‘That is exactly how many Guyanese feel when going through the T&T airport—sub-human, degraded and embarrassed. How much longer will this be allowed?’
In August 2010, I was going through Customs in the Piarco International Airport in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago as I switched from an American Airlines flight to a Caribbean Airlines flight to continue on to Guyana. As I stood in line with my husband, I watched as a customs officer verbally insulted some young ladies from Guyana, yelling at them and treating them like they were animals.
He then worked his way over to the customs officer who was checking our documentation and, with a look of disgust, said, “Guyanese!” He spat it more than said it. I was furious.
From that point on, I have never flown through T&T again. The extremely poor customer service by Caribbean Airlines compounded this unpleasantness and made my decision all the easier. Since that time, I have always flown Delta direct from JKF Airport in New York into Guyana. Why would I fly through a country that treats Guyanese with such hostility?
I have heard and read of other horror stories from Guyanese about such treatment in T&T, confirming that what I saw with my own eyes was not a one-time incident of a customs officer who might have been having a bad day. However, a story I was made aware of this week is even more shocking.
Three women, a mother and her two daughters, were traveling from the U.S. to T&T on June 20 when there was a confrontation with yet another rude customs officer, who insinuated that these women must be illiterate, after they asked for guidance to
