jimaní. A branch office of the Reserve Bank and a branch office of the Cooperative of Savings and Credits of Neiba (Coopacrene).
The majority of the jimanisenses prefers to seek medical attention in the Regional University Hospital Jaime Mota of Barahona, due to that beds are almost always filled at full capacity by Haitians, especially with women crossing the border to give birth (as well as in Dajabón).
As a historic-cultural monument, Jimaní conserves intact and conditioned the "Mansion of Trujillo", one of many the dictator built in the border region, although he never spent the night in this particular one.
There is also a Lions Club, the Association of Minibuses Jimaní-Barahona, a committee that represents the Association of "Jimanisenses" in Massachusetts USA, a technical team of World Vision, Fundasur (Foundation of the South) and Conani (the National Council for Childhood and Adolescence).
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
. It serves as one of the two main thoroughfares to Haiti (with Dajabón
Dajabón
Dajabón is a province of the Dominican Republic, on the border with Haiti. Its capital city is also called Dajabón.It was split from Monte Cristi province in 1938, and was called Libertador until 1961.-Location:...
), with a duty free open air marketplace operating on the border with the Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
an town of Malpasse
Malpasse
Malpasse is a town in the Croix-des-Bouquets arrondissement, inside the Ouest Department of Haiti. It is located around . Its border crossing to Jimaní is one of the four chief land crossings to the Dominican Republic....
. Half of the town was completely washed away in the flash flood of May 25, 2004, killing many of the citizens during the night. It is still in the process of rebuilding.
History
We have the reference that the first inhabitants have origin in the different communities of the southwest such as: Neiba, DuvergéDuvergé
Duvergé is the largest city in the Independencia Province of the Dominican Republic. The first settlers of this community were the gentlemen Christopher Pérez and María del Pulgar, originating from San Juan de la Maguana, who they were established in Bermesí....
, El Estero, Las Salinas
Las Salinas
Las Salinas is a town in the Barahona province of the Dominican Republic.For the battle in present-day Peru, see battle of Las Salinas.- Sources :* – World-Gazetteer.com...
, Azua de Compostela
Azua de Compostela
Azua de Compostela, also known simply as Azua, is a municipality of the Azua province in the Dominican Republic. It is the capital of Azua province, and is located 100 kilometres west of the national capital, Santo Domingo....
, Santa Cruz de Barahona
Santa Cruz de Barahona
Barahona, also known as Santa Cruz de Barahona, is the main city of the Barahona Province, in the south of the Dominican Republic. It is one of the most important cities on the island, with a very active port and many ecotourism attractions...
and other communities, as well as the Haitian immigrants that married or had common-law marriages with Dominicans, forming families in the most populous neighborhood of the community, known as Jimaní Viejo.
By the decade of 1930, Jimaní belonged to Neyba and in 1938, became a section of the commune of La Descubierta
La Descubierta
La Descubierta is a town in the Independencia province of the Dominican Republic.- Sources :* – World-Gazetteer.com...
and Duvergé, all of them being part of the Province of Neiba, later to be known as Baoruco. At that time, Jimaní was not recognized by the historians and it did not even figured in the map of the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, appearing only Arroyo Blanco and La Furnia, which do not survive to the present day.
Due to its border location, Jimaní became part of the strategic plans of Dictator Rafael L. Trujillo Molina for "Dominicanization" of all the region of the border with Haiti, which resulted in the genocide of thousands of Haitians by Trujillo's agents known as the Parsley Massacre
Parsley Massacre
In October 1937, Dominican President Rafael Trujillo ordered the execution of the Haitian population living in the borderlands with Haiti. The violence resulted in the killing of 20,000On October 2, 1937, Trujillo had ordered 20,000 Haitian cane workers executed because they could not roll the "R"...
.
After a phase of moderate development, Law 299 of 1943 raised Jimaní to the category of Municipal District, belonging to the commune of La Descubierta
La Descubierta
La Descubierta is a town in the Independencia province of the Dominican Republic.- Sources :* – World-Gazetteer.com...
.
In 1948, Jimaní became a municipality. Dictator Rafael L. Trujillo Molina wanted to turn it into a more beautiful and magnificent city. At that time many concrete buildings were made for soldiers and public officials brought from the interior of the country to assume public duties, due to the lack of local qualified personnel and widespread low literacy levels in the community.
Origin of Name
The name "Ximani" is of native Taíno origin. Historian Dr. Rafael Leonidas Pérez y Pérez in his book "Annotations on the history of Jimaní", says that Ximani was a caciqueCacique
Cacique is a title derived from the Taíno word for the pre-Columbian chiefs or leaders of tribes in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles...
of the chieftainship of Jaragua (Xaragua) that had the control of these lands. Another version of the origin of the name attributes it to some "Count of Jimani" of French origin; however Dr. Pérez y Pérez argues the Count took his name from the town and not the other way around, and that the Jimaní name, being very old, predates the existence of the Count.
Economy
Agriculture and commerce with HaitiHaiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
represent the main economic activities of this Municipality. In agriculture the main products are cassava
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
, batata
Batata
Batata is the word for sweet potato in many languages , apparently from the Taíno batata ....
, melon
Melon
thumb|200px|Various types of melonsThis list of melons includes members of the plant family Cucurbitaceae with edible, fleshy fruit e.g. gourds or cucurbits. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit...
, pepper
Capsicum
Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its species are native to the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years, but they are now also cultivated worldwide, used as spices, vegetables, and medicines - and have become are a key element in...
s, cilantro and tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
es.
Jimaní has a popular duty free open air marketplace with Haiti that is also visited by people from adjoining towns and even from distant regions of the country. In this market, products of the basic food basket are sold, as well as foreign beverages, clothes, shoes and new and used electrical appliances.
The customs zone of the border is called "The Door" and it is visited by foreign tourist that come to observe the dynamics of the business and intercultural and interracial relation between Dominicans and Haitians.
The municipal City Hall receives monthly RD$1,000,000.00 as mandated by the General Law of Budget, through the Dominican Municipal League. The authorities of the City Hall estimate the internal tax collection to be some RD$15,000.00 monthly.
The municipal districts El Limón y Boca de Cachón receive monthly $RD500,000.00 each one, from the transfer ordered by the law through the Dominican Municipal League.
There are two financial institutions in Jimaní. A branch office of the Reserve Bank and a branch office of the Cooperative of Savings and Credits of Neiba (Coopacrene).
Education
There are some six basic schools with two daily schedules and four public high schools, three of them for adults. There are plans for a University of the Independencia Province in Jimaní for 2014.Health
The area of health the Municipality has a municipal hospital and 4 rural clinics or hospitals. The hospital normally is visited for the national of the neighboring country, Haiti, being they who greater use give to the services of said hospital.The majority of the jimanisenses prefers to seek medical attention in the Regional University Hospital Jaime Mota of Barahona, due to that beds are almost always filled at full capacity by Haitians, especially with women crossing the border to give birth (as well as in Dajabón).
Culture & Religion
Jimaní is mostly Roman Catholic. Local holidays are celebrated March 19, in honor of their Saint San José. A carnival is being added to the Patronal Feast, to expand the celebration. Also being instituted is the celebration of a Cultural Week each year, in memory of the flood that destroyed a big part of the population in May 2004.As a historic-cultural monument, Jimaní conserves intact and conditioned the "Mansion of Trujillo", one of many the dictator built in the border region, although he never spent the night in this particular one.
Recent public works
In recent years, local governments have carried out different works for the community, such as the reconstruction and restructuring of the municipal cemetery and the reconstruction of street gutters in the streets, rehabilitation of electric lighting in the urban area and in the sector of Tierra Nueva. There are also ongoing projects to enlarge the aqueduct network for the neighborhoods of La Cu and El Cerro.Organized Communities
In Jimaní there are several community associations. For example, in each one of the towns that conform the Municipality there is an Association of Farmers as well as and an Association of Mothers.There is also a Lions Club, the Association of Minibuses Jimaní-Barahona, a committee that represents the Association of "Jimanisenses" in Massachusetts USA, a technical team of World Vision, Fundasur (Foundation of the South) and Conani (the National Council for Childhood and Adolescence).