At least three people have now been confirmed dead after a boat that left Antigua and Barbuda capsized 12 miles south of St Kitts’ Conaree village on Tuesday morning.
Thirty-two passengers were aboard although clearance from the Antigua port indicated that only three persons were expected to be on the vessel destined for the USVI.
Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne expressed deep sorrow at the distress and loss of life suffered by persons aboard a vessel that he said left Antigua and Barbuda illegally.
He said while reports are still sketchy, “We understand that the majority of persons on board the vessel may be Africans who were part of those who arrived here as tourists but with the intention of migrating to other countries.”
Browne said it is widely known that his government has been making every effort to be helpful to “these brothers and sisters from Africa” who were marooned in Antigua, including granting them residence and the opportunity to work.
“We have also been engaged with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration on the best ways of treating them as refugees. Two things appear clear from today’s tragic events. The first is that the Africans on board the vessel wanted to leave Antigua and Barbuda for another country. The second is that the owners and operators of a vessel in Antigua and Barbuda facilitated their transport on an illegal journey”, he added.
He said his ABLP-led government will launch a full investigation into the circumstances of this unlawful and dreadful affair, including the involvement of any citizens and residents.
“We will also uphold our international obligations against human trafficking and illegal migration by strengthening our domestic institutions and enhancing our cooperation with regional and hemispheric partners,” he added.
In the meantime, Browne said his government will also continue to offer refuge in Antigua and Barbuda to the survivors of Tuesday’s events, “and we will make appropriate arrangements for the burial of the deceased. We will also make every effort to contact their relatives to advise them of this heart-breaking tragedy. We appeal to the Africans, who are in Antigua and Barbuda, not to be tempted into any schemes such as happened today, but to work with the government, through our immigration authorities, to help find acceptable solutions to their circumstances,” he stated.
The likes of Gaston Brown and Roosevelt Skerrit should be charged with the death of these people when those corrupt politicians find a way to bring down Haitians and Africans just before an election and after the elections those poor brethren have to find a way to survive or run out.
Franscisco was a pilot, ship owner, doctor, engineer, garbage man, pastor, farmer, what else?
Gaston, If these people had intended to stay in Antigua they would not have been making a journey on a rickety boat.
You need to make appropriate arrangements find thier families before burying. Lets face it. Dominica for years had plane load of haitians coming from the DR unabated only to be smuggled out of Dominica. These folks would pay a fee at airport which would be given back on departure. The government knew fully well that was not going to happen. I call that racketeering, and migration fraud at highest level. One boat full hatians suffered same fate and our authorities were silent. I bet if we were to track hatians lost at Sea in the decades of human smuggling Dominicans would be speechless. Brown and Roosvelt found themselves in the middle of illegal movement of choksi to be smuggled to India. To day we see this news of africans coming all the way from Africa to go through same crap. When will our people see that our leaders are the cause of the suffering of our black people. Brown and skerritt need to be given the el salvador prisoner treatment. Tied back to back with tighty whities.
These Africans were duped in coming to Antigua. They were misled into believing that Antigua was just a trans-shipment point for them to eventually get to the US.
They got stuck in Antigua with little money, no jobs and hungry. Their only means of survival was by begging. They then became desperate to leave by any means necessary regardless to the magnitude of the risk to their lives.
There are hardened criminals running some of these countries in the Caribbean. Missing billions that belong to the people; involvement in kidnapping; on the deep end with the most notorious international crooks and fugitives – just a few examples.
These countries have gone rogue. They now can be considered to be pariah nations.
You all need to understand that these Prime Minister’s actions are calculated. Dominica Goverment charges the Haitians, Caricom Nationals, knowing the majority intention is to migrate to neighboring Island. Antigua government does the same with a direct flight from Africa.
Listening to the media whore and the semi- lunatic,dictionary eating ahole from St.Joseph one would swear the boat had left a port in Dominica.The Haitians in Dominica were not forced,or kidnapped and sent to Dominica,they made a choice to go. And they work and work hard to send millions back to their homeland,while Dominicans abandoned their land and sit by the road complaining,lazy and gossiping.The media whore should know the grass is not always greener on the other side.A large number of Dominicans have failed,because they BELIEVE the was greener.Only to end up unemployed,on drugs and homeless.Any normal person who has lived in the USA would know,it is a lot easier to live in Dominica than in the USA.In Dominica people are more free.
Choksi was lucky at sea in spite of his beating. We just cannot believe what we read these days from these criminals. We are hated by our own people. What a shame. “Deep sorrow” my behind. These so-called “pm” have no darn feeling or concerns for anyone but themselves. Else, they won’t be covering themselves with SNAP ELECTIONS. A rainy day is coming and it won’t stop until it has washed all the dirt and muck from amongst the patriots.
This very sad incident reminds of the 2019 stolen election in Dominica where Roosevelt Skerrit was bringing down Hàitians by the drones and many of them perished in rough seas and their families never heard of them again.
In the case of Antigua it was Gaston Brown, during the elections of 2023 that found a way to bring down Africans with his nonstop flight to Antigua which died soon after the elections. Now Mr Brown is busy to bury. Boy Brown Skerrit and Ralph, the three evil beast of the Caribbean can do what they want but their day is fast approaching on them and they know not.
Look how these black blood sucking politicians lie and contradict themselves!
“Thirty-two passengers were aboard although clearance from the Antigua port indicated that only three persons were expected to be on the vessel destined for the USVI.”
“Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne expressed deep sorrow at the distress and loss of life suffered by persons aboard a vessel that he said left Antigua and Barbuda illegally.”
In the first quote they said clearance from the port indicate only three persons were supposed to be on the boat.
Well, if they had Clerance, how can the boat leave Antigua illegally? Clerance of a ship to leave port refers to Maritime law which gives a ship the right to leave a port, it is a certificate issues by the port collector that shows the ships right to leave the port. And ds, don’t tackle that because you don’t know, I know because we owned a ship “the MV Felskov, and I had to deal with getting clearance many times, from Denmark to…
Yes, from Denmark to Germany, and to the islands of the West Indies including Dominica!
But they are so quick to expand stretch their lies which is embracing: these does not know what truth is!
Sorry bro, if your clearance say three passengers and you some how boarded 33, that clearance is none and void. They would have never cleared that boat with 33 people on board, thus making it illegal.
Here is the keyword that clarifies the sentence: ” aboard a vessel that he said left Antigua and Barbuda illegally.”