National Geographic’s award-winning “Locked Up Abroad” TV series will feature an episode documenting a true-life tale of a tourist (Zara Whittaker) being arrested and imprisoned in Barbados. No info yet on what the specific circumstances are, but it could be interesting. Watch on National Geographic channel at 10pm EDT on Wednesday 22 July.
“Zara Whittaker, from an impoverished family in Southeast London, left behind her months-old baby to go to Barbados and smuggle cocaine back. She never thought anything could go wrong — her partner in crime had done it 12 times before. Once in Barbados, she found out she was pregnant with her second baby, but felt that shed spent too much of the drug dealers money to pull out. Stopped by the police at the airport, Zara was given a five year prison sentence. She gave birth in Barbados, and after three heartbreaking months, had to give the baby up.”
We hope our BU family watches the show and let us share in the discussion about any conclusions drawn. Thanks to all the BU family members who have emailed their interest!
39 responses so far ↓
Jay // July 18, 2009 at 4:55 PM
It seems National geographic has released a preview of the video.I also find it interesting that someone has been able to smuggle Cocaine through Barbados to the UK without airport security noticing anything.
David // July 18, 2009 at 7:00 PM
Here is the link posted on the National Geographic Channel.
Thought the Customs/Police sniffed the luggage etc.
Carson C. Cadogan // July 19, 2009 at 2:53 PM
A message from Zara Whittaker
…….”i have been trying to find about some of the fellows that were n glendairy at the same time as myself who i ussed to communicate with i dont no if you would know them or there where abouts at this time there names were davidson joseph,roger thomas and carline payne (aka romeo) all so if you ever happen to see any of the female officers ms best miss ifill both ms moores and ms connell tell them i say hi and so does lil joshua.” …….
If any readers know any of these people please pass on the greetings from Zara.
David // July 19, 2009 at 5:20 PM
@CCC
Hope you sent Zara the blog link to get her first hand perspective!
donald duck esq // July 19, 2009 at 8:50 PM
We don’t have the “Barbados general hospital” that is seen in the clip anymore.
Sir Bentwood Dick // July 19, 2009 at 10:03 PM
Jay wrote ‘I also find it interesting that someone has been able to smuggle Cocaine through Barbados to the UK without airport security noticing anything’
No, I was told in the UK, that Barbados was, I am not sure if still, a major transhipment point.
Ya tink some a de riches dat be here just come bout so?
Nah man.
One time, I even see a bajan fella liming in a square in central London pon de phone, same fella I us-ed tuh see liming bout Accra, also much pon de phone.
Mine you, he could jess been callin he women.
Maybe.
Carson C. Cadogan // July 19, 2009 at 10:47 PM
“Hope you sent Zara the blog link to get her first hand perspective”
Yes I did.
I might as well tell you now , there is a Glendairy survivor group on facebook. There are other former inmates as part of this group. Zara is only of them. I got an invitation to join from Terry Donaldson the former inmate who wrote “Hell in Barbados”.
Jay // July 20, 2009 at 9:23 PM
It seems Ms. Whittaker made a comment on the Nation news site.
http://www.nationnews.com/news/local/loocked-up-abroad-copy-for-web
“locked up abroad in barbados : 7/20/2009
hi everyone before the show is aired i would like people to no that i didnt do this show tto give barbados a bad name or to make people feel sorry for me i done it in hope that i could stop another person making the same misake prison life wasnt easy but i done the crime and i done my time.
zara whittaker”
zara whittaker // July 21, 2009 at 4:08 AM
hi everyone i see that u are all looking forward to the show on wednesday i wish i could say that for all but thats life i havent give barbados a bad name in the show they were not my intentions they were to try stop someone from making the same mistake due to my stupid mistake i missed out on a lot of precious time with my kids time that i cant ever replace but i put it all down to experience and dont dwell on it i commited a crime and served my time now im home making up for lost time well i hope you all enjoy the show and look forward to any feedback godbless and take care to all
David // July 21, 2009 at 5:53 AM
Hi Zara
Was there homosexual behaviour practiced at the prison that you observed?
Was there fraternization between the prisoners and warders.
Did you see evidence of drugs being used/sold?
zara whittaker // July 21, 2009 at 6:12 AM
Hi david
yes there was homosexual behaviour within the prison on both the male and female prison although i am made to believe it was a lot worse on the male side.we did not have male officers in the female section men worked with the men women with the women i did see evidence of drugs in the prison but they were presciption drugs eg valium sleeping pills and other pills that gave u a happy feeling but this was within my first couple of days and the package was caught by an officer from that day there was nothing within the female prison
David // July 21, 2009 at 6:18 AM
Thanks Zara, what was you impression on how the warders felt about Colonel John Nurse?
zara whittaker // July 21, 2009 at 7:00 AM
to be honest david i was to believe that since john nurse had taken over he had improved the prison he had teachers come in for classes and we also had meny activities in the female prison
David // July 21, 2009 at 7:05 AM
Thanks Zara, we know he has pushed for improved conditions for inmates BUT the question is how did the warders feel about the changes implemented by Nurse.
zara whittaker // July 21, 2009 at 7:21 AM
if the officers had issues with the improvements john nurse made or john nurse himself they kept between themselves as officers
Judy // July 22, 2009 at 11:18 PM
Very touching. You did your time. I hope you can teach your sons a life lesson. No judgment from me. All the best, from a Bajan.
Georgie Porgie // July 22, 2009 at 11:43 PM
The shot of the outside of the Bridgetown Hospital was ridiculous!
The scenes of the female section of the prison at Glendairy were fairly realistic from my recollection of visiting that section of the prison, when I used to act as MO back in the 80’s & 90’s.
Have they changed the uniforms for the female warders?
Myself // July 23, 2009 at 12:50 AM
Funny thing, I’m sitting here watching Zara’s story on the tele right now. Hope everything is going well for you now Zara.
zara whittaker // July 23, 2009 at 5:39 AM
hi everyone thank you for watching the show i do hope you enjoyed it judy thank you so much for your comment i share my experience with the younger generation in hope i can stop someone makin the same mistake and to the poster named as myself its hard to just settled back in to life when so much around you has changed but im doing well im home with my children and have another baby and am now making something of my life again thank you for watching and for your kind comments god bless
Nick R // July 23, 2009 at 10:38 AM
How do you think they suspected you at the airport? Everything looked quite routine and there were no signs that you should have been pulled aside.
Dan // July 23, 2009 at 12:55 PM
Yeah, they didn’t really mention any details about how you got pinched. Did they ever tell you why you were searched? I just can’t get over what must have been going through your mind as you were getting caught. That had to be about the scariest thing imaginable. Thanks for sharing your story with the world! Hopefully you were able to make that 10K off the show at least!! Best wishes!
Carson C. Cadogan // July 23, 2009 at 1:59 PM
It was a tip off.
Georgie Porgie // July 23, 2009 at 8:03 PM
The other ridiculous thing about the show was the scene with the sentencing in what one presumes to be a magistrates court
Having given evidence in every court in Barbados, I can assure you that that “court room scene ” was very bogus and not representative of any court in Barbados.
Themis // July 23, 2009 at 9:19 PM
I can corroborate that, GP. I found that the message of the show got through…avoid being a mule. But the package was laughable at times…the laughter of the Customs officer when the drugs were discovered, the presence of the male policeman during the strip search, the insistence on “what do you have to declare”, the removal of the bags without reason…
Georgie Porgie // July 24, 2009 at 8:32 AM
Must agree with your additional observations Themis.
Producers of the show could easily have got these things correct.
As though they seemed to project as twits.
I dont particularly care about the story or two stupid English women who tried to smuggle drugs out of Barbados.
But I do care about Barbados being portrayed acurately.
kingman13 // July 26, 2009 at 9:13 PM
wait barbados had a prison who glendairy i thought dat bun down so where de other priosn
kingman13 // July 26, 2009 at 9:16 PM
did the other woman went to jail with u
zara
queenam // July 26, 2009 at 10:23 PM
The story was great but i did not like some of the portrayals of Barbados. QEH was called I think, st. michael general hospital and was a red brick building. the magistrate’s court too was laughable. As highly developed as Barbados is, some countries still seem hell-bent on wanting others to believe that our development can not be compared to theirs.
In watching the story, it seems that Zara was caught because Customs had been observing the older lady all along. She had told Zara that she had brought drugs from Barbados 12 times before. however, I like the fact that zara was reunited with her sons. she was very young and naive. i hope she does not let that deter her from visiting Barbados as a tourist some time in the future.
ro // August 2, 2009 at 9:54 PM
what happened to maggie?
congrats on being reunited with your boys and God bless your mum.
Nancy // September 24, 2009 at 10:58 PM
I found the Facebook page referred to in earlier notes. Reading all the articles and seeing all the photos in associated articles and the TV Documentary was a bit overwhelming. Was in Glendairy Prison 1972 when I was 16 years old. All these years later I can still remember the smells, the sounds…. and most of all the fear. Take Care all of you !! You are in my thoughts….
Judy // September 24, 2009 at 11:26 PM
Were you a Bajan? I never knew you could be in Glendairy at that young an age. I thought it would be at the female equivalent of Dods.
Nancy // September 24, 2009 at 11:37 PM
I was 16 and my girlfriend was 18… they discussed having ME moved but they never did… I think they just decided it was better to keep the 2 of us together @ Glendairy Prison… both of us Canadians, blue eyed blondes….so we weren’t hard to find at any time… I wouldn’t want to have been seperated from her … we would sing to each other at night when we were most afraid… until one of us would eventually drift off, of course we were separted by the cell walls but we felt less alone somehow…
Judy // September 25, 2009 at 12:01 AM
What were you afraid of? I would have been 13 yrs in 1972 and I am a white, seventh generation Bajan. What were you accused of? How long were you in Glendairy?
Nancy // September 25, 2009 at 4:34 PM
Judy: I am not sure if everyone here wants to hear the details of what happened with Jeannie & I in 1972…
National Geo’s report was on more “current” state of foreign prisons.
In short summation, I was eventually found not to be guilty and my girlfriend was found guilty and sentenced to a term in Gelndairy prison. My stay was but for a few months before we went before the Magistrate together. The conditions in Glendairy Prison in 1972 were fearful for anyone/everyone. Keep in mind National Geo didn’t do an expose of what it was like some 30+ years ago…. to me it appeared the prison when Zara was there was improved greatly. … sad to say…
Christopher Halsall // September 25, 2009 at 4:48 PM
@Nancy: “Judy: I am not sure if everyone here wants to hear the details of what happened with Jeannie & I in 1972
I’m also not sure if everyone here wants to hear the details.
But I personally (and I suspect many others) would definitely like to.
Please share what you know.
Kindest regards.
Nancy // September 26, 2009 at 1:37 AM
Att: Zara
The book you referred to on the Facebook page entitled “The Zara Whittaker Story ” is being sold on Amazon.com and many other places as well. If you did NOT participate in the publication of this book and it is “total fabrication & lies” you can certainly go after the publishers. You know the Author… Terrence Donaldson.
The first page of the book (as seen on Amazon.Com) reads…
“Nightmare in Barbados” by Zara Whittacker….. assisted by Terrance Donaldson.
I have included the link for you..
http://www.amazon.com/Zara-Whittaker-Story-terence-donaldson/dp/1409280403
Kerr // October 15, 2009 at 9:50 AM
how much did you get paid for making the programme?
GC // October 28, 2009 at 2:27 PM
Hi Zara, I’m from Asia and I just watched the episode and was moved by your strength and determination to reunite with your boys. Five years is a long time. Take care.
neil // November 4, 2009 at 11:11 AM
can anyone tell me how many children Zara had in prison me and my wife watched the tv show and we are sure it was just one but her mate reckons Zara had two kids in pirson ?