The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A NUMBER of The Pointe’s Chinese workers demonstrated outside the Chinese Embassy in Nassau yesterday due to worries about the COVID-19 situation in The Bahamas and a desire to return home since the project is nearly complete.

Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy Yin Haigang told reporters that about 200 workers are trying to return home. He noted some have been in the country about six months to more than one year, hence the workers are “very anxious” to go back to China.

Yet, there are no international flights available, the embassy official said.

“On one hand their job (has) finished, on the other they are worried about the COVID-19 situation here,” he said.

“Every Chinese here in this country, many of them want to go home but you know the situation (does) not allow them to do that. It’s a fact that some of the Chinese want to go home but there’s no international flights available.”

When The Tribune arrived at the scene yesterday morning, a group of workers were scattered across the embassy’s lawn. Some sat down on the grass, while others were standing up, in a peaceful demonstration.

They wore face masks, hardhats and construction vests.

A few police officers were present across the street monitoring the demonstration.

After a while, an official came to the lawn to speak with the group. He and a few of the workers had an exchange, which was not in English. Mr Haigang explained the workers were expressing their concerns in that conversation.

“We expressed that we fully understand what they want to achieve,” he said.

“We said that on one hand I told them that we’re doing every effort to achieve their (departure) to China including the charter flight as I said …We’re going to in coordination with the company to improve their protection including providing the PPEs to them.”

He added the Chinese Embassy and China Construction America, The Pointe’s developer, are doing their best to arrange the workers’ return to China including coordinating a chartered flight in the near future.

Eventually, the workers left; some went on a yellow school bus.

Director of Labour John Pinder told The Tribune that the workers want to go back to China but were reportedly told flights were not available until the end of September.

“They would like to get back home but management is saying they can’t get back before the end of September but they want to go now,” Mr Pinder explained.

Regarding The Pointe project, Mr Haigang noted the development is going well and is about to finish soon.