By Pierre V.L. Dupuch
August 5, 2011
Every red blooded Bahamian should be alarmed at the Government’s actions!
Some years ago a PLP member of the House of Assembly employed a large number of Haitian Nationals and every five years, it was alleged, he saw that they got citizenship so that they could vote for him.
The FNM, then run by Sir Kendal Issacs and Sir Cecil Wallace Whitfield, expressed concern that this was creating a dangerous precedent. Based on the Constitution we all accept that a child born of a Bahamian father is a Bahamian, and that a child born abroad of an unwed Bahamian woman is also a Bahamian.
It was also recognized that the section of the Constitution that provided that a child born of a Bahamian woman who is married to a foreign man carried the Nationality of the father should be changed.
There was no cynical reason for this provision; it had been modeled after many other countries where the bread winner was the father and the wife followed her husband.
This is no longer the case. Women are often, especially in The Bahamas, the sole bread winners in the family. It only makes sense, therefore, that the child should be entitled to take the Nationality of the father or mother. A simple law could fix this discrepancy.
With the FNM Government’s naturalization of Haitian nationals, it seems as though the Government is trying to muddle legal with illegal and conclude that their recent immigration actions are “humanitarian”. Being humanitarian is utter hogwash, and Brent Symonette knows so. He should be ashamed of himself. What is going on now is raw, nasty politics being played just before an election hoping that it will give them victory.
Any red blooded Bahamian should be alarmed at the Governments actions. Almost everyone knows that birth certificates are easy to come by. I am told that a number of JPs, especially one somewhere in Hawkins Hill (not in Immigration) are prepared to supply the witnesses and sign birth certificates for the right price in order to facilitate a citizenship application for an undocumented foreign national. While I am not certain that this is true, I assume that members of the Government are aware of it.
So, as it stands any government, the FNM, the PLP or some government twenty years from now could do this. It could test the waters and if found wanting it could grant citizenship to the irregulars here so they can vote, and then visit a downtrodden country and invite thousands more to come here with the promise of a better life and grant them citizenship so that they also can vote. And no matter what a bad job the government has done and no matter how the real Bahamians want to get rid of them at the polls, the government will win. And there goes democracy!!!
It is said that this can’t happen because this will get out and somebody will end up in trouble. Not true. The government that has just won unfairly could have Immigration arrest those very people that were granted citizenship on the grounds that their documentation was fraudulent, confiscate their Bahamian passports and deport them. Voila!!! By the government winning, the deed has been done, and the evidence has been sent out of town!!!!
It becomes a revolving door!!!
It cant happen? Why not?
The Government can’t be allowed to do with Immigration what they are now doing. Brent Symonette says that it is hard in many cases to get proper information on applicants because of the devastation in Haiti which at the best of times did not have good records.
But he says that he has ways of finding out the background of a person even if the earthquake in Haiti destroyed the individual’s papers. Again, hogwash, utter hogwash!! If he has a way, tell us how. Or does he think the Bahamian people are not mature enough to understand?
Especially since the earthquake in Haiti has destroyed most personal identifications the process of giving citizenship should be slowed down, not speeded up. In fact, it should be put on hold until after the elections.
The government seems to forget that there is a category in The Bahamas called “Permanent Residency”. This gives a person the right to reside and work here, but does not extend the right to vote. In fact, most people get Permanent Residency before they get citizenship.
If they’re interested in being “humanitarian” why don’t they grant Permanent Residency rather than Citizenship?
Ah, the Government believes we’re stupid.
Brent, cover yourself … your tail is showing!!!!
ING-RUM will not call election until he has all of his Haitians… sorry I mean Votes..
MJ and KC – you should take your own advice and shut your trap. Slymonette has no excuse for being the traitor that he is as well as HAI(tian.) Pierre Dupuch IS correct and perhaps has more credibility in making his points since his ancestors are from Haiti. When you have dumb politicians making dumb immigration decisions for political expediency (look it up), we ought to call it what it is: A DUMB IMMIGRATION POLICY!
C. Ferguson, put up a book and read ya stupid self, ya sound so dumb. Everyone is quick to comment without getting the facts. The minister is giving citizenship to children born in The Bahamas with Haitian parents who applied for citizenship, and was waiting for a long time. Not illegal Haitians from Haiti. He is doing this because there is such a back log. Everything with we Bahamians have to political.
there will be thousands of haitians voting most bahamians will be voting PLP and DNA while ALL THE HAITIANS WILL BE VOTING FOR ING-RUM AND HE STAND A GOOD CHANCE I CANT BELIEVE WE SITTING ON ARE ASS WHILE THIS MAN GETTING HIS haitian VOTING BASE STR8..
tell that man shut up he was in that party now they kick him out he running this mouth why he didn’t say or do something about what going then why now all talk no bite all of them
Mr. Dupuch you could not have said this any better. The “humanitarian” excuse is absolute hogwash! Mr. Symonette do your job or go home because your tail IS showing. To be “humanitarian” your ‘illegal connection’ is exhausting our nation. Here’s some examples of what your “humanitarian” intentions have done to OUR country you are (suppose) to be “looking out for”;
– Our education system is failing. This is greatly due to the language barriers and illiterate mentality and I will leave it there.
– Our Public Health Care is almost non-existent. (to us Bahamians) The illegal community exhausts the system and how with no papers???
– Our crime rates are out of control. If you didn’t know the illegal individuals are at the top of most totem polls when it comes to our Drug trade, Human smuggling which is directly related to the majority of crimes in the Bahamas.
Mr. Symonette your are handing out citizenship to individuals whom have minimal positive impact on our society. How is it that an illegal mother AND father can have a Bahamian child? Meanwhile, a child born of a Bahamian Mother and Father of whom one parent is born abroad must be sworn in and go through the lengthy process of citizenship. A crying SHAME.
How difficult could it really be? We all know (Mr Symonette included) where these illegals reside, round them up and ship them off. You want to be “humanitarian” about it. Let your Bahamian people decide which illegals are eligible for Bahamian citizenship. IE. Allow business owners to apply for a maximal number (3) of illegals to gain Permanent Residency.
Mr. Dupuch is absolutely correct, these illegals do not deserve Citizenship, they can work here but this is NOT their country.
All countries need to take a serious look at their immigration policies. Illegal and undocumented citizens cause a burden on the countries politically and economically. When the country is struggling to keep it’s own citizens afloat it is hard to understand why you would take on the extra burden.
It is rely ridiculous what these guys are doing and Bahamains needs to show them who is Boss when elections are call, since they think that they can do what ever they want we will show them who is Boss
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