Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis speaking in Argentina yesterday at the meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said the crisis in Haiti poses a substantial threat to The Bahamas due to an increase in irregular migration.
He told a summit in Argentina that with the support and leadership of Haiti, regional counterparts can help Haitians build a path out of the crisis.
Mr Davis made the remarks at the opening session of the heads of summit meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Bueno Aires, Argentina.
“The crisis in Haiti is getting worse,” Mr Davis said. “The tragic situation there continues to pose a substantial threat not only to Haitians, but also to The Bahamas and neighbouring countries, all of whom are experiencing a significant increase in irregular and often dangerous migration.
“With the support and leadership of Haiti, collectively, we can, through CELAC and other regional organisations, help Haitians build a path out of crisis.”
“We commend Haitian-led efforts to hold elections before the end of 2023, to arrest the threat to public security posed by violent gangs, to relieve hunger and malnutrition, and to alleviate the political crisis. Enhanced regional partnership can especially help to scale up capacity-building for the local police, and tackle trafficking, particularly in people, contraband and guns.”
At the summit, Mr Davis continued his push for developed nations to compensate smaller countries for their contribution to climate change. He said rising sea levels pose an existential threat to The Bahamas, noting the damage Hurricane Dorian brought to Grand Bahama and Abaco in 2019.
He called for action on climate change and lamented how the phenomenon has affected economies of countries like The Bahamas..
“We are not and have never been the polluters, yet we suffer from the greatest vulnerabilities caused by carbon emissions. Our debt burden remains high, in significant part due to these climate risks, including the need to regularly rebuild homes, businesses and infrastructure after devasting hurricanes,” Mr Davis said.
“Our cost of borrowing also prices in the risk of future hurricanes; we are already paying a high price for the intensifying weather patterns of tomorrow. We urgently need the developed countries to honour their commitments to compensate for the loss and damage associated with climate change. And in order to build resiliency, we urgently need finance and access to technology. Each of our countries must keep the pledges we’ve made, in this and other settings, to reduce our own emissions. We have seen glimpses of a future we cannot survive; we must change course, or perish. It is that simple.”
Mr Davis also spoke out against “the discriminatory practice of the blacklisting of countries”.
He said The Bahamas will also continue to advocate against the unfair use of GDP per capita to determine how or if developing countries, in vulnerable developing regions, qualify for reasonable concessionary financing or grants.
“The use of the multi-vulnerability index in assessing eligibility for help, rather than the blunt, outdated measurement of GDP per capita is a fairer measurement. I invite you to join us in advocating for mutual agreement of alternative eligibility criteria for international financing and overseas development assistance,” he said.
Comments
GodSpeed 1 year, 2 months ago
I don't understand why it's so difficult to prevent Haitians from illegally staying in the Bahamas. Everyone knows who they are, everyone know where they live, when you go out on the streets they're speaking in their tongue. Destroy shanty towns, deport the inhabitants, give rewards for successful tips when reporting illegals to immigration, punish severely businesses and business owners that employ illegals, charge with treason those that create fake Bahamian government documents to give to Haitians. Problem solved. If the Dominican Republic can keep them out and they live right next to them then the Bahamas can too, if the politicians were serious about it.
I'd bet many of these politicians/wealthy Bahamians benefit from cheap illegal labor. Of course they don't care what happens to this country in the future from a flood of people that can't control their breeding habits. They'll just take their money and flee after it becomes Haiti #2.
Sickened 1 year, 2 months ago
Too much money flowing up to officials. This will never end. The more illegal Haitians there are the more money the higher ups make. This isn't about how illegal immigration is destroying our country. It is about how certain people can continue to make money off of it.
LastManStanding 1 year, 2 months ago
Haiti is a failed state and needs to be placed under international government. They don't know how to function as a nation, and they are not going to figure it out anytime soon either. This is our future if we don't take our citizenship seriously.
John 1 year, 2 months ago
Stop talking out the wrong side of your body. Haiti is not a failed state. It is being manipulated by two powerful nations. Those are the culprits who need to be brought before the international courts and be heavily sanctioned and pay for the grief and hardships they continue to cause in Haiti. Don’t believe the US when they say they don’t want Haitians. They want tge crème de la crème. And Lao to continue to leave Haiti in a poor and destitute state
Flyingfish 1 year, 2 months ago
Simply put it Haiti isn't in a position to help itself without some major assistance.
avidreader 1 year, 2 months ago
A documentary I was watching yesterday claimed that the acting president of Haiti called for international assistance on October 8, 2022. This was news to me but I do recall previous international interventions in 1994 and possibly 2008. The problem of lawlessness, overpopulation and disorder goes way back. The late Fidel Castro wrote about seeing Haitians being deported from Santiago in Oriente province when he was a boy. He referred to the Law of National Labour designed to limit the number of non Cuban workers on a job site. Many people are unaware of the terrible massacres related to the "Parsley War" of the late 1930s when Rafael Trujillo was dictator of the Dominican Republic. The problem is wide and deep and requires a multi faceted approach starting with the political will to accomplish something. France should be invited to take a leading role in tackling the issues.
Bonefishpete 1 year, 2 months ago
Haiti population = 11,448,000 VS Bahamas population = 407,906 Yea I see a problem.
SP 1 year, 2 months ago
What PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis conveniently forgot to say was that the crisis in Haiti poses a substantial threat to The Bahamas due to an increase in irregular migration because successive PLP and FNM government administrations including his own encourage and are facilitators of irregular migration!
This unrealistic notion of the PLP and FNM that the Bahamas with 300,000 Bahamians can play a role of any significance in helping 11 million Haitians build a path out of their crisis is absolutely absurd, especially when we have an ongoing out-of-control freefall of unemployment-fueled crime crises of our own actually created by Haitians!
If the PLP and FNM had the least interest in ending the irregular migration and illegal migrant issues they would have simply made it illegal to hire undocumented individuals with serious enforcement of $10,000.00 fines if caught doing so and posting a $3,000.00 reward for information leading to the conviction of anyone fined for hiring illegal migrants.
No one would hire illegals for fear of being discovered and fined, and illegals would not have any incentive to come here because no one would hire them. The entire repatriation system would then also be self-funding.
Long Island is a prime example. Haitians don't go there because Long Islanders do not give them employment.
The Haitians sitting in Parliament with the PLP and FNM are responsible for the Haitian invasion.
The record is undeniably clear. Mr. Loftus Roker tried to address the problem decades ago and was stopped cold in his tracks by the Haitians sitting in Parliament. Branville McCartney also tried to address the issue and he too was stopped by the same Haitians sitting in Parliament.
The Bahamas needs to get rid of all the Haitians sitting in Parliament first if we are to enforce illegal migrant laws and put legislation in place to stop the Haitian invasion.
John 1 year, 2 months ago
How much do you think The Bahamas and other countries have spent since slavery ( yes that’s when Haitian migration began) repatriating Haitians? Billions , at least. And what if Caribbean countries can come together and form policies to fix Haiti? Which will include agreements to support the Haitian economy. Rather than spending billions to send Haitians back home, they will turn Haiti into one of the great economic powers in the Caribbean. But guess who do not want that to happen and why?
Bonefishpete 1 year, 2 months ago
What if Haiti can not be fixed and there is no solution? Somber Thought.
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