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Assignment: Migrants of the Caribbean

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Migrants of the Caribbean

10/05/2012

BBC World Service - Assignment, Migrants of the Caribbean

More than 50 illegal migrants drowned in a boat tragedy in the Dominican Republic.

The drowning of more than 50 people people in a small fishing boat in the Dominican Republic has left the local community in shock.

A home made wooden fishing vessel carrying more than 70 people broke up in the heavy seas north of the Dominican Republic in February. 

The captain, one of the few survivors, has been arrested on people smuggling charges.   

It's hard to know how many people died that night, but unconfirmed reports say more than 50 lost their lives. 

Their bodies were washed up on the shore near Sabana de La Mar where local residents and fisherman helped to retrieve them. 

For Assignment, Neal Razzell tells the story of a community in shock and investigates why people are willing to risk their lives to be find work in the United States.  

The producer of this edition of Assignment was Alicia Trujillo.

(Image: Fisherman from Sabana de La Mar)

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