We will look after you, Chang assures Haitians
Published:Tuesday | August 15, 2023 | 12:10 AMGareth Davis Sr/Gleaner Writer
ROBIN’S BAY, St Mary:
National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang has said that the 37 Haitians now seeking asylum in Jamaica will be treated fairly during their hearing.
Chang, accompanied by representatives from several state agencies and civil society groups, visited Robin’s Bay in St Mary on Monday, where they met with the Haitians, who are being housed at a holding facility after illegally entering Jamaica by boat last month.
The minister noted that the facility was not a prison and that the police is maintaining a presence at the Seventh-Day Adventists Church campsite for security reasons.
“It is not a prison or lock-up, but it is secure and the police are here to protect them as well as to prevent [them] from getting off into other activities,” he said.
The adults among the migrants were convicted of illegal entry last month and the group was set to be deported before an eleventh-hour filing of an asylum request.
“The court is a part of our law and that has settled, and now, we’ll move to the next phase of trying to respond to the request for asylum,” said Chang. “ We would like to inform you and remind the wider public that Jamaica has always been committed to the rights of you people Jamaica has always been supportive of the rights of the Haitian people.
“Locally we have a very strong Charter of Rights and we were always at the forefront of the move to free South Africa of apartheid leading to black people equality. But to tell you specifically, we were among the country that brought the situation in Haiti to the United Nations in 1990. Jamaica got the United Nations and CARICOM to assist Haiti both in development as well as an electoral system that was fair,” Chang added.
He further stated that there has always been good and friendly relations between Jamaica and Haiti and that Jamaica is actively seeking to restore stability and peace in Haiti.
“You are our friends; we welcome Haitians. We will look after you. But we would like to see the time when your country is in a state where Haitians would like to live, raise their families, and work in Haiti and we can be partners,” the national security minister said.