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The Tribune
Volume:116 No.186, SEPTEMBER 20TH, 2019
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THE EXTENSIVE damage and destruction to The Mudd from Hurricane Dorian.
Photo: Gonzalo Gaudenzi/AP
Smith warns govt cannot use Dorian to take away people’s property rights HAITI ‘IN NO POSITION TO HELP’ DISPLACED RESIDENTS
MAN SHOT DEAD AS HE SITS IN HIS CAR
By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
ATTORNEY Fred Smith says the property rights of residents from The Mudd and Pigeon Peas survived Hurricane Dorian’s destruction of buildings in their communities. Mr Smith, pictured, suggested that though the government has issued a prohibition order against residential and commercial construction in the areas,
the legal fight over the future of the property is not complete. “The government couldn’t take away their property rights before Dorian and so the government cannot legally use the disaster of Dorian to now take away the same property rights that existed before Dorian,” he said. “Just like every other community, they have a right to rebuild.” SEE PAGE FIVE
By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
MANY displaced residents of The Mudd and Pigeon Peas shanty towns are wedged between a rock and a hard place because Haiti is in no position to accept them and their homes in Abaco have been completely wiped out. Haiti has no functioning government; its parliament is not in session and it doesn’t have a
national budget. This was the opinion of Haitian Chargé d'Affaires Dorval Darlier yesterday, who said while he agrees with the government’s sixmonth construction ban in unregulated communities in Abaco, it highlights the uncertainty and fears of people who once called these places home. On Sunday, the government issued a ban ordering no new construction in those communities. The ban will be enforced
for six months or longer if government sees the need. But with Haiti’s government remaining in turmoil, Mr Darlier was noncommittal on advising people to return there. “You know we are in a situation of crisis right now,” Mr Darlier told The Tribune yesterday. “We don’t have no legitimate government in place as you know. On both sides, there’s a lot of pressure. There are a lot of problems SEE PAGE FIVE
By RIEL MAJOR Tribune Staff Reporter rmajor@tribunemedia.net A MAN died in hospital after he was shot while sitting in his car on Wednesday night, police said. The incident is the sixth killing police reported this week. It pushed the murder count to 76 for the year, according to this newspaper’s records. Police said shortly SEE PAGE NINE
SURVIVORS PICKING UP THE PIECES By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
FOR many Hurricane Dorian victims who were lucky to survive the monster storm, the uncertain process of picking up the pieces of their lives now begins. One of those victims,
Edward Reckley, is not troubled by much. He evacuated Abaco, but his home is intact. While he saw dead bodies in the Marsh Harbour clinic, he is not emotionally scarred. Though the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium is crowded, he is comfortable with its accommodations.
“My only complaint is my wife,” he told The Tribune outside the gym. “She want carry my six children and run to the States.” Deciding what to do can be fraught with problems for those displaced by Hurricane Dorian. For families, it can be worryingly contentious. SEE PAGE SIX
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
THE PEOPLE WHO LEFT HOME TO COME AND HELP
SEE PAGE EIGHT
PAGE 2, Friday, September 20, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
ency Mana erg ge Em
t Agency en m
The Natio na l
Death toll reaches 52 HURRICANE DORIAN THE BAHAMAS DAILY STATS
www.bahamas.gov.bs/nema/dailyupdates
THURSDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 2019 11:00 AM
CURRENT DEATH TOLL & MISSING PERSONS
52
OFFICIAL DEATH COUNT
(more expected)
1,300+
Coalitions of Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) are faced with unprecedented logistical challenges in trying to access hard-to-reach areas with widely dispersed numbers of transient and undocumented populations. NEMA can only offer facts reported by Royal Bahamas Police Force. Updates will be ongoing. This number will change as the list of missing persons is cross-checked against shelter lists and other records of displaced individuals. Updates will be ongoing.
MISSING PERSONS 24 HR HOTLINE CALL 524-0834 OR 524-0835 Monday through Saturday
MISSING PERSONS
SHELTERED PERSONS NEW PROVIDENCE
10
1,889
Shelters Persons
AIRPORTS
GRAND BAHAMA
2
68
ELEUTHERA
ABACO
1
*Shelter has been deactivated due to lack of usage.
*Statistics not available, privately managed.
Shelters Persons
(CIVIL AVIATION)
Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) are in place for Grand Bahama and Abaco. Grand Bahama airport is limited to approved local commercial traffic during operating hours.
GRAND BAHAMA
1 Limited 1 Operational Capacity EST. DISPLACED No radar at Grand 1 Non-operational PEOPLE Bahama International. Only air traffic control tower and advisory 1 Unknown services available.
14
Shelters
By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net FIFTY autopsies have been completed on Hurricane Dorian victims, but none of these were children, confirmed Health Minister Dr Duane Sands yesterday. According to Dr Sands, officials performed eight post-mortem examinations on Grand Bahama storm victims, with the remainder from Abaco. He said there was also one indirect death of a kidney patient who did not receive access to care. The Tribune reported on Monday that mother-oftwo Annora Kemp died in a Grand Bahama hospital on September 4 after she was unable to get dialysis on time due to Hurricane Dorian.
Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Anthony Ferguson said the official Dorian death toll has increased to 52 after police recovered one deceased person from Abaco. Since Monday, the death toll was confirmed to be 51, increasing only by one after stalling for one week at 50 casualties. The National Emergency Management Agency explained the sluggish death declarations in an update disseminated to the media. “Coalitions of urban search and rescue are faced with unprecedented logistical challenged in trying to access hard-to-reach areas with widely dispersed numbers of transient and undocumented population. NEMA can only offer facts reported by the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
Updates will be ongoing,” the agency said. Earlier this week, Dr Sands said the government’s intention is to treat each victim with dignity, adding there were no plans to conduct mass burials. He also said that due to the nature of the storm, some of the victims’ bodies may never be recovered. However, he was unable to state how long officials would continue to store unidentified remains, pointing to some instances where bodies have been held in the Rand Morgue at Princess Margaret Hospital for years. Ultimately, he said the decision about whether bodies will be removed from cold storage and buried would be a collective one.
ABACO
4 3 1
Operational Limited Capacity Unknown
islands open for business
The Bahamas has 16 main islands. By visiting our other 14 islands you are supporting The Bahamas’ recovery.
Email nemadonations@bahamas.gov.bs
ency Mana erg ge Em
nc t Age y en m
DONATE TO HURRICANE DORIAN RELIEF
The Natio na l
Always check the NEMA website for use of the latest version. Information changes quickly. Partners should be mindful.
A BAHAMAS coroners team carries a body out of The Mudd in Abaco Island on September 9. Photo: Fernando Llano/AP
FORMER PRESIDENT CLINTON SPEAKS TO PM PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis spoke with former United States President Bill Clinton by phone on Wednesday to discuss Hurricane Dorian relief efforts on the affected islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama. Mr Clinton expressed his sadness over the devastation caused by the Category Five storm, and the Clinton Foundation’s willingness to assist The Bahamas in its recovery efforts. Dr Minnis highlighted the need for temporary housing for residents who lost their homes during the storm, the need for assistance with storm debris clean-up and power generation to essential services on islands affected by Hurricane Dorian. Both Dr Minnis and Mr Clinton emphasised the importance of rebuilding the storm affected areas with resilience, given the
PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis speaking to former US President Bill Clinton. impact of climate change experience in working on on small island develop- relief efforts following the ing states such as The magnitude seven earthquake that struck Haiti Bahamas. Mr Clinton noted that in 2010, and Hurricane the Clinton Foundation Maria that caused catawould hold a special ses- strophic destruction to sion on the Bahamas Puerto Rico two years ago. Dr Minnis thanked Mr during one of its upcoming Clinton for his call and the meetings. Mr Clinton also referred continued support of the to the foundation’s Clinton Foundation.
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, September 20, 2019, PAGE 3
THE KENDAL GL isaacs gym, where hurricane refugees have taken shelter after being evacuated from Abaco and Grand Bahama.
Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff
Nearly 2,000 housed in emergency shelters By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net TWELVE emergency shelters are housing 1,962 people, according to the National Emergency Management Agency yesterday. In New Providence, there are 1,894 evacuees in ten shelters, 68 in two Grand Bahama shelters and the only Abaco shelter was deactivated due to lack of use. There were no numbers provided for a privately-run shelter in Eleuthera. Additionally, the Salvation Army’s emergency shelter was deactivated yesterday. The 27 people being housed there were transferred to the All Saints
Community Centre. According to the 2010 national census, there were 17,224 people living in the northern and southern parts of Abaco while 10,127 people lived in East Grand Bahama. However, due to Dorian’s destruction, many were forced to evacuate. But NEMA said the number of people evacuated could not be confirmed due to the non-collection of manifests from docks and airport locations. In the wake of Dorian, the government is gradually restoring essential services, which is expected to give people a sense of normalcy. The government is also waiving duty on vehicles under $40,000 that will be
imported to Grand Bahama and Abaco, NEMA said. The agency gave several other updates. Regarding the opening of schools in Grand Bahama, NEMA said officials were challenged with mould remediation, but the goal was to get all schools properly cleaned and prepared for students. However, officials have not decided when all schools will open. “Some government schools are set to re-open on Monday, September 23. However, not all public schools will be able to meet that deadline,” NEMA said. “Once the minister of education along with education officials tour all schools on the island, a determination will be made as to
which schools will open on Monday versus schools that will have delayed openings. “Superintendent of education in Grand Bahama, Ivan Butler says that work being done on some of the schools have been progressing well with the biggest challenge being mould remediation.” A large-scale inspection was also being done on several government buildings. Ministry of Works technical teams of engineers, architects and inspectors have completed their assessments of government buildings and critical infrastructure within East Grand Bahama inclusive of McLean’s Town, Pelican Point High Rock, Freetown, Golden Grove, Gambier Point, Turtle Reef
AID PACKAGES FOR STORM VICTIMS THE government will create packages to assist those who have been affected by the devastation brought on by Hurricane Dorian to help people rebuild their lives and communities, said Deputy Prime Minister K Peter Turnquest. His comment came on Wednesday, during a national prayer service in Grand Bahama. Assistance and incentives will be offered, he said, as he pledged that the government will do its part. He said, “Though we as a people, though we as an island may be down on one knee, we’re not out, we’re not finished. We will bounce back, we will rebuild and we will make Grand Bahama, Abaco and the Bahamas great again.” He also said: “Though we lost much on those fateful days, we’ve lost property, incomes, businesses and most sadly, loved ones. But I’m here to say that despite all our losses and what it may look like and what it may feel like, God is still in control.” Residents may be angry and frustrated questioning why Grand Bahamians must experience the devastation of hurricanes again: he reminded those in attendance that God does not put more on you than you can bear. “Ladies and gentlemen, we must stand. We must stand for those who are missing. We must stand for those who are confirmed dead. We must stand for those who lost shelter
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DEPUTY Prime Minister Peter Turnquest. and basic needs. We must stand for those who feel like giving in and throwing in the towel, given up on Grand Bahama and Abaco. We must stand for our island, neighbours, friends and family in Abaco,” Mr Turnquest said.
“In all that we’ve lost, we’ve also had some great discoveries. We found new heroes, new heroines, new friends, new partners. Acts of kindness and unselfishness, compassion and love from both near and from far.”
and Bevans Town. Assessments were also carried out in McLean’s Town, Freetown and High Rock, within the Grand Bahama Port Authority area and West End, Grand Bahama. These teams have also completed assessments of the Harold DeGregory Complex and Sir Jack Hayward High School. Plans are to go into Mather Town by today. The Road Traffic Department in Grand Bahama, which was severely flooded and closed, is expected to open on Monday. At that time residents who were unable to licence their vehicles for August because of the hurricane, will be able to begin that process.
And for those dependent on unemployment benefits, temporary offices were set up in the CA Smith building for the Department of Labour. The hours of operation are 9.30am to 3pm and the main contact is Janet Russell at 242-376-1393. “Once the cleanup has been completed, Grand Bahama Power is expected to carry out the proper inspections because the offices of the department had been flooded with more than 3ft of water. “All of the sockets within the building must be changed and a certified electrician must then go in to ensure that all protocols had been carried out, before the building is energised,” NEMA said.
PAGE 4, Friday, September 20, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
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Shanty town issue not an easy fix THERE will be many who will not welcome the words of Fred Smith today. That doesn’t mean that he isn’t right. There has been an uncomfortable line of discussion since Hurricane Dorian with regard to the shanty town communities in Abaco - uncomfortable because it seems to have a level of prejudice simmering just underneath the surface. The prohibition order to prevent construction in the shanty town areas of Abaco has been broadly welcomed - but the wording used by the government in posting the order is not the wording being used widely to discuss it. The government quite simply stated that “the purpose of the order is to allow for recovery efforts and the removal of storm debris”. The discussion since seems to have centred around how those buildings should never have been there in the first place and this is an opportunity to make sure they don’t spring up again. Mr Smith - who will doubtless be criticised for his comments - merely points out a simple truth: if the residents have property rights, those rights cannot just be wiped away. There are of course things that can - and should - be done during any reconstruction. The building code is there for a reason, and any rebuilt properties should meet it. There are discussions to make that building code tougher - and if it is tightened, then any newly built properties after those heightened regulations are introduced should meet the standards required. But demanding that buildings meet the required legal standard is very different from demanding people do not rebuild at all if they have the right to the property. Imagine if the government said you couldn’t rebuild your home even if you owned the land, had the right to build there and nowhere else to go. You would presumably be outraged. The residents
of these areas may have a different background, but they are no different in the rights they have than any of the rest of us. That doesn’t make the government order wrong either - as the search for bodies continues, we fear for what will be uncovered as that debris is cleared away. To rush in to begin rebuilding could hinder those efforts, and therefore a temporary order makes sense. Those who died deserve the dignity of taking the time to recover remains - and recovery teams do not need the added difficulty of working around construction that might not be handled as delicately and purposefully as the workers’ own efforts. It is a complex issue - not least in that we want to ensure that buildings are as safe as possible to minimise the risk in future disasters, be they fire, flood or another hurricane. Safety is paramount, but safety does not need to mean that everyone has to clear out of an area if they have rights to be there. It merely means that any reconstruction has to be held to account and meet the required standards. And if residents do move, where do they go? That question will need to be answered - and judging by the comments of the Haitian chargé d’affaires, Dorval Darlier, in today’s Tribune, there won’t be much help coming from the embassy for Haitians displaced by the storm. His comment that “we are in a situation of crisis right now” when asked about advising people to return to Haiti sounded very much like people are on their own as far as the Haitian government is concerned. For anyone wanting easy answers to this situation, there are none - which is why the shanty town issue has continued for as many years as it has. But let’s talk about it reasonably, and with an understanding of the law - and not hurl abuse at people who are defending the rights of others.
Former PMs disappoint EDITOR, The Tribune. I WAS watching the American news on September 11, 2019 and saw a face I’d not seen in a long time. It was Donald Rumsfeld. He was last Secretary of Defence under President George W Bush. He and Mr Bush were laying a wreath in commemoration of the anniversary of the terrorist attacks in the United States on that day in 2001. They were in command when terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Centre and Pentagon. Another plane was downed in Pennsylvania. The passengers fought back and it crashed. Around 3,000 died as a result of the attacks. In watching the coverage I was struck by how old Mr Rumsfeld looked. He was once an intellectual tiger. He had an exceptional career in Government. At that memorial last week, however, he was hunched over and had difficulty moving. I didn’t realise he’s now 87. That same day I watched the evening news in The Bahamas and had the same reaction when I saw Perry Christie and Hubert Ingraham. They looked old, tired and past their prime.
The point of their press conference was not to help Abaco and Grand Bahama. It was to seek attention. Neither man likes life outside of politics and power. Neither man has found something else fulfilling. In this moment when the eyes of the world are on The Bahamas and on the Bahamian Prime Minister, neither Mr Ingraham nor Mr Christie can stand, for a moment, that it is not he who is the centre of attention and power as Prime Minister. Mr Christie whined about them needing to be given roles. Mr Ingraham, in his irrational desire to tear down Dr Hubert Minnis, diminished himself by giving fake news to the public during a crisis. He said fewer deaths may have happened in the shantytowns and more people may have left if the Government had gone to those areas and spoken to the residents in their language. Mr Ingraham is not up on the facts as he used to be when he was on top of his game. The media was there and covered Government officials in the shantytowns speaking to the people and asking them to leave. They had Creole
speakers with them. It is a disgrace that a former Prime Minister would spread fake news in a crisis. Mr Ingraham should apologise to the Bahamian people for doing that. All Bahamians have seen the media clip on social media disproving Mr Ingraham’s fake news. Mr Ingraham harmed his legacy attempting to attack Dr Minnis’s Government. Mr Christie and Mr Ingraham have had their time in charge. Together they governed the Bahamas for 25 years – the same amount of time as their mentor, Sir Lynden Pindling. Neither Mr Christie nor Mr Ingraham will ever be Prime Minister again. They must accept that and move on with their lives. They should go and find something else that is meaningful to occupy their minds and time other than politics and the lust for power. Dr Minnis is Prime Minister. Next election the people will choose between him and Philip Davis. No one wants to go back to the Ingraham or the Christie era. MSG Nassau, September 17, 2019.
Rising of the Phoenix EDITOR, The Tribune. I HAVE long believed that had the Hon Philip ‘Brave’ Davis, MP, QC (PLP-Cat Island) been leader of the Progressive Liberal Party a year or so before the last general elections that he would have become Prime Minister and the PLP would have held onto the government. The clear understanding within the rank and file of the party in 2015 was that brother Christie would have stepped down from being leader of the party and allow Brave to be elected. Whether he would have relinquished the role of Prime Minister was never written in concrete. In any event, Christie stayed too long and had yuck up the vexation of all and sundry. He demonstrated, years ago, that he had lost the vision to take The Bahamas to the next level. That is all now water under the bridge and Brave and the New Deal PLP have their work cut out. Dorian was a ‘killer’ storm and one which will long be remembered so long as there is a Bahamas. How the current PM reacts to this disaster and manages recovery and rebuilding efforts will determine a second term for the FNM or the inevitable return of the PLP led by Brave. Dr Minnis (FNM-Killarney) is a good and decent man who, I believe, means well. Good intentions, however, do not play out too
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net well in Bahamian politics. If Minnis fails in his efforts (and the public will be watching very closely) to wrestle with the aftermath of Dorian, Brave and the New Deal PLP will be right there to swoop the government whenever elections are called again. The appointments of technocrats and a serving legislator to head up relief and recovery efforts in Abaco and Grand Bahama do not bode well for the success of the same. They are all good people but with limited expertise in these areas. In the case of the Senate President a bad message is being sent, possibly: “PLPs need not apply”, especially in Grand Bahama. I am not suggesting that any of these individuals may appear or even be partisan but in politics perception plays a bigger role than reality. The leader of the New Deal PLP, Brave, rose to the occasion as a natural leader; coordinator and fundraiser for all affected Bahamians. He’s to be seen all over the place bringing a message of comfort; hope; relief and recovery. Keep in mind that if he could do all of this, while in Opposition, how much more he’d be able to do for the resurrection of the entire nation. He has the right stuff to become Prime Minister.
Under his stellar leadership, so far, the New Deal PLP has a golden opportunity, even in opposition, to shine. The FNM and it’s leadership cadre, unfortunately, have been written off by a large number of Bahamians who would have actually voted for them in 2017, myself included. There is, at this time, no credible alternative. The political Lion that was once the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) is no more, apparently or it is sleeping. Sad. The job of Brave and the party will not be an easy one but if they stay the course ‘it ain’t long now’ will be the refrain of the unwashed masses. It took almost ten years for Christie-fatigue to galvanise. In less than two and a half years Minnis has evolved as the most hated and untrustworthy politician in living memory. Sad, but in my opinion, true. The New Deal PLP is rising, even as you read this, like the fabled Phoenix of old, from the ashes of political oblivion, a fact which cannot be sensibly denied. Will Brave lead a truly New Deal PLP (as I believe that he will) or will it be the same old Christie style of governance? I think not. The Phoenix, under Brave, is rising. To God then, in all things, be the glory. ORTLAND H BODIE Jr Nassau, September 19, 2019.
Thank you EDITOR, The Tribune. I CAN’T thank the people of Nassau enough. Delta Airlines sent a plane for us in Marsh Harbour. This brought us to Odyssey where there was hot food, cold drinks, cell phones and clothes. I had no money and no papers, only Queenie, my maltese
dog and my life. (We had to swim for it). It has been such fun experience melding into traffic, not knowing exactly where to go to get my paper reissued. Going from one end of the city to the other and back again. Wonderful Government papers stamped and signed. The people
working through their lunch to help us. Trying their best to help, even though there is a grumpy, irritable person at the window. They get up early to go to work. Thank you, all you workers. DON WOOD Marsh Harbour, September 18, 2019.
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, September 20, 2019, PAGE 5
Smith warns govt cannot use Dorian to take away people’s property rights from page one Many of The Mudd and Pigeon Peas residents are staying in shelters around New Providence, anxious about their next move. Some dream about going to the United States, some plan to relocate to Haiti but many say they want to return to Abaco. Mr Smith, QC, said it is their right to have whatever remains of their community “respected just
like everybody else in every other devastated community in Abaco.” “Just because the shanty towns may not look nice or may not be built to code or they don’t smell nice or they are a poor community or that they are mainly composed of people of Haitian ethnic origin, doesn’t mean that they are not entitled to due process in respect of their property rights under Article 27 of the Constitution,” he said in a statement to The Tribune.
Splintered wood, cracked concrete and scattered belongings now lay where the communities once existed as the largest shantytowns in the country, home to more than 3,000 people, many of them legal residents. As the decimation of the shanty towns became clear, some attacked Mr Smith on social media, accusing him of facilitating the habitation of unsafe living conditions. Mr Smith is part of a legal fight that blocked the
government’s plans to eradicate shanty towns in New Providence and by extension Abaco. “I can see that rebuilding must be according to code,” Mr Smith said yesterday, adding that the government should either help residents rebuild with sanitation and stronger homes or provide alternative property or homes. “The process of considering their applications must be on the same basis that other applications are to be
considered for every other person in every other community that was destroyed by Dorian. So the prohibition order, if it should have been made at this time or at all, should not have been made or only directed to the shanty towns; if it was to be made at all, it should have been a prohibition order in respect of call communities, not just the Haitian Bahamian ones. They have a right to go back into possession on the same basis that they were in possession
HAITIAN BURRIS FILBURT, right, and another man stand on the extensive damage and destruction in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian in The Mudd, Abaco.
before Dorian. Dorian doesn’t give the government the lawful power to dispossess them just like the government didn’t have the lawful power to do so before Dorian.” Attorney General Carl Bethel declined to comment yesterday. Earlier this week, he said the destruction of The Mudd and Pigeon Peas shows the low-lying areas are unsafe for human habitation in the face of powerful storms.
Photo: Gonzalo Gaudenzi/AP
HAITI ‘IN NO POSITION TO HELP’ DISPLACED RESIDENTS
from page one
so to speak. We try to see what the best way to assist them (is), but in fact we are waiting. “I’m not in the position to tell them go back or to stay. It’s up to them to know and see and wait (according) to the position they are …if they want to go back, if they want to stay. If they can stay, they stay. If they have to go, they have go,” he said. Asked if his government planned to assist with accommodations for undocumented migrants and those of Haitian decent, Mr Darlier told The Tribune: “It’s early, but both governments are going to sit together very soon because we can come to an agreement to see what we’re going to do.” But according to him, the Bahamas government has yet to agree to discussions. He also said: “I am still waiting on my government to indicate how it can assist with the housing situation. I think you know we don’t have the government in place. There is no budget, absolutely nothing. “We are waiting for the parliament. It is still not functioning that’s where we are stuck for now.” Given the situation, Mr Darlier said he, along with the scores of displaced people, are depending on the compassion of the Bahamas government. “I know the Bahamian government is very compassionate over the Haitian people and we are still waiting to see the best (way) they can help. “We still expecting the best from them to continue
to support Haitians because the Bahamians support Haitians for years and I’m still hoping they still have the good heart to continue,” he said. Regarding the construction ban, Mr Darlier said: “Whatever decision the government has made I had to respect it. The land is not the Haitian community’s land, it’s for the government and they have to do what they feel is best for the country.” On Sunday, the Ministry of Housing and Environment issued an order prohibiting the construction of residential or commercial buildings in The Mudd, Pigeon Peas, Sand Bank and Farm Road communities of Abaco. The areas were flattened by Hurricane Dorian. Before the hurricane decimated them, they had more than 1,000 homes and an estimated population size of 3,500, according to government reports. Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has said buildings in these communities were of inferior construction and were not up to safety codes. Until a plan for the areas has been finalised, the government plans to erect tent cities to get people back to Grand Bahama and Abaco. Earlier this month, Mr Darlier appealed to the government to grant temporary asylum to undocumented migrants affected by Hurricane Dorian. Last December, head of the Shanty Town Action Task Force, Senator Dion Foulkes said most shanty town dwellers across Abaco have legal status permitting them to reside in the country.
PAGE 6, Friday, September 20, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
VOLUNTEERS OFFER TO HELP STORM VICTIMS WITH RESUMÉS By RIEL MAJOR Tribune Staff Reporter rmajor@tribunemedia.net TWO volunteers have launched an initiative to help storm victims prepare updated resumes to assist them in their search for new jobs. Karla Lisgaris, brand manager at Caribbean Bottling Co, said in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, she noticed a lot of victims were asking for assistance finding a new job but didn’t have a proper resume. She said: “A friend of mine worked in Abaco and a lot of her friends came here and were asking for help to find work. When she would ask for resumes, they either didn’t have one or
KARLA LISGARIS
RAQUEL BALDACCI
they didn’t have an updated one, or didn’t have access to a computer to update it if it had been saved in their email.” Mrs Lisgaris said a friend, Raquel Baldacci, hatched the idea of helping storm victims create new resumes
and a number of local businesses have made donations to assist with the ‘Get Back on Your Feet’ initiative. “I’m in a few hurricane relief chats and I’ve been made aware that Calvary Bible Church was interested in letting a group use
their space for some sort of Dorian relief,” she said. “We went and looked at the space, it’s secure and it has air conditioning.” John Bull Business Centre donated desks while Micronet donated laptops and printers. She added: “We’ve been reaching out to the private sector for HR volunteers. We are accepting basically any volunteers that’s computer literate, but someone in HR knows what to look for in a resume. Today (Thursday) is our first day and we’ve actually had six people come already and we’ve only been open for two hours.” Mrs Lisgaris said the group plans to reach out to evacuees in shelters to assist them in building their resumes.
“Based on the turn out for the first two days then we’ll reach out to the shelters as well and see if we can work with a transportation company to see if we can move some people from the shelters to Calvary to assist them with resume building,” she said. “We are also keeping copies of the resumes and we are going to sort them based on skill sets and share them with whatever companies express interest. Our main focus is really helping them build resumes but since we’ll have copies of them anyway, we said we would push out the resumes to different companies.” Interested persons can visit Calvary Bible Church on Collins Avenue from 10am through 3pm,
Monday to Friday. Mrs Lisgaris said Caribbean Bottling also made product donations to the Bahamas Red Cross in Nassau and the Red Cross and Salvation Army in Grand Bahama. “Since the storm, we have donated water and as of late we’ve been moving products. We are a company of 250 employees, the majority of them being young men. We have lots of trucks, forklifts and so we’ve really been helping people move (supplies) back and forth,” she said. “We’ve helped NEMA distribute items to the various shelters. We also were making consistent deliveries out to Odyssey Airport for the evacuees coming in.”
THREE-year-old Hurricane Dorian evacuee Trevanti Saunders, of Freeport, sits on a suitcase with his family as they wait for a ride after arriving on the Grand Celebration cruise ship on Wednesday in Riviera Beach. The cruise ship transported hundreds of evacuees seeking passage from Freeport after the damaged caused by Hurricane Dorian. Saunders’ mother, Denise Saunders, said: “It was terrifying. We had to run out of the house. The water was reaching us to our chest, water came in very fast. I was crying.” Photo: Brynn Anderson/AP
Survivors pick up the pieces from page one “I tell her look here,” Mr Reckley said on Tuesday. “I still got all my things the hurricane ain’ destroyed. My truck there. Her car
turned over, but all you have to do is turn it back and take it to the mechanic. My house windows break but ain’ nothing wrong with the roof. We full with grocery that could last for the year if no one steals it. The
biggest problem is dealing with the water because it was so high in the house.” Mr Reckley is 74 and his children are between eight to 18-years-old. They want to follow their mother to a country where he already
has two daughters. What they don’t know, he said, is they are “leaving good for worse.” “Plenty people here trying to get to the US and Canada, but they don’t know what problems that’ll
be,” he said. Asked how they will resolve their conflict, he said – without much conviction – that he is no longer worried. “I tell her do what she’ll do, but I ain’ going anywhere. But I don’t want her carry my children. If I gon’ die, I gon’ die in my house.” Meanwhile, Guiller Pierre has had enough of The Bahamas and wants to return to Haiti. The 33-year-old came to Abaco in 2010 and lived in The Mudd while working at Out Islander Construction. Two of his friends died in the storm and he figures life might be better in Haiti where he once did masonry work. To get back, he’ll need more than the two dollars he has in his pocket. When The Tribune encountered him walking from the gym to a gas station, he said he evacuated Abaco with just a five-dollar bill and no money in the bank. “I’m going to get two sodas, one for me and one for him,” he said, pointing to his friend. “I think that should cost three dollars. The next two dollars will be my last and I will keep them tight, tight, tight.” Several yards away, Roscoe Cash, 38, said he hadn’t seen a dollar bill in more than two weeks and joked that he doesn’t remember what it looks like. Since fleeing Abaco, he said he has stayed with a friend in
Pinewood, but regularly visits the gym to be with his wife, who is six months pregnant. “The food isn’t good for her, she spits and always has to have a cup for that and she has cramps when the baby moves up and down,” he said. Minlimde Edmond, his 30-year-old wife, interrupted him. Her medical concerns have been addressed at the shelter and the food is fine, she said. But Mr Cash continued to insist the place isn’t fit for pregnant women. Gabrielle Strachan, of Leisure Lee, Abaco, is among the scores of Bahamians who evacuated to the United States earlier this month, after Hurricane Dorian decimated the island. For Ms Strachan, life in Abaco was “a dream come true.” She had a comfortable home and a good paying job. However, after Hurricane Dorian left her home in complete ruins, remaining on the storm-ravaged island was not an option for her. She said: “We lost everything in the storm. My family and I moved (to the US) for shelter and access to food. We applied for work visas (in the US) so we could work in restaurants because we don’t want to work over here illegally….” Ms Strachan and her relatives are still waiting for their work permits to be approved.
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, September 20, 2019, PAGE 7
Senior citizens home calls for help for hurricane victims By LEANDRA ROLLE lrolle@tribunemedia.net AN owner of a senior citizens home is requesting financial assistance to help house victims displaced by Hurricane Dorian. Reverend Dr Kendal Capron, head of The Good Samaritan Senior Citizen’s Home, said the facility is in dire need of funds to purchase the bedding needed to house persons at the home on Claridge Road. “I only need some help to get some beds and to get those people out of Kendal Isaacs Gym….I had an 85-year old lady come into
Good Samaritan Home. She told me that (the shelter) is the worst place. She said she couldn’t sleep because of too much noise.” The senior citizens home has been in operation since the 1990s. According to Dr Capron, a second home on Claridge Road can accommodate some 35 storm victims. However, due to lack of bedding, Dr Capron said he had to turn hurricane victims away. “We’ve been asking for some help but... I don’t have the money. I’ve had a lot of people who came, some brought children and all and some came with luggage. I have the space and
so much people came here looking for some help, but I couldn’t help them and it hurt me that I couldn’t help them,” he said. Meanwhile, representatives from the Ranfurly Home for Children said the home needs school supplies for the displaced children it has taken in. After Dorian devastated Abaco and Grand Bahama earlier this month, Ranfurly Home was one the many orphanages that opened its doors to displaced children. The home’s president, Alexandra Maillis-Lynch, told The Tribune yesterday that the home is currently housing 23 displaced
children, all of whom are from Grand Bahama. “The biggest need right now is helping us with textbooks and also laptops for the children who are at the senior level,” she said. “What we’re asking for from people is please to help us with coupons for gas because we have three buses that go in different directions every day. As you could imagine, that adds up to a pretty penny of gas and some of the children are involved in recreational and extracurricular activities.” Mrs Lynch said that most of the children staying at the home have already been registered for several
schools throughout New Providence. “We’ve had two children accepted into Queen’s College. Blairwood has accepted ten children. Charles W Saunders has accepted, I think, another three and Prince William High has accepted a few of the older ones,” she added. Monetary donations, she said, will also be used to assist with school fees. Mrs Lynch said that it is her hope that all of the children will start school this coming Monday. However, in the meantime, children at home will be attending a temporary school set up by Windsor Albany school.
She said: “They take our children every day to help keep them occupied in a meaningful way until they are officially placed in a school… By hook or by crook, those children need to be in school because the older girls are already stressed out worried about their schooling and missing out.” Another non-profit organisation appealing for donations is Children’s Emergency Hostel, which is currently housing 15 children. The home is requesting financial donations. Lunch items and snacks for the children can also be dropped off at the home.
THE STUDENT Christian Movement of the RN Gomez Comprehensive School in Bullock’s Harbour, the Berry Islands, joined with civic and religious leaders in a prayer service on Wednesday at St Bartholomew Anglican Church, in Bullock’s Harbour. Leading the prayers were Pastor Jennifer Roberts of the Church of God Of Prophecy (Great Harbour Cay), Ms Leefa Swain of Revival Time Highway Church of God, and school teacher Dawnette Campbell. SCM Leaders Maxine Arthur (high school) and Ronette McAulay (primary school) organised the event and vice-principal Sharon North gave a speech. There are more than 20 students who recently joined the school from islands affected by the storm and one of the service’s moderators, Nathan Hardy, is a survivor of the storm. P hotos: Eric Rose/BIS
‘HOW CAN YOU TAKE DELEGATION OF TEN BUT NOT THE ATHLETES?’ PICEWELL Forbes, Progressive Liberal Party MP for South Andros, questioned why the government is reportedly sending a tenperson delegation to Doha, Qatar for the IAAF Track and Field Championships at a time when the ministry has clamped down on spending. The delegation reportedly includes the spouse of Youth, Sports and Culture MP Lanisha Rolle. The government did
not respond to the claim yesterday. It follows fears the government wouldn’t fund the $116,000 required to send the Bahamian team to Doha. “In the wake of its lack of support for our athletes,” Mr Forbes said, “I was not surprised but very disappointed to be advised that the government could find the money to send a ten person delegation to Doha, including the minister and
her spouse. The government must say where this is true or false. If it is true, that is disgraceful. According to BAAA President Drumeco Archer, the government could only assist with $25,000 of the required $116,000 to send an 18-member team to Doha. I say again that in all of this the government comes across as selfish, mean-spirited, self serving and disconnected. The PLP demands that
the government finds the money to send our track and field team to Doha, even if it means cancelling the travel plans of the government’s delegation, including the sports minister and her spouse. The games are about the athletes.”
MINISTER of Sports Lanisha Rolle
PAGE 8, Friday, September 20, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
THREE of the four team members in front of NEMA. From left, Daniel Poole, Rebekah Yore, David Radford-Wilson.
Meet the real people who left home to come and help The Bahamas
D
AVID Radford-Wilson is 53, tall and muscular. With looks that would be equally at home in a jersey on the soccer field or a power suit in the board room, he’s an executive coach with clients including a director in a major London bank, a legal counsel in an American law firm and a high-ranking officer in the British government foreign office. By phone or face-to-face, he coaches them in crisis leadership and training. Last Saturday, RadfordWilson kissed his wife and three children, ages 16, 14 and 9, goodbye, flung his knapsack with sleeping bag, satellite phone and other essentials on his back and left his home in Cornwall, England to fly to The Bahamas. He was coming to help people he never met before recover from the most horrific storm ever to hit their homes and impact their lives on two islands in the archipelagic nation. Radford-Wilson is one of a team of four from Rescue Global (www.rescueglobal. org) who are in The Bahamas right now, meeting with NEMA officials, helping to plan recovery, two of them awaiting their assignment to move off to Grand Bahama or Abaco. Rescue Global is among the more than 30 international organisations providing assistance. Strangers helping strangers, yet feeling like family
By Diane Phillips even before they touched responsibility for delivering down. That’s the way many to those in need. have described it. For Rescue Global’s Rad“The world loves Baha- ford-Wilson, helping comes mian people,” a friend naturally. He spent 25 years told me. He used to be a in the British Army Special top official in Miami-Dade Opps as an engineer. Leadand he said ership was if Dorian ‘You are only as essential. had struck “If you strong as your in South look at Florida there weakest link leadership never would and in a nation as getting have been people or the kind of where you have individual such extremities response groups of that The of wealth it is people to Bahamas effectively has received. important to look solve chal“People all after those on the lenging over want to bottom end.’ problems, help. There’s then Rescue just someGlobal is a thing about The Bahamas practical way to apply that and Bahamian people.” to humanitarian crises,” At Aventura Mall in north he explains. “It’s all about Miami, on large illuminated making the world a safer, ceiling signs that normally better place.” advertise events, shops For Rebekah Yore, and specials, the colours of coming out to The Bahamas The Bahamas are splashed was inspired by combined clear across the mall’s halls desires of wanting to help with wording TOGETHER and wanting to learn. She’s FOR THE BAHAMAS. a PhD candidate earning The signs list drop-off spots a doctorate at University around the mall where College, London. Her studshoppers can leave sup- ies in microfinancing for plies that the mall will take sustainable development
following disaster have taken her on a five-year journey with Rescue Global to places like Dominca following Hurricane Maria. What she has seen in The Bahamas is overwhelming destruction matched by overwhelming will to build back better. She’s also seen the impact on the most vulnerable. “Everywhere we work, the reality is the same. You are only as strong as your weakest link and in a nation where you have such extremities of wealth it is important to look after those on the bottom end,” Yore says. At the Bahamas Red Cross headquarters on JFK, there are as many volunteers from international branches of the Red Cross, it seems, as there are locals. In Trinidad, there will be a Red Cross celebrity concert this weekend benefitting The Bahamas. In Palm Beach, a flotilla of 60 boats was making its way to Abaco. Suddenly, no one is talking about those fearful foreigners who have come to steal our soil. They are getting to know the real people who are coming from afar to help rebuild our settlements and nourish our strength, our spirit and our souls.
TWO YEARS LATER THERE, TWO YEARS FROM NOW HERE Wednesday, September 18, marked two years since Hurricane Maria struck Dominica with a vicious
Category Five temper that destroyed the island as it was known. The images from that day are so similar to those of the Mudd, Pigeon Peas and Sand Bank in Abaco they are almost interchangeable. Add the images from Maria two days after it struck Dominica, exactly two years ago today, September 20 when it made landfall in Puerto Rico and again the photos are eerily similar. By the time Maria moved off, the storm with unrelenting winds and waves had taken the lives of 3,075 people. Even today, Dominica, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico have not fully recovered with Puerto Rico, the US territory, faring worst of all. There is a lesson to be learned from Maria. Unprecedented weather events demand unprecedented response. We cannot go back and build back more of the same. The future of Abaco and Grand Bahama depends upon new vision and the strategy by which to achieve it. Those who take responsibility for carving out that future will have to walk a fine and fragile line between government with its responsibilities for infrastructure and commercial interests which have to get back up and running as quickly as possible to generate economic activity and will want as little red tape slowing them down as possible. Yet they cannot build back as they existed before without consideration of the overall vision for a new Great Abaco or Grand Bahama. “For better or for worse,
we have a clean slate,” Abaco Chamber of Commerce President Ken Hutton told a standing room only crowd at a meeting of Abaconicans at the Hilton in Nassau this week. “This is a unique opportunity to reshape Abaco. What we need is a united vision.” The rebuild should look very little like what existed before, though certain architectural traits are well worth retaining, applying with better zoning, environmental management, renewable energy and an abiding appeal to the boating and yachting folks who make Abaco their first or second home. Step One is establishing the vision because the truth is once Abaconians make up their mind to do something, no storm is strong enough to stop them for long.
JOHN CHIPMAN STREET Surely, with all the imagination we bring to female baby names, we can do better than to name a street after detergents. So it was a good move two years ago to rename narrow Lifebuoy Street connecting Collins Avenue and East Street in the heartbeat of Nassau’s Junkanoo community after John ‘Chippie’ Chipman, the legendary King of Goatskin Drums who passed away September 9 at the age of 90. Now how about re-naming the nearby Sunlight Street? It’s time to stop imitating others and start honouring those like Chippie who make The Bahamas the country it is.
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, September 20, 2019, PAGE 9
Union chief claims ‘scare tactics’ used in stand-off with teachers By RIEL MAJOR Tribune Staff Reporter rmajor@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Union of Teachers President Belinda Wilson criticised the Ministry of Education for “victimising and using scare tactics” against the teachers at Carlton E Francis Primary School. Her comments came as a stand-off between teachers and the school’s principal continued yesterday. Some teachers are calling for the principal’s removal and have said they will not teach until this demand is met. As a result, some of them have been told they will be transferred to another school. Barricades have been placed outside the school’s entrance and police have been brought to the campus to ensure order. Some teachers claim they have been barred from entering the campus. “The matter at Carlton Francis Primary School was one that has been a concern for two years,” Mrs Wilson
TEACHERS protest outside Carlton Francis Primary School. Photo: Donavan McIntosh told The Tribune yester- entering their workplace. day. “The principal, Olivia This is unacceptable in a Daxon, has been very rude, modern Bahamas. Teachers disrespectful to teachers have rights.” and parents. Mrs Wilson said the BUT “The complaints were “stands behind” the teachgiven to the Acting Direc- ers at Carlton E Francis tor of Education Marcellus Primary School. Taylor, to the former and “We will use all avenues present permanent secre- available to us to have this taries and copied to the matter resolved and teachminister of education.” ers’ rights protected,” the She added: “The cries union leader said. “We were of the teachers have been invited to a meeting with ignored, now the Ministry of the minister of education, Education is using victimisa- Jeff Lloyd, which ended and tion and scare tactics that are was to resume a few hours against the law. The teachers later but never did. have been prevented from “This is a disgrace that
professionals are being handled in this matter. The police are being used to intimidate teachers and prevent them from entering their workplace. I may have to take this matter to the International Labour Organisation as this is against every policy and labour convention. Shame on the Ministry of Education.” One disgruntled teacher, Deborah Rahming, said officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and security guards from the Ministry of Education prevented her and others from entering the campus. “I’m not permitted to enter the premises,” Ms Rahming said. “The resolution for this situation is simply remove the principal. Her behaviour is rude and disrespectful. Our children are being played as pawns and it’s hurting me and the teachers.” A parent, who asked not to be identified, said she moved her son from Garvin Tynes Primary School “thinking Carlton E Francis
was a better school.” She is frustrated that the teachers and principal were not able to resolve their issues before the start of the new school term. “I don’t see what the issue is with the teachers and the principal, they should have resolved that from summer,” the parent said. “The school open up and the children need to learn. The children suffering and can’t learn because the teachers have a problem with the principal. This is very childish. I just want him to have a teacher to learn that’s all. They need to resolve this quick, fast and in a hurry period.” A teacher who gave her name as Mrs Newbold said when she arrived at the school yesterday, barricades were in place to stop teachers from entering the premises. Mrs Newbold explained: “This is totally illegal for teachers who are already assigned here. We are saying that the victimisation needs to stop, it needs to stop today. “Because we have had
enough of it and we have to come to some closure to get the school off the ground to where it needs to be. I was asked to come in to receive my letter, but I never got the letter because I never asked for a transfer. I’m not taking or receiving any letter until I get further instructions from my union.” On Wednesday, the Ministry of Education said it is “disheartened” by the fact that a number of teachers from the school have “withdrawn from their duties” over the last few days. “This defiant behaviour places our students at a grave disadvantage, depriving them of the quality time and education which they rightfully deserve,” the ministry said. “As such, the ministry’s paramount objective is to ensure that the education and safety of our students are not compromised. Accordingly, the public can be assured that Ministry officials are working in earnest to resolve the matter.”
MAN SHOT DEAD AS HE SITS IN HIS CAR from page one
before 11pm on Wednesday, a man was sitting in a vehicle at Bimini Avenue off Market Street, when he was approached by an armed man. The man opened fire in his direction, injuring him before fleeing the scene. The injured man was taken to hospital where he later died.
Meanwhile, two other men are in hospital after they were shot earlier on Wednesday. According to police, shortly after 4pm, three men were at a mechanic’s shop on Pinedale Road off Wulff Road when an armed man entered and began firing in their direction, injuring two men. The culprit escaped. The men were taken to hospital and are listed in
stable condition. September has been a bloody month with 13 killings so far, according to The Tribune’s records. Police were called to an apartment on Gladstone Road shortly after 4am on Tuesday when neighbours heard screams. Officers discovered an unresponsive couple with visible blunt force trauma to their bodies. Police have identified the victims as Gloria
Estella Rolle, 58, of Nassau Village, and Tenneson Vaught Leslie, 39, of Gladstone Road. Leslie is originally from Jamaica, police said. On Monday night, three men were standing outside a home on Armbrister Street, Fox Hill when they were injured during a drive-by shooting. One of them died at the scene while the two others received non-life
threatening injuries. Earlier Monday, police said a man who was shot in the Chippingham area last Saturday died in hospital. Another man was found dead around 7am Monday in the area of Johnson Road. Two other men died in separate shooting incidents that occurred on Sunday. The first murder for this month was recorded on September 4 in Grand
Bahama. A man has been charged with killing that victim, Clayton Bannister. Investigations are continuing in these matters. Police are appealing to members of the public, who may have information that can assist with these investigations, to contact the Central Detective Unit at 502-9991/2, Crime stoppers at 328TIPS (8477) or the nearest police station.
Funeral Service For Veronica Roena Collins Jones, 58 affectionately called
“Ronnie”
a resident of Sir Lynden Pindling Estates and formely of Upper Bogue, Eleuthera, Bahamas, who died Sunday, September 1st, 2019 at The Princess Margaret Hospital will be held 10:00 a.m. Saturday, September 21st, 2019 at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, The Bluff, Eleuthera, Bahamas. Canon Harry Ward assisted by Cathecist Errol Ward will officiate. Interment will follow in The Public Cemetery, Upper Bogue, Eleuthera, Bahamaas. Ronnie was predeceased by her Mother: Rosemary Smith-Collins. Left to cherish fond memories of her are her Husband: Kendal Jones; Daughters: Kenveronique and Kenjia Jones; Adopted Daughter: Sydnique Curtis; Father: Vincent Collins Sr.; Grandchildren: Lakarii Lookie and Kaira Jones, Kianan Rolle and Kaiden Campbell; Sisters: Catherine Collins, Bernadette RolleDavis; Adopted Sister: Sheena Daniels; Brothers: Vincent Jr., Pastor Preston, Minister Gregory, Kevin, Antonio I. and Bradley Collins; Sisters-in-law: Andrea Andrews, Annis Albury, Gardinia and Bernadette Collins, Arimintha Collins, Dorothy Rahming, Gloria Brown, Freda Mullings, Renay Pennerman, Patricia Jones, Carylon Jacobs; Brothers-in-law: Egbert Mullings, Peter Andrews, Allen Albury; Neices and Nephews: Donavon Dorsette III and Daunte Bethel; Derencia, McDerBern and D’Athen Rolle Davis; Anton Thompson, Shonnel Young and Shekira, Ventina Wallace, Yasmine, Kyle and Devincia Collins; Kemeo, Kayshela, Craig, Kavonne and Kaysheena Collins; Shequel, Sherice, Shereka, Shekoya Collins; Antonio II., Rashad Antoniqua and Dominic Collins, Amber; Aaron and Gabrille Cox, Kyle and Kai Collins; Veronica, Robert, Tammy, and Jasmin Rahming; Ryan Brown; Raymond, Rakeisha and Raven Andrews, Sherlon and Shaday Bailey; Frecinda, Prince and Bershawn Mullings; Allena and Allen Albury Jr., Shavante’ Lynes, Eumeeko and Anthon, Keisha and Akai Davis, Lakashula Jones; Grand Neices and Nephews: Rayquan Andrews, Tahj Miller, Kemron and Kameila Collins, Craig Collins Jr., Jamyah Rolle, Daranique Gaitor and J’anari Henfield, Fernan Joseph and Alaysa Watkins, Phillip, Philliyah, Kierran Humes, Zyon and Zoltin Wilson and Zavion Young, Terez, Kathia and Trinity Smith, Anthony Brown, Dave Davis, Kimberly Harris, Clenisha Dean and Brechambrea Rolle; Aunts: Agnes Jolly, Irene Rolle and Ana Lowe; Uncles: Moses Smith, Cyril Collins, Harold Collins and Willard Johnson; Cousins: Sgt 1910 Lynden Rolle of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Yvonne Smith, Valarie Rolle, Kamia, Lynden Jr. Lynique, Lajar, Jalen, Kyla, Kiara, Kalyn, Kriston Rolle; Marquis and Wade Wallace, Thomas and Yolanda Stubbs, Ruthmae Mortimer; Emily, Phillipa, Trevor, Alexio and Deandra; Marion, Christopher, Daniel, Lewis, Sharvargo, Deangelo, Louie, Rashad, Crystal, Monique, Moesha and Mozena; Ivon HallBrown, Leroy Jr. Ishka and Hughie, Ryan, Sean, Hugo and Huesha Rolle; Marcus Sr., Edward, Lola, Marilyn, Lisa, Gail, Dwayne, Marcus Jr., Deangelo and Jade Collins, Jeannette, Christine, Nadia, Melissa, Shanell, Nichole, Clarise, Romain, Claudia, Shawn, Opal, Keith, and Neil Stubbs, Lyndon, Paul, Vincent Curry, Ismae, Leander, Michael, Israel Jr.; Keva, Toni, Margo, Carmel, Ginger, Savannah and Justice; Henry and Shevonia; Ellie, George, Sam, Leroy
Jr. Dorothy, Garnel, Tensee, Doreen, James Jr., Joseph, Charles, Phillip, Marianna, Charlotte, Princess, Vease, Perlamae, Betsy, Mary, Christine, Lillis, Margaret, Betty, Fritz, Clayton, Milton, Henry, Martha Smith, Madge, Dorothy, James, Dina, Lambert, Franklyn, Herman, Clinton, Nathalie, Mac, Basil, Bernard, Edgar, Dudley, Arnold and Edris Miller, Tyrone and Pamela Williams and family, Yvette Cash of The Royal Bahamas Police Force and Alexander Williams; God Children: Heidi, Donavon, Daunte, Jamal, Shanardo, Ginger, Mario, Sanchez, Stephon; Numerous Other Relatives and Friends including: Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle Davis, Tony Rolle, Carolyn Moss and Family, Rev. Keith and Rita Moss, Laural Bullard and Family, Terrel and Jennifer Kelly and Family, Desiree Rolle and Family, Tino Cash, Ramon Ferguson, Patricia Rolle, Stephan Lightbourn, Giovanni Campbell, Jamaal Stubbs, Chrisfield Johnson and Family, Raymond and Jennifer Ward and Family, Rev. Michelle Cash and Family, Sandra Johnson and Family, Stephanie Clear and Family, Dudlitha and Stephen Kelly and Family, Lemuel Mackey and Family, Maxwell Moss and Family, Eulamae and Sharece Higgs and Family, Tiana Rahming and Family, Roy and Melvern Davis and Family, Dr. Charles Rahming and Family, Errol Ward and Family, Halson Neily and Family, Shirley Mackey and Family, Marilyn Gibson and Family, Glenroy Albury and Family, Asa Albury, Sheena and Edward Duncombe and Family, Craig Kelly and Family, Makeva Cargill and Family, Byron Armbrister, Linda Hammerton and Family, Roberthea Wright and Family, Maciesha Rolle and Family, Michelle Davis and Family, Lenroy Lookie and Family, Shela Hepburn and Family, Huel and Garnell Campbell and Family, Julian Johnson and Family, Valentino Moss and Family, Jaquay Adderley and Family, Dream Nation Family, Anthony Williams and Family, Shirley Girling and Family, Sydney Curtis and Family, Patricia Curtis and Family, Natasha and Adassa Pennerman and Family, Monique and Daisy Sweeting and Family, Veronica Daniels and Family, Herbert and Margaret Nixon and Family, Terry and Orean Cash and Family, Mario and Anita Rolle and Family, Rose Green and Family, Ena and Cecil Pinder and Family, Eleanor Barry and Family, Ronique Curry and Family, District Elder Portia Ferguson and Patrick Ferguson and the members of New Life in Christ Ministry, Bishop Hulan Hanna and the members of the Church of God of Prophecy East Street, Mrs. Gillian Curry-Williams and Family and Remilda Rose Designs, Family of the late Eloise Ward, Family of the late Jerome and Elsie Hunter, the late Augusta Webb and Family, the late Fredrick Armbrister and Family, The late Rudolph Smith and Family, Father Julian Campbell and Family, Father Kirkland Russell and Family, Father Oswald Pinder and Family, Pastor David and Lady Raquel Armbrister and the members of the IPAD Ministries, Brittani Finley; Special Thanks to: Dr. Munroe and Surgical team, Dr. Tinubu, Dr. King-Strachan of Agape Clinic, Dr. Nixon, Dr. Gordon and Dr. Adderley, PMH Oncology Clinic, Sister Sister Support Group, The Cancer Society of the Bahamas, The Cancer Center Bahamas, Private Medical Ward, Nursing Officers Pearl Williams and Deleveaux, Nurse Pamela Carey, Nurse Hepburn and the Female Medical I Ward, Staff of the Infection Control Services, Employee Health and Environmental Safety, Director and Staff of the Financial Intelligence Unit, Genesis Junkanoo Organization, Super Value Food Store Ltd, Marine Mammal Operation Atlantis, Staff and Students of Samuel Guy Pinder All Age School, Staff and Students of the Laura L. Anderson Primary School, The settlements of North Eleuthera and Arthur’s Town Cat Island, St. Theresa’s Roman Catholic Church Upper Bogue, St. Paul’s Anglican Church The Bluff, St. Joseph’s Anglican Church Upper Bogue and many many more too numerous to mention. Relatives and friends may pay their last respects at THE CHAPEL OF MEMORIES THE NEW COMMONWEALTH FUNERAL HOME, INDEPENDENCE DRIVE Thursday from 1:00-6:30 p.m. Friday from 10:0012:00 noon and at the church in The Bluff Friday from 8:30 p.m. to service time on Saturday.
PAGE 10, Friday, September 20, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
A few choice cuts from the barbershop I
’VE long said that the barbershop is the last bastion of free speech. Once again my weekly trip to the barber didn’t disappoint, it provided some great banter, and tons of laughter, on a wide array of topics. A welcome respite, no matter how brief, from the cloud of depression hovering over the islands, post Hurricane Dorian. I don’t know how it came up, but the subject of marriage popped up, and boy did the flood gates open. The shop was packed, (everybody was praying for no BPL shenanigans) and the wait was long, so what better way to kill time at the barbershop than to strike up a conversation with a controversial topic. The topic of the day, marriage, brought out some extremely funny stories and responses. So much so, I had to share a few, hopefully they will put a smile on your face, and let you escape, life post Dorian for a minute. As soon as the topic arose, “Buck” (using aliases to protect the innocent) a veteran in the marriage game, an accountant by trade and proud Toastmaster, offered up this humorous tale, to the shop, about a extremely
nagging wife. SHE COULD NAG Hungarian Jake Fen built an elaborate harness to make it look as if he had hanged himself. When his wife came home and saw him she fainted. Apparently on hearing a disturbance their neighbour came over and, finding what she thought were two corpses, seized the opportunity to loot the place. As she was leaving the room, her arms laden, the outraged and suspended Mr Fen kicked her square in the backside. This so surprised the neighbour that she dropped dead of a massive heart attack. (We can confirm that Mr Fen was acquitted of manslaughter and he and his wife have been reconciled). HUSBAND HUMOUR I’ve come to realise, through painful experience, that in a relationship, one person is always right, and the other is usually the husband.
Here’s one courtesy of one of my favourite comedians to work with, both locally and abroad, Mr. Mark Klein. He shared this story years ago, when we were working the road together, on the long ride from Naples, Florida, to Atlanta, Georgia. Apparently, when their lawn mower broke and wouldn’t run, his wife kept hinting to him that he should get it fixed. Somehow he always had something else to take care of first: the truck, the car, email, golf, there was always something more important to him. Finally she thought of a clever way to make her point. When he arrived home one day after a long road trip, he found his wife seated in the tall grass, busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors. He watched silently for a short time and then went into the house.
When he came back out again, he handed her a toothbrush, boldly stating: “When you finish cutting the grass, you might as well sweep the driveway.’’ Luckily the doctors were able to save his life and leg, and I guess that explains the obvious limp he’s always had! In between haircuts, my barber, Leon, offered this nugget about the evolution of a marriage over the years. (I must admit, it had me rolling with laughter). MARRIAGE OVER THE YEARS In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens. In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. In the third year, they both speak and the neighbours listen. When I finished with my haircut, I stopped by to see my Dad, and upon learning where I had come from and what the topic of the day was, he shared an
old Spanish joke with me, which I’m also adding to my collection. Thanks dad! MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN An elderly Spanish man lay dying in his bed. While preparing for impending death, he suddenly smelled the aroma of his favourite Spanish galletas, (cookies) wafting up the stairs. Gathering his remaining strength, he lifted himself from the bed. Leaning against the wall, he slowly made his way out of the bedroom, with both hands he crawled downstairs. Gasping, he leaned against the doorframe, gazing into the kitchen. There on the table immaculately prepared, were his favourite galletas, literally hundreds of them. Is this heaven? Or was it one final act of heroic love from his devoted Spanish wife of sixty years, seeing to it that he left this
world a happy man? Mustering one great final effort, he threw himself towards the table, landing on his knees in a crumpled posture. The wondrous taste of the cookie was already in his mouth, seemingly bringing him back to life. He needed another, he reached his aged and withered hand toward a cookie at the edge of the table, when it was suddenly smacked with a spatula by his wife..... ‘Back off!’ she said, ‘they’re for the funeral.’ In closing I will leave you with a classic quote from legendary funny man, the late Rodney Dangerfield. (I can’t pen a piece about marriage, without a quote from Rodney). “They say that marriage is like a deck of cards, you start out with two hearts and a diamond, and end up with a club and a spade.” Until next week, live, love, laugh Bahamas, and stay married in the process.
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, September 20, 2019, PAGE 11
Reservist no longer faces charge of unlawful sex By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net
RESERVE Sergeant Dwayne Decosta is no longer charged with having sex with a 13-year-old girl last year, his attorney revealed yesterday. Murrio Ducille said instead of being charged with unlawful sexual intercourse, Decosta is now charged with abduction and assault. The sex charge fell away at the no-case submission stage of the trial. However, on Mr Ducille’s advice the 56-year-old reservist elected to remain silent and not to give any evidence to counteract the Crown’s claims, though he maintained: “I’m innocent of all charges.” As a result of Decosta’s new charges, Mr Ducille appealed to the jury to apply “common sense” in deciding his client’s fate, as he questioned how his client could be made to answer to an assault charge when the court ruled he had no case to answer on the unlawful sexual intercourse charge. The attorney also insisted that no evidence has been led during the trial to satisfy any of the charges, hence his client’s choice to remain silent despite having “the sword of Damocles over his head”. “You could take ten microscopes and look at it; you can’t find any evidence,” Mr Ducille said. Decosta is on trial concerning an alleged incident that occurred at the South Beach Police Station on July 14, 2018. Previously, it was alleged that Decosta penetrated the 13-year-old digitally and made her perform oral sex on him in a room upstairs in the station’s fire services garage. It was alleged the acts occurred while Decosta was working the 1am to noon shift. The allegations emerged from a statement the girl gave to Inspector Altida Bowles in her mother’s presence on the same date of the incident. It was alleged that after being taken to the police station by her father’s neighbour at around 6am on the date in question, and while sitting in the foyer, an officer in navy blue called the girl from the foyer and directed her to a room upstairs at the rear of the building. According to the evidence, Decosta beckoned for the girl to come outside at 11.53am. While upstairs in the fire services garage, Decosta was alleged to have forced the girl to commit sex acts. According to the evidence, the girl returned to the foyer at 12.21pm. However, the girl has since denied telling police about any sexual acts allegedly committed by Decosta, and in fact said the contents of her statement were “incorrect”. The teenager said although she signed her statement, she did not read it over before she signed, and neither was it read back to her by the interviewing officer. She also said she didn’t sign the document truthfully. The girl also testified in open court that she could not remember if her mother was present during the interview. And those admissions came after she doubled down on her previous testimony that “nothing” sexual happened between her and Decosta at the South Beach Police Station. However, Insp Bowles, who took the statement from the girl and conducted Decosta’s record of interview, has since said
that not only did she read the 14-year-old’s statement back to her, but the eighth grader signed it “in four places” along with her mother before she herself signed it. During yesterday’s proceedings, Mr Ducille said the girl’s testimony was devoid of any proof that it was Decosta who did anything to her concerning any of the charges. Mr Ducille also noted that in the girl’s statement to police, there are only references to “the officer”. No evidence has since been led, particularly through the Crown’s “star witness” to identify Decosta as “the officer”, Mr Ducille said. Additionally, Mr Ducille said the girl said nothing to incriminate his client when she took the stand, other than to say “nothing” happened between her and Decosta on the date in question. Thus, he said the girl’s admissions were a “double whammy” for the Crown, as not only did she essentially give evidence in Decosta’s favor, the admissions came during the Crown’s case, and not during cross examination. Mr Ducille also noted that there was no medical evidence adduced during trial, something he said should have been before the court for such a case, particularly due to the fact that there is evidence that the girl was taken to hospital and examined after the alleged incident. Mr Ducille lamented the fact that his client is standing trial because of the “so-called complainant who has not complained to this court that this man did anything to her”. Meanwhile, lead Crown prosecutor Jacqueline Burrows argued that the girl was a “vulnerable” state at the time of the incident, borne out of the fact that she was taken to the police station after being dropped off by her father’s house by her mother and “neglected”. Ms Burrows said Decosta was well aware of that fact, as he took down an incident report from her. Thus, Ms Burrows asked “for what reason might one lie”, and further questioned the likelihood of the girl having any ulterior motive for telling such a story. Ms Burrows further noted that although the girl was unwilling to tell her true story in court, she appeared to be a “reluctant” witness for whatever reason. Ms Burrows further noted that at one point while giving her evidence from the witness stand, the girl was “shaking” for reasons unknown. In any event, Ms Burrows admonished the jury to accept whatever evidence the girl was willing to give, which was her confirming that she told police that while inside the station, an officer wearing navy blue, alleged to be Decosta, approached her. She initially denied telling police that the officer called her outside, but then told the prosecutor that an officer did in fact call her outside. The teenager went on to confirm that she told police that Decosta told her to go to the rear of the building, which she said she did. She confirmed that she told police that Decosta followed her to the rear of the building before instructing her to take a flight of stairs. She said she told police that Decosta was behind her the entire time. According to the evidence, that area of the fire services shed is “restricted” and not operational due to mold. Civilians in particular are not allowed in that area, according to the evidence.
HUNT FOR ARMED ROBBER POLICE are looking for an armed man who robbed a washhouse employee on Wednesday. According to police, shortly before 11pm an armed man entered a
washhouse on Baillou Hill Road near Carmichael Road, held up an employee and robbed the business of cash. The suspect escaped. An investigation is continuing.
DWAYNE Decosta outside court previously.
Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff
PAGE 12, Friday, September 20, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
Damage in Bermuda but no deaths as Hurricane Humberto strikes MIAMI Associated Press HURRICANE Humberto blew off rooftops, toppled trees and knocked out power as it blew past the British Atlantic island of Bermuda. But officials said Thursday that the Category 3 storm caused no reported deaths. “We’ve made it through and everyone is safe,” Premier David Burt said. “That’s what is most important.” Security Minister Wayne Caines said power had been restored to most customers by midday Thursday and emergency crews were clearing roads of power lines damaged by the hurricane, which had winds of about 120 mph (195 kph) at its nearest approach to the island Wednesday night. Caines said government offices would reopen Friday, though schools would remain closed. “The country is getting back on its feet and the good news is there was no loss of life,” he said. The US National Hurricane Center said Humberto would still kick up high surf in Bermuda and along the
US East Coast. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165 kph) late Thursday afternoon, with tropical storm-force winds extending outward for 380 miles (610 kilometers), covering a huge swath of ocean. The storm was centered about 550 miles (885 kilometers) northeast of Bermuda and moving to the northeast at a brisk 24 mph (39 kph).
Meanwhile, a brush with land near Puerto Vallarta knocked newly formed Hurricane Lorena back down to tropical storm force, though forecasters said it would soon become a hurricane again on a track that would carry it close to the Los Cabos resorts at the tip of the Baja California Peninsula by Friday night. The storm’s centre came onshore in darkness in the
western state of Colima, whipping palm trees about with its strong winds and lashing the area with sheets of rain. Lorena flooded streets, washed out roads and touched off minor slides in ten municipalities. Dozens of trees were downed, and there were power outages in some areas. Water topped the banks of an arroyo and swamped
some homes in the port city of Manzanillo, where 21 people sought refuge at a temporary shelter at a school, state Gov. José Ignacio Peralta said Thursday. At an afternoon news conference, Peralta said nearly eight inches (200 millimeters) of rain had fallen in a little under 24 hours, and more than 7,400 acres (3,000 hectares) of crops such as bananas and papayas were damaged statewide. But there were no deaths or significant damage to infrastructure, he said. “There are no losses of human lives to lament,” Peralta said. Lorena had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph) at midafternoon Thursday and it was centered about 205 miles (330 kilometers) east-southeast of Cabo San Lucas. It was moving to the northwest at 13 mph (20 kph). Forecasters said the storm could bring 5 to 10 inches (12.5 to 25 centimeters) of rain to parts of the region. Mexican officials voiced concern that some parts of southern Mexico, which have seen a lack of
which includes Houston, said there had been a combination of at least 1,000 high-water rescues and evacuations to get people to shelter. More than 900 flights were canceled or delayed in Houston, and further north on the Texas Gulf Coast, authorities warned that a levee could break near Beaumont in Jefferson County. The National Weather Service said radar estimates suggested that Jefferson County was deluged with more than 40 inches of rain
in a span of just 72 hours. “The water kept rising. It kept rising. I couldn’t believe it,” said Ruby Trahan Robinson, 63. She uses a wheelchair and had a portable oxygen tank while getting settled into a shelter at city hall in the small town of China, just outside Beaumont. “It rolled in like a river,” she said. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner evoked the memory of Harvey — which dumped more than 50 inches of rain on the nation’s fourth-largest
city in 2017 — while pleading with residents to stay put. City officials said they had received more than 1,500 high-water rescue calls to 911, most from drivers stuck on flooded roads, but authorities described a number of them as people who were inconvenienced and not in immediate danger. Turner said the city had no reports of injuries as Imelda’s intensity finally began to weaken by yesterday afternoon.
SPLENDORA Police officer Mike Jones carries Ramiro Lopez Jr’s dog, Panthea, from a boat after the officers rescued the family from their flooded neighbourhood in Splendora, Texas. Photo: Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP
A MAN uses a powered saw to cut away a felled tree blocking Harrington Sound Road in the aftermath of Hurricane Humberto, in the Smiths parish of Bermuda. Photo: Akil J Simmons/AP
rainfall, could suffer dangerous flash floods and landslides unleashed by torrential rain. Authorities in Los Cabos said schools would be closed Friday. Another tropical storm, Mario, was also moving north across the Pacific several hundred miles farther out to sea. It was located about 455 miles (730 kilometers) south-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula and had sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kilometers). It wasn’t expected to hit land, however. In Texas and Louisiana, the remains of Tropical Depression Imelda kept bringing rains and flooding. Elsewhere in the Atlantic region, Jerry strengthened into a hurricane on a track that would carry it near the northern Leeward Islands on Friday and north of Puerto Rico on Saturday. It had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph) at midafternoon Thursday and was located about 435 miles (700 kilometers) east of the Leeward Islands. It was moving to the west-northwest at 16 mph (26 kph).
TROPICAL STORM BRINGS FLOODING TO TEXAS CHINA, Texas Associated Press
THE slow-churning remnants of Tropical Storm Imelda dangerously flooded parts of Texas and Louisiana yesterday, scrambling rescue crews and volunteers with boats to reach scores of stranded drivers and families trapped in their homes during a relentless downpour that drew comparisons to Hurricane Harvey two years ago. Officials in Harris County,