Dear Editor,
Let us educate and reeducate our children: Venezuelans in Guyana are not our enemies. Those with legitimate purposes are not. Whether economic migrants or children seeking an education, Venezue-lans must not be harassed, not be intimidated, not be brutalized. They are not criminals, prey. I speak as an economic migrant of decades, of one knowing what it is to be an outsider. Yes, an outcast and one declared to be a mortal enemy even in my own country of birth; so, I know what it is to be on the sharp end of the plight faced by Venezuelans.
Here is a personal experience, one of several: ‘You come in my country, and you ignore me.’ The menace of a late winter evening in the early 1980s in gritty New York. The angry man was one that fit the description of a bum, with aggression to match. I managed. The point is that I know this from the street and then later higher up. It is one matter for an adult in a new country, it’s another for our arrivals, once neighbours, still neighbours. Indeed, there are some Venezuelans here who do not fit into that circle.
Regarding the Venezuelan children, this is one incident too many. I revisit education. It begins in the home, propelled by parents. Let there be less hate, no hate, in this society. A moment ago, parents were mentioned and their role(s) re the Venezuelan situation, especially their children here. The Ministry of Education, national leaders, the media, civil society, and others (like me) have a duty to speak about and speak against what is happening to Venezuelans in the streets and villages. The cowardly comes out when we bully the weak. Our feebleness is underlined when those in need are struck at for who they are. We know how much damage that has inflicted on us. Let us all work to reduce such, and not expand any of it.
In closing, I gather that we are getting ready to create openings to admit Vene-zuelans into the heart of our existence, what rankles the most. Politics. Elections. Votes. Openness can lead to bitterness. Bitterness to madness. And the kind of madness that makes headlines in the media. If we can’t be charitable to strangers and sojourners, then there is not much that can be said of how hospitable Guyanese are. Worth a few pauses.
Sincerely,
GHK Lall
