It always amazes me how in Europe and the United States there is pretty much the free flow of citizens of one country to the next or from one state to the next without issue, but yet here in the Caribbean we seem totally incapable of simply getting along.

This developing row between Jamaica and Barbados is just yet another example of the simple issues that we can't seem to get right. Pretty much all of Jamaica are siding with Shanique Myrie, the woman at the centre of this imbroglio, after she made the claim that she was abused by immigration and customs officials in Barbados.

Bajan officials have described Myrie's accusations as baseless, but you know what, I believe her. I have no story, to tell about my visit to Barbados. I was actually ushered past immigration, so I didn't have any concerns about being felt up or being physically abused by policemen, but when you listen to Myrie's story you get the sense that this is not something she made up because she was not allowed entry into Barbados.

Jamaicans have been having a hard time in recent years when it comes to getting into any country in the world. I mean, when St Maarten, a tiny Dutch country that is all sand and sea and with no industry save for tourism and casinos, can impose visa restrictions on us, you know things gone bad. After all, everywhere you turn on that island there are Jamaicans employed.

Truth is many Jamaicans who have gone on before have made it bad for the rest of us. We go into the different countries and function like they're ours. We break their laws and behave as if we want to transform the place into another version of Jamaica. We need to tone it down a bit. We need to respect the places we visit and adhere to their rules and regulations. We need to behave.

However, not all of us are like that. Not all of us behave like hooligans and we should not be treated as such. It is in this context that I find it very disappointing that this situation has come up. I also applaud Myrie for taking her case public because the matter needs to be dealt with because Barbados is not the only country guilty of treating us Jamaicans like we are all criminals.

law-abiding citizens

I know Jamaicans living all across the region and they are hard-working, law-abiding citizens. So why do the respective authorities use the actions of a few to profile an entire nation. Back in the 80s when I was a student at CAST, there were girls there from Trinidad and Barbados, there were guys from Dominica and St Vincent but we all got along. Jamaican guys would date the Trinidad and Antiguan girls and vice versa. And we would more often than not sit down over beers and have a good time.

Yeah, every now and then some idiot unable to get a girl would complain about the foreigners taking all the girls but a woman likes who she likes and if you have no game and the 'foreigner' does, such is life. There are more fish in the sea.

That aside, there were no major issues. What I think is at the root of the problem is the generally poor and indecisive leadership right across the region. The leaders of the respective countries pass down their insecurities to some of the not-so bright ones among their population and they become the issue.

For this issue to go away we all need to recognise one thing; we are all citizens of the Caribbean. We should be working with each other to make life better for all of us and not waste time trying to destroy each other. The crabs-in-a-barrel syndrome needs to be put to rest. Look out at the rest of the world people. We seem to be the only ones still doing it.

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I know Jamaicans living all across the region and they are hard-working, law-abiding citizens. So why do the respective authorities use the actions of a few to profile an entire nation.