By Heppilena Ferguson in Bridgetown, Barbados
Very few Guyanese would qualify under an amnesty being offered by the Barbados Government to undocumented Caricom nationals, according to Guyana’s representative on the isle.
And whether the amnesty could be considered to be a genuine one was a question Guyana’s Honorary Consul to Barbados, Norman Faria left open during an exclusive interview with this newspaper at his Eden Terrace, St Michael office yesterday. He also urged that this newspaper not interview any Guyanese at the office at the time but rather wait to see them in “town or on the street somewhere”. When this newspaper visited the office five Guyanese were there seeking services and information and others came in subsequently.
However as things stand it seems as though many Guyanese in Barbados may have to return home as the consul’s records have indicated that very few would qualify for the amnesty.
Today marks day three since Guyanese and other undocumented nationals should have started to turn themselves in to immigration and submit the required documents for consideration under a new immigration policy which would see persons not residing here for eight years prior to December 31, 2005 being “removed”. However on Monday Barba-dians observed Whit Monday as a national holiday.
Radio newscasts on Monday led off with headlines of Prime Minister David Thompson saying that his intention was not to be hostile to Caricom neighbours.
On Tuesday however, the Immigra-tion Office in Bridgetown had its usual long lines from about 7.30 am. Persons on the scene admitted that this was not unusual. When persons entered the building it was business as usual and they patiently awaited their turn as they queued on benches.
One man who spoke but did not want his type of job or name mentioned told this newspaper that most of the transactions appeared to be normal ones and doubted whether the Guyanese and other non-nationals would start to come in so early. Checks later in the afternoon at the Immigration office reflected a lighter crowd.
Prime Minister Thompson made the announcement of the new policy to the Barbadian Parliament on May 5 following deliberations by a cabinet committee that was set up to deal with the issue of migration.
Thompson had reported that the subcommittee had agreed that the current levels of illegal immigrants were “unacceptably high, increasingly difficult to control and posed potentially negative socio-economic challenges for the country”.
“Therefore, with effect from June 1, 2009 all undocumented CARICOM nationals who entered Barbados prior to December 31, 2005 and remained undocumented for a period of eight years or more are required to “come forward and have their status regularised”, the Barbados Nation had quoted Thompson as saying. The issue has since spurred widespread discussion even to the point where Barbados was accused by Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo of being “un-caricom like.”
However many Barbadians with whom this newspaper spoke are in full support of the new policy but a few have suggested that the law-abiding non-nationals should be allowed to stay.
One man who asked many questions about this newspaper before he answered any question insisted that some Guyanese are hard workers while others are intent on making trouble.
He said he did not have any Guyanese friends but admitted to having many St. Lucian and St. Vincentian friends who were working and living in Barbados illegally.
“They hear for a long time and no one didn’t know they here cause they keep out of trouble, but to me the Guyanese stand out and they can’t keep themselves out the courtroom,” he said.
“We don’t want them here giving trouble, if they not doing anything here but that… we have to send them home and the same should go for Barbadians who are in other people’s country illegally, what goes for one should go for all,” he said
The man said too that he did not feel that Guyanese alone were being targeted and urged against any such perception.
Another Barbadian told Stabroek News that he had no problems with Guyanese or any other nationality for that matter and he felt that the policy may have been too harsh.
“At my workplace we have Guyanese and they work hard. There are Bajans illegal in other countries but everybody move cause they want a better life. I don’t understand where this coming from, but then again I didn’t support Thompson in the election so I hardly agree with their policy,” he said.
“If they not doing anything send them home yes … We got to do that,” one taxi driver strongly suggested.
He said he hardly came into contact with Guyanese but would usually hear from friends that they were all over.
“I think foreigners have taken over most of our country. Some St. Lucians and others are well established and I have no problems with them, but once they here to cause trouble, they got to leave,” he added. Despite these concerns though, he said that the non-nationals should be given consideration for regularization once they are hardworking and abide by the laws of the land.
Though there seemed to be a general sense of confusion about the real implication of the policy, among some Guyanese with whom Stabroek News spoke there was an understanding that the government of the day could decide what it wanted to do with its country.
‘I understand that they got to do what they got to do, but I want to know what our government could do when all of us come back home. We work for better money over here for the same type of job we do home and even though we are exploited, we get better money at the end of the day,” a man working in the construction industry said.
He said he has been a victim of exploitation on many occasions but realized that this has been his fate since he has lived in Barbados illegally for seven years.
“I am able to do more for my family from here and I would love to go home yes, but what do I do home. In Barbados though the cost of living here is high, it gives me hope and I get to help my family back home more,” he said.
He noted that he respected what the government was doing but would have preferred if they were more lenient.
One woman who has done mostly domestic work since residing in Barbados for the last four years admits that the policy has hit her hard.
“I don’t know what I will do. They take advantage of us here but we work and take all sorts of bad treatment because it’s our government that have us in this position. But I am prepared to go home because this is not making sense anymore,” the woman who seemed skeptical to speak at first, said.
Another woman admitted to not fully understanding the new policy but was enlightened by Faria. She said she was at a loss and could not return home and preferred to stay in Barbados despite what the consequences were.
In a deep Bajan accent after living in Barbados for 11 years undocumented, the woman said she will not submit herself because her home had nothing for her.
“Nothing ain’t doing in Guyana, wah I going home for, Not me,” she said firmly before walking away.
Don’t qualify
Meanwhile Faria told Stabroek News that since the announcement by Thompson a number of Guyanese had approached his office and many of them did not understand the new policy and as a result were not sure whether they would fit into the framework set by Thompson. He made mention of previous immigration rules which allowed for persons to apply for immigrant status once they satisfied a five-year requirement of living and working in Barbados and had no run-ins with the law.
However Thompson’s new policy has replaced this one and according to Faria, most of the Guyanese will not fit in.
“According to intelligence coming to the consulate, and I am looking at a general impression while inspecting Guyanese passports, very few of the undocumented over here qualify for that amnesty,” he said. He could not give an estimate of the number of Guyanese nationals residing in Barbados but noted that the majority of those persons here who wish to regularize their status arrived in Barbados after 2005.
“So I leave it up to others to say whether it’s a genuine amnesty in this respect,” he conceded.
He indicated that Guyanese who would have been here for that period would already have applied for immigration status or non-national registration status under the immediate past administration’s system through which undocumented workers became eligible after living in Barbados for five years and avoiding trouble with the law.
Faria says he could not recall seeing one passport where a Guyanese would qualify for the amnesty, while acknowledging that there are instances where people have gone through lawyers.
“This morning I saw about five or six of those persons who came in for general advice about what their options are and I also answer enquiries on the telephone .. I got about 10 or so for the morning,” he said.
However he said the consulate urges Guyanese nationals to respect the regulations of all the countries they live in but acknowledged that just as with the case of Barbadian living overseas, the “undocumented dimension” will always be present.
He noted that the consulate had to give advice even if those making enquiries are not legal immigrants.
Going Home
Though many Guyanese are worried about the new policy and implications for them since they ultimately do not qualify for the Bajan amnesty, Faria told Stabroek News that worry aside many are prepared to return home.
“In addition to the worried aspect … that’s natural with anyone just like Bajans in New York if they hear all of a sudden the prime minister of a country say you have to go in or be removed… so there is also the determination by some to return to their country. Because some of them realize the hopelessness of their ever getting to reside and work and they can’t stand the stress of always looking over their shoulder knowing that they will be detained by immigration,” he said.
Faria said there are increased inquiries from Guyanese who want to go home.
“I would say that more of the Guyanese have decided to return home following the announcement … in proportional terms it is difficult to give exact numbers,” he said.
He acknowledged that as with any other nationality there are some Guyanese who are willing to stick it out until immigration finds them hoping that the time frame could be altered.
Faria has been providing those willing to go home with re-migrant packages which also include facilities for them to ship household articles back home once residing overseas for over four years.
He said he has since sent a full report to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett in which he has also tendered recommendations, among them is the need for more publicity of the ministry’s re-migrant department.
Faria said his other recommendations made to the minister were confidential and as such did not deliberate on them during his interview with Stabroek News. He feels that the Thompson government is firm on the new policy. Faria noted that work is being done at different levels in addition to the ongoing work of the consulate. He refuted comments that enough was not being done by the Government of Guyana but noted that the raising of the matter at the level of Caricom also helped.
“This ongoing message that Guyanese are contributing to the economy in all the sectors including marrying Bajan nationals and having children …I think they have sunk some roots here and so by implication it would be inhumane to uproot these families and disrupt the family structure and send them back,” he said.
