THERE has in the last few weeks been a frenzy in sections of the media over the arrival of Haitians in Guyana. This frenzy has been fuelled by the PPP which has charged the government with smuggling Haitians into the country to be used as voters at the upcoming elections. The PPP had been making these charges as far back as a year ago. They summoned the Minister of Citizenship before a parliamentary committee to give account for these “missing” Haitians. This is a vile piece

Haiti is a member of CARICOM and its nationals are entitled to the same travel privileges within the Region as other CARICOM nationals. The argument that Haiti is not part of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy is baseless; it was CARICOM itself that lifted the visa requirement for Haitians entering sister countries. Further, Guyana is not the only country to which Haitians have been migrating and Haitians are not the only CARICOM nationals to migrate to other member countries.
We feel there are two not-so-hidden sub-texts to this frenzy over Haitians coming to

Guyana. First, the perpetrators have charged that the government is bringing Haitians here as part of a conspiracy to boost its chances of re-election. But where is the evidence of this conspiracy? To date, the PPP has produced not an iota of evidence. They claim that large numbers of Haitians have not returned to Haiti as they planned to. Assuming that this is correct, since when foreign nationals who overstay their time amount to a conspiracy to illegally vote in that country? Many Guyanese and other CARICOM nationals have overstayed their time in other countries.

Should we assume that they are part of conspiracies with the host governments to illegally vote in their elections?
Much is being made of the fact that Guyanese and Haitians already in Guyana turn up at

the airport to escort visiting Haitians. But isn’t it normal everywhere in the world for locals or friends and relatives to turn up to welcome and escort visitors? Isn’t it normal for visitors to have to declare where they would stay during their visit? It is the height of absurdity to use this as evidence of electoral conspiracy.

The PPP and its cohorts are insulting the intelligence of Guyanese and in the process inflaming tensions in the country. This talk about conspiracies to rig elections through immigration is dangerous. It has implications for political stability, as it is setting the stage for possible unrest should the PPP lose the elections.

The second subtext is equally dangerous—it is the inflaming of anti-Haitian racial sentiments in the society. In a country with its own ethno-racial  problems, there ought to be greater sensitivity on the part of the PPP and others on this anti-Haitian bandwagon.  Those who deny that this is not their intention must answer the simple question—why pick on Haitians? Nationals from other CARICOM and non-CARICOM Caribbean and Latin American countries arrive, some in droves, every day—why not pick on them?

The intention is simple. Haitians are Black and the government in power is deemed to be supported in the main by Black Guyanese. So, Haitians coming here must be reflective of a Black conspiracy. Such a narrative is aimed at whipping up  anti-Black ethnic fear in the society. But it does more—it stigmatises and profiles Haitians. There are not-so-hidden references to Haitians coming from a country that is ravaged by disaster and diseases.

We condemn this as naked xenophobia. Those who are engaging in this obscenity are joining the well-known stigmatisation of Haiti and Haitians. We recall the USA sending back Haitians while admitting Cubans; we recall the massacre and later expulsion of Haitians from The Dominican Republic.

There have also been instances of anti-Haitian sentiments in other Caribbean countries, Now, the PPP and others have joined. All this is aimed at stopping Haitians from coming to Guyana.

This campaign must be condemned by all sane and just voices in Guyana. It is time all organisations lift their voices against this  campaign. Haiti’s contribution to the freedom we now enjoy in the Caribbean is well known.

Haitians are human beings with the same rights as others—they are not sub-human.