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The group of 37 Haitians, including eight children, arrived by boat at Boston Beach in Portland on July 10.
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Information Minister Robert Morgan
By Lorraine Mendez
Information Minister Robert Morgan says Jamaica's decision to fine and deport the 29 Haitian adults who entered the island illegally last week will not negatively affect its international campaign to shore up support for the French-speaking CARICOM nation.
A group of 37 Haitians, including eight children, arrived by boat at Boston Beach in Portland on July 10. They were transported to St. Mary for processing. The 29 adults appeared in the Portland Parish Court on Tuesday to answer to the charge of illegal entry. They were each fined $7,000 or three days imprisonment.
Speaking at a post cabinet press briefing Wednesday morning, Mr. Morgan said the Haitians were advised of the possibility of applying for asylum, but none took up the offer.
"They would have been briefed. As part of the process, they go through health checks to figure out whether they have any ailments and they would have - based on the treaties that we signed - been advised of the rights that they have as persons who have entered the country in the circumstances that they did," he explained.
He said consideration should also be given to the possibility that Jamaica may not have been the intended destination of the migrants when they set sail from Haiti.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness this week urged EU member countries to provide financial support to the United Nation's Humanitarian efforts in Haiti. He was speaking at the just concluded EU-CELAC summit which brought together countries in Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America in Brussels, Belgium.
Gangs, hunger, and cholera have caused nearly half of Haiti's population to be in need of humanitarian assistance.
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