Dear Editor,
Every single person in this country, from President to pauper, has friends or relatives who moved overseas to seek a better life. Some went legally, many did not; as we say they ‘gone backtrack.’
How do we square this fact with the almost daily parade of Venezuelans (and others) being fined and deported for illegal entry into this country? Are we a nation of hypocrites? Can we not craft a more empathetic response?
Guyanese have traditionally prided themselves on their hospitality and their humanity. The challenge posed by the trickle of Venezuelan migrants is neither simple nor straightforward but the current fate of these people once they reach Guyana (prostitution or deportation or both) demeans us as much as them. Surely we can do better?
Yours faithfully,
Isabelle de Caires
