12652: Haitian-Bahamians Against Racism (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Daniel Schweissing <dan_schweissing@hotmail.com>

Hi-Bar

Released Monday, July 22, 2002 at 02:18 am EST by Vanessa Rolle

End discrimination

BY VANESSA C ROLLE

GUARDIAN STAFF REPORTER

Motivated by an impassioned ambition to see the Haitian-Bahamian community
standing on equal ground, Michael Pierre, CEO of Haitian-Bahamians Against
Racism (Hi-BAR), is launching an appeal to end discrimination against this
sect.

The deportation of his brother Wesley Beauchamp on Tuesday was the last
straw for Mr. Pierre, who founded HI-BAR one year ago.

He was among the visitors who were denied access to the Carmichael Road
Detention Centre on Sunday while trying to see his brother as the Guardian
first reported.

He said that the gates were also not opened on Monday, and when he was
allowed in to see him Tuesday, his brother had already been deported.

He explained that although his brother was born in The Bahamas some 36 years
ago, since that time, he has been in transit from Haiti to the United
States.

" The Bahamian-Haitians have to sneak back here when they come from Haiti
because of the way The Bahamas handles them. We don't have any other way to
come in and claim their birthright. But some of them when they get here,
their birthright is already stolen by another Haitian member. That's what
happened to him," he said.

He said that his brother was not given ample time or opportunity to arrange
for his documents to be processed to prove his citizenship.

"All this nonsense is going to bring us to a very awkward situation. First
of all, the Bahamian public is expecting the Bahamian Government to do one
thing and they are trying to portray that they are doing what they are
doing. But that isn't true and then they want to blame it on all the
Haitians coming in every single day. But how did they get here," said Mr.
Pierre.

"Why do the Haitian-Bahamians have to be held hostage for the Haitian
people's problems. We were born here. We can't get any type of rights
because we were born of Haitian parents. They telling us, we're not Bahamian
citizens; we're not Haitian citizens; we're not American citizens. Then who
in the world are we," he asked rhetorically.

"We know we were born here. No matter what the system says. We are Bahamian.
So God says. If we were born somewhere in the middle of the ocean, we
couldn't say what nationality we were. But since we were born in this land,
this is where we are from," he said.

He said that HI-BAR is not a membership club but they want to be known " as
part of a people who are making changes in the community. If they call
themselves members, then they will see themselves as part of a cult. We all
have a common cause to rebuild this community."

The slogan of HI-BAR is "We Deserve Equality."

Mr. Pierre said that he was tired of Haitian-Bahamians being victimized and
discriminated against because of the nationality of their parents.

"What I am doing here, I would want somebody to stand up and do the same for
me - in every way possible," he said.


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