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Shivnarine Chanderpaul mistaken to be an immigrant at Guyana airport

West Indies cricket hero Shivnarine Chanderpaul 

West Indies cricket icon Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been humiliated at Guyana airport, where he was mistaken to be an immigrant in the very country of his birth, according to the cricketer’s interview with Guyana Times.

On Monday when Chanderpaul landed at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport at Timehri, after travelling from a ceremonial event in New York, an untoward fracas happened when a Guyanese female airport official failed to recognise him – despite huge posters of him being placed at important points in the airport building.

Chanderpaul, who is the second highest run scorer in the history of West Indies, only after Brian Lara, reported the incident thus:

“When I came in last night [Monday night] I was asked by a girl, who is the Immigration Officer, if I’m a Guyanese, and I said look at the form you will see the place of birth on it. She then asked me where is Unity village [Chanderpaul’s home village].

Despite admitting to have been taken aback at the questions, the diminutive but spunky Chanderpaul reacted to the incident in a manner typical of his several brave batting innings – “So I was left to ask if she is really Guyanese.”

Crying shame that West Indies heroes are not recognised: Chanderpaul

Chanderpaul has also played a record 164 Tests for his country, but this was, however, not the first time he has faced the humiliation of not being recognised in his own country.

He said, “The thing is, these things keep happening. I remember last month we went out there for a West Indies Legends game in New York, and when I came back, I came out from the back-end of the aircraft, and by the time I got to the terminal it was already packed so I joined the VIP line,” he said.

“A guy came and told me ‘you can’t be here, get out and join the queue at the back.’ I end up coming out because I don’t have a diplomatic passport, and I ended up joining the line. These are some of the things that happen sometimes, but you have to put them behind you.”

Chanderpaul labelled the treatment of his country’s national heroes a shame. “I don’t have a diplomatic passport so I have to put up with these things. If people in your own country can’t recognise their national heroes then it’s a crying shame.

“I’ve asked a lot of times [about getting a diplomatic passport], I’ve never been told that I’ll get one, but I know a lot of other players have.”

A juxtaposition of events which took place within hours of each other puts an ironic twist to the issue – The ‘icon’ who cannot be recognised:

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