NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Former Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes yesterday called on France and the United States of America to “step up to the plate” to restore stability in Haiti as The Bahamas was “much too small” to open its borders.
During an interview with Eyewitness News, Sir Arthur stressed the country could not accommodate undocumented Haitian immigrants as hundreds flee the deepening crisis in the neighboring country.
“We should have a good relationship with everybody in the Caribbean because we share similar history,” Sir Arthur said.
“But at the same time, the Bahamas is a small country. And we can’t just open our doors to people to come in willy-nilly and illegally.”
Sir Arthur underscored Haiti’s embattled history that saw the former colony forced to pay for its independence from France following a long and bloody revolution that took place in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as well as two US occupations in the 20th century.
Enslaved Africans and Afro-Caribbeans rebelled against French colonial rule and established the independent state of Haiti as the first independent Black nation in the world in 1804.
France, however, demanded compensation for the loss of its colony and forced Haiti to pay a debt of 150 million gold francs in reparations, which took over a century to pay off and severely weakened the country’s economy.
As for the US, the first occupation lasted nearly 20 years and was marked by US control of the government, the economy, and the military, as well as the suppression of Haitian resistance.
The second time was in 1994, when the US intervened to restore the democratically elected government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who had been ousted in a military coup. Among major criticisms of the US occupation is the violation of Haitian sovereignty, economic exploitation in favor of US interests, massacres, forced labor, and other human rights abuses.
“The difficulty has been that Haiti, from the very beginning, was punished by the French,” said Sir Arthur.
“The Haitian had to pay reparations to the French. And that went on for years. The money that the Haitians had to pay to the French in today’s money would be billions of dollars. And then the Americans invaded Haiti and they did some things as well. I think they were there for almost 20 years, I believe.
He continued: “Haiti has suffered primarily because they had the brass to rebel, and to become an independent black country at that time. And they were made to punish for it. And they’re still punishing for it. And while we sympathize with them, we would like to help them…the countries that are most responsible should step up to the plate, namely France, and the United States.”
Sir Arthur said: “Because they owe Haiti big time and they destroyed Haitian society.”
“We don’t have the resources, but we can help them in any way that we can, in collaboration with CARICOM and Canada. I hope the Americans would come up to the plate and the French, so we could restore Haiti. Restore their dignity and restore their institutions so they can have a stable government, for their good and for ours.”
At the close of the 44th Regular Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government last week, Prime Minister Philip Davis KC said regional leaders concluded the path towards obtaining peace and stability in Haiti does not include ‘boots on the ground’ at this time.
Davis said efforts are focused on building up the security mechanism that is in place, the Haitian National Police.
On Sunday, Davis outlined his administration’s national framework policy on immigration pinned on three pillars: enforcement of laws; protecting the borders by decentralizing the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, and international cooperation.
Davis warned Bahamians and registered migrants residing in shanty towns that they will be required to relocate but did not include a timeline for government action.
Yesterday, the former governor-general noted immigration has been a sore point successive administrations and pointed to the previous FNM-led administration’s attempts to clear down shantytowns.
“It’s not just a simple matter of sending the bulldozer and you know, bulldozing homes, what are you going to do with those people, they’re human beings,” he said.
“You have to make arrangements for that. And that’s what the previous government was doing. There was a plan to eliminate the shantytowns as they go along. And also to make arrangements where these people can be housed, if only temporarily.
Sir Arthur added: “And of course, those who are here illegally must be sent back to wherever they come from. The Bahamas is much too small and it’s against the law anyhow.”
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