I read with interest in the Stabroek New that a Guyanese couple has been granted refugee status in Canada. They complained that they were threatened by a government official when the husband refused to hack into computers of leading members of the opposition and a newspaper columnist. The couple did not want their names to be made public because of fear that their relatives in Guyana will be targeted. I find the reason for not giving his name to be ludicrous because in the first place the report has given so much information that he can be easily identified. Secondly, if he was threatened by government officials and the police, his relatives here must be known to them. So there has to be some other reason why he wants to be incognito.
What is also of interest is: What is the procedure which the Canadians adopt when dealing with refugee applications. Do they do checks in Guyana or accept the words of people like the Immigration Consultant Balwant Persaud that the “police are well known to frame up, victimise and harass people at the instruction of government officials.” In other words, is the process transparent?