New embassy phone rule hits ‘runners’ hard

The US Embassy’s decision to allow visa applicants to carry their cell phones, earbuds and smart watches inside has dealt a major blow to a small roadside hustle that has survived for years outside its St Andrew compound.

On Thursday, one runner could be heard trying to convince an applicant to hand over her belongings for safekeeping.

“Come lady, come wid yuh daughter mi will keep your things dem,” she called.

The applicant eventually handed over a bag containing a tablet and received a numbered card matching the number attached to her bag.

But such transactions appeared far less frequent than before, leaving some runners wondering how they will survive as more applicants simply carry their devices inside.

“This is it for the hustlers because phone and watch are what them made them money from,” a Standpipe resident who works in the area told THE WEEKEND STAR.

“People always have them phone, dem watch or earbuds. Them have other things to do on the road so it hard fi dem lef them phone so they would carry it and pay fi the runner keep it,” the resident said.

Another longtime runner, Simone ‘Shelley’ Henry, however, is refusing to give up. After 19 years doing the job, Henry said she is still finding ways to earn, even though the new policy has reduced demand for phone storage.

“Dem caah stop me from do weh me a do. Me park the car dem same way, give them parking, me do me likkle thing still,” she said. “One and two people still left dem phone give we cause them say dem nuh trust dem.”

Henry said some longtime customers continue to leave their phones with her despite being allowed to take them inside.

“People come same way. When the customer dem come, me tell them the truth. Mi tell them say, ‘Yuh know say the embassy a allow uno fi carry in uno phone now?’ And them say dem nuh business with that, a me them a give them phone because a years some a dem a come here and we never thief anything, so them leave it anyway,” she said.

Still, other runners say the impact has been immediate.

“From last week nothing naah gwaan,” Jadine said.

“We naah make no money at all because the people dem a bring in them phone. About 16 years now me a do this, a it send my kids go school so mi nuh know what we a go do now.”

For applicants, however, the change has been welcomed.

Glendon Fulton, who travelled from Discovery Bay, St Ann, said he arrived around 9:30 a.m. and was through before 9:45, but was then left waiting for his driver because his phone was in the vehicle.

“I am happy that they have changed the procedure because it helps us a lot. If I had known, I wouldn’t be in this predicament where I can’t get to my driver and have to wait,” he said.

Shakeva Lewis, who travelled from St Elizabeth after leaving home about 4 a.m., also supports the change. She had left her phone at home rather than pay someone to keep it, but said being able to carry it inside would make the process easier.

On Thursday, this newspaper observed noticeably fewer runners outside the embassy, with some sitting around and others waiting for applicants who had been sent back outside with prohibited items.

Henry, however, remains determined.

“That’s why yuh must always have a Plan B, something on the side doing. Yuh can’t put uno egg inna one basket, cause things and times easy fi change.”