ENOUGH was enough today in the courtroom of Senior Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans when it comes to illegal immigration.
In sending a number of migrants who appeared before her to prison, she quickly dismissed the idea of a fine instead.
“When we do the fine, that’s why they keep coming,” she said, “because we just keep fining them.”
She went on: “Just couple of dollars, all the time, all the time. When is it going to stop? Because everybody is going to find the couple dollars for the fine. It’s beyond that for me now. It’s not getting through... if more keep coming, the more they’ll go to jail for a longer time.”
One of the women who appeared before her had been living in The Bahamas for more than a decade without documentation, having arrived prior to 2006. She has a daughter who is almost 13 years old who was born at Princess Margaret Hospital. She was sent to jail for a year.
Other women – including a mother and a pregnant woman – were also jailed.
One thing is for certain - their sentences are certainly going to cost the public purse more than a couple of dollars. We will be the ones footing the bill for their stay in prison.
We also do not know from the information at hand where these migrants had been living – whether they were among the refugees from Hurricane Dorian, for example. Whether they have gone from fleeing the storm to inside the walls of prison.
Magistrate Vogt-Evans has followed the law with regard to how it applies to those who appear in her court, and at least those involved have indeed had their day in court to be able to argue their case.
We do wonder though, between the cost of the case and the cost of the detention, if better ways really cannot be found.
Ignorance of the law is of course no defence – despite one migrant saying he did not know our laws to the court. But for some migrants or their descendants, the paperwork and red tape that confronts them makes trying to secure the right documentation a years-long hurdle.
Imagine trying to live under the radar in this country for more than a decade. No driving licence, no NIB payments, a fear of dealing with authorities – including when needing medical treatment. It’s a life in the shadows, always hoping you won’t get caught. It’s no way to live - and looking at the chaos in Haiti at the moment, that’s the chaos that drives so many people to find their way here, to earn some money to send back to families. And yet, despite it being a life on the edge of the underworld and crime, it’s a life that’s better than the alternative for many.
We often neglect to look at the conditions that people are escaping from when we talk about the story of migrants, and conditions in Haiti are currently getting worse, not better. There will be more fleeing to our shores, hoping to find a better life.
In the case of the woman who has lived here for more than a decade without troubling authorities, it’s sad that it has come to the point where she has been jailed. Would deportation be any better for someone who hasn’t been back to Haiti in at least 12 years? There are no easy solutions in this.
We do however still wonder if a pathway might be made available - as suggested in this column and echoed by politicians elsewhere - to offer a temporary permit in the wake of Hurricane Dorian. It would offer a moment of stability for those trying to rebuild their lives and perhaps give them a chance to come out of the shadows for the help they need. At the same time, if it only applies to those here and now after Dorian, it will not be available to some of those seeking to flee the current chaos in Haiti.
We exist in a moment where international organisations are watching closely after the storm. We can hardly reach out for aid with one hand while pushing away those who need it with the other.
The problems of migrants without documentation in our society is not a new one. Nor is it one that is going away. It is, however, one for which we must find a better solution.
Comments
pileit 4 years, 6 months ago
I find it interesting that you view the circumstances of the illegal immigrant's existence here, compare it to what awaits them in Haiti, basically state "well isn't it slightly preferable here?", as if once the rationale of their migration is established, we have no choice but to accommodate them. When you awake to a noise at 3am, see the wild-eyed miscreant rifling through your possessions and contemplating your exposed flesh, do you consider the extenuating circumstances that led him to this sorry state? Do you invite him to take of your plenty? The problem I see with this holier than thou talk from the local stable of intellectuals is this situation lacks immediacy & relevance for them, they do not wait behind a queue of 100 non-Bahamians for medical attention. They do not awaken to swine being chased through their back yards by a machete wielding unknown who emerges from the bushes, they sip their espressos and write bleeding heart sht until one day the blade is at their throats. Wishy washy terms like "it's sad" and "wouldn't it be better" show how distanced from reality you are. This is not a measured migration of regionals bringing their skills and names to intermingle over decades, as has happened since the 1700s, this is an overwhelming invasion of desperate, undisciplined, unrefined, uneducated people, who are not your friends. I fear you will realize that too late.
Ton_Heijnmans 4 years, 6 months ago
You make them sound like the Black.
Well_mudda_take_sic 4 years, 6 months ago
Typical Haitian reaction to invoke racism to suit their cause. That racism card has been played way too many times my friend (even by our own corrupt Bahamian policians) and we ain't falling for it anymore. And in case you haven't noticed, the vast majority of us Bahamians are black - not white, and we've had majority rule since 1967. We just don't want to end up being ruled by illegal Haitian aliens who have invaded our country in overwhelming unsustainable numbers and who fraudulently obtain official papers from our corrupt immigration officials and other government officials. And once here, the illegal Haitan alien males buy a Bahamian wife of convenience to get their papers while the illegal Haitian alien females go about propagating like there's no tomorrow. WE'VE HAD ENOUGH - THE BAHAMAS BELONGS TO US BAHAMIANS AND NOT YOU HAITIANS. AND IT WON"T DO YOU ANY GOOD TO GO CRY TO THE LIKES OF THE U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL, BAHAMAS RIGHTS, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, ETC. BECAUSE WE BAHAMIANS HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF ALL OF THOSE WORTHLESS ORGANIZATIONS THAT COULD NOT CARE ANY LESS ABOUT BAHAMIANS IF THEY TRIED. ONLY BAHAMIANS CAN BE TRUSTED TO LOOK OUT FOR THE INTERESTS OF BAHAMIANS WHEN IT COMES TO RETAINING THEIR HERITAGE, CULTURE, STANDARD OF LIVING AND OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE. END OF STORY!
My2centz 4 years, 6 months ago
These solutions proposed by the elite never consider poor Bahamians. I dont understand selective compassion; either you are or you're not. You can't be genuine, if you have a bleeding heart for Haitians but not poor Bahamians. These are the people who have to compete with them for resources and jobs.
Did the writer consider How temporary permits to non Bahamians lower the high unemployment rate? How will it improve the inefficencies at public hospitals and schools where overcrowding is a base of the problem? Of course not, these issues don't affect him/her.
Ton_Heijnmans 4 years, 6 months ago
.... what a robot?
It's your code civil? Right?
Yes, you are all British subjects. Loyal to your white-skinned, Germanic, Saxon von Cøburg monarch... ?
But. You make the laws, or not? Yes, or nó? Which is it?
Are you expecting a British Warship to turn up on your south-eastern reaches, to defend you from ze invader Frønchman? Like they turned-up out of the blue to rescue you on D-Day?
WHICH IS IT???
DOES YOUR DUMB STUPID WIGGY WOGGY BIG JJ-HEAD REALISE HOW MUCH IT COSTS THE TAXPAYER TO JAIL FOREIGNERS.
DOES IT HAVE ANY IDEA OF THE TENSION CREATED IN SUCH OVERFLOWING FACILITIES.... BY HER CRAMMING AN ALREADY OVERWHELMED FACILITY.... WITH EVEN MORE USELESS, UNPRODUCTIVE MOUTHS?
ARE YE EVEN AWAKE? DO YOU KNOW THAT IN EUROPE THOSE OUTDATED INSTITUTIONS ARE TERMED "CRIMINALS' UNIVERSITY"?
HOW ABOUT...
YOU ENTER OUR BRITISH COMMONWEALTH WATERS, WITHOUT THE KORREKT PERMIT, OR WAIVER OF SAME......?
YOU DO 9 MONTHS LABOR ON ABACO. SLEEPING IN TENTS, STAPLE DIET, SIX DAYS LABOR PER WERK, DECENT FOOD SUPPLY, 3 MEALS A DAY: HERE'S YOUR BIG BOWL OF RICE, HERE'S YOUR BANANA, HERE'S YOU CHA.... NOW BACK TO WORK FRANSOUISIS!
NO PAY FOR YOUS.... WHY? BECAUSE YOU'S A CONVICT BRO....!
LET ALL YOUR ETs PHONE HOME AND TELL THEIR OTHER SIBLINGS THAT.... SEE WHERE IT GETS YE?
♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧
My2centz 4 years, 6 months ago
Can you wait until whatever it is you're on wears off so you can make a coherent comment?
Ton_Heijnmans 4 years, 6 months ago
... always the Silverback PTSD syndrome, scratched-record, useless-braindead zombie, koko meister, big bleck longlong stale *is, uncircumcised dominant thuggery zombie, McZulu O 'Congo, 《yous a`Near》 dikhead reax.... utter Phallocentric "Blonde-Bitz" put-down.
In ijslân... we bitzes are like uz hoors.
... For starters, we ain't a`Dick~ted to YOUGHAL shyteholz.
Secondly? We got mountains u drownin' crazy morons......
... *If only you'd done Longlong kanpe, naűw?
Jahn~K ... Mothaãs -____
Well_mudda_take_sic 4 years, 6 months ago
Typical Haitian rant designed to inject racism to suit their cause. But that tired old racism card has been played way too many times (even by our own corrupt Bahamian policians) and we ain't falling for it anymore. And in case most illegal Haitain aliens haven't noticed, the vast majority of us Bahamians are black - not white, and we've had majority rule since 1967. We just don't want to end up being ruled by illegal Haitian aliens who have invaded our country in overwhelming unsustainable numbers and who fraudulently obtain official papers from our corrupt immigration officials and other government officials. And once here, the illegal Haitan alien males buy a Bahamian wife of convenience to get their papers while the illegal Haitian alien females go about propagating like there's no tomorrow. WE'VE HAD ENOUGH - THE BAHAMAS BELONGS TO US BAHAMIANS AND NOT YOU HAITIANS. AND IT WON"T DO YOU ANY GOOD TO GO CRY TO THE LIKES OF THE U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL, BAHAMAS RIGHTS, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, ETC. BECAUSE WE BAHAMIANS HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF ALL OF THOSE WORTHLESS ORGANIZATIONS THAT COULD NOT CARE ANY LESS ABOUT BAHAMIANS IF THEY TRIED. ONLY BAHAMIANS CAN BE TRUSTED TO LOOK OUT FOR THE INTERESTS OF BAHAMIANS WHEN IT COMES TO RETAINING THEIR HERITAGE, CULTURE, STANDARD OF LIVING AND OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE. END OF STORY!
sheeprunner12 4 years, 6 months ago
Where are the 4,000 residents of the Abaco shanty towns???? ............ Any suggestions????
birdiestrachan 4 years, 6 months ago
The problem with so many poor illegal people coming to the Bahamas it becomes a competition for health care, beds in the hospital. Places in schools for children A problem for so many poor black people fighting for the same crumbs.
As for exploiting Haitian labor The people of Bains town. Cambridge Alley and Hays Street are not the guilty ones.
The Bahamas does not have full employment. Poor people do not make a Country rich. As for Bahamians not wanting the jobs Haitians do. they are not afforded the opportunity
No breaks in GB I am told. The police are checking for car license and insurance .I am told. those lives who have been harmed by Dorian need a break.??
Ton_Heijnmans 4 years, 6 months ago
International Organisations are the ønly ones providing ze kompleet gamut of Key Healthcare Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Care on ze Ba Ham i-F*ing AM!!!! islet outreach post .... worded as ze I-Let von Aboco.
...
Nothing on that island is presently provided exclusively by the State Fortress von der Mouldy Tree Court House of HRM von Saxo-Cøburg, tot aan der HAŰS VIN HERR BATTEYBOI'BERG VIN INJA....
... and ps.
We doubt any yous a`Nears even understand what country you're truly from, who your raèl gHate Shyte* monarchy ruler and doninator is.... let alone the intent of these here engrish-langue shaded-shapes, on the Great White broadsheet....
... so we don't.
... so? .... why bother?
It's all predetermined... 4 u.
Well_mudda_take_sic 4 years, 6 months ago
Typical Haitian rant designed to inject racism to suit their cause. But that tired old racism card has been played way too many times (even by our own corrupt Bahamian policians) and we ain't falling for it anymore. And in case most illegal Haitain aliens haven't noticed, the vast majority of us Bahamians are black - not white, and we've had majority rule since 1967. We just don't want to end up being ruled by illegal Haitian aliens who have invaded our country in overwhelming unsustainable numbers and who fraudulently obtain official papers from our corrupt immigration officials and other government officials. And once here, the illegal Haitan alien males buy a Bahamian wife of convenience to get their papers while the illegal Haitian alien females go about propagating like there's no tomorrow. WE'VE HAD ENOUGH - THE BAHAMAS BELONGS TO US BAHAMIANS AND NOT YOU HAITIANS. AND IT WON"T DO YOU ANY GOOD TO GO CRY TO THE LIKES OF THE U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL, BAHAMAS RIGHTS, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, ETC. BECAUSE WE BAHAMIANS HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF ALL OF THOSE WORTHLESS ORGANIZATIONS THAT COULD NOT CARE ANY LESS ABOUT BAHAMIANS IF THEY TRIED. ONLY BAHAMIANS CAN BE TRUSTED TO LOOK OUT FOR THE INTERESTS OF BAHAMIANS WHEN IT COMES TO RETAINING THEIR HERITAGE, CULTURE, STANDARD OF LIVING AND OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE. END OF STORY!
birdiestrachan 4 years, 6 months ago
It is to bad that the Editorial page of the Tribune never speaks up for poor black young men from over the hill who are put in jail for minor incidents,
When Alfred Gray stood up for the young man in the family Island and prevent him from going to jail he was dragged through mud. but he did what was right
Well_mudda_take_sic 4 years, 6 months ago
And past PLP and FNM governments alike bear responsibility for turning a blind eye to the invasion of the Bahamas over the past five decades by overwhelming numbers of illegal Haitain aliens.
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