The much publicized Myrie Affair occurred in April this year. By all accounts Barbados came out of the affair with a bloody nose if we are to judge by the comments made by all and sundry. Despite the vitriol spouted from both sides Barbadians, Jamaicans and onlookers are none the wiser what actually happened to Shanique Myrie when she attempted to cross the border of Barbados. She alleges that she was inappropriately searched by local officials, a charge which was denied. In the absence of substantive evidence who does one believe?
What was evident from the episode is that the Jamaican media and political directorate were in cahoots to ensure Jamaican Myrie’s story was propagated and propagandized. To be expected we had the so-called regionalists like Peter Wickham, Rickey Singh, David Commissiong et al who abandoned the need to be patriotic and gleefully jumped across to the other side of the debate.
BU does not intend to paper over any indiscretions made by Barbadian agencies if any did occur at all in the Myrie incident. Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart’s offer for Myrie to return to Barbados to facilitate meaningful investigation remains unaccepted after several months. The haste with which Jamaicans and others across the region used the opportunity to exposed a latent dislike for Barbados cannot be ignored. Some in local media and elsewhere would want Barbadians to ignore the obvious and not rock the CSME boat. It always has to be Barbados to turn the other cheek!
The job description of Barbados’ border patrol lists the same as every other, to protect our society from harmful interdictions. The job has become even more challenging in the present environment of easy movement of people without the commensurate infrastructure to diligently monitor.
The arrest by Barbados authorities last week of several Jamaicans and a couple Bajans, forcibly brings home the present threat to our borders from drug mules among other scourges. For Barbados to allow others who cannot lead by example to emasculate our local agencies, who through the years have done a good enough job to ensure we enjoy a reputation as a stable environment, is simply wrong. When that witch-hunt is done on the basis of a flimsy premise, all the more reason to err on the right side; home drums must always beat first.
As the economic condition of many around the region in markets known for exporting drugs – Jamaica is at the top of the list – declines, the threat to our border will increase. There is ample evidence the quality of our police and other border agencies have been allowed to deteriorate by successive governments. Law and order is priority one of many priorities in a stable society. Barbadians must not yield to others who have failed to show how they can manage a stable society in the way Barbados has successfully done. The feistiness of the Jamaican drug mules to ply their trade post-Myrie Affair should demonstrate to the idealistically stricken, what Barbados is up against.
Forgotten in all of this is scarce tax dollars which have to be spent to house the mules at her majesty’s pleasure. Maybe we should consider deporting drug offenders and in those extreme cases impose Visa restrictions on countries which have shown an inability to curb the unlawful behaviour of their citizens.
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