I disagree with my friends on the reasons for the PPP public alarm about Haitians. It is not about hatred for Haitians, it is worse. This is Republican styled voter suppression, which was no doubt conjure up by the American PR firm the PPP hired recently.
Haitians are no electoral threat. Could you imagine PPP polling agents not objecting to persons who turn up to vote, but cannot speak a word of English, or speaking English with a heavy Haitian accent. This halabaloo is not about Haitian, but it is an effort to create an atmosphere of fear for a certain category of legitimate voters.
The apparent campaign against Haitian is really aimed at Barbadian, Trinidadians, Jamaicans, St Lucians, and citizens of other CARICOM countries which are also members of the Commonwealth. Any Jamaican who has been in the country for one year is legally qualified to register and vote. The same goes for Trinidadians, Barbadians, St. Lucians, Vincentians etc. The PPP hopes the ginned up hatred against Haitians will create an atmosphere that will dissuade Jamaicans, Barbadians etc from registering. Under the cloud is the allegations against Haitians, Bharrat Jagdeo is accusing GECOM of registering foreign nationals. This is to give Trinidadians, Barbadians St. Lucians etc. That to register to vote is wrong. This is Republican styled voter suppression.
The last two elections in Guyana were decided by 5000 votes. Presently there are several thousand Commonwealth nationals in Guyana. With the recent upsurge of economic activities due to eminent oil and gas production, it is likely a large percentage of these persons came after the last elections. This adds a dimension of uncertainty the PPP finds uncomfortable.
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The hateful, cruel and racist campaign launched by the PPP and it’s surrogates, against Haitians is pure evil. It is evil because they consciously decided to use Haitians as collateral damage in their effort to target Trinidadians and Barbadians. It is evil because they callously decided to use the European inflicted economic burden in their attempt to dehumanize Haitians. It is cruel because they are fully aware Haitians are not guilty of what they are being accused of, yet they persist.
The irony is that the people of the Caribbean have never seen Guyana politics through an ethnic lense, yet the PPP has launched a campaign to target Jamaicans and Barbadians because of race. This is really really racist.
The entire region should take note of the silence of the PSC, Bar Association, GCCI etc. They are complicit. Overly loud on one perceived wrong doing, but strangely silence on blatant human rights infraction, is not only an indication of complicity, but it is also racist.
People who respond to the PPP racist attacks by pointing to Chinese and Indian nationals are playing into the PPP hands. It is not Haitians vs Chinese and Indians. Haitians are not doing anything wrong, and do not require special favors. So there is no need to point to what benefits Chinese and Indian nationals received. Let us assert the rights of Haitians, as CARICOM nationals, to travel freely to Guyana.