Relatives of a Guyanese man who was picked up by Barbadian immigration authorities on Friday night said they are worried about him since they are no indications as to when he would be deported.
The 23-year-old was snatched “from his sleep” relatives said yesterday, relating also that he was later bundled into a bus crammed with Guyanese and taken to the airport where they are awaiting deportation.
The young man’s mother, who requested anonymity, told Stabroek News that her son telephoned her early yesterday morning from the airport to say that he was being sent home. She said he related that he was being held in a room at the airport with “plenty other Guyanese”.
“I am worried about him…I ain’t eat since this morning when I get that phone call because they are not allowing my family over there to see him,” the mother related.
For some four years now her son had been in Barbados doing masonry and carpentry. The woman said he had received an initial work permit but was unable to renew, and was therefore living in the country undocumented.
She said her son worked hard while in Guyana, but jobs in his line of work were infrequent. The mother related that her son made a conscious decision to leave Guyana and work in Barbados, adding that he found a job shortly after he arrived there.
According to her, his income was enough to support him in Barbados and assist the family back home.
“My son was a great help and I did not put him under any pressure to assist, he was in a position to. He ended up helping pay off the family loan,” she related.
Now that he is returning home, she said the family is there to support him until he is employed again. The woman added that while some Guyanese are being afforded the opportunity to go into the authorities and ask questions, others are being picked up from their homes and deported.
Based on the conversation she had with her son, she said the atmosphere in Barbados is tense in the areas where Guyanese are residing. She said too that the authorities are not indicating when persons would be deported.
“I just want to see my son and know for sure that he is okay,” she added.
The new Barbadian immigration policy, which was recently announced, has already taken effect and would see undocumented immigrants living on the island illegally being deported. An amnesty has however been granted to persons who had been in the island for eight years or more prior to 2005, although they would have to meet certain criteria.
