Tuesday, February 16, 2010

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A woefully bad decision T he decision by Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and the Free National Movement (FNM) government to release illegal Haitian migrants being held at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre and grant them temporary residential status was not a good decision. In fact, it was a woefully bad decision. Every Bahamian most certainly sympathizes with the Haitian people who have been the victim of the earthquake that devastated that nation last week and have been horrified by the television broadcasts showing dead bodies lying in the streets and the massive scale of the destruction wrought by that natural disaster. Every Bahamian likewise would agree that whatever could be done to help the distressed Haitian people at this time of their greatest need in the history of their country should be done. But the decision by the Ingraham government to release the detainees at the Detention Centre is the least desirable of the options that are open to The Bahamas to demonstrate the concern of the Bahamian people for their Haitian brothers and sisters. What is even more disturbing is the widespread speculation that Mr. Ingraham may have decided on this course of action to ingratiate himself and the party to the Haitian people living legally in The Bahamas for political reasons. Some political observers are giving a strong dose of credence to this likelihood because there are reportedly a sizable number of Haitian nationals living in the Elizabeth constituency, where a by-election is to be held sometime in the very near future. We certainly would hope that Mr. Ingraham is not as devious as to use the tragedy that has engulfed the Haitian people to play political games, and we indeed are prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt because it would take a very sick and demented mind to concoct such a scheme and we do not believe these characteristics are descriptive of Mr. Ingraham's mentality. Nonetheless, this speculation has gained currency because of reports that the decision to release the illegal Haitian migrants and give them temporary status was made without consultation with Minister of State for Immigration Branville McCartney, who has unquestionably been extremely effective in doing the job that was assigned to him. In fact, there is an overriding consensus that he is the best minister to be given responsibility for immigration since ministerial government came into effect in The Bahamas. What has fueled this speculation is an interview that Branville McCartney gave to Juan McCartney of The Nassau Guardian on Cable Bahamas' "News Break," during which the immigration minister looked very uncomfortable when he said the decision "came from above." In response to media questions on Saturday, Ingraham expressed surprise at what the "reaction has been by some people in The Bahamas" to his decision. He should not have been surprised. The vast majority of the Bahamian people consider this to have not been a good decision. The sensible thing for his government to have done was to wait and see how the situation in Haiti will evolve over the next several months and respond accordingly at that time when he and his government would have been in a better position to reach a decision that would have been in the best interest of the Haitian detainees and the Bahamian people. We fully agree with the suggestion made by West End and Bimini MP Obie Wilchcombe, in a story published in The Freeport News on Saturday, when he said, "It would have been easier to keep them at the Detention Centre and it might have also been cheaper and less strain on the government." Monday January 18, 2010