Vice-chair of the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition Delegation Marleine Bastien (centre) speaks during a press conference held at the Ministry of Land and Environment last Friday to discuss the findings from the needs assessment carried out for the Haitians now in the island. Others from left are councilman for New York/Miami Phillipe Derose and chairman of the delegation Jean-Robert Lafortune. (Photo: JIS)

THE first batch of Haitian boat people who have asked to be sent back home will leave the island today, a government official confirmed last night.

"I don't know the amount, but what I do know is that some of them are expected to leave (today) from Montpelier, if everything goes well," parish co-ordinator for the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management in St James Faye Headley told the Observer.

The Montpelier Camp houses a little over 300 of the Haitian boat people.

Headley said those scheduled to leave the island today would come from a group of 100 at Montpelier who have asked to be repatriated.

One of the refugees told the Observer in a telephone interview last night that 25 of them were scheduled to leave the island, but could give very little details.

"Twenty five of us will leave (today); I don't know what time flight," he said in halting English.

During yesterday's weekly Jamaica House post-Cabinet briefing, Minister of Information Burchell Whiteman told reporters that about 150 Haitian refugees who have asked to be repatriated should start leaving the island by weekend at the latest.

The improvements in the relationship between the Jamaican and Haitian authorities over the last few days, Whiteman said, had paved the way for the Haitians to fly home and plans were in place for them to travel on four sets of flights.

The Jamaican government had initially planned to send the Haitians home between June 1 and 10, but the "freezing" of relations - by interim Haitian leader Gerard Latortue - after ousted Haitian leader Jean Bertrand-Aristide was offered temporary asylum here, made it difficult to navigate the channels necessary for the repatriation.

But yesterday Whiteman told journalists that relations between Haiti and Jamaica had thawed sufficiently and the initial difficulties had been dealt with.

The Sunday Observer reported that Latortue had recently written to Jamaica's Prime Minister PJ Patterson seeking a resumption of their ambassadorial relationship and expressing regret at the collapse of relations as a result of the Aristide affair.

Yesterday, Whiteman placed the number of boat people who had arrived in the island up to May 19 at 511. Of that number, he explained, 302 are housed at the Montpelier Facility in St James and 209 are at the Winnifred Facility in Portland.

A total of 150 Haitians have signed forms asking to be sent back home, and arrangements for repatriation are being made with the assistance of the United Nation's High Commission for Refugees and the International Organisation for Migration, the minister added.

An eligibility committee submits recommendations on asylum seekers to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade as soon as interviews are concluded.

According to the information minister, as at May 28 a total of $28.7 million had been disbursed by the Jamaican Government for the Haitian effort. Estimates for completion of activities and support over the period June to July 31 are put at $32.6 million. These activities are associated with the process of sheltering, processing, providing welfare and repatriation, as well as the redesign of the sewerage system at Montpelier to meet public health requirements, Whiteman said.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees has prepared a budget to make available to Jamaica an amount of up to US$536,550 (approximately J$32 million) which would cover the expenses for the June-July period.
Additional support is expected from the Pan American Health Organisation.

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