Preying on Haitians
Ambassador David Comission. Photo by George Alleyne
Pastor David Durant. Photo by George Alleyne
Caribbean Life, Jan. 11–17, 2019 21
By George Alleyne
In tandem with Barbados’ acknowledgement
of the rights of Haitians to
enter the island like any the CARICOM
citizen, crooks have begun defrauding
the already bedevilled nationals of
this Caribbean territory.
Stories coming out of 15 Haitians
currently stranded in Barbados are
that they were tricked in to handing
over between US$2,500 to $3,000 to
fraudsters who made them believe
that with the opening of the island’s
borders to them as CARICOM citizens,
they could travel there and easily
secure good jobs.
With this tale of the proverbial
‘milk and honey’ existence in Barbados
the human traffickers who are
said to be resident in the Dominican
Republic, the neighboring state that
shares the island with Haiti, placed
them on flights to Barbados and
abandoned the hapless hopefuls.
Having arrived between November
and December, the Haitians found
the reality to be that the right to
enter Barbados for an automatic sixmonth
stay as CARICOM nationals
did not include a right to work, and
that anyhow this island is currently
in the throes of economic adjustment
in which some of its own people are
being laid off, so there was no place
for recruitment of overseas labour.
Their little money ran out resulting
in them being evicted from a rental
premises and having to be rescued
from the streets by a Good Samaritan
Pastor, David Durant, then furthered
on the Salvation Army.
“It was 1 am and I heard they had
been evicted so I left home and opened
up the church. It was cold, I could not
leave them out there,” Durant told the
Nation newspaper.
Local media houses have publicised
their plight with and appeals
for assistance ranging from food
to accommodation, and money
for flights back to their homeland
because the return dates on their airline
tickets had passed.
This meant that on Jan. 1, when
many people were celebrating the
anniversary and symbolism of the
Haitian 215th anniversary of independence
as a successful fighter
against oppressive forces, some
nationals were stranded in Barbados
and throwing themselves to the
mercy of the authorities or anyone
who could help.
The human traffickers twisted
information coming out of Barbados
when following elections in May
2018 the new government declared
that a discriminatory practice by its
immigration officials of demanding
visas from Haitians to enter the island
must stop immediately.
Upon discovering the anomaly,
Home Affairs Minister Edmund Hinkson
said in September, “It should not
have been on in the first place. I was
shocked to learn that.”
“If Haiti is a member of CARICOM
and the Treaty of Chaguaramas
speaks to non-discrimination and
equal treatment, how can you have
put visa requirements on Haitians?
Why do we do this to our own people?”
Government lifted the restriction
within days of its discovery.
A spokesman for the stranded
group said, “I heard it was not a problem
to come to Barbados without a
visa,” he said. “When you arrive at
immigration you have to say that you
are coming to visit, so they gave us
six months.”
Reports are that one of them managed
to find work illegally, but in
an extension of their nightmare, the
employer has refused to pay that person
for his labor.
Barbados’ Ambassador to CARICOM,
David Comissiong told the Barbados
Today newspaper, “a number of
the Haitians who are coming here,
are poor people who have been misled,
who have paid out this money
and are coming to Barbados, believing
that there is some job waiting for
them in Barbados. This is not true”.
“What we are finding is that there
seem to be some unscrupulous persons
in Haiti and perhaps in the
Dominican Republic as well, who
are misleading Haitians, and taking
money from them.”
A few donors have come forward
but while the Barbados government
scrambles to help, this island must
brace itself for an inflow of trafficked
Haitians, preyed upon by unscrupulous
operators bent on twisting immigration
information to exploit those
whose circumstances make them gullible
to any story of a better life away
from their homeland.