Dear Editor,
I wish that the memories of Guyanese were not so short. A few
years ago a Barbadian fishing vessel strayed into Guyana's
waters and what happened? The boat was shot up and the crew was
almost killed by our 'brothers' in the Guyanese Coast Guard.
What did your Chief Magistrate tell the crew in court? Guyana's
laws must be upheld!
Bajan_authorities_Gandhi
Priya-Nandalall
Atrocities_Amnesty_uk
Yet here in 2005 we in Barbados must allow citizens of Guyana
to break our immigration laws and we must not send them packing?
There are a reported 30,000 Guyanese citizens in Barbados and
the number is growing rapidly. How many more thousands are we
supposed to absorb? Bear in mind that Barbados is only 166
square miles with a population of around 278,000. It is already
the most densely populated island in the world. When is enough,
enough?
Why can't you send some of your people to Trinidad, Jamaica,
St Lucia, St Vincent, Dominica and take some of this burden off
the back of Barbados? Better still. If the Government of Guyana
functioned as a good government ought to then Guyana would be
the most prosperous country in Caricom. But what do we see? The
exact opposite. Guyana is rich in many resources, gold, bauxite,
sugar, timber, rice, untapped oil, fruits, vegetables and the
list goes on and on. People from the Caribbean should be
flocking to Guyana to help build it up, but alas this is not to
be. A poor economy and a high crime rate is stifling the
country. Put pressure on your government to get the country
moving. Stop harping on the Barbados immigration officers. They
are not the bad guys here. Your government is not performing.
