Following the sinking in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), on March 31 of a boat of Haitian migrants who made 15 dead https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-27349-haiti-shipwreck-end-of-the-search-14-survivors-15-dead-4-missing.html the former Prime Minister of the Caicos (2003-2009) Washington Misick of the National Progressive Party (PNP) and Leader of the Opposition, in a video message in which he addressed the members of the Government of the TIC declared that the Haitians invaded the Islands Caicos, suspecting the Consulate of Haiti installed on the island of Providenciales, to be in complicit with the traffickers of migrants...

Adding " must also condemn those mercenaries who would exploit the vulnerabilities of persons who are essentially persons who have very little hope, and so they decide to do desperate things [...] to escape the poverty of Haiti."

The Leader of the Opposition wonders if the Haitian Consulate in Providenciales has a reason to be and if the Haitian Consulate was there to help find a solution to the illegal entry of boat people from Haiti or it was part of the problem "[...] one has to ask the question what purpose does the Haitian consulate serve in these islands? Whether they are a beacon of hope of light that says to the persons who want to escape that this is a safe haven to come to or whether they potentially are in collusion with the perpetrators of these vicious crime of human trafficking..."

Recall that the archipelago of Caicos composed of thirty islands, whose most of them are uninhabited, has an estimated population of 51,500 souls (2015). By 2017, the influx of Haitian migrants was important estimated at 2,000 loans for that year. Despite firm statements by the Government, boats from Haiti have not stopped and continue to flow into the TCI at a disturbing frequency. The cost of repatriation to Haiti has risen to more than 4 million US dollars in the last 3 years, a heavy burden for a small public treasury. Even the Haitian community of Caicos protests against the inaction of the Haitian Government. On 18 May 2018, the day of the Flag Day in Haiti, there were dozens in front of the Consulate of Haiti to urge the Government of Haiti to "do its part" to stem illegal migration, which makes life even more difficult for Haitians living legally in the Caicos.

SL/ HaitiLibre