We must remain within the ambit of the law

May 21, 2009 Letters

Dear Editor,
I have a few comments to make in respect to your editorial (Kaieteur News 19-05-09) captioned, “The Fruits of Disdain” I personally believe that you are not fully aware of the facts. I am hoping to highlight the facts as it pertains to immigration in Barbados.

The government of the day which is the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) whose leader is David Thompson was never elected by the electorate to “remove” illegal immigrants from other CARICOM countries. You must understand that CARICOM nationals live among us and many of them are friends of Barbadians. Yes! Some Barbadians have concerns about the influx of CARICOM national living and working in Barbados. Some Guyanese have publicly showed their displeasure about Brazilians living and working in Guyana.
I think we are becoming too emotional on the issue and I have been speaking with many persons in Barbados on the issue, reading the papers in the region and have concluded that the matter is being blown out of proportion.

What the government is trying to do is to give everyone a fair chance in getting their status regularised. There are many persons, who are living here from within the region for over 10 years and have done nothing to regularise their status. They are working every day and making a very important contribution to the economy of Barbados, but at the end of their working life they would not gain anything because they are not documented and would not be able to receive national insurance pension, sickness benefit and all other benefits that a Barbadian would receive.

I understand that some are scared to come forward because of the fear of being deported. I have heard on numerous occasion officers in the Immigration Department advising CARICOM nationals, especially Guyanese to apply for immigrant status and they refuse. I personally have advised many Guyanese, who are living here for the past eight years, who are either on work permit or not documented to go and get their status regularise and I am proud that today they have done so and some have been interviewed while others are awaiting interviews.

Living in a country illegally you are faced with numerous challenges and if you recall a couple of years ago, the Immigration Department cracked down in a district in Barbados where Guyanese were living in conditions not suitable for pigs. The majority of those persons who were living there were here illegally.
Barbados is relatively crime free and it is very important for any government to keep the country free of crime. Many Guyanese are being convicted for various crimes and as a result of this, many Barbadians, because of their fear of crime have started to speak out. I am a Barbadian and I can state without fear, and many Barbadians will agree with me, that Barbadians in general do not care if you are here legally or illegally, so long you remain within the ambit of the law. If you go outside the ambit then they will vent their concerns and start to inform the authorities.

I have seen Barbadians cried openly for Guyanese who were deported from Barbados and they were not informed upon, but were caught in hang out places were Immigration Officers carry out raids.
The American Government because of its fear of crime have now implemented a system that all persons in local lockups in the USA must be fingerprinted and if your prints matches those in the federal database and you have a criminal record you will be deported.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has made it very clear, that her top priority is deporting illegal immigrants who have committed crimes.
Your Editorial, “Bajans’ Disdain for Guyanese” on July 30 2008, I responded to your comments by explaining that the sentiments may be by a few. What about the two Guyanese who were murdered in Trinidad a couple of days ago; are you going to say “Trinis’ Disdain for Guyanese”? Let’s be fair and balance in our reports, do not label.

You mentioned in your fifth paragraph that “illegals who have been residing in Barbados before January 1, 1998, have verified employment and fulfill various other stringent criteria may apply by December 1, for regularisation”. I have check with a senior person at the Immigration Department and I was told that it was from December 1998 to December 31 2005.

There is no profiling and whether you are an African or Indian does not matter; the point is that if you are here illegal the authorities have the right under the law to deport you. In Guyana recently some Surinamese were deported for committing crimes and that country is a member of CARICOM. Guyana is fighting to reduce crime and any national from the region who is caught will be deported.
It is a fact that Guyanese love to play their music and Barbadians do not like loud music and if this continues to happen and it’s an offence, the police are called and they believe that the status of some could be suspicious, they have that right to inform the Immigration Department.

As I mentioned in my letter to you in July last year, many Barbadians went and worked in Guyana in the 1950s and early 60s and it will happen again. It’s a cycle. Let’s face facts you will not find many Barbadian going to many CARICOM countries to live and work; the reason for this is that the exchange rate in Barbados is stronger than the majority of the islands, therefore it will not be profitable for them to do so.
The majority of Barbadians who live in these countries illegally are running from the law in Barbados. You will find many Barbadians going to the USA, Canada and England illegally because they are aware that pay is much better and the rate of exchange is far better.
Morris Springer