Everyday Resilience Strategies of Haitian Immigrant-Serving NGOs in the Dominican Republic: An Analysis of Community Work Experiences

ABSTRACT

An organization that has everyday resilience can withstand ongoing adversities. Previous studies on organizational resilience commonly examine capabilities to bounce back from acute disturbances such as natural disasters. This study, however, explores the strategies that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) employ to persist in the face of chronic challenges. In doing so, I analyze qualitative interviews with 20 NGO actors, who serve the Haitian immigrant population in the Dominican Republic. Specifically, I examine their community work experiences in order to, first, identify the challenges they face that are related to an uncertain sociopolitical environment that marginalizes Haitians and Dominico-Haitians. Next, I describe the strategies that they use to respond to these challenges. Finally, I critique their everyday resilience strategies to shed light on possible alternative approaches that may help to transform the social conditions in which they work. Findings reveal that challenges consist of community conflict, deportations and threats of removal, and contentious micro-level interactions. The everyday resilience strategies recognized include making initiatives inclusive, developing and using social connections, and using strategic communication. I propose that NGOs ensure their programming includes human rights education and intergroup dialogue, build power through networks, and engage in discursive resistance. This research advances a deeper understanding of the ongoing organizational challenges, common everyday resilience strategies, and prospects for Haitian-immigrant-serving NGOs in the Dominican Republic to use transformative approaches.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the participants of this study for sharing their time and insights with me and the reviewers for their helpful comments on a previous version.

Disclosure Statement

The author declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Notes

¹ A batey is a rural settlement of sugarcane workers and their families.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by The University of Toledo’s former College of Languages, Literature and Social Sciences, Summer Research Awards and Fellowship Program and URFO Small Awards Program through the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, and Center for International Studies and Program’s Kohler International Award.

Notes on contributors

Karie Jo Peralta

Karie Jo Peralta, PhD, is an associate professor of sociology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Toledo. Her research interests include third sector organizations, immigration, community work, and the Dominican Republic. She has been published in VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations and Third Sector Review.