Even in the old-time days it was a good sport. One speaks freely in Barbados. Avinash Persaud has every right to express his concern, but wouldn’t he be better off attending to the Four Seasons mess?
As I understand it, the workers are yet to resume working and government is still to get credit for its $60-million or more guarantee. I think that the onslaught on our customs and immigration officers, fomented by media coverage, is totally unwarranted.
I can speak from experience of over 55 years. I have travelled every island of the Caribbean from Suriname to the Turks and Caicos, worked in almost every country of Latin and Central America, flew the main ports of the United States and Britain, visited nearly all of the countries of Europe and the Far East (including China, from where we expect tourists), worked in East Africa and other places I hesitate to mention, and very seldom have I encountered a smiling customs or immigration officer.
Without any form of resentment from me, I have had my luggage searched, my passport scanned and my eyes photographed, been patted down, thumb-printed, questioned, called back again, put in the suspicious line, delayed for six hours in Portugal despite a diplomatic passport – all in the name of security.
Those things were not meant personally, the people were only doing their job – same as our officers.
Immigration and custom officers are the first and perhaps the only line of defence for a country, especially Barbados, which can be used as a landing or transshipment point for drugs, arms, disease, illegal immigrants and a myriad other unwarranted ills.
This Avinash Persaud ought to appreciate being a man of the world.
Immigration and customs officers have five minutes or so to assess a traveller. A passport is handed to the immigration officer. He looks at the face of the bearer, asks a few questions, and makes an assessment based mainly on some information before him and above all, on a profile. That is all. Occasionally a tip-off has been forwarded to him from another country or area.
While a smile or a welcome may be forthcoming, this is not always so and this happens throughout the world.
Once a traveller has passed through immigration, he is let loose on the country like the proverbial needle in a haystack to do good or to do some ill.
It is only by chance that we are able to catch up with some transgressor using a fictitious passport or other documents.
What is relevant is that the traveller who is committing a wrong has ample time to plan his strategy.
Shakespeare said: “There is no art to find the mind’s construction in the face” – something we should always be cognizant of (sorry, something of which we should all be cognizant).
People who complain about the length of time spent at the airport should fly to Miami. The last time that I went there, I thought that I was competing in a marathon in getting to immigration. The airport is big and the plane had to park far away – no problem.
It is all well and good to call for platforms from the planes to the airport but nine tenths of the time here in Barbados the weather is fine and there is a short walk to the terminal as against a huge expenditure that we cannot afford.
We always tend to disagree on how the Government spends our money, but there are times when their decisions are solid.
I suggest that reading St Matthews Gospel, Chapter 7, Verses 1 to 5, should shed “mucho” light on the subject.
