WHEN there is a problem between countries, it is always best that they meet and discuss the issue so that a speedy and satisfactory resolution can be reached.
For this reason, we are optimistic that Barbados and Jamaica can arrive at an amicable settlement over the claims by a Jamaican woman that on March 14 at Grantley Adams International Airport she was subjected to a vaginal search by an immigration officer who, she claimed, also made discriminatory remarks about Jamaicans.
For us, this issue is much bigger than probing the allegation by Jamaican Shanique Myrie. It is about the perception of the treatment of CARICOM nationals by Barbadian airport officials and its implications for free movement of nationals between member states as well as the economic integration of the region.
For several years, regional leaders have been raising the issue of maltreatment of their nationals here. In fact, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Bruce Golding in his say on Myrie’s claim said the matter was raised at almost every CARICOM Heads of Government meeting.
“As recent as the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in Grenada (in February), the prime minister of St Vincent made complaints about the treatment of his nationals when they arrived in Barbados, and at the meeting before that a similar complaint was made by the president of Guyana,” Golding said.
The advice of former Leader of the Opposition Mia Mottley is therefore timely and should be heeded. In her sober intervention on this matter, she said:
“As Barbadians we can no longer bury our heads in the sand to the perception that others have of us that Barbados does not treat its Caribbean brothers and sisters and people of African descent fairly and with respect . . . We need to deal with it – if not our social and economic well-being as a people will be affected.”
Though we are in full agreement with Ms Mottley’s assessment, we recognize too that Immigration, customs and police drug squad officials working at our airport are our first line of defence against undesirable elements trying to enter our country. To them falls the thankless task of sifting through the arriving passengers to separate genuine visitors from those trying to smuggle in drugs, prostitutes coming to work illegally, or others bent on criminal activity. And they have to do this with firmness, fearlessness – and fairness. Based on the volume of complaints, they may not always get that balance right.
In the particular case of Jamaicans coming here, a letter writer to the Jamaica Observer wrote: “Why is this happening? The main reasons are that the Jamaican influence can be crooked, corrupt, depressing and debilitating.
As such, we, as Jamaicans, should understand how such influences have brought our country close to the brink of being a failed state. Yes, what happened to Ms Myrie was wrong. But we must get our house in order.”
This person is suggesting that if some nationalities have a reputation for doing illegal things, they will be targeted. We disagree with this thinking and note that such an approach has been used, with disastrous consequences, to unfairly profile black people and some religious followers in some countries.
We recognize people’s views of each other take time to change, but if there is any good that can come out of this incident, it would be that it is used to implement more transparent mechanisms for dealing with CARICOM nationals at our airport. After all, no individual legitimately coming here would object to being screened, only to the manner in which it is done.
That is why it is essential that the Jamaican and Barbados teams discussing Ms Myrie’s case not only resolve this matter but also come up with some framework to address the negative perceptions people hold.
