Recognising that this country has opportunities their own country cannot afford them, citizens of another poorer country begin to immigrate in large numbers, most of them illegally, to the richer nation.

The natives begin to complain that the immigrants are not only sending down wages by working for virtually nothing but are responsible for rising crime and general immorality in the society. The immigrants who are opposed to this view, who feel they are scapegoats for problems within their adopted society, are afraid to speak out since they can easily be deported.

This is a scenario that many Americans would be familiar with. The issue of Mexican illegal immigration was one of the most contested in the recent mid-term elections and will continue to be so during the Presidential elections in 2008.

The scenario detailed above, however, is equally applicable to the situation vis a vis Guyanese illegal immigrants in Barbados.

The fact is that Barbadians have been referring to Guyanese and Guyanese migration in much the same language in which Americans have been referring to Mexican illegal immigrants in the past few years.

And in the grassroots of Barbados – even the technologically competent grassroots – this issue has taken on dimensions outside of the twin bogeymen of employment and crime.

"Make no mistake about this Guyanese issue, it is all about votes...Just imagine how thirty thousand Guyanese voting for Barbados Labour Party could influence the outcome of the next general elections", a Barbadian blogger said recently.

The governments of Guyana and of Barbados, and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) as a whole need to deal with this issue at a sufficiently high level for the citizens, of not just these two countries, but CARICOM in general to get a sense of a regional perspective on what is going on.

The issue of the status of illegal Guyanese in Barbados is one thing. Pending some sweeping free movement of people legislation, there is no way around the fact that Guyanese are using illegal methods to get into Barbados. What is not just questionable but reprehensible is the ad hoc profiling of Guyanese visitors to the island and the general phobia of anything Guyanese which seems to have gripped this CARICOM member state.

The typical small town in the heart of Middle America would be hard pressed to display the level of bigotry and blind prejudice that some Bajans are displaying.

The difference with the illegal Mexican immigrant situation and the illegal Guyanese immigrant situation is that Mexico and the United States are not locked together in any pretension towards mutual economic integration, and the presumed oneness of their people.