Dear Editor,
This is in reference to your news item on the arrest of a Guyanese in St. Martin over the killing of an American couple (SN Oct 10, Oct 5). I was in St. Martin over the weekend and the arrest of the suspect was the talk of the town especially among Guyanese who feel deeply hurt and affected by the alleged action of one of their people.
I bounced up with Guyanese everywhere I went even while swimming or relaxing on the beaches and they are very angry about the killings that took place allegedly by one of their own. They have no sympathy or empathy for him.
The murders allegedly committed by the Guyanese (Jamal Jefferson Woolford who is on a work permit on the island) has brought a lot of shame to the Guyanese settled there.
The community wants to forget about this incident and hopes that it will not turn people away from the lovely island paradise. St. Martin depends on tourism especially and murders on the island are very rare; other crimes are also very low.
So Guyanese and others are very sensitive about when members of their community make news and don’t like to associate their community with crime.
When I asked a Guyanese taxi driver if he knows of Guyanese being involved in criminal activities, his response was: “Our people are not into crime. It is the immigrants from other islands who commit crimes like drug trafficking and robberies”.
The Guyanese community in St. Martin, which is doing quite well and much better from when I was last there, doesn’t want to be defined by the acts of a few who bring the small but growing community into disrepute.
I was last in St. Martin in 2006 when the new airport was opened and at that time Guyanese were not on the radar for criminal activities. Since then, they have been in the news for criminal acts.
Nevertheless, businesses love to hire them and thousands were and still are working on the island earning high salaries comparable to the lower working class in New York.
Last weekend, everywhere I went, people continue to speak positively about Guyanese and are glad to hire them.
But as soon they heard my accent, people in tourist areas (restaurants, shops, resorts, beaches, etc.) picked up I was Guyanese and they commented about how my fellow countryman is accused of killing this nice American couple.
The murders were committed last month and everyone was pleased that the Guyanese suspect who escaped to another island to avoid arrest was caught and returned to St. Martin to face trial.
Guyanese and all St. Martinians express shock over the killing. They all want maximum punishment for the killer.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
