The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

The longer that we are mired in this pandemic the more our humanity is being stripped away. This was illustrated very clearly when I returned home to Canada in early May. I am sharing this experience because I feel that it is important to understand that while it is easy for visitors and residents to complain about their experiences in travelling to The Bahamas, Bahamian customs officials are like schoolboys in short pants when compared to the draconian methods employed by some Canadian officials.

As a Canadian resident returning home, I thought my journey would end when I crossed the border and was welcomed into Canada. Nothing could be further from the truth, not only are the requirements to enter Canada constantly changing without notice but the chilly reception I received suggested that something more sinister is becoming a prevalent part of our society. It seems as though we have become so consumed with fear that treating one another with kindness is becoming a luxury reserved for special occasions.

When I arrived at the border, I made my way to the Immigration officer who asked the usual questions about drugs and guns that I have become accustomed to when travelling to Canada from Nassau. I was processed through immigration without incident, and it was then on to Customs. I understand that customs officials are required to keep borders secure and that a cordial reception is not their first priority.

I expected the customs officials to inform Canadians returning to Canada about the Quarantine Act and the consequences of not complying with the regulations. However, like everything in life, the manner in which you conduct yourself is as important as the service that you are delivering.

The male officer that scanned my carry-on asked me if I had any electronics in the carry-on and I said “no”. He did not like that answer and asked me again if I had electronics in the carry-on to which I again responded “no”. The officer then opened my carryon and took out my camera and a case with my hard drives in it.

I didn’t realise that the officer considered the three hard drives in my carry-on as electronics and felt that I had purposefully lied to him. In my opinion this was just a simple misunderstanding, but the officer saw this as an opportunity exploit the situation with relish. I knew that the line of questioning that he then started was designed to intimidate me. Realising this certainly did not make it any less effective as I was alone, sitting in a partitioned room with two customs officials looming over me.

He went on to ask me what he would find if he were to “go into these hard drives” and when I told him they contained personal files he found my answer vague and continued to repeat the question with increasing irritation. I was not trying to be deceptive; I really did not know what he was after. Seeing that he was agitated I explained that one hard drive had work files on it, the other had personal files and the third was a backup of the other two. He then asked if there were videos on the hard drives and I said yes. I was now starting to get concerned at what I thought was an unusual line of questioning and said if you are asking if there is pornography on the drives the answer is “NO”. He said that he did not care what I did in my personal life and closed the case and returned it to the bag.

He swabbed my bag and disappeared into an adjoining room. On his return he asked if I had been in contact with any drugs while in The Bahamas. He then swabbed my watch and wallet and again disappeared into the adjoining room. On his return he again asked if I had been in contact with any drugs while in The Bahamas. While he was in the adjoining room, I was sitting there with the other officer thinking, “What is going on here I have nothing illegal in my possession.” On his return he asked me again if I or anyone in my house were in contact with any drugs to which I said no. I finally said, “why don’t you just dump the contents of the bag on the table and go through it?” At that point he seemed to realise that this line of questioning was going nowhere and abruptly abandoned it.

He then asked me if I had a girlfriend in The Bahamas. I was completely baffled, as I had told the officer that my wife was waiting for me on the other side of customs and couldn’t understand how this could be relevant. I had completed a COVID test, I was a Canadian resident and had gone to extraordinary lengths to return home. Was even my marriage now subject to interrogation and suspicion?

Finally, after 20 minutes of questioning the ordeal was over and the officer zipped up my bag. He asked me if understood that the vague answers that I gave made him pursue the series of questions that he did. He further explained that this type of questioning was standard practice and a part of their job. He then told me that I should not have been nervous if I had done nothing wrong, that only people with something to hide get nervous and said that I was free to go.

The unnecessarily dehumanisation of travellers returning home to Canada suggests that the border officials are so caught up in fear mongering that they find it easy to callously victimise fellow citizens. We need to remember that we are all human beings and where we come from and may be going to does not matter. What matters is how we treat one another along the way. Ultimately, we will be judged on our journey through life, and we should all strive to be confident of our position on that judgement day.

A TRAVELLING MAN

Canada,

May 9, 2021.