For so long the Bahamas has been faced with this growing crises of illegal immigrants entering our country from the island of Haiti.

This trend of illegal immigrants entering our waters has increased tremendously over the past few mounts and has made itself an extreme burden on our already damaged economy due to the effects of September 11th.

Without enough manpower and equipments, our Defense Force has been faced with the tremendous task of the capturing, rescue and retrieval of these immigrants from our waters while at the same time keeping a sharp eye out for drug traffickers and illegal fisherman.

It is obvious that Bahamians need to bond together to find a solution to this ever increasing problem of illegal immigrants and soon. This problem has proven itself not to have an easy end as it has been our experience that the same immigrants who where expatriated back to Haiti just a few months earlier return again and again.

Expatriation exercises have proven not to be a very good solution as it is very costly and the same individuals return again to or waters to be sent back again. Maybe the problem has to be solved in Haiti itself? It is the root of all of this.
We all need to work together to insure that the stability of our country is kept in tact and it is the job of every Bahamian to protect our nation from economic failure and social unrest.

Let us find a solution now and vote here!

The entire Haitian Immigration problem in the Bahamas is a direct result of the unrest caused by the “Dictatorship” Government in Haiti. The only way to solve this problem for the Bahamas is to support political change in Haiti meaning getting rid or President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE.

:raw:

I agree with you entirely.

This man needs to be removed from the position that he now holds along with his cabinet. His dictatorship atitude and inability govern his people in a democratic way has caused many lives to be lost in our waters and is effecting our economy in a very negative way.

I suggest that our government (if they haven’t already) begin plans with the United States and the U.N to restore order back to Haiti and change the present government.

I have heard so many talks about Iraq and Israel but lives are being lost now in Haiti and in our waters. No, they are not Jews or Americans :usa: or Bahamians :bahamas:; they are People in distress and need our help.Their lives mean something also but it seems like no one is paying attention to this matter outside of the Bahamas.
The government of Haiti is not very hard to remove if we all bind together. We must act now before this gets more out of hand and more lives are lost.

I hope that this point gets through to allot of people.

The government of Haiti is not very hard to remove if we all bind together.

You mean U.S., UN and The Bahamas, right?

Haiti has a pretty well equipped army. They have a fleet of tanks.

BDF sent in alone would be slaughtered.

- Gavin

Sure we can’t do it alone, we do need help in solving this matter as I stated above: “I suggest that our government (if they haven’t already) begin plans with the United States and the U.N to restore order back to Haiti and change the present government”. I know that they have more than those cutlasses to fight with in Haiti. :voodoo:
I am speaking in a matter of time and the lives that can be saved if we were to act now.
The United States has Iraq on their minds at the present so I guess that military action in Haiti is not a top priority at this time.
I hope that it will be a priority soon so that some lives can be spared.

The first thing that needs to be done is to enforce our laws. All illegal immigrants should be caught and imprisoned until they can be returned to their homes.

The second thing we need to do is revise our laws. Persons born in the Bahamas to parents who are here illegally should enjoy no status in the Bahamas. They should be treated as though they were born in the counrty where their mother is a citizen.

The third thing is Bahamians who facilitate illegal immigrants should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Illegal immigrants should work to pay for the costs associated with their internment and repatriation. There should be an escalating system of punishment for illegal immigrants caught in the Bahamas.

We must be very careful how we preach war. Wars are easy to start and hard to end. Wars cost money and lives. Wars bring nothng but destruction and suffering. War should be the last option.

One of the most difficult things in the Bahamas is to enforce laws. We are not law-enforcing people.

Yes we are all originally from somewhere else. Time has legitimized our existence here. Time will also legitimize all other immigrants to the Bahamas. If the country is being over-run by illegal immigrants who have a higher birth rate than the citizenry, then common sense tells you it is only a matter of time before the illegal immigrants will control the country. We have choices - control the situation or become minority stakeholders. I choose not to lose.

The laws must be clear. The laws must be enforced!

Rory, I think the suggestion being made is that all children born in the Bahamas to parents who are here ILLEGALLY should enjoy no status in the Bahamas.

Imagine someone breaking into your house (just like the illegal immigrants break into our country), and giving birth to a child while in your house. Would you agree that the innocent child should enjoy rights in your house just like your children would?

I THINK NOT!

Rory,
We cannot compare what happens to Cubans who land in America with foreigners (be they Jamaican, Haitian, British, Cuban, Japanese or whatever) who enter the Bahamas illegally. The LAW in Florida (which happens to be the state where the majority of Cubans land) provides that once a Cuban immigrant reaches US soil, he/she is entitled to consideration for status.

Our LAW is that if you arrive here without permission you are here illegally and should be repatriated.

It's as simple as that. Either we're going to take our laws seriously and do our best to enforce them, or we're going to ignore our laws and suffer in the mayhem that will follow.

What statistics do you have to support your claim that stealing, fighting, etc. are more commonly done by Bahamians? We do ourselves (and by extension our country)a disservice when we try to trivialise these issues. The simple point is that we cannot sit back and allow our laws to go unenforced, and the truth is that everyday an illegal immigrant wakes up in this country he/she is breaking the law of our land.

It would be silly to pretend that there are no other problems in our country - yes there is the criminal element which we should also be working vigorously to uproot; and when we would have repatriated all of the illegal immigrants, we could at least be certain that they are not contributing to the criminal activity in our country! We must start somewhere..and quickly!!

America has over 300 million people. The Cubans took over Florida. This is exactly the point we are making. We do not want Cubans, Jamaicans, Haitians, Americans, Englishmen, Canadians, Russians, Chinese, Koreans, Jews, Egyptians, or Africans taking over the Bahamas. That is exactly the point.

We only have 300,000 people. The math is simple. If we do not guard our citizenship, we will be overun.

Some people may want Haitian immigration because they are a source of cheap and subservient labour. This is just another form of slavery. As a people with a poor slave history we should do nothing to promote slavery in any form.

However we can help Haiti, we should. Making Haitians into Bahamians is not the answer. The concept of creating a legal situation from an illegal one should be rejected.

Being born in the Bahamas should not make you Bahamian. If you are born in England, does that make you English?

One should inherit citizenship from one's parents or be granted citizenship through a clearly defined and regulated public process.

We should enhance our country by attracting the kind of people we want to help achieve our national strategies. An important aspect of becoming a Bahamian should be learning our culture and integrating into our society. Sub-cultures and separate societies are not to our benefit.

Our citizenship should not be for sale! Rory's comments about the banks and companies leaving is a sick little joke I am tired of hearing people play. These companies are not in the Bahamas because they like us. They are here because they see opportunities to make excellent returns on their investments. So cut the bull! Often these companies are in the Bahamas becuase they are trying to escape the regulations of the more developed nations. They want to reap benefits without paying the full price of membership. They want to be free to pollute. They want to operate without rules or with rules they make up.

Our citizenship is our prize possession. We almost lost it in the referendum. We must guard against the invaders that are trying to enslave us.

My heart goes out to any one who cannot see whats happening today.
If I am made to understand that my child can have the benifits of an american if he or she is born there then my wife will be sent to miami in her seventh month of pregnacy.

The system is being taken for a ride by the hatians, cubans, Jamaicans and
beleive it or not

So parden me if what is being said offends someone who has relatives of any of the above.

Just because we tell these people they can have this if they do that. That is exactly what the are going to do.

Originally posted by Rory
Like in the US. Cubans are/were illegal imigrants and now control the whole of Miami, same with mexicans in california. You cant do any business in Miami without dealing with a person of hispanic descent whos parents or grandparents were originally illegal. Are we going to ship them to cuba after 2 generations have been living in the US? What about the mayor of Miami, would he be sent back to Cuba? All cubans are illegal imigrants until they are given green cards or citizenship (unless they had family there, but then that family would have also beed illegal imigrants at one time).

Hmmmmm

Rory, I have been reading your comments about the Cubans that reside in the U.S. and I would like to tell you that your thoughts are misguided and incorrect. Being that I am a student in Miami I’ve done some investigation and I have concluded that your knowledge isn’t based upon facts. First of all Cubans do not share the same limitations that others face when they arrive in the U.S. If a Cuban land on American soil before any officials apprehend them, they have the rights to seek asylum. In other words, they can file for legal residency immediately. Which will eventually lead to citizenship. And guess what! They don’t have to pay for any of these papers to be processed. So contrary to your beliefs, there are no Cubans that are considered to be illegal immigrants residing in the U.S. Second of all, you also said that the Cubans now control the whole of Miami, as if you are eagerly awaiting the Haitians to control the whole of the Bahamas. I will admit that you are correct about something. You can’t do any business in Miami without dealing with a Hispanic. Do you want Bahamians to suffer the same fate? Do you want us to have to deal with a Haitian to do business? Do you want us to have to learn to speak Creole to survive in our own country? Would that please you? I bet it would. I am curious to learn why you are so sympathetic to these refugees. Lets get one thing straight here. The Bahamas is for Bahamians. And if the law decides who should be considered a citizen, lets just obey the law. The U.S. has its own laws. If they want you to be a citizen by birth, then that’s their business. Not every other country gives citizenship upon birth. Lets see you go to America saying one of their laws are dumb and has to be changed. What if we do grant legal residency to all the Haitians that are currently in the Bahamas. Would the economy be able to withstand such a massive and immediate surge in population? And would the Haitians who are there now see the need for us to prevent any other group of refugees from approaching our shores? I think not. If we legalize 300,000 Haitians, they would not see the burden they themselves have placed on society. In fact, they would only rush the immigration building trying to file for other family members they left in Haiti, to come to our shores. Now rory, are you intelligent enough to realize that the majority of these people happens to be men who left their families back in Haiti. Lets just say 1 wife and 2 children to every man. And lets just say out of 300,000 Haitians, 250,000 are men. Now do the math. 1 man = 4 people, ( 1 man + 1 wife + 2 children). Multiplied by 250,000 = 1,000,000. Yes, that’s 1 million Haitians, not including the other potential 50,000 women we didn’t add to this equation. Then Let’s add the number of Jamaicans and Cubans and let us not forget those from Trinidad and Tobago. Oh, I almost forgot about all the other Caribbean Nations. Then the Asians and Indians and Australians and Canadians and Americans and Europeans who already resides there. Then lets just call ourselves, the Bahamians, the minorities. Have you thought about that? You’re probably not really a Bahamian anyway.:hot: :hot:

Rory, it is wise of you not to correspond to anymore of my replies because my facts would only embarrass your knowledge. Weather you like it or not these Haitians and Jamaicans along with whoever, will be deported. Stop feeling sorry for these folks. You can’t do anything to stop it. It has to be done and so it shall be. Don’t get beside yourself. Stay focused on the main goal. That is keeping the Bahamas Bahamian. I don’t know about you but when I return home with my Computer Science Bachelor Degree I don’t want to feel like I’m in Haiti or Jamaica. I believe in returning home with my knowledge to help strengthen my country with whatever I can provide. Which will be my education. See Rory, unlike those foreigners your used to back home over there, I believe in making life better for myself back home in my native country.

Look, I’ve got some studying to do. I’ll chat with you tomorrow if you have the guts to reply! Ha, ha, ha…..


:hot: :hot: :hot: Ha, ha, ha…..

I definitely will take a look at this site. It seems like something I will enjoy. After all, I am interested in technology. I hope to be a part of a movement that will make the Bahamas one of the most computer automated countries in the world.
Well I was just checking my email and decided to logon to this site. I have no time now but I definitely will be checking out the site. Thank you for the link Rory.
:angel: