compared to what??? the DR/other half of the island is light years ahead of haiti, ever look at a space image of the island? you can see the border because it's where the trees pretty much STOP! and the west end of the island used to be/should be a rain forest
They lead a fairly comfortable and civilized existence compared to the black masses; not too different from the life lead by French colonialists in Africa in past times.
And yeah, I’ve flown over the Hispaniola. You sure can see where the border is. Surprising, at least to me, the southern peninsula is still somewhat forested.