…Haitians part of large regional arrivals
…Americans highest with over 45,000
FOR the first seven months of 2019, Cuban nationals entering Guyana have outnumbered other regional travellers, including Haitians, by several thousand.
There has been much debate regarding the arrival figures of nationals of the sister Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country of Haiti in other sections of the media as members of the public have criticised the xenophobic focus placed on the French–speaking nationals by those media houses.

According to the figures provided by the authorities, for the first seven months of this year, a total of 41,272 Cuban nationals came to these shores via the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), outnumbering by almost 33,000 the 8476 Haitians who did.
For each of the months between March and June this year, an average of 6338 Cubans came to Guyana via the CJIA, and according to the statistics, during that same period, the figure for Haitian nationals fluctuated, with the highest recorded being 2008 for the month of May.

Last month, a total of 4561 Cubans came through the CJIA, as compared to 1779 Haitians.
According to the statistics, Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) nationals were the second highest number of regional travellers to set foot here via the CJIA.
A total of 11,119 T&T nationals arrived between January and July this year; the figures for each month between March and July peaked above 1600 for the sister CARICOM nationals.
Nationals from Barbados totaled 2980, followed by 2900 from Suriname, making them the third and fourth highest arrivals recorded for CARICOM nationals during the seven-month period.

As regards the total arrivals during the period for all nationalities, the figure stood at 135,220, inclusive of those nationals from the United States, Canada, Brazil and China among others.
American nationals, at 45,994, outnumbered all other arrival figures for other nationals who entered the country via the CJIA.
The increase in arrivals of Haitian nationals to Guyana over the past several months is said to be tied to an Immigration Order which was passed unanimously by CARICOM Heads of Government at their 39th Summit in Jamaica in July 2018, to allow Haitians an automatic six-month stay in all CARICOM Member States.

Since Guyana and Suriname are the only CARICOM member states on the continent, the French-speaking nationals are said to be taking advantage of the opportunity to travel further east to French Guiana. Others have been making the trip to Lethem and onward to Brazil in search of better economic fortunes.

In March this year, Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix condemned outright, misinformation which was being peddled in the public domain, particularly on social media, labelling the Immigration Order for Haitians as an “election-rigging” mechanism.
The minister sought to remind those peddling the story that it was not only Guyana where that was happening. “This arrangement is not confined to Guyana; it is being implemented by all signatories to the CSME (Caribbean Single Market and Economy. Haitians are members of the Caribbean Community, and we have to treat them as such,” he said.
Felix explained that Haitians arriving in Guyana are not granted any form of citizenship; that instead they have to qualify by their residency status.

As such, the impression that the government is handing out citizenship to Haitians upon arrival so that they can be registered as voters was deemed false and without merit. “This is a deliberate attempt to spread misinformation about a legitimate agreement being executed by the Government of Guyana as a member of CARICOM,” Minister Felix affirmed at th time. “Guyana is an open country; we have immigration laws, and our immigration laws are used to deal with all persons arriving from different nations,” he added.