Home Letters Trump’s executive orders to deport foreigners an indictment on the way Guyanese...
Dear Editor,
With its meteoric rise, Guyana has become the “the most beloved country” to all of its Caribbean neighbours. This is evident in the drastic change in the way our peoples are treated in those countries. It marks a 180 degree turnaround from previous years, when we were met with the most hostile attitudes from the leadership and residents of those Caricom countries.
But before I discuss the sudden change in the fortunes for the Guyanese, let me take us down memory lane. Just a few short years ago, Guyanese were seen as refugees, a bunch of repulsive fugitives who were turning up at other Caricom ports. I here make use of the Creole term: we were a group of “Deh bad people”, who were seeking refuge anywhere, yes, anywhere possible, other than Guyana.
It was a horrible time, it was the worst of times; these were the times when persons were ashamed to be called by the name Guyanese, because that name was a cause for ridicule and bad treatment; we were the rejects of the Caribbean. Certain Caricom territories can be called out for dishonourable mention, where the ill treatment of our peoples is concerned. These are, St Lucia, Antigua, Trinidad, The Bahamas, and Barbados; you name them and the experience is the same. The last-named country is the most notorious of them all, Barbados had the most inhumane policies against nationals from my country.
Every Guyanese who has travelled to that island would attest to the hostile encounters they would have had with the Bajan immigration. Everyone can attest to the rows of red chairs that greeted you, and the nationality of the persons that frequented that special area. This is the way we were.
Many Caribbean nations speak out against the executive orders made by Trump, accusing him of being a narcissist and inhumane, yet they fail to realize that these same draconian measures were meted out to their very own, right here in the Caribbean. With every executive order Trump makes that speaks to deportation of non-nationals, Caribbean governments must face the reality: that these were the same draconian measures they instituted against Guyanese in their countries.
They cannot run away from the sure fact that Trump’s measures are a direct reflection of their own policies when Guyanese were fleeing poverty from their homeland.
The turnaround came at the advent of oil, when every Caricom nation now speak of us in endearing terms; now they know that “Guyana is a “Sister Caricom nation.”
Many Caribbean people speak of Trump’s deportation executive orders as cruel, brutal and sadistic, however, they fail to face the reality that these same draconian measures were meted out to their own right here in the Caribbean, when Guyanese were the most hated human beings in the Caribbean.
Our departure for other shores was the harsh conditions we endured here in our own country. Conditions such as a lack of basic food items due to the many banned items Burnham imposed on us; low wages and salaries, among others. But going over to greener pastures in the Caribbean did not solve the situation either, because we were met with hostile neighbours over there, Immigration officials who, at a heartbeat, would either disgrace us or made our stay in their country the most miserable experience ever. These were the conditions we endured at the hands of our own brothers and sisters in the Caribbean.
The latter part of the previous sentence was unheard of when reference was made of Guyanese; they referred to us as “foreigners and aliens,” together with other offensive terminologies they could come up with. One such terminology referred to us in St Lucia was GT, meaning Great Thief. This is the way we were, right here in the Caribbean.
The root cause in all of this came out of the rigging and autocratic rule of Burnham, but instead of addressing this root cause for our demise, the black brotherhood of Caribbean leaders turned a Nelson’s Eye to PNC’s rigging in Guyana. They failed to face the reality that democracy and development were integral pillars for nation building. Guyana lacked all of those, and as such, the mass migratory practices of Guyanese continued.
Our situation was dire to say the least, because the Caribbean black brotherhood was prepared to defend another black brother to the maximum. Burnham got a free pass, all because he was black and the other black leaders in the Caribbean shielded his atrocities under the caption that there should not be any political interference in another sovereign Caricom state.
That was utter hogwash, and they knew it, because in the same breath, those leaders who supported non-interference could not support rigged elections in their home territories like they did in Guyana; it just could not happen. In all Caricom territories it was one man, one vote.
That situation only changed when the Carter Centre came on the scene, and free and fair elections became the central theme. That would have meant an end to the PNC and its autocratic stranglehold on this nation. It also meant the taking up of the mantle of leadership of the PPP/C, to begin that massive transformation of this country, and bring it out of poverty and despair.
Yours sincerely,
Neil Adams
