Haitian Ambassador to The Bahamas, Louis Joseph is backing The Grand Bahama Human Rights Association (GBHRA), which said on Monday that illegal Haitians were being mistreated.
Mr Joseph also told The Guardian yesterday that his office had been receiving complaints from legal Haitians picked up in immigration raids.
“Sometimes we receive complaints about Haitians being arrested in the middle of the night,” he said. “And for example, after they have been arrested, people go into their houses and take their belongings.”
Mr Joseph said such arrests were not a common occurrence but noted that when they do occur, they hurt families.
On April 7, during the last major immigration/police raid in North Eleuthera, the overwhelming majority of immigrants picked up had legal status (166 out of 187) and were brought to Nassau without means of returning. However, many Bahamians calling talk shows the following week, supported the roundup and one caller said the Immigration Department should “shoot now and ask questions later.”
The Guardian attempted to reach Immigration Minister, Shane Gibson but he was said to be out of the country yesterday. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Immigration, Thelma Beneby, was also unavailable. Mr Gibson had said his ministry would invest in laptop computers so that the status of immigrants could be “checked on the spot,” to avoid a repeat of last month’s incident. Mr Joseph said he had received many complaints from Haitians over the incident but added that he could not substantiate their claims, as many failed to gather the necessary facts.
“I always call my people in the community when something like this happens,” he said, “I tell them to provide me with specific information, for example: where, the time and also the (badge) numbers of the officers.”
GBHRA President, Fred Smith told The Guardian on Monday that Haitians were being mistreated in the immigration raids, in violation of international treaties signed by The Bahamas.
Mr Smith explained that though illegal immigrants were not entitled to be here; they were “still human beings who deserve to be treated humanely and not rounded up like cattle.”
He asked why so many Bahamians who call The Bahamas a “Christian” nation, lacked compassion for others. GBHRA joined more than 50 Haitians in Grand Bahama to speak out against what they described as “inhumane acts and prejudice against Haitians and other immigrants.”
Activist and College of The Bahamas lecturer, Felix Bethel, also had a lot to say on the issue. When Mr Bethel learned that some of the immigrants had told the media that police officers entered their homes and handcuffed them without search warrants, he said the law had clearly been broken. “We have to govern this country according to the law. There is something known as illegal search and seizure,” Mr Bethel explained, adding, “We’re in The Bahamas and this is the year 2006 and those people who want lynch law, vigilantism and impunity, they are just simply wrong and I don’t care whether they are in the majority or the vocal minority.”
By: MINDELL SMALL, The Nassau Guardian
