Minister tells migrants not to be afraid to come forward for assistance
Campbell: The Ministry of Social Services is not the Department of Immigration
NASSAU, BAHAMAS Shantytown residents on Abaco who are expected to be displaced following the demolition of their homes can seek assistance from social services, said Minister of Social Services Frankie Campbell yesterday.
Campbell was responding to questions regarding the government’s position to assist those residents at risk of becoming homeless.
The Mudd, Abaco, following Hurricane Dorian in September 2019.
Many of those residents, some of whom are believed to be undocumented migrants, are still attempting to recover nearly two years after Hurricane Dorian ravaged Abaco and destroyed the two largest of the six shantytowns on the island.
HRB: Nation’s stance on immigrants an embarrassment on the world stage
“The thin excuse that they are simply respecting the laws of The Bahamas isn’t fooling anyone”
NASSAU, BAHAMAS Local activist organization Human Rights Bahamas (HRB) yesterday cried shame on Immigration Minister Elsworth Johnson’s recent comments on the planned demolition of shantytown structures on Abaco.
The issue of unregulated communities, otherwise known as shantytowns, in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas has been long-standing.
The matter has been exasperated on Abaco to some extent in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian in September 2019, which nearly wiped out one of the largest shantytown communities The Mudd.
Abaco shantytown demolitions will continue despite scolding from UN
Bannister warns New Providence squatters are next
NASSAU, BAHAMAS Deputy Prime Minister and Public Works Minister Desmond Bannister suggested yesterday that the government will move forward with the demolition of shantytowns on Abaco, insisting that he has a job to do in eradicating illegal dwellings.
Bannister was responding to an appeal from United Nations human rights experts to halt planned demolitions of approximately 600 homes in unregulated settlements on the island.
He insisted that the government will do what is in the best interest of the Bahamian people, adding that there could be consequences of him not doing his job.
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Demolition of unregulated structures in The Farm expected to continue today
NASSAU, BAHAMAS Minister of Immigration Elsworth Johnson said yesterday that the government’s decision to demolish the shantytown in The Farm, Abaco, is in the best interest of The Bahamas, notwithstanding appeals from the United Nations to forgoe the destruction of the homes in the community.
“The work being done is fully in keeping with the laws of The Bahamas as a sovereign and democratic country,” Johnson told
Eyewitness News.
“The laws that are being applied I think are internationally accepted in terms of how persons should live and construct houses. If you go almost anywhere around the world there are regulations and rules to construct housing suitable for human habitation.