Dear Editor,
I read with great interest the horrible and inhumane treatment meted out on a pregnant Guyanese woman by immigration authorities at the Grantley Adams Airport in Barbados recently (KN, September 8). This shocking incident came just two weeks before another Caribbean national, Jamaican Sonya King and her 14-month-old son were denied food and water and were denied entry.
These incidents occurred despite the Caribbean Court of Justice ruling in the famous Shanique Myrie case.
According to press reports King complained of being hungry and officers pointed her to the vending machine because the food court was closed. She complained that her baby had to endure hours in wet pampers. What is disturbing is that the Division of Defence and Security which is part of the Prime Minister’s Office cleared the officers of any wrongdoing.
This to my mind means that the Barbadian government condones harsh and unconscionable treatment by its officers and this is maybe the reason why the officers were so harsh on pregnant Annecia Alfred who was forced to sit on a bench for 12 hours waiting to be deported to Guyana.
It seems therefore that Barbados, an original member of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) has no regard for the Treaty of Chaguaramas which refers to the free movement of members of the community as well as the CCJ which emphasized the importance of freedom of movement of nationals within Caricom.
In the circumstances I feel that Caricom Secretary General and the Chairman of Caricom should contact the Barbados Government and try to remedy the situation. A few other countries, Antigua and Barbuda and Trinidad and Tobago are also hostile to regional nationals, especially Jamaicans and Guyanese.
Yours faithfully,
Oscar Ramjeet
