30587: Arthur (news) Survivor of Turks & Caicos Islands boat disaster gives an eyewitness account (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: haitisupport@gn.apc.org

Haiti Support Group press release: Survivor of Turks & Caicos Islands boat
disaster gives an eyewitness account - 6 June 2007

More than 60 Haitians died as a result of "standard practice" when their boat
was intercepted by coastguards and capsized off the coast of the British
dependency, the Turks & Caicos Islands.

One month ago, in the early morning of 4 May, a sail-boat from Haiti carrying
around 200 people was intercepted by a Turks & Caicos Islands coastguard vessel
as it approached Providenciales. In disputed circumstances, the sail-boat
capsized, throwing all those on board into the sea. Sixty-two people survived.
The rest drowned or were eaten alive by sharks.

The Turks & Caicos Islands authorities have issued a series of bland statements
insisting that the boat from Haiti capsized while being towed by a coastguard
vessel "in line with standard practice", and declaring that the accident
happened because of bad weather. The British government sent a team of
investigators to the Turks & Caicos Islands, but their report is not expected
to finalised for many more weeks.

The Haitian NGO, the Groupe d'Appui aux Rapatriés et Réfugiés (GARR),
interviewed some of those Haitians who survived the tragedy. A translation of
the testimony of one them, D.J, a 21-year old, who spoke to GARR when he was
repatriated to Cap-Haitien, Haiti, on May 10, 2007, follows:

GARR: You formed part of the first group of people brought back to Haiti
following your rescue after the shipwreck of your boat near the Turks & Caicos
Islands. How many are you, men and women?

There are nine women, and a group of 30 men. The plane has gone back to the
Turks & Caicos Islands to transport another group.

GARR: In the statement made a few moments ago, you said that the Turks & Caicos
Islands authorities sank your boat. Is that correct?

Yes. It was the Turks & Caicos Islands authorities that sank the boat.

GARR: Could you explain how that happened?

I was on the prow at the front of the boat and I was able to follow everything
that occurred. It all happened as we left the channel to approach land. We
were, in fact, approximately five minutes away from Providenciales. At that
moment, a coastguard ship appeared on the left side of our boat. Then it passed
us on the right. It wanted to prevent us at all costs from reaching the shore.


GARR: Where were you at this time?

We had just about reached Provo. We would have been there in about five minutes.
Everyone was getting their belongings together, and getting ready to disembark
from the boat. When the coastguards realised that everyone was getting ready to
disembark, they rammed our boat. Twice.

There were three people on the coastguard boat. One had a handgun, another a
machete, which he used to threatened us and try and make us stop. At that
moment, they threw a line to us to attach to our boat. They ordered to us to
lower the sails, and tried to tow us out into the channel.

We thought that they were going to accompany us to the quay because usually when
they intercept you at sea,they take you through Customs, before taking you to
prison, and then deporting you back to Haiti. However, as we saw, this time
they towed us in the direction of the channel, out to open sea. It was God
Almighty who saved our lives, because just as our boat approached the Provo
quay, they were going to kill all of us, without leaving any survivor to
testify to the slaughter or inform our families about what happened.

When they started to tow our boat, it received a first jolt and surged forward.
The coastguards then gave a second jolt to the boat, and the line slackened,
and with the third jolt, the boat overturned. In spite of that, the men on
board the coastguard boat waited 10 minutes before trying to save us. They were
three of them, but only one of them made any moves to try and help us. When he
realized that so many people were drowning, he signalled to the others that we
had to be helped. Someone else then arrived with a small yacht, and they
started to fish people out the sea to place them in the yacht. Meanwhile, many
people drowned.

GARR: How many of you died?

Well, it's hard to say. There were about 200 of us and we can't know how many
died because there were those who fell in the sea near Provo and who we saw
floating in the water, but there were many more who died and we never saw
again. Afterwards the authorities showed us photographs but they were of bodies
floating in the water. There were many people who were with us on the boat and
we didn't see them among the photos they showed us.

GARR: Was that your first voyage to the Turks & Caicos Islands?

No, it was my second.

GARR: Did you also go by boat the first time?

Yes, I went by boat. The Turks & Caicos Islands authorities intercepted the boat
and the next day they sent me and the others back to Haiti. This time, though,
the Turks & Caicos Islands authorities wanted to kill us.


Groupe d'Appui aux Rapatriés et Réfugiés (GARR) - translated from French by
Charles Arthur for the Haiti Support Group


________________________________________________________________

Forwarded as a service of the Haiti Support Group - solidarity with the Haitian
people's struggle for human rights, participatory democracy and equitable
development - since 1992.

Web site: www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org




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