Jamaica repatriates nine Haitians

The nine Haitians who were intercepted near Hope Bay, Portland, on Monday, after fleeing their vessel shortly after landing on the beach in Long Road on Sunday night, have been repatriated.

The Haitians, five adult females and four adult males, boarded a Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) coast guard vessel shortly before 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the Boundbrook wharf in Port Antonio, after being transported from a holding area at Manchioneal in the parish by the police.

Attorney and founder of human rights group Freedom Imaginaries, Malene Alleyne, who has been complaining bitterly about the police refusing her access to speak with the Haitians, asserted that once again the Government of Jamaica has violated international law.

Earlier Alleyne had said Freedom Imaginaries requested precautionary measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. She said that the request was under study and that the Haitians should not be returned home, while the process is under way.

According to Alleyne, there could be serious implications arising from the Government's return of the Haitians to their homeland.

“I think it would mark a very serious disintegration for rule of law in Jamaica and it will have implications for all persons in Jamaica and their rights," she said.

“The Government will not allow us to speak to the Haitians. These things unfolded in a matter of hours at a location very far away. All of these factors militate against access to justice for Haitians. At no time was I granted access to speak to the Haitians. I went to the health facility in Port Antonio and I was barred from speaking to the Haitians. And it has been like this since September involving two separate groups of Haitians," she added.

On Monday, the Portland police launched a search for a group of Haitians, who abandoned their vessel after landing in the dead of night on Sunday at Long Road beach in the parish.

However, the police managed to intercept a taxi near Hope Bay, some 36 miles away from the Long Road beach, and nine Haitians, including one that was residing in St James for more than two years, was discovered aboard the vehicle.

They were taken into police custody and later screened and processed by health officials.

It is still not clear how many Haitians landed in Long Road.

The police say items of clothing belonging to adults and children were discovered in the 28-foot sailboat in which they arrived. However, when the nine Haitians were intercepted in Hope Bay, no children were found aboard the taxi.

- Gareth Davis

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