Dealing with… Venezies

After the mid-town bomb blast set off by a Venezuelan Sindicato Gang member (Organización R), a robust – to put it mildly!! – debate’s has been triggered about all the Venezies who’ve flocked to our shores – or jungles!! Now this influx’s been going on for years…but accelerated exponentially following Venezuela’s meltdown with the collapse of their oil industry after privatisation of the foreign oil companies. Now humanitarianism is all well and good, but our concern gotta be the impact of the Venezies on our less than 800,000 population.
The acceleration started around the time the PPP was checkmated by APNU and the AFC in 2011 – and by 2019 there was a report of 36,000 of them as refugees here!! The UN system had gotten involved with humanitarian outreaches as they crossed the Cuyuni into our Region 1. After a while, we’d decided to not let them in beyond Mabaruma but never instituted the systems to do so effectively. There were three reasons for this – firstly many were Indigenous Peoples for whom it was an age-old tradition of migratory habits to make a living.
The second were Venezuelans who entered via Boa Vista to Lethem and then to Gtown – and others who landed in boats on the Essequibo Coast and gravitated East to the West Coast, Georgetown and East Bank. Many of us felt sorry for these poor wretches – excepting local women who saw their husbands being lured into dalliances by the more desperate female refugees! Soon, every village between Pomeroon and Rosignol had their Venezuelan posses.
Finally, there were the returning Guyanese – or their children – who’d gone over since the 1970’s as OUR economy and society had imploded under Burnham’s “innovations” – which Chavez ironically copied!! These were a whole different kettle of fish. By law, they were Guyanese citizens with all the privileges that implied. And this brings in the crux of the battle of words before the elections – with the Opposition claiming the PPP was registering ALL Venezies – not just returning Guyanese!! – to vote for them since they were their benefactors!!
But the bottom line is right now, we need to get a grip not just on Venezuelans but on all foreigners immigrating here. The President and the Minister of Home Affairs have mentioned the imminent introduction of an E-ID card that’s gonna be issued to everyone resident in Guyana legally. It’ll distinguish between citizens, residents and others – the last getting a limited time to get their status regularised.
Seems fair to your Eyewitness. Wasn’t this the route we had to take when half our population fled north?? In these matters there must be enforcement institutions to enforce the rules of residence.
Not operating like the US ICE…but you get the idea!!

…danger
During the Cold War, the Americans had a question for anyone trying to enter their country: “Are you now, or even been a member of a communist party”. The reason, of course, is they didn’t want to allow Fifth Columnists into their country who could be activated some time down the road to subvert the country from within!! Our Question to all Venezuelan “refugees” must be – who owns Essequibo!!
This should be the retort to those who say we should allow all Venezies because they allowed so many Guyanese to enter their country- when the shoe was on the other foot. But the two situations aren’t equivalent, innit?? Unlike Venezuela, we’ve never claimed two-thirds of their territory and could later exploit the sentiments of the “refugees” to call upon their “mother country” to rescue them from persecution or whatever!!
Isn’t this why, say, Turkey invaded Cyprus and partitioned it into Greek and Turkish enclaves?? All non-Guyanese persons from Venezuela have to either naturalise their status or it’s “Adios, amigo!!”

…Russia
Referring to the US naval fleet blockading narco-boats from Venezuela, Russia announced it “firmly denounces the use of excessive military force in carrying out actions in anti-drugs operations”!!
Does this mean we’ll reprieve the 1962 Cuban missile crisis??