Jamaica’s Foreign minister Dr Kenneth Baugh says Barbados has indicated it is open to Jamaican Shanique Myrie visiting the country to assist in further investigations.
Myrie, a Jamaican, complained bitterly to the Observer last month that when she attempted to enter Barbados on March 14, 2011, she was subjected to two demeaning cavity searches by a female immigration officer who continuously spewed venom about Jamaicans. It was her first trip out of the island.
Baugh, who had sent a team to Barbados to investigate the claim, in a statement last night said: “The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Barbados has already indicated that she would welcome a visit from Miss Myrie to Barbados, for the purpose of pursuing further investigations.”
Baugh said due process can only be served when Myrie is afforded the opportunity to identify the persons who interrogated her.
Myrie had lodged a formal complaint with Jamaica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, in which she reported the abusive and degrading treatment meted out to her at the hands of Border Services Officers at the Grantley Adams International Airport.
The statement from the Foreign minister: “The Barbadian delegation stressed that there was no discrimination or prejudice against Jamaicans, but the laws of the land would always be observed. They emphasised that anecdotal reports do not constitute evidence of abuse, discrimination or prejudice.
“However, subsequent meetings between the full Jamaican delegation and high officials of the Barbadian delegation, a tour of the detention facilities at the Grantley Adams International Airport and a well-attended meeting with the Jamaican community in Barbados, led the delegation to the unanimous conclusion that there are widespread perceptions of negative attitudes towards Jamaicans and that Miss Myrie’s report was deserving of the fullest investigation.”
Added Baugh: “…Above all, it must be clearly understood that the Government of Jamaica takes very seriously its responsibility to protect and defend the rights of its citizens. Miss Myrie’s case will be pursued on its own merit and so will other cases which have been reported to my ministry.”
(Jamaica Observer)
