Is Barbados A Doorway To Terrorism? The PM Needs To Connect The Dots

The series of terror events in the USA in recent months is a vivid reminder that people who are determined to do wrong or evil are not easy to stop. Whether it is a disaffected army doctor who decides to shoot fellow military personnel. Whether it is a young man who has been 'converted' to a cause and then tries to blow up a plane to further that cause. There are people prepared to risk their lives to maim and kill others, often people they do not know. The only effective way to deal with the threats posed by such people is for every person to be vigilant to the risks and to help confront them. But government needs to be vigilant too and to have in place mechanisms that do not facilitate acts of terror or jeopardise national or international security.

Barbados may not be on any list that covers 'friends' or 'havens' of terrorism but it may be an unwitting accomplice. Several aspects of life in Barbados--and in some other countries in the region--make us and those who pass through the country vulnerable. One aspect is attitude. Another aspect is procedures (which to some extent reflect attitudes).

Looking at procedures, it is interesting to see what the debate on illegal immigration highlights. Barbados has recently come to the end of a seven months amnesty for undocumented Caricom non-nationals. At the end of that process the minister responsible, Senator Arni Walters, was not able to offer many facts about who had applied and who else remained. That is a gaping hole, which reflects a lack of seriousness about checking people who cross the nation's border. At the same time, we hear that several hundred applications were delayed due to the need for police certification. So, the police know about some persons, but the Minister knows nothing much about all the people who have gone through the process. How is that?

The hoopla about immigration may have a social dimension that touches a willingness to have foreigners within a country but it is also a security issue. If Barbados cannot track people who enter and leave the country what is to stop the USA or another country seeing it as another weak link in its border security--not least because there are direct flights from Barbados to the USA and the UK. Is it far fetched for the USA or UK to start to consider sanctioning those who pass through Barbados? That's a taint that would not help market the island's tourism.

Maybe the PM does not see these dots when he comments that Barbados will continue to meet international security standards at Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) (see Nation report, January 8, page 19): it is not about security checks at airport. Even when these are very sophisticated and extensive, they fail because of human or mechanical failures, and lapses. The failed bombing of a plane in Detroit over Christmas showed the lapses at many levels and in many places that let a plausible terrorist suspect board a plane laded with explosive materials. We saw what happened at Newark Airport this week when a TSA official left his post, and the ensuing security lapse shut down that airport for several hours. Several weeks ago, the TSA security guidelines were inadvertently posted on the Internet. The security services are shooting us and shooting themselves in the foot.

The PM's saying that Barbados is 'peaceful' is irrelevant and saying that the island was not a 'staging point' for acts of terrorism or violence against people misses the point. Terrorists do not care if your country is at peace but whether it has weaknesses they can exploit. Maybe the PM never has to go through regular security but regular travellers will have their own stories. I know that I carry items in my hand luggage which sometimes I am told are prohibited and sometimes they are not noticed. They are simple things, always in my bag in the same place, and I know they are not explosive, such as hand creams, but surely they should be treated the same on every visit to the security line. It was many months before a penknife I always used to travel with but forget was in my bag triggered any concern. Officials and machines are not perfect.

But hold on, PM! In the previous day's Advocate the front page reported Senator Walters saying "several loopholes will be tightened, including the inadequate monitoring of arrivals into the island". Issues had been raised last year in the Auditor General's report on the Immigration Department, and include lack of facilities at the ports to cover yachts. The Auditor General's report flagged these as security risks that needed to be addressed. The Minister noted activities off Barbados originating out of Central America or regional islands, involving persons and materials, and cited a worrying incident in 2006. So, even if GAIA meets international standards, the ports do not.

Let's look briefly at attitudes. In small countries, and in this region for sure, people work on the assumption that most people are known, and most are honest, and that if someone says he/she is something then he/she is. So, we are more trusting and casual about checking credentials. But trust is a weak point. Take a visit to a home by a 'utility' or 'service' worker. I would never let someone past the gate unless I see two forms of picture ID: but if I insist on that here the visitors are offended, arguing that I should believe and trust them. Should I? I do not know Adam from Steve. On one occasion someone came to change phone lines. I had no knowledge about it, nor did my landlord, and when I called LIME, they had no record of the work being scheduled. I sent the man away. After a few days he was back and the pieces fit as it was discovered that this was a job that was requested a couple of years ago. But, given that there has been a series of burglaries nearby, why would I not assume that this 'job' was a ruse to survey the property?

I visit Ilaro Court and the security officer waves me in without batting an eyelid; my car is not checked. When the PM was there for 'Christmas by candle lights', who had ensured that no one had a weapon? Ironically, the adjacent Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, has metal detectors, and that is to cover any public event, and when I was dressed up as Santa, I had to go through the screening even though the organizers vouched for me. Presumably, no one in the world wishes the PM harm, but you cannot trust Santa?

Caribbean people do not like what they see as personal violations, so object to body and bag searches, feeling that it makes them seem like criminals. In general, we do not accept that this is for every one's good. Hence, the brouhaha with the security measures for Cricket World Cup in 2007. The region had to beef up a range of security measures to comply with the new realities: Caribbean people felt this spoilt our fun.

Barbados is not alone. We see that the USA cannot protect itself, and we are seeing that 'protecting the president' is more lip service than secret service. But part of the battle is to ratchet up our awareness. Problems in security that President Obama identified this week in terms of poor collaboration and information sharing exist here too.

I would not be surprised if US Embassies are being asked to report on the 'security profile' of countries in which they are located and their neighbours. Would it be a shock for Barbados to be black listed as a security weak link?