Caribbean responses to Haitian migration
As Haiti’s security crisis deepens and political crisis flounders, internal displacement has grown 22% since June to reach over 700,000, per IOM. Haitians have also fled abroad, but with varied responses in the Caribbean region. UNHCR has called for “increased and urgent attention, support, and solutions for Haitians affected by violence and insecurity, including those who have been forcibly displaced.”
Last week, the Dominican Republic announced a large-scale deportation campaign to expel 10,000 Haitians per week, a significant intensification of previous deportation efforts. In the first four days, 7,217 Haitians were returned to Haiti. During one of the operations, Dominican officials were reportedly seen “detaining people solely for their skin color, asking them for documentation and, if they did not have it or it had expired, they were searched and placed in (zipties) and put on a van or motorcycle that took them to the mobile prison.” Haiti has called on the Dominican Republic to respect the rights of Haitian migrants and has created an inter-ministerial committee to respond to the deportations. The OAS has also called for the respect of Haitian migrants’ rights, and denounced mistreatment of migrants by Dominican officials at a hearing on Tuesday. In response, Dominican officials reportedly denied the allegations but said that they would be investigated. The Director General of Migration has met with numerous UN agencies in an attempt to quell international concerns. (AP, Haiti Libre, El Nacional, CDN, Dominican Today, Acento, Diario Libre, Americas Migration Brief)
In Jamaica, a group of 20 Haitian migrants that arrived by boat last weekend was the latest in a string of maritime arrivals over the last couple of years. The group was deported, reports The Gleaner, highlighting calls from human rights groups Stand Up for Jamaica and Jamaicans for Justice to investigate the treatment of Haitian migrants and asylum seekers. Human rights lawyer and founder of Freedom Imaginaries, Malene Alleyne, had written to the Jamaican government, “requesting that the Haitians who arrived in Jamaica on Saturday be granted access to determine whether they can receive refugee status or asylum,” reports Observer, adding that “based on Freedom Imaginaries count, over 130 Haitians were expelled from Jamaica without due process since July 2023.”
Turks and Caicos, meanwhile, intercepted a boat of 32 suspected Haitian nationals before it landed to shore, according to Magnetic Media. Even for those that might have arrived by land, a controversial new asylum bill “prohibits any person who entered the Turks and Caicos Islands illegally from being considered for asylum within these shores,” reports The Sun.
Bertin M. Louis, Jr. writes at NACLA that anti-Haitianism is prevalent across the Caribbean and results in stigmatization, discrimination, and deportation in the context of multiple countries. “Anti-Haitianism operates as an ideology rooted in anti-Blackness, nationalism, political domination, and marginalization. We can also see anti-Haitianism expressed as a set of practices. But what is the relationship between antihaitianismo in the Dominican Republic and anti-Haitianism in the Bahamas? As in the United States, political elites in both nations use anti-Haitianism as a strategy,” Louis Jr. writes, noting the political manipulation of the anti-Haitian and anti-immigrant attitudes.
More Migration
IOM maps available data related to immigration, particularly of vulnerable populations in need of protection, in the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean.
“An op-ed by Jarrel De Matas at Sunday Express calls for Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Education to develop a migrant child education plan and to establish “guidelines for the teaching of pragmatic language skills (PLS) for migrant children” with the aim of furthering their integration in the long term.” (via Americas Migration Brief)
“Venezuelan refugees in Aruba are the victims of a lack of specific asylum legislation on the island. The post-electoral crisis in Venezuela shows the urgency and need for asylum laws that both protect Venezuelans fleeing the human rights crisis in their country and facilitate and ensure their human rights on Aruba upon arrival,” says an Amnesty International commentary for a new report on access to protection for the estimated 17,000 Venezuelans in Aruba. Concerns also include conditions in immigration detention for irregular migrants and questions surrounding due process because of language barriers, per Crónicas del Caribe.” (via Americas Migration Brief)
Climate Justice
“Barbados on Wednesday released the third draft of its ambitious multilateral overhaul that would free up more money at lower borrowing costs for developing countries in climate crises,” known as The Bridgetown Initiative. The initiative “estimates that every dollar invested in climate adaptation saves between $4 and $7 later,” reports Axios, noting that “climate finance is atop the agenda for November's COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.”
Caricom has set key agenda items for negotiation at COP 29: promoting a just transition, finance and the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), global stocktake, markets, adaptation, and loss and damage. Working to take a unified regional approach, “The Community is expected to have a strong presence at COP 29, including Heads of Government, Ministers, negotiators, youth delegates, and experts from the CARICOM Secretariat and other regional institutions,” per a press release.
“Among the Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Haiti stands out as the only nation to include a detailed costing of activities related to loss and damage from climate change,” according to Climate Analytics Caribbean.
The IMF estimates that Hurricane Beryl caused loss and damage in St. Vincent and the Grenadines of 20-25% of GDP. “Regarding Grenada, the IMF official said that while the full estimate of the damages and losses is yet to be completed, the initial estimates suggest that physical damages alone exceed 16 per cent of GDP,” reports iWitnessNews.
Petchary’s Blog critiques that Jamaica “remains a sponsoring country for deep-sea mining, which threatens the ocean’s biodiversity, including many as yet unexplored areas and organisms… Jamaica has still not signed the Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) Protocol to the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (Cartagena Convention for short) – the only legally binding agreement for the protection of our Caribbean Sea.”
UWI’s Gabrielle Jamela Hosein critiques at Stabroek News the International Seabed Authority and the prospect of deep seabed mining: “At best, the ISA has been accused of lack of transparency, developing non-binding and non-specific mining standards behind closed doors and an indefensible rush, prompted by The Metals Company and the island of Nauru, to support mining of the seabed.”
Energy
Nigeria offers a lesson for Guyana when it comes to oil sector development, argues Dr. Isaac ‘Asume’ Osuoka at Stabroek News, warning, “who will truly benefit from this newfound oil wealth? Will it be the people of Guyana, or will the profits flow largely to foreign corporations and local elites?”
Human Rights
“The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) announces a technical cooperation and promotional visit to Barbados. The visit will take place from October 8th to 11th, 2024, to promote the Inter-American System of Human Rights, to the Commission's relations with the country with the objective of increasing collaboration in human rights and to promote technical cooperation mechanisms and capacity building. This is the Commission's first technical cooperation visit to Barbados.” (press release)
“At least 70 people including children have been killed after an armed gang attacked a small town in Haiti,” reports BBC.
“Caribbean Investigative Journalism Network reports on sexual violence in Guyana, noting, “Rape of migrant women, many of whom have fled instability in neighboring Venezuela, makes up a significant number of cases before the court.” Discrimination plays a role in migrants’ vulnerability: “C explained that it was difficult to get the police to take her report. ‘She is seen as a sex worker, you know, because she is Spanish,’ the friend said. ‘Now there is no report and nothing will ever happen.’”” (via Americas Migration Brief)
Stand Up For Jamaica applauds advances in prisoner rehabilitation and reintegration in Jamaica, but calls for greater investment by the government in the Department of Corrections to support these efforts. Key successes include “the opening of a state-of-the- art nursery for incarcerated expectant mothers at South Camp Adult Correctional facility and the refurbishing and re-opening of a half-way house for rehabilitated inmates at Tower Street in Kingston,” as well as the re-opening of the transitional home for parolees.
Red Thread in Guyana writes at Stabroek News a critique of corporal punishment, arguing, among other things, that “corporal punishment teaches a child to become violent.”
Development and Finance
“Recently, Prime Minister Andrew Holness conceded that Jamaica will not be able to achieve its Vision 2030 goals, which were intended to lead us to “Developed Nation” status. Vision 2030 was established in 2009. Indeed, the goals were extremely ambitious; but then, so are the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to which Vision 2030 is closely linked. However, one must aim high, in order to create some sense of urgency, on social, economic, and environmental goals. Neither Vision 2030 nor the SDGs are watered-down, easy targets,” explains Petchary’s Blog, calling for politicians to turn their attentions away from politicking and towards sustainable development in Jamaica.
Culture
Jamaican-American multimedia artist Ebony G. Patterson has won a MacArthur genius fellowship; her work focuses on “intricate, densely layered, and visually dazzling works that center the culture and aesthetics of postcolonial spaces… (addressing) themes of postcolonial space, visibility and invisibility, regeneration and mourning.”
The outgoing Cropper Foundation CEO Omar Mohammed writes a “love letter to civil society” and its role in society. (Newsday)
Events
IOM is hosting a youth-led series of “Conversations on Migration in the Caribbean” with a focus on the intersection of migration, justice, and climate change. The episodes are from October 7 to October 10, and include recordings. More information here.
An Island City Lab virtual event on “disaster capitalism and land grabs” will include a focus on Antigua and Barbuda, featuring members of Barbuda Land Actors, “a group working to protect the communal land tenure of the island for environmental, social and economic self-sufficiency.” The webinar will be Tuesday, October 15th at 12:00 pm. More information here.
Save the date: a virtual event coming soon by Climate Analytics, the “Caribbean Loss and Damage Dialogue.” Wednesday October 23rd 10am to 12:30pm AST with Sasha Jattansingh.
“re:arc institute’s second symposium in Colombia will move forward an ongoing inquiry into Indigenous values, practices, and belief systems that express and protect the interconnectedness of all life, which we engage through the concept of planetary well-being.” It will include the participation of Wai Wai Think tank from PR and Island City Lab (Jamaica). Oct. 31- Nov. 2. More information here.
Opportunities
The Commonwealth Foundation’s annual grant call is open; the deadline to apply is 24 October 2024 at 1pm BST. “Civil society organisations in eligible countries are invited to apply for between £15,000 to £30,000 in grant funding for up to two years.” More information here.