The saga of alleged mistreatment of Jamaicans by Trinidadian Immigration officials continued when a group of UWI educators alleged they believe they were singled out for special scrutiny. This allegedly happened when they entered Trinidad and Tobago. The lecturers said they went to the twin-Island Republic to attend a conference at the University’s St Agustine Campus.Dr Peta-Anne Baker, says members of her group were targeted for more security checks as they went through customs. Baker says while they were not mistreated by the customs officials, it was obvious that Jamaicans are being specifically targeted when they seek to enter Trinidad and Tobago. http://jamaica-gleaner.com/latest/article.php?id=50527.
So at it’s worst, the bags belonging to Jamaicans were scanned and not that of others. At best Jamaicans travelling to another country had their bags scanned. Are you kidding me right now, that’s harassment? Jamaican Custom and Police Officials are not trusted because of their propensity to accept bribes, why would the belongings of Jamaicans not be subject to special scrutiny? Or do these (tapanaris) expect that because they are above Jamaican laws and above being spoken to by Jamaican law enforcement officials, that it carries over to Caricom?
Get over yourselves , if you do not want your bags scanned ‚do not travel to other people’s country. People are drawing the line on criminality, they are protecting their borders, if Jamaicans expect to travel without being subject to scrutiny, then they should stop exporting their crimes to other countries and simultaneously attack crime at home. As I said in a earlier post, it does not matter that Trinidad and Tobago has high crime numbers. At least they have shown that they recognize it, and are taking steps to protect their people. Maybe those (tapanaris)[sic] will now use their power and influence to lobby for an aggressive stance against crime back home. If the past is a barometer of what to expect, I certainly will not hold my breath.