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Who is Shanique Myrie?

The Jamaican who claims to have been finger raped, is considering suing the Government of Barbados. Some Jamaicans as a result of this have decided to boycott products coming from Barbados.

By: gop - Sunday, Mar 27, 2011 - 05:46:59 PM

Shanique Myrie - Jamaican who claimed to had been finger raped before deportation at GAIA -- photo: nationnews

Since the news broke that Shanique Myrie from Jamaica was finger raped by an immigration officer while being subjected to a search at Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA). The internet has been ablazed with comments such as "Shanique Myrie says...", but who is Shanique Myrie?

The Jamaican Observer newspaper broke the news, but to this day no one knows who this lady is. No one has tried to discover if her story is credible.

The reputation of the immigration officer has been put under the microscope, and will most likely be tarnished. Vitriol comments from some who would almost like to derail Barbados' progress, and reputation across the globe continue to manifest across the internet. Yet, the name Shanique Myrie is gaining sympathy votes, although we know nothing of the name, and who is behind the name.

Do the authorities in Jamaica have any criminal records on Ms. Myrie? Has she ever made accusations of a similar nature? Has she ever been deported from any other country? What is Ms. Myrie's occupation? Does she have ties in Jamaica?

Until we understand who we are entertaining maybe we should wait until this story is properly investigated, before we decide to run with it.

Barbados has had around 54,000 Jamaican arrivals during the period 2008 - 2010, of these about 900 were deported for various reasons. Some 53,100 were able to enter the island. Barbados is glad to have visitors to its shores, but i'm not sure we should entertain all visitors at the detriment of Barbados and its genuine visitors, and citizenry.

Comments (18)

Jan (US) says...

What do you need to know about Shanique Myrie? Why not ask who is Pamela Clarke, the person who invited Shanique to Barbados? If Shanique were a millionaire or a prostitute or a criminal, what does that have to do with the allegations? These are the questions that should be asked: Was a visitor to the island subjected to verbal and sexual abuse (two cavity searches)as alleged? There is no record of the incident according to Bajan officials, is there a cover up? The official allegedly removed her name tag, why? Every country has a right to guard its borders. Every individual has the right to bring criminal charges against his or her abuser. Barbados will hear more in the days to come from Shanique's lawyer.

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29^th March 2011 6:46pm

gop says...

Jan, I'm glad to see your comments have been fair and balance, as some comments would suggest that they are more than allegations. The situation had become one of he say, she say.
Ms. Myrie's lawyer (George Anthony Hylton) was contacted and he said he knows that the police were the ones who might have carried out a search, and he intends to prove it at court.

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30^th March 2011 8:36am

Un poco Loco says...

This article is utter ***** and this country can never see my face.

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29^th March 2011 9:34pm

gop says...

Un poco Loco, this article will not be written with any particular slant as other media sources might have done. None of us know the facts, and therefore it would be improper to go only by what any individual might say.
I could understand wanting to keep the matter alive in the event she was improperly handled, but what if she is not telling the whole truth?
I wouldn't be please about what happened if this young lady's account is factual, but before we dismiss opinions that are not our own, let us seek the truth in this matter.

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30^th March 2011 2:40pm

James sakku says...

The group rape of a young Jamaican women by a plethora of Immigration officers in Barbados and the threat by their Minister of foreign affairs to jail her if she does not leave that country quickly and not report it to anyone, is most disturbing.
Although women are regularly raped by the Barbados immigration, as I understand it, that these women know that they are not welcome in Barbados -- a policy instituted by the late David Thompson -- continues to be a turn off for many visitors.
But, to give these cruel animals high fives after the deed is sone is even more troubling!

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31^st March 2011 1:03am

Dawne says...

I am not seeing this article and I am appalled. Are you saying that even if she had committed some crime before that justifies her finger rape. Come on on thing has nothing to do with the other. If she was violated she should be vindicated.

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31^st March 2011 6:27pm

gop says...

Hi Dawne, Barbados has been suffering a heavy attack from Jamaicans on this matter, and I'm justing saying that we should be careful not to convert what is currently an allegation into something of fact, without a proper investigation.
If she wasn't treated according to established rules and regulations, then she should be vindicated.

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31^st March 2011 6:59pm

Mich says...

As a barbadian living in Jamaica, this has me worried, is her story true or not but Jamacians tend to back jamaicans wheter right or wrong and in Barbados we back the truth no matter what, my home has the discipline to deal with this no matter the outcome and for Ms. Myrie sake I hope it is on her side, because if it is not true she should be dealt with to the full extent of the law both in Barbados and Jamaica and if her story is true then the guilty party should be dealt with to the full extent of the Law. As for deporting her, any where you go in the world you have to meet a standard to be admitted and it is up to the immgration officer at that time so, guess what they do not have to justify themselves for turning her back, just for the alledged charges against them

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1^st April 2011 4:28pm

gop says...

I'm in agreement.

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1^st April 2011 5:21pm

Shauna says...

As a Jamaica living in Barbados, I must say that we all need to look beyond our nationalities and face the issue for what t is. Whether the young lady is telling the truth or not, this incident should be used by both states to take an internal look at its domestic policies and address the various issues with prudence. Issues such as, to what extent are we truly committed to free movement? Is there proper legislation in place to ensure that Immigration officers, Customs Officers, Police and other civil servants do not usurp their powers? I can attest to ill treatment from Barbadians at the airport too, but one could proffer that this is exemplary of immigration officers all over...or not? The point is that we need to train our public personnel to address each other in a cordial manner and to not constantly overstep their boundaries. So my dear friend Mitch, get off the high horse and face reality, there is an underlying problem that we must address, and it has very little to do with Jamaicans backing Jamaicans and Barbadians being Xenophobic...we need to reassess the extent to which we are committed to integration and to earning rather than demanding respect. I am still getting used to a set of people who are extremely abrupt, sometimes rude, somewhat xenophobic and very apprehensive toward Jamaicans yet I am able to view the situation for what it is...trust me you can do it too you just have to try.

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4^th April 2011 6:24am

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