Disorders broke out Wednesday in the detention center "Bahamas Carmichael Road" because Haitians detained because of their irregular migration situation demanded to be repatriated to Haiti, said the immigration department which recalled that the repatriation had was postponed in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement, the Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF) reported that several Haitians had started a hunger strike on Tuesday June 2 at around 8 a.m. and exhibited aggressive behavior, demanding return to their country.

The Immigration Ministry said that the Haitians had refused to eat "until they are given a date for their departure flight to Port-au-Prince" specifying that not all Haitians were of agreement for the hunger strike.

Some of the detainees escaped from the dormitories, destroying several fences and minor infrastructure, said the RBDF whose marines quickly regained control of the situation, 8 Haitians should be charged with destroying public property and placed in the correctional center said the RBDF.

Military Police Commander Natasha Miller, head of the detention center, said it was decided to increase security at the facility.

Reacting to these events, "Rights Bahamas", a local human rights group declared in a statement that "Haitian lives do not matter to many Bahamians" stressing "Our Haitian brothers and sisters are choosing to starve themselves, to garner our attention of what cruelties they endure in our detention center [...]"

Miller said Wednesday that the short hunger strike that started on Tuesday morning and had little follow-up ended on Wednesday and that the situation returned to normal in the establishment.

The Bahamas Carmichael Road Center houses 133 detainees (source immigration service). Haitians represent nearly 64% of the population of the Center (67 men and 18 women), some of whom have been there since February, 2020 (source RBDF).

S/ HaitiLibre