IN this global village few, if any, do not know United States’ President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order on 27th January which restricts immigration from seven Muslim countries, suspends all refugee admission for 120 days, and bars all Syrian refugees indefinitely.  While the Trump administration argues it is not a ban and some close to it have said it is, that society has accepted it as a ban and is calling it so.
During the presidential campaign, Trump promised to build a wall on the Mexico border. He made clear his disapproval of his predecessor’s, Barack Obama, Syrian Refugee Policy and what he described as his failure to refer to and treat harshly with terrorists in the Middle East.
The saying if America sneezes every one catches a cold is not without some merit.  Where societies in the Caribbean, particularly Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, have significant Muslim populations, should restriction extend beyond the identified region, the probability of reaching our shores or hindering travel to those who visit those countries are likely to impact.
That having been said, one should not lose sight that sovereign nations, which include established borders, have a right to determine their immigration policy and demand that their immigration laws be respected.
The world is paying attention to the ban. Guyanese, resident and abroad, have taken to social media and the streets to discuss and condemn it. Some even called for a protest against it in front of the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown.
Though the animation may give rise to speculation whether such is driven by self-interest, being caught up in the hype given the world has mobilised and people are in the streets protesting day and night, is left to be ascertained.
In the meantime, it cannot be denied that acts of discrimination, wherever and whenever they occur and to whom they are directed against, are retrogressive steps, and go against the grain of humanity, where all ought to be treated with dignity and respect.
The belief in the fundamental principle of equality will see mankind desirous of building bridges, not walls. When we reach out to others in the spirit of humanity, it helps in building relations from which can emerge strong communities, united and focused in achieving common goals.
As Guyanese express concerns with Trump’s Order and a Federal Judge on Friday, 3rd February put a temporary stay on it, which the White House said it will challenge, we have our own walls to tear down and build our own bridges.  Guyana remains torn because the divide-and-rule policy of the enslavers and coloniser still informs how we treat with each other.
Internally, where institutional structures are not only absent to bring about the needed spaces and assurances for equality to prevail, those required by laws are non-functioning, and forces in society still prey on our ethnicities to advance self-serving causes. Condemning the Executive Order when there exists evidence that we too are falling short makes a mockery of the condemnation.
As a region, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) cannot boast of being non-discriminatory to its members. There still remain designated benches at airports, and these have nothing to do with satisfying the immigration requirements of the host country. The treatment of Haitians — whose country has been ravaged by natural disasters —  by CARICOM where there exists no refugee and immigration policy to act affirmatively, takes away the moral authority to condemn others that treat these categories of people poorly. The US’ experience is saying to us as Guyanese, member of CARICOM, and the global community that condemnation of what is happening to others ought to move beyond that to where the moral authority to so do is assured.