Are we witnessing the incoming tide of camaraderie or conquest?

FEW individuals will disagree with the confirmation that Guyana was off-the-cuff when the country was informed by multinational corporations of its large deposits of oil and gas in 2015. We know now that corporate muscle was used to strong-arm the inexperienced Guyanese negotiating team to sign a series of lopsided oil contracts. Why this unfortunate situation occurred will be discussed in upcoming columns.

For now, I am using the above to draw attention to a related event that might catch Guyana unprepared and unguarded again if prudent steps are not pursued. I refer to the influx of foreign nationals in the country with the most recent arrest of about thirty Haitians who were using Guyana as a transit base to go elsewhere, presumably to French Guiana. My intention here is not to single out Haitians. They happen to be in the news. There are thousands of Venezuelans, Brazilians, and other nationals who are in Guyana not entirely for fatuous reasons. I do, however, support any initiative to treat them fairly. If anything at all, Guyana should be the first country to apply sensitive immigration policies to foreign nationals. We have been on the move for a long time and other countries have put up with us in ways that have not segued into their own immigration policies. Canada comes readily to mind.

That said, I am convinced that revenues emerging from oil and gas will transform Guyana from poor to a petroleum state. Guyana will experience infrastructural and sectoral development. The sitting administration will be forced to seek help beyond the shores of Guyana to meet the demands of development. In the process of “Investment and Development” Guyana will attract individuals from across the globe and might no longer be a nation of six but sixteen races.

We might return to the coveted migration status of being an importer rather than an exporter of people. Do you remember the influx of nurses from various Caribbean islands to be trained at the New Amsterdam Hospital? The looming question is, how would Guyana handle the influx of so many people?
The PPP/C administration has currently revamped the re-immigration policy. This move is forward looking, since Guyana has been a sending country of migration, producing resource-oriented branch of overseas communities that can be tapped into for the development of the country. We expect the return migration of Guyanese nationals as well as the arrival of more individuals who have not been associated with Guyanese migration. I am referring to Americans and nationals from the surrounding Caribbean and Latin American countries. The latter will be looking for better livelihood opportunities brought about by the local content policy aspects of the oil and gas sector.

In this mix and medley of migration, it is a fair bet, I reckon, to say that the management of in-migration to Guyana will not be a smooth sailing expedition. Like the oil and gas industry, the in-migration of foreign nationals and its associated challenges of different cultural values and the like will certainly be a new wave of experience for Guyana. Yet, this novel experience on a large scale should not be a stumbling block to achieve mandated goals if we allow ourselves to be reminded that we are one Guyanese who were dropped off by different ships at different time-periods in different parts of Guyana. The difference in the modern period is that we, including the new incoming groups, are being dropped off in Guyana by different planes.

From a standpoint of policy, immigration should not be a double entendre but ought to be driven by liberal pro-active social integration programmes. Access to social services and political and economic rights should not be a head-scratching perplexity. We do not favour gated but integrated communities that will reflect the image of Guyana and its people.

We do not support privilege for some and predicament for others. Efforts and attempts should be aimed at the merging and integrating of the “new migrant community” with the existing host community to bring awareness, reduce fears, stereotypes, and etcetera. I endorse a convergence of immigration policy that emphasises the importance of historical legacy, the value of political and economic institutions, and the sensitivity of cultural diversity. Guyana’s immigration policy should be geared towards nation-building and national economic development rather than be conflated with protecting national security and fulfilling narrow political aims.

The above brings us to a relevant concern. I urge the Government to develop a partnership with stakeholders to devise matrices on how in-migration will be monitored and assessed – beyond the existing ones – so that by the end of the day we will reach a point of compromise which does not feel like a circus but one that is on the route of progress. If some of the above policies are practised, we can avoid the innuendo of in-migration to Guyana as being perceived as the incoming tide of conquest (lomarsh.roopnarine@jsums.edu).

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