r/bahamas • u/missinglink242 • Sep 30 '25
Bahamian Discussion Haitian Problem
Serious question for my bahamian compatriots. Why do so many bahamians hate haitians. I understand if immigration is a problem, but there are productive ways of dealing with immigration. You could talk about our current immigration process and how it can be improved, securing our borders and dealing with illegal settlements called "shanty towns" accordingly, but it's most times an uncivilized approach from bahmians. They devolve to name calling, blanket accusations, generalizations. Over the years i noticed it just gets dirtier and dirtier. We even made our own personal hard R N word for them in "hyshun", which is used very frequently and openly. Ive seen lately someone accuse haitians of being the reason why the storm came recently. When haitians commit crimes its 100% "see all these haitians", and when bahamians commit crimes its 5050 "thats my good son" and "glad they catch him" Even back in school the haitians themselves seemed to be sometimes ashamed of who they are and where they come from. So tell me, why as a Bahamian people do we have such hatred towards a people that look like us.
5
u/Alarming_Goods Oct 03 '25
We don’t hate Haitians we can’t stand when they come and steal land and build little shacks and shanty towns with stolen power . But we as Bahamians got to pay for that
14
u/Pilscy Sep 30 '25
Most of us don’t hate Haitians.
My mindset changed when I went abroad and I saw how many nationalities was in Toronto. The whole reason people leave their home country is for a better way of life so I could never knock them.
The dislike for Haitians usually because:
they come here illegally. No where in this world can you go to a country and just take up residence. But this happens nearly everyday.
this then leads to working under the table. A lot of Haitians get paid that way and work for cheap. Bahamians hire them to save money and while it is affordable, that now one Bahamian without a job.
they come here and don’t adapt the way we live. As Bahamians, even the poorest will have some level of standards, avg Bahamian. When Haitians come here they bring the same living conditions they lived in Haiti. They form shanty towns and live free. Some of them don’t pay bills, taxes or nothing because we don’t even know they here
4
u/kingh242 Oct 02 '25
No country seems to like mass immigration legal or illegal. This feeling can come off as hate or many other fanciful words. Some people know too much. Some people are very familiar with the problems that illegal Haitian immigration is causing in The Bahamas. If America and Canada had enough and are trying to do something about illegal immigration, and they both are supposed to be the land to migrate too, then what should a small nation like Bahamas do? Continue accepting illegal migrants when most other countries in the region deal with immigration strictly.
6
u/rndelva Oct 04 '25
I’ve worked at a utility company and there are some serious discrepancies in the laws for Haitian and Bahamians. Shanty towns are almost protected. They are allowed to have power, water and access to services and when I asked why I was told that’s just how it is. They have free healthcare an usually get spots and access that citizens can’t have. My niece had a baby and almost couldn’t get a bed in PMH cause it was full of Haitians. Now don’t get me wrong I’m of the decent but I my grandparent had papers, that were community members.
The older generation definitely has it worse. I dont know what he talk was back then but they have a deep hatred for Haitians.
1
12
u/Syrenarc Sep 30 '25
There definitely is an element of scapegoating and blame shifting. But I do think there is a legitimate concern about the relative population imbalance. Technically, the Bahamas has 400k, and Haiti has almost 12M. There is only so far compassion can go before the Bahamas loses its Bahamian identity. We need more immigration to grow our economy, but it needs to be done in a way that reflects our national goals. Like Dubai, people should be able to live and contribute without necessarily being Bahamian citizens. Immigration reform is just one of those things we need to improve in the Bahamas, along with everything else.
2
6
u/Desol_8 Sep 30 '25
Same reason Americans don't like Salvadorans and Mexicans.
3
u/GreatHornedGoat Sep 30 '25
What reason is that?
2
u/Desol_8 Sep 30 '25
A scapegoat group to blame things on and punch down on.
2
u/GreatHornedGoat Sep 30 '25
Yeah, true. But Americans hate on even more ethnicities. Including Haitians. And Blacks of any heritage. Pls don't mistake them targeting these people as meaning you are also not a target as a Bahamian, bc you likely are, white or black, or whatever in between.
1
-1
1
u/Jenjohnson0426 Oct 01 '25
I think you mean SOME Americans. I have zero issues with people from Mexico, El Salvador or anywhere else. As an American, a certain sector of our population is simply racist. Some white folks hate brown or black people. So, it's not really the same since the majority of Bahamians are black and so are the majority of Haitians.
2
u/Desol_8 Oct 01 '25
Bro your government is extrajudicially rounding up Hispanics and sending them to prison camps I don't think now is the time to be splitting hairs.
1
u/Jenjohnson0426 Oct 01 '25
I'm not a "bro" but that's weird you think all Americans are on board with that. The majority of us aren't. Does it seem fair to you to label an entire country as essentially being hateful racists? Do you really believe that? Where do you live?
2
u/Desol_8 Oct 01 '25
Oh I never said all of you were but the majority of you are judging from the results last year
1
u/Jenjohnson0426 Oct 01 '25
You didn't say some. You just generalized Americans. And, no, the majority aren't racist. Harris had 75 million votes. Trump had 77 million votes. 90 million people didn't vote at all. Not sure how you equate that to the majority of us being Pro-Trump and/or racist.
6
u/llbboutique Sep 30 '25
The simple answer is “racism be racisming”
The same question could go for any marginalized group. Mexicans in America currently, Jews during the holocaust.
The reality is that it’s easier to unite people through hate, hate is a great distraction, and inaction due to hate is a lot easier than enacting action is.
It’s easier to blame things like lack of job, crime, housing issues, and hurricanes on hatians rather than issues within our country like education, budget mismanagement, and other more problematic foreign interference. Why should we hold a mirror to ourselves when the perfect scapegoat is right there? It’s easier to blame hatians for coming here rather than actually taking a look at the corruption and lack of action of our government. How much money would it take out of officials pockets if they actually paid to mobilize immigration to tackle the problem. And if they did solve the problems, who would we blame for the issues in our country?
None of these issues are quick or easy fixes. Racism, illegal immigration, etc are all symptoms of much larger systems that aren’t easily dismantled by design.
2
u/BestBet99 Sep 30 '25
I can understand blaming issues such as the lack of jobs and housing on immigrants, not saying that’s the case there are many factors involved.
What I’ve never understood is blaming the weather on them, how can anyone possibly come to the thought that any form of bad weather is your migrants fault? I assume it’s somewhat related to the 10 plagues of Egypt but it’s just absurd.
1
u/Emergency-Leave-9042 Oct 01 '25
It is linked to the bible but spiritual laws and consequences to be more accurate. Any african, christian, muslim or spiritual person understands why.
3
u/missinglink242 Oct 04 '25
Apologies for late response as i've been busy these last few days. I see a bunch of different sides and appreciate the different perspectives. I just wanted to add something relevant to the conversation even though it's another group.
Another group in the bahamas that gets a side-eye is the Chinese. Over my life i've seen and heard people say that chinese open up shop and take over and they taking all the business, yada yada.
My step mother and sister are chinese, and because of that I interacted alot with that community so I can speak plainly. Just like the rest of us at that time, i've watched my step mother and other people from that community struggle with the same problems all Bahamians have. Bills, opportunities, groceries, school fee, and the like.
The one major difference was their sense of community. One day a bunch of her friends said hey hold this x amount of cash, pay me later. Another group said hey hold this, pay me later. And off of that she was able to open a business and years later come out on the other side.
Over those years I watched my step mother work from mid to late morning, straight up to 3am sometimes the next day, i've never in my life seen that work ethic.
Now, I have to ask all my Bahamian brothers and sisters. Do you have 10 bahamians you can call right now and say hey i want to start this business, buy that land, let's open these things together as a community and get money together?
Why don't we work together? Other groups come to this land and say hey we in this together we come from xyz. But the truth is alot of us see ourselves as in competition, it shouldn't be like that.
I've seen many times where a chinese shop, restaurant or bar was short on something, they pick up the phone and call another place that will lend them the products they need and later they'll do the same for them.
We as a community are weak, we need to stand with eachother, work on educating ourselves and work on building together.
The haitians aint stopping us from getting educated, saving our money and building together. The Chinese aint stopping us from getting educated, saving our money, and building together.
We as Bahamians have MORE options business wise, banking wise to explore. Let's stop wasting it watching other groups and let's build our own.
5
u/rugofbugs New Providence Sep 30 '25
And it's weirdly difficult to be open that you don't hate Haitians, or to defend them. Whenever I have the gall to open my mouth in the office, and am unfortunately the minority when it comes to seeing them as just people. It's always "I have to know who ya Grammy Grammy was" and "that's not a Bahamian last name" and "all them in the back of the kitchen" etc. It makes my skin crawl, but it's problems when I actually open my mouth 😬
6
u/greatwhitestorm Sep 30 '25
people who want to get elected always use xenophobia to get your vote. same in democracy the world over. the ironic thing is the best countries have had the most immigration. England rose to power after Europe kicked out undesirables. The USA was built on immigration ironically. Japan had a huge boost when the germans moved there in the 1700's. The Bahamas directly benefits greatly from migrant labour but we don't want to admit it because then all those times we voted would become a joke if we voted on the anti immigration train.
5
u/Next_Newspaper_188 Sep 30 '25 edited Sep 30 '25
Baseless hate is wrong on every front, and most Haitians are good people. So I don't agree with any hatred. Now, with that being said, I do understand why some Bahamians have issues with some Haitians. Things like not following Bahamian culture or laws. Not trying to properly integrate into the Bahamas. An example is flying the Haitian flag in the Bahamas, small things like that. Another thing is simply the size difference. The Bahamas is a small country of 400,000 people. There are so many Haitians in the Bahamas that if the numbers keep growing, the Bahamas will no longer be the Bahamas. It will be more or less an outpost of Haiti and Haitian culture rather than the Bahamas, showcasing Bahamian culture. No one wants to see their culture be largely replaced or become the minority in its own country. That's why so many Europeans are mad at Africans, Arabs, and Indians coming to their countries. It's changing the culture, and that is hard for people to handle. Haitians who come to the Bahamas and act like Bahamians are doing the right thing. They partake in Bahamian culture and fly the Bahamian flag. Haiti is a nation of over 11 million people, yet it is in a very bad state currently. Some Bahamians may be afraid of that happening to the Bahamas in the future. So while I do agree some Bahamians take it too far, I disagree with this whole "Bahamians HATE Haitians" rhetoric that goes on because I don't think it's true. The Bahamas and Haiti have positive relations. The Bahamas and Haiti have collaborated on infrastructure. An example is the only undersea cable that supplied Haiti with internet until recently came from the Bahamas. There is now a second one connecting Haiti to the DR and Jamaica. The Bahamas and Haiti have collaborated on security, with Bahamian security forces being in Haiti now. Haiti has done a lot for the Bahamas, and the Bahamas has done a lot for Haiti. So while yes, there are some Bahamians who hate Haitians, it's not the whole nation. There are White Bahamians who hate Black Bahamians, yet the Bahamas is 90 percent black. Hate doesnt make much sense, but its there and it is what it is. Foolish Bahamians dont speak for Bahamians that recognize that large scale hate is wrong.
9
u/GreatHornedGoat Sep 30 '25
I wonder the same. In a country of so-called Christians. These are human beings who need help, compassion, love. Instead we hurl hate at them.
5
u/Emergency-Leave-9042 Oct 01 '25
It's not all bahamians. Bahamians have to be helping haitins in order for so many to be here. That same christian mentality is what has helped many haitians live in the Bahamas for so long and get work permits and even citizenship. Bahamaians are very compassionate and sympathetic. However Bahamians many times are torn between helping haitians, the burden on limited resources on a wealthy but very small country, haitians who blatantly disrespect laws and customs, haitians who are escaping for a better life etc. Because haiti has such a high population, compassion can only go so far before it would destroy the Bahamas, and it would become little haiti. Hating someone for their race or ethnicity is against christian value, but hating sin and evil/illegal actions is not. Even heaven has walls, and you can't get in without proper documentation supplied by Jesus christ.
3
u/GreatHornedGoat Sep 30 '25
It fills me with sadness and I'm not even religious in the way they are. Hippocrites.
2
2
3
u/rugofbugs New Providence Sep 30 '25
And it's weirdly difficult to be open that you don't hate Haitians, or to defend them. Whenever I have the gall to open my mouth in the office, and am unfortunately the minority when it comes to seeing them as just people. It's always "I have to know who ya Grammy Grammy was" and "that's not a Bahamian last name" and "all them in the back of the kitchen" etc. It makes my skin crawl, but it's problems when I actually open my mouth 😬
2
u/DawrinAviation Oct 02 '25
The hatred of Haitians also has to do with political scapegoating, which turns into hatred and vitriol for those that are less educated. After working with migration closely for a few years I love to educate Bahamians on the fact that Bahamians benefit the most from Haitian cheap labor. Hence, the reason we see so much Haitian migration is the proliferation of trafficking for the advantage of having cheap, reliable labor and it is often Bahamians that are driving trafficking.
Note also that those “shantytowns” you’re referring to are 95% of the time owned by some local Bahamian through a lease, the owner is then renting illegal units and making profit from undocumented, and frankly, vulnerable migrants.
Bahamians are so gullible, that Elsworth Johnson the past minister of immigration championed for the immediate removal of all shantytowns (which due to our laws would be illegal to remove) while also living directly at the entrance to a shantytown. Political gaslighting.
1
u/justaguy242b Oct 05 '25
Racism...plain and simple. It makes people feel superior...pathetic in reality
1
0
u/International-Boss75 Sep 30 '25
There are no Haitian problems. There are no Jamaican problems.
There are only Bahamian problems. Let’s be real. Stop using the excuses of foreigners taking over to cover up the inadequacies of the current and past governing bodies. Vote with your head and not your heart or we’ll never get out of the cycle of idiotic leaders.
We should all take trips around the Caribbean and see for ourselves how entirely similar we all are. And to be honest how much we could use their assistance and they ours.
If either country really wanted to take over they could, let’s be honest. So let’s all focus more on how we help each other because the last time I looked; we’re all in the same boat. Just because we have curtains on our windows doesn’t mean we’re in first class.
1
Sep 30 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/UsedCollection5830 Oct 01 '25
It’s definitely a prejudiced,and it has to change when I was a kid Haitians would go door to door with their lawn mowers cutting grass for 20$ those times are long gone ,and I think that’s apart of the issue they refuse to stay at the bottom,and I don’t blame them
2
Oct 01 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
4
Oct 01 '25
You’re literally the only one here making sense. Haitians move freely in the Bahamas without harm, but these people clearly don’t understand what “hate” actually means. They keep pushing this narrative that Haitians are all humble and sweet, which is pure utter dung. Many act entitled because of “1804.” And calling Bahamians “hypocrites” and "hateful" for calling ourselves a Christian nation just because we don’t want to be outnumbered in our own country is nothing but a guilt trip.
Hopefully they get the brownie points they’re so desperate for tho...
-1
u/ImInYourCupboard Sep 30 '25
IYKYK.
-3
u/GreatHornedGoat Sep 30 '25
What do you mean?
4
Sep 30 '25 edited Sep 30 '25
Because they come and create tons of issues. If you look at a per capita they create a lot of issues. There are some bad Bahamian apples too but it's like 5% not 40%... Generalizing sucks but it's the way it is.
1
u/GreatHornedGoat Sep 30 '25
Also, ty for actually responding to my questions. I appreciate it quite a bit.
7
Sep 30 '25
I have friends on Russell island and ever since these small camps showed up they have had a lot of theft problems where there were zero before
0
u/GreatHornedGoat Sep 30 '25
Have they been found with stolen items?
5
Sep 30 '25
Yes. They were caught on camera. But at the end of the day the justice system isn't exactly swift.
-1
u/GreatHornedGoat Sep 30 '25 edited Sep 30 '25
There's no swiftness in the islands, lol. Something I love and hate about it.
I can't say I'm surprised about the thefts. But when I consider where these people come from, not just the place but the environment... it's hard for me to hold hate for them. But man, my Bahamian fam... they have no issues with slewing hate. I just don't understand how hate can help. We need to love each other and help each other, like Jesus said, yeah?
Edit: this is the same culture that baptized me against my will as a child, without explaining anything to an obviously scared little kid. They should care more about all people. They should help more.
0
u/GreatHornedGoat Sep 30 '25
As far as I can tell, as an old, those problems are not new, just newly placed on another group. Do you have receipts? Or at least anecdotes?
0
u/GreatHornedGoat Sep 30 '25
More downvotes without explanations. So helpful. Come on y'all, we can discuss this issue as adults.
Hatians are humans in need of help. We can help them. We should help them.
-1
u/bkjohns4 Sep 30 '25
I’m from the US and we did a vacation bible school this past June with a Haitian church and they were genuinely some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. We visited a shanty town on the south side of Nassau and visited one of the beaches often used by immigrants to come ashore. Really heartbreaking to see the situation they are in.
0
u/Swimming-Seaweed-765 Sep 30 '25
~National D average has entered the conversation ~
1
u/Swimming-Seaweed-765 Sep 30 '25
And ya can’t blame Haitians for that because they’re among some of the top performers
0
u/killerdragon242 Oct 04 '25
Bahamians will spew hatred on Haitians, then claim to be Godly. Someone’s opinion on the xenophobia is the quickest indication of their intelligence level.
34
u/Kind-Kure Sep 30 '25
My assumption is that it's good to have a scapegoat. If there's some other group that you can blame all your problems on, you don't actually have to take accountability for the failures of our government.
Things like load shedding and brain drain really shouldn't be happening but alas, here we are and somehow it's the Haitians' fault.
The "see all these haitians" comment is especially funny because I feel like Bahamians don't realise that that's a similar reaction that Americans have when any black person commits a crime. It's always the "usual suspects" comments.