Saturday, March 24, 2007
Following the concerns expressed by members of the public over the
Government's stance on the arrival of Cuban migrants in the Cayman
Islands, Chief Immigration Officer Franz Manderson has issued a lengthy
statement to defend the current Government policy on their treatment.
Presently, the Government offers Cubans who reach Cayman's shores the
option of either being repatriated to Cuba or to carry on their journey
without assistance whatsoever.
In his press release, Mr Manderson admitted that the issue of whether to
offer assistance has been a difficult and sensitive one, but he also
referred to the fact that what he is dealing with is illegal migration.
Looking back at the period between 2002 and 2005, when limited
assistance was being given, he said that this amounted to giving support
to illegal migration, something the Government could not condone.
Mr Manderson said that the current immigration policy provides for
officials to meet vessels carrying Cuban migrants to determine the
nature and purpose of the visit. One problem is that it is often
difficult to be sure of the occupants' nationalities because proper
documentation is seldom or never shown.
The occupants of the vessel are then advised that if they choose to land
they will be screened and cared for in accordance with international
conventions. They are also told that they will be repatriated if they do
not qualify for refugee status. Otherwise they can choose to continue
their journey without assistance.
Commenting on the MOU with the Cuban Government, Mr Manderson confirmed
that the understanding does not dictate Cayman Islands' policy in
relation to the processing of Cuban migrants when they arrive in our waters.
Mr Manderson emphasised that the Cayman Government is very careful to
apply United Nation conventions and guidelines in determining whether a
person is a 'refugee' or an 'economic migrant.'
"A migrant is someone who moves from country to country for economic
reasons. While, according to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status
of Refugees, a refugee is a person who, owing to a well-founded fear of
being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership
in a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the
country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is
unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country," explained
Mr Manderson in his statement.
Mr Manderson is adamant that the Immigration Department, as part of its
screening process, is careful to identify genuine cases of Cubans
fleeing because of persecution. He said that, currently, there are about
20 Cubans who have been granted refugee status in the Cayman Islands.
In Mr Manderson's opinion, the Cayman Islands runs the risk of being
branded as a supporter of illegal migration or perhaps even being
accused of assisting in the smuggling of migrants if we give more aid to
the Cubans.
"Basically, the Cayman Islands must be a responsible territory and not
allow undocumented or improperly documented persons to transit our
borders en route to other countries," he said, adding, "As we witnessed
in 2004, should there be mass migration from Cuba, illegal migrants will
resort to established routes to leave Cuba."
"Given human nature, supporting illegal migration can be expected to
encourage other persons to opt to travel on unsafe vessels or use
violent methods to acquire vessels to leave their country," he said.
According to Mr Manderson, when all these factors are weighed up, there
is very little room to manoeuvre outside of the current policy. "One of
the few options is to promote legal migration - which is already being
done. Currently there are about 200 Cubans here on work permits, clearly
an indicator that our policies permit legal migration from Cuba as from
any other country," he said.
Meanwhile, 13 Cuban migrants, detained at Fairbanks Detention Centre in
George Town, posted a sign pleading for help. They claimed that they
weren't being fed properly nor receiving pertinent medical care by
authorities.
The alleged medical conditions included the urination of blood, a boil
on a leg and food poisoning.
One other male prisoner was placed in a holding cell at George Town
police station for being in possession of a cellular phone. Eight
others, including women, remained in their cells at Fairbanks.
http://www.caymannetnews.com/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000130/013027.htm
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