Seaman threatens to sue State over covid19 border closure

A mariner who left TT on March 14 to attend a four-day training course in Brazil, is threatening legal action against the State because he has not received an exemption to return home.

Marc Lorenzo Bodden, a second officer and father of six, is stranded in Barbados because of the border closure.

Bodden, of Golconda, south Trinidad, left on March 15 and was expected to return on March 23. When he learned of the decision to close the borders on March 22 because of the covid19 pandemic, he tried to get his flight brought up but there were none leaving on time.

In a pre-action protocol letter, Bodden’s attorneys Anand Ramlogan, SC, and Che Dindial, said he went to TT’s consulate in Brazil and was advised to take a flight to the United Kingdom after which he could travel to Barbados and then to Trinidad.

He did so, arriving in the UK on March 25 and Barbados two days later.

Bodden was put in mandatory quarantine at the Paragon military camp in Barbados for 14 days. He was released from quarantine on April 11, after testing negative for covid19 and is now in self-isolation at a guest house.

The letter said Bodden has moved three times because of his financial situation and it costs him approximately US$60 per night for accommodation.

Dindial said Bodden wrote to Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram on April 20, asking if he could be accommodated on the chartered flight which brought the 33 TT nationals who were in Barbados.

Bodden also wrote to National Security Minister Stuart Young asking to be permitted back home, expressing his anxiety and frustration of being stranded for so long despite being asymptomatic and compliant with all the health regulations.

He was also expected to return to work at Shell on May 6, and on May 25 he again e-mailed Young asking for permission to re-enter TT since he was out of money.

“Our client is the sole breadwinner of his family, and has exhausted his savings and funds to date. He is therefore in a very real financial crisis,” the pre-action protocol letter said.

On June 4, Bodden received an e-mail from the National Security Ministry’s corporate communications unit telling him his application for exemption would be considered.

The letter claims Bodden has been unfairly treated since other nationals have been granted exemptions to return to TT.

“It remains a mystery as to why our client has been neglected all this time. In the absence of a clear criteria for assessing persons who seek to be brought back into Trinidad, the conduct of the Ministry of National Security remains ambiguous, irrational and unreasonable,” the letter said.

“He feels like a refugee; stateless and unwelcome in his homeland. It is foreseeable in the near future that he may very well be living on the streets. There is no free accommodation for stranded nationals in Barbados provided by the State, and the courtesies of friends are no guarantee.”

It added that Bodden intends to file a claim for the breach of his right to equal treatment by a public body and an order demanding that the minister reconsider his application for exemption.

He will also be seeking compensation for the loss he has incurred as a result of his extended stay outside TT.

Bodden gave the State 48 hours to respond because he has exhausted his savings and was on the brink of poverty and desperate financial ruin.

“He is frustrated and depressed and needs to return home to be with his wife and young children. He is stranded in Barbados living on the charity of friends and strangers. Time is therefore of the essence.”