The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

THE Democracy Movement is alleging that women Cuban migrants with other nationalities were sexually assaulted while detained in the Bahamas.

Insisting that the Miami-based Cuban exile group was not just raising the alarm to spite the Bahamas government, Ramon Sanchez, its president yesterday told The Tribune their aim was to 
uncover the Carmichael Road Detention Centre’s “concentration camp” like environment.

“Eight of them were female, but there were also detainees from Colombia and Haiti who experienced sexual assault,” he said.

“They were made to do certain things for food and water, for survival.

“Some of the guards at the centre made them dance nude, according to the victim’s testimony. In other instances, they were sexually assaulted through the fence by the guards in broad daylight. It was so bad that they many times they had to move the children inside of the facility so they wouldn’t witness what was happening.”

Mr Sanchez had hoped that such testimony would be included into continuing investigations of abuse at the Centre, however it might never make public record as the eight women have already been repatriated to Cuba.

“They are sending the Cubans away without a thorough investigation which has really angered us. Obviously there is some form of conspiracy in tampering with the witnesses which is essentially evidence. How will these detainees ever tell their stories in Cuba?

“It was our intention that once the victims were released, they could speak freely to the press and everyone would be able to tell for themselves. But now that hope is lost.”

He made an impassioned call for Bahamian officials to do whatever is necessary to conduct a thorough investigation.

As for the group of detainees repatriated more than a week ago, Mr Sanchez said all but one was released to go home.

That detainee, who is still in custody in Cuba, was sentenced to a year and a half in jail for leaving the army without authorisation.