The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune

For the first time in recent memory, The Bahamas have been featured in a front-page New York Times story, published on January 30, just one day after our annual Business Outlook Conference. Written by reporter Frances Robles, who I assume was present at the Conference (although I did not meet her), the story carried a headline, read by millions of potential visitors, that shattered the friendly image of our country with the bitter message “Immigration Rules in Bahamas Sweep Up Haitians”.

Like any experienced news-hawk, Ms Robles chose the one major news break from the Conference – Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell’s announcement of tougher rules on immigration, which in the reality of Bahamian life means rounding up Haitians. With unerring eye for sharp detail, she used as her lead the experience of one Kenson Timothee, born here of illegal Haitian immigrants, now in trouble because lacking a Bahamian passport which he cannot get without producing his father’s certified birth certificate, a long lost document virtually impossible to obtain from the chaotic Haitian bureaucracy.

Result: he fears forced deportation to Haiti, a land that he has never visited, together with his five-year-old Bahamian-born son, equally stateless.

The second lead in Ms Robles’ story was the new education policy – beginning this fall every school must have on file a “permit” (costing $125) for each student, proving technical citizenship, even for one born in The Bahamas. Who can think of a better way to stifle growth in our already under-educated populace?

Prime Minister Christie was the kick-off speaker at the Conference, rambling on (as usual) at twice his allotted time, but nevertheless captivating the audience with his wisecracks, demonstrative ad-libbing and up-beat, warm-hearted optimism on the theme of “Securing The Bahamas through Planning, Partnership, and Productivity”. Listening to him was like enjoying a sunny day soaking in a warm bath of good feeling, created as only Perry can do.

Bright daylight turned into blackest night as he was followed to the podium by Fred Mitchell. With never a laugh or even a smile, Fearsome Fred spoke with all the charm and charisma of Darth Vader in a business suit, laying out accountant-style a series of measures with the sole objective of making immigration tougher and more expensive, whether for indigent Haitians, wealthy seekers of permanent residence, or skilled technicians applying for a work permit. His theme, the opposite of Perry’s, could be summarised as “Securing The Bahamas by Exclusion” - a theme of ultra-nationalism not too different from the Nazis once touting pure Aryans as the only acceptable residents of the Third Reich.

We all accept that immigration of any type needs regulation. Rules must be set and enforced impartially and consistently - a condition that is far from reality as is well known to anyone dealing with the paperwork confusion, losses and delays up on Hawkins Hill. Fearsome Fred himself admitted to “inefficiencies” but said the only solution lay in computers (at long last?) and additional staff, costing money. There was no mention of tightening work rules, or himself curtailing his international gallivanting and dirtying his hands directly in the dusty archives.

Even worse, nowhere in his announcements do we find any trace of the Christian compassion that must lubricate any immigration policy. Nowhere do we find any recognition that Haitians do not leave home as a casual adventure but only to escape brutal poverty and repression, often at great danger to themselves in ramshackle sailing craft. Nowhere do we see mention of the thousands of Haitians working, with or without documentation, to the satisfaction of Bahamian employers at jobs that our more fortunate citizens disdain to take.

A visit I took a few years ago to a church in southeast Nassau introduced me to thousands of these solid folk attending a bilingual service and describing their employment efforts; are these gatherings attended by Fred? At the other end of the scale, Fred makes no mention of the educated, responsible foreign investors and business executives who have contributed so much expertise and wealth to our country. For him, they do not exist. Assuredly, after his announcement last Thursday, they feel less comfortable in The Bahamas – and they are a class who can easily pick up their marbles to play elsewhere, to our loss.

Fred has full rights of free speech, but as a cabinet minister he seems to be using them in a perverse conflict with the policies laid down by the Prime Minister, the Minister of Tourism and any number of other senior officials trying to promote tourism and foreign investment. While careful to support long-standing and well-accepted policies encouraging local employment, these officials avoid making statements that can only antagonise the foreign world, and, indeed, a large number of Bahamians – as will certainly be the blow-back from the New York Times article.

A simple solution is at hand. Mr Christie may find it impossible to discipline Fred by telling him to shut up, but he could certainly take the classical political step of readjusting ministerial portfolios, leaving Fred with Foreign Affairs - where his legal training and undoubtedly sharp mind could be more effective on a full-time basis - and assigning Immigration to a less doctrinaire (and less ambitious) minister with greater sense of image creation.

A good choice might be Bernard Nottage, already Minister of National Security, a natural fit for Immigration. That’s the way it’s done in the US, where the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security have two entirely different functions and are headed by two separate chiefs; the same split is found in the UK government.

Mr Christie has the skill to make this change palatable to Fred, avoiding a noisy resignation, while swatting a gadfly.

RICHARD COULSON

Nassau,

February 1, 2015.