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Aug 06, 2019 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom
Last year, the Leader of the Opposition in the Turks and Caicos said that his island chain was being invaded…by Haitians. The influx of illegal Haitians was overwhelming that small Caribbean state; there was strong condemnation of persons who were involved in the illegal movement of these persons.
The opposition leader condemned the ‘mercenaries’, as he described them, who were taking advantage of the Haitians desperate for a solution to their problems. He alluded to the high cost the government of his country was paying for the repatriation of Haitians, and called for more stringent protection of the borders.
Haitians are desperate to get out, and they are going wherever they hope to find a safe haven. Fourteen Haitians died in an incident last year while trying to reach the Turks and Caicos. Another 28 drowned in February of this year in an incident off the coast of the Bahamas.
Haitians are the largest migrant population in the Bahamas. Only last week, more than a dozen Haitians were arrested trying to make an illegal entry into that country. And to add further intrigue, the Government of Haiti announced that it was launching an investigation into corruption at its embassy in the Bahamas, following allegations of arranged marriages.
Barbados has backpedaled from its original position of not requiring visas for Haitians. It has now reversed itself in light of the influx of Haitians into that country.
Trinidad and Tobago is already reeling from the invasion of immigrants escaping the economic crisis in Venezuela. It cannot handle a large influx from Haiti.
Haiti’s neighbour, the Dominican Republic, reportedly sent back 5,000 Haitians during last month alone.
Chile has a large Haitian population of more than 175,000. Haitians are the third largest migrant group in Chile, which has now been forced to call for illegal Haitians to register, in view of the steady stream of migrants from that country. It has given the Haitians up to October to regularise themselves.
And as reported earlier, Haitians have been migrating to Brazil, Venezuela and Mexico. With the United States rolling back on immigration from that country, the Haitians flow is likely to continue southwards, to include Guyana and other countries of South America.
What all this suggests is that the Haitian migrant problem is now a regional problem, on par with that of Venezuela, which is undergoing an internal economic meltdown, which has led to millions of its national crossing the borders into other states.
Brazil, Colombia and Peru are wilting under the pressure of illegal migration from Venezuela. The Haitians in that country are therefore likely to feel less welcome than before. And the backlash is that a process of reverse migration can take place, with the Haitians trying to avoid deportation trying to make their way to countries like Suriname and Guyana.
Guyana therefore has to take the issue of Haitian migrants more seriously. This is not a simple case of tourists transiting the country to go to greener pastures. This is an issue, which has many dimensions, including the possibility of Haitians being smuggled through Guyana to other places. More Haitians have arrived in Guyana for the first half of this year than there are Venezuelan migrants resident in Guyana.
Haiti’s political crisis, with violence in that country’s capital, has come to the attention of the Caribbean Community. But CARICOM also needs to understand that there is the related issue of illegal migration which is overwhelming the smaller countries. The Guyana government may feel that because the majority of Haitians are crossing its borders to go to Brazil, there is no impact on our social services. They should not get too comfortable, because when the Brazilians, the Chileans and the Peruvians begin to tighten up, as the United States, Mexico, the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos and Barbados are doing, there will be reverse flow to look for the green pastures. And as we know, Guyana has a lot of green pastures.
Guyana should summon an urgent meeting of the Caribbean Community and the Organization of American States to address the ongoing migrant crisis emanating from Venezuela and Haiti. It cannot be business as usual when there is the real possibility of regional states being overwhelmed by the continuing influx from these two countries.
Guyana stands to be swamped by illegal aliens from both Venezuela and Haiti if the situations in these countries worsen. Then we will see how fast the 2% royalties will disappear in having to provide for these migrants.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)
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