He chose the opportunity of the CARICOM Secretariat-sponsored inaugural lecture in the 'Distinguished Lecture Series’ at the Trinidad Hilton to lament what he considers "an outrage" - the humiliation and hostility too often experienced by nationals of Guyana and a few other Community partner states at airports within the region.

It is a recurring problem and one that cries out for urgent and concerted action by the political directorate of a Community of sovereign states now marking its 30th anniversary. And he urged his CARICOM colleagues not to shy away from dealing with the matter, one that is an embarrassment for the entire Community.

The late Prime Minister of Barbados, one of the founding fathers of CARICOM, had called way back in the 1980s, for the streamlining of immigration and customs services across the Community as well as appropriate training as part of an overall programme to help make the regional economic integration movement more people-focused, relevant and efficient to the region's needs.

In his public presentation last week, Prime Minister Gonsalves was to stress the urgent need for a change in attitude by immigration officers at regional airports who, like workers in some other fields of employment, seem to lack an appreciation of "who we are as a unique people of the Caribbean civilisation"

No Abuses
He thought it necessary to publicly commend President Bharrat Jagdeo for courageously and consistently placing before CARICOM leaders, at every opportunity, the hostile, discriminatory treatment of Guyanese nationals at some regional airports. Jagdeo had, at one meeting of the CARICOM Bureau in Barbados, publicly stated that "this nonsense must stop".

Let it be noted, however, that no government is being asked to forfeit its rights in taking appropriate action to safeguard its own security and against abuses of its governance system as applicable, for example, in the functioning of immigration and customs services.

Nor should any national of the Community, Guyanese or else, feel he or she could flout the laws of any CARICOM state or abuse its facilities and hospitality.

But if the truth be told, from the perspective of much more than a few who feel they were victims of rudeness, discrimination, humiliation and deportation, it only serves to reinforce the need for CARICOM governments as a whole to critically review their immigration and customs services at airports. The moreso now that the pace is being advanced to bring on board the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (SCME).