The racists and the Haitians

Aug 04, 2019 The Story within the Story

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By Leonard Gildarie

This past week, Guyana sat up and read with alarm, a situation at the Timehri airport that should have all Guyana deeply worried. It has made a mockery of our national security, smacks of money laundering, and exposes the feebleness of our systems.

I watched with shock, too, as a number of commentators – a number of them I considered intelligent – without any scientific knowledge, dangerously interjected the race card and argued about xenophobia and the intolerance for Haitians.
It was clear they had no idea what they were talking about or they were deliberately covering up a situation.
We have to put things into perspective here, while at the same time warn our administrators about the dangers of unbridled control at our border points. For myself, I have never allowed race to enter my mind.
My eldest son, almost 18, was born in St. Maarten. His mother is African Guyanese. I love my son and would protect him with my life. I have no tolerance for racists. There is no space for racists in Guyana and anyone who spews such nonsense clearly has no place in society.
From a Kaieteur News perspective, I am not aware of Glenn Lall or Adam Harris harbouring any agenda when it comes to race. It simply would not be allowed by the staffers. It would be preposterous to even harbour such thoughts.
Our very constitution at Kaieteur News has been one of the collective…we consult on stories. They are discussed and fleshed out. The arguments could be brutal at times.
I will repeat myself. In the past we have gone up against PPP. We have taken them to task and have continued to do so.
The Dem Boys Seh column has been unflinchingly brutal on all aspects of Guyana.
We have taken on this administration so many times, because such is expected from the country’s leading newspaper, and by extension any media house that is self-respecting and understands its role.
While in power, the PPP, as expected, was under scrutiny. It is expected. We were vilified as being pro-Opposition. We continue to hear the same accusation by the administration.
There is no agenda of Kaieteur News on Haitians. Our agenda is the news.
With respect to the Haitians, it is clear cut what transpired.
Since January, 8,600 of those nationals came to Guyana. Some 99 percent of them did not leave although booking their tickets. They just did not show up for their return flights. The airline, strangely, apparently never complained. There is a very clear security issue here.
There is no country in the world which will allow that number of foreign nationals into the country in droves and turn a blind eye when they are not leaving.
The Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix, made it clear that from investigations, the Haitians are leaving for greener pastures, using Guyana as a stepping stone. There are many questions.
At the airport, from the newspaper reports, it appeared that everyone knew what was happening. It was not a case where Haitians were coming here and staying. A few may have. However, the majority of them are leaving. It appears that the Haitians were recruited in their home country, suggesting that a system existed there where people became aware.
In Guyana, an entire organisation existed which included drivers, vehicles, people at the airport, and accommodation in Lethem, Region 9 and elsewhere.
At the airport, reportedly, a special desk was set up to accommodate the Haitians.
In the investigations of the Kaieteur News, it can be concluded that Haitians coming here are indeed using Guyana as a stepping stone.
So what is the problem? There are lots of problems here. This administration has made it clear that it has not brought, and did not contemplate bringing foreign nationals to this country to register them for votes. I believe them. The logistics of housing so many people and keeping it a secret would be a gigantic task in such a small society like Guyana. It would come out sooner or later.
So if it was not that case, why did we turn a blind eye?
There is lots of money involved in people smuggling. Guyanese have been welcomed all across the world, including from Venezuela. We have thousands also living in Trinidad, Suriname, Antigua, St. Maarten, Barbados, the US and Canada and the UK.
I would welcome the Haitians and Cubans and Venezuelans and others to Guyana with open arms, if my Government says it has a policy. It is the same way we welcome the Venezuelans in Region One. However, we do not have a policy of integrating Haitians wholesale into Guyana. What we have is an open door policy to use Guyana as a stepping stone for smuggling the Haitians.
It is in essence a money-making scheme for a few. There are strong suggestions, too, that the Cubans would have also been smuggled to Brazil.
Like I said, there are many questions. Clearly, a smuggling ring has actively been in place for several months now.
Money is being made. Even if the Haitians pay US$1,000 for passing through Guyana, that would amount to US$8.6M (or $1.6B) in fees for the smugglers. That is not chump change.
There is another aspect, while many minibus operators, hotels, and private home owners are benefitting, there is a bilateral side of things for Guyana. When the Brazilian and Surinamese governments find out that the Government of Guyana turned a blind eye to allow thousands of migrants in or through their country, what do you believe would be the response?
There is a money laundering worry; there is a diplomatic risk and more importantly to me, the security risks, along with the threats to our sovereignty. So the big question therefore has to be how is it that race became an issue.
We will also have to talk about whether we allow the current situation to continue and determine, in keeping with calls, if our systems were abused.
Protecting our country and asking hard questions does not necessarily mean that there is a selfish agenda.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)

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