A Happy New Year for Joseph family

BWIA co-pilot, First Officer Rawle Joseph, who was unable to spend Christmas with his family after he was detained by the FBI in New York, yesterday returned home very happy to be able to spend the New Year with his family. “I am very happy to be back home,” stated a very sombre and relieved Joseph. Joseph was one of two BWIA pilots who were detained in Miami and New York last week by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) when their names appeared on a US “no-fly” list. Speaking to the media within the confines of the VIP Lounge at Piarco International Airport yesterday around 1.10 pm, Joseph said, “I just don’t want to be a star, I just want to go back to Arima and a quiet little life.” Joseph arrived in Piarco as a passenger on BW 425 from New York, which was scheduled to arrive at 1 pm, but which arrived at 12.54 pm. “I am very thankful to the various embassies in New York, Washington, the Permanent Secretaries and the Minister, everybody who rallied around me, my immediate boss, Captain Lawrence, who kept in contact with me,” he stated.

Accompanying Joseph to speak with the media was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Patrick Edwards, who said: “We are happy the boys are back home as this was our first priority.” Edwards went on to add: “Any infringement on the rights of the ambassadors of TT cannot be taken lightly at all.” The ministry has been working assiduously since Christmas day to get them back home. “Now that they are all home with their families, it was the best Christmas and New Year’s gift you could give to the pilots, to their families and to the nation,” he claimed. Edwards pledged that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would be working to “get all aspects of this unsavoury incident sorted out and finalised for the happiness of everybody.” Expressing thanks to the American government for working closely with the TT authorities to ensure the pilots’ release, he refused questions, promising that “there would be a full press conference later on.”

On the issue of whether the demand by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get an apology will be pursued, Edwards replied, “All these matters are being looked at, and we will certainly have more to say on this later.” BWIA Captain Roger Grell, who was also on hand to welcome Joseph back home, conveyed his gratitude to “all the various people who helped, the minister and the embassies who helped,” to get both pilots back home. Despite the fact that there were no officials of BWIA, besides Grell, on hand to welcome Joseph home, BWIA communications manager, Clint Williams, when contacted simply said: “We are glad to have him back, and we very much appreciate the efforts of the ministry in securing their release and return to Trinidad.” A release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed that none of Joseph’s visas had been cancelled, nor had he been released into the custody of armed guards.