Bridgetown to Port of Spain: Drop it

The Foreign ministry today shot back across the waters at CARICOM neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago, chiding Port of Spain’s public criticism of Barbados’ decision to provide safe haven for Trinidad and Tobago nationals.

Barbados has countered that far from attempting to breach Trinidadian national security, it has been seeking to provide humanitarian assistance to the group of elderly Trinidadians barred from returning home from holiday.

But in a separate development – and a twist of irony – 13 UWI students cut off from their Trinidadian homeland are to receive promised help after an appeal – through this newspaper – to Port of Spain.

And they hold out hope that their appeal to be allowed back home, too, will be answered.

The Foreign ministry’s statement is in response to a strongly worded letter to Foreign Minister Senator Jerome Walcott from his Trinidadian counterpart that was made public by its national security minister, Stuart Young

Young accused Barbados of using its own “good offices” to compromise border security by attempting to repatriate a group of globetrotting Trinidadian tourists, stranded here while they were making their way back home when their homeland closed it border in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But in pushing back against Trinidad’s complaints about the issue, the Foreign Ministry used the words of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley which said CARICOM unity on the fight against COVID-19 was the “antidote” to the pandemic.

Barbados, said the response, finds it “regrettable that almost exactly one week later, the Minister of National Security of Trinidad and Tobago, the Honourable Stuart R. Young, would issue a public statement making reference to countries which have failed to respect the border policy of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago; and which, in his words, have permitted their good offices to be used by persons who are intent on compromising Trinidad and Tobago’s current border measures”.             

The Foreign ministry statement said: “At last week’s Special Emergency Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government, the Honourable Dr Keith Rowley, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, made the wise and profound statement that ‘if ever CARICOM must speak for the people it is now. The antidote to the pandemic is CARICOM’.           

Bridgetown stressed the absence of any Trinidadian diplomatic representation here. Barbados retains an honorary consul in Port of Spain and at one time Trinidad and Tobago retained resident high commissioner here nearly 40 years ago.

“The Government of Barbados did no more nor less than simply convey to Port-of-Spain requests for assistance made by citizens of Trinidad and Tobago who were stranded in Barbados,” it said.           

The statement continued: “This diplomatic correspondence, issued to the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, was in keeping with the norms of recognised international humanitarian practice. In this regard, Barbados acted on the basis of a sincere regard for the welfare of the nationals of a sister CARICOM country.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Barbados is therefore deeply disturbed that this action has been framed as a national security matter. Barbados continues to treasure the strong fraternal relationship and partnership it enjoys with the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.”

This announcement was made a day after Barbados TODAY reported that 13 students at the Cave Hill Campus were crying out for help to return home but were not getting any favourable response.

The students have also expressed gratitude to several individuals who have started to reach out to help.

National Security Minister Young indicated on Wednesday that Prime Minister Rowley had taken a decision to “by Monday, get care packages to either the various campuses in UWI – Mona and Cave Hill – or to embassies, high commissions, consulates or missions abroad, for us to be able to provide some level of relief to our students who are outside”.

The students are one step closer to receiving those care packages given that Port of Spain officials have contacted the Cave Hill Campus urgently requesting a verification of Trinidadian students on campus, Barbados TODAY has learned.

When contacted, spokesperson for the group of 13, final year law student Shantal Seecharan, confirmed that the students were asked to indicate their names, telephone number, email address to the university.

“So one can only assume that the process has begun to deliver the care packages to us here in Barbados. So we hope to receive it and in some way or form alleviate our interim suffering,” said Seecharan, who pointed out that students were pleased that some individuals in Barbados have also started to reach out.

She also said the students were still hoping that their request for a special exemption to enter Trinidad and Tobago would be answered.
marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb