Submission from Benjamin Roberts, Turks
and Caicos Islands
By way of introduction I am Benjamin Roberts,
born, bred, and educated in Turks & Caicos. As to my citizenship.
I possess legal documents showing that on 15th September 1975
I was a British Subject: Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies.
A decade later in 1985, unbeknownst to me, I was categorized as
a British Dependent Territories Citizen. This was in the wake
of your then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, overhauling British
Immigration and citizenship laws to ensure against a flood of
your British citizens from your Chinese colony of Hong Kong, piling
up on your shores, as the handover of the territory to China was
approaching. Then years later your government decided to offer
British citizenship to the people of Turks & Caicos. In this
chronology I was first a citizen, then not a citizen, and now
am being offered the "privilege" of being a citizen
once again. What a joke! It is the equivalent of offering me something
that was mine in the first place. No thanks. It is an insult.
But I digress. Back to the matter at hand. This document is my
submission to a request by your government and its Foreign and
Commonwealth Office for input on how you are carrying out your
responsibilities in the Overseas Territories. You want feedback
on human rights issues, the application of international treaties
and conventions, grading of the standards of governance and the
role of the of the Governor, and feedback related to matters of
regulation of the financial sector and transparency and accountability
in this area, along with the relation between the TCI and your
British Government. Wow! At this point I take a giant deep breath
as I launch into what I have to say, because this could take a
while. Here we go:
1. One of the glaring things one notices
right away in Turks & Caicos is the debilitating havoc immigration
is having on the Islands. They are coming from everywhere. From
next door in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Jamaica,
and the wider region of the Eastern Caribbean and South American
mainland. Some are legal, but legions are not. Just a few days
ago my father and his churchgoing fellow worshippers let out from
Sunday morning mass to be greeted to the spectacle of a Haitian
sloop under full sail plowing into the western white sand beach
of our serene island of Grand Turk, with an estimated cargo of
about 200 souls. On hitting land there was a jailbreak. To date
there have only been about 20 caught. And this is within weeks
of a high ranking Haitian government diplomat having talks with
T&C government on stemming the tide of this illegal immigration.
This, and all similar immigration episodes (and there are many)
is pathetic and destructive to T&C society, and I throw the
matter right at the feet of the British Govt. Britain has for
centuries been a major naval power. With T&C as one of your
territories that international conventions require you to protect
and ensure external defense and security, I would like someone
to explain to me why you are unable to provide a few coastal patrols
that would put an end to this in no time, especially considering
that you have naval assets a stone's throw away in the British
Virgin Islands. In this matter the British are like Roman Emperor
Nero, fiddling while Rome burns. For this I give you a failing
grade.
2. If illegal immigration is a problem then
legal immigration is just as bad. I have been informed that we
now have a situation where Immigration officials can be found
at the airport in Provo admitting newcomers with no entry documents,
especially children, and charging those receiving them a hefty
fee that never sees the Treasury doors. Imagine what a burden
this is having on our school system. It is common knowledge that
many government Departments, and especially that of Immigration
and Customs, are multi-lane highways of corruption. This is not
good if we want to have anything left for our people. Open the
pages of various T&C local newspapers, and you will see in
the Classified section an area titled Belongerships. It
is a public notice section that lists those granted belongerships.
In earlier times this usually took up half a page. Now, however,
the paper I have in my hand as I write has two pages of such notices.
Out of respect and privacy, I will omit the name of the individual,
but here is how one reads:
BELONGER STATUS APPLICATION
(Section 3 (5) of the Immigration Ordinance)
"Take Notice that I, Richard Tauwhare, Governor
of Turks & Caicos in exercise of the powers conferred on me
by section 3(4) of the Immigration Ordinance intend to grant a
certificate of Belonger Status to ..... ..... of Providenciales,
a national of Haiti, being satisfied that she has made an outstanding
contribution to the economic and social development of the Turks
& Caicos Islands. Anyone having objection to Mrs ..... being
granted Belonger Status should submit their objections in writing
to the Minister of Home Affairs & Public Safety, Government
Compound, Grand Turk."RICHARD TAUWHARE
Some observations immediately come to mind here.
How is it that we have a man not indigenous to our area, who represents
the interests of the Queen and Crown, doling out Belongership,
a birthright of our people, at such alarming rates? Should he
not be giving out British citizenships? This looks very bad. Another
observation on this is that many of those granted the Belongerships,
including this individual, come from economically and socially
depressed parts of the world. Yet the grounds for their being
granted Belongership is stated in the notice as their having "made
an outstanding contribution to the economic and social development
of the Turks & Caicos Islands." How is this possible?
The final two observations in this debacle is that the notice
has no cutoff time for the objections to be sent, and requires
that the objections be in writing. So by the time an objector
sends his objections the time might have passed. Moreover, the
objector might not be able to read and write, but might have grave
reservations about the applicant. This state of affairs is pathetic.
Now onto another pathetic state of affairs in
the same arena of immigration. Last week outside the Seven Stars
Hotel development project in Providenciales was a group of Chinese
migrant workers on strike. I passed by them various times. They
were there from sun up to sunset in rain or shine. Literally!
At one time they were standing there with our tropical sun beating
down on them. On another drive-by the rain was falling and they
were seen huddled under plastic and tarpaulin. What a spectacle!
Reports are that they were on strike because they had not been
paid for months. If that is so their human rights are being violated.
But this event shows the folly of poorly thought out Immigration
policies. We haul people from across the other side of the world
to build and keep our tourist development going, and then they
demonstrate right outside that project that is supposed to be
fueling our economy for years to come. Not a good sight for the
incoming tourist thrilled to spend his or her money on what we
have to offer. In the wake of this, leader Mike Misick just signed
a document bringing in 800 new migrant workers for another project.
Who has given him and his government authorization to do this?
Has the matter been debated and agreed to by the Legislature of
T&C? Has impact studies been done to determine the effects
said migration will have on the social, economic, education, financial,
and healthcare systems of our fledgling society? In summation
on the immigration matter, I will say that years ago your British
Govt commissioned something called the Kairi Report, which was
a blueprint of suggestions of where T&C should go in its march
to progress. One conclusion was that T&C, in its development
march, should be making more use of its citizens who had migrated
abroad for taking up positions in skilled and semi-skilled areas.
This has not been done. There is no linkage between that overseas
population and the hiring agencies of the government and private
enterprise. T&C citizens living abroad have for many decades
not been allowed to vote, and thereby direct their attention and
energies to their homeland. To qualify they must have spent 12
out of 24 months resident in the Islands, while British citizens
abroad are free to vote in their elections with no such restrictions.
Instead we are flooding the country with illegal immigrants, port
of entry visa payoffs, government officials signing documents
allowing in waves of migrants, and an overseeing authority granting
Belongership privileges without rhyme or reason. This is poor
performance on the part of your Government and the local T&C
Government.
3. As things stand now, there is a gross
lack of accountability on the part of elected leaders, appointed
officials, and regular government employees. The fountain of scandals
of corruption and abuse of power attest to this. In a recent incident
there was an altercation between leader Mike Misick and an Opposition
member, in which there was allegations of assault by Misick and
his team, and illegal confiscation of property belonging to a
member of the Opposition group. The Attorney General was asked
by our law enforcement authorities to rule on whether the matter
called for charges being filed or being heard in court. His response
amounted to the most colossal bunch of ignorance I have heard
in a long time. He thought no charges were warranted because the
evidence was not credible. The evidence was not credible when
present at the incident was a current police officer and a former
police officer. He also said that he considered charging both
groups, but decided against this because the injured party would
suffer unfair injustice. Are we dealing with cutting edge legal
scholarship here? I am not a lawyer, but does this not mean that
the truly injured party has been denied justice? Moreover, this
punt the ball decision sends a clear message to elected officials,
and the average citizen, but most especially the former, that
you can get away with anything. There is a post in T&C govt
of Complaints Commissioner. In its pure form it is potent and
geared to ensure against corruption, abuse of power, and human
rights violations by those in power. It has been so watered down
by successive local government administrations, by the selection
process, and I daresay by your Government. Had this post over
the years been allowed to flourish with the powers assigned and
personalities capable of making it a force to be reckoned with,
we would not have these problems of political corruption and abuse
prevalent today in T&C. As a case in point. I recently spoke
with someone who did nothing more than send out a mass email informing
and encouraging T&C Islanders to get their comments in to
your Government and FCO and express themselves in any way they
can. I applauded her on her civic action. However, she reported
incurring the displeasure of a Government official for doing this,
and in our phone contact she was cautious and careful, moving
to another extension that she felt was safe to talk to me from.
I was alarmed by this climate of fear of reprisal that now seems
to pervade T&C. This was not the case not too long ago. For
this deterioration in our society's sense of security and freedom
of expression I fault past, and especially present, local governments,
along with your British Government.
4. Despite bullhorn pronouncements by current
T&C government officials that things are "Bigger and
Better," to "Don't Stop the Progress", and that
"Turks & Caicos is for Turks & Caicos Islanders First,"
(see my local newspaper series on this very topic) the contrary
is more visible. Speak with the small business man in the country.
Most are doing worse now in this supposed boom than when the country
was not moving very much. I spoke with a well known such businessman.
He outlined quite clearly what a disastrous period his grocery
store business was going through. It is quite evident. All one
has to do is sit at this place of business for a little while.
Where there was once a constant flow of customers in and out of
the store, now there is hardly a trickle for this business, whose
profits in earlier times allowed this man to send more than a
few of his children away for university education. He is not alone.
Other once prosperous small business people are suffering in the
same fashion. This state of affairs is due to many things, but
one of the main reasons is the illegal immigration and corruption
that is fueling an underground economy which is taking a heavy
toll on his, and other similar businesses. Hence our local government
shortsighted and corrupt immigration policies, and your Emperor
Nero couldn't-care-less policy of not securing our borders is
transforming our once prosperous citizenry into a nation of have
nots. Not a good recipe for progress and social order in Turks
& Caicos.
5. In Turks & Caicos there seems to
be, in a short space of time, an alarming decline in the democratic
processes that ensures rights of free speech and political expression.
This decline seems to be closely connected to prevalent greed,
power hungry, and conflict of interest behaviour displayed by
the elected officials in power. Here is a case in point. Recently,
a T&C Islander with majority shares in the only TV station
of note was sacked and ousted from his position. By his account
this action occurred when he offered to buy the shares of his
foreign partners. Now they were operating from his license. The
Minister having to do with this matter came out and said that
no new license would be issued, and that the station would continue
operation because T&C could not afford to lose this valuable
form of communication. While I do agree on the value of the station
to the life of T&C, I question the first part of the statement
about no new license being issued. If the man has been sacked
and removed from partnership that must mean that his license,
that legitimized operation of the station by requiring that the
majority of the shares be locally owned, is no longer valid. Simply
put, the station is operating illegally, since no new license
was to be issued. Unless another T&C Islander was granted
a license. I am told that the ousted T&C Islander was hardly
out of the building before a niece and nephew of Mike Misick,
leader of the government, was at the facility involved in day
to day operations of the station. Were they granted a license
for the station? I have been recently informed that the wife of
the leader of government is now the actual owner of the TV station
in the wake of the ousting of the T&C citizen. If any of this
is true and any of these family members connected to Misick, or
any of his business partners, have any financial, managerial,
or ownership stake in this TV station, it should be voided promptly.
Allowing such a thing would be a dangerous state of affairs. Misick,
in his Ministerial duties already has the portfolio of Communications
in his grab bag. To allow him, a family member, or business partner,
influence in the lone private communications TV media outlet would
be a gross conflict of interest, that could seriously endanger
democracy by stifling freedom of speech and expression. This matter
is of national importance that needs to be investigated now. One
might observe that though most of the points outlined are factual
on-the- ground observations, some are speculation and hearsay.
The reason for this is that there is virtually no requirement
of disclosure on the part of our elected and appointed officials.
One day a person might be a regular citizen with a penny in his
pocket, and within months in public office he or she has morphed
into someone with untold wealth in priceless houses, apartments
on rent, the latest model cars, owners of acres and acres of Crown
Land, and children in college, not on scholarship or loans, but
exclusively out of pocket. This state of affairs is crying out
for a more vibrant office of Complaints Commissioner in the long
run, and a Commission of Inquiry in the short run.
6. It is quite evident that there is much
more to be said on this matter. This is my personal submission
to your request for information. I am part of a loose knit fledgling
non-governmental organization (NGO), whose paramount aim it is
to advance the interest of the people of Turks & Caicos. As
a group we represent no political party, though individually we
have our own political sympathies. We have considered sending
these and other matters for redress to the United Nations agency
having to do with Decolonization. However, we welcome your request
for input on issues that we consider very important to the progress
of our home, and think it is long overdue. We do not wish that
your government insert itself into the day to day affairs of T&C
by taking such measures as suspending the Constitution for the
sole purpose of hand-picking your people to oversee our Islands,
as rumors are flying to the effect that such is your intention.
This would be a backward step, and an indication that your Government
and FCO is doing a poor job in overseeing the territory of Turks
& Caicos. A serious Commission of Inquiry is in order. If
the outcome of this calls for a caretaker government to be put
in place our citizens need to be fully informed of it in town
meetings and other fora. In this way THEY can have serious input
in choosing the best, brightest, and most principled of their
citizens suited to oversee matters in the interim, while we shore
up institutions that guard against financial and political corruption,
human rights violations, abuse of power, and conflicts of interest,
while guaranteeing law and order, free speech, personal liberty,
and an enhanced quality of life as we move down the road to the
progress we wish for. In your request for information you wanted
to know if the respondent wished to remain anonymous, and whether
they wanted, and were prepared, to add oral comments to their
written submission. I have no need to remain anonymous, so you
can freely make available my point of view in any manner you choose.
I would also like to follow up this submission with oral comments,
since there is much more that I wish to say. At the present time
there seems to be a significant lack of awareness by T&C Islanders
on this opportunity to express their point of view in this forum.
This might partly be due to their not prioritizing the need to
stay informed, and partly due to various of their leaders and
sympathetic news media making an effort to limit the response
provided to this call for comments and opinions. That being the
case I humbly request that, if at all possible, you extend the
comment period to a later date to allow for more awareness on
the part of the responders, which will translate into a richer
catch of comments for you to draw from. Thank you, and I look
forward to a response from you.
12 October 2007
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