Confessions of a Customs and Immigration Officer (original) (raw)

I am a twenty-five year old Boarder Services Officer (BSO) who works at a large Canadian international airport. When I tell people what I do for a living they often react with surprise. When I continue on and inform them that my academic training is in education, especially in the field of elementary students, they react with even greater surprise. As a young racialized woman, I suppose I do not appear to resemble a "typical" officer. As soon as people get over their shock, they quite often launch straight into a story about mistreatment that they suffered at the hands of my colleagues on the last occasion they travelled internationally. As a result of the various negative reactions I inevitably receive, I often avoid telling people what I do for a living. Until I began my employment as a BSO, I did not understand how my racialized body, in a particular uniform, in a space such as the airport, could be laden with significance. As I approach the one year anniversary of the day I started my job, I am reflexive about the experiences which I have had. I am slowly growing to understand and appreciate that my presence in that particular space has implications for fellow officers and passengers, from both dominant and marginalized groups in society.