The Continued Detention of our Haitian Brothers and Sisters is Inexcusable

Dec 06, 2020 APNU Column, Features / Columnists

Kaieteur News – The detention of the 26 Haitian men, women and children continue to be a matter of concern for right-thinking Guyanese. This act not only undermines regional integration, but also flies in the face of the laws of Guyana, the plethora of international conventions to which we are a signatory, and importantly, our obligations under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.
A Haitian national is a CARICOM national. All CARICOM nationals are entitled to enter into another CARICOM Member State and be issued an automatic six month stay, hassle free – that is to say, without harassment or the imposition of impediments. The Secretary General of CARICOM recently expressed the desire to see Haiti participate more fully in the CSME during
the accreditation of Haiti’s Ambassador to CARICOM. However, that entity has been conspicuously silent on this matter.
On the Thursday, 3rd December, the Leader of the Opposition wrote to the Chairman of CARICOM in the following terms –
“Dear Chairman, Three weeks ago, 26 nationals of Haiti, a member of the Caribbean Community, were detained after their legal entry into Guyana.
The basis for their continued detention remains unclear as the Government of Guyana has been unable to proffer a single credible reason for this action. Statements in the local media attributed to the Minister of Home Affairs, suggests that our Haitian brothers and sisters were either perpetrators or victims of human trafficking. We have seen no evidence in this regard, but we are aware that persons who were arrested by local authorities in connection with this matter, were released without charge.
We have also learnt that the Government of Guyana has since secured a Deportation Order which will see the 26 men, women and children being deported shortly.
These CARICOM nationals are being detained in what appears to be inhumane conditions and have been denied the opportunity to retain legal representation. We, like other nationals of the Caribbean Community, have watched in dismay at the treatment being meted out to our CARICOM brethren, while noting that the Ali administration has not engaged with nationals from neighbouring Brazil and Venezuela as well as Cuba, in so heinous a manner.
The Parliamentary Opposition has been consistent in our efforts to highlight the plight of our Haitian comrades in an attempt to bring a humane and satisfactory resolution to this matter. We have noted with much distress, the conspicuous absence of the CARICOM from the public discourse.
As this matter challenges the foundational tenets of regional integration, it is the expectation that CARICOM as the vanguard institution would be public in its advocacy for a resolution to this matter, in keeping with the letter and spirit of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.
We therefore look forward to CARICOM declaring its position on this matter, as it is one which if left unaddressed, could establish a precedent that is inimical to the free movement of CARICOM Nationals within the Community.”
Since the letter, the Chief Justice has issued a Conservatory Order against the government effectively halting the deportation proceedings. However, the men, women and children still remain in detention.
This administration must immediately present the evidence to support its claims that these people are either victims or perpetrators of human trafficking. If it is determined that they are victims, the Combatting of Trafficking in Persons Act is very clear as to how they are to be treated. Their current treatment falls woefully short of the standards set out in the Act.
It is incumbent upon every right-thinking Guyanese to speak out against the treatment of our Haitian brothers and sisters, who like every other person is entitled to the protection of the law.
Those among us who would fail to speak up ought to remember the admonition of the German theologian Niemoeller –
‘First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

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