Joseph Darville, Grand Bahama Human Rights Association Vice President
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Statement by Joseph Darville in
response to the Immigration Department’s new policy on Bahamian-born school children:
I am
appalled at the new and most shameful depth to which Minister Mitchell has sunk
with the announcement that he will target the most innocent and vulnerable
among us.
I spent
many years as an educator, and two decades as a high school principal. I know
better than most how damaging discrimination can be on the delicate mental and
emotional life of a child. Every single student forced to “document” themselves
under Mitchell’s new plan will feel the stigma of difference and the
sting of prejudice every day, in what is already far too divided and cruel a
society.
But
that travesty is nothing compared to the hundreds and eventual thousands of
children he will drive away from an education and any chance at a decent life.
Mitchell knows full well that thanks to his actions, anyone of questionable
status will be forced to keep their children away from the classroom when the
new school year opens in September. Those children – who, if they were born here, have a constitutional
right to be registered as a Bahamian citizen when they turn 18, will be
prevented from becoming a productive part of any society. He is taking away
their chance of success and happiness. He is literally ruining their lives.
Perhaps
the worst part about this is that Mitchell’s
policy seeks to punish innocent children for the alleged crimes of others.
Their parents may have come to this country illegally (no one has yet been
charged or convicted), but the children who will suffer committed no crime
whatsoever, unless it is now a crime to be born of Haitian descent. Indeed,
that is exactly what is happening –we
are becoming a society that hurts and punishes people because of their heritage
and background. You would have thought that being persons of African descent,
we would have learned a thing or two about the evil of discrimination by now. I
cry shame on Fred Mitchell and anyone else in government who is involved in
this catastrophe.
Disclaimer:
The views expressed here are solely those of the author in his/her
private capacity and do not in any way represent the views of
TheBahamasWeekly.com