The issue has its genesis in an announcement by Prime Minister David Thompson of Barbados in that country’s parliament on May 5, that the country would be embarking on a new immigration policy aimed at managing migration.

Consequent to the announcement which became effective on June 1, last, CARICOM nationals who have entered Barbados before December 31, 2005, and have been residing in Barbados without appropriate documentation for eight or more years, will be eligible to be considered for regularisation under an amnesty, provided that they apply before December 31, 2009 and meet the stipulated conditions which include a full criminal check.

“Those who fall outside of the eight year span and who have overstayed their time in the country will be asked to leave. Those who do not leave voluntarily will be deported,” Thompson had said.

The complaints collected from the alleged victims at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here and the Guyana consulate in Barbados, were sent there following a promise by Thompson at a press conference he hosted here on July 1, and during the hiatus of claims by Guyanese of ill-treatment, coupled with evidence of an unprecedented increase in the number of persons being deported from that country, to have those allegations investigated..

The Head of State of Barbados was in Guyana to attend a CARICOM Heads of Government conference.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, when contacted Monday for a status report on the issue, told this newspaper she still had not got a response from Barbados.

She noted though, there appears to be an obvious lull in complaints of ill-treatment, and the number of locals being deported here seems to have reduced compared to 53 for the months of May and June.

Prime Minister Thompson , whose paternal grandfather is Guyanese, had said his government “does not condone the abuse of power or inappropriate behaviour on the part of its public officials, and if evidence is produced that any of those empowered to take enforcement action have been excessive in carrying out their duties, they will be disciplined.”

Also, that he had intended to establish an independent review panel to investigate any complaints in respect to the treatment of Caribbean immigrants by that country’s immigration officers and enforcement agents.

And, that he was prepared to consider a “more structured approach to the re-admission of overstays, be it through a protocol or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), noting, he is also prepared to “look carefully at a guest worker programme in areas where the labour market may justify this in future.”

There has been no word on whether there has been any forward movement on any of these promises.

Guyanese had, among other things, complained of raids, seemingly targeting Guyanese, being conducted by Immigration or Police officers or both, from the island. Persons found without proper documentation were taken to the airport where they were detained until there was an available flight on which to send them home.

There are allegations too, that the authorities had requested from persons who were held to fund their own airfare, failing which they had no guarantee as to when they would be sent home.

Prime Minister Thompson had refuted claims that all of the Guyanese being sent home were deported, stating it was only persons with criminal records.

According to him, persons guilty of immigration breaches can return to the country after three years, and persons being sent back here had complained that upon arrival home, they were handed over to Immigration officials who took then to Eve Leary where they were processed before being released.