A senior UBS executive travelling to work was apparently arrested for not having his work permit in his possession and with hands strapped with plastic handcuffs he was carted off to the detention centre.
Differing stories are surfacing now.
One is he could barely speak English so he was arrested.
Another is he cursed the Immigration Officers, therefore was carted off.
Whatever the case, in 2014 Bahamas Immigration should be able to access their computer bank from the field to determine a persons right to be here so they don't have to waste their time arresting the wrong people and can get on with capturing illegal immigrants.
This is yet another embarrassing incident for the department of immigration in just a few months.
However, when they are directed by a minister that constantly stirs the proverbial pot against business and legitimate foreign workers that his government encourages to come here to help the economy, should we expect the officers to act any differently?
I expect the minister will issue a non-apology and reinforce that a National Identification card will solve this type of situation.
Mr. Ryan Pinder rightly apologised on behalf of the government to the executive as he understands the importance of the financial services industry. I hope that will be enough as he is not responsible for the immigration department.
Apparently the offshore banking community had an emergency meeting with the PM and will have meetings with all the ministers of portfolios relating to their industry in an effort to avoid situations like this going forward.
Seems to me Mr. Mitchell should tone the rhetoric down so the best way forward can be found?
There is no legal requirement to carry ones work permit on the that I can find and if they arrested him for abusive language shouldn’t that be a charge before the Courts? These basic issues need to be sorted for everyones sake going forward.
Also it would benefit all and sundry if these events were videod.
Thank you Mr Pinder. We await an apology from the Prime Minister and assurances that police state antics are not part of his agenda.
We would also like to know how the immigration officer is held accountable for his lack of judgement and failure to use discretion required for the job..
What have we come to as a civilized society where individuals are deemed guilty before being proven innocent.. Are individual rights now vested in the State and not in our country’s citizens and legal residents?? To hold a person without due cause is what we would expect of countries like Cuba and not the Bahamas.. Have we now descended to the level of totalitarian rule?? At times it sure appears to be so.. The forceful detention of innocent victims must be addressed by government at once as such inhumane tactics have been used in the past and more than likely will continue in the future..
So the Gestapo are alive and well on the streets of Nassau?
As this paper states, “The Gestapo was created by the Nazi conspirators immediately after the accession of the NSDAP to power in the Reich as a weapon for the
terrorization and suppression of all persons, groups and elements considered hostile to the policies and theories of the ‘Nazi regime”.
http://library2.lawschool.cornell.edu/donovan/pdf/Batch_9/Vol_XIX_62_03_04.pdf
Wouldn’t the reasonable man consider the free rein of certain activities in the marketplace (e.g. gambling in numbers houses) to be ‘hostile to the policies’ of the Government? And if so, why don’t they exert pressure on these activities?
S3S, How dare you compare in any way the Bahamian Immigration Officers with the Nazi Gestapo of the 1930s and 1940s. You have no idea sir of what you are talking about! That is crap of the highest order! You need to read the History books in detail… or perhaps you experienced such Nazi Gestapo tactics during the Nazi WW11 Period like my family did. If you had you would not be alive to criticize our Officers in such an way in the first place. Perhaps, you may then realize what Hog-wash you wrote about the sad recent events when you made comparisons! Perhaps your signature at the head of your first response may be a Freudian slip ie S3S…Are you part of the Nazi SS #3 Reich ? LMAO Yours in Peace and Love Goldie
I think you are hip-shooting with an empty gun in your attack on S3S’s commentary.. He only issued a warning that Gestapo-like tactics by the Immigration Offices are not acceptable or needed in our nation.. You and I of all people should know better.. No mention, as you charge, was made to Nazi tactics in the 1940’s which lead to extermination of over six million Jews.. The Detention Centre is a hell hole to which to many is a national disgrace yet few seem to really care..
Have you asked yourself why in the first place did this happen and why was this individual selected to be stopped and then questioned?? Next time it could very well be you so better carry some form of acceptable identification what ever that constitutes.. In the United States, you would have heard cries of revere racial profiling, harassment and unlawful detention.. “It could never happen here” type thinking doesn’t count as many Cubans and Venezuelans today can attest..
I too was a little surprised at S3S’s pointed commentary, but after a little thought I realized that his intent was well taken and a warning that must not go unheeded.. In short your commentary was empty and somewhat pointless.. Perhaps my friend you too need to take your own advise and “read the history books in detail”.. In this world of historical denial and revisionism, we must never forget what man did to his fellow mankind.. May Peace be with you in truth and understand..
Thank you for your comments, TG, but upon a more careful scrutiny of my words, you will see that I applied a very specific part of that paper on which to compare our Immigration officers’ actions:
“The Gestapo was created as a weapon for the
terrorization and suppression of all persons, groups and elements considered hostile to the policies and theories of the ‘Nazi regime”.
BTW, do you think the Gestapo went immediately to their most heinous actions? They, too, started with incremental actions like needlessly stopping and detaining people in the streets, closing their shops, etc, before ‘all hell broke loose’ on Kristallnacht (09/10 Nov. 1938).
It is up to us to ensure that the actions of our State do not escalate into anything further. I stand by my comparison, but if my words have caused offense, then I offer my sincere apologies …..