Haitians ask to stay here as violence rocks nation
A coalition of local Haitian organizations is calling on the Canadian government to put a temporary halt to the deportation of hundreds of Haitians because of the rioting that has shaken their country during the last week.
“We do not think that, given the violent protests there, that families should be forced to return at this time,” said Marjorie Villefranche, director of the Maison d’Haiti. “There are many asylum seekers whose requests have been refused who are due to be sent back to Haiti in the coming days and weeks.”
Noting that Canada recently recommended its citizens avoid all non-essential travel to Haiti because of the tensions that persist throughout the country, Villefranche and the Montreal-based Coalition for Haitian Migrants is calling on the government of Canada and the prime minister to extend the same security for asylum seekers residing here.
“We feel that this advisory should apply to all people in Canada, including refugees who are requesting asylum,” the coalition said in a statement.
Villefranche noted that a similar moratorium on deportations was put in place after the 2010 earthquake that destroyed much of the capital city, Port-au-Prince, and killed more than 100,000 Haitians.
The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada could not be immediately reached Wednesday afternoon. According to the board’s statistics, of the 6,920 refugee protection claims handled between January and March 2018, 610 claims were made by Haitians, and 471 of those were refused. Individuals listing Haiti as their country of origin had the third-highest number of refugee protection claims, after Nigeria and India.
Violent protests that blocked highways in parts of the country and forced the partial closure of the main airport in Port-au-Prince erupted last week after the government announced increases of 38 to 51 per cent in fuel prices in the desperately poor nation.
Tires were burned in the streets and stores and businesses looted and set ablaze. The government retracted the fuel hikes last weekend, but protests and road closures persist.