The Haitians are an issue argued on innate racism

Aug 06, 2019 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

In the career field I am in, one is compelled to explore and to study the philosophy of Mythical and belief thoughts towards an interpretation, reference.’ The demon does not know that it is evil, because its practices have become innate, second nature, which makes it demon to its victims not to itself. Likewise, the ‘racist’ is unable to differentiate the logic and obvious circumstances that envelope a situation because ‘It’ is unable to separate itself from the irrational compulsions of its innate bigotry. There is an erroneous outcry in some sections of the media “that Haitians are migrating to Guyana en masse”, the rhetorical question would be “why should they not?” “Why of all the aliens in Guyana are they separated and castigated?” and “Aren’t they CARICOM nationals?” The answer to all of this is. The opposition to the Haitians is because they are Black, Afro Caribbean, Toussaint L’Overture’s children. But so, in their hour of need, why can’t they come to the house of Kofi’s children. More Cubans, Chinese, Brazilians have come here than Haitians, no problem, I sat before an Amerindian audience at North West as they pleaded for relief from any close association with the hordes coming into their community from Venezuela. Premier Jagan brought businesses from India pre Independence, they advertised Independence greetings to the nation in the Guiana Graphic as a separate group, 1966 no problem. Never before have such an obvious political driven media outcry and hate blitz, directed at any of the latter groups mentioned. That is currently focused on the Haitians; this is without doubt an abysmal fabricated issue argued by unapologetic ‘innate racism’.
When the earthquake rocked Haiti some years ago, ACDA and other Afro- groups were invited to the African Museum by a group that constituted the late Hugh Cholmondeley and Andaiye among others, they were in a gracious way lobbying for our support for them to build an NGO to bring some level of assistance to Haiti, the idea was shifted when Joan Cambridge offered a hundred acres of land in her possession to create a settlement for dispossessed Haitians in Guyana, I proposed that since the French President had said that Haiti and France should begin a new relationship, in would be good to test that gesture. The problem was that the PPP were the government, so I turned to Professor James Rose, a member of that political group, I asked him if it would be possible for the PPP to rise above their consistent racism and allow this possibility, which the proposing group would participate in, and he never answered. We Guyanese have in our tens of thousands migrated illegally and legally to other countries, we boasted a flourishing back-track system, on the island of Antigua of a population of 65,000, there were twenty thousand Guyanese; other countries accepted us of all races, and we sent back remittances to sustain our people strangled in the public service, others jobless, existing in the fear of our drug violent landscape. I find it quite disgusting, this selective nationalism and pretence of Guyanese interests, but it is not surprising, since, as a founder member of ACDA, I know my social terrain, and can look deeper and identify the facades of discomposure indicative of ‘race hate’ by its scent, behind whatever prop is erected. The citizens of Haiti are welcome as are other legitimate and to be legitimate migrants to Guyana. With me, it’s personal as I’ve done their revolutionary history and is possibly in possession of the only legal illustrated document of the same.

I remain
Barrington Braithwaite

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Haitian people issue, as highlighted by Kaieteur News, is not one that merely examines their arrival and failure to return but the fact that from our investigation, there is a well-organised plan to smuggle these individuals by means out of Guyana. The fact that Guyana is not the final destination for these individuals was confirmed by Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix, which was reported.
While Guyana has in recent times opened its ports to many seeking refuge for various reasons, this has not been the case for the Haitians who have been passing through in droves, which could pose a security concern for any right thinking nation since it has security and other implications for Guyana.