IOM has provided voluntary return assistance under its humanitarian assistance programme to help stranded and distressed migrants to a group of 120 Haitian migrants who were washed ashore in Cuba in May.

Haitian migrants often wash ashore in Cuba on their way to the United States because of inclement weather conditions, manoeuvres to avoid coast guard surveillance and/or malfunctions of the rickety vessels they are travelling on.

The Cuban authorities provided humanitarian assistance and housed the migrants in a camp in Punta Maisí.

The returning migrants were met in Port au Prince last Sunday by IOM officials and Haitian authorities. They were taken by bus to a hotel in the capital and are scheduled to continue their journey to their places of origin this week.

IOM has appealed for additional funding to continue providing assistance to stranded migrants in Cuba. In April this year, IOM assisted another group of 90 Haitian migrants to return home from Cuba with the Organization having assisted many hundreds more stranded Haitian migrants in preceding years.

In 2002, IOM and the Cuban and Haitian governments signed an agreement to assist with the voluntary return of irregular Haitian migrants stranded in Cuba. The agreement is meant to provide the basis for humane and effective solutions to address the needs of both the stranded migrants and the governments affected.

Around the world, IOM is addressing the growing need to provide assistance to irregular migrants stranded in either transit or destination countries, often far from home without any means to move onwards or return home but requests for assistance often far outstrip available resources.
 

For more information contact

Niurka Piñeiro
IOM Washington
Tel: 1.202.862.1826 ext. 225
Email: npineiro@iom.int