Broaden view on global issues, says Minister Jones

EDUCATION Minister, Ronald Jones, says Barbadians have convinced themselves that global issues such as human trafficking and smuggling can't happen on the island.

His comments came in the Lower Chamber as he joined the debate on the Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2016, where he lamented that in instances where people are extremely distressed, there is heightened activity of human smuggling in all countries.

He suggested that mankind has not yet learned how to treat each other. “We look for advantage in desperation. We look for advantage in economic circumstances. We look to feather our nests regardless of the circumstances. Persuade the innocent, the vulnerable, the marginalised.

“We cannot simply sit by because of our own thirst for power, self satisfaction, to be number one... and don't pay an interest to the world.

“We use the phrase ‘it will not happen here’. We have fooled ourselves over time that these things can't happen here, and rather than being proactive, we prefer to be reactive in the circumstances.

Jones said Barbados must lend its voice internationally to ensure that persons capitalising on the vulnerabilities are brought to justice.

“Unless we speak out strongly against those things, human trafficking will continue, human smuggling will continue, crime will be at its highest level in the world. So let us, as citizens in Barbados, pay attention to these things.

“Don't let us only be caught up in our own selves... our own need for power, but let us pay attention to the world as a whole. Let us pay attention to human beings, wherever they are and the circumstances they find themselves. This amendment to the Immigration Act, which deals with smuggling, is but a small gesture on our part looking after our own selves, but let us look across the globe and speak out against human injustice,” he reiterated. (JH)