Rick Lowe

As discussed here… and here… The Bahamas so-called "Haitian problem" is now decades old nor is it an easy thing to solve, but as long as you have the opposition in Parliament creating mischief instead of offering sensible alternatives is it any wonder so many people are angered by the situation?

The latest hot button issue is the governments attempt to resolve a long festering problem in an area known as Mackey Yard where illegal immigrants and Bahamians alike have built houses without permission nor do they own the land.

As usual, there's lots of hot air and in many cases justified anger that illegal immigrants and Bahamians that have squatted on the land will apparently get status and what will amount to a land grant.

Having said the anger in justified, it is also important that the country find a solution to a decades old issue and while there's lots of complaints, there are few solutions being offered.

Lets look at the illegal immigrants for a moment.

Many of them have been here for decades without status. They also have children and grand children, who are now legal residents or citizens and are contributing to society. So to suggest rounding them up and sending them back is virtually impossible when international pressures are what they are.

Oh sure, we can grandstand about it, but at the end of the day the situation will not improve if individual Bahamian citizens do not get involved in a positive way.

If we see a community of illegal immigrants starting up we need to report it to the Police, Immigration and the press. And where residents or neighbors are afraid to take that action, citizens from outside the neighborhood, particularly those with a bi-partisan approach should form a committee to help find solutions.

If the matter is kept before the Members of Parliament and the press in a reasonable way, this just might take precedence over some other issues on the table.

In the final, this issue is not going away without some deliberate action and this is one public policy – finding a resolution to some of these long term problems – I support.

I'm sure there are other ideas to help resolve these issues out there, besides opposition members of Parliament baiting our emotions of course, so lets hear them.