Dear Editor,
I have been trying to follow the illegal-Guyanese-in-Barbados brouhaha and I have come to this conclusion: It is a wake up call for Guyanese at home to change the government in Guyana so that instead of Guyanese running away, they will be running back home.
Last week, I wrote a letter that SN captioned, ‘Why is Suriname better than Guyana?’ in which I laid out the path Suriname took to become a successful country compared to Guyana, even though Suriname is smaller in geographic size and population than Guyana, and also has less natural resources than Guyana. The gist of my letter was to show that Guyana lacked a visionary leader.
Today, the focus is on Barbados, and I want to cite the World Bank as my source. Barbados is 166 square miles compared to Guyana’s 83,000 square miles and has a population of 281,968 compared to Guyana’s 700,000. According to the World Bank, Barbados is a high income economy while Guyana is a developing economy. In fact, the WB says Barbados’ human development index is consistently among the top 75 countries in the world and that in 2006, it was ranked 31st in the world and third in the Americas behind Canada and the United States.
Though it historically depended on sugarcane, in recent years Barbados has diversified into manufacturing and tourism, with solid foreign-exchange earnings support from offshore finance and information services. The government has been described as business friendly, encourages direct foreign investment and is economically sound, and since the late 1990s there has been a construction boom, with the development and redevelopment of hotels, office complexes and homes.
Traditional trading partners include Canada, Caricom nations (but especially Trinidad and Tobago), the UK and the USA. In 2003, the island nation saw a Can$25B in investment holdings, placing Barbados as one of Canada’s top five destinations for Canadian Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
Now here is the kicker: According to the World Bank, while 90 per cent of all Bajans are of African descent, there are other smaller ethnic groups that make up the population. “The Indo-Guyanese,” says the WB, “[are] an important part of the economy due to the increase of immigrants from partner country Guyana. There are reports of a growing Indo-Bajan diaspora originating from Guyana [and India]… but they are smaller than the equivalent communities in Trinidad and Guyana.” The report also said Hinduism is one of Barbados’ growing religions.
So when Guyanese, including the President, start ‘kicking up a stink’ against the Bajan authorities for rounding up illegal Guyanese in Barbados, it is imperative that they be fair and balanced in their raucous ruckus. While we may not like the methods employed arresting illegal Guyanese and their post-arrest detention and treatment, the truth is, there are thousands of Guyanese in Barbados – legal and illegal – so if the Bajan authorities are rounding up a handful of illegal Guyanese while leaving thousands untouched, that is enough proof that the Bajans are not on an anti-Guyanese crusade to purge the island nation of our countrymen and women.
I close by reverting to my opening line in which I say the brouhaha in Barbados should make us realize that we have a country that is blessed with rich resources but cursed with poor political leaders, and the only remedy is to kick the poor political leaders to the curb.
Our Indian Guyanese brothers and sisters who have traditionally voted for the PPP should be at the forefront today leading the fight to change this government in 2011; after all, when the World Bank says Indian Guyanese are an important part of the Barbadian economy due to increased migration from Guyana, it is for Indian Guyanese to see that they cannot keep voting for the PPP and then run to other people’s country, leaving their own country behind at the whims of poor political leadership.
If the President and the PPP have not shown leadership to Guyanese while at home, how can they show leadership to Guyanese caught in a dilemma in another country? Wake up Guyana!
Yours faithfully,
Emile Mervin
EMile jagdeo should hire you instead of that donut he has there Rawberties persauds
Indians are progressive people in any country and any situation, they started to flee Guyana when the PNC made it difficult for them, they had to get a PNC card to get a job even to cut blacksage bush, line up for the little food that was available, fetch water with donkey cart,no electricity in their villages and too much more to mention, they and other races that are voting PPP/C know that is the only party that can build back Guyana from the destruction left by the PNC,a job that they are doing great and will be given the opportunity to continue in 2011 with a greater majority. Indians and other races will keep voting PPP/C because they have to protect their roots in Guyana and they themselves are hoping that when the rebuilding process is finished those who wants to return can do so in comfort,that is why people like Mervin and all those who are thinking of a better Guyana should support the govt and PPP/C any other party will be a disaster for Guyana.
take your beak out of the sand, your govt is in power for 17yrs and what are they doing, why is indo guyanese still fleeing if an indo guyanese is the president, answer my quesion.
Amenra they are not fleeing they have roots in all the countries that the older generation fled to during the PNC era, then there is the economic factor, Guyana is still in the rebuilding process, most who fled still have their real estate in Guyana and traveling back and forth hoping to settle when the PPP/C finish the rebuilding process.
Coolieman- Stop the nonsense. How many years do you need to “rebuild” Guyana. Maybe 20, 30 or 40 years, get real guy. This government is a failer. These are the people that claim to have the anwers- as we all can see they don’t know anything.
PPP has failed to take guyana anywhere Cooolieeeeman, clean that boo boo from your eyes.
Great letter – as usual – from you Emile.
Guyana will never have better governance until no one party has over 50% of the vote, so that there is then the possibility of coalition governments as is the case in Suriname. The opposition parties have o show leadership and vision and inform the masses so that they vote in 2011. Remember that over 60,000 known PNC supporters did not vote in the last elections. That may have been the difference in Jagdeo’s PP getting 54% of the vote.
Indians will vote PPP as they see it as protecting their ECONOMIC interests. Everything revolves around $$$. Check out who pays the taxes in Guyana. Check out which groups get the most benefits while they pay little or no taxes. No wonder Jagdeo goes begging. Check out the auditor General’s reports and see how bad their governance really is and how money disappears with no fear of accountability. That is the way they like it!
Barbados is just being used by them as an easy means to amass money to send back home while living with minimum expenses in Barbados. I have talked with any of them, mostly from the West Coast of Demerara. They tell me they are saving and building houses and buying cars etc.. and will be going back eventually. So Barbados, like Canada and the USA, is just another source of remittances to keep the Guyana economy afloat.
I do hope that Guyana’s people awaken and start looking inward at building Guyana so that it becomes a place people want to stay in and rebuild and for Guyanese and others overseas to invest in and retire. Guyana has been bleeding since 1953, when it embraced socialism and communism rather than Western Capitalism, which Barbados did. For this Guyana lost its place as the leading ex-British colony, which Barbados now holds. Only Guyanese can fix Guyana’s problems. Exporting their population, for a profit (remittances, will no longer be an attractive option in these tough economic times.
What utter rubbish Mr Mervin. Indo-Guyanese alone does not facilitate the PPP winning election. The PPP wins elections with a strong support bases from region 9 and Region 1 (Amerindian dominant). Plus the PPP got 23% of the votes in Region No. 10 (an afro-guyanese dominant region). Further, Indo-Guyanese are a minority in Guyana today.
Get your facts right brother
Sase
People like Mervin does not believe in facts.
SaseSingh- Read the letter carefully then respond. He didn’t say that Indian are the only ones that vote for the PPP. You are getting heated for no reason.
hey Carl,
How many times do you suggest we reread the letter. Every time I read it, it is the same rubbish.
The PPP won the last elections which had the poorest turnout in history on the backs of the indian vote.
That my friend is the bottom line, attack mervin all you want, unless you show me hard stats to disprove what I just said vs. ranting and raving I will stand by that comment.
Well said Emile, but you know the truth is an offense to some people.
I bet 99% of the people who post on SN will not read this, sadly.
The most honest commentary I’ve ever seen on SN, but most people are so myopic, they would not be able to get past the first sentence. Too too sad, because the keys to victory are there.
Guyana, you deserve better from your people– home and abroad.
The thing is that Guyana is just a checkers board, while Suriname is a quilt!
NotFrom Gt, I ain’t hiding here man. No I am not a professional either, I am from Trinidad and just a curious onlooker. Nothing is wrong with some healthy criticism.However, if you think what I have written is so wrong, then YOU should go back to Guyana.I work here in a factory.. ontariogirl
No love lost ontariogirl. Take it easy.
I think people living in Guyana are the ones to change their country. I gave up that right when I chose to live elswhere.
The underlying tone of the above letter strikes a particular nerve.
“So if the Bajan authorities are rounding up a handful of illegal Guyanese while leaving thousand untouched, that is enough proof that bajans are not an anti-Guyanese…”
What about the lady who was dragged out from her toilet – with her feasese tailing behind her only to be found that she was not an illegal.
What about those intransit Guyanese passengers who were taken off from the aircrafts to be dehumanized. If it is not anti – then it is antiiiii – Guyanese.
Francis Quanmina Farrier spent a night in a cell in Antigua – because he is a Guyanese.
There is a strong anti- Guyanese in the Caribbean, generally, brother man. I lived in the region for 6 years – I bear witness.
Many ppl voted, like my parents for PPP for those who will remain in Guyana and could not go overseas.Others may have voted for other reasons.
Guyanese will always move away from home,because the high positions are filled by unqualified ppl from PPP government families.Indian Guyanese voted PPP because of race and not because of qualification and experience. PPP and PNC need to be remove as parties and have ppl who are qualify and also who will have the country’s best interest at heart. It is sad to see what the PPP did to that country and
my parents have never return home since they came and its by choice.