GUYANA may not be as worried as some other countries in the Region about the influx of Venezuelans escaping economic hardship in their country, but there is no denying that it is fast becoming the land of opportunity for more than our neighbours to the west.
Evidence of this is clear, as a visit to some Chinese-owned stores around the city will attest, what with the proliferation of Spanish-speaking nationals providing translation services between store owners and the hundreds of Cubans who come to shop in Guyana on a weekly basis.

Other foreign help can be seen at city eateries and small shops, and even engaged in odd jobs in areas such as construction.
One shop owner, who acknowledged that he has a few illegals in his employ, said that down-on-their-luck foreigners come to his establishment frequently looking for work. He said that given the economic and political situations from which some of these people are running, he is in sympathy with them, knowing that he, too, once sought greener pastures in other countries and needed work to survive.

The man, who owns a small eatery in one of the city’s more affluent neighbourhoods, explained that many Guyanese have lived abroad, and they, too, were once employees in a foreign country.

He said that it is for this reason that he feels “some kind of sympathy” for non-nationals, and what drives him to hire them.

But even more than an escape from negative situations back home, the businessman believes that global migration is slowly becoming the greater phenomenon that is bringing droves of people to these shores.

And with the discovery of oil, the businessman believes Guyana will soon be “swamped” with foreigners.
“Global migration is a phenomenon; we are going to be swamped with foreigners,” he said. “People leaving all over the world and passing through here, coming here looking for work.” The man believes that apart from those wanting to escape natural disasters and political and economic turmoil, there will be those foreigners coming with expertise seeking work or looking for something in which to invest their money.
Another business owner, whose establishment is located in Queenstown, said his employees are primarily Venezuelan nationals with Guyanese family, who came when the going got tough in the Bolivarian Republic.

Then there’s the owner of this fruit stall who told this newspaper that the foreigner he employs is always at work and always on time, which is so unlike the Guyanese staff.
Some business people said they are constantly getting job requests from foreigners from as far off as The Dominican Republic, Cuba, and even Haiti, and that some of them can speak English well enough to get them through a basic conversation.

The businessman with the eatery believes that regardless of whether Guyanese appreciate the peace they enjoy here or the job that less fortunate persons would gladly accept, the population is too small to withstand the influx of persons expected. He said money is the driving force, and the currency in some of those countries is very low, hence people seeking job opportunities outside of their homelands.

“We are going to have mixtures here; it only has to take a foreigner to marry a Guyanese and make a child,” he said.

The man believes that not only will the size of the population increase, but so too will the country’s ethnic and racial makeup.

This being the case, he is urging Guyanese to prepare the best way they can and to ensure they don’t become second-class citizens in their own country who did not get ready for the rapid change the country will undergo.

Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix, recently recognised the influx of Venezuelans in particular who come to Guyana both legally and illegally. He said preparations are being made to help those displaced by the hardship in their country.
He said while persons entering a country illegally should face prosecution, Guyana wants to move away from that, and chart a course that will help the situation.