Cabinet ministers and public officials will meet tomorrow to discuss how the Jamaican government will deal with the ever-increasing number of Haitian boat people who have been arriving on the island's shores since February 14.

Sunday's arrival of a batch of 47 pushed the number of Haitians now here to 538, placing a strain on already severely limited resources at facilities in Portland and St James.

The refugee issue, Minister of Information Burchell Whiteman told journalists yesterday at a post-Cabinet briefing, would be fully explored at the upcoming meeting.

"A full meeting will be held on that matter very shortly, before the middle of the week. The prime minister (P J Patterson) thought it important enough to do that and devote some time to the issue with the ministers and officials involved," Senator Whiteman said.

Meanwhile, he said, some progress was being made both in terms of dealing with the Haitians who wished to return home as well as the process of examining the others' asylum requests.

The country would continue to fulfil its international obligations to accept refugees, he said.

"If persons continue to come and make the case that they are fleeing from persecution, then it is our business to receive them first and assess that afterwards," the information minister said.

He suggested, however, that the press await more complete answers following this week's meeting.

The Haitian refugee problem has continued to grow since the bloody insurrection that culminated with the controversial departure of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Aristide has accused the American government of kidnapping him and spiriting him away to the Central African Republic, a claim the US has steadily denied.

The ousted Haitian leader has been in Jamaica since March 15 on a 10-week stay. He is expected to leave the island soon for South Africa, which last week offered him a temporary home.

Last Sunday's batch of 47 Haitians arrived in two small boats at Panton's Hope on Jamaica's east coast at about 6:30 am and were taken to the Fair Prospect Health Centre for medical processing. Authorities said they would be transferred to the Winnifred Rest Home in Portland, where 127 other Haitian refugees are living.

Some refugees have already been moved to a government-built facility in Montpelier, St James.

Three women and two children - a six year-old boy and a three year-old girl - were among the 47 new arrivals.

Last month, after Jamaica's appeal for help to cope with the refugee problem, Foreign Affairs Minister K D Knight said that the government was expecting financial support from the UNHCR by the end of April.

The fear factor

Feeding the multitude

DANGEROUS PETS