Haitians in the Bahamas Moreover, the right to citizenship is denied children born in the Bahamas to Haitian parents. Indeed, all those Haitians not holding work permits are liable to deportation -- even men like Joseph Noel who have been here since childhood. The government of the Bahamas has been periodically deporting Haitians for 23 years, but as Mrs. Marshall claims, their numbers have climbed from 1,000 in 1957 to some 40,000 today -- or a sizable 17 percent of the islands population, somewhat higher than government estimates. The Bahamian government is unable to intercept more illegal Haitians than it does because of the vast sweep of the island chain and the small number of patrol vessels and aircraft at its disposal. Moreover, as Mrs. Marshall points out, the illegal immigrant does not see himself as the criminal which the immigration laws of the receiving country make him out to be. She says that by migrating illegally a Haitian risks capture, imprisonment, and deportation, and his friends may make fun of him when he returns. But neither by them nor by himself is he seen as a criminal, asserts the sociologist. The Rev. Mr. Smith says Haitians feel intimidated by the Bahamians, reserving a real resentment for those who treat them as less than human. That many Bahamians see the Haitians in their midst as serfs is obvious to many who visit these islands. We want them to make a living as long as they stay in the farming bracket, says a Bahamian fruit vendor. If they take a Bahamian job theyre looking for trouble. The man, who says he occasionally employs Haitians on his small plot of land, feels that the government should assign Haitians to farms and that there should be a Haitian ombudsman to arbitrate in disputes. If illegal immigration continues unchecked, it could be very dangerous, he says. I dont think they would want to stay in the farming bracket all the time. It could be very dangerous if they dont decide to do the right thing. The fruit vendor, who declares the same God who made the Haitians made me, asserts that Bahamians are a peace- loving people but they could easily become violent if upset by the newcomers. Deportation, he adds, has not only been a failure but a waste of money to boot. Another Bahamian, an educated man with a good job who requested anonymity, claims the Haitians are migrating to the Bahamas simply because they have nowhere to sell their produce at home. He maintains that each peasant has a huge piece of land which more than adequately supplies his need. Misperceptions such as this are typical here and do nothing to clarify a longstanding and complex problem which the average Bahamian likes to pretend does not exist. We should curb the influx, he continues, conceding that it has so far proved impossible to do so, given the scattered nature of the Bahamian islands and a miniature defense force. He says he employs a 22-year-old Haitian handyman called Joseph with whom communication is limited to the Creole bafor good and pas bon for bad. Some Haitians are so primitive, he exclaims, relating how a middle-aged man on first seeing a car in Nassau climbed in through the open window when accepting a ride. He just wasnt accustomed to the door, he says. We love the Haitians, he goes on, but we dont like the way they come in here. Theyre bigots. They should adhere to our rules and regulations. The Haitians come in and break every law in the book and plead ignorance. He claims that of 100 patients in a Bahamian hospital, 90 will be Haitian. They have all types of disease. The well-to-do Bahamian goes on to say that if the Haitian government would step up communication with out government, I think something could be done. The Haitian consul general here, Alexander Paul, an urbane, nattily suited diplomat, contends that a 1972 agreement signed between Nassau and Port-au-Prince would solve the whole problem if adhered to by the Bahamian government. The agreement would have admitted a controlled number of Haitian to enter the Bahamas to work chiefly on farms for a specified length of time.
Posted on: Sun, 01 Dec 2013 16:12:04 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015