More Cubans still coming

Eighteen migrants make a short stop on Cayman Brac
Friday

Tuesday,  February 8, 2006

A dozen Cubans who were left by their fellow migrants on Point of Sand beach on Little Cayman for several hours were back on board their boat Friday afternoon as it was towed out to sea by a Government vessel.

Several tourists on the Island reportedly spotted the twelve Cubans on the beach on Friday, and they were also seen wandering inland. Their boat meanwhile, with their six compatriots on board, was seen by Little Cayman residents traveling along the north side of the Island heading west.

Residents say they later saw the boat in Ken Hall’s Dock, where it remained over a three hour period while allegedly minor repairs were made, in direct contravention of the current Government guidelines on dealing with Cuban migrants.

It is not clear why the group of eighteen men split up temporarily and there was no mention of this in the official release, which says only that they “stopped at Little Cayman en route to Honduras”.

Deputy Chief Secretary Donovan Ebanks, in response to a query by Cayman Net News, has previously denied that any migrants are ever coerced into continuing their journey. However, some residents have indicated that they believed the twelve were left on the beach because they did not want to continue the journey.

This boat was towed Friday afternoon back to the east end of Little Cayman and round past Point of Sand, and then west along the south side of the Island. It is believed that all eighteen are now on board their vessel.

The group reached Cayman Brac Friday morning, 3 February, in a sturdy vessel, approximately 20-feet long, but opted to continue their seaward journey together at that point.

They left from the Buccaneers’ Cut on the northwest shore at around 9:30 am, after being interviewed by immigration officials. All on board appeared well and in good spirits.

This group was the second to arrive in two days and followed a group of eleven, two females and nine males, that were first spotted off Spot Bay on the east end of Cayman Brac before 7:00 am Thursday.

The twenty-nine Cubans that reached the Sister Islands last week continued a trend of arrivals that these Islands are experiencing, despite the Government guidelines introduced in January 2005 that were designed to deter such incidents.

District Commissioner Kenny Ryan told Cayman Net News Thursday afternoon, “Upon being advised of the current official policy they (the group of eleven) elected to continue on their journey.

The last report was that they were south of Little Cayman continuing in a south westerly direction,”

A release issued by Government Information Services (GIS) on Friday stated this group of eleven departed Cayman Brac Thursday night, though Net News witnessed them leaving for the first time around noon.

The release states they anchored offshore Little Cayman until Friday morning, and continued their voyage about 11:00 am.

Residents said this group was also towed along the south shore by a Government vessel. According to witnesses, it was reported that this boat appeared extremely un-seaworthy and people expressed fears that these Cubans would not survive.

Immigration in the Sister Islands falls under District Administration and not Chief Immigration Officer Franz Manderson.

According to Government guidelines passed by Cabinet in January 2005, Cuban migrants who illegally enter the Cayman Islands by vessels or by other means will be repatriated to Cuba unless they are determined to be refugees as defined in the 1951 United Nations Convention on Refugees.

“Upon arrival (mooring, berthing or coming ashore) in the Islands the Cuban migrants must be advised by immigration officers that no assistance will be rendered and that permission to land will not be granted for the purpose of repairing their vessels or receiving other assistance.

Should the Cuban migrants elect to depart the Islands after being advised that no assistance will be rendered they should be allowed to do so, provided they leave the territorial waters of the Cayman Islands immediately,” the guidelines state.

These replaced guidelines approved by the former Governor Bruce Dinwiddy, on 14 July, 2004, by which migrants were granted forty-eight hours to leave, unless severe weather conditions or other circumstances in the opinion of the Immigration Department warranted a delay in departure.

Under this policy, the Cubans were given food, water, fuel, clothing, flashlights and minor repairs to their vessels. They were not given radios, flare guns or lifejackets, though in order to reach Honduras, the Cubans must pass across a busy shipping lane.

nicky@caymannetnews.com

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