<P> As of May 2013, the four Uyghurs still lived in Bermuda; but they have not been given Bermudian status and remain stateless, posing problems for emergency medical situations and finding certain jobs . However, granting them Bermudian status would require a change in Bermudian laws, and the issue has prompted a major debate within Bermuda's parliament on what steps should be taken . </P> <P> Bermuda became an associate member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in 2003 despite not being in the Caribbean region . </P> <P> This is a socio - economic bloc of nations in or near the Caribbean Sea . Other outlying member states include the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and the Republic of Suriname in South America, along with Belize in Central America . The Turks and Caicos Islands, an associate member of CARICOM, and the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, a full member of CARICOM, are in the Atlantic, but near to the Caribbean . Other nearby nations or territories, such as the United States, are not members (although the US Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has observer status, and the United States Virgin Islands announced in 2007 they would seek ties with CARICOM). Bermuda, at roughly a thousand miles from the Caribbean Sea, has little trade with, and little economically in common with, the region, and joined primarily to strengthen cultural links . </P> <P> Among some scholars, "the Caribbean" can be a socio - historical category, commonly referring to a cultural zone characterised by the legacy of slavery (a characteristic Bermuda shared with the Caribbean and the US) and the plantation system (which did not exist in Bermuda). It embraces the islands and parts of the neighbouring continent, and may be extended to include the Caribbean Diaspora overseas . </P>

Bermuda is an island in the caribbean sea