'No parking for visa applicants', THE STAR reported yesterday, as an empty lot opposite the United States Embassy on Oxford Road, New Kingston, has been sold.

Of course, many of the applicants are livid, as there simply is nowhere close to park for the beginning of what can be a very long process.

Just in case there are thoughts that this is a matter of U.S. arrogance, the same goes for the Canadian High Commission on West King's House Road, which did not even have a conveniently-placed open lot in the first place.

There has, of course, been a lot of fuming and grumbling about the matter, THE STAR reporting that many people see it as a case of disrespect.

Maybe it is, maybe it is not, but the fact is that the U.S. and Canada did not roll out a red carpet in invitation for people to apply for visas, whether it is to live or to visit. It is Jamaicans who are paying the fees and standing on Oxford Road from before dawn, waiting for the chance to stand up in front of that officer and make a case.

When people see that others want something that they have they will treat them with disdain. This is what is happening here to those who want the visas to go up North or up far North. The respective embassies advise applicants to take public transportation and we are sure that, complaints and all, that advice will be followed.