Last Updated on February 27, 2023, 1:56 AM AST by Anthony Morris
The Premier of Nevis, and leader of the concerned Citizens Movement, Mark Brantley has taken to his social media to express his opinion regarding the situation of insecurity prevalent in the CARICOM Member state, Haiti. Haiti has been struggling with issues pertaining to violence and insecurity. Accordingly, the members of the Caribbean Community have been holding regular deliberations on finding a solution for the situation.
Accordingly, Mark Brantley expressed that he believes that situation in Haiti demands a national and regional discussion. He elaborated that we are hearing, the governmental controls have collapsed and armed gangs now control most of our Caribbean sister Haiti, then we have not only a humanitarian crisis unfolding but also a serious security crisis as well.
Premier Mark Brantley shared that Haiti has more than double the population of the rest of Caricom combined. If even 10% of Haiti’s over 11 million people decide to leave Haiti to escape the situation there then we can anticipate over 1 million people on the move in the region. Such a number would pose an existential threat to most of us in Caricom.
Recently, the Court in St Kitts has granted an injunction preventing the Government from repatriating Haitians who arrived illegally into the country. The court has declared that the people can stay in the country until there is a full hearing of their claims for asylum and other relief.
Premier Mark Brantley believes that the development too is interesting because it can potentially mean that Haitians entering any of the Caricom countries, even if they enter illegally, may have the right to remain. Premier Brantley explained that while we welcome our brothers and sisters from Haiti, the question still remains can Caricom States especially the micro States like St Kitts and Nevis handle an influx of Haitians?
He questioned that can our education system, health system, social services framework, housing, physical infrastructure handle even a number of say 10,000 in a short space of time? Haiti demands our collective attention. It is time that we find a solution for what I feel is an existential threat to our sister Haiti and to the wider Caricom region.
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.
