Prime Minister David Thompson has communicated to Barbadians that there will be a shake-up at the Immigration Department. For too long this agency which is mandated under our laws to protect our borders has been falling short. Barbadians have also been told that there is a sub-committee of cabinet briefed to submit a proposal on how to make our immigration policy more relevant. In our opinion the findings of this committee has become way overdue, more so in an environment currently characterized by a contracting economy with rising unemployment.
Against the foregoing, we are puzzled by the word making the rounds that ex-soldier and former BLP candidate Jeffery Bostic has been identified as the person to head-up an improved Immigration Unit. If Bostic is indeed the man we would have to question his qualifications for the job.
Despite our best effort we have been unable to confirm the accuracy of a Bostic appointment.
The real possibility of a large unemployed immigrant population is now facing Barbados. Although we did not hear the report a BU family member has reported Guyana’s Consul Norman Faria to be already lobbying for the displaced Guyanese workers employed on the Four Seasons project to be absorbed elsewhere in the Barbados workforce. If we understand correctly this would mean government reallocating work permit status. To say that we find this act by Consul Faria to be an insult to Barbadians would be putting it mildly.
It is understood that at a time of crisis the rule which states home drums beat first must be applied, it is not the ideal position to adopt but understandable never the less. In the United States which practices free trade they have attached a Buy American approach. General Motors and other Amercian companies are cutting workforces in overseas markets first.
To further illustrate the point.
Not too long ago Dubai dubbed the City of Gold was prospering and employed a large expatriate workforce to cater to the demand of a booming economy. We wish to emphasize that the ex-pat workforce was recruited under a strict managed immigration policy.
Here is an update on the situation unfolding in Dubai:
Dubai, the so-called City of Gold, is witnessing something unprecedented: expatriate workers are losing their jobs and are being sent home. It is also widely being reported that Dubai has cancelled over 86 percent more residence visas last month, compared to same month last year – (read full report)
Unemployment statistics in Barbados will likely climb to greater than 10% in the near future. Commonsense would suggest that demand for jobs will become a high agenda item for unemployed Barbadians. If the pool of unemployed labour continues to be congested by a large immigrant population (legal and illegal), we are going to have a problem.
Barbados over the years CANNOT be accused of being CARICOM unfriendly, ask the late Harold ‘Bree’ St. John. To be honest we are sick and tired of hearing the academics and others who spout ideology which is divorce from real world situations. Barbados has always absorbed immigrant labour to build our economy, it has never been an issue, it is an issue now. Owen Arthur had an agenda and used and or felt compelled to use Barbados as his guinea pig to test regionalist polices hatched by CARICOM.
Barbados by all reports are starting to see the degradation of our social infrastructure be it health, education, police, transportation etc. Despite the asinine positions held by Clyde Mascoll and Kerri Symmonds i.e. we need to build out the infrastructure to absorb the requirements of a reconfigured workforce to expand the carry capacity of the economy, we question how allowing Tom, Dick and Harry into a 2×3 country illegally is a good way to accomplish that strategy.
To those who will ascribe xenophobic labels to the BU household because of our view to see our comparatively stable and orderly society is maintained, we will wear the label proudly. Despite the challenge of managing our little economy is the turbulence of a global financial crisis our government needs to act now before the immigration time bomb explodes.
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