12050: Bahamian Immigrants in the Bahamas (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Daniel Schweissing <dan_schweissing@hotmail.com>

Commentary
Difficult task ahead

Released Wednesday, May 15, 2002 by Llonella Gilbert

Vincent Peet as the Minister of Labour and Immigration has the
responsibility of handling some issues that are causing major concerns among
Bahamians. He has to deal with the huge number of illegal immigrants
entering the country and make sure qualified Bahamians have the first choice
for jobs, whether the company is Bahamian or foreign owned.

At a press conference on Monday Peet said that his ministry would deal with
more than just the illegal Haitians that are in the country. However, he
admitted that although the Immigration department and the Royal Bahamas
Defence Force have an excellent working relationship, the borders of The
Bahamas are large and it takes a lot of manpower and money to secure them.
Furthermore, there are so many different ports of entry in the country that
it is almost impossible to have all of them secured all at one time.

But no matter how difficult the task, the Department of Immigration must
maintain protection of The Bahamas' borders. For just yesterday, another
boatload of Haitians were apprehended bringing the count to more than 1,400
illegal immigrants, that have been taken into custody for the year according
to Defence Force officials. This means that Peet and those working in
Immigration will have their work cut out for them as more come to this
country other than Haitians, such as Nigerians, Chinese, Jamaicans, South
Americans and persons from European countries. The Department of Immigration
and the RBDF will have to continue seeking and arresting those involved in
smuggling people into the country.

However, until there are solutions to address the social problems facing
nations like Haiti, illegal immigrants will continue to flock into the
country.

Another challenge that Peet has as he leads the Ministry of Labour and
Immigration is to ensure that qualified Bahamians are not overlooked when it
comes to employment. One drive that he wants to promote is the Skills Bank
initiative, where Bahamians with special backgrounds would put their names
on a list stating their skills so that when openings occur in organisations,
the government can point out that there are Bahamians already in the country
that can perform those jobs without bringing in a foreigner.

The Bahamas needs diversity, however, it should be inconceivable that
Bahamians would lack jobs while foreigners come into the country to perform
jobs for which Bahamians are qualified. This is one of the reasons why many
students refuse to return home, believing that when they return, they will
be passed over for jobs or promotions in favour of expatriates.

Countries all over the world are protecting their borders from illegal
immigrants and from persons who are allowed into their countries to perform
duties their citizens can very well handle. The Bahamas should do the same.
For if other countries protect their borders, and The Bahamas does not, then
Bahamians will be at a loss for a good career to sustain themselves and
their families.

Copyright (c) 2001 by Nassau Guardian


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