Animosity Between Barbados & Jamaica Intensifies as Jermaine Blake, Chevine Edwards & Andre Davis Allegedly Beaten & Deported Back to Jamaica

Jamaican nationals Andre Davis, Jermaine Blake and Chevine Edwards allegedly beaten and deported back to Jamaica from Barbados, as animosity between two islands intensifies in wake of Shanique Myrie's finger-rape allegations.

Is a boycott of Barbados in the works? There has been a firestorm brewing in recent weeks over the alleged mistreatment of Jamaicans at the hands of Barbadian law enforcement and airport personnel. According to the Jamaica Observer, Andre Davis, Jermaine Blake and Chevine Edwards were allegedly beaten and deported from the island. The men, who are reportedly partners in a music management/production company, told the Observer they were physically abused and threatened by Barbadian police and humiliated by that country's immigration officers after being denied entry.

If the allegations that the immigration officers inferred the men were drug dealers is blatantly discriminatory and should be roundly condemned by the Jamaican government.  These allegations come on the heels of Jamaican national Shanique Myrie's accusations that she was finger-raped twice by Barbadian officials. I was largely silent on that incident because I wanted to gather more information before speaking out. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of issues dogging the Caribbean islands and yes, crime is rampant, but are you going to profile Jamaicans because of the actions of a few people? Of course, the Barbadian leaders are down-playing the finger-rape allegations and ensuing fall-out as a "family squabble," as a Jamaican delegation, led by Jamaica’s Trinidad-based High Commissioner Sharon Saunders, to get a first-hand look at the room in which Ms. Myrie claims to have been finger-raped.

Edwards told the Observer yesterday that the trio arrived in Bridgetown on Sunday, March 20, 2011 on Caribbean Airlines flight BW55 minutes after 9:00 pm. He said they were removed from the immigration line and their passports and cellular phones were confiscated. They were interviewed individually and proved that they had met all the requirements, in terms of accommodation, business contact, cash and length of stay limits, said Edwards.

"There was a cop who asked us if is we supply Buju Banton with coke. He also asked us if we didn't bring any Bob Marley. I asked what he was talking about as I thought he meant a CD (compact disc), but he said he was talking about ganja. And he asked us if we used drug money to fund our label," he said.

The claim of abuse by the music producers comes just days after Shanique Myrie, a Jamaican national, accused Barbadian officials of finger-raping her twice, spewing venom about Jamaicans and forcing her to endure humiliation. Myrie, along with another Jamaican national Rickrisha Rowe, were also locked up in a cold room before being booted out of the country on the next available flight. Source: Jamaica Observer

Why all the animosity between Jamaica and Barbados? My husband and I came very close to spending our honeymoon nearly 17 years ago in Barbados because it is such a beautiful place. Surely they don't treat American visitors in such a manner. I hate to use the word discrimination, but that seems to be the case in these unsettling incidents. Why are the Jamaicans being profiled? Crazy. Newsflash to Barbados, not every black person from Jamaica, is a drug dealer and a thug. The reality is we don't need to have Caribbean islands squabbling and we certainly don't want to have accusations of discrimination flying. Both islands rely heavily on tourism and their aim should be to keep it that way. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Jamaica because it is the land of my birth, but there are some serious issues dogging the island and I have often wondered if the British government ran things, if the results would be different.