#dominicanrepublic #sosua #PikeProductions
Hugh Baver was living a comfortable upper middle class life in the New England Area. He traded it all away to be a community builder and historical activist in the Dominican Republic. Here's why.
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Abridged Script:
How does a baseball player from Michigan State, turned high tech executive, become an influential historian, one that solidifies the historical record on both sides of the Atlantic? On the surface, he seems like an ordinary middle class man from the United States. But one doesn’t have to talk with Hugh Baver very long to see that his activism in community building and history, will leave a positive impact for generations to come. This is the story of Elihu “Hugh” Baver.
Hugh was kind enough to do an interview with me. Despite the loud traffic that is common in the Dominican Republic, he was able to share his story of how he went from a fortune 500 executive into a historical activist and charity organizer in the Dominican Republic.
A few years after Hugh’s initial visit, The Dominican Republic won the World Baseball classic. Hugh purchased the first base from the championship game, and decided to donate it to the Red Socks academy in the DominicanRepublic. While also taking it on tour across Dominican COmmunities across the New England area.
After donating the base, Hugh was able to visit the north coast of the country and was able to explore Sosua, the home of the Jewish refugee settlement. The Dominican Republic had one of the most welcoming refugee policies. While exploring, Hugh came across a life-changing coincidence.
Hugh returned to New England, but with a newfound sense of responsibility, he decided to become more active in solidifying the history between the Jewish and Dominican people.
Upon returning to New England, Hugh began the lengthy process of forming a nonprofit organization, which would be named Sosua 75. 75 would signify the upcoming 75th anniversary of when the first group of refugees arrived in Sosua. A group of Historians and community organizers would eventually fill the Board of the new nonprofit.
One of the first functions of Sosua 75 was to organize a public lecture featuring Dr. Allen Wells, a history professor from Bowdoin College.
As if Hugh’s path to this point didn’t already have enough interesting coincidences, another favorable surprise was on the horizon. As luck would have it, the most knowledgeable historian on Sosua, Dr. Allen Wells, just so happened to reside in the New England area.
Not only an expert in US-Latin American relations, Dr. Wells had a very personal connection to Sosua, as his father was one of the refugees who found haven there. Dr. Wells was happy to share his knowledge with Baver, and even provide a public lecture under the new Sosua 75 banner.
In the early years of Sosua 75, Hugh was still working full time in the high-tech corporate world. By coincidence, a business trip to Europe would bring him close to the city of Evian, France.
Of the 32 nations gathered at the Evian conference, the Dominican Republic emerged as the only one to increase their visa quotas.
Seeing that there was no mention of the Evian Conference in the room where it happened was a major inspiration for Hugh to devote more time to his nonprofit, but not the only one. When working out the details of our interview, Hugh wanted to be filmed at this location specifically, just outside the gates of the Jewish Museum in Sosua.
Not only is this museum and landmark in dire need of repairs, but it is also almost always closed. Despite having hours of operation posted on the entry gate, many visitors over the past several years haven’t been able to get inside.
The status of the museum in Sosua, along with the absence of any memorial at the Royal Hotel in Evian, led Hugh to decide that his nonprofit goals would require full-time dedication. He resigned from the corporate world, and invested a substantial amount of his own money, to the mission of Sosua 75: to educate and remember.
Hugh was starting to become a subject expert on the history of Sosua, Sosua 75 was starting to build momentum.
Hugh’s travels became full circle when he returned to Evian. He had stayed in touch with the manager who originally helped him, and together they organized a second Evian conference. This new conference would memorialize those fateful few summer days in 1938, where the Dominican Republic emerged as the only nation to increase visas to the
Evian II would include a ceremony of dedicating a new plaque, informing future visitors of the historic conference that took place there.
One of which was Dimitry Anselme of...
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