(Statement) The Minister of Immigration and
Foreign Affairs has yet again sought to defend the indefensible, failing to
answer serious criticisms of his immigration policy and attempting instead to
distract and spread fear among those who point out its wrongs.
In
a recent address to the Kiwanis Club, Fred Mitchell continued with his
consistent approach of making wild accusations and raising red herrings when
confronted with criticisms. Among these is the irresponsible and dangerous
claim that the GBHRA's efforts to protect human rights
amount to supporting human smugglers.
International watchdogs have
already cautioned against such intimidation tactics, which can stigmatize and
place the safety of human rights defenders at grave risk.
Meanwhile,
the minister has again been touting one of his favorite fallacies: that alleged
compliance with the draconian
and illegal policy implemented by the
Department of Immigration in November of last year, somehow qualifies as a
justification of the policy itself.
"The
enforcement division of Immigration is working well and the number of
complaints has been minimal," he told the Kiwanis meeting.
Firstly,
the minister can make as many unqualified claims about complaints or the lack
thereof as he wishes; the consistent outcry from those affected by this policy
and the stern warnings from local and international human rights defenders are
on the record for all to see.
The policies are transparently illegal;
no
ifs ands or buts about it! He
cannot
escape that
.
Secondly,
Mitchell’s ignores that fact that no level of compliance out of fear can
vindicate his policy. Indeed, such forms of justification have been attached to
countless extreme and oppressive di
ctators throughout
history
for example Hitler
; Stalin
and
Mussolini.
In democratic societies, however,
an unconstitutional policy can never be validated simply because obedience has
been achieved through bullying and intimidation.
The
same law that Mitchell claims is being complied with is itself unlawful. There
is no room in the Bahamas Constitution for the government to require that
children carry "Belonger's Permits" in order to access their legally
guaranteed right to education. No level of claimed or even demonstrated
compliance, nor ceaseless proclamations to the contrary, will change this fact.
Mitchell's
comments also fail to acknowledge the cruel, inhumane and intolerable position
into which so many children born to non-Bahamian parents in this country have
been placed by this policy. Eligible to be registered as citizens upon
application at age 18 but facing deportation either before they attain this age
or while waiting for a response to their application from the woefully
delinquent Immigration Department, these individuals are now told they need a
permit to remain in the country.
However,
the practical impossibility of fulfilling the requirements for a Belonger’s
Permit places them in an extremely precarious position, under threat of
deportation and in many cases, statelessness.
The GBHRA again calls on the minister
to stop ignoring the real issues and shooting the messenger. Instead, he should
bring his department's policies in line with internationally accepted standards
for humane, tolerant and legal behavior.
Failure to do so not only
undermines the basic human rights of those living in The Bahamas but also
threatens to exacerbate the very problems Mitchell claims to be seeking to
address.
His
illegal and dictatorial
policies that are encouraging the creation of an angry, isolated underclass,
differentiated along the lines of ancestral heritage, when what The Bahamas
should be doing is coming together to seek common ground in an effort to
confront the many serious challenges we face as a nation today.
