Comissiong calls for stronger action against racial abuse

Deputy Chairman of the Barbados National Task Force on Reparations, David Comissiong has rallied Barbadians to take a strong stance against racism, insisting that racial abuse should be met with the full force of the law.

Comissiong issued a strong public statement on Wednesday, after a resident attending the Parish Speaks town hall meeting in St Michael, recounted a disturbing experience at a store, where she was called a racial slur. Natasha Prentice told Prime Minister Mia Mottley and other officials at the meeting that it was not only the words that stung, but the indifference with which her complaint was met when she sought help from police.

Comissiong called for “an uncompromising attitude of zero tolerance toward any expression of racism in general and of anti-Black or anti-African racism in particular”.

“The correct Bajan response to being the target of racial abuse by anyone – a citizen, resident or tourist – is to have recourse to the laws that already exist in Barbados,” Comissiong declared, referencing Section 33 of the Public Order Act which criminalises racial abuse in public spaces.

Under this law, anyone who uses insulting or threatening language aimed at inciting hatred based on race, colour, or creed in a public place can face a fine of $2 500 or 12 months in prison. Since a store is considered a public place under the Act, Comissiong said, anyone who uses racial slurs in such a setting could face legal consequences.

As reported by Barbados TODAY on Tuesday, Prentice recounted being called a n***** by a male store owner: “Up to now, I can’t believe that I got called a n****. “I didn’t even know how to respond to that.”

The Lower Burney, St Michael resident said her ordeal continued when she sought justice at the police station.

According to Prentice’s account, the police officer she reported the incident to was unresponsive to her situation: “When I got there, the officer asked the gentleman: ‘Would you like her to stop coming into your store?’ I couldn’t understand what was happening. I felt like the criminal, not the victim.”

Her experience prompted Comissiong to question whether police might require training on handling racial abuse complaints.

“If Ms Prentice’s account about the callous and dismissive manner in which her complaint was treated by the police officer that she made her report to is correct, it means that some members of our Barbados Police Service might be in urgent need of some refresher education and training in relation to this type of matter,” he said.

Drawing on his own experience as an attorney, Comissiong recalled a similar case in which he represented three Black Barbadian women who were racially abused by two White British tourists. In that case, the police charged and prosecuted the offenders.

He urged the police to uphold the same standards in dealing with racial abuse.

“In light of our nation’s truly horrific historical experience of anti-Black racism and discrimination, any complaint of racial abuse that is made to the police by a citizen of this country should be taken very seriously and acted upon,” Comissiong stressed.

Prime Minister Mottley, responding to Prentice’s complaint at the town hall meeting on Monday evening, said the entire situation was unacceptable.

“What happened to Natasha cannot happen again,” she declared as she committed to introducing robust anti-discrimination legislation.

“We need to ensure that anyone practising racism or misogyny is held accountable, whether they are a private individual or an institution.”

The prime minister also acknowledged that police officers must be better trained to handle situations like these “with fairness and justice”.