By JADE RUSSELL 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

A 24-year-old Haitian man fears his family will be homeless if they can’t find a new home before their unregulated dwelling is bulldozed.

Kenwolf Fertilus lives with his grand- mother, mother, and younger brother in a shanty town on Cowpen road called T-wash.

After living in the Dominican Republic, Mr Fertilus decided to stay in New Providence a year ago to be with his family, who have resided in the unregulated community for about seven years.

Last Thursday, the Unregulated Communities Action Task Force issued 28-day eviction notices to 123 structures in the T-wash area. Mr Fertilus believes 28 days is insufficient to find a new home. He and others in the shanty town say they have no alternative housing options and question why the government didn’t grant more time to relocate.

“I don’t think that’s fair,” he said. “Because we are human at the end of the day. We have rights as humans.”

“Everybody knows that it’s hard to find houses in The Bahamas. If they could have given people, like, three months or tried to find any other solution –– like we can pay a fee every month if they want and we keep the houses.”

When The Tribune visited the shanty town, there were dozens of makeshift homes, piles of garbage, and broken-down cars. Heavy rain had caused flooding, and Mr Fertilus and his family were sheltered under a wooden shed surrounded by water. His ten-year-old brother sat playing a video game, seemingly unaware of their impending eviction.

Mr Fertilus, a farmer, estimates that about 60 people live in the area. He was at work when the eviction notices were posted. He finds it stressful to secure new housing, particularly since his mother and grandmother are both ill.

“People come to The Bahamas because they want a better life,” he said. “So, Haitians came to The Bahamas, we work. We help Bahamians build The Bahamas.”

When asked if his family pays rent, Mr Fertilus said his mother uses her earnings from farming to pay a man, whose name he does not know, to live there.

Craig Delancy, a buildings control officer at the Ministry of Works and Family Island Affairs, said the 28-day notices in T-wash were the first issued for the new fiscal year. Last year, the task force issued over 500 eviction notices across various communities, and they plan to visit the Family Islands in the new year.

Mr Delancy acknowledged that officials know of people trying to rebuild illegally in different areas.

“We are quite certain that persons are looking in alternative areas to build and building without approval or permit,” he said. “So, we know some have dispersed into other areas. We intend to continue the work of dealing with all unregulated areas. We urge people to ensure they get a valid building permit and build on properties they have the right or approval to build on.”