‘YOU CAN’T CALL THIS ETHNIC CLEANSING’: Govt lawyer hits back at attack on ‘humane’ shanty town actions

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

By FARRAH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

THE government’s plan to demolish shanty towns in the country is not driven by ethnic cleansing and will be executed in a “humane manner”, according to the attorney representing the Crown in a judicial review centred on the demolition of the unregulated communities.

Crown attorney Kayla Green-Smith’s assertions were in response to accusations made by Fred Smith, QC, in a previous hearing, accusing the government of embarking on a “dictatorial” policy to completely eliminate ethnically Haitian-Bahamian communities in the country.

Mr Smith represents 177 residents and shanty town occupants in the case.

During the virtual hearing before Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson yesterday, Mrs Green-Smith said they objected to any reference of the term “ethnic cleansing” during the proceedings as the matter before the court related to the government’s “comprehensive initiative aimed at removing illegal, unregulated and unsafe buildings in shanty towns.”

She also said it was “critical to note” the use of the term “shanty town’’ was not meant to be “pejorative” as the term was “accepted in common usage to refer to settlements or communes consisting of improvised housing built illegally in areas which lacked proper sanitation, safe water supply, electricity and other basic necessities.”

“The United Nations Commission of experts define ethnic cleansing in its final report as a ‘purposeful policy designed by one ethnic group to remove by violence and terror, the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas,’” she stated.

“The commission report further explains what they refer to as coercive practices. And these coercive practices used to remove the civilian population can include murder, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, execution, rape and sexual assault, severe physical injuries to civilians, confinement of civilian populations in ghettos, forcible removal, displacement and deportation of civilian populations...We say that certainly is not the case in relation to these proceedings.”

Mrs Green-Smith insisted the government’s primary goal, as highlighted in the affidavit of Labour Minister Dion Foulkes, was to eliminate irregular living conditions associated with “improperly constructed houses” in order to elevate the living standards of persons residing in such communities.

She argued “the need for this initiative was further highlighted” by the passage of Hurricane Dorian in Abaco in September 2019.

“It is critical to highlight some of the areas of the CDEMA (Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency) report because it identifies shanty town communities as one of the areas of concern and noted that these communities were nearly 100 percent destroyed,” she noted.

“It is (also) important to mention that the level of damage is different in diverse settlements, cays, subdivisions and shanty towns on the island. There was nearly 100 percent damage to the houses in areas such as the Mudd, Pigeon Peas, and the Farm Road communities and this in contrast to houses in the southern part of the island with only minor damage or no damage at all.”

Mrs Green-Smith said this fact further highlighted the necessity of the work of the Shantytown Action Task Force to bring housing structures up to the standard that is required by law.

During her submissions, she also argued that the applicants had not established their right to be on the land in question, a fact she claimed was “affirmed” by their own evidence outlined in the affidavit of Stephanie St Fleur.

She also referred to ground two of the applicant’s arguments, which asserted that the government’s notice decision was unlawful as it was created to obtain possession of the land or further their policy of tracking down undocumented immigrants.

Mrs Green-Smith said in the Crown’s “humble view”, the applicants referred to the disconnection of utilities as a decision to take possession of the land, because they were unable to point to any specific decision that would suggest the government was actually doing so.

She added it was important to examine the “main legislative framework’’ governing the Building Regulations Act, which was implemented to “regulate the construction, alteration and repair of buildings for reinstatement or removal of dangerous or dilapidated buildings”.

“This Act gives the Ministry of Works statutory powers to issue notices to persons who are building houses or other structures without the statutory required permits and approvals and require them to remove or pull down the works within a specific time,” she explained.

“It is humbly submitted that these laws directly impact the proper functioning of our society that the respondents are seeking to enforce...We accept that in any event, prior to any lawful demolition it would be necessary for disconnections to be made by the appropriate utility providers pursuant to their various statutory functions.”

Mrs Green-Smith noted the Water and Sewerage Act recognised water as a natural resource of the country and stipulated the “control and administration of water” was to be exercised by the corporation on behalf of the government. She also said the Electricity Act of 2015 was established to “create an electricity supply regime that promoted the diversification in generation, supply and distribution of electricity”.

“The affidavit of Stephanie St Fleur filed on August 3, 2019 exhibits a (Tribune) newspaper report from the Labour Minister Senator Dion Foulkes in a visit to Abaco (which states): ‘Mr Foulkes, the committee’s chairman, was visibly shocked by much of what he saw during his treks through the Farm Lands, Sand Banks, the Mudd and Pigeon Peas shanty towns, telling The Tribune the government is treating the matter with a sense of ‘urgency’.

“...‘Referring to makeshift power generating systems scattered around the muddled communities, Mr Foulkes said: ‘Just on this visit today, I saw three major generators that had 20 to 50 different lines connected to that generator.’ Law enforcement officers who assisted Mr Foulkes on his tour claimed similar systems could be blamed for as many as four major fires in the past.’”

The Crown’s counsel asked the court to consider the article and other reports from Craig Delancey, the building control officer, which outlined similar instances where residents of shanty towns were setting up “illegal connections in clear violation of the law” and living in unsanitary conditions.

Quoting an affidavit filed by Mr Delancey she stated: “‘During assessment of the shanty towns I found that the majority of buildings did not have a proper sanitary disposal system, that is to say the use of septic tanks or sewer connections. Very few buildings had portable water supply while the majority had well water supply which was situated in very close proximity to their version of a septic tank which in many instances was a mere pipe from the building into a hole in the ground.”

She also noted a 2013 report from the Department of Environmental Health Services which highlighted water samples that were collected in such communities.

“Ninety-three percent of water failed the water analysis and 79 percent had the presence of faecal coliform in the water...Human faeces are observed in common walking areas…and around animal pens. The inadequate disposal of sewage increases the risk of transmission of faecal borne diseases and the contamination of groundwater supply. On these premises we humbly submit that the respective utility corporations have the statutory power to address electricity and water supply which clearly impacts the health, safety and proper functioning of our society.”

Mrs Green-Smith said despite the fact that the applicants accused the government of “making a blanket decision to take possession of the entire land,” Mr Foulkes’ affidavit specified the process was “intended to be very detailed” and would “carefully consider the individual circumstances of the occupiers of the land”.

“We say the work of the SATF and their reports clearly outline that attention was made to the individual needs of these various communities by the assessment that was done,” she said.

When given an opportunity to speak, Mr Smith criticised the government for confiscating the personal property of shanty town residents in Abaco when an application to extend the current injunction to include members of that community was currently before the judge for consideration.

“We hear Mrs Kayla Green-Smith has the instructions to agree to the variation of the injunction to include shanty towns in Abaco,” he said.

“The issue is there is a lot of activity by the government and the allegation is that persons have breached one of the conditions of the injunction in building without permits. While that may very well be so, but the government must lead evidence of that and breach of a condition of an injunction is punishable by contempt...But to go (ahead) with the exercises that they have just recently conducted and to serve notices of intended demolition in 28 days or even less now, puts the application for variation of the injunction very urgent for determination by your honour.”

Mr Smith said it was “really hypocritical” of the government to have their legal representation assert that they were “seeking to abide by the rule of law”, while they were threatening to demolish homes and taking away personal possessions in the “middle of the trial”.

“That is the height—that is the epitome—of disrespect for the rule of law,” he insisted. “If we’re actually in the middle of an application to vary the injunction which the court is considering and we are in the trial of the substantive matter, one would have thought that a civilised series of respondents would await the outcome of the court’s decision. That is what the rule of law is about, not taking matters in your own hands once again which is how this case arose in the first place.”

After listening to submissions from both sides, Justice Grant-Thompson said she would address the outstanding interlocutory issues to vary the injunction on April 20.

She also adjourned the substantive hearing to April 30, to give the Crown an opportunity to complete its submissions.

Comments

FreeUs242 says...

I grew up as a kid saying that these ppl were coming here to do this and that and so on. It was normal growing up around an atmosphere blaming ppl from Haiti and looking down on them. As I grew older, I know that God word says to love they neighbors. I have no hate or any ounce of discrimination toward Haitians. I started to have friends who where more loyal than any other friends I had.

The law is the law of gaining proper documentation to live in the Bahamas and other places. There are some Bahamians as well entering the US illegally, what if the US label us like how most of us doing here now toward those individuals, we would feel some type of way. It is also not fair to the Bahamians to accept an influx of immigrants from wherever because it's causing an unbalanced society here, but they deserve a decent deportation in a humane and respectful way to their country.

On that note, GOVERNMENT needs to also revoke those high end ppl working here on outdated permits, illegal rich ppl living citizenship free and so on. And yes , a lot of the rich isn't even bahamian. They got free citizenship without any documentation gifted by the GOVERNMENT.

Posted 14 April 2021, 9:58 a.m. Suggest removal

Emilio26 says...

FreeOs242 do we even have rich foreigners living here illegally? It sounds very odd seeing that those wealthy immigrants have enough money to apply for residency.

Posted 14 April 2021, 11:33 a.m. Suggest removal

Government like to entertain the rich giving them free citizenship and free pass to do crime. Just how they allowed Nygard to continue his business here for many years. Is it any different from illegal activities from the rich operating in Bahamas without any charge? The only way they are charged unless it goes to the international headlines.

Posted 14 April 2021, 12:03 p.m. Suggest removal

tribanon says...

See my posts below before you start suggesting we change our national flag and national anthem as an appropriate sympathy gesture to the many many thousands of Haitians and their generational offspring residing in The Bahamas today because of illegal immigration, including those who have wrongfully received any kind of residency status as a result of our corrupt politicians and/or corrupt officials within our immigration department.

Posted 14 April 2021, 2:34 p.m. Suggest removal

We were so focused on ppl from Haiti, not paying full attention to other foreign nationals entering the country and buying up the land. They were granted years of free citizenship under GOVERNMENT. They running the most ponzi schemes along with our Gov.

Posted 14 April 2021, 10:05 a.m. Suggest removal

The Tribune's owners and editorial staff certainly don't care about Bahamians. They, like Fred Smith, are more interested in portraying Bahamians as ethnic cleansers when in fact the opposite is true. In a most unpatriotic way, they're always turning a blind eye to the most threatening issue facing Bahamians today - illegal immigration. Instead The Tribune and Fred Smith choose to play the role of human rights activists for the rights of everyone but Bahamians. They both do so to make money by stirring up powerful emotions that they know could easily trigger violent behaviour by those whose interests they choose to represent above the interests of Bahamians. The Tribune gets more readership and advertising revenue and Fred Smith gets handsomely compensated by international human rights organizations like Amnesty International. But what about us Bahamians? What do we end up getting? The short answer is: The very short end of the stick!

For decades now The Bahamas has been undergoing an invasion by illegal Haitian nationals and their generational offspring. Corrupt elected officials in successive FNM and PLP administrations turned a blind eye to the problem, allowing this deadly cancer to grow unchecked within our society as a source of cheap labour for the very greedy few among us. Now the profiteering opportunistic human traffickers have exacerbated the problem. Our small struggling nation is now overwhelmed by illegal Haitian nationals and their generational offspring to the point where our economy, cultural identity, political and law enforcement systems, health system, education system, etc., are all under seige, in turmoil and crumbling.

The existential threat posed to our Bahamian way of life by the rapidly growing Haitian community, a community born out of illegal immigration, is all too painfully obvious. Yet the unpatriotic likes of The Tribune's editorial staff and Fred Smith will never acknowledge that fact. They, like so many of our corrupt elected officials, are much more interested in making money rather than worrying about the true ethnic cleansing that is taking place which will soon have us Bahamians become the minority national group in our own country.

Posted 14 April 2021, 10:32 a.m. Suggest removal

Chucky says...

Ethnic cleansing - Wikipedia
Definitions — Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal or extermination of ethnic , racial and/or religious groups from a given area, ...

Posted 14 April 2021, 10:39 a.m. Suggest removal

Haiti's number one export through politically connected human traffickers is their own people as illegal immigrants to other countries like ours where they quickly find jobs with greedy employers looking for cheap (slave) labour. The illegal Haitian nationals waste no time in finding the means by which most of their earnings can be converted to US dollars in order for the lion's share to then be sent back home to their relatives. They also waste no time in producing generational offspring at an incredible rate, more often than not producing many more children than they could possibly ever support, and quite often by different partners.

For decades now there has been an enormous swooshing sound of hard currency leaving our country, destined for Haiti. And the government of Haiti just loves to hear that swooshing sound of hard currency whizzing out of our economy and into their economy. It is for this reason alone that the government of Haiti is most uncooperative in accepting back into their country illegal Haitian nationals whenever we try to deport them, at our expense. And our corrupt politicians simply refuse to play hard ball with the government of Haiti by seeking help from the international community. Minnis certainly has not woken up to the fact that long before our islands are under water as a result of global warming, our nation will have drowned in illegal Haitian nationals and their generational offspring.

Posted 14 April 2021, 1:30 p.m. Suggest removal

Worry more on which country is controlling our country as well. It's not the Haitian Gov...I can say that for a fact. Who's really creating our laws now? Yes it's wrong to come illegally and we should also respect different people to give them a decent way back to their country. That, I mean all their rich illegal friends from other countries without proper documentation should be deported too. We have illegal Bahamians in America, do we want that same treatment? Just send us back as well with respect, problem solved

Posted 14 April 2021, 11:30 a.m. Suggest removal

birdiestrachan says...

it has nothing to do with ethnic cleansing.

The drama king would like to promote this so that he can refer to the Bahamas in words
such as the policies of Stalin and Mao Zedong in China.

He thinks it makes him look good and the Bahamas and Bahamians are all bad

Posted 14 April 2021, 12:26 p.m. Suggest removal

Years of growing up in a society that looked down on Haitians, yes they build illegally on land. No one were paying attention to all the owned chinese businesses throughout the Bahamas until it became quite noticeable and continues to expand. Now people finally realizing it because everywhere you go, there's a chinese owned business around the corner. Where do the Bahamas get most of their help from, alot is from China. I don't hate chinese but because they have money, they can buy plenty citizenship for their families as well. I guess it is not a problem to have more owned Chinese business in the Bahamas and employing us. Sometimes you can see a van full of chinese nationals headed to their self owned business. They are dominating on many levels ,they just stay to themselves in private...and expand. I guess we are happy with China dominating here and controlling the Bahamas😃

Posted 14 April 2021, 12:47 p.m. Suggest removal

JokeyJack says...

Wow. Comments full of long list of excuses today. Government should announce they will station defense force boats in Inagua and provide free towing to Abaco or any island they want to go to. Let's bring 700,000 Haitians to the Bahamas over the next 3 months.
Why not? It's the humanitarian thing to do right? Maybe we can send boats to Honduras too and import half a million central Americans as well. Why not? The more the merrier.
Just think of the drivers license revenue alone. 1.2 million new drivers on the road at $20/license that's 24 million dollars. The Treasury will be overflowing. LOL

Posted 14 April 2021, 1:04 p.m. Suggest removal

America and Canada can ship us back as well😂

Posted 14 April 2021, 1:06 p.m. Suggest removal

It's really sad to think we are better than someone from a different country who is here illegally to seek a better life. How many Bahamians flooding US and Canada right now because life here is tough and there's better opportunities in those countries for Bahamians. Our GOVERNMENT fail to raise the minimum wage to make living possible for some. Most jobs still offering below minimum wage $150-175 weekly. I am not arguing for illegal immigrants to flood Bahamas, respect ppl as humans. You still can go hunting for immigrants but not to mistreat them as animals. Give them a decent send back to their countries.

Posted 14 April 2021, 1:23 p.m. Suggest removal

jus2cents says...

Of course it is ethnic cleansing. Look it up, it has all the classic markers of Ethnic cleansing we just don't want to be honest and admit it, its too real. It has been going on since the first foreigner stepped here most people here don't know any different but of all the people we should understand things from a Haitians point of view, not a Colonialist point of view.
Black Lives Matter .
Anyone who thinks differently needs to do some soul searching and read history.

All this FAULT lies at the feet of The Bahamian Government and the bad Management in Immigration department, if the Immigration department could only be trusted (not to bully and take bribes) and if they made work permits and resident permits system operate properly there wouldn't be a "Haitian Problem" in the first place.

Posted 14 April 2021, 1:31 p.m. Suggest removal

GodSpeed says...

🔙 **SEND THEM BACK**

Posted 14 April 2021, 2:50 p.m. Suggest removal

TalRussell says...

**Well, whilst not, nor must it to be written into the Constitution...,** face the reality that the Haitian community is exclusively the realm's largest block of potential voters, and is **predestined becoming the recognised economic force** that gets to decide who becomes the elected to govern over the realm's 1200 Out Islands, Cays, and Rocks.
Yes, Creole, within a period of twenty years to become the realm's **second official language.** And, so, it **shall be molded!**
See the day when King's Counsel Freddy, shall receive the Président d'Republic, Honour as a Comrade Advocate!

Posted 14 April 2021, 3:51 p.m. Suggest removal

Haiti is not running our government, it's China and the richer nationalists that can come here and rape us of our land. We cannot get any of that back unless they sell back to us which I doubt we can afford unless we rich like Sabas, then maybe we can stand a chance. Most Bahamians isn't rich like that because it will cause problems for the corrupt Gov to see Bahamians excelling like how it should be like. This Gov don't care because minimum wage stuck for years now at 210 and less on some jobs.

Posted 14 April 2021, 4:20 p.m. Suggest removal