Jamaicans abused at Barbados airport

[andronian2]

Re: Jamaicans abused at Barbados airport

This is quite a shame with the existence of Caricom and the CSME.
Now that is quite a scam; killing Jamaican industry with freely imported energy-subsidised Trinidadian products.
Yet Jamaicans can't even go where the jobs have moved to without facing the problems related here.
Bway...we were once a proud people.

[MarieK]

Re: A tale of woe in Barbados

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">How would the Barbados Government feel if their citizens were subjected to the same type of discrimination in Jamaica?</div></div>

[skins]

Re: Jamaicans abused at Barbados airport

<span style="font-weight: bold">Seems like the start of a dialog</span>



By Chris Gollop | Sun, March 27, 2011 - 12:03 AM
THERE IS NO TRUTH to a report by a Jamaican woman who claimed she was finger-searched before being denied entry into Barbados last week.

Government is however planning a high-level meeting with the Jamaican High Commissioner to Trinidad to try to prevent any major fallout between the two countries as a result of the media hype surrounding the incident.

At a Press conference yesterday, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Senator Maxine McClean made it “absolutely clear that a thorough investigation had been carried out by the Immigration and Customs departments into a report that had been carried in the Jamaican Press suggesting that Shanique Samantha Myrie had been finger-raped by Immigration officers after she arrived on Barbadian soil on March 14”.

The story made headlines in Jamaica, and McClean confirmed to reporters attending the briefing at Government Headquarters that Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ken Baugh had written to her seeking an urgent investigation into the matter.

After three days of investigations, however, McClean told reporters:“There is absolutely no truth to a story carried in a Jamaican newspaper on Thursday, March 24, that a female citizen of that country was body-searched by Immigration officers on arrival at the Grantley Adams International Airport.”

In a prepared statement, she added: “Chief Immigration Officer Ms Erine Griffith has refuted this allegation made in the Jamaica Observer. She has confirmed that her department and Customs ‘have carried out extensive investigations and the claims were baseless’.”

With regard to the correspondence between herself and her Jamaican counterpart over the past couple of days – parts of which she read to the media – she said Government had only yesterday received an official complaint.

She noted as well that the Jamaican authorities had said that since the report was carried in the Jamaican Press, the authorities in Kingston had reported more complaints – all of which Government would be prepared to investigate once requested by the Jamaican government.

In the interim, she has invited Trinidadian-based High Commissioner to Jamaica Sharon Saunders to a meeting to discuss the publicized incident, as well as the wider immigration issue between the two Caribbean nations.

As far as Immigration was concerned, she noted that of the more than 54 000 Jamaicans who flew into Barbados between January 2008 and the end of 2010, just over 900 had been refused entry.

Other statistics she shared showed that 25 Jamaicans had been deported from the island in 2010 and seven so far this year.

On this score, the immigration chief said that those denied entry did not meet certain criteria, while most of those deported had been involved in drug-related activity.

McClean pointed out that in Myrie’s case, eyebrows were raised after she first spoke of spending her planned two-week stay with a female friend and then changed that story to say it was a male friend with whom she intended to stay.

She said that both Immigration and police officers interviewed Myrie, but never once was she searched – only her baggage.

McClean said the other two people on the same flight as Myrie were interviewed at the same time “and were in a position to see exactly what occurred”.


LINK

[evanovitch]

Re: Jamaicans abused at Barbados airport

So di Jcan diplomat who bak up di story n oddas who seh dem go tru dem tings , will they also check n den seh is a lie.. now really wich smaddy a go admit to abusing dem position.. N mi a wait fi see if yaad blink

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: Jamaicans abused at Barbados airport

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">So di Jcan diplomat who bak up di story n oddas who seh dem go tru dem tings , will they also check n den seh is a lie.. now really wich smaddy a go admit to abusing dem position.. N mi a wait fi see if yaad blink </div></div>
well in this case the government won't blink.
The will be blind deaf And dumb.
Afterall the act Did nit happen This a citizen.
It happen to only a <span style="text-decoration: line-through"> slave </span> second class citizen.
And They are regurly treated in that way by all countries including the Jamaican police and immigration.

As long as it does not touch the black intellectual class.
I just enjoy enjoy hearing g the stories of such uccurrences with this lot.
They always behave as not That It shouldn't happen but 'that it shouldn't happen to people of their status'.
Oh well eventually the chickens will return to their roosts.

[evanovitch]

Re: Jamaicans abused at Barbados airport

u n JC a di said smaddy dont

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: Jamaicans abused at Barbados airport

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">u n JC a di said smaddy dont </div></div>

If you say so ....

[j-kid]

Re: Jamaicans abused at Barbados airport

Mi noh tink soh. Unless dem ah mirror images inna parallel universe.

[Leddih]

Re: Finger-raped in Barbados..

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: remo</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Yuh mean seh Jamaican women leave Jamaica an go barbados guh look man?
dem mussi reel hard up </div></div>

[Stormmey]

Re: OUTRAGE! - Finger-rape of J'can woman in Barbados

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RichD</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: barosa</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Somehow, I know that our late leader Michael, with all his negatives would have the &quot;balls&quot; not to put up with this kind of &quot;Dis-respect&quot; from some of these &quot;small island&quot; States...



</div></div> yes they should show us the same respect we show them.... </div></div>

Richawdddd

[evanovitch]

Jamaican delegation to head to Barbados this week

Jamaican delegation to head to Barbados this week
2011-03-29 09:26:05 |


The Foreign Affairs ministry says a high level delegation is to travel to Barbados this week to have discussions with officials in that country regarding allegations of abuse of a Jamaican at an airport there.

There has been much public outcry since Shanique Myrie, reported that on a visit to Barbados on March 14 she was subjected to two demeaning cavity searches by a female immigration officer and was detained for hours for interrogation.

She also said the immigration officer made several derogatory remarks about Jamaicans.

The Ministry says it has sought to address her case through diplomatic channels but has received no response to a diplomatic note faxed on March 25.

However, it says Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Ken Baugh, received an email from his Barbadian colleague outlining the text of a press release from the Barbados Government Information Service on March 26.

The report has refuted Myrie’s claim of abuse.

The Foreign affairs minister also received information showing that for the three-year period from 2008 to 2010 about 851 of the more than 51,000 Jamaicans who sought to enter Barbados were denied entry.

The Ministry says that the team being sent to Barbados is expected to have free and frank discussions on Myrie’s case and the wider issue of the treatment of Jamaicans by Border Services Officials in Barbados.

The delegation will include Jamaica’s High Commissioner in Trinidad and Tobago, Sharon Saunders, and officials from the Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency.

debbie-ann [email protected]

[evanovitch]

Barbados' Maxine McClean takes on Jamaican media

Barbados' Maxine McClean takes on Jamaican media
2011-03-31


Maxine McCleanBarbados Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxine McClean said it was the Jamaican media – not the Barbados Government – that publicised Shanique Myrie’s allegations of a body search, a Barbadian newspaper, Nation News, reported.

In the online report McClean said she responded via a Press conference last Saturday, because the Jamaican media never allowed investigation of the alleged incident to take due process.

McClean responded to criticism from Opposition parliamentarian, Mia Mottley, who said that by hosting the press conference, the Barbadian Government had allowed the public to become involved in a matter that was now being driven by emotions instead of facts.

According to McCLean, the media in Jamaica did not give the Barbadian officials at the airport a chance to respond before publicising Myrie’s story.

Both McClean and Mottley were addressing discussions on the Starcom call-in programme, Down To Brass Tacks, during which the Jamaican woman’s allegations against Barbadian airport officials had been highlighted.

“I never received any calls before they carried the story and furthermore I am not responsible for Immigration so I would not have been the first person to call.

“Let me also state that I have cellular phones with all the latest technology to see whether people call and I have no evidence in my house or at work that they called me prior to Thursday,&quot; McClean said.

“If you read the stories carried, certainly the one coming out of Jamaica, it didn’t speak of allegations, it read as if this thing had happened, and that is where I think the media has a major responsibility to ensure that by its statements and actions a situation is not created which can lead to dire consequences before we even get to understand what the facts are,” the minister explained.

[andronian2]

Re: Jamaicans abused at Barbados airport

I don't have a problem with barbados acting in their own interest.
We just need to level the playing field in our dealings with them by re-evaluating this CARICOM business.
We can have special diplomatic relations but deep integration is a very bad idea.

[neutral]

Re: Jamaicans abused at Barbados airport

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: andronian2</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I don't have a problem with barbados acting in their own interest.
We just need to level the playing field in our dealings with them by re-evaluating this CARICOM business.
We can have special diplomatic relations but deep integration is a very bad idea.

</div></div>


I wonder how they would react if jamaica finger raped a couple of their nationals.....using a finger of banana.

[CyberPhobic]

Re: Jamaicans abused at Barbados airport

IGNORING the gathering storm of accusations about their poor treatment of visitors, Barbadian authorities have again allegedly beaten and kicked three more Jamaicans out of that eastern Caribbean island.

<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #CC0000">The three, Andre Davis, Jermaine Blake and Chevine Edwards — partners in the artiste management and music production company, Dajavu Records — said they were physically abused and threatened by Barbadian police and humiliated by that country's immigration officers after being denied entry</span>. </span>

<span style="font-weight: bold">Edwards told the Observer yesterday that the trio arrived in Bridgetown on Sunday, March 20, 2011 on Caribbean Airlines flight BW55 minutes after 9:00 pm. He said they were removed from the immigration line and their passports and cellular phones were confiscated. They were interviewed individually and proved that they had met all the requirements, in terms of accommodation, business contact, cash and length of stay limits, said Edwards.

&quot;There was a cop who asked us if is we supply Buju Banton with coke. He also asked us if we didn't bring any Bob Marley. I asked what he was talking about as I thought he meant a CD (compact disc), but he said he was talking about ganja. And he asked us if we used drug money to fund our label,&quot; he said. </span>


And the Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association of Jamaica yesterday added its voice to the howls of condemnation of the alleged acts of discrimination against Jamaicans by Barbados.

In a release to the media, the association said its members faced less than acceptable treatment from Barbadian customs officials when they visited that country for a meeting of the Caribbean Customs Brokers Association in 2009.

The association complained that customs officers rummaged through the luggage of a female member of the delegation unnecessarily, and complained that staff at the hotel where the event was being held were less than satisfactory and ended in them complaining to the hotel's management.

&quot;A female member of our executive has also complained about the naughty and condescending behaviour of customs and immigration officials, to which she was subjected on a business visit to Barbados. The complaints by Jamaican nationals are not new and the apparent escalation demands action from the Jamaican Government to protect our nationals from the reported snobbishness and rudeness from our supposedly Caricom (Caribbean Community) neighbours, despite the expected denials,&quot; the release said.





The claim of abuse by the music producers comes just days after Shanique Myrie, a Jamaican national, accused Barbadian officials of finger-raping her twice, spewing venom about Jamaicans and forcing her to endure humiliation. Myrie, along with another Jamaican national Rickrisha Rowe, were also locked up in a cold room before being booted out of the country on the next available flight.

Myrie has since employed the services of attorney Anthony Hylton who expressed confidence that he would secure justice for his client.

&quot;We will prevail, our options are open. We haven't decided on anything yet, but to bring justice to our client,&quot; Hylton told the Observer.

Recounting the ordeal experienced by the trio, Edwards said they had gone to the eastern Caribbean island to promote Defranco, a fledging entertainer, and to seal a booking date for reggae artiste Junior Reid, who was negotiating to perform at the upcoming Reggae on the Hill concert to be held in that Caribbean island.

But Edwards said their plans to promote Jamaica's popular culture were dashed by the callous treatment meted out to them by the Barbadians.

He said after sitting in the waiting area for some time, their luggage was brought to them by customs officials who searched and found only promotional CDs.

&quot;They said they didn't want our music in their country as they already have their own music,&quot; Edwards added.

Some time later, he said, an immigration officer approached them with their passports and informed them that they were denied entry. He also claimed that their request for a telephone call was rejected and they were ordered into a small room by police officers, who had removed their identification cards.

One of the police officers, said Edwards, reached for his baton and slammed Blake into the wall, while another cop punched Davis &quot;and threatened us with physical violence if we did not go into a cell. Blake was sitting on the ground and a cop grabbed him and punched and kicked him,&quot; Edwards said.

The men were then placed into what they describe as filthy cells without an explanation as to why they were being treated like criminals.

Edwards said their ordeal did not end there as about six police officers returned and demanded that Davis, who had taken a picture of an offending immigration officer, delete the image or suffer further physical abuse and destruction of his camera.

He described the room in which he was placed as uninhabitable.

&quot;The place was rank with urine and faeces, a bathroom in there was nasty and insects were crawling all over. You could see where people used the bathroom and stuck toilet paper on the walls and ceiling. It was a very horrible experience,&quot; he said.




In addition, Edwards alleged that the Barbadian authorities deliberately lowered the temperature on the air conditioning unit that serviced the small room.

&quot;We were locked up for about 12 hours in freezing cold. We got no food, no water and nobody came to check on us,&quot; said Edwards who, along with his colleagues, was sent home the next morning.

According to Davis, he felt humiliated and dehumanised by the experience.

<span style="font-weight: bold">&quot;We spent over US$5,000 to go to jail (Barbados). </span>Up to now they have not given us a reason why we were denied entry,&quot; said Davis, who complained that they were only given back their belongings as they were about to board an aircraft.

The men have since filed a formal complaint with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and have secured the services of attorneys Santia Bradshaw, who is based in Barbados and Jamaican attorney Aloun Assamba, former tourism minister.

The Jamaican Government is currently pursuing talks with Barbados aimed at finding a solution to the issue which has strained relations between Kingston and Bridgetown.

Yesterday, Barbadian Opposition leader, Mia Mottley, chided her countrymen for &quot;burying their heads in the sand&quot;.

&quot;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.

&quot;I do not have all of the facts, but if this is the perception of us, we need to deal with it. If not, our social and economic well-being as a people will be affected, as we warned when government's immigration policy was introduced two years ago. If we are being wrongly accused in the region, then we must correct that perception,&quot; Mottley said in a statement to the media.