Undocumented Aliens - and a car inspection

I was driving from Cargill Creek to Fresh Creek and was waved down by someone wanting a ride. This is not an uncommon occurance driving the Church van, people wave us down for rides often. This time however, the person was wearing a police uniform. Not to worry - he just needed a lift to the Fresh Creek police station for work so off we went.

During our conversation he told me that in North Andros the immigration office had asked the police to assist in a sweep for undocumented aliens in the North Andros bush. In the Bahamas, this means Haitians.

Haitians arrive on Bahamian shores in a variety of ways, usually the stop in the Bahamas is a short one, with the US being their preferred destination. However, some set up house by squatting on the plentiful, but remote, land in the interior of Andros. North Andros has been home to Haitians in the past. I even found a Baptismal register for the township of Mastic Point where a section of the register was set apart for 'Haitian Baptisms'.

Anyway, as part of this conversation the policeman told me where they did the sweep and that they found cottages all throughout the bush where a small village had sprung up. When they arrived people scattered but they did arrest about 40. I found out that all of them, when asked, claimed to be Catholic and its giving me qualms of conscience. Where these people were is not that far from Mastic Point, where we have been asked to come and start holding services for new Catholics that have moved in. Time will tell, but this is a new dimension to what might happen if we start ministering to the undocumented aliens of North Andros.

On another, lighter topic - the Church van needed an inspection sticker - and when I looked into that, it also needed its registration renewed. I also knew that my tires were getting threadbare (the roads here do a number on tires in a short period of time) so I started by going to Rev. Hinsey'[s Garage and got myself some new tires to replace the bald ones, then I felt I was ready for the inspection.

In the Bahamas to do this you need your insurance policy as part of the process so, after digging out all the appropriate forms I headed off to the Police Station to get it done. I went into the Administrator's Office and we paid the fee for the inspection and registration and she gave me the new stickers for the windshield and license plate, and then typed up the new registration. She then gave me everything I needed and sent me off. I asked where I should go for the inspection and she looked up at me, blinked twice, and said, "Does everything work on the car?" I said yes, and she said, "Well then your all set - here's the inspections sticker". I was done.

I guess its not always that easy, but when its the Church van, maybe it is.