17140: Chamberlain: Bahamas-Amnesty Report (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By DOMINIC DUNCOMBE

   NASSAU, Bahamas, Nov 5 (AP) -- The Bahamian government is mistreating
asylum seekers from Cuba and Haiti by not giving them forms in their own
language and by detaining their children for prolonged periods without much
exercise and education, Amnesty International said Wednesday.
   Last year, only four people were granted refugee status in the Bahamas,
a nation of 700 islands off the coast of Florida, the group said.
   "One woman said she did not want to ask for asylum because of the
conditions that her child was living in," said the report by the
London-based group, which sent a research delegation to the Bahamas last
year.
   "The delegation was repeatedly told by detainees, particularly those
from Jamaica and Cuba, that their situation ... was so distressing that
they wanted to go home."
   The Bahamas is less than 60 miles away from the Florida coast, making it
a popular launching point for illegal migrants from Jamaica, Haiti and
Cuba.
   The Bahamian government responded to the Amnesty report, calling it
unbalanced and inconsiderate of the country's crumbling infrastructure.
   "The report mentions some things which are true and some things which
are not true," said Mark Wilson, permanent secretary for the National
Security Ministry. "Our overall reaction is the report lacks balance."
   The report said the island nation was negligent when interviewing
would-be asylum seekers, sometimes giving English forms to illiterate,
Creole-speaking Haitians or to Spanish-speaking Cubans.
   When dealing with Cuban migrants, Bahamian authorities sent information
about them -- including names, addresses and photos -- to the Havana
government within 72 hours of their arrival, the report said.
   "Amnesty International is concerned that if the authorities provide this
information prior to considering protection needs, they may potentially put
the detainees and the families of the detainees at risk," it said.
   Wilson said authorities are obligated to notify foreign governments if
their nationals are being deported. Unlike the United States, the Bahamas
does not offer Cubans de facto asylum.
   Like other Caribbean nations, the cash-strapped Bahamas has struggled to
make due with an antiquated detention system as illegal immigration and
low-level crime grow.
   One in every 200 Bahamians is in prison, the eighth-highest rate in the
world, Amnesty International said.
   Non-migrant children detained on minor charges such as vagrancy were put
into the former British colony's main prison with adult inmates, the report
said.
   The Bahamas is trying to alleviate overcrowding but it needs $50 million
for a new 1,000-cell maximum security prison, Wilson said.
   The report also said poor prison conditions contributed to last year's
death of Polish inmate Kazimierz Kwasiborski from an asthma attack.
   "Simple actions in the Kwasiborski's case -- provision of a medical
inhaler, earlier intervention by prison and immigration officers, prompt
access to legal advice, an interpreter and family -- may have meant the
difference between life and death," the report said.
   Wilson countered that a doctor was on call for inmates 24 hours a day.