THE ugliest manifestation of xenophobia I have seen in the Global South came from right here in Guyana. It came from the forever chairman of the Trade Union Congress, Lincoln Lewis. His exhibition was long before oil money came. In fact, it was in 2019. He was referring to the influx of Venezuelans.

Here are the degenerate words of Lewis: “We are a small nation in population size and the only English-speaking country in South America. Unplanned immigration brings with it consequences such as stress on the education and health services, housing overrun, the creation of slums, and our resources exploited by others willing to undersell their labour. We also face a crisis of submerging our culture further. This threat comes from others who do not speak our language and share a common culture… we also face a crisis of submerging our culture… we are facing a pending catastrophe which we must seek to avoid at all cost.”

Since the Venezuelans came, there have been expressions of hypocrisy coming from Guyanese who don’t want foreigners here but these very Guyanese, I repeat these very Guyanese have close family members in other people’s countries.

Some of the names include Timothy Jonas, Mansoor Nadir, and Leonard Gildarie. Mr. Jonas in a letter of September 15, 2019 in Stabroek News called for cessation of granting citizenship to foreigners. Mr. Jonas is a Guyanese who has foreign citizenship which he stoutly refused to give up so he had to decline nomination to parliament in 2020 for his party ANUG.

Mr. Mansoor Nadir on the Freddie Kissoon Show echoed sentiments similar to Jonas’. As we left the studio and was talking near his car, he told me his daughter and son live in North America.

My co-host, Leonard Gildarie was adamant on the show that we should put the brake on people coming to Guyana and while he said that at the very same time, his papers were coming through for residence in New York.

I replied to the xenophobic miasma of Lewis informing readers that Mr. Lewis’ family members/close relatives live in the US. Now Ms. Amanza Walton-Desir wants Guyana to up the waiting time for citizenship to foreigners to 15 years.

Let me say upfront that is idiotic and wild nonsense and comes across to me as xenophobia. Why should foreigners live here, spend their money here, contribute to Guyana and have to wait 15 years before we give them citizenship?

At least these foreigners live in Guyana. Many of our diaspora folks do not contribute one cent to GRA and NIS, and the retail trade in Guyana. DDL, Bounty Supermarket, Banks DIH, Toolsie Persaud, Gafoors, Beharry Group of Company, John Fernandes, Mattai Supermarket, Courts Furniture, Giftland, Movie Towne among others do not receive a cent from these Guyanese who talk about our country yet do not live here.

Here is a list Guyanese who live abroad but want us to stop oil production. I have listed where they work and live.

1 – Dr. Janet Bulkan serves the University of British Columbia.

2-   Dr. Alissa Trotz serves the University of Toronto

3- Dr. Nigel Westmass serves Hamilton College in New York

4- Dr. Maya Trotz serves the University of South Florida

5 – Isabelle DeCaires lives in her homeland of the UK where her son plays cricket in the county championship for Middlesex.

6 – Abyssinian Carto is of Rastafari orientation and lives in New York.

7-  Dr. Cary Gildarie lives in New York.

8 – Terry Roopnaraine lives in his homeland of the UK.

9 – Pauline Melville moved to the UK since the early 1950s.

10 – Christina Samaroo moved to New York in 2008

11 – Luke Daniels lives in the UK

Here is a challenge to Amanza Walton-Desir. If she does not have close relatives and family members abroad, I will stop writing. I can’t lose, so I will not stop writing because I know she has such people who live abroad. The last set of people in the entire world who should frown on people coming to these shores is Guyanese.

Guyana has the largest percentage of all countries whose population lives abroad. Some 36.4 percent of the nationality known as Guyanese lives outside of Guyana. The only other Caribbean country on the list is Jamaica at 28.6 percent. One in five persons in New York City is Guyanese. One in four persons in Antigua is Guyanese.

A substantial number of persons from Venezuela living in Guyana are Guyanese. We migrated in large numbers to Venezuela from the 1980s onwards. Instead of talking nonsense about people coming to Guyana to live, Ms. Desir should explain to Guyanese why there is a serious accusation being made against her in her own party – Forward Guyana Movement. Is the accusation factually based?

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.