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COMMITTEE TO AID HUMAN
RIGHTS ACTIVISTS
P.O. Box 5072, North Bergen, NJ
07047
Tel (201) 868-1310.
October 8, 2004
The R.T. Honorable Perry G. Christie, Prime Minister of The Bahamas
The Honorable Ruud Lubers, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The Honorable Louis Arbour, United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights
The Honorable Janice Marshall, UNHCR, Senior Regional Protection Officer for
the Caribbean
Mr. Santiago Canton, Secretary Excecutive of the Inter-American Commission
of Human Rights
Esteemed Honorable Officials:
The Committee to Aid Human Rights Activists (CAHRA) a non-profit
organization based in New Jersey, the United States of America, respectfully
urges you to intercede on behalf of the refugees who are being held at the
Nassau Refugee Detention Center in The Bahamas. Several days ago, a
commission of our organization visited said refugee center. We were appalled
at the brutally inhumane treatment these refu-gees are receiving. The first
impression we had was that the locale looked like a concentration camp. We
arrived on visitation day, September 28, 2004. When we asked where the
visitation quarters were, we were told: ?Over there.? The visitation area is
a pigsty of weeds surrounded by wire double fences which separate the
visitors from their relatives. The visitors are not able to embrace members
of their own families. The space between these fences is so great that
everyone has to shout, and often one cannot understand what is being said.
The whole situation is pitiful.
But what we saw was nothing compared to what we heard: ?This is a hell-hole
where everything is lacking, except police brutality ?essential hygiene
items, medicine, and adequate food.? Even though the refugees arrive without
having had a bath for days, smelling so strong that would even repel a
skunk, they are provided neither soap nor toothpaste. Visitors have to
provide essential hygiene items to their rela-tives. The refugee who gets no
visitors receives nothing? Medical attention is totally lacking. In the
Center, a woman, Mayresis Diaz Garcia, who had had a thyroid cancer
operation before she left Cuba, is being denied medicine necessary for her
treatment. The food, which is given once a day, is unworthy of the name.
Worst of all, according to what we were told, the guards sell the good food
to those who have American dollars-worse yet for little children who are not
even given milk.
On Friday, October 1, 2004, two Cuban refugees, Rene Mendoza and Jorge Luis
Conde, who had fled from police persecution in Cuba, were severely beaten.
Then a guard named ?La Cuca? pointed a gun at their heads and threatened to
kill them. After such an incident, one of them was taken to an empty room
where several guards at the same time beat him mercilessly. When asked why
this was done, the refugees who had witnessed such vile behavior, answered,
?They do it for their masochistic pleasure. Here they beat us for anything.
Even the guards? faces show signs of drug addition.?
In the camp, men and women alike get a beating regardless of their being
there for reasons of conscience, political beliefs, or economic necessity.
It makes no difference if the refugees are from Ghana, Haiti, or Cuba. Among
those beaten on October 1, 2004, is Jorge Luis Conde, who arrived at the
Carmichael Road Detention Center on September 6, 2004, along with six other
Cubans, who were forced to leave Cuba because of their democratic
activities. The seven Cubans belong to the Democratic Party 30th of
Novem-ber ?Frank Pais? (Partido Democratico 30 de Noviembre ?Frank Pais?), a
non-violent opposition organization founded in Cuba in 1991.
So extremely barbaric is the treatment of these refugees in the Nassau
Detention Center that possibly not even the upper echelons of the Bahamian
government of Prime Minister Christie knows about it. The whole matter is
disgusting. Therefore, we strongly urge the government of Prime Minister
Christie and the competent international organizations, among them the High
Commissioner for Refugees of the United Nations in the Caribbean Region and,
the Human Rights Organization of the United Nations and the Organization of
American States to order an immediate inspection of said Refugee Detention
Center in Nassau, and thus live up to their responsibilities.
Furthermore, it is imperative that basic hygienic materials be given to the
refugees, and that adequate medical attention and essential food also be
given. Also needed a roof to protect the refugees and their family visitors
from scorching sun, drenching rain, and the common courtesy of tables and
chairs which are required and is signs of a civilized society. The refugees
are human beings. Remember, women and children are among those refugees. The
Cubans number 67 men, 10 women and 5 small children. Many refugees in that
Center have spent months, even years, without their cases being attended.
Finally, we strongly urge that refugees for reasons of conscience and
political beliefs not be returned to their respective countries because they
will face condemnation to long prison terms. We strongly re-quest respect
for them and that they be given visas to enter the United States or at least
to go to another democratic country as soon as possible.
Awaiting your prompt response, we remain,
Respecfully,
Luis Israel Abreu
Executive Director
Cc: The Honorable Cynthia A. Prat, Minister of National Security of The
Bahamas
The Honorable James Smith, Minister of State of The Bahamas
The Honorable Vincent Peet, Minister of Labor and Immigration of The Bahamas
The Honorable Melanie Griffin, Minister of social Services of The Bahamas
His Excellency Joshua Sears, Ambassador of The Bahamas in the United States
of America
His Excellency Edison Bethel, Consulate General of The Bahamas in New York
Her Excellency Paulette Bethel, Ambassador to the Permanent Mission to the
United Nations
Web site: http://www.30november.org
E-mail: m30november@hotmail.com
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