Resident Mark Souffrant, 42, a carpenter, who said he is being treated as a fugitive in his own country. Photo: Nakita Lockhart Photography
By AVA TURNQUEST
Tribune Chief Reporter
aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
THE lack of professionalism and sensitivity during immigration raids has deprived shanty town residents of basic human rights, according to several Bahamians of Haitian descent living in these communities.
Residents claim that verbal and physical abuse, theft or destruction of personal property by officials are common during an enforcement exercise, and the phenomenon has only deepened the stigma against persons of Haitian descent.
While the government has maintained that there have been no complaints against immigration officers since stricter regulations were implemented on November 1, shanty town dwellers allege that they are often disrespected and treated like animals regardless of their nationality or status.
Mark Souffrant, a 42-year-old Bahamian resident in a village off Joe Farrington Road, said: “I’m in my country and I’m getting treated like a fugitive. I’m being treated like this isn’t even my place, where is my home? If this ain’t my home then where is my home?”
“I born here, grow up here, I have no other country I know other than this. I may be descended from Haitians yes, but this is my country, this is my birthright. My people are from Haiti, but I’m not from Haiti.
“Where is my country? Where could I go to have rights? If I don’t have rights in my own country where I was born, where I’m a citizen, where do I have rights?”
Mr Souffrant, a carpenter and father of seven, recounted his experience in an October 20 raid where two pregnant Bahamian women were allegedly beaten by a Royal Bahamas Defence Force officer.
Alleged victim 29-year-old Charline Frederic is Mr Souffrant’s sister-in-law, and it is believed that she was abused as a result of her defense of Mr Souffrant.
Ms Frederic said she told officers that she would report their abuse of Mr Souffrant, who she claimed was intoxicated and allegedly beaten because he resisted arrest.
“They just grabbed me because I was in a Haitian community and mistreated me,” he said. “Suppose I was violent, you know what it would have turned into? ‘He disobey the law,’ (but) I’m wiser than that. I take it (the alleged beating). I let them do what they had to do, and they did what they had to do, and they did it wrong.”
Mr Souffrant said he was sitting outside when a defence force officer grabbed him without explanation.
“I’m no fool,” he said. “I knew it was immigration but defence force was with them and the way he carry on, I said ‘So what is your problem, boss?’”
“I didn’t agree with the way he push me, so I pushed his hands off and then three or four of them approached me, slammed me on the ground, carried on in some way and then cuffed me with the straps. Then after hitting me once or twice, they put me on the bus and carried me down by the Detention Centre,” he said.
Mr Souffrant said that when he got to the Detention Centre, he was released without being processed or having to provide any documentation.
“After I started to speak they felt their guilt,” he said.
“I started to speak to them in a proper way with manners, I didn’t use obscene language, I never disrespected them. Then they told me ‘Oh you could go, come out here before I change my mind,’ I said ‘What do you mean by that?’ I didn’t have to show my passport or nothing they knew they were wrong, when I started to speak I spoke for my rights and they saw that I knew my rights, and when they saw that, they didn’t want to write it up and that’s bad.”
Mr Souffrant charged that persons of Haitian descent were targeted unfairly by enforcement officials, adding that it had a divisive and negative impact on children.
“It’s wrong what they’re doing,” he said. “People who have mothers and fathers who are Bahamians went through the same situation that I went through and it hurt me. They still get picked up, these people ain’t coming and asking you no questions.
“I thought when they train you to be an officer, the first thing you’re supposed to be able to do is serve and protect your people, not abuse your people,” he added.
Several residents allege that on October 20, three yellow school buses drove aggressively through a community off Carmichael Road. One family claimed that a bus driver drove through a fence with no regard for the safety of yard occupants, one of whom was an 18-month-old boy.
The toddler’s mother said the child was traumatised by the incident, and now fears motor vehicles. She further claimed that officers ransacked her home, overturning drawers and boxes, despite having already confirmed the legal status of occupants.
Another resident charged that the inhumane treatment of persons suspected as illegal immigrants was commonplace, adding that as a Bahamian of Haitian descent she often witnessed persons getting hauled onto buses “like cattle”.
Mr Souffrant also told The Tribune that if he were to visit Haiti, he would feel like a “foreigner.” “First thing they will say is that I’m a deportee from the Bahamas, that’s what they’ll call me. You have a lot of people in Haiti right now suffering, who are not even from Haiti, who were born here.
“You have some people here born in the Bahamas, but don’t even have a birth certificate because their parents didn’t go and sign up for them, that’s negligence but you can’t knock them for that, the government is supposed to check up the records. Birth records don’t lie, each and every child born in the country have a birth record,” he said.
Comments
jamaicaproud 10 years ago
Sorry to hear your plight, I don't like how they treat you all, but in the land of prosperity having more kids than you can manage and living in a shanty town, is not cool. Please change your mindset.
duppyVAT 10 years ago
If you are a Bahamian either by parentage or application ............. just show proof. If your rights are denied then seek legal redress ................. this is a democracy, not dictatorship.
GrassRoot 10 years ago
This story has nothing to do with democracy. It shows that the way immigration laws, if any are in place, are enforced in an unconstitutional way. If a Bahamian national gets treated the way this man was treated by Immigration, it should be alarming particularly to persons that want all foreigners out. What the officers do, is racial profiling, if you look anything but Bahamian they book you and if you are lucky you can explain yourself later. If you are Bahamian, you shouldn't have to be afraid of immigration, police or any government official, particularly not if you are a law abiding citizen, irrespective of whether you live in Shantytown or Lyford Cay. Btw., I still believe that if the resources of this country were used properly by the wealthy and the government, no one - NO ONE - would have to live in a Shantytown, everybody would be properly educated and could work in a decent job.
duppyVAT 10 years ago
Soooooo, what does a Bahamian look like??????? Our police culture is rooted in West Indian policemen who abused black Bahamians 100 years ago ..... learn your history my friend.
expatkz 10 years ago
RIGHT ON grassroot. you said it much more eloquently and politely than i care to. I prefer to put it in laymans terms..... the current immigration round em up leaving the kids, stop everyone at checkpoints, and burn the shacks to the ground is absolutely unconstitutional and down right gestapo tactics. Fred the buttery speaking but misguided nationalist is leading a pack of SS that are targeting and treating unfairly in today's modern world. Immigrants must be treated with fairness and dignity. Human rights groups and Amnesty Intl doesn't just get involved for nothing.... where there is smoke there is fire.....Bahamians, please practice what you preach on Sundays.
Girly 10 years ago
expatkz why in the world you don't stop getting in The Bahamas affairs.Do you know what it is for someone to threaten you with something as evil as a Columbian necktie.Do you know what it is to have someone come in your country squat lving free of charge,stealing electricity etc etc,while hard working Bahamians have to work hard paying rent,mortgage,water etc for years just to have something to call their own..Please for the love of GOD KEEP OUT OF OUR BUISNESS.GOD don't sleep and he will hear the cries of our people.You know within yourself that what these illegals are doing is not right.
expatkz 10 years ago
As I am a human being I have the moral right to speak up against human right violations no matter when I am at the moment in life. Thus is not a Bahamian issue, it is is a human rights issue. Until you understand the difference, the Bahamas will never progress.
expatkz 10 years ago
Furthermore, perhaps the Americans should have stayed out of WWI and WWII as well...., and out countless other countries where racial profiling, let later genocide was occuring. They weren't our countries.... But someone with a concious and moral backbone had to intervene. You see it doesn't matter whose country it is when human rights are being violated. The Bahamas could easily need such help given the morons that the people keep electing to run the country.
Girly 10 years ago
So there are no human right's abuses going on in Haiti? Why don't you go and lend your human side there?...................I think not. You are enjoying yourself here all the while bashing a country you know nothing about.Like I said before God is hearing the cries of our people through this government and Fred Mitchell .It is God who sets people in power.
birdiestrachan 10 years ago
He says he is a Bahamian and a carpenter MS . Turnquest should ask the Shanty town residents why are they breaking the law and constructing unlawful shacks in the Bahamas. ? Bahamians generations passed and generations to come know they have to buy their land and when they receive their deeds They must have a plan drawn have it approved before they can build a home. How is it as Bahamians as they say they are do not do this. The laws have to be for all, If I had known I could just build. I would have built something by caperdown out West Bays street. come now a Carpenter and that is what he built. Ms. Turnquest do you ask questions or are in only interested in one side of the story. I do understand you work for the Tribune so I forgive you.
GrassRoot 10 years ago
Spot on duppyVAT!! Exactly my point. I learnt my history my friend.
Observer 10 years ago
This born in the Bahamas thing is so over used by too many ignorant people. They simply cannot accept that nationality in The Commonwealth Of The Bahamas does not pass to all and sundry under every physical condition. Who spread the lie that they have latched on to?
bismark 10 years ago
Either you are Haitian or Bahamian,you want the security of a Bahamian passport with all privilges afforded,but you still want to live in poverty and squalor making no effort to better your condition,it doesn't cost much to be tidy,these people are just plain nasty,they break every single law there is,they don't want to pay for anything just send every dollar out of this country and Bahamians are simply tired of them after years of carrying their burden.
Voltaire 10 years ago
@Observer - did you read the story? The man is a Bahamian CITIZEN. He should not be terrorized in his own country. Full stop.
Voltaire 10 years ago
@bismark - living in poverty and squalor does not entitle the authorities to beat you. The constitution does not say that fundamental rights are only afforded to the rich and tidy. C'mon man...
Voltaire 10 years ago
@bridiestrachan - I know you know better. No shanty town dwellers just construct houses free of charge. Each and every one of them pays rent to a BAHAMIAN landlord. Or should I say slum lord? Why is no one prosecuting THEM? Oh yeah... cuz they gat deep political connections - mostly, it would seem, with the party you seem to support. How, considering our history, did we become a nation that wants to persecute the poor, but give a pass to rich lawbreakers. Shameful...
SP 10 years ago
If Mark Souffrant was born of illegal Haitian parents, it still makes him an illegal Haitian no matter if he has been here for 200 years.
No need to abuse these people, however they cannot "claim Bahamian citizenship" just out of convenience.
If in fact Mark Souffrant was born here 42 years ago he may qualify to be regularized and given residence status with right to work but UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE should he be given citizenship with voting rights as these people ALWAYS SUPPORT the Haitian agenda.
Citizenship voting designation should be reserved for indigenous Bahamians only and or individuals married for 10 consecutive years to an indigenous Bahamian citizen.
Bermuda masterfully protect their sovereignty this way and we should too before "voting blocks" of Haitians, Chinese or others occupy our country, gain citizenship's and vote indigenous Bahamians out of our own country.
See Bermudas' citizenship law link below:
http://www.bermuda-online.org/citizensh…
ThisIsOurs 10 years ago
Exactly. I noticed that they all claimed to be "born here", but if their parents were illegal "born here" doesn't give them rights to Bahamian citizenship. I don't know if the stories are sensationalized or not I do know we have some bad apples in all arms of law enforcement.
Seems like someone is spreading misinformation in the Haitian community that "born here" means you're Bahamian.
242smt 10 years ago
Isn't it great though, that the US and Canada do not treat Bahamian immigrants so harshly?
Voltaire 10 years ago
The story clearly says: "Mark Souffrant, a 42-year-old Bahamian resident" I take that to mean he applied at 18 and was granted citizenship. He also says, "I'm a citizen" and "I didn’t have to show my passport or nothing". This man, like thousands of other children of Haitian parents, is a legal citizen of the Bahamas. I'm not sure where y'all are going with all this 'born here, not born here' stuff. The man is a citizen full stop. And anyway, the Defense Force doesn't have the right to beat anyone, regardless of nationality... dragging pregnant women through the streets. This nonsense is going to come falling down on our heads like a ton of bricks the the international press grabs hold of the story. Then, when our hotels are empty and its us eating mud pies through our own stubbornness, ignorance and arrogance, i wonder if Haiti will be kind enough to help us out.
jamaicaproud 10 years ago
Its fascinating learning about other cultures. I just don't know why people get up everyday hot under the collar about 'foreigners" Do people think economic problems will be solved by deportations? All those kicking up dust, please produce your family tree to prove you are a "true Bahamian."
Emac 10 years ago
Everything criss jamaicaproud? Maybe I can clear the air a bit for you. Let me try to be as objective as I can: According to my observation, Bahamian officials do need to be a little more tactful in their handling of these types of situations. But then again immigration officers work under very stressful and unsanitary conditions. Bahamians on a whole can appear to be a bit cold to outside guests who enter our country illegally and delight in taking advantage of our niceness. Now most people who side with the slate of illegal immigrants(mostly Haitians) only see one side of the coin. This problem has plagued our country for decades. I guest it is safe to say most Bahamians are fed up with being second-class citizens in their own country. For example, I had a relative who passed away last year. It was painstaking to see her not being able to get access to proper medical care because of overcrowding at our general hospital. I am not saying that only Bahamians should be looked after. But medical care, education and every other social benefits, that every Bahamian should have access to is simply not possible because of the influx of illegal Haitians that bombard our shores frequently.
So now you can say we are inhumane if we refuse to treat the sick when they seek medical care. You can say that we are inhumane when we refuse to educate the children of illegals when they try to sign up at our schools. The fact is that we have followed all of the policies outlined by UN regarding illegal migrants. So now uninformed people are saying that we are inhumane when we try to eradicate this problem by simply removing these illegals from our country. Yes, and children belong with their parents. I believe most outsiders are being fed a bunch of crap and should do their own investigations.
Incidentally though, what do you have to say about the Haitian that are killed in your country for the very same reasons?
Voltaire 10 years ago
All true Emac. Illegal immigration is a tragedy for both the desperate people running from a terrible life, and those forced to suffer because of an influx into their country. But it is just a fact of life that people facing depravation and the risk of their children dying of cholera, or worse, will seek a way out. My question is whose responsibility is it to protect our borders in the first place? It cannot be right that our authorities have failed miserably in their responsibility in the first place, and so now authorize their agents to use thug tactics to remedy their own failings.
jamaicaproud 10 years ago
Mr Emac I took a mini vacation(Unfortunately not to the Bahamas). I respect your country. After all every country has laws. My issue has nothing to do with "illegals" or creole speaking Haitians or even Patois speaking Jamaicans. I have spoken to many people, white, black and mixed, vacationers and imported workers alike, and I get the impression that Bahamians are suspicious, cold, and not hospitable, in general. I say this respectfully, that they seem to take personal responsibility for the financial success of the island yet the ones who gripe the most are the ones who do not take advantage of the opportunities available in their blessed land.
Emac 10 years ago
Then again, maybe we should follow the example of the Jamaican government;http://m.jamaicaobserver.com…
jamaicaproud 10 years ago
LOL You did some digging. I am glad you also know we are a country of laws. In Jamaica though we do not allow them to become thousands and then start an outrage, they are handled one by one. Furthermore these types of guys are not innocent economic migrants but probably a drug and gun runner. However my friend if I may call you that, I still maintain, the average Jamaican doesn't wake in the morning spitting venom and "invaders."
SP 10 years ago
jamaicaproud has been caught redhanded bullshitting us! STFU
http://m.jamaicaobserver.com/mobile/lat…
duppyVAT 10 years ago
Jamaicans has always tried to bullshit us ............ while Haitians scheme & teef
asiseeit 10 years ago
My question is why would a person who can not afford a decent place to live have seven children. What is the sense in that. Who do you think pays for these children. What chances in life will these children have? Someone once told me how to start to get out of a hole was to stop digging. Maybe a vasectomy would be in order!
Voltaire 10 years ago
@asiseeit - no one is arguing with you... the point is, people shouldn't be beaten and dragged around because they make bad choices like having too many children. that is not a small detail. it is, or should be a big deal. Mr Souffrant should be more responsible? Fine. Our officers should stop acting like animals.
bismark 10 years ago
I do not condone abuse of any kind,however many of these people are not the "poor innocent ones" these people can be very hostile towards authorities,sometimes force have to be used,some officers however are guilty of not carrying out their duties as mandated by law,but for the most part it is a small minority,it is simple,the law has been passed either you adhere to it or leave,simple,the Country cannot allow another Country within a Country,we are just to small to accommodate all of these illegals.
duppyVAT 10 years ago
There are many LEGAL Bahamians in this country who have NO form of identification ....... no birth certificate, baptismal certificate, affidavit, passport, drivers license, NIB card, work ID etc.
Imagine how hard it is to figure out what to do with those who were born here illegally ............ its near to impossible to solve. But its in their best interest.
That is why we have to be so careful with curbing the underground passport criminal ring in The Bahamas. (What's a black market passport going for now?)
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