A number of West African people experienced accommodation problems on Christmas Eve (Photos by Gemma Handy)
The government is making flight arrangements to repatriate West Africans who have been stranded in Antigua and Barbuda.
A flight from West Africa; not Antigua Airways-transported hundreds of Africans to Antigua late last year, leaving them stranded on the island, with some having no arrangement for accommodation.
Minister Melford Nicholas told the Cabinet press briefing that the government is mindful of the challenges that these men and women are facing and plans are underway to repatriate them
“It is recognized that there are several persons who had come on earlier flights who are still in Antigua and may need to be returned to their respective jurisdictions. We will have to arrange for an aircraft to arrive to take those persons who are here back home in the coming days and weeks,” told the weekly Cabinet briefing on Thursday morning.
The Cameroons have said publicly that they were tricked into believing that once they get into Antigua and Barbuda they would be able to get to the US.
Some of these men and women say they spent over $5000 to get to the island on the chartered flight.
Nicholas said the entire ordeal is sad and was not the intention of the government.
“To establish the commercial viability of the route, Antigua Airways had chosen to arrange chartered flights to the island and according to Nicholas, their efforts were imitated by another operator who arranged another charter outside of the knowledge of the government.
“Based on intelligence reports that we have, the objective of that other charter he said was to use Antigua as a stepping stone for persons going to other jurisdictions and that has been drawn to our attention and accordingly we have made a move to suspect the routes,” Nicholas said.
“As far as the persons who are transiting Antigua to other jurisdictions, our information is that they were heading to South America to get access to the United States. This was not the objective intention of the government…we would want to act in collaboration with our neighbors in the Caribbean….we have to do the responsible thing and curtail the use of the chartered flight” he said
All this comes as the cabinet has decided to place on hold, all chartered flights from Africa, saying that the airline had not complied fully with Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation rules.
How will you want to send them back..? Have you made some finding on the ongoing war in the British southern Cameroons. If you creat time to watch.
Most of this Cameroonian are victims of human rights volition which have lead to the death of more than 8000 southern Cameroonian and over 2m plus displaced person all over fleeing for safety.
How can the minster be talking about sending them back to where..?
Sending them back will to the French regim of president biya to kill them.
Sending them back will be a volition of human right.
Very impossible bro
Please for God’s sake, these people are not coming to stay there. Most of them are victims of the ongoing war in British Southern Cameroon. Please let them pass to their safety. Let them go and the government should not allow others to come in again. Most of them will be send to prison and others will lost their lives. They will be kill by the government of la Republic du Cameroun . Please give them the pass for God’s sake. Thank you
Well said most of these africans are victims of on going war in cameroon and they are not just going for greener pasture but runing for safety . The on going war has caused the lives of many youths who opposed or chalenged the corrupt french and evil government. They are only transiting , they have no intention to stay here in antigua .as you may have notice most of them are young and vibrant graduates who want to make a better living for themselves than to allowed themselves to be crushed by the evil regime . Please for the sake of God assist these people to leave your country . Thanks
I guess they sick asalium in your country since antigua is member of the United Nation.one have the right to run from war .remember sir .don’t let them protest of which is of their right.thanks
Must of us Cameroonians stucked in Antigua and Barbuda come from the English Speaking ( Anglophone Minority group) in Cameroon where peace and justice has been denied us for the past seven years. Cameroon has been witnessing political instability and the economy has remained stagnant hindering growth and development. Youth, men and women sit on their ideas as nothing works or moves forward. Antigua and Barbuda being a member of the 1951 Convention and it’s additional protocol, sending us back means violating the principle of Non Refoulement. . For the seek of humanity and the 1951 convention, I think the prime minister should instead provide jobs for us to boost the economy rather than seeking us back to the lions den. Must of us here are skilled workers from diverse specialty.
Now why should we be providing jobs for them while born Antiguan are having such a dam hard time getting one themselves ….. send them off to where ever else….. the situation is sad but we are not responsible for the Africans that have come here
Honestly the war in that country is no joke. It’s all over the internet and hundreds of thousands of people have died there for no reasons with majority being the youths. Can you imagine the pain of having your house burnt and your whole family slaughtered simply because of national language difference and marginalisation?This is exactly what this English speaking Cameroonians have gone through. My humble opinion is that we stop more of them from coming into the country meanwhile we let this ones go to wherever they are heading to. At the end of the day they’ll be leaving Antigua. Let’s just be grateful to God that we’re enjoying peace here. Some of these people are living with wounds in their hearts only God can heal. Let’s not add to their pain but rather help them. Love is all we need in a crazy world like this.
Exodus Movements if Jah People.
We so Insular ,Callous & Vulgsr.
We even Feel Whiter Superior Complex
Me Vex wid me EX
Thank you some of them black dolls have forgotten their history
Sending them back to Cameroon is definitely Sending them back to die. Most of them have sold all their fortunes to afford the cost of this trip. Sending them back, even if the government spares their lives, they will have no income to fall back on. Please, help them. They are very hard working if you give them the opportunity to do so. Stop more from coming but those that are already there with you, extend a helping hand towards them. Have mercy please and God bless you 🙏
There is currently an anglophone crisis going on in Cameroon: If these individuals are returned most of them will be locked up in high security prisons in the French part and some could face dead penalties. That is how bad Cameroon is. You can check on the current crisis going on in the British Southern Cameroon Mr minister. Doing that will be as good as committing murder to the aforementioned Refugees. Please don’t let them go back. A country where lawyers have no value, human rights aren’t respected, police officers are harassing youths ( They will seize what you have at Gun point ) , they will lock you up for speaking English to them. Very Marginalized Nation. Please do something to help these refugees Mr Minister. Thank you
Antigua is a small island. They are don’t reason like civilised people. People came to ur country spend much money and u disrespect them by saying shit about them. These people are not criminals. They came through a channel of agreement. Allow them to leave in peace. To chatter a plane to take them back makes them look like criminals or burden to u. Those who came in peace should be allowed to leave ur country in peace.
Firstly I would like to apologise for my write up.
Antiguans 🇦🇬 I speak qs qn qfrican like they called when I was there.
We are all Africans when are we gonna start loving an supporting one another? You might call yourself Caribbeans bit your blood/DNA is one with those your call Africans yr ancestral land is africa not Caribbean yr ancestors where brought here dump to die but they survived after the slave trade.
Qfricans are not thieves nor disrespectful.. when are we going to learn to protect our own?
You might say you Caribbean but I promise you this if you travel to Europe 🇪🇺 your just gonna be like any other black ⚫ man.
98% of Antigua 🇦🇬 folks are really amazing I eish you could visit africa 👏 some day your mother land.
Let’s not be brainwashed here there’s no other race that could survive what the back race has survived for more than 6 hundred years
No african is there to steal your jobs or benefits
Be your brothers keeper we’re all Africans at the end of the day
The truth be told
Greetings to the cabinet of Antigua and barbuda. You sending these people back to their country is sending them to their early graves . Some are here without parents, houses, one can’t be running for safety and enter your house that he is not a criminal instead of giving him protection you want to turn him up for him to be executed. Let them stay here or open transit for them to go by themselves. They don’t want to go back to West Africa
Antigua government, pls don’t send them back, they are refuges from British southern Cameroon, seeking for peace. . Sending them back to is like sending them to their deads because they all escaped from war in British Cameroon. please Mr minister, let them stay.There’s War in Cameroon, they are kills in Cameroon on daily basis. If you repertriar them back to the government of Cameroon they will be end directly to prison or kill them. They all escape from war seeking for peace. Please have empathy.
Mr minister please have empathy, don’t send the Cameroonian back , they ran away from war seeking for protection. please let them stay or let them go to where is safe. They need safety. Their lives are in danger in Cameroon. Cameroonian need safety, safety safety safety.
Well sending them back especially Cameroonians is more of killing them, we’re all brothers please keep them or provide jobs for them believe me Cameroonian will do any job to survive they’re going through hell in Cameroon, or better still help them get out of Antigua without possibly repatriating them, particularly the English Cameroonian,
please dont send them back; the need help and the are running from war