{"id":168684,"date":"2023-02-07T07:51:17","date_gmt":"2023-02-07T11:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=168684"},"modified":"2023-02-07T07:51:17","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T11:51:17","slug":"upp-to-stage-protest-against-governments-decision-on-african-visitors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/upp-to-stage-protest-against-governments-decision-on-african-visitors\/","title":{"rendered":"UPP to stage protest against government\u2019s decision on African \u2018visitors\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) said it will stage a protest on Tuesday against the government\u2019s decision to legalise the status of hundreds of African migrants who travelled to the island via Antigua Airways and other chartered flights from West Africa.<\/p>

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Last week, the Cabinet announced that it was looking into the possibility of granting legal status to those West African visitors who wished to stay in the country.<\/p>\n

This decision came after the Africans began arriving in Antigua late last year after fleeing the war-torn country of Cameroon, which shares a border with Nigeria.<\/p>

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Observer media spoke with UPP member Franz De Freitas about the protest planned for 9am tomorrow outside the Prime Minister\u2019s Office.<\/p>

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\u201cIn Antigua and Barbuda, the people are facing a terrible human trafficking tragedy imposed on our West African brothers and sisters [from] Nigeria and Cameroon, and the United Progressive Party thinks that a lot of exploitation has happened in this case.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that the solution to the self-imposed problem of the [Antigua Barbuda Labour Party] \u2026 is something that the people should not live with and cannot tolerate,\u201d he said.<\/p>

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The UPP, in a press statement last week, questioned the decision taken by the government and cited national security concerns as well as the implications for the labour market.<\/p>\n

DeFreitas said that while the UPP has no issues with providing solutions to the issue, claims of insensitivity to the plights of the West African migrants were unfounded.<\/p>

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\u201cMy position is that the people who are here from Africa were taken advantage of, and we do not believe that just granting people unilaterally \u2026 is not doable without a Parliament \u2026 there are better ways to address the issue,\u201d he said.<\/p>

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The controversy over West African visitors stemmed from a July 2022 announcement by the Gaston Browne-led administration of an agreement with Nigerian businessman, known as Marvellous Mike, to create an airline called Antigua Airways.<\/p>\n

Once touted as the regional link between Antigua and West Africa as well as attracting wealthy African entrepreneurs to invest in the nation, the first official flight into the country occurred on November 1, 2022.<\/p>\n

Since then, several other chartered flights from the same airline were reported over the next two months, bringing what the government deemed as tourists and called any criticism over the situation as \u201cxenophobic\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, Antigua Airways was not the only chartered airline operating between Antigua and West Africa, as Observer media reporting revealed that an Abuja-based entity called FastFlyLinks Travel & Tours transported individuals here for a hefty price of US $5,000 each.<\/p>\n

How exactly another airline was able to enter Antiguan airspace without airport authorities being alerted to their presence remains unanswered; however, Antigua Airways\u2019 Managing Director Opeyemi Olorunfemi told our newsroom that Antigua Airways and FastFlyLinks were separate entities.<\/p>\n

Despite extensive media reporting on the matter during the months of December and January, the government, at the time, seemed hesitant to fully address it.<\/p>\n

It was not until a few days after the January 18 General Elections that re-appointed Attorney General and Minister with responsibility for Immigration, Steadroy Benjamin was reported to have stated concerns over the arrivals and sought a temporary halt of the chartered West African flights.<\/p>\n

Following the announcement of the temporary pause, the government also revealed plans to facilitate flights to repatriate the migrants to Nigeria.<\/p>\n

However, the West Africans \u2014 in several interviews with Observer \u2014 called on the government to allow them to stay in the country over alleged fears expressed by many of them that they could be killed if they returned to the African continent.<\/p>\n

While Cabinet spokesperson Melford Nicholas indicated that the government did accept some blame for the situation, he expressed steadfast belief that the government will \u201cnot be shying away from trying to forge a way forward to offer flights and strengthen economic channels from the Motherland\u201d.<\/p>\n

The UPP called on the government to be transparent as to the \u201cgenesis\u201d of Antigua Airways, and \u201cmake other arrangements that will not bring further hardship to an already suffering and over-burdened population\u201d. (OBSERVER)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n