Cameroonians in St Kitts granted ‘Asylum Seeker’ status

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By Robert A Emmanuel

[email protected]

The government of St Kitts and Nevis revealed that the fourteen Cameroonian nationals who were rescued at sea following a migrant smuggling tragedy have been granted ‘Asylum Seeker’ status.

The fourteen individuals were aboard the ill-fated La Belle Michelle II, when it capsised off the shores of St Kitts and Nevis.

They were attempting to reach the United States, via the US Virgin Islands.

Nearly a month later, and despite statements by government officials, the Antigua and Barbuda government reversed its decision to accept the stranded Cameroonians back in this country arguing that the fourteen individuals would seek to leave the island illegally once again.

The government of St Kitts, therefore, reached out to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) for assistance on the matter, and on June 8, the UN organisation approved an application for the Cameroonian nationals to be seen as asylum seekers.

According to Amnesty International, an asylum seeker is “a person who has left [his or her] country and is seeking protection from persecution and serious human rights violations in [his or her] country, but who hasn’t yet been legally recognised as a refugee and is waiting to receive a decision on the asylum claim.”

The Cameroonian asylum seekers will now be protected from forcible repatriation to their home country which has been embroiled in a deadly civil war, these past few years, and they will continue to receive humanitarian assistance from the St Kitts government.

According to the press release from the St Kitts and Nevis Ministry of National Security, the UNHCR and the government will “collaborate closely” to “provide the Cameroon nationals with the necessary basic humanitarian services.”

Among these include moving them from their detention in a community centre in the Constituency of St Peter to an apartment complex, and this will stay in place for the next ninety days as their asylum applications are reviewed.

The Ministry of National Security, which issued the release, also said that it has provided the asylum seekers with the contact information for the US Embassy in Barbados, which was one of their demands from the government.

Other demands include the ability to speak to the US Congress, the issuance of a United Nations identification card, and the facilitation of them being sent to their friends and families in Texas.

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