Rogue gatekeepers and a better life

Sep 29, 2019 News, The Story within the Story

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By Leonard Gildarie

This past week, a Facebook video of a female passenger at the Timehri airport surfaced.

On the video, the woman battled an officer of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) after she was allegedly told by the officer that they had found what appeared to be marijuana in her bag. It was all a scam. There was no weed. The woman stoutly denied and dared the officer to speak-up and to bring his supervisor.
The two-minute video was both comical and deeply alarming at the same time.
The CANU officer was seen evading the camera. The woman refused to stop videoing.
In the end, she prevailed. The man left her alone.
CANU on Friday announced that it has fired the officer, with the events not representing what the unit stands for.
The Ministry of Public Security said that it does not normally overrule the recommendations of CANU. The conclusions of the case appear to be plain, with allegations of other wrongdoing surfacing.
For the officer to decide to target a particular woman who is leaving is not only shocking but has many implications, including current ongoing court matters, if any.
Events like these would leave travellers with scars, and impacts on the country’s reputation, as a whole.
Kudos to the woman who stood up.
There should also be deep worry about behaviour like this.
There was a case I recalled. The woman came and stayed in Prospect, East Bank Demerara about 10 years ago. She was heading back to New York where she lived when she was held at the airport with her child. There was cocaine in her luggage.
The neighbourhood in Prospect was largely in shock, with a few persons sniggering.
She was held for a few days. She missed her flight. I was told she lost her job.
Investigations found that her suitcase was switched. She went to the airport with a different colour suitcase. That saved her.
She was released, but the damage was done.
I rather suspect this is the same kind of trauma the woman would have faced last week had she allowed herself to be a victim.
The incident has opened the door to questions as to how many other cases like this happened.
The accused former officer was only on the job for six months. What on earth could have compelled him to think he could pull such a scam after being on the job for a few months? Did he see something from the behaviour of his colleagues that would have nudged him to try a thing?
The fact is that the incident has raised legitimate questions about cases that this officer has been involved in.
We are moving swiftly into an era where there can be no tolerance for such behaviour.
The law must work, or appear to work. In fact, the action of sacking him should not be where it ends. There has to be contemplation of a criminal complaint and investigations.
The officer and CANU by extension are our gatekeepers. They have been issued certain mandates. That single incident has eroded our trust deeply and should not be treated lightly. A statement from CANU will never be enough.
The Cheddi Jagan International Airport is “we own” and there must be pride. If certain personnel there are not inclined in that way, well there are Guyanese, like myself, who love this country dearly.
The statement of CANU, to their credit, is the beginning of how such incidents should be viewed.
This past week also had me thinking.
At Sophia, a $250M Children and Family Care Centre was opened. The facility, which boasts several buildings, is supposed to provide a safe haven for the vulnerable children and families. My heart soared.
I pay close attention to how taxpayers’ dollars are spent. These are the kinds of transformative projects that speak directly to the needs of our country.
The thousands of single parent-families and children who remain at risk should bother all of us. They are our neighbours. They are the kids who go to school hungry or not at all.
Facilities like that in Sophia are critical in the fight against poverty. There must be safe havens.
In the last four and half years, there have been debates about the work of this Coalition Government. I have been more than critical of them. However, one would be blind to say that nothing has been done. I will repeat what I have said time and again.
The city is smelling way better. City Hall has new life in it. Many of the constitutional bodies are working. Judges appointed under this administration have ruled against them in key cases. Countless policemen who believed that they were untouchable have learnt that there is no place for them.
A critical section of the East Coast roadway, minus the many criticisms of the Chinese contractor involved in the project, is nearing completion. The economy has been chugging along with significant inputs from the oil and gas sector.
However, the sugar industry decisions and the fallout have been deeply worrying.
On the negative side of things, the sanctioning of contractors who fail to deliver remains a taboo subject, as ministries continue to treat them with kids’ gloves.
The accusations of contracts not being tendered properly but awarded to the tune of millions have been sung by the Opposition. On the other side of that, there are little objections to these accusations of wrongdoing.
The past year with the political situation has created the deepest worry.
We are a democracy, with the events of December 21 a major hurdle to the trajectory that the country had been projected on. It should serve as a rude awakening to our politicians who believe that the status quo and a five-year term is guaranteed.
It should, more importantly to me, serve as a grim example of how our politicians failed us at a time when we needed all hands on deck to pay attention to the emerging oil and gas sector. As of now, our attention is on the fight to remain in office, or get into office, while the management of our oil and gas is not of paramount importance.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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