Woman reveals shocking incident at Kingston airport
Rosheika Grant, STAR Writer
What was meant to be a routine return flight to Canada after spending time with her family in Jamaica, turned into a nightmare for Shanna-Kaye Cunningham.
Although the Jamaican-born woman told security officers she was menstruating, she was asked to undress fully while attempting to board a flight at the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA).
Cunningham said on Tuesday, September 15, shortly after going through the security screening checkpoint, she was approached by a security guard who pat her down.
“While patting me down she told me to raise one leg at a time,” recalled the 20-year-old.
Her underwear
After being approached by another officer who took information from her passport, Cunningham was accosted by two more guards.
“Two giant ladies told me to follow them into a room and as we entered, they stood against the door,” she recalled.
The St Ann native was then told to remove all of her clothes including her underwear.
“I said to the lady, ‘I’m on my period, do you still want me to strip?’ She said, ‘yes’,” said Cunningham, who claims she was traumatised by the incident.
Although shocked, she followed the instructions.
“I pulled my pad along with my panties down to my knee with the blood on it, and me still dripping wet with blood,” she revealed.
Cunningham said she had expected some sort of sympathy from the female officers instead of the treatment she received. She also accused the guards of profiling her because of how she looked as other persons were not searched in the manner she was.
Now reluctant
“I would have expected them to ask me from female to female if I was on my period and not to assume that because I am young and a female means I am carrying drugs,” she said.
After living abroad for 12 years, Cunningham is now reluctant to come back to Jamaica. “It makes me not want to travel back there just in case they try it again.”
A senior official from the NMIA sent an email apologising for the incident to Cunningham and promised she would be contacted a week later when investigations would be completed. That call has not yet materialised according to Cunningham.
Attempts to reach the management of NMIA for a comment proved futile.
oh my!
A suh some a dem old drancrow stray. Thinking that, they can do whatever they please wid people and dem same one a push di drugs tru. Gal fi sue out dem ass dem too out of orda.
damn how humiliating, ,and a violation of of rights.
Same thing happen to me but at that time I was 19 and I was ahead of my aunt on the line coming back to the US they pulled me over and did a strip search I wasn’t allowed to even look for my aunt. Although I heard her calling for me. I told them that my flight is leaving and they told me that I won’t be on that flight. After that all hell bruk out. You try to be respectful but they bring out the worst in you always.
The officers that did the body search on this young woman are “bloody” out – a order.
She shudda slap dem wid di dutty pad dem too damn disgusting…from she tell dem she on her period wah more dem want see smh mi can’t stand dem outta Norman Manley dem sick dog stomach
Dem fi memba seh dem damn profiling system nah work nuff time. Is same suh they pulled me over for check and di lady was wondering why dem single mi out fi luggage processing when mi nuh hab nutten of importance. Dem do the same ting wid mi dad, ask him how much rum him hab, him seh two, dem nuh believe him, dig up and dig up bag and not a ting more fi find dan di two rass bakkle a rum…kmt. Is like dem just plan fi set pon u sometimes. I bet dem not even did offer this girl wipes or nutten. Is same suh someone told me they made her take a dump at the airport and they were digging through the shit to see if drugs were in it, all now nutten. Is who coulda come tell me seh mi haffi dig up ppl shit as part a mi job responsibility. Some a dem won’t even teck up dem dog shit , but haffi dig through ppl shit..I can’t
to rassclaat…meck dem do di woman suh..smh