ROSEAU, Dominica (CMC) — Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit on Monday said his Government is hoping to finalise an agreement with the United States this week to facilitate third-country refugees to be sent to Dominica in scenarios where Washington cannot return these individuals to their state of birth or origin.

Skerrit told a news conference that the draft agreement proposed by the United States calls for seven illegal migrants to be sent to Dominica every four months.

“Seven people per quarter. We have four quarters in a year. So in a year there will be 28. Right, no more than 28 persons,” Skerrit told reporters.

“So that is the understanding. So it is not the hundreds that people are saying, or the thousands. And the truth is Dominica needs thousands of people more, if you were to ask me,” he said.

“We need some more people in there but so far as the agreement, and we’re hoping to finalise the agreement for signing this week. So it’s no more than seven per quarter and we are engaging the services of IOM (International Organization for Migration) to manage this agreement from an operational standpoint on behalf of the Government of Dominica,” Skerrit added.

He told reporters he was unaware as to when the refugees would be arriving, saying “there are some logistical issues that we have to put in place”.

“We have to determine whether they’re going to be renting individual locations or they’ll rent one building and all the persons will be housed in there, because some of the people may want to move on.

“So they (illegal migrants) may not stay in Dominica permanently. They may want to move on back to their country of origin, you understand and so forth and, of course, the financial aspect of it is something that we have discussions with so that we’re not out of pocket in respect to this matter,” Skerrit noted.

Earlier this year, Skerrit said that given the importance of bilateral relationships between the United States and Dominica, he as prime minister and head of Government, believes “it is important to find key points of agreement and compromise between our countries”.

“This engagement is based on our responsibility to safeguard the well-being of our people, particularly their access to lawful travel, education, employment and family connections, while strengthening cooperation between our governments. I believe this will further deepen our longstanding relationship and signal clearly that Dominica remains a willing and reliable partner of the United States in the region,” Skerrit said.

But he told reporters on Monday that he had long been advocating that Dominica needed more people for its socio-economic development before the discussions with the United States came about.

“The reality is, let us face it, we are a small population. There are a number of skills we need in the country. The more developed you get as a society, jobs which Dominicans did yesterday, they won’t be doing them today. That’s the reality. And many of us who are seeking to employ people in the country, you can’t get the people to work,” he said, noting that some professionals attempt to satisfy five or six clients at a time because of the shortage of skilled labour.

“And so we have to be true to ourselves, and recognise that if we could bring in people who have skills and immerse them in society with those skills…then that would certainly add value for our society. In everything we have to look at the potential positive side of it and not appear to be xenophobic as a society …and our first reaction is to say no,” Skerrit said.

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