19093: (Hermantin)Miami-Herald-32 Haitians reach Jamaica by boat; arrivals hit 61 (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Tue, Feb. 24, 2004


EXODUS


32 Haitians reach Jamaica by boat; arrivals hit 61

BY JACQUELINE CHARLES

jcharles@herald.com


A boatload of 32 Haitians fleeing a violent rebellion in their homeland
landed in Jamaica on Monday, raising concerns among government officials
there about a possible mass exodus from Haiti.

Their arrival in Manchioneal, a fishing village on Jamaica's northeast
coast, brought to 61 the number of recent Haitian arrivals in Jamaica and
was the first significant sign that increased numbers of Haitians are taking
to boats to escape the violence.

''We are very concerned,'' said Donovan Nelson, a spokesman with Jamaica's
Ministry of National Security. ``This is evidence of the deteriorating
conditions in Haiti, and we have to brace ourselves for some more.''

Last weekend, eight policemen and two civilians from the Grande Anse area of
Haiti landed in Manchioneal. Their intention had been to reach Miami, two of
them told The Herald in an interview.

Days later, 19 more Haitians, including two pregnant women, ended up in
Jamaica as well. Donovan said none of the Haitians had yet asked for
political asylum and, with the exception of the policemen, all the migrants
said they had Jamaica as their final destination.

He did not know from at what point in Haiti the latest group -- which
included seven children -- had set off.

At a U.S. State Department briefing Monday, spokesman Richard Boucher told
reporters there were no new signs of boat-building along Haiti's coasts,
usually the first sign of a possible exodus.

The latest arrival of Haitians in Jamaica comes as the international
community attempts to break Haiti's 3-year-old political impasse between
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his opponents -- and as a band of armed
rebels presses a violent revolt that has killed more than 60 people.

Nelson said Jamaica, which lies 100 miles west of Haiti's southern coast,
can handle only about 40 more Haitian migrants before having to seek
international help.

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