During a biannual conference last week, top Caribbean leaders are likely to discuss Haiti’s escalating disarray and its effects on the region, with some bitterly lamenting the steady flow of refugees pouring on their coasts as they flee poverty and escalating violence.
Caricom, the Caribbean trade organization, will convene for three days beginning on Wednesday in the Bahamas.
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To establish a consensus on holding elections in the poor nation that has been deprived of all democratically elected institutions, some of the group’s 15 members are seeking to bring important Haitian stakeholders to a neutral nation in the area.
Elections in Haiti cannot take place, according to the international community and local authorities, until the violence has been subdued.
During a meeting of the Organization of American States on Friday, Haiti’s foreign minister, Jean Victor Généus, issued a warning that the country’s level of insecurity has increased and may soon spread to its neighbors.
“We must absolutely tackle this problem in Haiti because no one else in the Caribbean will be spared,” he noted.
Philip Davis, the prime minister of the Bahamas, has long lamented the expense of sending thousands of Haitians and hundreds of Cubans back home, and he will be the host of the Caricom summit. He contends that Caricom must assist in resolving Haiti’s security, political, and economic dilemmas.
Since the killing of President Jovenel Mose in July 2021, violence has increased in Haiti as poverty and famine worsen. Gangs have also become even stronger. More than 1,200 kidnappings were recorded last year, more than twice the amount from the year before. Meanwhile, the UN reports that 1,200 murders were reported in 2017, a 35% rise from the year before.
Numerous Haitians have fled to nearby Caribbean islands due to the violence and double-digit inflation, with many hoping to eventually travel to the US. Numerous people have perished in similar efforts to board flimsy boats driven by human traffickers.
The International Organization for Migration said this month that it has tracked at least 321 migrant fatalities and disappearances in the Caribbean in 2018. This was a significant increase from the 180 deaths that were reported in 2021 and the highest number since 2014.
The majority of the 5,000 or so migrants that were deported by the Bahamas last year were Haitians. 368 of the 570 migrants who were ordered home by the authorities in January were Haitians. Over 3,000 of these migrants were detained by the Turks and Caicos Islands authorities last year.
The Bahamian government said in late January that it would not be processing any further applications for work permits for Haitians until the necessary paperwork could be more accurately authenticated. The Turks and Caicos Islands government has authorized a six-month ban on issuing visitor visas to Haitians.
Both governments have expressed dissatisfaction with the growth of migrant shantytowns and the cost of monitoring the oceans that surround their own archipelagos.
Spokesman Leonard Robertson recently noted at the meeting that, “There is no question as to whether Haiti will be discussed.” He added, “Haiti has been at the front and center of the community’s interest and agenda.”
Critics say Caricom has failed to produce a more managed approach to Haiti’s situation.
Mark Kirton, an author and former professor at the University of the West Indies remarked, “we are either all brothers on one ship or not.” He continued, “we need a strong, sustained intervention from Caricom as Haiti is a member. … This has been severely lacking.”
The prime minister of Jamaica stated earlier this month that as part of a potential international security support deployment, he was ready to send troops and police personnel to Haiti.
