haitians risk tragedy on sea excursions to america

Haitians risk tragedy on sea excursions to America

By TAMARA LUSH (AP) – 30 July 2009

MIAMI — The tragedies happen with alarming regularity in the waters near Florida: Haitian immigrants seeking a better life pay hundreds, if not thousands, to crowd onto filthy, rickety boats with little food or water.

The vessels run aground and break up on jagged reefs, or capsize during the difficult multi-day voyage, leaving many migrants to spend their final moments in the very seas they had hoped would carry them to a fresh start.

News of this week's rescue of 100 Haitians off the Turks and Caicos Islands coast — and the announcement that so far, 15 had died and about 70 others were unaccounted for — was met with heavy sighs from South Florida residents familiar with the struggle of those living in the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation.

"We're constantly cautioning Haitians and others not to take to the seas because the voyages are so treacherous," said Cheryl Little, the executive director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center. "Whenever we talk to Haitians here, we try to make sure they tell their relatives never try to leave by boat, because chances are they aren't going to make it."

Some say the solution is to grant Temporary Protected Status to Haitian immigrants already in the U.S., which would allow them to work legally and make it easier to send much-needed money back home.

"For the life of me, I don't have any idea why the administration has not done this," said U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., adding that other impoverished countries such as Honduras have previously been granted protected status.

Opponents of granting Haitians protected status say it would encourage more people to undertake the dangerous voyage.

Between Oct. 1 and June 2, when the last compilation was completed, the U.S. Coast Guard captured 1,491 Haitians at sea, about 90 fewer than the same period in 2007-08.

Most Haitians who arrive in South Florida successfully — and illegally — are reluctant to talk about the boat trips. People-smuggling is a well-established, word-of-mouth industry in Haiti. Brokers ply the island's poor neighborhoods and marketplaces, offering spots for about $500, although people who have been caught have told U.S. authorities they paid up to $4,000.

Haitians often pool their money to send a family member hardy enough to survive the perilous journey. Some migrants end up in the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos and even Jamaica — and stay after finding work.

However, most want to go to South Florida, where there is a thriving Haitian community and a network of businesses, media outlets and aid groups. It's a 750-mile trip.

Perhaps the best accounts of the smuggling operations can be found in court files.

Take the case of Jimmy Metellus and Jean Morange Nelson, who were charged with smuggling earlier this year by U.S. authorities. Nine people, including a woman who was eight months pregnant, died when the boat capsized off the coast of Palm Beach County; 16 were rescued alive.

According to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement affidavit, Metellus told agents that Nelson arranged for him to fly from Haiti to the Bahamas to participate in the smuggling venture. Metellus said he, Nelson and two other smugglers used a 30-foot white boat with two inboard engines and a cabin for the roughly 21 migrants being transported.

The boat left Nassau, Bahamas, on May 9 but soon encountered engine problems, drifting for three days. Nelson worked on the engines and was able to get one working. After a small plane flew overhead, a boat appeared carrying fuel and the smuggling vessel continued on to Bimini with Nelson, Metellus and the others taking turns steering.

When the boat neared Bimini, the ICE affidavit says Nelson got a call on his cell phone from another smuggler known as "Shine" to arrange an overnight stay at a house on the island. After that stay, the migrants were again loaded on the boat at night and taken by Nelson and then Metellus toward the U.S. coast some 50 miles away.

Using the Bahamas — or the Turks and Caicos — as a refueling point is common, experts say. Sometimes the migrants will stay in the Bahamas for several weeks, or until they can catch a boat to the U.S., said Jean LaFortune, the chairman of the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition.

Often, the ringleader of the smuggling operation is based in the Bahamas — though Haitians rarely meet those masterminds who sometimes keep them in deplorable conditions.

"We've heard horrific stories where people are thrown overboard and beaten and sexually abused, denied food, water and lifejackets," Little said. "Other times, we've been told that living conditions weren't that bad."