UN urges halt to Haitian deportation
By TANEKA THOMPSON
Deputy Chief Reporter
tribune242
tthompson@tribunemedia.net
THE United Nations has issued a plea to the Bahamas not to deport Haitians due to the conditions which remain 18 months after the deadly earthquake.
The UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) appealed to the Bahamas – and other governments which have repatriated Haitians since the disaster – to extend measures which will allow the immigrants to legally remain outside their country.
Despite the call, Immigration Minister Brent Symonette said repatriations will continue as normal unless extremely dire conditions were highlighted in Haiti.
"Given the current situation in Haiti, UNHCR and OHCHR are urging governments to renew, on humanitarian grounds, residence permits and other mechanisms that have allowed Haitians to remain outside their country," said UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards at a press briefing in Geneva.
The UN said despite recent elections and ongoing reconstruction efforts, Haiti is still debilitated by the earthquake and cannot ensure adequate protection for some vulnerable returned citizens such as unaccompanied minors, disabled persons, people with health problems, victims of trafficking or of sexual abuse.
"The appeal calls on governments to assess Haitian cases on an individual basis and to pay special consideration and refrain from returning to Haiti persons with special protection needs, and to prevent situations where returns can lead to family separation," said Mr Edwards.
An estimated 680,000 earthquake survivors live in 1,000 tented camps in Port-au-Prince and other affected areas while an unknown number live outside Haiti, he added.
According to international reports, the recent appeal came after news that countries, including the Bahamas, Jamaica, Brazil and the United States were deporting Haitians.
Yesterday, Mr Symonette said the Bahamas' policy on repatriation remained unchanged and added that he did not know of any new developments that will impede the country from deporting illegal Haitian immigrants. Still the Government will continue to monitor the situation in Haiti, he said, and make adjustments to its immigration policy where warranted.
"When I return I will review the (UN's) declaration.
“Our stance has always been to uphold Christian values and not (repatriate) in situations that would be inhumane, but there has been nothing that happened yesterday or today which would have necessitated this issue," said Mr Symonette who is in Jamaica for a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"We will continue to review the situation in Haiti, we will be in contact with our ambassador on the ground in Haiti and I will discuss the matter further with the Haitian ambassador here," said the St Anne's MP.
Returns of illegal Haitian immigrants will continue in the meantime.
"The detention centre is not at the state in the moment to require repatriation.
“If for instance we find a vessel with 90 people on board in Inagua the situation will be reviewed at that point and more than likely those people will be repatriated, all things being equal," said the minister.
The Bahamas briefly suspended round-ups and repatriation of illegal Haitian immigrants after the January, 2010, earthquake which killed nearly 300,000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless.
The US deported 375 Haitians in the 2010 fiscal year, which ended in September, after a short suspension following the earthquake.
The country has said it plans to deport approximately 700 immigrants with criminal records to Haiti this year.
June 23, 2011
tribune242
A political blog about Bahamian politics in The Bahamas, Bahamian Politicans - and the entire Bahamas political lot. Bahamian Blogger Dennis Dames keeps you updated on the political news and views throughout the islands of The Bahamas without fear or favor. Bahamian Politicians and the Bahamian Political Arena: Updates one Post at a time on Bahamas Politics and Bahamas Politicans; and their local, regional and international policies and perspectives.
Showing posts with label illegal Haitian immigrants Bahamas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label illegal Haitian immigrants Bahamas. Show all posts
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Thursday, March 18, 2004
The Haitian Situation in The Bahamas - Part 2
The Bahamas Haitian Situation ‐ Part 2
By Apostle Cedric Moss
March 18, 2004
March 18, 2004
Was Aristide forced out? Many are discussing this question locally and abroad and choosing which account they believe, Aristide's or The United States of America's. In my view, beyond the need to give it some consideration at the diplomatic level, whichever account is right, it makes little difference for The Bahamas. The situation of tens of thousands of illegal Haitian immigrants in our country still represents one of our biggest national challenges and the academic discussion about Mr. Aristide only distracts us from focusing on much needed proactive solutions.
The Proposed Agreement
For the past 10 years, efforts have been made by The Bahamas' government to enter into an agreement with the Haitian government to cover mass repatriation of Haitians residing in The Bahamas. To date, the agreement is still not signed and with the current unstable climate in Haiti, it is not likely to be signed any time soon. However, even if we could sign the agreement today, what would it really accomplish?
As I understand it, this agreement was initially negotiated around 1994. The intention was to seek to regularize Haitians who have resided in The Bahamas prior to 1985 and to repatriate those who arrived illegally after that date. Had the agreement been signed and implemented around the time it was initially negotiated, tens of thousands of Haitians who had illegally resided in The Bahamas for periods of one to ten years would have been repatriated. Among them would have been thousands of children born to Haitian parents, even though such children have the right to apply for Bahamian citizenship at age 18.
Considering that 1985 is still the threshold year for the agreement waiting to be executed, Haitians who have illegally resided in The Bahamas for as long as 19 years could potentially be repatriated. While we as a country have the legal right to repatriate them, even without a signed agreement, would it be the humane thing to do after allowing them to remain for so many years? How would we manage the future fallout that would come from the generations of Bahamians born to Haitian parents who were subjected to this traumatic experience?
Alternative Solutions
Am I proposing that we officially absorb the unknown tens of thousands of illegal Haitian immigrants currently residing in The Bahamas as opposed to repatriating them? No, I'm not proposing that at all. However, I am saying that we need to consider alternative solutions, because we know full well that repatriation is only a temporary solution, and a costly one at that.
While I believe successive governments of The Bahamas have sought international assistance to deal with the problem of illegal immigration from Haiti, it's my view that we need to redouble our efforts in this direction. Somehow, we need to involve The United States, Canada, France and The United Nations in order to seek both short and long term solutions to the problems in Haiti and the illegal immigration situation we face as a result. The reality is that unless Haiti stabilizes and attracts investment to create jobs, Haitians will continue to leave in search of a better way of life and The Bahamas is their logical first destination.
Here to Stay
For many Haitians, they are far beyond making that desperate seas voyage from Haiti to The Bahamas; they are already here. And they are here to stay. Some came prior to 1985 and much later. While they were enduring exploitation by far too many of us, they seemed to have followed the advice Prophet Jeremiah gave to the Israelites who were in exile in Babylon: "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease". (Jeremiah 29:5-6, NIV). The Haitians also followed another one: Educate your children. All of these they have done, so uprooting and deporting them today is not near as easy as it was 25 years ago.
Preview of Next Week
Since Haitians are here to stay in large numbers, how can we manage their assimilation for the overall good of The Bahamas? Join me next week when I conclude my commentary and answer this question.
Apostle Cedric Moss serves as Senior Pastor at Kingdom Life World Outreach Centre. Commentary and feedback may be directed to: apostle@kingdom-life.org
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