Wow, your back, thought you relinquished your citizenship. Anyway, I dont think anyone is intending to be insensitive to the plight of the Haitian people. In fact I for one would love to see stability and economic life in Haiti, and that is key to aleving their plight. The Bahamas is a small country that simply cannot absorb the thousands of Haitians that flee their homeland every year, we simply would stagger under the weight economically and socially. Also the law must be upheld when it comes to any illegal immigrant regardless of nationality. Every country inclusive of the Bahamas has the right to protect their borders and police it. Try entering any other country illegaly and see what happens. I also believe any other country particularly in the Caribbean would deport illegal immigrants just as we do, so why are all the fingers pointed to us and us alone? The best thing the Bahamas can do is to work in alliance with other regional countries and the US, to restore democracy to Haiti, and allow them to stand on their own two feet, cause we cant continue to pick up the tab. You call it arrogance because we want to get our immigration situation under control, then I guess every country on earth is arrogant. BTW how many illegal immigrants are you willing to house, feed, and educate,oh dont forget about their kids as well?


Yo sup Teniel, how's my favourite gal..lol

C'mon do you really think the usa is gonna help us? they're one of the reasons Haiti is in the state it is in at the moment. When you say stagger under the weight economically and socially, what about the Asians and Europeans, North Americans ,Cubans who are hear ILLEGALLY. How come we people always say we can't cope when the Haitians come here but when everyone else comes we're fine? YES the Haitians do come in greater numbers but whats the difference between 400 Haitians a month and 40 Asians a month, they both are illegal but i don;t hear you CRY about those Asians Europeans etc. And i believe that the majority of those Haitian workers work harder than those other groups put together.

The finger is pointed at us because believe it or not its OUR problem the fact of the matter is that Haitians are Targeting the Bahamas as a stepping stone to the U.S. Other Caribbean countries don't have this problem.

Im willing to house, feed, cloth etc as many immigrants as i possibly can. Because i would hope they would do the same to me if i was in their desperate situation, where there's a will there's a way.

QUOTE=YorickBrown]
Yet another person who is riding the "Bahamians dont want Haitians in the country cause they hate them" bus.

i don't ride buses

It has to be drilled into the heads of persons like this that:

- The Bahamas is a nation of only 300,000 people. We are not the US or some other large nation that can afford to absorb 4000+ illegal immigrants each year.

but we can afford to absorb 4000+ legal N. Americans, Europeans, Asians a year plus 5 million tourists. But we can't provide shelter for desperate and poor Haitians who only want to work to lift them and their kin out of poverty?

- No one can reasonably deny that Haiti is in a mess. It does not, however, in any way excuse leaving Haiti to enter another country ILLEGALLY. If in some way this gives them an excuse, then why does every country have borders? Let's have free movement of people into The Bahamas and make this country a "second Haiti", shall we?

so are you in favour of legal immigration from Haiti?

- The Bahamas is struggling to manage its own population. We have over the years managed to maintain our delicate, yet stable economy, but now we have come to the realization that the free services that illegal immigrants take advantage of are slowly adding to expenses we cannot afford.

they only take advantage when we let them take advantage

- Right now many Bahamians do not educate themselves on their own Bahamian history, so if this immgiration trend continues we will eventually have a persons who will be birthright citizens of this nation, but with loyalty to a foreign flag and a foreign tongue. Learning about the history of another nation is good, but at the expense of drowning your own, I would think not.

Bahamians are more concerned with the American and Jamaican culture rather than their own, please don't blame the Haitians for wanting to keep their rich history

- One thing that I admire is how the immigrant population sticks together when they arrive here in The Bahamas. It concerns me though, for these are the type of persons who need to be in Haiti to help rebuild that nation. If all of the "industrious" people leave a country, who will be left to lead it?

"industrious" more like desperate, how can you bulid a country when its at war?

- We have Haitian Bahamian leaders who say that they have only just begun to discourage Haitians from coming to The Bahamas, not because of the damage that is being done to the country, but because Bahamians have finally figured out what exactly was going on in terms of the illegal immigrant situation and are starting to get tired of their country being exploited. Where does these Haitian Bahamian leaders' loyalty lie?

what you trying to say?

This is a delicate situation that involves EVERY entity in this country, foreign or domestic. Bahamians are willing to help our Haitian brothers and sisters, but not to our own detriment. The same way that many of you wouldn't give money to someone who seems perfectly capable to help themselves out of a difficult situation is the same way we need to put our foot down at giving away our country to persons who are abandoning theirs.

i don't think that many Haitians are perfectly capable of helping themselves or they wouldn't be hear in the first place. Immigrants leave their home in search of opportunity because there is none back home. Like when Bahamians used to and still do immigrate to the USA. should the US put her foot down?. Because according to you they are capable of looking after themselves.
[/QUOTE]

Yo sup Teniel, how's my favourite gal..lol

C'mon do you really think the usa is gonna help us? they're one of the reasons Haiti is in the state it is in at the moment. When you say stagger under the weight economically and socially, what about the Asians and Europeans, North Americans ,Cubans who are hear ILLEGALLY. How come we people always say we can't cope when the Haitians come here but when everyone else comes we're fine? YES the Haitians do come in greater numbers but whats the difference between 400 Haitians a month and 40 Asians a month, they both are illegal but i don;t hear you CRY about those Asians Europeans etc. And i believe that the majority of those Haitian workers work harder than those other groups put together.

The finger is pointed at us because believe it or not its OUR problem the fact of the matter is that Haitians are Targeting the Bahamas as a stepping stone to the U.S. Other Caribbean countries don't have this problem.

Im willing to house, feed, cloth etc as many immigrants as i possibly can. Because i would hope they would do the same to me if i was in their desperate situation, where there's a will there's a way.



Let me reiterate, ANYONE who is here illegaly in this country must in accordance with Bahamian law be repatriated, whether you are an illegal Haitian, Jamaican ,Cuban, AMERICAN, CANADIAN, BRIT, Asian, French, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finn, German, Greek, Turkish, Isreali, Ghanian, Nigerian, (hey I cant cover all the nationalities, but you get my point), then they must be sent home.

but we can afford to absorb 4000+ legal N. Americans, Europeans, Asians a year plus 5 million tourists. But we can't provide shelter for desperate and poor Haitians who only want to work to lift them and their kin out of poverty?


The difference is that those N. americans, Europeans, and Asians put their kids in private schools, pay for their healthcare, do not build houses illegally on other people's land, and contribute to the overall economy by providing jobs for Bahamians in the investment companies and food stores/restaurants that they OWN. The difference is CLEAR: one group contributes greatly to the economy while the other tends to look out for their own at the expense of the citizens of this country.


so are you in favour of legal immigration from Haiti?

Of course! As long as they do things the correct way, which is limited by permit quotas to ensure balance in this society

they only take advantage when we let them take advantage

Which doesn't show a great deal of respect for the country which is allowing them to have a better life.

Bahamians are more concerned with the American and Jamaican culture rather than their own, please don't blame the Haitians for wanting to keep their rich history

No, we cannot blame them, but when the immigration situation has been exploited in such a way and in such great numbers it is imperative that the native roots of a country be given first priority over all others. If a person is coming into The Bahamas to live permanently, their ultimate loyalty should be to maintaining the balance and culture of this country, NOT to turn this country into the one they deserted.

"industrious" more like desperate, how can you bulid a country when its at war?

It is up to the Haitian people to stand up and stop that war. Simply getting up and leaving the country of your birth is not very patriotic, hence I wonder how much respect is really given to Bahamian culture and how faithful they can be to the country of MY birth.

what you trying to say?
I'm trying to say that perhaps there is more at hand here than anyone dares to admit. It has gotten to the point where Bahamians are being chastised for standing up for their own rights as a citizen of this country! Something is wrong with this picture.

Business people are keeping their mouths shut because they do not want to be mistakenly labelled as "anti-Haitian", locals are told that they can do nothing about the "illegals" next door in the bush despite reporting them to the police, politicians are labelled as racially insensitive when they speak out against an obvious trend of exploitation by ONE specific culture and overall Bahamians are closing their eyes to a situation that will come back to haunt their children and grand-children. "This land is my land" - I'd think not. They need to change that quote to "This land is my land, as well as the land of the immigrants who illegally come here, build on it and hold my country psychologically hostage."

i don't think that many Haitians are perfectly capable of helping themselves or they wouldn't be hear in the first place. Immigrants leave their home in search of opportunity because there is none back home. Like when Bahamians used to and still do immigrate to the USA. should the US put her foot down?. Because according to you they are capable of looking after themselves.
Like I said earlier, The U.S. is a country of 300,000,000 (that's 300 million) people. A few thousand Bahamians moving into that nation does not create any problems, which is why we can get US visas so easily. Bahamians are not jumping on boats to get to the US. We get on the plane to Miami and come right back home! And dont worry, the US is putting their foot down in terms of immigration. Our U.S. visa quota's within the next few years will be adjusted to accommodate the presence of a large number of persons of Haitian descent, no doubt.

What I really want to know is why Haitians cannot resolve the situation in Haiti. Don't they have intellectuals and leaders who can gather the people together and solve this problem? For all the history and culture that Haiti has, the people seem to be more than happy to leave. In the same vein of thought that Black caribbean nationals should stick together, why dont they get together and fix their country? Do you mean to tell me that they were able to chase the slave owners out of their nation, but can't get their own act together to chase the people out who are destabilizing their country?

Haiti shares Hispanola with the Dominican Republic, yet we in the Bahamas, miles and miles away are suffering the Haitian crisis. Are the people of the country next door suffering in the ways that we are? If not, what are they doing that's so different? Sure they speak Spanish, but we here speak English and yet the Haitans adapt.

What kind of policies are they or have they implemented (and other nearby countries that don't seem to have the peoblem that we're not facing), that we should be looking at?

Haiti shares Hispanola with the Dominican Republic, yet we in the Bahamas, miles and miles away are suffering the Haitian crisis. Are the people of the country next door suffering in the ways that we are? If not, what are they doing that's so different? Sure they speak Spanish, but we here speak English and yet the Haitans adapt.

What kind of policies are they or have they implemented (and other nearby countries that don't seem to have the peoblem that we're not facing), that we should be looking at?


Dominicans despise Haitians but thats a WHOLE other story, i hope to think we're different.

@ All anyway read this, its really what i'm trying to say:

http://www.thenassauguardian.com/Opinions/301651173484661.php

Very strong points, but it all leads up to one undeniable fact: The Bahamas, out of kindness, is virtually handing its birthright to the citizens of another country. Perhaps they will appreciate it better than Bahamians ever did as the lines between what is distinctly Bahamian and what is distinctly Haitian are allowed to be blurred and inevitably erased. Change is good at times, but this situation needs more than a few inspirational words to cover up the way Bahamians are “throwing out the baby with the bath water” when we throw out the glaring legal and constitutional issues of illegal immigration in favour of “lending a helping hand.” Our "hands" aren’t that big! Let us not fool ourselves that we are some kind of “saviour”.

The question that motivates my point of view in this forum is this: If Bahamian citizenship and privilege is something that can be given away freely with no recourse to those who violate and infringe upon the constitutional rights and laws of the Bahamas to get it, then why do we have national borders? Why does any country in this world have borders, for that matter? Simple fact - It is one of the pillars of governmental stability and structure throughout the ages. It is what has allowed the kingdoms of man to ensure that those who become a citizen of a nation are ultimately loyal to it. A great flaw has been found in our system of immigration, it is being exploited and it will change the face of what is “Bahamian” forever.

After the abovementioned amalgamation occurs, what steps will we take to ensure that this nation of The Bahamas does not fall prey to the tribal-like feuds currently threatening the homeland that many of them are currently leaving? Seeing that the present and past governments of this Bahamas did not (and still in many ways do not) appear to have the foresight to be able to protect the integrity of what is uniquely Bahamian, do we at least have the foresight to prevent the trouble in Haiti from spilling over into this nation?

Many Bahamians will read that news article and be set into a satisfied slumber about the issue, disregarding the numbers of babies being born by illegal Haitian immigrants and saying to themselves “Ya know, let ‘em stay man. Dey just trying to find a better life, ya see?” Yes, indeed they have, one that belongs to the citizens of The Bahamas, not the citizens of Haiti.

Yorick I could not agree with U more. :tup:

How would you feel if Bahamians were being treated like dogs in the U.S. ? You all are all such closed minded people. And very racist when it comes to my people. I remenber coming from France to visit family in the Bahamas and this Bahamian guy said to me "Oh, don't go\over there in the bushes where those dirty haitians live!" Not even knowing that I am a haitian. We work dam hard in your country. And I feel that we should be treated with respect. The majority of the people who commit crime in the Bahamas are actually Bahamians. Before you guys stand here and critize my people look at your selfish selves first. And ask yourselves "What would I do and where would I be if I were in there position?" You never know one day your country might be in that same position. And I do think that you would want your foriegn neighbors to welcome you and comfort you with open arms. Instead of critizing try to help. Treat people with respect

How would you feel if Bahamians were being treated like dogs in the U.S. ? You all are all such closed minded people. And very racist when it comes to my people. I remenber coming from France to visit family in the Bahamas and this Bahamian guy said to me "Oh, don't go\over there in the bushes where those dirty haitians live!" Not even knowing that I am a haitian. We work dam hard in your country. And I feel that we should be treated with respect. The majority of the people who commit crime in the Bahamas are actually Bahamians. Before you guys stand here and critize my people look at your selfish selves first. And ask yourselves "What would I do and where would I be if I were in there position?" You never know one day your country might be in that same position. And I do think that you would want your foriegn neighbors to welcome you and comfort you with open arms. Instead of critizing try to help. Treat people with respect


Eclipse, let's be rational here. How much do you know about the facts regarding illegal immigration by Haitians? I ask this because you obviously are not clued into the facts behind the biggest exploitation of Bahamian law in our history books.

You speak of respect. What about respecting the laws of The Bahamas? What about respecting the property rights of Bahamians? What about respecting the fact that The Bahamas is extremely limited in the amount of "free" help we can give to illegal immigrants from a much larger nation? What about respecting Bahamians by not entering their country without permission?

Most of you who falsely accuse Bahamians of being racist simply have it wrong. You expect us to toss aside the very rules and regulations that have kept The Bahamas stable, safe and economically viable. Should we actually listen to people who cannot even maintain the feasibility of their own country?

You ask, "What would you do if you were in that situation?" That logic is twisted and extremely childish. In a way it's almost as if you dare to wish that The Bahamas would get itself into problems. The citizens of the Bahamas are intent on keeping this nation as successful as possible. We have seen that there is an excessive burden being placed on our country by a certain group and, as a result, we are discussing it and doing all that we can to make sure that this country remains the best in this region!

Let me remind you that the stability and success of citizens and government of The Bahamas comes first and foremost before any other nation! Any outside influence that threatens to jeopardize that fact now or in the future needs to be curbed and/or eliminated. It is just that simple.

How would you feel if Bahamians were being treated like dogs in the U.S. ? You all are all such closed minded people. And very racist when it comes to my people. I remenber coming from France to visit family in the Bahamas and this Bahamian guy said to me "Oh, don't go\over there in the bushes where those dirty haitians live!" Not even knowing that I am a haitian. We work dam hard in your country. And I feel that we should be treated with respect. The majority of the people who commit crime in the Bahamas are actually Bahamians. Before you guys stand here and critize my people look at your selfish selves first. And ask yourselves "What would I do and where would I be if I were in there position?" You never know one day your country might be in that same position. And I do think that you would want your foriegn neighbors to welcome you and comfort you with open arms. Instead of critizing try to help. Treat people with respect
FYI: Entering someone's country illegally IS a crime.And that is a LACK of respect.

Another misinformed individual.....*looks for something else to do*

Eclipse. yorick and a few others have a point and so do u. this is just a situation that is going around in cirlcles. and a situation that all u could do is throw ur hands up in the air, this is essentially what the bahamas gov has done.

until govs (all govs) relise that these boarders we put up, only tear apart the world this situation and many others like it will not get any better and they will only get worse. the problem is the boarders cant come down and we (the world) cant live as one becuase somebody has to have an ego and everyone wants to be in control.

the only thing keeping us from good living on earth for all is ourselves.

i wish people will see the only way to make this situation go away is for things to get better in haiti,mexico,africa etc. plan and simple. the deportation model just doesnt work.

To be honest with you I am really worried about the future bahamas, this haitian situation, the children havin children situation, the increasing crime situation, the amount of folks not educating themselves situation. it is just scary and too much for such a small economy. I just wish the best for the bahamas and hope they can curb these things.

i wish people will see the only way to make this situation go away is for things to get better in haiti,mexico,africa etc. plan and simple.


African people dont migrate like that and if didnt know here is some food for thought there are resources in Africa nations that's the only reason why white people went there in the first place and why the G8 countries and these multi nat'l corps are looking into give aid to Africa. Allglobalization is about is making the rich richer and the poor less fortunate than they already are.

but i cant even trip your intentions are good, just misleading



I just wish the best for the bahamas and hope they can curb these things.


yousay it like you not apart of us :confused:

yousay it like you not apart of us :confused:


Chile, you see! In the immortal words of Marichal Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!