Dear Editor,
Rumor mill is swirling with revocation of American visas of government functionaries, business persons, and now an imam. Some individuals were interrogated at American airports, had visas revoked, and deported the next flight back to Guyana. Is it that the US government has taken the position to restrict the movement of individuals who were involved in corruption and or tied to radicalism? What could be behind the wave of visa revocations? Is it corruption and money laundering? Or the links with the Middle East? Or a combination of above?
The USA was subject to the worst act of terrorism on 9/11/1. Subsequently, radicals continued their terror plots in USA. Wanted terrorist Adnan el-Shukrijumah, a non-Guyanese, was traced to Guyana. He worshipped in Zeeburg and was even hosted by a then Minister of government in 2008; that Minister is now a higher ranking official. We are playing with fire in linkage with Middle East. Radicalism was never part of Guyana’s culture prior to 2020. People of varied faiths got along well. Most of my friends and neighbours in Diamond are Hindus and Christians and we participate in each other’s prayer meets. When I was growing up in Parika, there was no animosity.
The government has been strengthening ties with Middle Eastern countries with hardly any benefits. Middle Easterners have been given vast tracts of land in Guyana. Some have acquired prized real estate in greater Georgetown against the wishes of the City Council; Guyanese are being denied plots of land for a house or a small business. Also, Guyana has been borrowing money at very high rates from banks in the Middle East including the Islamic Development Bank while blanking Western lending institutions and banks in America that offer lower rates. Engaging in questionable relationships in that region may well have triggered the revocation of visas.
Sincerely,
Sharmila Ally
