El Movimiento de Mujeres Dominico Haitiana - the Dominican Haitian Women's Movement (MUDHA) works in the realm of human rights law and legal assistance. The programme campaigns for the respect of the State of the Dominican Republic for the civil and human rights of the minority group comprised of Dominican nationals of Haitian descent residing in the Dominican Republic; defends the rights of Haitian immigrants and their children and defends the rights of women in the Dominican Republic, especially those of Dominican nationals of Haitian descent or Haitian immigrants.

"I live in a time of racism, discrimination, violence and exclusion. My community, the community of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent, is the poorest and most vulnerable, subject to the cruelest denial of their rights.

Throughout my life I have worked for human rights in my country, especially for the migrants from the community of Haitian and Dominicans of Haitian descent. From 1976 I began to be troubled by injustices that were committed in my community. At thirteen I was arrested for being the spokesperson for a demonstration in favour of the Haitian sugar workers who lived in my batey (sugar workers’ company town ), since then I have put into practice my commitment to work for respect and dignity for humankind.

It has not been easy because the state and vested interests that have always exploited this group are very powerful and have recourse to many measures to use against us. In 2005 after the judgement of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights attacks by the state and the nationalist sector against me and my children were so strong that I had to leave the country for a time so I could protect the lives of my family. This was despite the fact that the Inter-American Court and the courts called for protection for my family.

The Foreign Minister of the Dominican Republic, Carlos Morales Troncoso questioned whether I should be awarded the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Award in 2006. He sent a letter to Ethel Kennedy, expressing his opposition because according to him the Movimiento de Mujeres Dominico Haitianas (MUDHA) and its Director, Sonia Pierre doesn’t defend human rights, rather they defend the rights of Haitians. The Foreign Minister also accused me of running a campaign against the country. He accused me of having received 35 million dollars to denounce the country and called upon those Dominicans who loved their country to defend it. The Dominican Ambassador to the OAS in Washington, Roberto Álvarez, and Ambassador Flavio Espinal demonstrated their opposition and refused to talk to Senator Edward Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy and myself during the award ceremony for the Kennedy Memorial Prize because according to them these discussions weren’t in the interests of the country. Following heart surgery in which two valves were replaced, I found out that the Dirección Nacional de Inteligencia (DNI) had published in the media that I had been committing irregularities in the Dominican Republic and falsifying identity papers for drug traffickers in collusion with officials from the Junta Central Electoral in New York and Santo Domingo. The list was headed by one of my sons, alleging that he himself had been born in Haiti.

During that same period Radhamés Batista, the Director of the Consejo Nacional de Frontera (CNF) questioned my nationality and informed the press that I was not entitled to Dominican nationality as my documents were false. After this Dr. Roberto Rosario, Chief Judge at the Cámara Administrativa de la Junta Central Electoral, asked the the Consejo Nacional de Frontera for documentation of the invalidity of the birth certificate of Sonia Pierre at the request of Louis Ventura, political representative of the Fuerza Nacional Progresista (FNP). This request was based on the fact that the parents of Sonia Pierre were illegal at the time of her birth and moreover her parents had false identity documents. All this was accompanied by words and images in which I was denounced to Dominicans and denigrated before the country.

I have pursued my work with rigor and self-criticism. These accusations and defamations have not stopped me or held back our work. I am now Director of the Movimiento de Mujeres Dominico Haitianas (MUDHA), from where I develop most of my activity. Over the years I have had successes, made progress and been disappointed. We have also had triumphs which have focused the eyes of the world on the situation in which our community lives. Amongst the successes I remember the year 2003 when I was honoured to receive the Ginetta Sagan award from Amnesty International. And then in 2006 we received the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Award.

We have had various recognitions that are not as well known as those, but are nonetheless very significant. Amongst them is the recognition from the children of various Batey communities as well as the Dominican and Haitian workers and Dominican workers of Haitian during a very difficult time in my life when it seems as though the authorities will succeed in what they have been attempting for years – to expel me from the country."