By Carlena Knight
There have been no formal requests for asylum by any of the West African refugees currently in Antigua, many of whom are fleeing civil war in Cameroon.
That’s according to Information Minister Melford Nicholas speaking at Thursday’s post-Cabinet press briefing.
He said reports indicate that the hundreds of refugees are assimilating into the local community well – and the authorities are yet to receive any official requests for assistance regularising their status here.
“Not to my knowledge,” Nicholas said, in response to that question. “They are here and they are making friends, they are being assimilated, but to the extent that anyone has actually come forward and made any application for asylum I guess it’s just as a result of the comfort that they feel and no one is actually pushing them to that particular boundary – but there has not been to the best of my knowledge.
“Neither Foreign Affairs nor the Minister of Legal Affairs has indicated to the Cabinet that they are in receipt of any official application for asylum,” Nicholas explained.
The Africans’ arrival and subsequent failure to leave – having initially come into the country as ‘tourists’ – has stirred controversy in recent weeks, with the opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) even going as far as staging a protest outside the Office of the Prime Minister demanding an investigation into the matter.
Earlier this month, government revealed that 637 of the more than 900 people who touched down between November and January remained in Antigua.
Whether or not that number has dwindled since then was not shared.
The Immigration Department has however been tasked with tracking down and investigating just how many of the Africans would like to be repatriated or remain in the country.
Nicholas said that for those who wish to stay, government will be looking at various options to ensure they do so legally while contributing to the country’s economic growth.
Yesterday he sought to assure residents that although government is giving the refugees the opportunity to remain in Antigua and Barbuda, the process to afford them legal status will be a strenuous one, similar to the format used for Dominican Republic citizens.
“Even though the modality may be set in place for them to have legal status, there is still going to have to be the review of each and every individual to determine that we know from whence they came, who they are and to ensure that we are not dealing with any falsities and that whole due diligence process to accommodate them.
“The Department of Immigration will have a significant amount of work to do to be able to go through that whole scrutiny of the individuals who we may accord residency, but it’s a process that I imagine once it starts is going to take a while for them to develop the experience to be able to know the nuances between the various persons who have presented themselves to be accorded residency,” Nicholas added.
For those who wish to return home, plans are in the works to arrange a charter flight with assistance from the Antigua Nigeria Chamber of Commerce.
“We have already had contact with the people from Antigua Airways and even the president of the Antigua Nigeria Chamber of Commerce that they are prepared to facilitate a return flight for those who would wish to go back,” Nicholas said.
A date for when that flight will take place has yet to be announced.
