A wave of empathy washed over Satiricus when he read about the Swami who was pulled out of the line in Piarco and harassed. It had happened so many times to him on his way to or through Trinidad. And it didn’t matter to anyone of his hasslers that he had his embossed card identifying him as a “media worker”.
In fact from some of the questions thrown at him by fellas who sounded barely literate, they appeared quite affronted that a Guyanese could claim to be a “journalist”. And thus it was Satiricus had learnt first hand about “profiling”– through the courtesy of the Trinidad and Tobago immigration service.
At first, Satriricus thought he was picked on because of his (habitual) goofy smile. So the next time round, he put on his most serious demeanour – the one his wife said made him look constipated. Didnt matter; same hassle. And ditto for the “tough guy” pose, the studious look (complete with fat book and all), the debonaire swagger, etc, etc.
Satiricus finally figured out that once you filled out “Guyanese” on the immigration question that asked “country of residence”, you were fair game for the Trinidadian immigration officers “sport for the day”. But Satiricus was stumped by the immigration officers question to the Swami, “Are you a Muslim?” Now, Satiricus had heard the Trinis had brought in some white people to run their police force. But had they done the same for immigration officers? Because the only reason Satiricus could figure out why a Trini couldnt tell a Swami from a Moulvi was if the “Trini” immigration officer wasnt a real Trini.
Satiricus knew that to the folks from further north, all the natives in the Caribbean looked alike. Clothes didnt matter: clothes might “maketh the man… but not the ‘native’.” This lumping of everyone into one undifferentiated mass used to infuriate the “high coloured” folks back in the old days.
They liked to think they were closer to the “ideal”. But luckily those days were gone, right? But on the importation of white folks, Satiricus figured since the Trinis were rolling in dough, and could import cane cutters from Guyana and voters from the small islands, hey, why not immigration officers from Canada or England? Satiricus had seen that the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) had slapped a hefty fine on the Bajans for profiling a Jamaican traveller at their airport – not to mention searching her body cavities. Satiricus has also been hassled at that island… even placed on the “Guyanese bench”. His back had killed him for weeks afterwards.
Satiricus feels the Swami should take his complaint to the CCJ, before the Trini Immigration officers become as inquisitive as their Bajan counterparts.