Wilken Garson was released from the Carmichael Road Detention Centre a week ago. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
By AVA TURNQUEST
Tribune Chief Reporter
aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
A 28-year-old Bahamas-born man is claiming he was deported to Haiti by immigration officials but sent back, only to spend months in detention.
Wilken Garson’s claim contradicts a statement put out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who refuted the allegation in November last year.
Mr Garson was released from the Carmichael Road Detention Centre (CRDC) a week ago, bringing an end to his “mind-boggling” four-month detention at the facility.
“I told them what they gonna do with me?” Mr Garson said, “because I born here, I school here. They put handcuffs on me, put me in the bus, they send me to the detention centre and after that I spend like a month in there, and then they deport me.”
He continued: “Haiti refused me because I tell them I didn’t have no family in Haiti. Then they send me back Nassau and I end up in the detention centre again. I ask them when they gonna release me, they say soon.
“I keep asking them when they going to release me, they say soon, soon.
“I just was waiting,” he added.
Mr Garson was arrested during a traffic stop on October 5, and was held in detention indefinitely despite efforts to produce his documentation by childhood friend and activist Louby Georges.
Mr Georges said he personally took Mr Garson’s birth certificate and school records to the Department of Immigration and claimed that he received confirmation from staff on the chartered airline and the CRDC that Mr Garson had been sent to Haiti and returned.
Mr Garson explained: “I talked to immigration (officials) in Haiti, I told them I don’t have nowhere to go. I don’t have no family there, and I don’t know where I’m going. I told them I couldn’t stay there because if I stay there and don’t know where to go I’m going to die.
“I gave my name, date of birth,” Mr Garson continued, “they asked me if I knew someone but I didn’t know the name. Then (a Haitian immigration official) got on his phone and made a call. Then he finish talking, and he send another fella to talk to somebody, then he came back and tell them I should go back to Nassau and to send me back on the same flight.”
Mr Garson told this newspaper it felt good to be released from detention.
“In there was terrible, other Haitians was getting deported and they was giving them the name and date of birth wrong, and so Haitians was getting slapped,” he claimed.
The Tribune also received reports last year concerning a botched deportation; however, officials refused comment on the matter, and later denied the incident took place in response to social media reports.
In November, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the claim “complete fabrication and without merit,” and warned it was a “punishable offence” to spread false information.
The ministry’s statement further confirmed the Haitian government has never denied entry to any Haitian nationals “repatriated or deported from the Bahamas who are born to Haitian parents.”
Lawyers from Callanders and Co filed a habeas corpus application on behalf of Mr Garson on December 18, 2018.
Attorney Crispin Hall told The Tribune recently that securing his client’s release was only the “first step in the pursuit of justice on his behalf”.
On behalf of his legal team, Mr Hall said: “The authorities clearly did not utilise the procedures set out in the Immigration Act with respect to his arrest, detention and botched purported deportation/repatriation.
“The fact that he was released is evidence of the unlawfulness of it all,” he continued.
“Garson should have never been arrested and detained in the first place. What is mind boggling is that despite numerous judgments handed down by various justices of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal scolding the authorities for conduct such as this, human rights abuses continue to be the order of the day.”
Mr Garson spells his last name with an ‘s’ but on his birth certificate it is spelled “Garcon”.
He was born to Haitian parents, both of whom died before he was a teenager.
His mother died when he was seven, while his father traveled to Haiti to treat an illness when he was ten and never returned. It is believed he died in Haiti, according to Mr Garson.
Mr Garson attended Sandilands Primary School, and then L W Young Junior High where he dropped out in grade eight.
His claims renew concerns over the irregularity of the government’s policy for people born in the Bahamas who have failed to apply for citizenship, and have no nationality document.
Mr Georges said: “This entire time as an advocate, and also this being very personal to me, we’re here trying to ask the main question, we just want answers: how was this even possible?
“He was released (on the night of February 6) but under what circumstances? What was the reason for him being released in the night? In the dark of night this man was released. When we got there to pick him up, we didn’t find him out there.”
Mr Georges continued: “When I saw him, he told me he was just so scared to stand around and have them think he didn’t have a ride or nobody to pick him up, that they might have taken him and put him right back in there, so he took off on foot in the middle of the night in Carmichael. But why?
“Help us to understand that so moving forward we would know ok, if we find people who fall in his category then they should be released, precedent was set on something, what is that something? No new evidence, no new documents were presented on his behalf but you decide to let him go in February, why?”
He added: “The Immigration Department, while we love them, you can’t keep dropping the ball like this.”
Officials have not responded to The Tribune’s request for comment regarding Mr Garson’s claims.
Comments
Cas0072 5 years, 2 months ago
Wow! Haiti sure is brazen and I believe that it is thanks to this corrupt FNM practice of flying Haitian nationals back to the Bahamas when they never applied for citizenship. Soon they will refuse entire planes on the grounds that it will cut into their GDP. Meanwhile, the UK is steadfastly deporting people that were born or brought to the UK as children when they cannot prove that they are citizens.That is how a country operates when they respect law and order. The Bahamas really needs to stop the slackness. This man should not have been in the detention center for four months. He should have been returned to Haiti.
Kalikgold 5 years, 2 months ago
On a lighter note, at least he got to see the mother land
jackbnimble 5 years, 2 months ago
LOL!!
tell_it_like_it_is 5 years, 2 months ago
I don't care what anyone says here. For those born in The Bahamas this is a cruel practice. There have been persons who applied for citizenship when they turned 18 and are now around his age and still waiting.
We all know the slow pace of our government.
Despite what callous remarks that will be made here, I try to think about what it would be like if I was in their shoes (being born here and not knowing any other country, then suddenly being shipped off to a strange place.)
Just because my deceased parents were Bahamian, doesn't mean I can't empathize with the plight of these people.
[Okay now commenters, give it your best shot to say something unnecessary and confrontational... God bless all of you anyway. Much love.]
TheMadHatter 5 years, 2 months ago
Why didnt his parents think about what it would be like to be in his shoes before they conceived? Why is everyone else's mistakes our faults?
K4C 5 years, 2 months ago
WOW can we also apply your logic to when your descendants arrived in the Bahamas as well ,it's only fair, what's your opinion
TheMadHatter 5 years, 2 months ago
Yes. You have a very good point. European colonists brought flu virus and other viruses that the original inhabitants were ill equipped to deal with via their immune systems and there was no Walgreens back then. In effect two cultures were wiped from the face of the Earth.
It was disgusting and should not have happened.
Fifty years from now we will be able to say the same about the historic (then) death of Bahamian culture. Will what happened in the 1500's excuse it? Tit for tat?
joeblow 5 years, 2 months ago
The constitution is based on the rule of law. An illegal act cannot receive legality, therefore, citizenship applications have been wrongly processed for those born here illegally. Even with a D grade average in this country, any who can read what the constitution says would note that the right to apply at 18 is given to those born to parents who are here LEGALLY.
My2centz 5 years, 2 months ago
This is the law. And if I were in his shoes I would have applied at 18 and even stayed in application limbo if I did not want to be sent off to Haiti. Personal responsibility and common sense has to kick in at some point for all of us...Haitians are no exception. He was (allegedly) fortunate enough to be born outside of Haiti, but did nothing to ensure it remained that way.
Now he needs to apply based on qualifications outside of his birth certificate. Despite the bold irresponsibility of Louby Georges and company to make it appear so, the Bahamas is not a birth right citizenship country. A birth certificate and school records, as yet, are not legal proof of lawful presence. Any lawyer or judge who promotes or enforces this lie should have their license rescinded.
licks2 5 years, 2 months ago
The average wait in the USA is about 7 to 15 years. . .and you can't be in the states when ya number comes up. . .if you are there you must leave!! This bitched-up case was floating around last year. . .NO GOVERNMENT WILL SEND ITS CITIZEN BACK TO ANY NATION THAT DEPORTED THEM JUST ON THE VALUE OF THE DEPORTEE SAYING. . ."I EEN GAT NOBODY HERE SIR".
It is a waste of time talking to you. . .carry on in your ignorance. . .WE WILL JUST CONTINUE TO CARRY OUT OUT LAWS UNTIL WE CHANGE OUR LAWS OR THERE ARE NO MORE HAITIANS BORN HERE TO DEPORT!!
YOU ACT THE JACK ASS AND NOT WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING EXCEPT YA OPINION. . .THEN WE WILL DO WHAT WE DO AND BE DAMNED WITH YOUR OPINION!! CARRY ON SMARTLY!!
henny 5 years, 2 months ago
The average wait in the US to become a citizen can take anywhere from 5-10 months from time of application to interview date in lesser populated areas. 2 years or more for heavily populated areas. You have to be a permanent resident in order to apply and have to establish permanent residency for 5 yrs. If you are married to a US citizen the wait to apply for permanent residency is 2 years and citizenship is 3 years. You do not have to leave the US.
biwidjy1 5 years ago
where did you get your information from?
biwidjy1 5 years ago
that was nice! thanks
Cas0072 5 years, 2 months ago
A country is not a charity and countries do not run on emotions and sob stories, if the plan is to be a successful nation. The rules for citizenship are very simple. By now, his people should have long established best practices for obtaining citizenship in a timely manner. Instead it is his very people that are clogging up the system and committing fraud resulting in the extensive delays. They know that sometimes all they need is a good sob story to get around the law, and that is not how it should work. The Bahamas needs to set the right tone so that they take the law seriously. The fact is they live in a country within a country and are only Bahamians when it is convenient for them. The average Haitian in the Bahamas knows more about Haiti than they do the Bahamas.
TalRussell 5 years, 2 months ago
Yes, or no - be cruel punishment going against we Colony of Out Islands established Christian ways to deport comrade Haitian nationals back their Homeland during the improvised country's growing violent street outbursts. Best we requests sailors Queen's Royal Navy for sea patrols assistance for the many more who be setting sail search Colony's calmer harbour, yes, no?
pingmydling 5 years, 2 months ago
Wilken welcome home. (Don't worry about the racist, bigotted, inarticulate, xenophobic,) a*holes who are going to reply to this post, Bring it on!
TheMadHatter 5 years, 2 months ago
Yes. They should band together in Haiti and build 900 sloops and come 900 sloops full all one time. No problem. That would be in keeping with their U.N. protected human rights.
joeblow 5 years, 2 months ago
... those trips might aid in the growth of shark populations!
TheMadHatter 5 years, 2 months ago
By the way, are there any 90% Canadian neighborhoods in the Bahamas where Canadians have claimed free land and built non-permitted structures and live without documentation and engage in procreation?
Let us know - cause if those Canadians are left untroubled by Immigration Dept then i agree with you that the whole thing is RACIST and needs fixing asap.
pingmydling 5 years, 2 months ago
LOCK THEM UP, LOCK THEM UP. ( Now where did I hear that before?.) Oh no, that was Michael Flynn. Sorry.
pingmydling 5 years, 2 months ago
Your overwhelming preoccupation with the procrative habits of our Haitian neighbors Is somewhat concerning. If this is indicative of some hidden neurosis please do not Be inhibited from consulting your local psychiatrist. Remember Johnny Depp just Played the " madhatter". It wasn't for real.
TheMadHatter 5 years, 2 months ago
I would not concern myself with it if the resulting overpopulation did not spill over into my country like the "head" of a beer poured by an untrained bartender.
My country should not have to suffer just because others are too ignorant, stubborn, and backward to use birth control.
Have Haitians yet considered where they will migrate to after they destroy the Bahamas and the USA?
Well_mudda_take_sic 5 years, 2 months ago
The Haitian government long ago threw down the gauntlet that it was not in Haiti's interest to assist The Bahamian government with the deportation of Haitians who are illegal immigrants under the laws of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Instead, the Haitian government regards all Haitians illegally residing in The Bahamas to be an important source of hard currency for the Haitian economy. And our pathetic elected officials regard these same illegal Haitian immigrants to be an important source of new votes for the party in power that grants them citizenship. In the meantime the ongoing Haitian invasion of The Bahamas with the backing of the Haitian government is sucking the life blood out of The Bahamas. LMAO
pingmydling 5 years, 2 months ago
What is wrong with you people? Haitians, Jamaicans, Bahamians.etc. We all come from an African slave population. The Americans and Europeans had one philosophy -- "divide" and conquer. Look how well it has worked. Each little island blaming the next little island for something. Meanwhile Uncle Sam and his European cohorts sit back and smile saying those dumb n*.
joeblow 5 years, 2 months ago
... and in spite of our common ancestry, we have obviously taken different paths in creating sustainable viable economies.
If Haiti's leaders combined return the monies stolen from Haiti and invested it in the country and its people Haiti might have a chance, but Haiti's own leaders don't care about their people, but we should continue to allow social and economic parasitism to destroy us? No way! Haitians are their own worse enemy!
DDK 5 years, 2 months ago
It is really too bad that the members of the international community who cannot stop MEDDLING in Haiti's internal affairs, have no concern or compassion for the havoc their constant interference wreaks on the people of that island nation, and, consequently, ours as well.
pingmydling 5 years, 2 months ago
Haitians are going to destroy the Bahamas and the USA. Thats a little over the top, even for you my myopic friend. Heh lets be friends and have a "tea party", even if its for the mad hatter and Alice.
SK 5 years, 2 months ago
If you have information on cases like these, who do you contact?
bogart 5 years, 2 months ago
DA LAWS IS DA LAWS IS DA LAWS...THE LAWS IS DA LAWS.......STOP YAPPING....TILL THE PIGS FLYING....TILL.... KINGDOM COME.....ERRY 5 YEARS GUBBERMINTS CHANCE.....FOR PROMOTING BETTER GOVERNANCE.......AN THE LAWS STILL DA SAME LAWS....,!!!!......EUREKA...,!!!.....ACTION...OR....INACTION..(slackness not working)......If yinna dont like it ...den pick up da phome an call erry MP....who makes ya....put purple ink line up use up da tine voting in line an...HAS DERE FOOT TO DA FIRE.....DEMAND CHANGES....INFORM DEM YOUR VIEWS....HOLD DEN RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR WPRKING DA JOBS FOR DA SALARIES........LAWS....PEOPLE PAYING VAT TAXES TO PAY MPs SALARIES.....TALK TO DERE YINNA...CONSISTUEMCY OFFICES.....,!!!!!!!.......make accountable to ya self...ya destiny..cillren destiny.....not hot air !!!
sheeprunner12 5 years, 2 months ago
It is really too bad that the members of the international community who cannot stop MEDDLING in Haiti's internal affairs, have no concern or compassion for the havoc their constant interference wreaks on the people of that island nation, and, consequently, ours as well.
The UN and the USA have done more to destabilize Haiti since Baby Doc has been deposed. Just look at what has happened with illegal immigration and human trafficking in our country in the past 20 years. It has become a huge underground business for some.
sheeprunner12 5 years, 2 months ago
If the Guardian story is true ........ and each illegal sloop passenger pays on average of $2,500 for the trip ........ Then this is more profitable and less dangerous than dealing drugs now.
Bear in mind that very rarely are we ever told who owns these trafficking vessels and who are the captains, outfitters etc. ............ Sounds just like the Dominican poachers ....... HMMMMMMM
mandela 5 years, 2 months ago
The most sad and dangerous aspect of this situation is this person is 28yrs old and dropped out of school in the 8th grade Bahamian or not he surely has to have a D IQ, and that is Dangerous
sheeprunner12 5 years, 2 months ago
Meanwhile, as we speak today ............. Haiti is in social, economic, and political chaos ........ Mobs are burning down and looting the cities ........... The Haitian Government is unable to respond and bring order ..........US & Canadian embassies are shut down ................. International relief agencies are evacuating .............. What do you think will be the natural outcome of this??? ................. another 20,000 boat refugees this year?????????
pingmydling 5 years, 2 months ago
Let me educate you on the human migration between Haiti and the Bahamas. I will admit to being in this lucrative line of entrepreneurial enterprise until my recent retirement. A new sloop ( 40 - 45 ft) costs about $20.000 US. ( have import the lumber from Miami. All trees gone now along the northern coast from Cap. to Port de Paix) So we buy up old boats that have been used for fishing or transporting goods. We get them for as little as a $1,000. patch them up and we are ready to go. This is the best time of year as the winds are favourable for Nassau. I put the word out all along the coast, including Tortuga and wait for clients. The price varies according to the number a applications for passage. If things are slow the price can be reduced, or visa versa increased. Once the sloop is full, monies paid, a date is set, I pay the captain his share and away they go, heading north. Its a one way trip. What happens when the sloop goes over the horizon is of no concern.
sheeprunner12 5 years, 2 months ago
You must be joking ............ Anyway, tell us how the Haitian passengers get their ticket money to pay their boat fare. After all, the average annual income for Haiti is about USD$120.
pingmydling 5 years, 2 months ago
You need to take a trip south. You sit comfortably here pontificating about Haiti and you don't know shit. I bet you don't even have a passport. How do they get the money? They sell every christ thing they own to get the cash together, or get it from friends and relatives, I often say Why they would want to come to a place where the general population is as racist, ignorant, Inarticulate and bigoted as you are. Have a nice day.
sheeprunner12 5 years, 2 months ago
You openly admit here that you trafficked Haitians ....... now you catching feelings??????? ............... What a crazy world!!!!!!!
licks2 5 years, 2 months ago
You seem to be "blowing smoke". . .I suggest that you are also sitting here making up stories about how it is done!! Don't worry. . .we here know how yinna do it. YOU THINK WE STUPID AYE? Stay right there playing ya games. . .we know how yinna do it!! Nice try. . .we gat yinna number. . .
pingmydling 5 years, 2 months ago
Do you understand satire? I guess not. Literary adventurism. Its not Shelley,Byron or Keats but it is fun.
pingmydling 5 years, 2 months ago
I've been thinking about starting a new ' triangular trade route' just like the good ol' days, only this time between Nassau, Cap Haitian and Havana. It could be profitable.
sheeprunner12 5 years, 2 months ago
This is not a joking matter ......... except you are a white Trump supporter
pingmydling 5 years, 2 months ago
Your investigation attributes leave a lot to be desired my friend. Your last comment is so far out of left field I can only surmise that the "Rat Bat" was involved. Please in future write your posts with a sober head otherwise I won't play with you anymore.
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