Dear Editor,
This push for visa free travel for Guyanese to different countries stirs thinking. Is it as innocent as it looks? What more could be behind the seemingly routine, boringly innocuous, business of visa free shopping by the PPP Govern-ment, with the President leading? When things look too serene, then I have learned regrettably that other things are cooking. They don’t digest well.
First, it was old Mother UK, and I said why not, considering relationships, linkages, history, and now business. The British got their comprehensive business pact, and I cheered myself. Next in line for overtures and representations for visa free jaunts and junkets were the Canadians, also not a surprise, given longstanding lines of communication and what have you. That also was a no brainer, and is a done deal, with the Canadians harvesting more commerce, other lucrative engagements. If this visa free travel setup is beginning to appear like a one-sided affair, with Guyana getting the cheap end of the deal, then I congratulate those gifted Guyanese who spotted that striped leopard; striped leopard, not spotted. This is the kind of slick, stealthy beast that we Guyanese are dealing with, while wondering what we have got. Suddenly, visa free looks curiouser and curiouser.
Editor, permit me enlightening fellow Guyanese regarding what we got, what more we will be getting. We will get visa free travel, and we will get skinned alive; or as His Excellency would say “the wrong end of the stick.” Indeed, the Exxon oil deal with Guyana keeps repeating itself in different ways under this PPP Government. That is, the same old giveaways that the PNC executed during its less than triumphant reign. Then, I read of ongoing conversations with the Italians for visa free arrangements. That too will happen, and with an extra bonus thrown in as extras by the Italians to express gratitude for conversing with Guyana. It is that major oil player named ENI, which must have set its eyes on a piece of the Guyana oil action. Which self-respecting oil company wouldn’t? I say to the Italians: come on down, there is enough for everyone to have some fun. That is, other than for poor, passive, pusillanimous Guyanese. Separately, I warn of the dark and dangerous side to any visa free reality between Guyana and Italy. The Mafia could come here; we already have enough local ones.
Editor, I saved the best for last. I think that after the visa free deals are settled with the Italians (and whoever else is next in mind, possibly the North Koreans), then it would be the biggest visa free travel fish, net, and boat of all. For the lazy, daft, and ignorant that would be the mighty USA. Why not? It has always been a welcoming sanctuary, safe haven, for the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Presently, there is only one demographic that qualifies for consideration. No, it is not the majority. Wrong again, it is not the original folks. As for the hodgepodge of various combinations (pardon me, please for the incorrectness), they also are not highest on the list of Emma Lazarus now global paean to American hospitality to fleeing immigrants. The people are waiting, and I predict the lines will be long and constant. It would be the 60s, 70s, and ever since again, but with one difference. The bulk of the Guyanese taking advantage of looming US visa free travel will be Black. This way the President’s ‘One Guyana’ vision draws closer to its natural conclusion, and we all live happily ever after. Me, I am on the first plane to Ukraine.
Sincerely,
GHK Lall
