'Your land is ours'
Harrold Road residents told to buy or vacate property
By Mindell Small
Nassau Guardian

Residents of parts of Harrold Road, Bozine Town and Knowles Drive have been given the option to purchase their homesteads or face prosecution if they do not vacate the premises within 14 days.

The demand came in a letter from Harrold Road Land Development Company (LANDCO) that is claiming ownership of the land, located in the Blue Hills constituency represented by Trade and Industry Minister Leslie Miller.

The letter was drafted by the law firm Lockhart, Munroe and Co. and was served by an off-duty police officer, Robert Kemp, who also lives in the area, to the other residents on Saturday. The letter was dated Oct. 13, that means the residents have now only 10 days - until Oct.28 - to vacate their homes.

Certificate of title

"Let it be known that we have no intention of selling our birthright for a bowl of porridge," announced Darnell Dorsette, a journalist and law student who has been living in the area for nineteen years.

She was among about 200 visibly angry area residents who gathered in Bozine Town at Lakeview Church of God on Sunday to question Mr Miller about the situation.

Speaking on behalf of the residents, Mrs Dorsette said the letter from LANCO indicated that the Supreme Court had granted a certificate of title to the company for the various properties.

She said the letter continued that, "We are further instructed that LANDCO now extends to you the invitation to purchase the part or portion of the land that you presently occupy," and, "Should you wish to do so, please contact the chambers of Lockhart & Munroe within 14 days from the date of this letter. Should we not hear from you within that time, we shall be constrained to commence legal action against you."

'Explosive' situation

Calling on the government to intervene in the "potentially explosive" situation, Mrs Dorsette said the property in question was land that residents of Bozine Town and surrounding areas had paid for and built on, in some cases, for four generations.

"Someone is going to get killed if there is any forceful attempt to evict them (residents) off their property," she warned.

"Further, we want to dispute any perception or misconception on the part of the public about the residents of the Bozine Town community of ignorance, stupidity and dumbness, as alluded to by certain persons recently. We would like to state emphatically that this community should not be painted as one containing unstable, unproductive and maladjusted citizens," she said.

The residents are willing to take their cause to Rawson Square, the Prime Minister's Office and the Court of Appeal, because the "concept of natural justice" had not been served, as the residents of the area were not given any notice of any pending litigation, she said.

'Bogus document'

According to Mr Miller, the government was committed to resolving the land dispute. He said that he had never heard of a case where residents were being told to vacate their homes in such a manner.

"When parliament reconvenes next month, I can assure you that this is going to be dealt with," he told the landholders. "I can tell you right now, no one in Bozine Town will lose an inch of land with this bogus document."

Mr Miller said that six months ago, Earl Miller, a resident of Knowles Drive, told him that he had heard that a team of lawyers had been given title to his Knowles Drive property by the Supreme Court.

Mr Miller also revealed that several months ago after he had started a clean-up campaign in the area, he received a letter from LANDCO advising him that he was not authorised to clean up the area any longer because it was now the company's responsibility.

He asked that the residents meet with him every two weeks at the church for further updates on the matter.

A 'common threat'

Former Member of Parliament for the area, Dion Foulkes, who polled 1,569 votes to Mr Miller's 2,206 in the 2002 general election, said he fully supported the residents and the government against LANDCO's action. He said that people in the area would not take it lightly when their greatest asset, their home, was being threatened.

"... LANDCO is not coming for FNM houses. They aren't coming for PLP houses, they're coming for all the houses," Mr Foulkes said.

Can anyone explain to me how a thing like this can happen? If a person owns their land how can someone else come in and take it?

Any Lawyers or Real Estate people out there with the answer?

Question is, do they really own it? Do they have some form of ownership papers?

"""Someone is going to get killed if there is any forceful attempt to evict them (residents) off their property," she warned. ""

Sounds like a threat to kill someone also, which is against the law. If you truly own the property you still dont threaten to kill someone.

If they have forms of ownership then they have nothing to worry about.

Rory, honestly i dont think they have any papers for those properties. If you recall the only argument they have is that they have lived on the various properties for 30+ years. Isn't the whole squatters land rights similar to this?

Just recently I asked my father some questions concerning this topic...
He said that he remembers in the late 70's and early 80's some of his cousins from Cat Island inviting him to join them in "cutting" property in Bozine Town.
He inquired whether they had title for this land that they are cuttting, he was told that since they are Bahamians they have the right to any place they want.

Well, its now 30 years later, his cousins had cut out some property, and their children are now living their and in fact have claimed even more property.

Sadly this type of thing is happening all over the place. Rastas are cutting out land on Carmichael, and more and more Bahamians are doing the same. As their "crimes" are being ignored by government. Certainly if the law of the land ignore them, it must be legal to do what they are doing.

Our major problem will come from Abaco soon, with the Mud. Even though illegal immmigrants/Haitian people cannot claim Bahamian property, what about their children? What will the world say to us, when they witness the Bahamian government building temporary homes for them after fires and hurricanes on said property just to later push them out claiming they have no title for the land. the very idea of them building temporary homes for them on these plots of land gives implied concent that they may have title in the future.

The amusing thing is that this land that they are fighting over was crown land that the government sold to this business for development. Can government sell a parsel of land twice? Or did the government ignored the squatters living there and ignore their claims?

This thing sure is a mess. But then land dealings in Nassau often are. If the residents own the lands and have "papers" from who did they get those papers? Government seems to know nothing about it. If they are Squatters and have lived there over, I think it is seven years, they have right to that property.

Is there anyone here who lives on the disputed land? Perhaps they can give us their views.

This is an extremely important issue that must be cleared up. We often hear Political parties screaming about Bahamians not owning land and at they should own land and we, the party, will make that happen. But when one gets land one cannot be sure everything is "kosher!"

This thing sure is a mess. But then land dealings in Nassau often are. If the residents own the lands and have "papers" from who did they get those papers? Government seems to know nothing about it. If they are Squatters and have lived there over, I think it is seven years, they have right to that property.

Is there anyone here who lives on the disputed land? Perhaps they can give us their views.

This is an extremely important issue that must be cleared up. We often hear Political parties screaming about Bahamians not owning land and at they should own land and we, the party, will make that happen. But when one gets land one cannot be sure everything is "kosher!"



CG,
I think the government was talking about persons who actually saved, and purchased the land, not decided to just up and take it...two different kettle of fishes.

Just recently I asked my father some questions concerning this topic...
He said that he remembers in the late 70's and early 80's some of his cousins from Cat Island inviting him to join them in "cutting" property in Bozine Town.
He inquired whether they had title for this land that they are cuttting, he was told that since they are Bahamians they have the right to any place they want.

Well, its now 30 years later, his cousins had cut out some property, and their children are now living their and in fact have claimed even more property.

Sadly this type of thing is happening all over the place. Rastas are cutting out land on Carmichael, and more and more Bahamians are doing the same. As their "crimes" are being ignored by government. Certainly if the law of the land ignore them, it must be legal to do what they are doing.

Our major problem will come from Abaco soon, with the Mud. Even though illegal immmigrants/Haitian people cannot claim Bahamian property, what about their children? What will the world say to us, when they witness the Bahamian government building temporary homes for them after fires and hurricanes on said property just to later push them out claiming they have no title for the land. the very idea of them building temporary homes for them on these plots of land gives implied concent that they may have title in the future.



It would have been even worse if the gov't didnt build the temporary property, then the world would have called Bahamians inhumane. Those illegals consciously set up shop on someone else land knowing full well of the consequences, so whose fault is that? Keep implying, the sins of the parents fall on the children. With that said, the exact same thing that happened to the children of the Bahamians will happen to the children of the Haitians, move them up and out!