I was told by Immigration Officer I’m on ‘special list’

Dear Editor,

Mr Vishnu Bisram in a letter to Stabroek News on April 21 (Was I targeted at airport because of my activism?) detailed his recent experiences at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. He suggested that a similar experience I had some years ago was not political but that his was clearly due to his political activism. I was therefore puzzled that he wanted to hear my view on his experience. If what he claims is true, then the government still has a lot of cleaning up to do. No political person should be subjected to such harassment without due cause.

What I can tell Mr Bisram is that from about 2010 I noticed that when I would enter Guyana the Immigration Officers would have to call a senior officer to clear me.  It would sometimes happen when I am leaving. This practice has continued even after the change of government. Recently I asked the Immigration Officer why a senior officer had to clear my entry. I was told what I had long suspected—I am on a special list of persons whose entry to Guyana needs special clearance.

That is the Guyana we have developed into. The government supported by Mr Bisram treated me like an alien in my own country. The government which I support has not changed the policy. In fairness to them they may not have gotten around to reviewing that list of aliens. In the meantime we press on with much enthusiasm to our big 50th birthday party.

Yours faithfully,

David Hinds