Portlanders pity hungry Haitian refugees

When Javaun Brown, a surfer and certified lifeguard, first spotted a sail boat close to the shores of Boston Beach in Portland, he never thought that those on board were Haitians fleeing unrest in their homeland.

Brown, along with two other persons, stared in awe as the 18-foot fibreglass sail boat edged closer to shoreline with what appeared to be dozens of people onboard. Having noticed the people onboard were of his own skin colour, it was then that he began to think that they were in fact Haitians.

"So I went out and grabbed a rope from the boat and pulled them ashore with the help of another man who was on the beach," said Brown.

He added, "We managed to pull the boat ashore and I realised that they were looking pale. They were looking very weak, tired, and lazy. So the first thing that we did was to get them some bottle water, Coca-Cola, and bread and corn beef. They came on the private beach, not the main beach at Boston. We stayed a little bit far off, because we didn't know if they had any disease or anything."

The boat came ashore about 1:40 p.m. on Monday, with 37 people on board, comprising of 24 men, five women, and eight children (five girls and three boys), who are believed to be under the age of nine years.

According to Brown, when the Haitians were brought ashore, he observed that water was in the boat and that there was some amount of food scattered inside the vessel. He also noticed that there was a lingering foul odour.

Superintendent of Police Lloyd Darby, of the Portland Police Division, said that all the relevant agencies, including the Red Cross, the Portland Municipal Corporation, and the Ministry of Health and Wellness, are aware of the situation, and that a multi-agency approach will be taken in dealing with the Haitians.

The French speaking natives claimed to have fled their homeland in the dead of night on June 26, fleeing economic hardships, hunger, and bloodshed, which continue to rock their homeland.

They were later transported to a medical facility in Port Antonio to undergo screening.