File
A group of Haitians living here in Jamaica hide their faces from our cameras. Human trafficking involving Haitians is reported as part of the drugs-for-guns trade between the two Caribbean neighbours.

Poorly maintained informal communities on the island's north and south coasts have been providing a safe haven for illegal immigrants, mostly Haitian women, many of whom come via boats returning from Haiti with guns.

According to Operation Kingfish, many of these immigrants are involved with the narcotics and illegal guns trade - as well as trafficking of other illegal immigrants (mostly women) into the country. And it is believed some have also become involved in criminal gangs.

Gang activity

"It would not be surprising if some of them were involved in gang activity because, certainly, there are drug syndicates and they would be a part of those (activities) in terms of providing some sort of support or being employed in the trade itself.

"We have arrested several Haitians for illegal importation of firearms in Jamaica, among other offences," says head of Operation Kingfish, Assistant Commissioner of Police Glenmore Hinds.

On arrival in Jamaica, they establish ties with local residents in villages that rim the fishing beaches. These include Treasure Beach, Rocky Point and Old Harbour Bay. The closed nature of these communities makes it fairly easy for them to live relatively secure. By Jamaican law, if discovered, they will be arrested and deported.

"They settle in these villages because of the access to the sea. Old Harbour Bay, for instance, has a thriving community of illegal Haitian immigrants," says physical planner and public affairs commentator, Dr Carol Archer.

"Most fishing villages are informal and transient. There is no formal land ownership so someone can just put down a thatch or two-by-four or a cardboard set-up and call it a home. No one will question their existence so you can easily establish communities," she adds.

Starting a new life in Jamaica, Haitians operate bars or shops, or work in the construction industry, settling for meagre salaries. There have been reports that some are being paid wages as low as $250 per day.

No presence

According to Archer, state authorities do not go into these communities on a regular basis because of the deplorable conditions that exist.

"In informal settings such as these, the social network that would question your belonging is not really intact, as you would have in more formal and settled communities, so you find that people of questionable character are able to integrate in communities that are relatively new.

"The other thing is that the residents aren't going to call the police. They don't enjoy a good relationship with the state, so they are not going to report suspicious characters. Moreover, immigrants are part of the fabric that provides benefits for the community through the narcotics or illegal firearms trade," Archer adds.

Illegal immigrants also pose a myriad of social problems for the state.

"Most of them would be largely undereducated and unskilled, and for that reason alone they pose social challenges, and they are not going to be able to take care of themselves financially," says Hinds.

The Ministry of National Security could not provide an estimate of the number of illegal Haitian immigrants in the country, but it is believed there might be in the region of hundreds living mostly on the south coast.

"Also, the fact that they would have come in and they would have circumvented surveillance screening. So there are clear potential health implications," Hinds adds.

Haitian immigrants were said to be linked to the importation of malaria that led to an outbreak in late 2006.

"We didn't really establish a link. But we did have persons coming here with malaria, so there is a possibility that there was an importation," says director of emergency services in the Ministry of Health, Dr Marion Bullock DuCasse.

Health-care woes

Insufficient health-care facilities in the communities also means that there is little health care for the illegal immigrants who may have been infected or developed diseases en route to the island.

Apart from the obvious health problems though, Archer argues that the illegal immigrants pose a socio-cultural challenge to the state that could implode over time.

"I am very concerned because these socio-cultural differences can, over time, serve as a source of conflict, and I think that the state must move with alacrity to deal with it because I would hate to know that this is a source of ethnic violence that we see happening elsewhere," she says.