2 FOR 5 RENTAL & REGGIE BLIND TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING

We have been hearing of a serious upsurge in Haitian migrants arriving in Dominica and to many Dominicans this is concerning as Dominica is definitely not in a position to handle this ordeal , particularly after a major disaster. We learned from our investigation that Haitians are coming in at a rate of hundreds per day.

In as much as the Haitians are Caribbean nationals and more so, our brothers and sisters, the government needs to take control of the situation and not allow this round of Haitian refugee to fester and then die out on its own like they did in mid 2000.We have seen this episode before where the government paid a blind eye to human trafficking and Dominica ended up with a black eye but as usual the administration find somebody else to blame.

The last time we had this massive upsurge in Haitian refugee, the government and people of Dominica knew exactly what was happening as, the resulting human trafficking activities had become unabashedly popular. The Haitians were using Dominica as a transit point to get to other neighboring islands, mainly Guadeloupe. The human trafficking activities at the time brought much unwanted attention to Dominica. The French Government authorities and the Virgin Island governments were expressing concerns as a lot of the Haitian migrants coming to their shores culminated out of Dominica.

There was no shortage of scandal with the human trafficking activities in Dominica. Many Haitian brothers and sisters perished on the high seas at the hands of callous and sometimes even ruthless speed boat operators in Dominica. Many were defrauded – after having paid the speed boat operators hundreds of US dollars to take them to Guadeloupe some of these boat operators would in the depth of the night take their passengers on detours and would eventually drop them off at another location in Dominica where they would struggle to get back on their feet after loosing at times their life savings.

Haitian Migrants tapping WiFi In Picard

The government authorities were very much aware of the brutal human trafficking element in Dominica but did nothing to stop it simply because many of the speed boat operators who were making a killing out of it were and still are prophets and strong defenders of the Dominica Labor Party. In addition Ministers and other high government official were running massive scams with the US $400.00 visa requirements for Haitians entering Dominica. Who can forget the PM’s ridiculous response of “Fix IT” when it was discovered that right within his ministry at the time, there were high officials running their own private Haitian visa enterprise and collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars for themselves.

This time around the French authorities are again very concerned. For a number of weeks MiTC had been following some developments in the French Islands of Marigalante and the Saints. The authorities there were venting and putting things in place to stall the massive influx of Haitian migrants coming in from Dominica. The situation has escalated to the point where the issue is making headlines News in the French Antilles.

Again the government of Dominica continues to sit by and do nothing about it. We know that some government officials are still heavily involved in their own private enterprise ,making money out of the US $400.00 Visa scam and it is quite obvious that the government is more than happy with the revenue collected from the Haitians, our CARICOM brothers and sisters coming in by the hundreds per day at the main airport. There have also been complaints of the government using the refugee and human trafficking event to further pollute the electoral process in Dominica. Unconfirmed reports also indicate that Haitians are strategically being provided with passports that would allow then to vote for the Labor Party at the next general election.

It is mind boggling that even after the black eye of mid 2000's the Roosevelt Skerrit administration is again sitting by and allowing another round of Haitian migrant refugees and human trafficking tragedy to fester in Dominica. We can confirm that a major location for human trafficking activity is right at the doorsteps of the Deputy Prime Minister Reginald Austrie. On an almost daily basis in the tiny Northern Village of Toucari boat loads of Haitians can be seen leaving Dominica and heading North to the neighboring island. MiTC reporters have been informed that one of the many buildings owned by Mr. Austrie actually overlooks that little pier in the village of Toucari and it is from that very same pier that the boaters involved in the human trafficking ,are audaciously running their operation. One would have to be incredibly "Cleville Mills like" (Shameless that is ) or deliberately Clarence Christian like (myopic)to even suggest or believe that Reginald Austrie is unaware of the mass human trafficking taking place in his small community. A community where he spends most of his time and knows who should or should not get fertilizer or World Bank assistance. According to one of the villagers -"Where is the Hunter when we need him to sing his brilliant calypso compositions Anything For A Dollar or They Sucking The Country They sucking The Country Dry.”

When the police is needed to harass the opposition or to jealously guard (in local terms Mako) the minister girlfriends, police officers are dispatched at Blackmoor's will and for Tony Astaphan's wet dream..

As Reggie ,the government and its apologist continue to play “see no evil, hear no evil” people are getting agitated and we got the feeling that the anger is not necessarily towards our brothers and sisters from Haiti. What we have noticed is, this time around ,the Haitian migrant refugee matter is like salt in the wound as the once mighty Picard area where Ross University was located has become a stumping ground for many of the Haitian migrant refugees. We say this without malice or disrespect- Haitian migrant refugees are all over the Picard area and it is just heartbreaking to see what Picard has become.

Haitian & Abandoned Business In Picard

Because of gross incompetence and the self-serving principles of the Roosevelt Skerrit administration, Ross University chose to part ways with Dominica. The departure of the University has dealt a major blow to Dominica’s economy and has uprooted the livelihood of many people, particularly the people in the North of the island where Ross University had its greatest economic impact. With hundreds of jobs destroyed, collapsed businesses, empty building and hundreds of Haitians migrants roaming the area ,one can understand the anger that comes with the nostalgia, the unemployment, the defaulting loans and to top it off ,the boldface lies and arrogance coming from Roosevelt Skerrit and his administration.

While we understand the anger and the agitation we still urge our people to be kind to our Haitian brothers and sisters. We owe Haiti a depth of gratitude as pan African people "Ani ba yo luv " Give them love. The anger should be directed at the government who continue to allow the migrant refugee system to deteriorate as government officials continue to get rich on running Haitian visa and passport scams. Although a few landlords in Picard are happy to get some 2 for 5 rental income out of the Haitian migrants, many are beginning to realize that the January semester students that was promised by the Skerrit clan and apologists are turning out to be Haitian Migrant refugees in Picard.

On our trip back to the capital we stop off in Picard to talk to a few residents and landlords and what we were told is that the 2 for 5 rental system brings a little consolation. How it works is that two Haitians apply for an apartment and after receiving the key to the apartment three more Haitians are smuggled into the same apartment. One Landlord smiled and said to us with a wink “Thank God For Skerrit” but beneath that smile and playful wink we recognized the pain and agony.

Tuesday, January 8, 2019