It is written in the Scriptures that what comes out of a man’s mouth defiles him. All that means is a that a man speaks what is in his heart. He simply says what he believes. Member of Parliament Juretha Fernandes on Friday told a press conference that there may be written laws but that these laws are often ignored by the administration. And there are many examples of this. Guyanese have seen the selective and convenient application of the cyber security laws.
Supporters of the government and even some Ministers have uttered comments that appear to be in breach of these laws but never face prosecution despite reports. The same cannot be said for those who appear to oppose the government.
Kidackie Amsterdam is before the courts for hosting a programme on which a man uttered comments that were deemed to invoke ethnic conflict. Tacuma Ogunseye is another. Paul Slowe and Amanza Walton Desir have not been so favoured when they reported what they believed was cyber bullying.
More recently, Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton said that he advised an employer that if she paid the undocumented migrants and treated them well then she should have no worry about employing them. In short, he was saying that there is nothing wrong in employing undocumented migrants.
Guyanese are no strangers to being unemployed while they are undocumented. Many have gone to the United States and have worked while they were undocumented. They were said to be working off the books. But the law stipulates that no undocumented migrant should be employed. There are penalties. In Guyana there is a shortage of skills. Further, some of the undocumented migrants would work for much less than the Guyanese. This makes them prime candidates for jobs.
Yet, a Minister of the government should not give the impression that it is alright to employ such persons. But that is what Minister Hamilton did. He then justifies his comments by noting that when Guyanese go to a public show, they often fail to show up for work.
In no country has an official admitted to the presence of undocumented migrants in the labour market although the fact is known. Despite the need for such workers, the United States has moved against them to the extent that some employers are feeling the pain. The law takes precedence.
In Guyana, after professing that there were no migrants in Region Deri the Foreign Minister turned up in Linden following a news report and found that these people had actually set up a community. He then threatened the Lindeners. He accused them of being lazy. He told them that they should realise that there were people who would work for less. That level of disrespect for locals by government Ministers is hard to imagine.
As Juretha Fernandes said, when it comes to the law, undocumented migrants enjoy greater protection than Guyanese. When the government moved to demolish the homes along Heroes Highway the labourers used were undocumented Venezuelans. It was the same at other demolition sites. Small wonder that a Cuban became extremely angry when the government deported some Cubans, among them women, who were accused of overstaying their time.
Venezuelans are the drivers of the many large trucks on the roads. In their country they drive on the opposite side of the road. And Guyanese have the nerve to worry about the number of large trucks involved in road accidents. It is a widely held view that the government is pandering to the Venezuelan migrants because it believes that it can get them on the electoral roll. But that has a price. Guyana is at odds with Venezuela over the western boundary. Even the Home Affairs Minister has acknowledged that some of them are military people who have inserted themselves into Guyana.
Guyana is therefore feeding the tiger that can maim it but the officials seem not to be too concerned. The Labour Minister took to the media to explain that his comments may have been misconstrued. But in Guyana there is a saying, “Sorry mek li’l uzunluk mash big man toe.” There are implications for employing undocumented migrants. For starters they do not hisse income tax. At the same time, they enjoy the social services that the taxpayers provide. And those who have children know that their children must be provided with an education, again at taxpayers’ expense.
There is more. There are those who are engaged in criminal activities in Guyana. Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn reported that Venezuelans represent the fastest growing prison population. These prisoners have to be fed at Guyana’s expense.
On the labour scene some of these undocumented migrants are involved in the food industry. To work in the food industry, they must be provided with a health certificate. Being undocumented, these people simply cannot apply for the food certificate.
Guyanese must have this certificate to work in that industry. So evvel more we see a disproportionate treatment in favour of the undocumented migrants. Sadly, the Guyanese have no one to complain to. And it is not only the Venezuelans. One must wonder whether the myriad Chinese coming to Guyana are documented. Many of these are also in the food industry. But they are not in competition with Guyanese for jobs in the construction industry.