— following articles published by Guyana Times and Kaieteur News

SEVERAL Haitians here believe that they are “being victimised” even though they “have not done anything wrong” following publication of a number of stories carried by privately-own newspapers – Guyana Times and Kaieteur News

A group of young Haitians told the Guyana Chronicle on Tuesday that the news items have made their families back home in the French-speaking nation, concerned about their safety in Guyana.

They also noted that lack of issuance of work permits by the authorities as a major reason their countrymen are moving onto other neighbouring countries in search of work.
Sondy Ceran, a Haitian businessman and former school teacher, who has settled here since 2015, told this publication that the two private media houses have unjustly targeted his countrymen. The group called on Guyana Times to publicly apologise for tying Haitians to various diseases.

Ceran, whose full name is Elyseeceran, said he is the leader of a local Haitian migrant group and in the absence of a consulate in Guyana, that body has been assisting their countrymen who have been travelling to these shores in search of a better life. He said the support group teaches Haitians how to speak English and also addresses their needs while they are here in Guyana.

“We don’t feel safe at all, the news has really made us look bad,” Ceran said as he deemed the articles published by the two news entities as highly inaccurate.
“They have been misinformed of what the Haitian community is about here,” he said.
Ceran said that the news items gave the impression that the Haitians are committing crimes in Guyana even as he noted that Citizenship Minister, Winston Felix, has rebuked such statements in his recent public comments on the matter.
“I just want Guyana Times to know that they are influencing the Guyanese people to think very bad about us, to target us wrongfully,” he said in passionate tones.

LOOKING FOR WORK BUT NO WORK PERMITS
The 25-year old Ceran explained that Haitians have been coming to Guyana to work and he noted that in 2015, he made a decision to move to these shores in search of greener pastures. He said he initially taught French at Queen’s College before setting up a furniture business.

Ceran, who is also an active member of the local gospel-singing community, said after establishing himself, he realised that Haitians have been coming to Guyana in search of work and to study in large numbers. Many, he said, have been travelling in-transit to nearby countries.

“The fact is some stay one year, or more, as soon as they realise they do not have a work permit, they leave,” he said, adding: “There is a problem with getting that work permit so the Haitians move on to another country. We are not into smuggling or trafficking as the news has it.”

He explained that many Haitians spend the six-month timeframe as stipulated by Guyana’s immigration laws and after that time has passed, they renew their permit. He said during the six months of stay, many try to obtain a work permit but he reiterated that the pass has been difficult to obtain.
“So that is why the Haitians leave because they cannot sit and not work,” he said.

POLITICAL SEASON
Ceran said he and other members of the Haitian community have been in tune with the current affairs here. He said they understand that it is a politically -charged season in Guyana and politicians would try to grab at any issue to gain political points.
“Kaieteur News thinks that Haitians have been smuggled here to vote, I am here for four years and I don’t have a Guyanese passport, we are not here to vote, we cannot vote,” he said.

Another member of the group, Cleeford Lamy, 23, was emotional as he noted that the recent articles reduced him to tears when they were brought to his attention.
Lamy, who almost shed a few tears during the interview, said he has been studying at the Accountancy Training Centre (ATC) in the city for almost a year.

He said someone sent him a news link of the items published by the two newspapers and he said he was immediately disappointed.

“The way the newspapers tried to describe us, it was bad, we are not bad people and the way somebody tries to paint you the way that you are not , it is very bad and it affects me a lot,” he said as he perfected his speech in English.

Lamy teaches French here. He said on Tuesday he cried in front of his class when a student asked him something related to the news items peddled by the two newspapers.
The young musician, who plays in a local band, said his Guyanese friends have been supportive of him; however, he realises that there is a stigma attached as a result of the news.

“You are not supposed to be so blind regarding patriotism, patriotism to fellow man,” he said, adding that he has a Guyanese girlfriend.

QUALIFIED
After studying, Ceran said he read for a Diploma in Psychology and later studied in the field of law and business management. He said there are many Haitians who come here looking for work and whom he noted, are highly qualified.

He said there are nurses with years of experience and training who have been working here and because of the lack of the work permit have taken up jobs as security guards.

MOVING TO BRAZIL AND IMMIGRATION RECORDS
Ceran said the local private newspapers have published photographs of persons boarding buses and others walking along the Lethem trail while generalising the persons depicted as Haitians.

“They are not Haitians, we have been looking at the photographs in dismay, those people are not Haitians,” he said.

He said one newspaper captioned a photograph of a bus and stated that the persons walking next to the vehicle were Haitians. It was noted that the person who took the photograph reported that the photograph was taken off of her Facebook page by that newspaper with little regard to accuracy of the persons depicted.

He explained that indeed many Haitians have been moving to Brazil from Guyana and he pointed out that it is within their right to move, once they can legally do so.

He said the major problem that he has recognised regarding the records of them leaving Guyana lies in fact that their passports are not being stamped by the immigration authorities at Lethem since many travel past the offices there in buses and cars.

However, he noted that the Brazil Federal authorities would inspect their documents as soon as they enter that country at Bom Fin and he noted that they are issued a six-month visa on entry there.
“The problem is not our fault, it is not our fault that the immigration at Lethem is not doing their work,” Ceran said.

AIRPORT ARRANGEMENTS
Ceran said when the Haitians travel to Guyana, there are arrangements made with persons to pick-up the foreign nationals at the airport. He said a photograph is sent to a local contact person who would send such photos to the Guyanese bus drivers. He said the same occurs when the Cubans travel here, and as such, there is a coordinated effort made by the drivers to receive Haitians and Cubans when they arrive here.

Ceran reiterated that a major bugbear is the absence of a Haitian consulate in Guyana and he noted that the local migrant group is working to ensure that the government in Port-au-Prince establishes such an office here with the help of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

“We are citizens of CARICOM,” the young man noted.
On Monday, Minister Felix, in an interview with the Ministry of the Presidency’s Public Information and Press Service, condemned as “inaccurate and deceptive,” information published in both the Kaieteur News and Guyana Times on the arrival and departure of Haitian travellers here.

The articles have alleged that Haitians are being smuggled, are victims of Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and that there are levels of collusion to have the Haitians registered to vote at the upcoming General and Regional Elections (GRE).

The Kaieteur News reported on August 1, 2019 under the headline, “Out of 8,600 Haitians, only 13 left Guyana legally – Guyana is being used as stepping stone – Minister Felix.” These numbers are patently false, the minister said.

Instead, he said, during the same period 8,476 Haitians arrived in Guyana and 1,170 departed the country. Forty-eight were refused leave on landing.

The Minister of Citizenship pointed out that the Guyana Police Force has made checks and to date, has found no evidence to indicate even a single instance of people smuggling or Trafficking in Persons (TIP), relative to the Haitian travellers.

As a matter of fact, he said, the force, since 2014, has not found a single case of Haitians being victims of either of the alleged crimes.