the stop list

Since 9/11 America has not only beefed up their security measures but have also clamped down on visitors entering their domain. They've introduced legislation, policies & all sorts of checks that have been put into place to ensure that they aren't letting in the wrong kind of crowd, i.e. potential terrorists or criminals that could be potential terrorists. Ample pressure has also been placed on Canada, because in their mind potential terrorists can sneak in through the border (the largest unprotected border in the world). The reality is that it's often hard to catch or pinpoint a potential terrorist & so far so many broad generalizations have been made on deciding whom to approve & whom to reject. However, when it comes to protecting one's homeland, especially given past events, paranoia seems to work best.

Last week's milk carton featured this message & as I began to pour, I actually stopped to read the message, for perhaps the first time. A few hours later I watched Hubby do the same. It definitely catches your eye. We've read about the Stop List before - newspapers urging Bermuda's citizens to stay crime free, as this poses an obstacle for travel to the US, especially if convicted of certain crimes. The Stop List is quite serious. Not being able to travel to America for most Bermudians is an inconvenience at best & a damper on their many vacation plans. Being so close to Bermuda, many locals take the quick flight over to many states in America for shopping trips or just plain fun. Take that away & you're left with very few options. Sure, there's Canada as an alternative, but flight rates are far more expensive than many of the deals available to many US hot spots. The Stop List applies to any & all nationalities not just Bermuda but perhaps no more regulated than here. For some of Bermuda's youth, the Stop List can be viewed as nothing less than an incentive to stay away from crime, if they would like to someday visit the land of opportunity, or at least have the option to.