SO, we are preparing to go to war with Trinidad and Tobago. Make that Trinidad alone. We have no problem with Tobago. I don’t even think some of us who are getting ready to place an embargo on goods imported from the twin-island republic have even given a thought to the pretty little island which is part of the “enemy territory”. But, who cares…it is Trini-land that we are vexed with.

This is not Federation days, but some seem to be thinking: Don’t federate wid none a dem. Don’t eat dem roti, dem sweet biscuit, dem hot pepper sauce. Don’t dance and prance in the streets imitating their bacchanal. Fire fi Carnival! Seriously? Deport all steel pans…Go back to mento banjo. Don’t get married to none a dem. That last one is kinda difficult for me. I’ve been married quite happily to “one a dem” for nuff-nuff years. It would be hard to break that habit now. Leave well alone.

So, let’s get real. Instead of war, let’s see how we can make peace. Why can’t we sit down like adults and find solutions to mutual problems — like the highly unreasonable trade imbalance. Throwing a tantrum about Trinidad — remember, Tobago not in this — because they sent home 13 of our people the minute they set foot on Port of Spain soil, figuratively speaking, is not the grown-up way to deal with the problem. On the other hand, our Trini neighbours must stop being suspicious of every Jamaican who lands at Piarco airport. Some of us are actually family.

We all have to stop deluding ourselves. It is no secret that our people have scattered all across the region looking for work, which explains why when others see us coming, they go on the defensive. It is a habit which began with our forebears who, in long-gone years, made their way to Cuba and Panama and sundry other distant lands, known and unknown, to “get a work” to support themselves and family back home. Ever since then, we have been “colonising” other people’s territory until they get vex and “show wi bad face”. We’re so proud of the large section of our national family domiciled abroad, that we have even adopted the Greek word Diaspora to give identity to our dispersed tribe. Other Caribbean people have the habit, too, but all is not quite well with us. When we go to see our neighbours, the welcome mat is saved for tourists.

In the “comess” (Trini word) and “preckeh” (Jamaica talk), the matter of the 13 whose landing at Piarco and their hasty shipment back here is fomenting disaffection. Inter-Caribbean movement should come easily, but it does not. Some of us are afraid of some of us. The Treaty of Chaguaramas does not guarantee that we can just turn up in each other’s place to do as we please, but that’s what some people seem to believe. The Shanique Myrie verdict has reinforced that idea. It is being pointed out now by Trinidad’s prime minister that immigration officers have the discretion to say who goes and who stays. She also cited two possible reasons for deportation: being blacklisted and not being able to support yourself while visiting.

I have to admit that I’ve found Immigration and Customs at Piarco airport coldly efficient, which means, don’t expect smiles and effusive welcome when you land. They don’t play that game. They get on with their job with steely seriousness, which can be quite intimidating. When 13 Jamaicans turned up there, all at once, and are not members of a sports team or business delegation, be assured that immigration is going to activate the alert button. They did, and all 13 of our family were put on the next flight bound for Kingston and now war is being declared. What are we going to do to put out the fire? Opinion from Kingston streets is running high: Jamaica is being dissed again.

For too long now, good people have been lumped together with the bad. That doesn’t help. If our people went to Trinidad on legitimate business, then we need to head to the conference table ASAP to determine what went on. Why were they not welcomed? What really happened at Piarco when the 13 (an unfortunate number) made landfall? Were they all in breach of the entry regulations? What drove Customs and Immigration to make a clean sweep? If our authorities have such information, people are asking why it is not being revealed.

The T&T prime minister has offered to dispatch her foreign minister to consult with his equivalent here — the sooner the better.

Not too long ago, on a visit to Port of Spain, on perfectly legitimate business — I don’t do the other kind — I got the full Piarco treatment. I was questioned to within an inch of credibility and finally let through, my self-assurance a little shaky. Did I look like a person of criminal intent? Had I come to make off with manufacturing secrets or the template for next year’s Carnival costumes? A great shock awaited.

When I went to Customs to retrieve my one piece of luggage (and not a big one at that), it was standing alone in the middle of the path leading to the luggage carousel. It struck me as a little odd, but “to the pure all things are pure”. I assumed that it was because I was the last passenger to reach Customs after the long grilling at Immigration; so they were making it easier for me to access my luggage, but I soon found it was more than that.

When I dragged the bag over to be screened, I couldn’t resist asking the Customs officer why was it isolated? At first he ignored me and then, after he had rummaged through my meagre belongings, he muttered that they were “having a problem with some of your people”. My people? Very quietly, he told me the story of “one of your people” who had landed from Kingston a few days before.

She had a very peculiar shape which didn’t seem right. She allowed a body search and it turned out that there was not an excess of avoirdupois but an artificial “structure” created to conceal the deadly white powder. Light dawned. Ah-oh! Was that why I was treated so, because I was one of “your people”? Since then, I travel with as much documentation as possible.

We have plenty to talk about with our neighbours, and it is not just to exchange travel tips. Some people on the street here believe that the reason for friction could well be the fact that, in recent times, Trini-people have come here and have met violent deaths in strange situations. At the other end of the line, some of “our people” are abandoned in Trini prisons — if reports are to be believed — with the dreaded five-letter word (drugs) hanging over their heads. It is said that it is the bad apples are making it hard for the rest of us. We have to get real and seek to get full disclosure and understanding about the new atmosphere of discordance which has surfaced. We must do something and quickly. We should be sensible and sensitive enough to recognise that build-up is better than tear-down.

RECOMMENDED READING: For those who are not aware of the history of discontent which has dogged trade within the Caricom area, try to get a hold of the book Caribbean Challenges by Sir Shridath Ramphal and associates, highlighting some long-standing regional issues. It may come as a surprise to learn that “there was a time when Jamaica had to answer complaints by St Vincent, Dominica and St Lucia against exports of goods by Seprod, the oils and fats people, then one of Jamaica’s biggest manufacturing enterprises. Charges were also levelled against Serv-Well, who manufactured fridges and stoves — yes, we used to do that here. Competitors complained about “subsidies” and other “unfair practices”. Sound familiar?

As public reaction to a proposed consumer boycott of Trinidadian imports grows here, our Government is warning against possible effects. Some private sector voices are urging caution, too. The question, though, is: why is the situation so lopsided? Why must we always be the buyer and so infrequently the seller? I would imagine that it is an even more important question to resolve: Why aren’t we producing the things which other people want to buy? Yeah, yeah, we have many obstacles to production, but can we really do nothing to bring about a change? It is a question we cannot put off indefinitely.

* MEDIA vs PM: When will this be resolved?

* STALWART JOURNALISTS hailed by their colleagues Wyvolyn Gager, Owen James, Godfrey Barnes, and Franklyn McKnight all are saluted by their colleagues for solid work over the years. Big Up!

gloudonb@yahoo.com