Last Updated on April 20, 2020, 8:08 AM AST by Anthony Morris
Lawyer Jennifer Housen, the lawyer who is representing some of the crew members of the Marella Discovery 2, has said that she had written to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson Smitha, to urge that the Government should arrange for the repatriation of all Jamaican nationals who are stranded on the ship.
Housen shared in a Facebook post that she has copied the same letter to the Minister of National Security and the Prime Minister and that she is well aware that the Government, has issued recent statements that in regard of these extraordinary times.
She added that the Government and ministers are effectively on-call and so she thinks that with that state of readiness, her letter would no doubt be received and reviewed given the urgency of the letter.
The ship which has these Jamaicans onboard had docked in the port city on England’s south coast.
Calls for Jamaicans to land had gone unanswered by the Government on April 2, as the Government had closed the country’s borders to incoming passengers on March 24 as an effort to reduce the local spread of COVID-19 coronavirus.
The closure of the country’s borders was extended for a further two weeks on April 4.
“Several countries are arranging for the repatriation of their citizens from the UK (United Kingdom), with those citizens disembarking in the UK and repatriated to their home country by their respective Governments,” she continued.
“While there appears to be mention in the Jamaican media of the Government’s intent to do some sort of ‘controlled re-entry’, certain details of this has not been communicated to my clients, not to any other Jamaican crew member as far as they are aware,” the letter read.
“In the circumstances, I would ask, the minister that you move expeditiously to arrange repatriation from the UK whilst the vessel is still docked, given the excellent relationship enjoyed as between the Jamaican and UK Governments, she added.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
