By Adam Harris
FOR years Guyanese have been looking to foreign countries for their salvation. Indeed, this was not only the case of Guyanese. People generally looked to foreign lands, some say to better their lives, others say that they were escaping persecution.
In reality, though, man is nomadic, so he, through the eons, has been moving from place to place. History is full of those names. Some of these were so-called conquerors. These people left their homes in hordes to go to foreign lands. They more often than not slaughtered the people, particularly the men, and enslaved the women and children, and plundered the land. Some stayed behind while others moved on for further conquests.
These people spanned every ethnic group. In some of these countries the stronger tribes preyed on the weaker. That led to some people ending up in this part of the world as slaves. They were sold as slaves to other marauding people-people who just could not stay at home.
But enough of the history lesson. Guyanese began to look overseas largely because of the invitation from the warring north. Guyana was a British colony so whenever Britain was embroiled in a way it simply turned to its colonies for men to boost its army.
So it was that many Guyanese travelled to Britain both during the First World War and the Second World War. As colonials they remained in the country when the war ended. Guyanese simply got involved in a matter that was not theirs. It was slightly different with the United States. That country wanted skills that Guyanese had. Teachers and nurses were premium recruits. Up until recently, agents were visiting the country for these skilled Guyanese.
Canada offered a programme called self-sponsorship. Guyanese who were educated and possessed certain skills could apply for Canadian residency. Many succeeded and are now resident there. The Caribbean countries became the next repository of Guyanese. When this country found itself in dire economic straits many of its people fled to the Caribbean and to the neighbouring countries. It is therefore not surprising that there are large Guyanese populations in Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica, the smaller islands, Brazil, Venezuela, Suriname and Cayenne.
In the Caribbean in particular Guyanese are needed. They are the artisans, the educators, the nurses and the minds behind the industry in those countries. Recently, Guyana discovered oil and is set to become the leading nation in this part of the world. The Caribbean is not sitting idly by. Trinidad, with its knowledge of the oil industry invested heavily in Guyana’s local content.
They are still coming as are the Venezuelans who are experiencing hardships in their country, the Cubans, the Brazilians who are enjoying life in the goldfields and a host of people from other parts of the Caribbean. The end result is that these Caribbean countries are beneficiaries of Guyana’s largesse. Their citizens in Guyana are supporting their economies to the point that the leaders of these countries cannot envisage life without their people being in Guyana.
It is this self-interest that prompted St Vincent Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves, to become involved in Guyana’s politics even before the recount is completed. He has citizens making hay in this country and he needs their presence here.
Many years ago, when I was a schoolboy I learnt in a science class that water always seeks the point of least resistance. Political leaders be they Guyanese or others are the same. With his emphasis on being fit and proper, President David Granger is not the casual leader who would dissipate Guyana’s patrimony on the basis of friendship alone.
At the same time he is not the philanderer and abuser of alcohol like some of the other boys in the Caribbean Community. He would not be comfortable sitting around people whose interest is in abusing women. The result is Ralph Gonsalves is one who would not feel very comfortable with Granger in the seat of Government. He would prefer Bharrat Jagdeo or Jagdeo’s surrogate because their social habits coincide. There is another side to the interference. These islands need Guyanese. The presence of the oil wealth, if properly managed would see the Guyanese packing their bags and returning home. Caribbean leaders do not want this to happen.
People have pointed to the foreign entities that have been critical of the stance taken by the coalition in the face of the discovered electoral fraud. These people want a pliant government in place. Over the years the foreign powers have been dictating to the governments in less powerful countries. Cuba, Venezuela, Libya, Iraq and Iran have been examples. Jimmy Carter came here and dictated the nature of the elections commission this country could have.
He went further; he dictated the manner in which the elections should be conducted. Recently, despite the laws of Guyana allowing for elections petitions, the foreign powers pressured David Granger so that he aborted the only legal recourse and took Guyana into uncharted waters. Now we see another attempt to dictate. There has been a recount which is still incomplete. Yet I get the impression that the people on the outside want to dictate that the recount as gazette be ignored. And I reach this conclusion after no foreign diplomat or foreign observer has commented on the discovered electoral fraud which has the potential to vitiate the elections.
Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_6-14-2020