…tough talk continues in Federation over asylum
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - REGIONAL Leaders will seek to drum-up support for Haiti from African nations, as well as draw attention to the plight of the country at the 2023 International Monetary Fund/World Bank Spring Meetings next month in Washington, DC.
This comes as the French-speaking nation continues to see growing gang violence, instability and a humanitarian issue in the country that is affecting territories all across the Caribbean.
“In acknowledgement of the common historical experiences and the strong African-Caribbean relationship, Heads of Government also agreed to seek support from African countries for Haiti. They also agreed to work with the Governments of Canada and the United States as well as the UNDP on the ongoing issues and, at the upcoming Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, to approach both International Financial Institutions to ascertain what further assistance they could provide to Haiti,” a statement from CARICOM disclosed.
The problem within Haiti has become a nightmare for regional governments from Bahamas in the North, to St. Kitts-Nevis and Dominica in the Eastern Caribbean, to Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago in the South.
Over the last several years, boatloads of migrants have been fleeing the country for betterment in the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, but they were washed ashore on various islands.
The Bahamas, which is made up of a number of islands in the chain, has seen an influx of migrants in some of the unmonitored areas.
That prompted Prime Minister Phillip Davis to take stringent actions and have them repatriated to Port-Au-Prince. But that too is creating a challenge as many of them are seeking to escape the hardship of the country.
In the case of St. Kitts and Nevis, they have been deliberately dropped off by boat captains as they sought refuge in the US-based islands. Just last month a boat of 15 arrived in Nevis after they had encountered engine challenges while at sea.
One year ago, a boat of 21 arrived in Bath Village and they were repatriated to their homeland.
In 2019, a total of 49 were sent back to Port-Au-Prince after they illegally entered the Federation as they too were setting sail for a brighter future in the US-overseas territories.
But what does this mean for countries like St. Kitts and Nevis?
The Government, since under the Team Unity Administration, has been taking a firm stance on the illegal landings of Haitian migrants into the Federation despite the growing instability within the French-speaking nation.
The Government hade repatriated more than 60 migrants to their homeland.
Now, the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party Administration is continuing with the same position despite pleas from the People’s Labour Party Attorney, Craig Tuckett.
In an effort to push for their asylum, Tuckett had moved to the court to fight the deportation of the migrants. But Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew has held firm that it could send the wrong message that St. Kitts and Nevis is open for business.
He said that supporting asylum would also be participating in human trafficking - an area he noted he would not be part of.
“These people were trafficking humans, they are being paid a lot to transport the Haitians. Let us not think this is some raft that is coming from Haiti down to St. Kitts. These are people who understand what is happening in Haiti, and are not participating in human trafficking,” said the Prime Minister.
The instability and continued violence from the earthquakes, hurricanes damage and the killing of its former Prime Minister has given rise to more instability in Haiti, which has been the major focus of consecutive meetings of the CARICOM Heads of Government.
The matter was again discussed at the just concluded CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting with Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. But even as the matter remains under debate, the flow of migrants through the treacherous waters of both the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea there is no easy fix to the problem.
Prime Minister Drew told reporters last week that since he came into Office, there were two instances of Haitians landing in the Federation because their vessels had encountered engine challenges. He added that neither the Governments nor their Canadian counterparts are not looking at providing officers on the ground, but they wouild provide support to build and rectify the security situation.
“The Haitian situation is a situation where, by reports, gangs have been empowered. And because they have been empowered, the security situation has become very dire. We are looking at ways in which we can strengthen the security situation in Haiti so that the country can continue,” added Dr. Drew.
Nevis, where the last vessel docked, is also not in a position to accommodate the influx of migrants, and Premier Mark Brantley has been speaking about it.
He was asked about the situation at his press conference last week, to which he exclaimed: “We are in a constant situation in these islands of not having enough resources to provide for who we have here already! And so the question that comes: ‘Is whether or not, with even a moderate number of individuals flowing into St. Kitts and Nevis, can we manage it?’”
The situation, Brantley noted, warrants careful attention from all stakeholders, including the press and the public, but it could not be business as usual.
