Concern continues to mount over reports that increased numbers of pregnant Haitian women are presenting themselves for prenatal treatment at Freeport’s Rand Memorial Hospital.
Last Thursday, a doctor at the Rand revealed that the medical staff is challenged with the growing problem of pregnant Haitian nationals who come to the hospital with Haitian passports and are unable to speak English, raising questions as to how they entered the country.
The doctor suggested that this either meant that the women arrived in The Bahamas as visitors and overstayed the time given to them, or came to The Bahamas specifically to have their babies.
While the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for the issuance of Bahamian visas, the Department of Immig-ration acts as the border agent and is charged with ensuring the travellers meet the entry requirements.
A recent published report alleged that a visa scam is being operated that enables Haitians to enter The Bahamas for $1,000 a time. That allegation, however, could not be verified.
The Freeport News contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nassau yesterday to inquire about the process for granting visas to Haitian nationals and was referred to its Consulate Division.
When we contacted that division, we were told, “No one is available at present in that area. Call back tomorrow.”
In an interview with James T. Rolle, assistant immigration director for the Northern Bahamas, he revealed that a visa is one of the requirements for entry into The Bahamas and his department is the border agent and facilitator to ensure that those requirements are met.
“In this case, those persons who require a visa, we make sure that their documentation that is presented to us include the visas that are issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” he said.
The Bahamas government has entered into various bilateral agreements with different countries on what documentation each country’s citizenry is required to enter the other country’s borders.
The Department of Immigration determines the length of stay of a traveller and while that time varies, depending on the traveller’s reason for entering, Mr. Rolle says a visitor to The Bahamas may receive up to eight months.
“It is not a usual position for us to give someone eight months at one time,” he explained. “We might vary the period over that full eight months and that is where people would have to come in for extension.”
In a case of the Haitian vessels, he said the department would usually go by the length of time the individuals would indicate on arrival that they need to do whatever they come to do.
Typically, that period runs a couple of weeks at a maximum, he noted.
Mr. Rolle was questioned about what happens in a case where an officer observes that a visitor is pregnant and how long that individual is allowed to stay.
“If we make certain observation, of course we will ask follow-up questions to determine how we should accommodate the person,” he said.
He is not aware, however, of any specific case where a Haitian traveller came to Grand Bahama specifically to give birth, but he pointed out that if a pregnant woman travels to The Bahamas, one would assume that the plan is not to go back.
“Most of the persons who come here in that case we find are usually those who come in illegally anyway,” Mr. Rolle said. “I can’t recall off-hand of any case where in a normal legal entry facilitation where there were expecting mothers presenting themselves for clearance.”
Mr. Rolle says he knows of no special category of statistics his department has garnered regarding pregnant Haitian women travellers, nor has he had any opportunity to view any specific stats on pregnant women arriving here.
Once the foreigners are here and present themselves to the public system for care they will not be denied as the system is open to everyone.
Indeed, it is the policy of the Ministry of Health and the Public Hospital Authority to provide care to everyone presenting themselves to any of the Government health facilities, regardless of nationality or ability to pay.
By LEDEDRA MARCHE, Senior Freeport News Reporter
