Concerned citizens willing to assist stranded Haitian Nationals

The team of persons who met with the Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix, yesterday to discuss the fate of the Haitian nationals being held by police will today initiate the process of applying for work permits even as they push for a halt in the deportation process.

Following the engagement, blogger Mark Jacobs, who led the group which comprised members of the Guyana Bar Association (GBA) and other concerned citizens, related that three recommendations were put forward to the minister yesterday, including the suggestion that they release those in custody and halt efforts to deport them.

“They’re being allowed to stay now simply because the government is refusing to pay for their return airfares and the persons don’t have enough money. But we’ve been given an opportunity to apply for these persons to stay in Guyana. There are persons here willing to accommodate these persons and provide them with employment and places to live,” Jacobs told media operatives.

Jacobs related that of those remaining, there are seven adults and seven children. Jacobs said they learnt that there is an eighth child who cannot be linked to any of the adults in custody.

“…they’re in a night shelter, you have mad people in a night shelter, you have homeless people, people of unsound mind and these people are being detained in a night shelter. They don’t speak the language, the staff can’t communicate with them, they can’t communicate with staff, they’ve been threats from persons within there towards these people,” Jacobs said.

“So, as you know Guyana has no detention facilities for immigration matters so these persons, some are in the police lockup. Those are the only places the government has to put them and I don’t believe that they should be there but that’s where they had them,” he shared, noting that persons in the business community have come forward in a “humanitarian gesture” to offer sponsorship for the Haitians.

The third recommendation submitted by the group is that a list of persons capable of communicating in Haitian Creole be placed at all ports of entry.

“…the names of those persons must be available, because as a minimum, any national from a country that does not speak English is entitled to translation and translation services which has to be provided by whatever government agency. So we provided a list of names, so persons can be called,” Jacobs noted.

The public-spirited citizen pointed out that a concern of the police force is that human trafficking and illegal migration may be afoot, hence the detention of the Haitian Nationals. Jacobs, however, expressed the view that the inability to communicate effectively with the nationals has impacted the investigation process, noting that another concern of the police was that they could not verify whether the passports and birth certificates were valid.

Tighten up

“Police and immigration have to tighten up their work at the airport in terms of documentation, because it’s clear that the Guyana government does not have a proper communication channel with the Government of Haiti, for example to verify these documents. It is also clear that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (and) the Police Immigration Department have a language deficiency in terms of French and Creole. There is a mistake here in Guyana, most persons assume Haitians speak French…most Haitians speak Creole and they may or may not be able to understand French…” Jacobs observed.

The man who related that he speaks the language said that he had communicated with the detainees. Asked whether they were on their way to other destinations as has been reported, he said he did not get into those details and could not state so, but said that none of them had relatives residing here.

The newly appointed President of the Bar Council of the GBA, Kamal Ramkarran told Stabroek News yesterday that efforts are afoot to put together a team of attorneys to look into the plight of the detained Haitians.

He said that this is all part of GBA’s efforts to become more involved in public interest litigation.

“I am trying to put together a team of lawyers …we sent out an email to the lawyers asking if they will be willing to help. A few have responded”, he noted.

He said that this team once established will offer pro bono legal assistance to the Haitians.

Investigations so far have revealed that the movement of the Haitian citizens is an organized affair, and those involved were destined for other locations, Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud related on Monday.

Minister Felix had confirmed then that about 15 of the Haitians, both adults and children, had returned home between Thursday and Saturday, after purchasing upgrades to their return tickets, and that there were others remaining, as they did not have enough money to fund their passages.

While Felix said that trafficking has not been fully established as the motive behind the group travelling here, he noted that it “might be lurking on the horizon.”

The Minister, who noted that the individuals were made to depart the country based on advice received from the police legal advisor, related that efforts are being made to facilitate the remaining persons’ return to Haiti.

Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum related on Tuesday that the force is currently investigating the “chief players” involved in the matter, including persons who would have organized the group’s transport, accommodation, and assistance with translating.

Those persons were detained and questioned, and subsequently placed on bail, as investigations continue.

Persaud had stated that if there is evidence that a crime was committed charges will be laid, but related that smuggling does not constitute a criminal offence according to legislation, unless goods are being referred to, while noting also that the persons would have entered the country legally.

The Commissioner mentioned, however, that there might be some other offences which may garner the attention of the Special Organised Crime Unit.