Dear Editor,
IN the Sept 09, 2019 edition of the Kaieteur News, a letter contributor penned a piece accusing Haitians of spreading a “deforestation culture”. I find this to be outrageous, because the Haitians do not own those companies who are involved in deforestation.
The companies are located and headquartered in countries where many Guyanese “flee” to; in countries where it’s becoming acceptable to spread hate and fear against non-White people; countries where police politely arrest mass shooters who just shot up a synagogue, mosque or a Walmart frequented by Mexicans, while unemployed Black men are riddled with bullets for idling on the streets of middle-class “White America”, or suffocated to death for selling cigarettes on the street to feed their families.

In my eyes, Haitians are the victims of deforestation and corporate pillage of their homeland by racism, post-colonialism and corporate greed. It is not their fault that their island has been pillaged due to corporate greed. Instead, we should reflect that Haitians are victims of greed due to their naivety in welcoming the corporate European invaders who wished to exploit them.

Haitians welcomed European “refugees” during the fascist European reign of Hitler, but today, Franco-African peoples, including Haitians, are getting harassed and violently beaten up when they visit those European countries. What a way to thank the Haitians for welcoming Europeans to Haiti during WWII!

Furthermore, those Europeans formed their own “enclaves” and live like royalty, even in Haiti. YouTube videos reveal that the European enclaves are mainly landowners who own large mansions with swimming pools as large as that found in Castellani House.
Additionally, even when Venezuela is collapsing, due to numerous factors, a European enclave is unaffected by the economy, and a YouTube video shows how they are living wealthy lifestyles, while the poorer-class ‘brown-complexioned’ people, like the writer, live in squalor, and are encouraged to support the corporate party which supports First World imperialism.

The point is that global corporate greed has displaced many populations from their homelands, and Guyana is becoming a transit hub and a desired place for those fleeing the effects of corporate greed, due to the oil-and-gas discoveries. Therefore, we should not generalise those who are affected by the post-colonial corporate greed.

Regards,
R. Hamid,
500 Dawes Road,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada