WESTERN BUREAU:THE 281 HAITIAN refugees in Montpelier, St. James, are overjoyed at Monday's announcement by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson that the Government has no immediate plans to send them back to their problem-plagued homeland.
"We are happy, very joyful, delighted," said Salva Pierre, in an interview with The Gleaner yesterday. "I don't want to go back to Haiti ever. It is too dangerous there."
Last Tuesday, the Haitians were informed by the Government that their request for political asylum had been denied and that they had seven days in which to file an appeal. In interviews with the news media following the announcement, the refugees lashed out at the decision, stressing that there was no future in their homeland.
DEVASTATION IN HAITI
A number of church leaders and human rights advocates also came to their defence, saying it was inhumane to send them back at this time especially with the devastation to Haiti caused by Hurricane Jeanne.
However, in an interview with journalists on Monday, Mr. Patterson said: "No matter what was the assessment as to the eligibility of these Haitians, we would defer for a while any question of repatriation."
Despite the reprieve, Mr. Pierre, who was speaking on behalf of members of the group, said they will now take the opportunity to press ahead with their bid to have the decision about their status reversed.
"We will be going ahead with the appeal," said Mr. Pierre, while lamenting that the refugees have not been getting the legal help they need. "We need help to deal with the paper work but we are not getting any."
