By Peter Jailall
Toronto - The greatest exodus in the history of Guyana took place during the rule of the People's National Congress (PNC), especially in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In those debilitating years, hundreds of thousands of Guyanese fled the country, running away from the political dictatorship, seeking a life of peace and safety.
The bosses ruled Guyana during those bitter days with an iron fist, removing anyone who dared to oppose them.
The PNC rulers didn't care what racial group you belonged to; they punished you; even killed you, if you dared to challenge them.
As a matter of fact, if you were Guyanese of African descent you should have known better, and the licks you received were even hotter.
Some smart Indo-Guyanese, and people from other racial groups caught on quickly, and to avoid the 'cutrass' quickly purchased a PNC party card. This card also gave them access to jobs, promotions, and business opportunities.
And even to this day there are many prosperous old-money ex-PNC Indian business people who would like to see them back in power again. During those dreadful days, these businesses donated generously to the PNC, and even paid protection money.
The rulers of the day humiliated ordinary Guyanese by making them line-up for food, soap, and oil.
Law and order broke down, and bandits roamed Georgetown, taking occasional joy rides into the country, kicking down doors and terrorizing peaceful citizens.
Decent-minded Guyanese of all races could not stand the humiliation and terror, and so they fled by air, by land, and by sea, abandoning home, property, and money.
They fled to any country that would give them shelter.
The exodus saw families being broken up. Today many still are in a state of disrepair. Senior citizens, instead of warming themselves in the Guyana sunshine and the land of their birth, are instead spending their golden years in the cold, having kissed their pensions goodbye.
Many Guyanese were humiliated abroad, unable to secure employment to match their experience and qualifications.
Many suffered racial discrimination at the hands of their new employers at their different workplaces.
Many women were abused during the exodus. Children were separated from their parents. The kids appeared in foreign schools with gaps in their education.
Youths experienced high unemployment and alienation abroad. This drove many of them into the underworld. Now, they are returning voluntarily, while others are being deported by foreign governments.
Many Guyanese are fed up with the hardships abroad. In 1996 alone, 1,053 Guyanese were deported by foreign governments, some for violent crimes, others for drug-related offences.
Do Guyanese at home have an obligation to welcome these criminals? Should Guyanese taxpayers contribute to their rehabilitation?
There is also another layer to this dilemma. How do we deal with these situations with the understanding that these people were pushed out of their own homes and country? How do we expect them to live? To whom should they turn?
And on the wider issue of remigrants. As we know, many Guyanese who stayed at home resent the returnees, these expatriates who have come back in better times.
Then there are some Guyanese never made it on the return trip. They died during the 'neo-Middle Passage.'
Days before last Christmas, six Guyanese drowned in the Atlantic off the coast of Venezuela as they were trying to reach Guyana on a sailing boat that sprang a leak and sank.
Then on January 7, three Guyanese drowned in the Gulf of Mexico.
A few years ago a young woman was travelling 'backtrack,' hidden in a secret compartment of a truck as the driver tried to smuggle her across the border from Canada to the United States. She asphyxiated from inhaling carbon monoxide gas.
There are many, many more horrible stories of Guyanese who suffered and died trying to escape the wrath of those dreadful rulers. Now, many Guyanese from all walks of life want to return to their homeland.
Some, though, are reluctant to return because of the negative reception they'll receive:
"Al' yu expatriates come back now, nah! Weh al' yu been w'en we bin tekking PNC blows? Yu al' run 'way."
Guyanese at home must learn to forgive and forget. They should welcome their prodigal brothers and sisters with open arms
Indo Caribbean World
