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Trinidad Slams Door Shut on Trinis Stranded in Barbados

It has been reported the Trinidad and Tobago government through National Security Minister, Stuart Young has again refused to receive 33 CITIZENS stranded in Barbados since the week of March 23, 2020 back into the country. The Barbados government attempted to piggyback on an arrangement with the European Union who sent a plane this week…

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It has been reported the Trinidad and Tobago government through National Security Minister, Stuart Young has again refused to receive 33 CITIZENS stranded in Barbados since the week of March 23, 2020 back into the country.

The Barbados government attempted to piggyback on an arrangement with the European Union who sent a plane this week to collect Europeans stranded in the Caribbean. Barbados was the hub for the operation with the plane scheduled to pickup passengers in Tobago. It was an opportunity for the 33 stranded Trinidadians to bum a ride to Tobago which is a hop skip and a jump from Trinidad.

We are the only nationals in the world who are denied entry into our country. He said his countrymen who were mainly people over 65 all broke down in tears –Nationnews.com

What is the reason for the Trinidad government exercising this level of intransigence towards its citizens? There is no logical explanation if the consideration was taken that the stranded Trinidadians have been in quarantine in Barbados since April 8, 2020. It also puzzles why the Trinidad government would have sent COVID 19 test kits to Barbados this week costing USD2500.00 after the group was quarantined with the expectation existing protocol in Trinidad requires the group enter quarantine again IF they eventually are allowed to return to the land of birth. All rather strange.

The blogmaster is of the view the Rowley government is ‘pissed’ at the group for engaging in non essential travel. Rowley should expect to see this issue when he checks the rear view mirror come general election time.

The Trinidad government owns a regional airline for crissakes.

 

 

 

173 responses to “Trinidad Slams Door Shut on Trinis Stranded in Barbados”

  1. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    HantsApril 11, 2020 6:37 PM

    ” The public health laboratory has carried out 747 tests to date.” 68 tested positive for Covid 19.

    9% of people tested are positive. That seems high to me but I am just a layman.

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Frankly Hants, I had less trouble teaching 4 yr old children to add than I have had trying to explain this simple matter to you.

    Let me try to make it simple.

    The authorities are testing ONLY those people who appear to have symptoms of corona virus. So straight away one would expect a significant proportion of positive test results. Then they track down those persons who HAVE COME INTO CONTACT WITH THOSE WHO HAVE TESTED POSITIVE. One would also expect there to be a significant proportion of positive test results.

    The authorities are not randomly choosing people from the population and so this is NOT A REPRESENTATION OF THE ENTIRE POPULATION.

    They chose 747 people who appeared to have the disease and those to whom they may have passed it.

    So… you are not just a layman but one who is stubbornly refusing to think. This is not rocket science.

    Quite frankly, I was expecting more cases by now. These numbers are quite low which is why people like WURA are suspicious of them.

    But I would venture to say that the authorities are quite encouraged by the figures and that is why, though they have extended the curfew, they are relaxing the conditions.

    Up unto this point I still don’t know anybody who has the virus or anybody who knows somebody who has the virus. I know somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody who he says died of the virus but I think he may have been mistaken because she has not been recorded as such. This thing has not spread far and wide as yet.

  2. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    Sometimes I think some people just love to worry. I am happy to say I am no longer one of them.

  3. David Avatar
    David

    Donna

    Given the date planes stopped flying into Barbados people with the virus should be getting sick by now except for the carriers?

  4. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    With u David any one that criticize govt needs to hush
    I will criticize govt when they do foolishness
    A judgement call based on humanitarian is giving govt grip
    U are the one need to hush
    Apparently your vision became blurred since May 2018 so blurred that u can barely see the forest for trees

  5. David Avatar
    David

    Anyone can criticize.

    Some are trying to drill into your weave covered head to at least be rational with your positions. Anyone can open their mouths or write airy fairy positions. This is something you will never understand. Many of your positions are dishonest and you would have people believe you are Christian.

  6. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Because you do not support what i say doesn’t mean my position are founded on lies
    Time and time again i have stated that my opinions are placed under a lens of observation by which i state my views
    Therefore you are in no position to tell me how i viewed things
    Your positions are founded on politics where you have a onesided view to support
    I would not dare to attempt to call your position lies because u see your points in a different way of thinking
    However i would challenge what you say with an intent to prove u wrong
    My saying that barbados has no right caught up in a Trinidadian problem does not take away govt having their right to use a policy of humanity
    Over and over again i have stated it was a good will gesture
    However the problem did not go away because of the goodwill now going forward
    other problems have been brought to light and presently it brings barbados at a new point of entry barbados has to deal with and one that i will find criticisms
    Those criticisms now will deal with the problem in its currant stage

  7. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    David,

    One would think so, David. More than likely.

    Hants,

    i haven’t been to bed yet and so it’s hard to come up with an analogy for you but the best I can do is this.

    The testing for corona virus being carried out by our authorities is similar to testing for criminality at a prison. The LOW nine % positive result may simply be because some suspected cases had a bad cold or the flu rather than corona virus and some of the contacts of those testing positive managed to avoid being infected.

  8. David Avatar
    David

    @enuff
    You got your wish. The matter is obviously above the pay grade of some commenting on this blog.

    THAT WAS THE EXPRESS HEADLINE — that RACE accusation came from desperate Trinis in Barbados, not the EXPRESS! So, is it the MEDIA cannot report on RACE? Did not the PM recently also mentioned “race” recently? Also “race-baiting” etc; surely, we have not reached the stage that some can report on or mention “RACE” and some cannot?

    PM: It was causing racial strife

    PM: Penal/Debe, Greenvale comparisons ‘race-baiting’

    Here is a prediction: the failure of the Government to bring home Trinis stranded in Barbados, Margarita, Suriname will be one of the most damaging issues in the next GE. Some people in high places – here and from those countries – may actually appear in a court.
    BTW, there seems to be a concerted attempt to attack the EXPRESS and other independent media on FB where people are blaming the EXPRESS for publishing credible and important news stories! Go to some of these recent EXPRESS posts and see for yourselves! Also, it appears as if a few pro-Govt FB groups seem to be delaying, or not approving, or even deleting any post or comment that is not in favor of the government or the party they favor. And, also on FB there seems to be another project to accuse anyone who criticises the government as not cooperating and not uniting etc! Doh talk about anything unfavorable about the Govt because that is not good for the nayshun! A Government or any political party that is afraid of the media and the truth is doomed to fail. A kind of Communist dictatorial thing!
    Is the GOVT now trying PROJECTION & DEFLECTION tactics on the media? LOL….haha …maybe their PR AND ELECTION CONSULTANTS advised them to do this but it will backfire on them! Lots of mention of RACE recently to blame others for problems. But, very few seem to be taking that bait since it is like “been there, done that” and there is the far more important issues of LIFE & DEATH, HUNGER, UNEMPLOYMENT, etc facing the 99% who will judge the Government on those important issues that race-baiting, intimidation, and tried & failed psychological strategies. Let us see how the population will react to the PNM in the 2020 GE Campaign blaming Kamla, media, and everyone else as they tell us what they did for 5 years and will they continue to blame the usual suspects if they are elected! STAY STRONG, MEDIA! Judiciary, Office of the President, and many independent institutions have already collapsed or in a state of inexorable decline to the MEDIA must not buckle under attacks and accusations.
    “I am with the EXPRESS and all other media – FREEDOM OF SPEECH WITHOUT INTIMIDATION AND BLAMING THE MEDIA for problems in this society. Has MATT responded to the Minister’s accusation? “
    “However, when no less a personage than the Minister of National Security goes on live national television to accuse this newspaper of promoting the “ugly matter” of race and to charge us with an editorial suggestion that he “personally would tell a lie to the population of Trinidad and Tobago” as to whether the Government provided COVID-19 test kits to Barbados, then we feel obliged to set the record straight.
    The latter charge is easily dismissed by reference to the published record which, as the following offending paragraph would show, merely pointed to the need to resolve conflicting claims surrounding the kits sent to Barbados: “According to Barbados’ COVID-19 czar, Richard Carter, all 33 were cleared and released from quarantine on Monday and that if T&T authorities insist on them all being tested negative as a condition for being accepted back home, they would have to supply testing kits.
    “Yesterday, a spokesman for the Barbados 33 said they were being told that T&T had sent no testing kits to Barbados and that they were confused about their situation. In contrast to that, sources at the Ministry of National Security here are insisting that testing kits were sent to Barbados two weeks ago. Both positions cannot be right, unless the kits sent to Barbados are the incomplete ones gifted to T&T by China which cannot be used without parts.”
    Not to put too fine a point on it, the editorial made no reference to Minister Young, but to “sources” at the ministry.
    More serious, however, is the minister’s accusation that the Express was guilty of promoting a conversation about race, an “ugly matter” which he denounced with great outrage.
    We assume Minister Young understands the difference between a news story and an opinion article. The story to which he referred was a news ­report on a matter of high public interest, in which the views of ­individuals at the centre of the issue were factually reported.
    Contrary to Minister Young’s statement, the publication of that story was an act of reporting, not promoting. We would hope that in condemning it as such, the minister was not suggesting that we should have ­censored these individuals who have been stuck in Barbados for three weeks after being denied permission to land in Trinidad.
    We certainly did not do that the day before, when the lead story of Thursday’s Express appeared under the headline “PM Blames Race”.
    That story reported the Prime Minister’s views on the public criticism of Minister Young’s controversial and since-rescinded contract award to four private security firms.
    In reporting the Prime Minister’s statement, does Minister Young also believe this newspaper was guilty of promoting race?
    We think not.”

    We reject these charges

    It’s all about race

    It’s all about race

    Minister Young’s troubling decision

    Minister Young’s troubling decision
  9. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    David
    This will not be a problem for PM Rowley. The people up in arms are mostly Indo-Trinis and do not support the PNM. There are thousands of Trinis of every hue stranded all over the world trying to get back. Rowley’s own daughter in NYC, the epicentre of the virus. We are dealing with newspapers/reporters bent on bringing down a government. Now tell me why in reporting on the press conference the key information given in response to the man’s claim was absent? You see how street vending was portrayed as an activity carried out only by Indo-Trinis? You see how they went after the CJ? You know the former AG and others have been hit with some serious criminal charges and their former cohort, now state witness, has already plead guilty and fined? You see these charges being made a big story? Forget sub judice. Do some digging on Anna Ramdass. Wunna know about reporters and govt houses under the last administration? Wunna read about the radio host that recently posted a picture of a 7yr old blk girl inferring she was flirting with Rowley or the repeated portrayal of him as this threatening, uneducated (doan mind the PhD), big, black rapist? Or the Cambridge Analytica plot to trick Afro-Trinis into not voting? All yuh getting tie up yuh.

  10. David Avatar
    David

    @enuff

    Trinidad is not that far behind Guyana. The racial issues are nauseating.

  11. FrankTalk Avatar
    FrankTalk

    They are not “Stranded Trinis in Barbados; They are ABANDONED Trinis…their government abandoned them. Or even DUMPED them.

  12. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Now the Indo Trinis calling the govt of Trinidad racist
    Boy this getting to become a real comedy with players already put in place

  13. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    And this will.be a bone of contention keeping barbados on the back foot in a situation which was none of theirs to begin

    We have been requesting that our nationals be tested with the kits we provided from the first day that they began their quarantine in Barbados. We are protecting our nationals in Barbados from the possibility of contracting the virus, and we want them to be safe and to return to Trinidad safely.”

  14. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Trinidad are u listening
    This isnt barbados yuh dealing with

    The Trump administration in the United States is making it clear, it will use its power to issue travel visas to keep countries in line who refuse to accept or delay their acceptance of people the US deports, even as COVID-19 spreads rampantly within the US.

    The memorandum issued by the White House and signed by Trump, remains in effect until the end of the year. It stresses, the US will move swiftly to punish any country that is slow to accept deportees whom the US has deemed to have violated American laws.

    In the memo, which referenced his January 25, 2017 Executive Order, Trump said: “In recognising the public health risk, I noted that on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization announced that the COVID-19 (the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2) outbreak can be characterised as a pandemic. Countries that deny or unreasonably delay the acceptance of their citizens, subjects, nationals, or residents from the United States during the ongoing pandemic . . . create unacceptable public health risks for Americans. The United States must be able to effectuate the repatriation of foreign nationals who violate the laws of the United States.”

    As such, the US president warned that any government that “denies or unreasonably delays the acceptance of aliens who are citizens, subjects, nationals, or residents of that country after being asked to accept [them]” the US would “no later than seven days after receipt, adopt and initiate a plan to impose the visa sanctions”.

    The US said it would be prepared to immediately lift the visa sanctions once the country accepts the persons the United States wants to remove from its boundaries. (

  15. Robert Avatar
    Robert

    @ Mariposa

    You can’t compare people being DEPORTED after serving jail time for committing crimes in the US, with people being not being allowed to enter a county because of a pandemic.

    TWO DIFFERENT ISSUES

  16. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    The principal lies in making a statement to deter
    Yes u are correct but by the same token barbados had a similar case with Raul Garcia when Cuban govt refuse to take him back
    In any case Trump made it clear before hand not after he sent them and govts begin their game of using the virus to refuse them
    Good move on Trump part

  17. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    One can bet that if USA sent deportees to Trinidad they would open there borders tested or not tested for the virus

  18. David Avatar
    David

    https://www.instagram.com/tv/B_GcvqhgDwe/

  19. David Avatar
    David

    In a related matter:

    The Editor,

    Multi-ethnic music should be played on this national TV station

    Fazeer Mohammed plays calypso every single day for all the years that he has been a news anchor on his morning show on TV6. No problem, but why calypso only in this multi-ethnic society?

    Chutney, chutney soca and pichakaree are also indigenous to T&T. I do not know if to blame him or TV6 for this ethnic bias.

    TV6 has been dishing out a daily dose of Catholic prayers and sermons recently during prime time, but that may be paid religious programming.

    But why doesn’t TV6 advertise its affiliate TAJ 92.3 fm Indian-formatted music station, as CNC3 does for Sangeet 106.1 fm?

    Ramadan begins on Friday and Fazeer professes to be a devout Muslim. Would he play qawwali music on mornings for the month? He should, just as he should play bhajans for Divali and parang for Christmas.

    Recently, Fazeer has been providing a forum for extempo performers on the theme of COVID-19. Shouldn’t he also ask pichakaree singers to perform on his show.

    Here is an example in the link below.

    To Fazeer and TV6, remember that we live here together, and calypso and extempo are just two genres in our wide repertoire of local music.

    LINK: https://youtu.be/Tc5_6_Ja6PM

    Sincerely,

    Dr Kumar Mahabir,

    San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago.

  20. David Avatar
    David

    Stranded Trinidadians finally allowed into their country by the TT government yesterday 21/04/2020.

  21. de pedantic Dribbler Avatar
    de pedantic Dribbler

    @David, And best wishes to them…they sung beautifully the praises of their Bajan saviours.

    @Enuff, wrong is WRONG regardless of whether your party or another’s party does it…

    Rowley daughter’s case is a canard…it has nothing to do with this….Yes there are stranded citizens around the world trying to get back to their homes…but in NO instance have we heard ANYTHING like the TnT debacle…none.

    Any charters (and we can call that flight as such) which brought citizens to their country were allowed landing permission… flights are generally cancelled before departure when the home govt has a serious concern but if the citizens get to the homeland they are then tested and quarantined as needed…according to media reporting. (And here let’s be clear the originating point was Gatwick..the TnT govt needed to cancel THERE not at Grantey Adams.)

    What TnT did is still incomprehensible on practical grounds..and it gives ample room for all types of suspicions to grow. The fact that Bdos quarantined the Trinis safely makes the TnT decision even more confusing… why couldn’t they have done the same.

    If POTUS had done this we would race bait t, bait it as ignorant or otherwise label it as nonsensical …so we will give Dr. Rowley and Min Young a pass because it is an Indo-Trini plot and his daughter is stranded too.. How does that work!

  22. David Avatar
    David

    Taken from a Trini chat room the blogmaster is a member.

    “….But back to the mouthy minister. We don’t know how much of this rubberised sabre-rattling is Young’s own attempt to raise his profile in the Keith Rowley cabinet or whether his angst with Barbados is an appeal to the political base in an election year. We don’t have the answer but we find his handling of the matter offensive to the spirit and practical application of regional integration among two of CARICOM’s founding members.

    One must remind our Trinidadian friend, that when many in the region and around the world were closely monitoring the novel coronavirus’ rapid spread from Wuhan, China to parts of Europe and North America just two months ago, it was Trinidad and Tobago that went ahead with Carnival 2020, leaving its doors sprawling open to thousands to party with fun-loving folks. There was no social distancing, no quarantine, no temperature checks and no citizens were allowed to go and come – unless they had a rag, a flag or something liquid in their hands.

    The minister for national security seems to bring his youthful legal appetite for confrontation and challenge to his ministerial role. But he may want to do a little brushing up on his international relations first; history, too”
    https://barbadostoday.bb/2020/04/28/bteditorial-what-is-wrong-with-stuart-young/

  23. David Avatar
    David

    33 Trinis say thanks again

    TRINIDAD EXPRESS,

    Added 05 May 2020

    The Trinidad and Tobago nationals who were stranded in Barbados are finally leaving quarantine. (GP)

    PORT OF SPAIN – As they prepare to leave quarantine at the National Racquet Centre in Tacarigua step-down facility, 33 Trinidadians are sending their love to the people of Barbados.

    The group was taken in by the Barbados government on humanitarian grounds, after they were unable to arrive back to this country before the closure of its borders on March 22.

    They spent two weeks at the National Racket Centre. Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram says the group will be released today.

    They left Barbados on April 22. Prior to departure, members of the group spoke to Nation News about their stay here. (Trinidad Express)

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