RBSC

**Exile** · December 8, 2013, 09:18 PM

and in other letters (blog):

jamrock • 4 days ago

Each nation needs to stick by its immigration policies and not be bullied by other countries into accepting persons who are undesirable or a charge to the public purse.The ccj needs to review its rulings
- Must your immigration policies include being 'hognorant'. Policies cannot be implemented in a humane way. Yuh hah tuh bawl up and get on with people as if you somehow are more human than them? You cyah cut down a person with a smile? Disappoint them with honey dripping words? Yes you can!!!!
  - Immigration officers are the first people visitors encounter when they enter a foreign country. Unfortunately, in many countries, including Trinidad, this is not the most pleasant experience one has as a visitor. Some of these immigration officers in Trinidad are `hoggish` even to returning residents. If as a returning resident and citizen, you get an `unwelcoming` attitude from your immigration department, what can a visitor expect?
    I don't think the immigration policy has to change. However, the attitude of immigration officers in how they implement these policies has to change.
    This is not only a problem with immigration officers alone. That nasty attitude can also be seen in our police officers. Time to stop hiring people for those jobs who can only be described as being big, bad and angry. This country can do better with its hiring. Select people that are better suited for the jobs.
    - iisdebabyfadda Rick • 2 days ago
      
      Agreed, but the hiring of the people isn't the problem. It is in the training, and lack of continuous training where we fall down. It is not sufficiently impressed on these critical officials the importance of being nice, especially as you rightly pointed out, they are the first people visitors encounter.
Enos Anderson • 2 days ago

There are many Trinidadians working in Jamaica and operating businesses and they are treated with dignity and respect when they enter Jamaica; all the Jamaicans are asking is that the courteous treatment be reciprocated at Piarco.
- twoleft Enos Anderson • a day ago
  
  There is something about this subject that is very touchy. Especially when a Trinidadian agrees with a Jamaican that our Immigration Officers at Piarco are hogish, hostile, recalcitrant, and plain idiots.
  The comment does not last on this forum.
  - Fyzabad Zandolee twoleft • a day ago
    
    In 2002, we had reasons to visit the immigration offices in San Fernando, on several occasions. On almost every occasion, we dealt with pleasant officers who were courteous and kind and we got the feeling that they were trying their utmost best to make my wife and I feel at ease. These officers were Afro, Indo and as we say in T&T Spanish. The only unpleasant experience we had was an Afro female who reprimanded me me for wearing almost knee length white squash shorts while the wall on the main waiting room area sported a calendar with a bikini clad caucasian female, and others in the waiting area had 3/4 pants falling off their butt. YIKES.
    I guess what I am saying, and what I think I hear others saying is that an immigration policy must include some form on ongoing attitude and personality training, for officers who are on the front lines, and who are the first individuals that a traveller will encounter entering T&T.
    When entering the US, residents and citizens will at some point in their first contact with immigration officers, hear the words, "welcome home". It is a warm feeling and does not cost a thing.
- twoleft Enos Anderson • 2 days ago
  
  I fully sympathize with your position.
  At Piarco, we have some real "lower cavity orifices" masquerading as Immigration Officers. Some of them behave as if they smile, their face will crack up.
  They need to be potty retrained, because they are "excrementally bloated".
  PS: Excrementally is not a word.
  - Fyzabad Zandolee twoleft • a day ago
    
    It is a word now.
twoleft • 2 days ago

In the ‘70s, during the period of the oil boom, thousands of construction workers left Grenada and St Vincent to seek their fortunes in T&T and to contribute to building the country.
Up to now, most of this country’s carpenters, masons and builders are either from those islands or are the descendants of the original migrants. And it is true to state that the oil boom of the ‘70s would not have been possible without the construction workers from Grenada and St Vincent.
I hope that you have better luck than me trying to tell the illiterates that.
They does say that Eric bring them in to get more PNM votes.

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- Fyzabad Zandolee twoleft • 2 days ago
  
  Two left, I agree that the Grenadians and Vincentians were needed at the time they migrated to T&T. Whether the PNM benefited or not, is another story of ancient times, and it is best left there as we move on. It serves no constructive purpose re-hashing those times or those issues.
  Now times have changed and the type of migrants and migrant workers have also changed. What we need now are economic and professional migrants who are capable of starting new businesses and thereby creating new jobs or filling technically skilled jobs to facilitate economic growth. To accomplish this, Trinidad must have it's own immigration policies which reflect it's need of the present day. To fill temporary voids, perhaps "guest worker permits" might be one solution, as practiced by Canada and the US involving Caribbean nationals.
  Other countries like Switzerland practice a more severe approach in never allowing anyone of non-swiss nationality to ever achieve citizenship. They allow residence to foreigners as long as they are employed or have financial means. As soon as they become dependent on the state, they must leave. As I said before it is severe, but it does happen. Having said all that, it boils down to a Trinidad immigration policy that benefits Trinidad, regardless of whether the foreigners are from Grenada, St. Vincent, Jamaica, India or China. It should be transparent and make no difference from whence the migrant originates.
  On a more positive note, did y'all see the double century by our man Bravo? SIMPLY ASTOUNDINGLY MAGNIFICENT.
  - twoleft Fyzabad Zandolee • 2 days ago
    
    It serves no constructive purpose re-hashing those times or those issues.
    Tell that to Penal Prince, or the next parochial idiot that comes on this forum and say that Eric Williams brought in the Grenadians and Vincentians to shore up the PNM voter base.
    Bet that you would not do that?
    - Fyzabad Zandolee twoleft • a day ago
      
      Why R U so angry and harsh twoleft? Lighten up a bit, will U. Oh yeah, don't make any bets U R not prepared to lose (that's a joke ok, so don't get your knickers in a twist).
      Right is right and wrong is wrong. Most of the Vincentians and Grenadians who migrated here, have either passed on, or are currently in their golden years. The descendants of those individuals, that were born in Trinidad, are just as much Trinidadians as the descendants of those who migrated from India, Pakistan, Africa and China etc. voluntarily or not. The proof of this is in the pudding as they say, they behave just as badly as the rest of us Trinidadians ( just joking, that's another of my feeble attempts at humor, I must be on a roll).
      
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ROGERr • a day ago

a)“”hogish, hostile, recalcitrant, and plain idiots”……….Well if you were to CHECK their employ you would see that they were hired decades before May 25, 2010 and it is the NORM, that behaviour for decades if you arein and out of TT to know.
b) The behaviour of trinis resident in US/Can in particular, on returning to TT is TOTALLY different to how they stand in line and wait their turn in the US/Can. Check for yourself how their attitude to staff when boarding their flights out of US/Can
destination TT.
b) While many of the “skilled” people came from Grenada, etc in the 1960s, today the 4 generations that emerged from these families were nurtured by the PNM in that PNM dependency syndrome, that PNM entitlement that this is PNM country and entitled to PNM freebies of free house, free rent, free utilities, free foodcards, free monthly stipend of $2,000…….and you expressed that Lochoos living for generations, did you not?? Check how many of them ever learnt that “skill” and employ in same today?
c) Well serve you right, Fyzie to distract the lovely lady officer displaying your well tanned, sculptured legs. Huh, regardless of how “exhaustipated”, everyone is, it would take an entire nation ‘attitude cleanup” to rid some of these issues and for those ‘abroad’ trinis, to leave your ‘better than us’ when you come down TT. Perhaps a 'national attitude cleanup" is required.

**Exile** · December 8, 2013, 09:26 PM

more discussions..interesting..

http://www4.guardian.co.tt/news/2013-12-05/out-place

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