The issue of Haitians in The Bahamas

The Rise of the Haitian Population in The Bahamas - The Haitian Community in The Bahamian Nation Continues to Expand

The rise of the Haitian population

By Juan McCartney
Guardian Broadcast Editor
juan@nasguard.com

Community expands since independence

The issue of Haitians in The Bahamas has long been a contentious one. On one side of the divide are those who believe The Bahamas should be welcoming toward Haitians. The other side is filled with those who believe our national identity is being threatened and normally blame Haitians for a host of social ills.

It wasn’t always this way.

While there were many years in the middle of the 20th Century when Haitians trickled in for menial labor jobs and were usually just as quick to leave, the 1980s saw a boom in Haitian migration as that nation’s economy and political situation collapsed.

Now, as The Bahamas celebrates its 40th anniversary as an independent nation, many are reflecting on how much has changed with regard to the Haitian population since the birth of the nation.

According to census data, since independence, the population of the entire Bahamas has more than doubled; however, the Haitian population has grown to more than six times what it was in 1970.

The data, compiled by the Department of Statistics, shows that Haitians represented 3.6 percent (6,151) of the population in 1970. By 2000, that figure nearly doubled to 7.1 percent (21,426). According to the census conducted in 2010, Haitians represented 11.5 percent (39,144) of the population.

Put another way: At least one out of every 10 people who reside in The Bahamas is now Haitian.

And the growth is projected to continue. Data collected by the Department of Statistics in 2010 on births in The Bahamas over the previous 40 years shows that women, domestic and foreign-born, are having fewer children. Except Haitian women, that is.

While the overall birth rate in 2010 was about 50 percent of what it was in 1970, the birth rate among Haitian women in The Bahamas has nearly doubled in the past 40 years.

This, even as births by foreign women have dropped in the past four decades, from about 30 percent in 1970 to about 18 percent in 2010.

“The number of births (to Haitian women) grew from 7.2 percent in 1970, to an average of 13.7 percent by 2010,” the report noted. “In contrast, births to women of Jamaican ethnicity declined by some 50 percent. For females from countries outside the Caribbean, the numbers of births plunged, especially since 2008 to (nearly zero) from 12.1 in 1970.”

Though Haitians now make up 11 percent of the population, that number is basically focused in a handful of islands, often making the Haitian presence seem much greater.

According to data compiled by W.J. Fielding, et al., published in The Stigma of Being “Haitian” in The Bahamas in The College of The Bahamas Research Journal, 2008, shows that Haitian communities are mainly present on Abaco, New Providence, Grand Bahama and Eleuthera.

“This has resulted in a perception that Haitians are taking over,” noted Fielding, et al.

“It would seem that economic opportunities are the driving force which causes the Haitian community to become concentrated, which would be expected given that Haitians migrate to The Bahamas to find work.

“The disproportionate increase in size of the Haitian community can expect to make nationals feel threatened, and lead to xenophobia and, in the case of the Dominican Republic, attacks on Haitian migrants.”

And the fact that Haitians are having more children seems to have further concentrated their presence in schools on the four islands they predominantly reside on.

Fielding showed that on Abaco, in 2005, Haitians represented 16.9 percent of the population. However, Haitian children accounted for 31.3 percent of those enrolled in school.

On New Providence, where Haitians accounted for 7.2 percent of the population, Haitian children accounted for 12.5 percent of those enrolled in school.

Things were on a more even keel in Grand Bahama, where Haitians represented 5.4 percent of the population and 5.8 percent of students.

On Eleuthera, Haitians represented 9.5 percent of the population and 10 percent of students.

Fielding submitted that being Haitian in The Bahamas leads to stigmatization and isolation.

One of the very real situations that leads to further discrimination and stigmatization of Haitians are shantytowns.

According to a report completed earlier this year by researchers in the Department of Environmental Health, there has been ‘a marked increase’ in the number of

shantytowns on New

Providence over the last two years and the populations have grown “exponentially”.

According to the report titled ‘Haitian shanty village locations in New Providence’, there are at least 15 of these illegal communities on the island.

Researchers found that there is a “marked indifference to the extremely unhealthy conditions by those that occupy the shanties”.

The researchers also found that there is an abundant use of Bahamian pine trees for the purpose of producing coal for commercial purposes.

They said commerce is alive and well in many of the areas surveyed, and also warned of a serious and growing threat to public health.

Researchers said “the presence of discarded human usage, waste, combined with the presence of domestic livestock is evident”.

It said the teams of researchers observed, in almost every shantytown, the presence of human and animal waste.

The report said the Haitian migration, and subsequent squatting, are focused primarily in New Providence and the Family Islands with larger population concentrations like Abaco and Andros.

Researchers said an increasing trend is the increase in the number of Bahamians (people who claim to be Bahamian citizens based on one parent being of Haitian progeny) while others claim outright Bahamian ancestry.

Discussing shantytowns in their research, Fielding et al., noted that the cycle of Haitians occupying such villages is likely to continue.

“It is clear that the Haitian community lives in poorer circumstances than other residents in the country,” they noted. “Almost certainly, this is due to lower incomes, which in turn is a result of poor education and (presumably) language barriers, which prevent Haitian nationals from getting better employment.”

Minister of Environment and Housing Kenred Dorsett last week promised a crackdown on shantytowns, claiming that the process of clearing them up has just started.

However, there is one glaring mystery left in the wake of Dorsett’s proclamation: What is to become of the predominantly Haitian residents of the shantytowns?

The Christie administration has so far not presented a solution to the problem of illegal Haitian migration – long or short term.

There has been a commitment to beef up the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, but that will take years and the focus of that plant upgrade is still unclear.

Forty years after independence, the problem of Haitian migration in The Bahamas persists without a viable plan to stop it or to naturalize and integrate them into our culture.

“Rather than being considered a threat, as migrants can be,” said Fielding, “These people should be seen as a legitimate part of a multicultural society who enrich the lives of all residents.”

June 17, 2013

The Nassau Guardian

Haitian President, Joseph Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly woke up some of the worst nationalistic passions in The Bahamas on his recent visit... ...We as people from various backgrounds must work to ensure that passions cool... ...When countries divide along ethnic lines fueled by hatred and rivalry, peace and prosperity become illusive

The Haitian president’s divisive remarks

Tensions rise as Haitians told to form voting bloc

By Brent Dean
Guardian Associate Editor
brentldean@nasguard.com

Nassau, The Bahamas

The presence of tens of thousands of Haitians in The Bahamas has for a long time been a point of frustration to the ‘new natives’ who call this chain of islands home.  There was no policy announced, or agreed to, stating that our gates would be opened to all the poor and frustrated of Haiti.  Yet many have come, and many continue to come, to these shores from the poorest country in the hemisphere.

The ‘accepted’ flow of people from Haiti to The Bahamas since the republic emerged in 1804 began to become more of a problem to Bahamians in the latter part of the 20th century, coinciding with increased instability in Haiti and larger migrant flows.

Successive administrations have maintained the policy of repatriation.  Yet the shantytowns remain.

The Haitian presence goes beyond shantytowns, however.  Haitians have increasingly migrated to established communities in New Providence such as Fox Hill and Bain Town.  And in doing so the Haitian who decades ago was a ‘just’ a yardman, or ‘just’ a housekeeper, or ‘just’ a farm laborer in the minds of Bahamians has become a more prominent part of The Bahamas.

Young Haitians proudly celebrate Haitian Flag Day; Haitian ads in Creole play over the airwaves; Haitian business people have establishments in ‘Bahamian’ cultural areas such as Arawak Cay.  Haitian pride in being Haitian in The Bahamas is rising.

Many Bahamians have watched the expansion of the Haitian presence these last few decades and are concerned about being displaced.  Haiti has a population of nearly 10 million and The Bahamas has only 350,000.  This fear of displacement is married to an anger.  Many ask, “Who invited all these people here?”

The uneasiness many Bahamians feel towards growing Haitian influence in their country is at the heart of the controversy surrounding the comments of Haitian President Michel Martelly last week.  Many feel they did not consent to these new neighbors ‘moving in’ and fear their involvement in the political process.

What the leader said to his people

There is an unwritten rule in diplomacy: When you go to a foreign country, stay out of its politics.

Martelly, an entertainer known as “Sweet Micky”, broke that rule during his short visit to The Bahamas.

“I told them to organize themselves and identify in the upcoming elections who is on their side.  That way they can become a force.  By being [unified] in the elections they might have people taking care of them… this is the democratic way,” Martelly told reporters Wednesday.

He was repeating statements he made in Haitian Creole as he spoke to thousands of Haitians and Haitian-Bahamians at a meeting on Tuesday night in eastern New Providence.

Martelly, inappropriately, went further.  He lamented the plight of ‘stateless’ people who have to wait until their 18th birthdays to apply for Bahamian citizenship even though they were born in this country.

“This could be considered as a crime, but that’s not the issue to talk about crime here; the issue is to stand by them and find the right solution,” said the Haitian president.  “Be responsible, be humans and see how to better assist these Haitians.”

Martelly’s business is Haiti, not The Bahamas.  Those who can vote here are Bahamians and they do not need advice from foreigners regarding how they should vote.

When foreign leaders interfere in the elections of sovereign countries, they insult the country being interfered with and its people.  They can also spread division.

The reaction of the political leaders

Bahamian politicians have been nearly united in their criticism of Martelly’s intervention in Bahamian politics.

Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Leader Branville McCartney said the president’s remarks were a “direct attack on Bahamian democracy and all Bahamians – those of foreign descent or otherwise – who uphold the ideals of the nation and their right to vote for whichever political party they see fit”.

The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) chairman was also offended.

“I thought it was an insult to the Bahamian people that a foreigner would come here and instruct Bahamian citizens to vote one way or the other,” said Bradley Roberts.

His rival in the governing party, speaking personally, said he was shocked by the political remarks.

“Non-Bahamians cannot dictate what goes on in The Bahamas, whether they visit or live here,” said Free National Movement (FNM) Chairman Carl Bethel, who also cautiously stressed that this comment did not refer to Martelly.

But, of course it did.  Bethel and all FNMs have to speak carefully on the Haitian issue because the leader of their party has taken a more moderate, discursive approach on immigration than the PLP and DNA.

Perry Christie, the PLP’s leader, criticized Martelly at his party’s candidates launch on Friday night.

“I wouldn’t go into someone else’s country and tell the people there how to vote and I don’t want anyone from any other country coming here and telling me or my people how to vote either. So let’s be clear about that,” he said.

Ingraham, however, on Saturday in Andros said Martelly was perfectly entitled to encourage his former citizens to form a voting bloc.

“So insofar as the persons who are citizens of The Bahamas who were formerly Haitian nationals, we certainly look forward to receiving the votes of the majority of the Bahamians whether they were born in The Bahamas, naturalized in The Bahamas or otherwise,” he said.

“And we certainly would enjoy receiving the majority of the votes of persons who were naturalized of Haitian parentage and/or who have been living in The Bahamas for a long time.”

Ingraham has always maintained that his governments follow the laws of The Bahamas when it comes to immigration.  However, while McCartney is almost hostile towards Haitians when he discusses immigration issues, and Christie takes a nationalistic approach in his rhetoric, the prime minister at times is empathic.

Many remember the simple but profound remark Ingraham made at a FNM rally in March 2011 at Fort Charlotte, when he sent a shout out to his “Haitian brothers and sisters”.

Ingraham does not engage in the type of demagoguery McCartney does when it comes to Haitians.  By taking a more subdued, rhetorical approach to the issue of Haitian integration in The Bahamas, Ingraham is connecting his party to a new set of voters who will play a more prominent role in our politics.

The danger of ethnic politics

There are tens of thousands of Haitians residing in The Bahamas.  Some live here illegally, some have legal status and some have become citizens.

As more and more Haitians are naturalized, their influence at elections, and their role in frontline politics, will increase.

Eventually more Bahamians with French names who are of Haitian descent such as Stephen Dillet, the first black person elected to the House of Assembly in The Bahamas, will be candidates and politicians.

If we all want to build a great nation then we as people from many different cultural communities must work together.  If we form different ethnic voting blocs based on narrow cultural or racial interests, our politics will become more divisive and confrontational – possibly even violent.

This was the greatest tragedy of Martelly’s remarks.  Rather than speaking to unity, those few words on voting and politics spoke to division.

Martelly woke up some of the worst nationalistic passions in The Bahamas.  We as people from various backgrounds must work to ensure that passions cool.  When countries divide along ethnic lines fueled by hatred and rivalry, peace and prosperity become illusive

Feb 13, 2012

thenassauguardian