The Tribune Limited

What will we do with human trafficking in our country?

W H EN T he Bahamas makes international news, the spotlight is seldom kind.

You may recall the headlines when the F T X scandal broke – or our nation’s connection to the company whose submersible imploded as it descended to explore the wreck of the Titanic.

H istorically, of course, the Miami H erald’s famous exposé A Nation For Sale exposed corruption and drug trafficking in T he Bahamas.

Yesterday, the Washington Post turned its spotlight on the issue of human smuggling in T he Bahamas. In a lengthy report, headlined Dreams And Deadly Seas, reporters examined the issue as it affects T he Bahamas, and more pointedly as it affects those who are smuggled and those who do the smuggling.

Many of the points in the article will be familiar to Tribune readers –starting with the incident in July last year in which at least 17 H aitians died when a boat set off from the Sand Trap area near Arawak Cay but overturned in rough seas.

T he report goes on to look at all parts of the issue of human smuggling – from speaking to anonymous individuals who say they are smugglers and who talk of the money that can be made in the illegal activity, through to a relative of one of the victims of that Sand Trap voyage.

As far as our local knowledge of these affairs goes, it covers ground we largely already know. But for an international audience, this may well be new – and shocking.

Most challenging for T he Bahamas is the general feeling throughout the story that people know what’s going on – and no one is interested in stopping it.

T he story suggests that everyone in Bimini knows what is going on in terms of human smuggling – taking the word of a smuggler that “everybody’s in on it”.

T hat smuggler suggests there are 15 others like him on Bimini alone, and that he could make upwards of $30,000 a trip carrying people illegally.

Meanwhile, advocate Louby Georges suggests that the government and the people of T he Bahamas do a good job of hiding human smuggling.

T here are things that cannot be denied. H uman smuggling occurs on a regular basis in our country.

We often hear talk of boats full of people coming from H aiti – well, those boats are smuggling people who pay large amounts for that journey.

What we do not see as much of is people being brought before the court in an effort to squash that practice.

Beyond human smuggling, we also often hear of human trafficking. We have heard of people being trafficked for example by being brought into the country to act as sex workers or for forced labour or to work as maids or housekeepers.

T he Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists warning signs to watch out for, such as people not being in control of their own documents such as passports and ID cards or being paid very little if at all for their work. T hey may never appear alone or seem limited in their ability to move around.

Beyond that, details such as how they got into the country may be hard to come by – and there may be questions about the legitimacy of any permits they do have to be here, while overstaying may be commonplace.

As we find ourselves currently in the middle of a row in which a number of workers were detained and only three had identification, and with mixed reports from the Ministry of Immigration whether they were here legally or not, it is worth asking the question that if these workers were legal and still had such identification problems, then how can we tell the difference from the paperwork of those who are not here legally? If things are such a mess, how do we tell who is genuine?

H uman smuggling is a pervasive crime in our society – one which has victims, witnessed too often when people die at sea most notably, but that doesn’t even take into account the victims who pay smugglers money and then find themselves abandoned and out of pocket.

T hose who conduct such operations should not be accepted in our society. If as that criminal claims, everyone knows about it – then everyone should speak up. T hat includes those who complain about migrant numbers – because that is how people get here very often. It includes those who want to stop people being exploited for sex or labour. It includes those who just want to ensure people are treated well instead of being crammed on a boat that might be large enough for the number of people on board – or it might not.

T his article does shine a spotlight on the problem that exists in our society. T he question is, when it talks about smuggling being a routine part of Bahamas life, is it correct? Do we laud and hail these criminals – or do we treat them as they are, and find and bring them to court?

We shall see how – or if – our leaders respond to this moment in the spotlight.

EDITOR, The Tribune.

W I TH the COVID19 pandemic now in the rearview mirror, even if it is not, the vast majority of the population have already moved on with their life as normal. T here are, however, some questions that need to be answered.

During the pandemic, the vaccine was pushed relentlessly by the competent authorities as the essential “antidote” to return our lives to normal. T he script was rewritten many times as the efficacy of the vaccine began to be called into question. Many people took the vaccine because they honestly believed what was promulgated by the “virologists, immunologists, and governments”.

Firstly, we were told that vaccine would prevent transmission of the virus. T hen came many breakthrough cases and the narrative was subtly changed or might I say redacted to ‘the vaccine prevents or reduces the risk of being hospitalized’. T hen we heard it gave you a fighting chance if you ever contracted the virus. T he narrative kept changing until they had no other recourse but to allow the vaccination conversation to die a natural death. We had police cars marked COVID Police to ensure that the level of “covidity” was kept to a bare minimum. We even had hotlines to do contact tracing and numbers were listed on a flyer/ leaflet, which was given to the recently vaccinated. With all the necessary resources taken to stop or limit the spread of COVID, how come we don’t see the same level of concern being shown post COVID?

I tell you that if we mobilised every working part of our society as we did during the pandemic, we would see a downturn in crime and the level of corruption or perceived corruption in our society and world on a broader spectrum.

I know many people are tired of hearing the news and so have stopped watching it since the COVID pandemic because it was quite depressing, but there are others among us who still pay close attention.

Did you know that there are a number of people who are suffering from vaccine remorse? Some have regretted taking the vaccine since the unvaccinated and vaccinated are now on the same level.

T he vaccinated have lost their short-lived superiority complex.

T here are others who took the vaccine and now have developed health problems. Let me hasten to say that they had no previous history of health challenges. Many have cardiology problems and we are now hearing of young people dying of massive heart attacks.

Can the competent authorities please explain to us (1) why so many people, especially young ones, are dying of massive heart attacks? (2) Why there are so many health issues post COVID-19 vaccine?

Many vaccine “ambassadors” will use the obesity and unhealthy lifestyle of most of our people as a scapegoat, but that won’t fly for me. We have always had many of our people eating unhealthily but never have we seen so many health issues.

I remember the many funny memes during the pandemic whenever a notice came out about a press conference. Many residents would have their Pepto bismol nearby, which was quite hilarious.

With fun and jokes aside, why can we not have the chief medical officer (CMO) and minister of health share with us in a press conference some findings? I recommend that we have a press conference where the “clean” journalists can put the tough questions to the competent authorities.

I say “clean” because some journalists seem to have bought the COVID19 narrative hook, line, and sinker, rejecting the overwhelming body of evidence that the vaccine doesn’t work inter alia. T here are others though, who can separate facts from fiction without getting their feelings all wrapped up in that.

T he number of cancer cases has gone up and some cancers have even been more aggressive. T hose whose cancer was in remission have seen it return with a vengeance post vaccine. Is anyone keeping a record? If so, can those statistics be made public? T he freedom of information act is long overdue.

Why are there no hotlines to deal with suicide ideation post COVID vaccine? H ave we established any form of compensation for those who have been adversely affected/injured by the vaccine? Where are the hotlines to point people in the right direction who have developed cardiologic issues post COVID-19 vaccine or are they left to fend for themselves since we can now return to our regularly scheduled programming such as playing golf, enjoy our social parties? Do they want us to “drink water and mind our own business”?

T hat was never the attitude we displayed during the pandemic. T hose who refused to surrender their arms to receive the jab were vilified, labeled unchristian, unconscionable and the list goes on and on.

Why do we have so many children lagging behind with the regular immunization? I put it to you that many parents are afraid that the COVID-19 vaccine will be sneaked into the mix. I understand that PA H O is warning of the threat of polio and other diseases, but I put it to you that the government and the medical fraternity will have to work doubly hard to regain the trust of the public after such massive campaign to get the COVID-19 vaccine and multiple boosters. Should the church be used as a mop to clean up the medical mess left by the putative scientific community? I tell you that we will continue to offer counseling, emotional, physical and spiritual help to get through this unforgettable phase of our human existence. But the competent authorities need to address us forthwith.