I am a proud Jamaican and have always admired Barbados for it’s economic and social achievements. However, this alleged act, if true is outrageous and the ‘response’ of the Barbadian government is not acceptable. The fact that the persons who are being accused of misbehavior did not keep a record of their criminal actions cannot be accepted as evidence that the alleged acts did not happen, by any reasonable person.

I will be the first to admit that some Jamaicans act disgracefully while overseas, but that is no excuse for this humiliating treatment of this Jamaican woman by a fraternal CARICOM country.

The Jamaican Government needs to forcefully press for a complete investigation and response by the Barbadian government and not just try to avoid ruffling feathers and hope for this issue to go away in typical 9 day wonder fashion. The Barbadian Government needs to take this seriously and the off-handed manner in which this has been dealt with so far is not acceptable.

Government officials need to be careful of their responses in such situations.  While their may have been no forthcoming evidence it does not mean that the young lady’s allegation is untrue and that she never suffered at the hands of a sex craved and overly reactive customs officer.  in these professions, we are taught never to give any statement against our collegues and i strongly suspect that such is the case.

Madam Minister, you need to be careful of the manner in which you treat the victim’s claim.  You should not have rushed a press conference negating the lady’s claim at such an early hour.  Your words should have been guided along the lines, that investigations are underway and have thus far shown no evidence thereof.  What can you uncover in three days anyway.  will the culprit walk up to you and say, “Yes…. it was me.. i did it”???

Thanks for solidifying my decision as a Jamaican woman to cancel my trip to Crop over this year.

So what’s the deal?? It happened or not??? Come on!!!! This is a serious charge, Ms Jamaica….

First of all lets stop using the inflammatory term “finger-rape” to describe this event. The woman said she “felt like” that what was done to her. Secondly, I am curious to know who was interviewed or questioned, and what was the scope of the investigations. It is a serious enough allegation to warrant more than just a categorical denial by the Barbados government. There was at least 1 other detainee who corroberated the overnight detention part of Ms. Myrie’s story. Was she questioned also?

I do not know how Ms. Myrie is going to prove this incident happened, but the immigration officials should be better able to prove that this did not happen with more than just words.

I am totally disgusted by this behaviour by the Barbadian Authority/people, in fact, for all the other Caribbean Countries who continue to treat Jamaicans in this despicable manner.
When did Jamaica come to this!  An Island that was once the envy of all other Caribbean Islands, where the phrase “One from ten, equals zero” to an Island where these small demeanour dots think they can treat us this way!
This is a true test for this otherwise non performing Government, to put their feet down and make an example of this unfortunate situation and stand up for this young lady and the Jamaican people as a whole.
I for one, will certainly let my feelings known where ever I see these Barbarian people and others, including Trinidad and Tobago, Turks & Caicos, Bermuda and Bahamas, just to name a few.  I will no longer purchase anything from these Islands or support them in anyway.  You are all acting like the typical Africans we are, always fighting against each other like ‘Crab in a Barrel’.
At first, I was for this CSME, but now..to hell with that!!!
We need a Government to stand up for our people, if they can’t, let someone else run this beautiful Country I proudly call Home…Jamaica land we love.

Jamaica should immediately break diplomatic relations with this government of Barbados.

it happened; and it happens all over the world. heck it happened to me as well when i landed in jamaica!

This is not good enough! This is not a totally illiterate public! What are the conditions to warrant and what procedures are followed for cavity searches! That is a serious procedure and I hope it cannot be left to the whim of one person in private. In USA,UK or other developed country a person is given a document with information of police and/or immigration officers who searched you and procedure for reporting complaints.

That immigration officers finger will have triggered the most expensive economic loss that Barbados has seen in a long time!

Given the extremely high professional and ethical standards of our immigration personnel we all know that it is very remote and unlikely but I wonder if there was a so called “finger rape”, would our immigration and government leaders have admitted it and apologised? Nigel D.

Yesterday morning I posted some comments in relation to this issue.  In the afternoon when I did not see my comments appearing on the blog, I sent an email to Ms. Griffith. 

Needless to say, I have neither seen my comment appearing on this matter, nor had a response from Ms. Griffith acknowledging my email.  Were my comments censored?

This is not, or should not be, a Barbados vs. Jamaica issue, or vice versa.

It is a matter of human decency.

The good and decent people of Barbados should be just as upset as the Jamaican people are, if not more so, because the good name of Barbados has been damaged by this incident.

It is natural for the minister to come out in support of those in her charge.  The minister’s public rebuff of Ms. Myrie’s allegations can only prejudice the Barbados Government’s case, assuming that there is a court case involving this matter.  Further, it would be foolish for Ms. Myrie to manufacture such a story which would subject her to public ridicule and further embarrassment.

So, I am not in doubt that the alleged incident took place.  The fact is, the kind of welcome (or lack thereof) most Guyanese and Jamaicans are subjected to at Grantley Adams International Airport leaves a lot to be desired and begs a lot of question about the seriousness of the talk of Caribbean integration.  (Let’s not talk about the certain closure of the “Nothing-To-Declare” line, which is conveniently open when American Airlines, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic arrive).

I remember in the old terminal building, there was a bench in the arrivals hall my friends and I would refer to as the “Guyanese” bench.  Let us not forget that following several complaints from his fellow citizens President Jagdeo “tested” the situation at GAIA himself using a regular—not his diplomatic passport—to enter the country and was subjected to the same kind of inhuman treatment that is reserved for Guyanese on arrival in Barbados.

What makes Ms. Myrie’s account of the alleged incident even more credible is the similarity in the modus operandi of the Immigration and/or Customs Department(s) in previous cases.  Now, other Jamaicans who have had to endure and suffer through such indignation are coming forward to report their stories—not dissimilar from Ms. Myrie.

It is time that the region gets serious about this talk about “free movement” of people and the “oneness” of which politicians usually boast…..it is a figment of their imagination. For, although we are free to move about, some are clearly not “free” to enter!

Jamaica needs to get out of Caricom.

By denying the allegations, it does put her (Minister McLean) in a position similar to that of Pharaoh in time of Moses.  Even in the face of truth, she will continue to deny until the evidence exposes her.  The right thing to do is to investigate before you deny.  Denying by words only without proper third party investigation only make the Minister and Barbados look bad if the evidence reveals otherwise.  Even if it turns out the allegations are correct, her rash denial is too obvious for us to see.

Before this becomes and international flap let us have a full and open inquiry conducted by individuals from a third party nation. A lie detector test should be given to both sides. I do not see any other route to the truth. The results of this inquiry should include not only the necessary charges to the perpetrators of untruths, but a solid set of guidelines on the way body searches should be conducted. For example, no civilised country should allow non-medical personnel to conduct body searches. A work order signed by 2 senior managers should be passed to a nurse who will conduct the examination in a clean room with a witness present. In the interim let us all cool our heels and wait for a complete investigation before we start jumping at each others’ throats.

People, let us tone down the rhetoric , and have an serious investigation on this matter. First the alleged victim said that she felt like if it were finger rape. This is no laughing matter, onor is it to be used as political fodder.
This is a serious accusation on our customs and government authorities. Ms. McClean has got to do this right, for it has seriously affected our regional and international relations. I want to know, if the Minister of Foreign Affairs, had all the facts before she made such a statement?  Based on what has been happening subsequently, i guess not. Then it is very premature for the Minister to make such a statement, without knowing all the facts. If such is the case,

@ Peter Lane: What part of the statement that it is “absolutely clear that a thorough investigation had been carried out by the Immigration and Customs departments” would lead you to indicate that Senator Maxwell denied the allegations without an investigation?  A significant part of the problem here is the misinformation and unnecessary rhetoric associated with this story.