The immigration matter has gone off the boil in recent days. Barbadians maybe waiting on Prime Minister David Thompson to provide an update on the effectiveness of the controversial amnesty scheduled to expire end of year.
One of the most disappointing aspects of the immigration debate sparked by the amnesty has been the vitriolic commentary delivered by Caribbean citizens who should know better. Among those we have academic Professor Norman Girvan who in an interview with a Jamaica radio station used the word ‘Gestapo’ to describe the action of the Barbados government when rounding up illegal immigrants. On the same program Videographer Annalee Davis agreed with the provocative term spewed by Girvan. Soon to follow was former Secretary General of the Commonwealth Shridath Ramphal who went one step further by referring to the Barbados government actions towards illegal Caricom immigrants as using intimations of ethnic cleansing. He subsequently retreated when he explained he made the statement based on a Nation newspaper report. If we wanted to we could cite several other examples from Prime Minister Ralph Gonzales of St. Vincent, David Commisiong who has been exposed using a fork tongue, Head of the Caribbean Development Bank Compton Bourne a Guyanese tossed his two cents into the pot at the risk of compromising his position which convention regards to be independent, we had many other examples.
After all the rhetoric it was finally agreed that complaints by Guyanese are to be documented by those in charge to allow for formal investigations to take place. Prime Minister David Thompson was quick to point out the actions of unprofessional immigration officers should not be tagged as government policy. Time will tell the outcome of the investigations after we learned a report was submitted last week by Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs which outlined four complaints to the Barbados government.
At the root of the argument against the new Barbados immigration approach has been the alleged inhumane treatment of Guyanese by Barbados immigration officials when they have been rounded-up. So far we have had an earful from illegal immigrants shouting abuse at our officials, we hope ongoing investigations will put this matter to rest.
BU does not excuse any maltreatment of illegal immigrants by immigration officials. What BU condemns is the holier than thou attitude which President Jagdeo of Guyana and his cronies have directed at Barbados. It is well documented how the Guyanese government has treated with illegal Brazilians and Chinese, some may even refer to how it treats its own citizens three who were arrested for peacefully demonstrating a few days ago. Today a story appeared in the Kaieteur Newspaper which aptly explains the dishonesty by the Jagdeo government.
Here is a snippet:
Despite his traumatic ordeal, a 27-year-old Jamaican is expressing his gratitude to a Guyanese family who provided him with food and shelter when he needed it most. Harvey Anderson was taken in by a North Ruimveldt family after he was found wandering in the Stabroek Market area, following his release from the custody of local drug agents. Anderson had been holidaying in Guyana for a month and when he was about to board a flight back to his homeland on Wednesday morning, he was taken off the flight by anti narcotics officers who claimed that they suspected that he had ingested cocaine.
Jamaican Harvey Anderson is thankful to his ‘Good Samaritan’ Philippa Pearson. “They bring me to a hospital and they did two X-ray on me, and they say I’m discharged. They bring me back to the office, they don’t have no where to put me,” Anderson told this newspaper.
Anderson, who is visiting Guyana for the first time, said that he told the drug agents that he only had one friend in Guyana and could not make contact with him at the immediate moment.
The story above exposes the propaganda by the Jagdeo government for all who want to know. For some strange reason the media in Barbados, Rickey Singh, so-called academics et al have been strangely silent on the dishonesty being spewed by Jagdeo and crew.
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