`We are prepared to deal with those people in the same way we would deal with any other Guyanese who might be inclined to infract the law or commit any kind of criminal offence' - Home Affairs Minister Ronald Gajraj

MINISTER of Home Affairs, Mr. Ronald Gajraj yesterday made it clear that Guyana can deal with the current influx of deportees and especially with those who might want to break local laws.

At the same time, Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Ms. Bibi Shadick said that any deportee seeking assistance will be helped by her ministry.

So far, 62 of an initial batch of 113 Guyanese have been returned from the United States for breaching that country's laws, Gajraj told reporters.

"We are equipped to deal with it," he said, adding that the deportees' "movements are being monitored."

He said some might be hardened criminals who "have no shoulder to lean on" once they arrive here.

For those deportees, Gajraj said "the open arms of the local criminals are there to welcome them and they form unholy alliances." However, he made it clear that they will meet with the full force of the law.

"We are prepared to deal with those people in the same way we would deal with any other Guyanese who might be inclined to infract the law or commit any kind of criminal offence," he told a news conference at his Brickdam, Georgetown office.

He said that those who have committed criminal offences in the U.S. would have served their time in that country and so there is no legal basis for them to be held in custody once they arrive here.

Gajraj could not say exactly how many of the deportees have nowhere to stay, but pointed out that they have equal rights to the Government's social security services, like any other Guyanese in a similar situation.

Shadick told the Chronicle that for those who have nowhere to stay, the Night Shelter in East La Penitence, Georgetown is available to them. In addition, she said for the deportees who have skills and would need the necessary tools to get a job, her ministry is willing to buy same.

She said that even the deportees who are staying with relatives can be afforded this assistance.

While the minister is not sure whether any of the deportees need counselling, she said the services of the ministry's officers are also available to anyone who may need advice to reintegrate into the local society.

Shadick told the Chronicle that she received calls on Tuesday from two persons who said they were deportees and need assistance.

"I told them to come in and see me, but I have seen nobody," she said.

"So along as it is ascertained that they are Guyanese, we will treat them as they are entitled to be treated like any other Guyanese," Gajraj said.

"We have certain obligations and we are prepared to discharge those obligations with respect to every Guyanese at home or abroad," he added.

Some of those forcibly removed from the U.S. left Guyana in infancy, some have no relatives nor friends here and even those who might have family ties, their relatives distance themselves from them, Gajraj noted.

He said that not all the deportees are criminals, pointing out that some have been deported for "simply" breaching immigration laws

"By no stretch of the imagination would you consider them criminals," he said.

On October 10, the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown, acting upon instructions from the U.S. State Department, stopped issuing visas to Government officials, their employees and relatives, following Guyana's delay in accepting the deportees.

Guyanese officials expect the ban to lifted since Guyana has met the benchmarks set by the U.S.