HAITIAN COMMUNITY ELATED FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET AND ADDRESS ISSUES WITH ST. KITTS AND NEVIS PRIME MINISTER

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, March 7, 2019 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, carved out time from his heavy ministerial duties on Wednesday, March 6, to engage as much persons as possible in a one-on-one setting to hear their views, concerns and opinions and also to see how best he can better serve them going forward.

The meetings were facilitated at the Prime Minister’s Constituency Office on Main Street, Tabernacle.Among the dozens of persons who showed up for the opportunity to meet one-on-one with the prime minister were members of the Haitian Association of St. Kitts and Nevis, represented by its President, Ms. Christelle Joseph; Vice President, Mr. Widmaer Roseme, and member Mr. Immanuel Guerrier.

In speaking with the Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr. Roseme described their meeting with the prime minister as “really perfect.” He added, “We really appreciated the opportunity the Prime Minister gave us to meet with him and talk about our concerns and see how best we can better integrate into the communities and how we can move forward in working with the Team Unity Government”

“When we shared this with the members of the Haitian community they were very happy to hear that because it has really been a while since we were trying to get this opportunity and so we were very happy,” Mr. Roseme stated.

For his part, Prime Minister Harris said that the discussions with the members of Haitian Association of St. Kitts and Nevis were insightful and helpful as “we were able to see not just how St. Kitts and Nevis can be of service and assistance to the Haitian community but also how they can bring their own experiences, skill sets and even their unique culture and language to the benefit of St. Kitts and Nevis.”

The honourable prime minister further noted that he was particularly pleased to learn that a member of the Haitian Association of St. Kitts and Nevis, in the person of Mr. Immanuel Guerrier, served as the official protocol officer/liaison attached to the Haitian delegation that visited the country to attend the 30th Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM on February 26-27.

“That just goes to show how this relationship between the Haitian community and the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis can be mutually beneficial,” Dr. Harris added.

Prime Minister Harris said other areas of cooperation were also discussed during Wednesday’s meeting “to further enhance and solidify what should be a very productive engagement, and synergistic in terms of its impact on the national community.”

The Haitian Association of St. Kitts and Nevis was founded in October 2016. The non-profit organization consists of Haitians residing in the Federation who came together for the purpose of assisting those in need in Haiti.