It was a wise decision to send an immigration officer to Barbados

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor,

When I read that an inspector from the Central Immigration and Passport Office in Guyana would be dispatched to Barbados to deal with issues affecting Guyanese, I could not help feeling satisfied, because there were too many occasions when some of my family members had bad experiences with immigration officials in that country. Initially, I thought that my relatives were just unfortunate, but after listening to some other Guyanese who have travelled to that country, I am convinced that Guyanese are not given proper treatment when they travel to Barbados.

Editor, I am not saying that all Guyanese are innocent, but a few bad persons do not represent the entire country. So I am really upset about this issue, as there are many decent Guyanese who are harassed and frustrated for no sound reason.

I should mention that, when they come to Guyana, we do not treat Barbadians the way their immigration authorities treat us. As a matter of fact, Guyanese treat all foreigners with hospitality, and we try to make them feel as welcome as possible.

I refuse to believe that Barbadians are just skeptical about Guyanese committing crimes, because Jamaicans and Trinidadians are not treated the way we are treated, and those countries have noticeable crime rates, too. My own view is that it appears that Guyanese are just not liked and appreciated in Barbados, hence we are given a hard time.

This is why I agree with the authorities’ decision to send a Guyanese representative over to Barbados.

Yours sincerely,

Malika Arjoon

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