Ministry of Disaster Preparedness Permanent Secretary Carl Smith said yesterday undocumented migrants should “go home” as The Bahamas prepares for a tropical storm this weekend.
Smith was asked about a recent International Organization for Migration (IOM) report, which indicated a greater demand for hurricane shelters this hurricane season.
While speaking at a National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) press conference, he said, “We have to come to the place and realize that that situation has to be addressed. I said previously the International Organization for Migration’s focus is on providing housing for migrants.
“So, when they make their report and speak to the lack of accommodations to house persons in The Bahamas to protect them from storms, they have built into their consideration the countless number of migrants that are in The Bahamas.
“Part of our preparation needs to be that if you are in The Bahamas illegally, you should make every effort to go home. We are a very humane society. We provide water and food and shelter but there’s only so much that we can do.”
He noted that many migrants in The Bahamas live in conditions that cannot withstand hurricanes.
“We saw that with Hurricane Dorian and the consequential disaster that followed,” Smith said.
He also addressed the report’s suggestion for more shelters, noting that The Bahamas does not have “any purposely built facilities that serve as shelters”.
He said The Bahamas wasn’t alone in this, pointing to the United States, where, he said, there are not “many such facilities”.
“We are moving toward the construction of community centers that will be designed, specifically designed, to serve as shelters,” Smith said.
“We have had, for example, a contribution from the government of India to the tune of $1 million. There are contributions from Rotary International towards the construction of purposefully built facilities that will serve as shelters and community centers.”
Grand Bahama and Abaco were ravaged by Dorian — the strongest storm recorded in The Bahamas — in September 2019.
The Category 5 storm displaced thousands of people and killed at least 74 — some of whom are believed to be undocumented migrants on Abaco.
Minister of National Security Marvin Dames said last month that 279 people were still missing in the wake of the storm, which caused $3.4 billion in damage and losses.
The post Smith urges undocumented migrants to ‘go home’ appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/2020/07/30/smith-urges-undocumented-migrants-to-go-home/
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