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The Turks and Caicos Islands are located at the end of the Bahama chain, about 90 miles north of Haiti. As a result, many Haitian refugees land on the TCI shores thinking they have reached Miami. The illegal Haitian immigrants work for a meager $20 per day (US Currency) doing the dirty work that the natives wouldn't think of doing themselves. Compare this rate to the $20 per month (US Currency) a well-educated Haitian would earn in Haiti.

Map of Turks and Caicos Islands: I spent four years on the Island of North Caicos in the village of Kew, which has about 400 residents. The highlight of the week was the 12 mile drive to Bottle Creek to get groceries from the 5 shops around town. Usually, I would get a dollar for a can of cheap watermellon or pineapple soda from my dad. But if I was really good, he would buy me a malta. Yummy! Going 'to town' was an all day event, culminating first in a visit to the only other American on the island, then in a visit to an Indian family's home in Whitby. In Bottle Creek my brother and I would play on the corral rock and water that lined that side of the island while my parents visited. At the Indian family's home, we were treated with spicy hot Indian food. We would usually return home around 1 or 2 AM, exausted, but happy.