The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

THE country has an “obligation” to help those who are less fortunate, Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller said yesterday after visiting a Haitian community that was badly damaged in a fire over the weekend.

He said he is very familiar with the community, located between Sir Milo Butler Highway and Faith Avenue, and spoke of plans to rebuild the community and address various environmental concerns.

“I visit here about every two or three weeks and I come and go through the community and spend a couple hours,” Mr Miller said. “I’ve known a couple people since they were born. I’ve been here since 1987 and this village has been here for the last 30 years.”

Surveying the damage from the fire and the overall conditions of the community, the MP explained much needs to be done to improve the living conditions the residents there face.

“I think the sanitary situation here is something that needs to be addressed urgently,” Mr Miller said, referring to the lack of running water and toilets in the homes.

“I’m going to see if I can get BEC in there with some sort of plan to at least provide street-lights because it’s very, very dark at night,” he continued, noting the community also lacks electricity.

“The humanity aspect of all of us must now kick in and Bahamians must provide some assistance,” he said. “All of us collectively (must) try to uplift the lives of those who are less fortunate than we are.

“They’re really only subsisting as best as they can. But they’re among us, they’re here. I just think we need to now reach out and provide whatever assistance is necessary to at least get back to the level that they were, prior to the fire.”

Mr Miller said he is going to try to “put a team together” and help with the clean-up of charred rubble and solicit building materials to assist as much as possible.

“I realise that all of this, of course, is above and beyond the law because in some cases you may say we are aiding and abetting illegals to reside in The Bahamas, but we have an obligation to look after those among us who can’t necessarily help themselves. That’s just the way it is,” he said.

“It’s not fair... that people among us who are God’s children, just as we are, that they should live under those conditions. That’s why I say at some point in time the humanity must step forth and we must look after our brothers and sisters because whether we like it or not we are their keepers.”

The fire began after 6:30pm, reportedly after a kerosene lamp lit a nearby curtain. The fire then spread rapidly from home to home, reducing six houses to charred rubble and damaging several more nearby.

Twelve families, some 20 persons, were left homeless, but there are no reported injuries.