The Disadvantages of the Haitians in the Bahamas
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Disadvantages of the Haitian Presence in the Bahamas
Haiti received its independence in 1804 from France and is still seen as the most illiterate and poorest country in the western hemisphere. Haiti has a population of 9,900,000 and an area mass of 27,750 sq. km. Its has a labour force of 4.81million but still has a shortage of skilled labours. Most labours in Haiti are unskilled due to the fact that most of them only receive an education that stops to the six grade. Although education is free in Haiti, the people especially those that live in areas that are below the poverty line, are unable to afford the materials needs like books and uniform. The unemployment rate in Haiti is 40.6% which is cause by more than two-thirds of the people not having formal jobs. It is known by others as an unprivileged country that has to be helped by others in order to survive. From the time of the mid 1900s Haitians have been migrating into the Bahamas seeking a better life and a more stable environment. Wikipedia encyclopaedia defines “Illegal Immigration” as migrating into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal migration raises many problems such as economic and social issues that have become controversial in many developing countries like the Bahamas.
With the Bahamas already in a recession, Haitian migrants have become a major strain on the economy because they decrease the chances for Bahamians to be able to obtain a job. Haitians are known as labours of the field because its their way of producing food in Haiti. With Bahamians being proud to work jobs that requires long hours in the sun cleaning up after other, Haitians who would do anything for a sustainable living accepts these low end jobs. These jobs are called “Haitian jobs” by Bahamian and are not favoured; however it could still be seen as a way of making money by Bahamians especially with the unemployment rate increasing. Now that Haitians are becoming more apart of society and are able to blend in with Bahamians it was reported by The Tribune “Haitian nationals were beginning to work in areas nominally reserved for Bahamians “(The College of the Bahamas). Haitians are seen working more upper standard jobs like hotels as being a maid or a bell hopper, working as a taxi driver or horse and carriage driver, and the most recent job you would see is a Haitian selling phone cards. Many Haitians uses the funds earned from labour to repatriate back to their families in Haiti causing less money to be circulating in the Bahamian economy. The money is sent to the families left back in Haiti to help make life easier and so that the children that was left home would be able to schooled. With Haitians working illegally in the Bahamas they are not able contributing to National Insurance but receive help from the government by means of free healthcare and education. The children of Haitians constituted 7.4 percent of the Bahamas public school population. “It was estimated that it cost the government 4.2 million to educate the Haitian youths from the budget 106 million” (“The Impact of Immigration”1998, p7). This amount of money spent could have been used to provide a new health care facility or build a new school.
Although by law every citizen that resides in a country should receive services provided when needed it causes the government, with the amount of Haitian migrants entering the country, 21.4million for services to Haitian for health care” (“The Impact of Immigration”, 1998 p30). Ministry Tommy Turnquest stated “In the past the country has benefitted greatly from Haitian workers but as the numbers begin to increase over the years it has place a major strain on resources used for healthcare and education”. Haitians who squat on private property sometimes uses other peoples electricity illegally simply because they are unable to obtain light services legally due to their status. Haitians are frequently repatriated by the government. The trips are very costly and are mainly funded by the government from their yearly budget. Gradually Haitians who are involved in crimes such as gun violence, robberies, and the distribution of drugs are mainly blamed for the increase rate. Although 90% of the prison population is Bahamian nationals Haitians are still being caught committing crimes that are illegal. In a recent article printed by the Tribune we see the headlines