Close to 60 percent of Haitians squatting in the communities of the Mud and Pigeon Pea in Abaco are documented, according to Revis Rolle, administrator for Marsh Harbour.
Mr. Rolle’s comment came after some Abaconians voiced strong objections to a plan by urban renewal officials to place vital infrastructure in those communities where scores of mostly Haitians have squatted for decades.
He told The Bahama Journal that based on a census conducted by his office about seven percent of the residents are Bahamians.
“The result of this survey seems to go against and destroy the myth that all who live in the Mud and Pigeon Pea are illegal Haitians,” Mr. Rolle said.
“We know that it is not very accurate, but what it simply says to us is that maybe about 12 percent to 15 percent of them would be illegal, but by and large the remainder, 85 to 88 percent of them, would fall in one of the four categories of legality,” he said.
“Either they are Bahamian citizens because they were born in the Bahamas to foreign parents, but may not be eligible to apply for citizenship because they are too young; they are work permit holders; permanent residents; or both parents were Bahamians.”
If the government approves a plan being pushed by officials of its urban renewal project, roads would be cut and paved in the squatting villages, proper water and sewerage facilities would be put in place and street lights would be erected.
Some Abaconians have suggested that it is absurd for the government to “legitimize” squatters in this way.
But Mr. Rolle said the vast number of Haitians living in the Mud and Pigeon Pea are making some form of contribution to the local economy.
“The majority of them are here legally paying at least national insurance,” Mr. Rolle said.
“Work permit holders pay national insurance, Bahamian residents pay national insurance. Now they might not be paying the full slew of taxes as they should, but they are making some contribution.”
He believes that putting in place infrastructure would be a good idea.
“If you put roads down in there and you put lights down in there-what you are doing is legitimizing them a little bit further,” Mr. Rolle said. “If you do that you can then have them woven into the system of taxation that exists in this country and that can only be the first stage.”
He added, “The next stage then would be to move them in and have them fully integrated into the greater Abaconian society where you can have some of them living in Marsh Harbour, Dundas Town, Murphy Town and subdivisions next to Bahamians.”
He added that government through the urban renewal project would continue to make inroads in the Haitian communities, through the department that has been established in Abaco.
With the illegal immigration problem being high on the agenda of national debate this year, some Abaconians continue to call for the government to act swiftly and rid their communities of illegal immigrants.
An official of the urban renewal programme said that the project team is also recommending that raids be conducted more frequently in the Mud and Pigeon Pea to weed out the illegal immigrants who are there.
By: Royanne Forbes, The Bahama Journal
