A large fire swept through Pigeon Pea, a Haitian shantytown in Abaco, late Tuesday. A woman and a child were killed in the fire that destroyed at least 90 structures. Hundreds are now homeless.
Deputy Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis and other government officials traveled to Abaco yesterday to conduct an assessment. He said the government sympathizes with residents and that it will assist and ensure they "help themselves" by preventing them from rebuilding unsafe structures with improper electrical connections.
Davis said a Ministry of Works official has been appointed to monitor the shantytowns on the island to assist in preventing any further structures from being built contrary to proper regulations. The Mudd is another large shantytown in Abaco.
The deputy prime minister's remarks set the proper tone for what should be done. He and the government are showing compassion to the people who have lost family and property. They are in need of the basic necessities of life. Out of human compassion, they should be helped whether or not they have proper status to be in the country.
However, going forward, the people who built illegal structures on the land at Pigeon Pea should not be allowed to build new illegal structures. Poor sanitation, illegal power supplies and cramped conditions in violation of the building code make these communities unsafe. We have seen many fires at shantytowns across The Bahamas in recent years. This one in Abaco is just the latest.
At least two shantytowns on New Providence have been mostly cleared of shanties and their occupants recently. Structures have been demolished at a site at Seabreeze Lane and another off Carmichael Road west of Gladstone Road. Work has also begun on the demolition of structures at a third shantytown off Joe Farrington Road.
The combined effort by the government and landowners to push for shantytowns to be vacated and cleared is necessary. Over the years successive administrations have allowed these communities to start and grow. Our acceptance of these illegal structures has led to the problem we have today. We have always seen them, but we took no real action to remove them.
We are certain that the government has the support of the majority of Bahamians in this initiative. What is needed now is action to ensure that the residents of these communities are humanely vacated and the structures removed. Once removed The Bahamas must be resolute and not allow them to resurface on the same sites or others.

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