Faria says anti-Bajan rhetoric wrong

May 24, 2009 News

As the uneasiness continues among Guyanese about their stay in Barbados, given a new immigration policy that threatens to deport all undocumented immigrants at the end of the year, Guyana’s Honorary Consul, Norman Faria, warns the media against sensationalising the issue.
He said that reports should be well researched and thought out, thereby making it likely to encourage overly emotional responses.
“Anti-Bajan sentiments can easily get out of hand. These sentiments are wrong and will not help our ongoing development and co-operation in the long run,” Faria stated.
“We have to be careful in casting undeserving blame. I have found the ordinary Bajans to be generally welcoming and decent minded. There are always a few bad mangoes in the basket, just as there are among the Guyanese in the island,” he noted.

“Essentially, all peoples are the same and we must dwell on this noble reality rather than try and stir up divisions and animosity among the Guyanese and Barbadian peoples who have had time honoured warm and cordial relations over the years and also with our governments,” Faria added.
Speaking as he announced the names of the “unsung heroes” for today’s Fun Day and Picnic, Faria said there can be no doubt that the announcement of the new immigration policy is causing “stress and worries” for the Guyanese there. But he said the Guyana government is closely monitoring the situation and offering assistance and counseling where necessary, as it does with Guyana nationals in other countries.

The issue is also being raised at the appropriate regional fora and in other ways, Faria noted. One such is when President Bharrat Jagdeo does so at the CARICOM heads of government session in Trinidad today.
The Honorary Consul said he was sure that good sense will prevail as both countries work towards a mutually acceptable outcome in the present situation and in the interests of the ongoing movement for genuine regional integration.
Against this backdrop of the Consulate’s continuing mandate to deepen friendship and understanding, this year’s annual Consulate Picnic/Fun Day will have yet another message of “Guyanese and Bajans: Come together !”

Three of the six awardees will be to Barbadians. These are “Lord High Admiral” Vernon Watson of the Barbadian folk group Barbados Landship; Ann-Maria Davis, a “good Samaritan” at the Barbados Ministry of Foreign Affairs who assisted a distraught Guyanese at the airport; and small farmer, Keith Goodman.
The Guyanese who are to receive awards are machine operator Wendy Bess, construction sector painter Nalini Sukhram, and teenaged sportsman, Neal Persaud.
The award to the “Lord High Admiral” Watson is for his long-time contribution to keeping the Landship folk tradition alive. It was founded in the island in 1863 as a form of Friendly Society. Members took to dressing up in quasi-military and service uniforms as a way to circumvent restrictions on cultural expression by then colonial authorities.

This essentially working class organisation increased considerably during the labour upsurges of the 1920s and 1930s. One University of the West Indies academic says the Landship in Barbados was started by a Guyana-born man named Wood (or Ward) who had been in the Royal Navy.
In 2008, Davis, a Barbados-born employee of the Barbados Ministry of Foreign Affairs stationed at the Barbados airport, was walking past an airline desk at the airport when she saw Guyanese national Anil Persaud in a distraught and apparently disoriented state.
In an extraordinary selfless act, she personally brought Mr. Persaud to the Consulate for assistance, and went back to the airline with him to ensure that all was well.
Barbadian farmer Keith Goodman has long been in the agriculture business assisting the Barbadian economy and providing healthy nutrients for peoples in the island.

A friendly, warm-hearted man, he works a few acres at his operation on Green Hill in St. Michael parish and sells every weekend, including to Consul Faria, from a stall near the road.
Bess is originally from Hague, West Coast Demerara. She worked in the Guyana Defence Force as a machine operator before leaving for Barbados several years ago.
She continued with this trade in the garment industry in the island where she continues to be an excellent example of hardworking Guyanese contributing to the Barbadian economy.
Sukhram has also been in Barbados for several years working in the construction sector as a painter. As with other Guyanese in that line of work, she has proven to be a diligent member of the workforce taking pride in her work.

She has worked, along with other Guyanese and Barbadians on several hotel and apartment projects.
Neal Persaud is the 13-year old Guyana-born son of Guyanese Amar and Decia Persaud. Hailing from Triumph, East Coast Demerara, Neal has been an outstanding cricketer on the team of Ellerslie Secondary School in the island.
In the last Under-15 competition, he had one remarkable match, taking eight wickets for twelve runs.
Guyanese and Barbadian entertainment will be provided at the get together and traditional Guyanese food would also be on sale, said Consul Faria.