Sinkinson
THE UNITED Kingdom visa regime is not racist, says Acting British High Commissioner, Phil Sinkinson.
Speaking with The Sunday Gleaner yesterday, he said that the introduction of a visa regime in Jamaica and other countries was not linked to any move to control the immigration of persons from black countries.
"They are not racist but are based on the statistics that the Home Office collects at the time," said Mr. Sinkinson.
He was responding to statements made in an article entitled, "How (the) Home Office Lied about Jamaicans", which appeared in the January 20, 2003 issue of a leading British Black newspaper, the New Nation.
Habib Rahman, director of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants was quoted in the newspaper as saying that the council "condemned the introduction of visas for Jamaicans as another way of controlling immigration from black countries. The majority of the countries that Britain requires to have visas are black countries and it doesn't affect the gangsters but the ordinary families trying to get together in times of need," he added.He also cited research which pointed out that the numbers of persons overstaying from the predominantly white country, Australia, was about 30,000 to 40,000 with no pressure being put on them.
New Nation said that the British Government was forced to admit that it could not produce similar figures for visitors from countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South African as such figures did not exist.
According to the writer, Ross Slater, the unidentified spokesman at the UK Home Office also reportedly admitted that officials made up the 150 each month overstaying figure used to justify the imposition of the visa regime.
On January 9, the British Home Office cited, as its major reason for requiring visas, pressure on its immigration system by numerous Jamaican visitors and immigration breaches committed by Jamaicans.
The article quoted UK officials saying that between January and June 2002, an average of more than 150 Jamaican nationals stayed beyond their entitlement.
When The Sunday Gleaner contacted the HomeOffice, a spokesperson said race was not a factor in the visa regime decision.
"It is done on the basis where we have problems with immigration and there is a need for a visa regime to be introduced. The regime is not imposed against black countries. There is a list of visa countries and there are countries all over the world in all continents and it is based on immigration information," she said.
She said that the 150 figure quoted did not refer to overstayers, contrary to what is said in the article.
"What I have got is a figure of 150 Jamaicans, not as overstayers but who are refused entry but given temporary admission to the country in order to get them on flights back to Jamaica. They are absconding. Those are the figures that we use. These are the internal management figures," she told The Sunday Gleaner.
New Nation had quoted a UK Home Office spokesman saying that "the figure we gave in the press notice for overstayers was not precise. It was an estimate as actual figures do not exist."
In addition, a spokesperson for the British High Commission in Kingston was also quoted in the British newspaper as saying that another figure cited by the Home Office namely that in the UK's main ports in six weeks prior to Christmas last year, Jamaicans accounted for around 20 per cent of all passengers refused entry was too high.
The article also quoted the spokesman at the high commission as saying, "Initially, we had believed that the figures were relivable but last week they learned that they were actually based on reports from airlines of return tickets not being used up."
The spokesperson pointed out that this was not a good guide to determine if Jamaicans leave the country because many Jamaicans have said that it can be more cost-effective to buy a two-week trip even though one is visiting for a month or two and then find a cheap single flight, sometimes from Miami in the United States to get them to the island.
Also quoted in New Nation was Peter Herbert, chairman of the Society of Black Lawyers.
"I think the Home Office is just squeamish about linking drugs and Jamaica so blatantly so they have come up with this. But Britain has no way of knowing about overstayers because they don't stamp the passports of those leaving," he said.
But the UK Home Office spokeswoman said yesterday that Government has teams which use intelligence gathering methods to track down persons who abscond.
For its part, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade declined to comment on statements made in the article.
"We have been given official figures by the British Government. It is this to which we have responded," said State Minister in the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Senator Delano Franklyn.
