Quick boot for security threats
Morgan claims swift repatriation of Haitian boat people aimed at preventing unnecessary risk to Jamaicans
Published:Wednesday | September 13, 2023 | 12:10 AMGareth Davis Sr/Gleaner Writer
Long Bay, Portland:
Facing backlash from human rights groups over its handling of the most recent group of Haitians to land on the island, the Government has sought to clear the air.
Speaking with The Gleaner yesterday, Information Minister Robert Morgan said human trafficking and security risks were among the factors that led to the repatriation of the 36 men, women and children within a day of their arrival.
The 36 Haitians, comprising 18 men, nine women, and nine children, who landed in Long Bay, Portland, about 6 a.m. Saturday, were hastily sent back to their violence-torn homeland by Jamaican authorities, less than 24 hours after arriving by boat. Their departure took place around 3 a.m., in the dead of night, a move that sparked criticism from human rights bodies Freedom Imaginaries and Stand Up for Jamaica.
In a statement after the Haitians were sent home, Stand up for Jamaica said it found “reprehensible” the Government’s decision to send the Haitians back.
However, Morgan told The Gleaner yesterday that security risks were found among the group that arrived on Saturday and intelligence gathered had indicated that the captain of the Haitian boat that was used to transport the group was actively involved in human trafficking.
“Well, we found security risks in the group (and) we found that the captain was a recurrent entrant to the shore of Jamaica without authority. We found issues of human trafficking and we had to take action to prevent unnecessary risk to the people of Jamaica by persons who the security and intelligence services found to be problematic,” Morgan said.
However, when asked to explain the rationale behind the decision to send the Haitians back to their homeland just a few hours after midnight, which has since sparked criticism and objection from sections of the public, Morgan was quick to point out that the law of the land takes precedence over any other issue.
He said the Government could not base its rule of law on the opinions of individuals who, he claimed, “have a vested interest in proving a point”.
According to Morgan, the Haitian boat people indicated that Jamaica was never their intended destination, and that they expressed unequivocally the desire to return to their homeland rather than to remain on Jamaican soil.
His comments came after a letter sent on Monday to Prime Minister Andrew Holness; Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, minister of foreign affairs and foreign Trade; Dr Horace Chang, minister of national security; and Ambassador Alison Stone Roofe, permanent secretary in the Ministry of National Security, by Freedom Imaginaries.
‘FLAGRANT VIOLATION’
In the letter, Freedom Imaginaries, founded by attorney Malene Alleyne, said, “This is a flagrant violation of Jamaica’s obligations under international law. The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol prohibit refoulement – the forced removal of people to a place where they may face risk of persecution, torture or other serious or irreparable harm.”
The human rights group also called for the Government to provide an explanation for its actions and stated that “it is alarming that the GOJ would return Haitian migrants, under the cover of darkness, without due process, in blatant disregard of UN advisories and international law. It is also deeply disturbing that the Haitians were returned within 24 hours of arrival, without an opportunity to recover from their journey to Jamaica”.
Additionally, the group also called for the Government to suspend the forced return of Haitian migrants and to guarantee the principle of non-refoulement.
Freedom Imaginaries is representing the first group of Haitians who arrived in July and who are currently in the process of seeking asylum.
In pointing to additional factors which played into the decision to send the Haitians home, Morgan said, “The Government of Jamaica has to be very careful in how we engage on this issue. We have to recognise the importance of acquiescing to international human rights standard. But we also have to balance that with our need to protect our local population. The current group that is in Jamaica, we are engaging in a process, they have applied for asylum and we are working through that process based on international and local law.
“The group that was sent back to Haiti did not ask for asylum. They did not request asylum, because Jamaica was not their destination of desire. They did not want to be here. And, if it is that people said that they didn’t want to be here, the Government cannot force people to stay in Jamaica who do not want to stay in Jamaica. The individuals expressed a desire not to be in Jamaica and their country of origin expressed a desire to accept them. Why would the Government of Jamaica force individuals to stay here who do not want to stay here?”
The 37 Haitians who make up the group that arrived in July are currently awaiting their fate after Freedom Imaginaries made a last-ditch effort to stop the deportations of 29 of them, comprising 24 males and five females, who were fined $7,000 or three days of hard labour for illegal entry, in the Portland parish court.
The French-speaking Caribbean country has been affected by a series of civil unrest and killings as a result of warring factions and various gangs who have resorted to looting, shooting, abduction, rape, and murder, which has been affecting the lives of ordinary residents, creating mayhem and anarchy in that country.