By Roy Sanford, Freelance Writer
Haitian refugees who landed in Falmouth on Sunday give their attention to a document they were requested to fill out by Second Secretary of the Republic of Haiti in Jamaica, Robert Occius Isidore, when he visited his countrymen on Tuesday. - Richard Morais
More than one hundred Haitians came ashore in a tiny boat in Trelawny on Sunday, giving The Gleaner, through an exclusive interview, a glimpse into the conditions they were fleeing from and their harrowing journey on the high seas.
WESTERN BUREAU
THEY HAD just gotten off the tiny boat just hours ago all 130 of them. After travelling on rough seas for five days, they were confused and frightened.
By Monday they were more settled and willing to speak about their journey and why they fled their homeland.
"When we decided to leave Haiti we got together and bought the boat," they said. "After that we bought a quantity of food including rice, spaghetti and a whole lot of breadfruit. We did not buy plenty food because of the limited space and we hoped to be on the sea for just a few days."
They bought two bags of coals and left Haiti last Tuesday at about 11:00 a.m. "Since we live in the south of the country we headed west, hoping that we would reach Miami since many of us have relatives there," one man said.
When night fell, they all became silent since for many it was the first time they had ever been on the sea at night. They tried to keep up their spirits by singing and telling stories. "On a whole the nights were long, very long," he said solemnly. "We used to pray for morning and when it came some of us cried knowing that we had seen another day," he said.
LITTLE COMFORT
Although daylight was welcomed, it brought little comfort since the sun beat down on them mercilessly. They took turns sleeping because of the cramped conditions on the boat. "We used to sleep with our hands around each other's shoulder in a crouching or sitting position," they said. "It was very uncomfortable and we hardly slept."
They also took turns in piloting the boat but they had no navigational instruments and lacked knowledge of the seas, so they drifted aimlessly and ate very little while at sea. "We did not know how long we were going to be on the water, so we had to conserve the food," they said. "We ate a mouthful or two, just to keep us from getting hungry. And we drank very little water."
When they landed in Jamaica they had no idea where they were. "Someone told us that if we land in a flat country, then it would most likely be Florida," one of the boat people said. "When we got here we saw mountains and hills and we knew we had not reached our destination."
But why did they decide to embark on such a dangerous journey? The drought, the political insecurity and the lack of jobs drove them into leaving the country in search of greener pastures. "There is no political stability in Haiti," one of the men said. "Right now the opposition and the government are locked in a power battle. And guess who is suffering? We the poor people."
Another man showed a membership card to the party he belongs to and he said that if he were caught with it, there was a likelihood of arrest. Others said the rain had not fallen for at least two years in the part of Haiti where they came from.
All of them said they would never embark on such a trip again. "It is a scary thing and no one here wants to experience it again," they said.
