Gareth Davis, Gleaner WriterPORT ANTONIO, PORTLAND:
A GROUP of 51 Haitian refugees landed at the Ken Wright Pier in Port Antonio yesterday morning, bringing the total to 288 to have landed in Jamaica since the start of the year.
Following a routine check-up with the regional Ministry of Health office, the Haitians will be transferred to the Winnifred Rest Home shelter in Fairy Hill where they will join other Haitian refugees being housed at the facility.
Their vessel was escorted into port at about 1:45 a.m. by persons travelling in another vessel who spotted them 40 miles off the coast of Port Antonio.
MORE PROBLEMS
The new arrivals now present another problem for local authorities in Portland, who have been complaining of being hard pressed to deal with the heavy influx of refugees pouring into the island. Of the 288 Haitians to have landed in Jamaica since January, 44 have been transferred to the Montpelier holding facility in St. James.
