Residents living in the area of the Detention Centre off Carmichael Road are calling for additional security at the facility for illegal immigrants and more transparency from officials who they say failed to alert them that three Cubans had escaped from the centre early Sunday morning.
Many of the residents The Bahama Journal spoke with yesterday said they were in disbelief after hearing news reports that three Cuban men – Jose Alvarez Garcia, Victor Brito Senea and Lazaro Acosta Ortiz – escaped the centre by cutting through three layers of fence, and one Haitian man had walked out recently during broad daylight.
However, authorities are keeping a tight lid on the latest escape, and this has residents in the area concerned for their safety.
Arlene Lindsay said she is outraged that officials failed to inform residents of the escape.
“It is really sad because as a concerned Bahamian there are so many officers at the Detention Centre and for three persons to be able to escape is scary because that means that the illegal immigrants are finding ways to outsmart the security personnel at the centre,” Ms. Lindsay told The Bahama Journal.
“Our life could be at stake because we don’t know what type of people are escaping to our country. They could be criminals that are dangerous, so the public should be informed of when these persons are able to free themselves from locked, guarded places.”
Ms. Lindsay said she would have felt better if authorities had gone door-to-door with flyers alerting residents of the escaped men, providing some information that would allow residents to identify the men and alert the authorities if they were spotted in the area.
Officials on Monday made no public announcements regarding the incident and have been tight-lipped about the details. However, The Journal has learned that the men reportedly escaped after 4 a.m. Sunday by cutting their way through three fences.
The first hole in the fence was reportedly 20 feet from the lookout post of where an officer is supposed to be stationed.
The Royal Bahamas Defence Force is responsible for security at the facility, and investigations are said to be underway into reports that the detainees may have bought their way out of the facility.
Sunday’s escape has prompted one elderly resident to keep her doors locked at all times.
“I am retired so I am normally home in the day and I leave the doors unlocked or open to catch fresh air, but I am afraid to do that now because I don’t want those men to try come inside my place,” Joanna Allen told The Bahama Journal.
“A lot of people don’t listen to the news to know what’s going on, so the authorities need to let the people know when a break out occurs because they could be hiding in the bushes around here and we don’t know what they will do to survive.”
Mrs. Allen wants more guards posted at the centre. She believes the facility is too large for a few men to keep a keen eye on all the detainees that are being held there.
Another resident said it’s time for the residents to put pressure on the government to have the Detention Centre and Her Majesty’s Prison relocated to a deserted Family Island.
“We live in this area and with these people escaping it could be a danger to our community. And every time something happens it doesn’t seem like the government is doing anything about it,” Cedric Nesbitt told The Bahama Journal.
“I think they need to do a much better job with security than what they are doing now or they need to put the detention centre on a private island so immigrants can be enclosed by themselves.”
Mr. Nesbitt said Bahamians have a right to be informed on what happens in the country and should not have to speculate on whether immigrants escaped or not.
Stephanie Wright agreed with Mr. Nesbitt, that escaped immigrants could be a danger to the community.
“I have children, so when things like this occur we need to be notified because we don’t know who is lurking in our community. We are finding that the areas where we moved from in order to be safe are being transformed into dangerous environments because of the buildings that are being erected in residential communities,” Mrs. Wright told The Bahama Journal.
Mrs. Wright said the police must investigate any allegations of corruption at the centre, so that unscrupulous officers are weeded out.
As of Monday more than 200 persons remained at the Detention Centre, including 72 Cubans.
By: Bianca Symonette, The Bahama Journal
