CALL FOR GOVT INTERVENTION IN ALLEGED ABUSE OF HAITIANS

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

SEVERAL Abaco residents are decrying the alleged abuse of documented and undocumented Haitian migrants on the island by immigration officers, telling The Tribune government intervention is needed to ensure migrants are being treated more humanely.

The concerned Abaconians contacted The Tribune to express their frustration over what’s been happening on the island, particularly in Hope Town.

Yesterday, Abaco resident and local activist Frankie Fleurider told this newspaper several legal Haitian workers had reached out to him, complaining about “abusive” and “bullying” practices by immigration officers stationed there.

Some of them have complained about being hit by officers or having their money taken from them, he added.

But the Abaco resident said many are afraid to file a complaint with authorities because they had nothing to prove the alleged abuse happened.

Another resident, who asked to remain anonymous, expressed similar claims to this newspaper yesterday, saying there needs to be a stricter vetting process by the department when recruiting officers.

“One guy was legal and had a work permit when the officers surprisingly showed up, they caught him off guard and his phone was still in his hand and they started talking to him and the person who he was talking to on the phone thought the call dropped but because his phone rang, they slapped him telling him you need to cut this phone off,” he claimed.

The resident said while he agrees with government’s efforts to crack down on the country’s illegal migration problem, which he says is a major issue in Hope Town, the process needs to be carried out more humanely.

“Unfortunately, it’s not being carried out that way,” he added. “We have young new immigration officers to the department that have a very rough mentality.”

“Now the government is well within their rights to have these people rounded up, arrested humanely and repatriated, but I don’t think it’s right to (abuse) them ... I think the government of The Bahamas