Just recently the Caribbean Island Trinidad and Tobago celebrated their yearly celebration of Carnival and it was great to hear that they had minimal crime associated with this event. I would have love to attend but was skeptical due to my own fears of traveling to Trinidad. The first time I traveled to Trinidad was in 2005, the trip was over shadowed by the reports of high kidnapping rates at that time. I recently read an article “Trinidad sends hundreds packing by Azad Ali” in the Caribbean Life dated Feb. 22, 2013. The article disclosed the National Security Minister Jack Warner has implemented an “aggressive deportation policy.” I thought to myself it’s about time the Caribbean islands clean up their countries by shipping non-natives who are un-productive back to their homeland. The Caribbean islands are known for their beautiful scenery, lavish beaches and great food. It’s usually a refuge for people to run too and relax, unfortunately criminals also use the Caribbean islands as their own escape, often times they blend in and they become a menace to society. It is time for the islands to take a stand and remove the unproductive people/criminals from their country.
Trinidad Newsday reported on Jan. 21, 2013 that in the last two years over 750 illegal immigrants have been deported. The data collected from the Trinindad and Tobago Police Service over 2011-2012 shows that the majority of deportees are from Guyana, the next group of deportees are Jamaicans, the third group from China and a small number from the Dominican Republic, Columbia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The government has placed more emphasis on training their immigration and police officers to identify illegals who have overstayed their entries and or commit crimes to be deported. I am aware that many people leave their native homeland to seek a better opportunity and they are not all criminals. The article does not depict that all the deportees are criminal. Some of the deportees are people who have overstayed their work visa. While it is unfortunate for these people to be deported, I am in favor of the removal of criminals and unproductive individuals.
According to the recent study in the www.NewsAmericasnow.com, the article on April 7, 2011, reported that the United States of America deported more than 88,000 people in six months to Latin American countries and the Caribbean, Trinidad received 125 deportees. I remember visiting Trinidad and although I had a good vacation I was always afraid of driving any long distance or visiting a beach if the beach was not heavily traveled. The United States of America spends a great deal of revenue to protect our land and remove unwanted illegals. I have not heard much emphasis place on removing illegals in the Caribbean islands.
All countries have something great to offer but let’s face it we as tourist are bias to the reports we read and if the reports suggest that a Caribbean island has a high crime rate, most likely we will not travel there. Just recently I met a tourist visiting New York from the South and she stopped me before entering the Brooklyn Bridge on the Manhattan entry way to ask if I was a native New Yorker and was it safe for her to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge. She seemed to be in her late forties and she had a younger female friend with her. I thought to myself it was the middle of the day the bridge was extremely crowed, what could have possibly happen to her? This proves my point that we have misconceptions of the places we visit depending on the reports of crime. As a native New Yorker, I felt that she would have missed out by not taking the walk over the bridge and seeing the beautiful scene of both Brooklyn and Manhattan. The advice I gave her is the advice I will take for myself. I have long wanted to experience the Trinidad Carnival, therefore, I will explore visiting Trinidad at Carnival Season. I plan on following the travel guide that is posted for tourist and remain cautious when traveling to any city I am not familiar with.
