An Abaco businessman is warning his compatriots against vigilante action in dealing with the spiraling problem of illegal migration on the island that has the third largest economic engine in The Bahamas.
The perspective of William Roberts on the issue was featured at a local think tank called Bahamian Forum.
Afraid of the potential backlash, Mr. Roberts declared that vigilante actions cannot be condoned or encouraged, as well intentioned as it might be.
“I have a real problem with those who take it upon themselves to go out and destroy any Haitian home,” he said. “I appreciate the fact that Bahamians are becoming more and more impatient with the lack of action by the government, but I must appeal to all my countrymen to please not instigate any situations of personal action.”
Haitians account for the vast majority of illegal immigrants in The Bahamas. Official investigations have determined that many of them on the island of Abaco have settled in the twin shantytowns of the Mud and Pigeon Pea.
Mr. Roberts acknowledged that there is a real concern about the environmental impact of the villages because of the unsanitary conditions and haphazard living arrangements.
Conservative estimates place the amount of Haitians in the Marsh Harbour area at around 3,500 and some 5,000 collectively in Marsh Harbour and Dundas and Murphy towns.
Another 1,500 are said to be residing in Treasure Cay and Hope Town.
The Abaco businessman conceded that residents on the island have been complicit in the illegal immigration dilemma.
“Quite frankly the people of Abaco must share a great deal of the responsibility for the situation becoming what it is. If there was no demand for cheap labour, then there likely wouldn’t be a Haitian problem,” he said.
“If there had been a system of repatriation from the very early days, or a system that allows a time period for migrants to come and work and then be repatriated after that time expires, then we wouldn’t be where we are now.”
But he also acknowledged that Haitians who are legal are needed as they contribute to the labour force by way of cheap and menial labour that Bahamians don’t want to do.
“There is no doubt that if we were to suddenly remove all Haitians even only the illegal ones, our construction and agriculture industries would probably collapse.
Bahamians and foreign second home owners in Abaco have become absolutely dependent upon the labour force available from the presence of the various Haitian communities in Abaco,” Mr. Roberts noted.
He made a range of suggestions about how the government should deal with the situation of illegal immigration and urged a fearless stance.
The recommendations ranged from a proposal to have all undocumented migrants registered with the requisite identification, frequent repatriations of illegal immigrants, prosecuting local businesspersons who employ them and having credible outside observers monitor the process.
Just recently, the Ministry of Health admitted that it is using critical resources to address the growing number of shantytowns in islands across The Bahamas.
Health officials say while the Department of Environmental Health Services is committed to the provision of certain services to address the environmental health concerns triggered by these communities, “one cannot overlook the resultant cost of these programmes and the ongoing environmental concerns associated with the levels of overcrowding, substandard housing and general living conditions that persist.”
Officials have pointed specifically to the presence of these substandard neighbourhoods on islands like New Providence, Abaco, Grand Bahama and Eleuthera.
“These communities have developed without regulation, and continue to expand in terms of population size and the number of residential structures,” officials say in a report to Cabinet, which details the impact that immigrants are having on the public health system.
The report was written in response to Cabinet’s request to permanent secretaries to undertake a comprehensive examination of illegal immigration in The Bahamas.
The document sounds the alarm over a problem Bahamians have been talking about for many years now.
By: Tameka Lundy, The Bahama Journal
