BY PETER WICKHAM

AGAINST ALL ADVICE, People & Things this week returns to the migration/immigration issue commenting on regional luminary Sir Shridath Ramphal reference to "intimations of ethnic cleansing" in relation to THE NATION Editorial of June 17. I am neither afraid of controversy nor unwilling to criticise Sir Shridath, and can state squarely that I believe Sir Shridath's comments were entirely out of order and no deliberation on the meaning

of "intimation" can rationalise it.

Although the foregoing comment makes this author's opinion clear, it is also important that these comments be placed in perspective. I appreciate the location of those remarks and am entirely sympathetic to his intentions, although not his methods.

The Editorial in question appears to offer enthusiastic support to the Prime Minister of Barbados in his quest to "clean up" this immigration mess. THE NATION is certainly entitled to take this position, just as the Prime Minister is entitled to pursue the much talked about policy.

There is however much that is wrong with this editorial that massages perceptions without providing evidence, and in one instance presents erroneous information.

The NATION Editorial refers to social ills such as housing shortages, insufficient school places, declining wages and an overstretched medical facility. There is, however no evidence from either the Government or the NATION that these "problems" can possibly be caused by illegal immigrants since such persons have no access to public services by virtue of their status.

If immigrants utilise such facilities, they do so at their own expense and to the satisfaction of Barbadians who sell them goods and services. Sadly, few are prepared to see the other side of this issue which presents a very different villain.

Reference to the policy position taken by Britain in the context of EU expansion into Eastern Europe is often cited as justification for Barbados' position and it is not surprising that THE NATION makes a similar point in this Editorial.

It is, however entirely untrue to say that Britain has blocked or restricted immigration from sections or categories of persons within the EU as the Barbados Government has done.

Instead, Britain has imposed requirements on people coming from those places which to my mind seem entirely reasonable. One such is that people coming into Britain to work should be employed within a reasonable time or return to their place of origin and if our Government were to make a similar demand on CARICOM nationals coming here, few of us who are now objecting would complain.

The most disturbing comment in the Editorial suggests that people such as this author "consider it their duty to protect the rights of undocumented migrants, as though such exist".

This seems to imply that a person once undocumented has no rights and one wonders how so noble an institution as THE NATION could have arrived at this conclusion.

In the same way that I defended the "rights" of Barbadian fishermen who ventured illegally into the waters of Trinidad and Tobago, I would hope that people appreciate that an individual does not surrender all rights when he breaks the law.

Indeed, it is usually those who are in violation of the law that need the greatest protection. It is therefore unfortunate that THE NATION appears not to appreciate this fact and more unfortunate still that this inaccuracy has been repeated several times since it appeared in print by others who ought to know better.

At the point when this firestorm commenced, I spoke of the "unintended consequences" of the Prime Minister's approach and this turn of events eruditely reflects my concerns. The issue has quickly moved from illegal immigration to race, and this has prompted Sir Shridath to make one of his more unfortunate statements especially as one considers the fact that he was part of the Burnham administration.

To him I say, I feel your pain, but let's not do an injustice to our understanding of the atrocities that have taken place in Bosnia, Serbia and Rwanda by comparing these to garden variety xenophobia in Barbados.