I know that I said I was on holiday until Jan 3rd, but I just saw this statement from Labour Minister Derrick Burgess and can only shake my head at the completely over-the-top nature of it:
"On Monday, December 18th, 2006, both the Department of Immigration and the Ministry of Labour and Immigration received complaints from members of the public in respect of this matter. As a result, the Department immediately launched an investigation. There was also a story on the electronic media about this incident. Once the Minister of Labour and Immigration, the Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, JP, MP, had been fully informed about the incident, and determined that this person was undesirable by any civic evaluation or standard, he instructed the Department of Immigration to take all immediate and necessary steps under the law to remove this man from the country forthwith.To make a statement threatening to put arsenic in the food of the Leader of any country or Head of State, is reprehensible to say the least and is tantamount to threatening an act of terrorism, a criminal act of a most heinous nature. Such behaviour will not be tolerated by this Government administration, least of all from a guest worker in this country and particularly from someone who, as purportedly responsible as an Executive Chef, was in a position to make good such a threat. No modern democracy post 9/11 would or should, take such threats lightly or in jest.
For completeness, you will be aware that the work permit holder in question had resigned his position, thus his work permit and residence in Bermuda were no longer valid or legally tenable. At which point, travel arrangements were promptly made and the work permit holder subsequently escorted by Immigration Officers, to the Bermuda International Airport for safe and swift passage out of Bermuda."
Give me a break. The comment was dumb, but it was obviously just totally off the cuff and in jest. Chefs are notoriously foul-mouthed jokesters.
For the Government to equate a joke with terrorism and invoking Sept. 11th is just absurd.
But my favourite part is this act of intimidation to foreign workers:
Such behaviour will not be tolerated by this Government administration, least of all from a guest worker in this country...
Translation: Know your place you lowlife foreigners.
What a disgrace this non-event has become.
As I said initially, that we can fire and deport someone so quickly over a dumb joke, yet laud the Premier for his disgraceful and non-joking character assassination in Parliament says it all for me.
Grow up Bermuda.
Oh, and Merry Christmas.
