Dear Editor,
Reference is made to the Guyana Chronicle article `Hurricane delays Roger Khan’s return’ (GC 9/7) which reported that according to Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, Hurricane Dorian delayed Roger Khan’s return home on Thursday September 5, 2019. “His homecoming was adjourned, and he will be treated the same way as all deportees,” the minister said.
However, Hurricane Dorian is not a “credible” explanation for Mr. Khan’s failure to arrive back in Guyana last Thursday. This is a smokescreen for Government.
Even Stabroek News’ cartoonist, Paul Harris, seems to oppose the hurricane explanation with his cartoon of September 8. It shows an airborne airplane but with the runway being yanked from underneath by a hand (arguably, the Coalition Government’s) which reads: “Elections Promises, 2015.”
The cartoon depicts two voices speaking from within the aircraft, one saying; “postpone!…repeat…postpone!…over” and the other voice, asking, “Why?” to which there is no response.
It reminds one of the movie, “The Wild Geese,” in which a group of English mercenaries (played by Richard Burton, Richard Harris, etc.) venture into an African country, rescues a deposed president from his enemies’ prison, before waiting at an old airstrip to be airlifted before the local army finds them.
Their plane lands on the runway but before anyone can board, its pilot is told to “pass them by,” and off goes the plane back into the air, leaving the mercenaries to “fight their way out of Africa.”
Well, Mr. Khan has to fight his way out of the United States.
The public learned that Mr. Roger Khan was to return to Guyana last week. On Thursday, September 5, 2019 at or about 7: 30 pm, instead of being accompanied by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) agent on to a plane bound for Guyana, Mr. Khan found himself stranded in Florida and talking to his attorney in Guyana, Mr. Glen Hanoman.
The media in Guyana which sent reporters to the airport said the following day that “associates” of Mr. Khan were at the airport, an indication that they also anticipated his arrival.
It is public knowledge worldwide that Florida escaped the crippling effects of Hurricane Dorian. Many television stations in the US including CNN covered this hurricane extensively. By Thursday September 5, 2019, the hurricane had already passed Florida.
The people there returned to normal life. Miami International Airport from where Mr. Khan was expected to depart was operating. If I am not mistaken, an American Airlines flight departed from Miami International Airport to Guyana that very Thursday night.
Even Port Canaveral in Jacksonville, Florida, a busy port for cruise liners, was also open for business. Hurricane Dorian had to first pass Miami before reaching Port Canaveral.
Yet, at Port Canaveral, the US Coast Guard (Sector of Jacksonville) posted a bulletin online which stated: “As of 4 pm, 4 September, 2019, Hurricane Dorian’s severe weather is no longer a threat to the Port of Canaveral.”
This was September 4, an entire day before Mr. Khan’s scheduled departure. Therefore, the hurricane explanation just does not add up.
Government has a duty to ensure all deportees including Mr. Khan have a swift and safe return home from the US. However, the fact that the press and others were at the airport but no police, as is customary for returning deportees, indicates that Government knew beforehand that Mr. Khan’s flight was aborted, but deliberately did not provide notice to Mr. Khan or the public.
It would be a stretch of the imagination to believe that this is protocol between the US and Guyana regarding the treatment of our citizens who are deportees.
For months, Mr. Khan has been trying to get home. Apart from filing a lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Prisons for early release, he even waived important rights in the US to foster a swift immigration process.
Moreover, it is no secret that ICE is willingly processing deportees as well as persons deemed undocumented for rapid removal from the US, under President Donald Trump’s controversial immigration policy.
Yet, it is now this caretaker Government’s position that despite all that he has done to facilitate his removal from the US, including flight arrangement by ICE, Mr. Roger Khan’s trip was “adjourned” because of a hurricane that had little impact to Florida and arguably, did not stop at least one other flight from leaving Miami that night to Guyana.
Something else is afoot.
Yours faithfully,
Rakesh Rampertab
