The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE following letter was delivered by hand to the UN delegation which visited The Bahamas over the last few days.

To: The United Nations Delegation,

We, the dislocated victims of Hurricane Dorian in Abaco, thank you very much for this visit. We are extremely glad that you are able to witness firsthand, the treatment and conditions we have suffered ever since being made homeless by the storm in September, 2019.

After losing everything, we tried to re-establish our homes and lives, many of us having lived there lawfully for decades. However, we were intentionally targeted and subjected to systematic persecution at the hands of the Bahamas authorities.

Following the storm, in February 2020 all remaining structures in our communities, including those that had been spared extensive damage, were fenced in to block access by residents, then summarily and arbitrarily demolished and the remains, including all of our personal property, were disposed of against our will. Many lost all of their savings, belongings, travel and other documents, as a result. Some have no way of proving their identity and may be rendered stateless.

Since then, a number of families have sought to rebuild. However, the new homes, the only shelter our families, our children, could hope for under the circumstances on an island with a chronic housing shortage, have again been targeted for arbitrary demolition. For example on April 22, forty-five (45) structures in our community were destroyed, rendering an unknown number of persons homeless. Then on May 15, eleven (11) more homes were destroyed, rendering some forty (40) persons homeless again including ten (10) children.

If the Government proceeds with its stated plan, up to 1,000 persons will be displaced in further demolition exercises. Among them will be hundreds of children and many with disabilities, who will suffer severely if deprived of shelter.

In these demolition exercises, we have not been afforded due process as mandated by Bahamas law. Rather, we were collectively accused of various violations of construction regulations without regard to the individual merits of each case. Furthermore, in public statements, senior officials sought to conflate the home destructions with the issue of undocumented migration, even though the vast majority of members of our communities are citizens of the Bahamas or have some form of legal status.

We believe these to have been tactics aimed at inciting and inflaming public opinion against us. We feel that we have been specifically targeted because many of the people in our communities are of Haitian ethnic background. After all, the construction violations and other breaches which the authorities have alleged (but not proven) against us, exist in abundance in ethnic Bahamian traditional communities as well; however, the latter are not targeted for demolition.

On April 12, 2021 three days before demolition exercises, the authorities raided our community with armed soldiers in combat fatigues, terrorising and striking fear into the families, the children. They proceeded to confiscate appliances and foodstuffs, leaving the families with no way to feed themselves. It was claimed that the goods were suspected of being part of an illegal enterprise, however no charges were ever brought against any individual. We believe these to have been nothing more than intimidation tactics, designed to strike fear into our communities and drive us from our homes.

Furthermore, the Government of the Bahamas has indicated its intention to continue with demolitions, not just in Abaco but also in communities of Haitian ethnic background in New Providence, where demolition notices were posted on 28 homes on May 25, 2021.

Our communities have been the target of clear-cut discrimination at the hands of the authorities, who have previewed their intention to demolish hundreds more homes, and ordered us to find alternative housing. However, our plight has been compounded by discrimination on the part of Bahamian landlords, who have refused to rent to us.

We have been targeted, stigmatized, marginalized and pushed into a corner. There is nowhere else for us to go. We live in constant fear that the authorities will return any day with their machine-guns and bulldozers and force our families into the bush.

The Government’s actions has caused an especially hard impact on the children, who were terrified by the demolitions and distraught over being without shelter. In addition, their online schooling has been interrupted by the arbitrary loss of their homes and belongings, including electronic schooling devices.

The displaced victims of Hurricane Dorian in Abaco hereby ask that your delegation do everything in its power to raise awareness of our urgent plight on the international stage. We are in desperate need of any assistance that may be available.

In particular, we ask that you intervene with the Government of The Bahamas and ask that they stop this senseless, heartless and illegal action that is being driven by xenophobia and discrimination. As you know, The Bahamas has committed to the implementation of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the cornerstone of which is “Leave no one behind”.

Kindest regards,

The displaced victims of Hurricane Dorian in Abaco

May 30, 2021