BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - FOR many months in recent years there have been numerous reports of vessels transporting Haitian migrants across the torturous waters of both the Caribbean sea and the Atlantic Ocean, with several boats running aground in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Now, the latest incident of which a vessel had capsized off the coast of St. Kitts and Antigua in the wee hours of Tuesday (Mar. 28) is being described as another instance of human smuggling gone wrong.
Officials from the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force Coast Guard suspect that the vessel, which was registered to leave with three persons but was carrying 32, was seeking to smuggle nationals of the Cameroon to the United States Virgin Islands.
In responding to the question of Human Trafficking/Smuggling being seen across the region, Commissioner of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force, James Sutton sought to tone down the discussion and not describe it in such terms, but rather noting it as illegal migration.
He noted that the problem is being addressed at a regional level.
“...I would not say human trafficking. That is something that is permeating across the Caribbean. What we realise is that these persons are travelling in small numbers with the use of our fishermen. So it makes it difficult for law enforcement to zero in on this type of trafficking or smuggling or movement of persons. But we are working in partnership at a regional level to address this problem, because we do not want it to escalate any further, or persons within the criminal organisation to be profiting from such activities,” Sutton said.
The issue is one that continues to affect all islands across the region, as it raises the question of who is leading the ring and making the connections to get the illegal migrants into various islands.
According to confirmed reports, a number of Dominicans have been held and charged for moving illegal migrants across the region who often end up in the Federation’s waters and then onto the shores.
In a public comment, Gaston Browne, the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, stressed that a thorough investigation would be carried out into what transpired that resulted in the moving and subsequent capsizing of the vessel.
While expressing his sympathy, the Prime Minister noted that though information was still sketchy, the majority of those on board the vessel was from Africa, as confirmed by Coast Guard officials in Basseterre.
“...we understand that the majority of persons on board the vessel may be Africans who were part of those who arrived here as tourists, but with the intention of migrating to other countries,” Browne said.
He continued: “It is widely known that my Government has been making every effort to be helpful to these brothers and sisters from Africa who were marooned on Antigua, including by granting them residence and the opportunity to work. We have also been engaged with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the International Organisation for Migration on the best ways of treating them as refugees.”
But even as he continued to provide assistance to the Africans, they were not willing to stay on the island.
“Two things appear clear from today’s [Tuesday] tragic events. The first is that the Africans on board the vessel wanted to leave Antigua and Barbuda for another country. The second is that the owners and operators of a vessel in Antigua and Barbuda facilitated their transport on an illegal journey, PM Browne added.”
It is a systemic problem being seen all over the world, where small boat owners seek to carry migrants across torturous waters to various ports.
In 2022, Times Magazine reported that the United Nations Human Rights Council estimated that more than 100,000 migrants or refugees entered Europe via boat from Africa, with a further 1,400 having died crossing the Central Mediterranean Sea.
Many are fleeing from poverty and hardships back in their various countries and want a better life for themselves and their children.
In St. Kitts and Nevis, the Government is now mulling granting asylum to a boatload of Haitians who arrived last month on Nevis.
The concern of the administrations in Basseterre and Charlestown is that by allowing asylum, it might open the door for more Haitians who are being smuggled to come to the Federation.
Meanwhile, 16 people were rescued, three were confirmed dead and Coast Guard personnel from St. Kitts-Nevis, Guadeloupe and Antigua-Barbuda have been feverishly working to recover the bodies of the missing 13 persons.
