(Nassau Guardian) – Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said on Sunday he is disappointed over the outrage expressed by some Bahamians following his announcement that more than 100 Haitian detainees would be released from the Detention Centre and given temporary status.
The decision was made in the wake of a powerful earthquake that rocked Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and surrounding areas nearly one week ago.
In direct contradiction to an announcement made by Director of Immigration Jack Thompson last Wednesday, Ingraham also said the government would not be ordering any tents and food for Inagua and the Detention Centre in preparation for any possible influx of Haitian immigrants.
Asked about the two different positions on this matter, the prime minister said, “My name is Hubert Alexander Ingraham and I’m prime minister of The Bahamas.”
Ingraham spoke at a news conference held at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) at the Churchill Building to update the country on the Bahamas’ response to the crisis in Haiti. He advised that he has accepted an invitation from the president of the Dominican Republic to attend an emergency meeting in Santo Domingo today to discuss coordination of medium and long-term assistance to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
Regarding the response to his announcement on Thursday night about the release of detainees, he said, “I accept that any decision by my government would be subject to criticism from certain quarters. That is democracy. But my colleagues and I — as well as the majority of right-thinking Bahamians — are deeply disappointed at the torrent of misinformation, prejudice and hard-heartedness that has spewed especially from the airwaves.”
Ingraham said, “The circumstances are that the Haitian homeland and especially their capital city has been devastated by the worst catastrophe in 200 years, with tens of thousands dead and more dying every day, with people starving, with infrastructure destroyed and with governmental agencies rendered impotent. It should be obvious that in these circumstances it is simply impossible to send undocumented Haitian nationals back to their homeland.”
He said a Bahamian aircraft attempting to take undocumented Haitians into that situation or into the smaller Haitian airport in Cape Haitien would most certainly be turned back and the Bahamas would earn the scorn and condemnation of the civilized world.
Pointing to the words of a New York Times editorial, the prime minister said, “Burdening a collapsed country with destitute deportees would be a true crime.”
“The United States and other countries with large numbers of undocumented Haitians have taken a similar policy decision and will also suspend repatriation and grant temporary status to Haitians facing repatriation,” Ingraham said. “They have also, like us, made it clear that no new immigrants from Haiti will be allowed in. The American and international media have already taken note of our decision.”
He added that no one knows how long it will be before Haiti is restored to some semblance of normalcy and when repatriation flights from the Bahamas and other places will again be able to land and be processed in Port-au-Prince.
“So it makes sense and it is compassionate not to keep them incarcerated indefinitely,” the prime minister said.
The Progressive Liberal Party has not said whether it supports the decision to release the detainees, but said Friday, “The prime minister’s announcement was a unilateral political decision taken by the government with regard to events in Haiti.”
