Hey, peoples. Hope all is well with you and yours. I would like to extend a hearty welcome to my first follower, Bajan Gossip Girl. Thanks, chica!
I don't have a lot of time to blog these days, so I keep things bottled up till I get an opportunity. What I want to talk about today has been bothering me for a while, so I'll try to calm down and not vent so I can write coherently.
I've always admired regional integrationist and former Commonwealth Secretary General Sir Shridath Ramphal. I met him years ago and considered him gracious, intelligent and down-to-earth. Imagine my surprise then when I read in the media that Sir Shridath was likening Barbados' recent immigration policy to "ethnic cleansing!
A lot has been said about the policy, both good and bad, but the reason why Sir Shridath's comments hurt me bad, bad, is because he of all people should know better!
He is no stranger to Barbados, and actually he has retired here now - I saw him strolling through the supermarket just the other day, but I digress.
As someone who lives in Barbados and has long been associated with Barbados, Sir Shridath knows that Barbadians are some of the most welcoming, accommodating people in the world. We're more likely to be "cleansed" out of our country than the other way around, we're that nice.
So for him to equate the Government's long overdue decision to manage immigration and especially halt illegal immigration with someting as vicious and sordid as ethnic cleansing is grossly unfair. Frankly, he should stand up in Heroes Square with a loudspeaker and apologise to the people of this country.
We can't be that bad if you chose to retire here, Sir Shridath.
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