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The Tribune Established 1903
Volume:116 No.210, OCTOBER 25TH, 2019
Weekend
THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1
WEEKEND: A NEW WAVE OF BOLD MILITARY FASHION
NBA star Ayton in drug suspension
A COMIC’S VIEW THIS ATTEMPT TO MUZZLE THE MEDIA IS LAUGHABLE
SEE PAGE EIGHT
25-game ban for basketball hero after failed test
By TRIBUNE SPORTS STAFF BAHAMAS basketball star Deandre Ayton has been suspended for 25 games for failing a drug test. The suspension is due to a positive test for a diuretic. The Phoenix Suns centre was told of the suspension last night. He said: “I want to apologise to my family, the entire Suns organisation, my teammates, partners, our fans and the Phoenix community. “This was an unintentional mistake and unfortunately I put something in my body that I was completely unaware of. I do understand the unfortunate impact that this has on so many others, and for
that I am deeply sorry. I’m extremely disappointed that I’ve let my team down. I will continue to work with the Players’ Union (NBPA) to go through the arbitration process and am hopeful for a positive resolution.” Suns general manager James Jones said in a statement: “Deandre has expressed his deepest remorse. While he is suspended we remain committed to his growth and development on and off the court. His actions are not taken lightly, and we are committed to ensuring that Deandre understands the profound impact it has had on the team, organisation, and Suns community.” FULL STORY - SEE SPORT
FLAG FURY
MISS Bahamas Universe Tarea Sturrup has caused controversy with a photoshoot depicting Hurricane Dorian wreckage but she maintains she only had “pure intentions”. Full story in Weekend. Photo: Christine Demeritte/Icandy Photo Mansion
VOLUNTEERS’ PERMITS - MR SPEAKER TOLD TO THEY SHOULD BE FREE LEAVE THE PRESS ALONE By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
AS THE government defends its decision to mandate work permits for relief volunteers entering The Bahamas, a Haitian-Bahamian advocate has called the policy “sickening”, urging officials to immediately reverse it. Jetta Baptiste, former
president of the Haitian Bahamian Society of The Bahamas, stressed that Bahamians desperately need relief assistance after Hurricane Dorian hit the country, killing many and causing significant devastation in Grand Bahama and Abaco. The Immigration Department is charging SEE PAGE SEVEN
By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
GOVERNING party MPs called for a change to “archaic” parliamentary rules yesterday, with some expressing concern that the Minnis administration could be perceived as swaying toward the side of dictatorship and possible censorship of the country’s
free press. According to Pineridge MP Frederick McAlpine yesterday, House Speaker Halson Moultrie’s rebuke of a Nassau Guardian reporter on Wednesday for using her cell phone to take photos of an MP on the floor of the House went against the state’s mantra of transparency and democracy. SEE PAGE FIVE
ATLANTIS DEATH - SUICIDE OR MURDER? By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net
THE older brother of a South African woman found hanged in a room at the Atlantis resort last year, yesterday urged a jury to find that his sister was murdered. He said the injuries found on her corpse did not point to a suicide. Johann Van Eeden claimed that 58 of the 62 injuries Carla Van Eeden suffered, were
CARLA VAN EEDEN “unequivocally” found to have occurred either prior to or at the time of her
demise, and were more than enough proof that his 25-year-old sister’s death was “not at her own hands”. Ms Van Eeden was found hanging from a green and white cellphone lanyard around her neck, which was hanging from a garment hook on the back of the bathroom door in room 3583 at the Royal Towers at Atlantis in May 2018. The lanyard was “doublelooped” loosely around her neck. SEE PAGE THREE
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
DIANE PHILLIPS
STUCK IN SPIDER’S WEB OF THE CREDIT CARD MACHINE
SEE PAGE TEN
PAGE 2, Friday, October 25, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
LAWYER SEEKING READMISSION TO THE BAR A LAWYER, disbarred 18 years ago after $400,000 allegedly went missing from a client’s account, is seeking readmission to the roll of the Bahamas Bar Council. The council will hear Leon Smith’s application for restoration to the roll on October 30 and 31 at 3pm. This is pursuant to Section
41(1) of the Legal Profession Act. Any member of the Bar, those with objections or a desire to make representation are asked to attend the hearings, according to an advertisement by the Bahamas Bar Association. Mr Smith had applied for readmission to the Bar in 2008 and in 2011. Following that hearing in
2011, officers from the Central Detective Unit arrested and questioned Mr Smith over allegations of fraud as he left the premises. At the time, a representative for Colina Insurance Ltd told the council how Mr Smith had allegedly incurred over $2.5 million in losses for Imperial Life by reportedly obtaining
mortgages for himself and his clients, while acting as an attorney for Imperial Life in the negotiations. It is unclear how legal proceedings in that case unfolded. Mr Smith was then reported by Colina to the Bar Association in 2004. However the company learned at the time that he had already been disbarred.
According to The Nassau Guardian, the Colina representative said: “The consideration for this council is the protection of the public, and it is for the greater good of society that the Bar must decide whether or not it’s for the good of society to allow Mr Smith to practice. “And Colina Insurance
says he should not be allowed to practice again because these are offences, acts of dishonesty and we have not been able to recover this money.” In a 2003 judgment, Senior Justice John Lyons found that Mr Smith had fraudulently quieted land in Pinewood Gardens for John Sands.
AMBULANCES DONATED TO HOSPITAL
THE National Emergency Medical Services’ ambulance fleet was boosted after the DemersBraun-Crestline group – an ambulance manufacturer based in Quebec, Canada — recently donated two ambulances to the Public Hospitals Authority. The donation brings the number of ambulances donated to PHA in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian to 10. The ambulances are the Type III MX164 models which feature best in class safety and ergonomics, reduced maintenance and an industry-leading mobility seat. The donated emergency vehicles will bolster the ability of NEMS to respond to emergencies in Grand Bahama and Abaco where the service experienced a near total loss of its ambulance fleet as a result of catastrophic flooding during Hurricane Dorian. Director of NEMS Dr Alvery Hanna expressed gratitude for the donation. “The donation of ambulances to our fleet in Grand Bahama and Abaco is truly a godsend as the demand is very high on these islands, even six weeks after the storm,” she said. She added that the deployment exercise of the donated emergency vehicles is aimed at ensuring that NEMS can provide full coverage in servicing the emergency medical needs of the Bahamian community.
Hon. Bradley B. E. Roberts
December 25, 1943 - October 25, 2018 Bradley Bernard Emmanuel, colloquially called ‘Big Brad Brad,’ third child and second son of Rubert Anthony Roberts III and Merle Eloise Roberts, husbang, father, brother, grandfather, businessman, Member of Parliament, Cabinet Minister, Chairman Emeritus of the Progressive Liberal Party, advisor and friends is profoundly mourned and greatly missed In loving memory from family, friends, colleagues and associates
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, October 25, 2019, PAGE 3
Calsey Johnson, former diplomat and Senator, dies
DR Calsey Johnson laying a wreath on behalf of The Bahamas’ government at the War Memorial in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 2014
FORMER diplomat and Senator Calsey Johnson died yesterday, prompting an outpouring of condolences. Former Prime Minister Perry Christie said news of Mr Johnson’s death left him deeply saddened. He remembered the former broadcaster as “a great patriot, an outstanding nation-builder, a public servant and diplomat of distinction, and a close and valued friend and political ally.” “When the history of media in The Bahamas is written, Calsey Johnson will be featured prominently and profoundly. Together with Sir Charles Carter and Ed Bethel, he was instrumental in the modernisation and expansion of ZNS Radio, and the creation of ZNS TV thereby pioneering the introduction of television into The Bahamas. Indeed it was Calsey who played host to Her Majesty the Queen when she personally presided over the unveiling of the new television facilities at the inaugural Independence celebrations in July, 1973,” Mr Christie said in a statement issued yesterday. “More than just a hyperefficient, pace-setting general manager for the Bahamas Broadcasting Corporation, Calsey was a distinguished on-air starring personality in his own right. With his distinctive Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera accent, polished diction, and effervescent persona, he was for decades a leading voice and later, face and voice, of the news and public affairs programming for local radio and television. “But Calsey accomplished so much more than that. He became an important part of the political and diplomatic establishment as well. He had the distinction of serving as a senator in our Parliament and later as Bahamian high commissioner to Canada, a post that I was pleased to appoint him to in recognition of his
many abilities and distinguished public service.” Mr Johnson was also involved in politics; he was a former PLP candidate for the Bamboo Town constituency and served as secretary-general of the party. “He was a loyal and dependable ally in good times and in bad, and he made important contributions to the party,” Mr Christie said, offering condolences to Mr Johnson’s wife, Dulcena, and his entire family. Progressive Liberal Party chairman Fred Mitchell said Mr Johnson, a former PLP stalwart councillor, never wavered in his support for the progressive cause. “He was a faithful soldier and trusted ally of the late Sir Lynden Pindling,” Mr Mitchell
said in a statement. “He was especially proud to be a son of Eleuthera and of the settlement of Hatchet Bay. On behalf of the leader Philip ‘Brave’ Davis, Deputy Chester Cooper, our entire parliamentary team, all officers and members, we extend our condolences to his wife Dulcena and the entire family. A true patriot has left us. He may be gone but will not be forgotten. May he rest in peace.” Mr Johnson had a 14-year stint as general manager of the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas, from 2002-2007. He later became the executive chairman of the BCB. Upon his retirement, he became involved in business and politics and was later appointed as a Senator.
Atlantis death - was it suicide or murder? from page one
Her brother, in addressing the five-member jury, further asserted that it would not have made sense for his younger sister to have taken her own life, because this was contrary to the sole reason she came to The Bahamas in the first place: to fulfill her childhood dream to swim with the dolphins. He said his sister only stopped in The Bahamas because she had “extra time” in between her overall plans to meet up with a friend in Las Vegas. “Consider why my sister would take her own life, just before without realising the dream she has had for so many years to actually swim with and touch dolphins,” Mr Van Eeden told the jury. “As simple and childlike as it is, that’s what it was. She really wanted to swim with the dolphins.” He added: “Why would she take her own life before realising her dream since she was a little girl? It just doesn’t make sense.” Mr Van Eeden, who alone has shouldered the burden of representing his family during the inquest, told the jury he has “been through hell” and “tortured” himself by scouring the evidence in the matter, which included him seeing the graphic photographs of his sister’s hanged corpse. “Imagine how a family feels when they are told their loved one passes away in a different country and
then arrives home with all the injuries noted on (an autopsy report)?” he said. “It is probably the most horrible thing in the whole world to be confronted with.” He added: “There is no doubt in my mind that my sister’s demise was not at her own hand. No doubt at all.” Meanwhile, Atlantis’ attorney Giselle Pyfrom asserted that Ms Van Eeden’s death was a suicide. She said regardless of whether it was accidental or intentional, it was definitely influenced by the fact that she was not only dealing with personal issues leading up to her death, but that she was severely intoxicated around that time. Ms Pyfrom noted that prior to her death, Ms Van Eeden had said that she was unhappy with her job, and was “emotional” about her breakup with her boyfriend, Tom, which had happened just one month before she arrived at Atlantis. Ms Pyfrom noted that in voice notes that were previously played for the jury, Ms Van Eeden seemed to be “vacillating” between being “unhappy and emotional” and being “very happy” in an almost cyclical fashion. Ms Pyfrom said that at one point in the voice notes, Ms Van Eeden exclaimed: “I just want to be happy. I hate how I feel!” Then, she said the young woman “immediately switches to feeling happy and excited about swimming with the dolphins”.
Ms Pyfrom said a report from the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Department showed that Ms Van Eeden had a “significant” amount of alcohol in her body prior to her death, and that around the time of her demise, she was in the “excitement stage of alcohol influence”. Ms Pyfrom said the young woman’s blood alcohol level was .134 percent, while her urine alcohol level was .25 percent. And both amounts are “significantly above the legal limit for intoxication”, Ms Pyfrom said, citing the report. The report further noted: “Based on the concentration of ethanol found in this case, it can be stated that at or around the time of death, the deceased was in the excitement stage of alcohol influence. The clinical signs and symptoms include, but are not limited to, emotional instability, loss of critical judgment, impairment of perception, increased reaction time, motor incoordination and impaired balance.” “Some of these factors might explain how and why Carla either accidentally or intentionally did harm to herself,” Ms Pyfrom concluded. The attorney refuted Mr Van Eeden’s claims of his sister being murdered as bordering on the lines of a conspiracy, as that would necessarily imply that Atlantis had gone through the trouble and gathering
witnesses to “collude with each other to cook the facts”. And even if that were so, Ms Pyfrom said it would be “very hard to fathom” that all the evidence led would fall in place so perfectly to support his conclusion. Conversely, Ms Pyfrom told the jurors that the most important thing to note about the evidence was that Ms Van Eeden was alone in her room when she died, that there were no signs of a struggle — much less a fight — and that multiple witnesses testified to that end, none of whom she said “have any reason to be untruthful”. “In order for Mr Van Eeden’s conclusions to be correct, there would have had to be a conspiracy that involved every witness colluding with each other to cook the facts,” Ms Pyfrom said. “It’s very hard to fathom that all of those things would come together — which would be necessary — in order to conclude what Mr Van Eeden concludes. It just defies logic to think that everyone’s conspired here to cover this up.” During previous proceedings, Dr Linda Leibenberg, a South African forensic pathologist who conducted the second of two autopsies of Ms Van Eeden at her family’s request, previously testified that the young woman’s death was more likely a homicide as opposed to a suicide. Dr Liebenberg said Ms Van Eeden’s alleged suicide
was actually the result of ligature strangulation and a “subsequent staging of the body” to “create the impression” she was hanged. She said the young woman also had “numerous” scratches, bruises and abrasions about her body, which were in keeping with a person who had been involved in a “violent struggle”. Dr Liebenberg also said the deceased woman had “drag mark abrasions” on “large parts” of the rear of her body, as well as an area of bruising to the back of her neck. All in all, Dr Leibenberg cited Ms Van Eeden’s body as having suffered 62 injuries in total, the likes of which she said she photographed extensively. The doctor said she was “taken aback” and “puzzled” when she discovered that the various injuries she found on Ms Van Eeden’s body were not recorded in the first autopsy report compiled by Dr Bridgewater. But Dr Bridgewater later said he was “dumbfounded” at the suggestion from his South African
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counterpart, and said her assertions were “quite fantastic” because the body he saw days after the incident in question bore no evidence of such a claim. Instead, Dr Bridgewater said Ms Van Eeden’s body was in “excellent condition” when he conducted the first of two autopsies on the young woman, adding to his “surprise” when he read Dr Liebenberg’s extensive report. He maintained that Ms Van Eeden died from asphyxia due to hanging, and asserted that whatever Dr Liebenberg observed was likely the result of ‘postmortem artifact’ that “mimics” bruising, which he surmised tricked his colleague into believing Ms Van Eeden was assaulted. He also shot down Dr Liebenberg’s suggestion of there being some sort of scuffle between Ms Van Eeden and some unknown assailant, as he said he saw no evidence of Ms Van Eeden scraping her neck in a bid to get the ligature off, or even her nails breaking in the process.
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THE TRIBUNE
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Still too much confusion A SMALL but significant step took place yesterday in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian - the Missing Persons Help Desk was deactivated. The desk has been open at the Department of Social Services for some weeks now, and while perhaps the number of queries it has received has dwindled as people have had time to report their missing friends and family, the number of answers are still in short supply. It is seven weeks since the storm - and the confirmed death toll remains at 65, a number that is widely agreed to be a serious underestimate of what the final figure will be. Meanwhile, there has been confusion over the number of people still unaccounted for - the last figure being 282 according to National Security Minister Marvin Dames, but that was amid conflicting information with Social Services Minister Frankie Campbell saying 1,208 were unaccounted for. Each of those numbers is more than a statistic - it represents a much greater number of family and friends whose lives have been upturned as they try to find their missing loved ones. Earlier this week, The Tribune highlighted the case of Tanario Lowe, an Abaco native who has not been heard from since Hurricane Dorian hit the island. His family have searched every shelter, filed a report with the police, and still have no answers. “We don’t know what to think or what to do, or where to go from here,” said his sister, Godydra Gardiner. It sometimes feels as if the focus has moved on from those most affected by the storm and the family members caught between hope and dread as they wait for more. The trickle of information about confirmed deaths has been just that, a number that has hardly moved over the weeks since the storm. There have been a few announcements of names and photographs of the missing which have been dutifully run by the newspapers, ourselves included, in the hope it might help families to
reconnect - but not nearly enough announcements given the number who are lost. The number of updates from police and the National Emergency Management Agency have also slowed - the graphics posted to Facebook by NEMA offering weekly updates stopped at the end of September and have not been seen since. Whatever the number of missing - be it the 282 quoted by Mr Dames or the 1,208 identified by Mr Campbell - the truth is that results in thousands of relatives and friends still trying to resolve a sudden hole in their lives. Others may have moved on to focus on the looming court battle over the demolition of shanty towns, arguments about undocumented migrants, squabbles about the sudden departure on holiday of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force commander while affected islands still lack security, and other matters - but families lacking answers cannot move on. It is nearly two months since the storm - and no one is standing up with a likely estimate of the number of those dead. Our noticeboards and the pages of this very newspaper should be plastered with the images of the missing, day in, day out, in the hope - the very small hope these many weeks on but hope nonetheless - that a reunion might still happen. Or if there is no hope - to let people know who has been affected, to show the human cost that has affected our islands. We urge the police and NEMA to rectify this - to spread the word once more, and to ensure those who are at the heart of this tragedy are given the importance that they deserve. These families deserve more. They deserve not to be left saying that they don’t know what to think or what to do. They deserve our public authorities to be there for them in this ongoing time of need. We hope - there’s that word again, hope - that they will listen to the voices calling for their help.
Time to find out which protocol takes precedence EDITOR, The Tribune OUR new National Honours Awards or as they are being awarded The Bahamas Re-Run Awards........ there had to be more persons who had received Queen’s honours receiving the National awards to make it a joke ...... surely if a person has received their CMG-MBE-OBE or knighthood that’s enough awards as they came from the Monarch – Her Majesty the Queen of the Bahamas. The Chancellor of all the
Orders is His Excellency the Most Honourable Governor General – I suggest if there is any speeches it should be the person who is giving the Awards...His Excellency. Has anyone thought out which takes protocol precedence when it comes to protocol? Queen’s honours against National? This posthumously issue ....... only military or police or anyone in the uniformed services should receive an award after their death. If we continue in the
fashion of year (one)(two) it will only be rehash – previously awarded persons who will get the Awards... must have ‘political affiliation’……… red was through and through the awardees of 2019. Why wasn’t the Ballroom used......full guard of honour, etc, must have cost a bit and Treasury is said to be low right now – Dorian? K STURRUP Nassau October 15, 2019
Christmas in October is no way to do business EDITOR, The Tribune BAHAMAS Paradise Cruises…Didn’t Government cancel the Nassau-US-Florida leg because of objection from the Chamber of Commerce and the detrimental effect the service was having? Back again promoted heavily....$129.00 per person special…go to Miami buy what you want come back and screw the local wholesaler and retailer then Government chastises
the business sector for not expanding and employing more people? Guess why, Mr PM? Even Eye witness News News Editor has been taken hook line and sinker promoting the service the fact that Nassau residents can shop til they put local business out of business that’s Christmas in October! I thought the FNM was funded and supported by the ex-UBP faction? A serious decision of someone....... Revenue lost
from Abaco and Grand Bahama $200 million plus and this? Government should be at least shortfall, two-years be reducing the returning resident Duty Exemption to $500.00 per person and that is high (some $150m a year exemption revenue lost!) Financial you want to reduce VAT earnings more? Brilliant! ABRAHAM MOSS Nassau October 11, 2019
Mr Chipman shows how it can be done EDITOR, The Tribune GREAT Britain has no written constitution. In other words, unlike the Bahamas, it has no system codified into one document. It was made up of a number of things, the main being Laws passed by Parliament and adopted by Convention. In 1972 Sir Lynden Pindling, Sir Roland Symonette, the Hon. A.D. Hanna, the Hon. Paul Adderley, Sir Stafford Sands, Sir Geoffrey Johnstone, the Hon Eugene Dupuch, QC, and others went to England to negotiate Independence for The Bahamas. They agreed to accept the British form of Government, namely the Westminster system. I am shocked when I hear people laughing and joking and saying what is happening in The Bahamas today is not dishonest! They call me a fool (they may be correct), and say that my opinions are “sour grapes”, etc. Many say that I take a particular position because I don’t like somebody or, for some other weird reason. To avoid using any Bahamian’s name, I will relate a true happening in the British Parliament and then let you, the Bahamian people, put the local names to the particular situation. There was a man named Profumo in the British Parliament. He was Minister of Defence and had a sweetheart who turned out to be a Russian spy. It was exposed in Parliament but Profumo insisted in Parliament that
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net the accusation was not true. Harold Macmillan, who was Prime Minster at the time, believed his colleague and said in Parliament that the accusation was not true. It was later proven that the accusation was indeed true and Profumo had lied to Parliament. He was forced to resign because he had lied to Parliament and was never allowed to run for Parliament again. By backing Profumo in his lie the Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, had also lied to Parliament. He resigned, and his Party lost the next election. You see, the British take their rules and Parliamentarian’s actions seriously. Lying to Parliament is a serious offence. It erodes Democracy. For the system to work you must insist on honesty in Parliament. Yes, those are the rules. If you don’t like them, change them, but do not under any circumstances abuse them. Now folks, you put the Bahamian names next to Profumo’s and Harold Macmillan’s and see what you come up with. No, I didn’t make the rules. I’m only pointing out the rules to you. Sir Lynden, Sir Roland and company adopted the rules. Again if you don’t like them, change them. But in the meantime those are the rules. Live by them. The other strict rule is most commonly called
“insider trading”. This means that any Minister or Parliamentarian who has advance knowledge of an arrangement that gives him/her advantage over his/ her competitor is conflicted. Another example of conflict of interest is when a person is put on a committee, which enables them to effect the results or the conclusions of a position so as to make a personal profit from the transaction. This person is conflicted. Who fits this hat? You name them. They’ve broken the rules. Now if you don’t like the rule change it, don’t abuse it. I was once rightly told by a Minister, “I’ll have my say; Cabinet will have its way”. True, but be very sure that when “Cabinet has its way”, that it has not been arrived at to help an individual and not the people. Make sure that the “Cabinet’s way” does not break the rules and conventions. Make sure that “Cabinet’s way” has not been arrived at by either dishonesty or by not knowing the facts. Just remember that when the paintbrush of public opinion paints, it takes large swipes. Make sure you’re not in front of the fan! Mr Chipman, with his recent resignation from the FNM seems to have taken a moral stand. He has put people and principle before the Party. Congratulations, Mr. Chipman you’re a man!! PIERRE DUPUCH Former MP Nassau October 24, 2019
Why the pension delay? EDITOR, The Tribune MINISTER Brensil Rolle, Minister responsible said to be of NIB and Ms Rolle at NIB. Explain...why does it take nearly 12 months or more to get the first NIB benefit Pension payment?
How on earth do you expect people who are now relying 100% on NIB to survive? BP&L - W&S - Cable BTC - Ally - Real Property don’t care they want their money now. Come off it surely within three-four weeks at the
most any and all retiring persons should receive their NIB Pension payment..... wasn’t this The People’s Government or you all changed since in office? K MURPHY Nassau October 13, 2019
THE TRIBUNE from page one
Friday, October 25, 2019, PAGE 5
Leave the Press alone, Mr Speaker
Speaker Moultrie’s actions were “in poor taste”, he said, adding reporters should have the convenience of carrying out their duties with liberty. However, Health Minister and Elizabeth MP Dr Duane Sands said he did not see the situation as government’s attempt to stifle the press. Instead it was the consequence of outdated parliamentary rules, he said. Meanwhile, Golden Isles MP Vaughn Miller said he thought the situation was “mishandled” as the House to be sanctioning or look sitting should have been like you are trying to quiet briefly suspended to address the press. “I agree with the oppothe concerns instead of publicly and openly criticis- sition on this matter and ing the reporter’s actions. I suggest that the governOn Wednesday, Speaker ment remember that the Moultrie also accused the pen is mightier than the media of “descending” to sword.” The Speaker’s decia certain level, adding it was an issue that needed sion drew criticism on Wednesday addressing. from opposition He did not member of Parliaclearly explain ment for Mangrove what he meant, Cay and South but told House of Andros Picewell Assembly memForbes, who said bers that “fake” a free press in the and opinioncountry should ated stories had have the liberty of been published gathering photos online and in local and video with newspapers. cellphones. Beforehand, he Mr McAlpopenly rebuked ine continued: the Nassau Guard“It was her perian’s reporter sonal phone and seated in the it is her right as House gallery for an individual and taking photos of a professional member of Parreporter has been liament Chester infringed on. Cooper, who was “For a governcontributing to FROM top: Duane debate on a bill Sands, Frederick ment that talks about democracy, to exempt fees for McAlpine and transparency and replacement docu- Vaughn Miller accountability, ments lost during Hurricane Dorian. Speaker they seem to be going down Moultrie then ordered the a road in the opposite direcreporter’s phone be turned tion of what they have been over to a House clerk and preaching. “I would like to apologise the images deleted. However this never happened. to the reporter on behalf Instead Chief Clerk David of the people of Pineridge Forbes called the reporter because we thought it was in outside the gallery and poor taste and even though motioned to her to delete we recognise the Speaker is the photos. She then did the Speaker in the House, as instructed, but later he must recognise that the retrieved the images from press has a responsibility as the fourth estate to function her deleted files. “They have to recognise with liberty.” For his part, Mr Miller, that this is not a totalitarian state,” Mr McAlpine said in a broadcaster, said he was an interview with The Trib- of the view that reporters une yesterday. “Neither are should not need permission we heading down the road to do their jobs. “I am of the opinion once to dictatorship. “How can a reporter ask you come to the House, your permission if you’re there is a procedure or proin the chair and there are cess you go through and other people who are in once the person is cleared the House taking pictures as a reporter, that whatdaily? You cannot be seen ever courtesies are afforded
HOUSE Speaker Halson Moultrie pictured earlier this week Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff reporters once they enter in that status should be automatic,” Mr Miller said. “I don’t think you should have to get permission to do your job. That’s a part of your job description. That’s what you do. So once you (are) readmitted and allowed and enter as a reporter you should be permitted to do your job.
“I think that law is ancient and archaic - whoever made it. I think they were arguing that it was done under the Progressive Liberal Party. I don’t care who did it. I don’t care when it was done. “Let’s fix it now. That’s why the people elected us to get it right. Personally I thought the House should
have been suspended briefly and persons addressed off camera (and) off air,” Mr Miller continued, “because I’m a broadcaster. I am more conscious of it, but you have to know that you’re on live radio on live TV and this is going out. “I have the greatest respect for the Speaker and what I am saying is not
out of disdain at all, it’s just being objective and fair and honest. Whatever that rule is it needs to be amended.” “It was mishandled yesterday,” he said. For his part, Dr Sands said he thought Speaker Moultrie’s call for an update of the rules was appropriate. He said: “I don’t think that we are in the slightest bit interested in as a government in censoring the press. This is the unfortunate consequence of rules that have not indeed been updated in years, more than a decade. “You know trying to figure out how you strike a balance with an open accessible Parliament to one that is clearly not one where people accuse you rightly so of selective application of rules even in the face of discretion. “So I think his call for an update in the rules is appropriate. The flip side of it is we have seen examples where there have been less than positive images coming out of the House of Assembly and I think what we ought to do is update the rules, find the sweet spot that is consistent with what we want to see for our Parliament,” Dr Sands said. In May, after videos of a surprising outburst in Parliament went viral on social media, Speaker Moultrie ruled that visitors were prohibited from carrying cell phones into the gallery. At the time, he said the rule did not apply to members of Parliament, technocrats and the media. However, he said the media will have to seek permission from the House through the chief clerk to capture cell phone video. He has said even the Hansard was limited with respect to footage according to House rules. When making his ruling on Wednesday, Speaker Moultrie cited rule 89 of parliamentary procedures.
GAY 0R STRAIGHT - JUST WHY DOES IT MATTER? A5MAIN
By RIEL MAJOR Tribune Staff Reporter rmajor@tribunemedia.net
RESIDENTS are criticising the apparent hypocrisy of the Bahamas Christian Council for planning to host an anti-LGTBI rally yet turning a supposed blind eye to pressing national issues. The Tribune was out on the streets yesterday to ask the public what they felt about the council’s posistion. One woman, who asked to be identified as Ms Minnis, said when comments are made about having an anti-gay rally, they provide a platform for people who are homophobic and violent to showcase their hatred. She said: “I think it’s important to acknowledge that certain religions do have a set belief system. However, if that belief system does not also openly express that they don’t condone violence against or discrimination against persons who do not subscribe to that belief system, then I have a problem with that. “While I understand that Christians will be Christians, I can only say things that they deem as Christlike within that space of being Christ-like, Christ has also shown grace, mercy and He’s also represented marginalised people.” She added: “In the Christian Council, as much as they speak out against homosexuals, they don’t speak out against the violence towards homosexuals. I think that doesn’t line up because if you are going to be Christian and Christlike, then you need to be
the whole thing and not bits and pieces of it to subscribe to whatever your personal agendas are.” Another resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said the Bahamas Christian Council needs to march and be vocal about the murder rate in this country. He said: “Every week (or more) a young man is shot dead, but the council be very quiet. In the Bible, one of God’s ten commandments is thou shall not kill, but the BCC is not preaching and marching for that.” Another person said the BCC is wasting time focusing on homosexuals when it should focus on promoting love. The woman, who did not want to be named, said: “I can see why our country can never be better, wasted time on matters such as gays in a nation where sweethearting is acceptable, incest, child abuse are nearly the norm, domestic violence and marital rape is supported. “Let’s fix our nation with love and not continue to sink it with hate. One nation, united in love and service. Gays, straights, don’t matter, let’s build our country together.” Another resident, who asked to be identified as Mr Rolle, said while he doesn’t support events that “showboat sexuality”, he believes people should be allowed to be who they are. Mr Rolle said: “I’m not a fan of any event that has to do with sexuality because it causes segregation and separation between human beings. Events like that just divides people, I prefer a general parade or event where everyone can participate regardless of their
THE TRIBUNE
from page one plans to host an opposing rally to make its position known. He said the church would be asking Bahamians to choose a side and likened the plans for the pride parade to a “Sodom and Gomorrah” moment. This is cause for grave concern, Rights Bahamas said in a strongly worded press statement yesterday. “Rights Bahamas welcomes the Bahamas Christian Council’s announcement that it will take to the streets to have its voice heard regarding Pride Bahamas 2020,” the statement read. “Bigoted and intolerant though their views may be in the eyes of many, the pastors have a constitutional right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, just like everyone else. Rights Bahamas celebrates all instances when individuals and groups take advantage of their rights. “Sadly, and quite ironically, the very point and purpose of the Christian Council’s demonstration appears to be a demand that the very same rights they seek to make use of are denied to others. In addition, the rather aggressive and extreme rhetoric that has accompanied this announcement, talk of fighting ‘the forces of evil’ and the destruction of ‘Sodom and Gomorrah’ are in our view, a cause for grave concern and could even lead to violence. “We therefore find it necessary to put the BCC on notice that while Rights Bahamas has absolutely no objections to the pastors making their point publicly, any instances of hate speech, any words or acts designed to intimidate, any incitement to violence, any attempt to bully the LGBTQ community into forgoing its rights, will meet with the most strenuous and forceful opposition – locally, internationally and through the courts if necessary. “We respectfully remind the pastors that while the universal rights they seek to withhold from others are enshrined in the constitution, the BCC itself is not. In fact, it has no standing in the eyes of the law
Thursday, October 24, 2019, PAGE 5
We’ll stand up to bigots and bullies, warn activists
ALEXUS D’Marco, chair of the Bahamas Organisation of LGBTI Affairs, left, and, right, BCC president Bishop Delton Fernander whatsoever and no official say in what happens in the Bahamas – welcome though it may be to its opinion.” Rights Bahamas continued: “We find it further necessary to comment on BCC President Delton Fernander’s suggestion – relying on the wording of the (constitution’s) preamble – that a Pride Bahamas parade would violate the
constitution. While the reference he alludes to speaks only generally to an ‘abiding respect for Christian values,’ it does not mandate or prohibit any specific actions or behaviour, nor does it even give a definition of this rather amorphous phrase. Different denominations promote different values, and several Christian churches now appoint LGBTQ pastors
and conduct same-sex marriages. “On the other hand, the right to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression which the organisers of Pride Bahamas wish to take advantage of, are concretely and explicitly defined in the constitution. They are also explicitly protected, with violations thereof attracting clear penalties. If the BCC remains
unsure of the distinction, they are welcome to test it in court.” Rights Bahamas said council representatives might want to carefully consider the message they are sending to the local public and international organisations that are currently in the Bahamas providing Hurricane Dorian relief. “The proliferation of intolerance, discrimination,
HOW The Tribune covered the story yesterday sexuality. I’ve never been a fan of the pride parade, but I don’t have an issue with gay rights. Everyone should have access to basic human rights.” Despite the complaints from many, one male resident expressed his support for the Christian Council. The resident, who asked to be identified as Mr Pierre, said he believes the Christian Council has a moral responsibility. “I don’t think that we should have any events that glorify any activity that we as a collective people do not accept as morally upright. If adulterers, fornicators, etc, wanted to have an event to celebrate their lifestyle I would not support it although I respect that legally they are not breaking any laws,” Mr Pierre said. On Monday, the Bahamas Christian Council released a statement that stated the organisation does not support the series of lesbian, gay, bisexual
and selective Christian doctrine can only serve to embarrass the country on the world stage. “Bishop Fernander has said that he is mobilising his international contacts to assist in the BCC’s bid to block Pride Bahamas 2020. He may rest assured that the forces of fairness, tolerance, open-mindedness and justice are doing the same,” Rights Bahamas said.
and transgender (LGBT) events set for October 2020, adding, the BCC will host an anti-gay rally to protest against the pride
JAIL AND FINES FOR 15 MORE MIGRANTS from page one
Merite also faces an additional two months in prison if the fine is not paid, the magistrate ordered. She is ordered to be turned over to immigration officials upon completion of her sentence or payment of her fine. Meanwhile, 14 Haitian migrants were were fined a collective $9,300 by Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes for either sneaking into the country or overstaying their time. And in default of their respective fines—as much as $2,000 in three cases — they must all serve a year in prison. They are ordered to be turned over to immigration officials and deported afterwards. Merite, who celebrates her 27th birthday on Friday, was originally sentenced last week to just two months in prison on suspicion of sneaking into the country on a Haitian sloop in September. She was was one of multiple Haitian migrants who received prison sentences from the magistrate for immigration offences because in in the court’s view, fining them only end up “making things worse”. However, it was since revealed by a friend of Merite’s father that the Jean-Rebel native didn’t actually sneak into the country as she previously admitted to doing. Merite in fact has a Haitian passport in her real name, and had received two extensions to remain in the country. However, when immigration officers breached the residence she was in, someone who stayed there told her to give the officers a false name. Subsequent checks by immigration officers confirmed that the woman
arrived in the country through the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) months prior on June 11. She was granted a 21-day stay and later received an extension from July 3 to September 30. No other extensions were given to the defendant, meaning she overstayed by 15 days. In sentencing Merite, Magistrate Vogt-Evans said she found the facts of the matter to be “extremely troubling”, because while Merite received “bad advice”, she still “had a choice”. “The court must be cognizant of the immigration climate and increased influx (of illegal immigrants) and the burden it places on the country,” the magistrate said. “Persons must know that if they are untruthful to the Department of Immigration, it will not be tolerated. The sentence the court imposes hopefully sends a strong message that this conduct will not be tolerated.” Six men—Richard James, Wisly Louima, Jerry Jean, Dougene Fortillen, Kedlet Augustine and Edward Fevrain — were each fined $300 or otherwise serve 12 months in prison for admitting to landing in the country illegally. The six men, with the exception of Louima, had all conceded outright that they had no legal status to remain in the country. Louima indicated that he had made an application for a work permit in 2017, but it was refused. They were each arrested by immigration officers in various areas in New Providence on Monday, ranging from Soldier Road to a boat moored at the Potter’s Cay Dock, during an apprehension exercise led by Chief Immigration Officer Harold Thurston. Another five Haitian
nationals — Dusmuene Finose, Mackendy Joseph, Rony Florestal, Rose Myriame Jean and Pierre Slime — were given the same penalty for sneaking into the country. All of them entered via Haitian sloop at different times between 2017 to this year.
Another three Haitian nationals, Junior Savari aka Nana John, Guthaud Juste, and Berlanda Saint Louis, were each fined $2,000 or otherwise serve a year in prison for overstaying. While Saint Louis only overstayed by a day, thus prompting the prosecution
to request that she merely be deported, Savari and Juste overstayed by 300 and 545 days respectively. A Jamaican woman, Jacqueline Margaret, was fined $1,000 or otherwise serve six months in jail for overstaying by one month and six days. She was
originally landed on June 2 for 14 days. Her last extension ended in September however. Immigration officers Avia Beckford, Shandeshia Marshall, Lashandawn Adderley, and Frederick Smith prosecuted yesterday’s matters.
events. The statement read: “The Bahamas Christian Council does not support any plan to host public LGBT events anywhere within the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. While we appreciate that The Bahamas is a democracy which gives people the right to freedom of speech and expression from a legal perspective, as a body of churches we hold firmly to the tenets of our faith which speak directly to the lifestyle and practice of homosexuality.” President Bishop Delton Fernander said the constitution, in its preamble, establishes that the foundation and moral compass of The Bahamas is built on Christian values. The statement read: “The perspective of ‘Christian Values’ clearly favour the traditional family consisting
of a man and a woman, husband and wife, as the natural God ordained relationship. We believe that the proposed pride events will be in direct contradiction to this aspect of our constitution. “Therefore, the Bahamas Christian Council, does not support nor will we sit idly and allow an even greater expression of indecency to be introduced and celebrated in our country. We will not hold our collective tongues nor our opposition to this proposed immoral week of activities.” In response, local human rights watchdog group Rights Bahamas warned the BCC that bullying or hate speech levelled at the LGBTI community will be met with forceful local and international opposition, and if needed, action in court.
PAGE 6, Friday, October 25, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
Move to cut job losses at Baker’s Bay By LEANDRA ROLLE lrolle@tribunemedia.net WITH the unemployment rate expected to rise in the wake of Hurricane Dorian, Labour Director John Pinder said yesterday the government is in talks with Baker’s Bay Golf and Ocean Club to reduce the number of employees being let go. “Abaco is in really really bad shape…Baker’s Bay said that they may have to lay off as much as 300 persons and for the most part, they will make (their positions) redundant and give them severance pay… but we’re waiting to have a meeting to see if (Baker’s Bay) can decrease that number by employing more personnel,” Mr Pinder told The Tribune. The private multimilliondollar club announced its closure early this week, noting it could be between six to 15 months until it re-opens. According to Mr Pinder, nearly 600 people are employed by the exclusive club. However, in a memo released by Baker’s Bay on Monday, it noted that approximately 200 positions will be made available
for current employees. As a result, many staff members have been told their positions at the club have been made redundant, forcing them to seek employment elsewhere. Mr Pinder said: “We’re asking (Baker’s Bay management) that persons who work at Baker’s Bay, if they so desire, that they may have some other skills to assist Baker’s Bay for another year or 18 months until they’re able to reopen and able to accept other positions. Some may have to lose salaries, and some may get increase with salaries.” Earlier this week, he told the Nassau Guardian he expected the unemployment rate to increase to 12 percent following Hurricane Dorian. When asked if he thought the unemployment rate will increase further given Baker’s Bay recent announcement, Mr Pinder responded that he didn’t think it will. “(Baker’s Bay) said they’re going to keep as many people as they can and we are in talks with them to increase that number to help with the rebuilding of Baker’s Bay… the (government) has used
quite a number of persons to rebuild Abaco in particular and to assist with the rebuilding of Freeport,” he said. “I know that the labour force that is needed for Abaco, we may be able to find those skills for persons who are displaced in Abaco and try get them back to Abaco to rebuild Abaco and to get the economy jumpstarted again.” Speaking to The Tribune, the Labour Director also added that 50 percent of the businesses in Abaco may be “up and running” within the next six months. “I’m thinking in terms of restaurants that have to be opened to feed people, food stores have to be opened for people to buy groceries and toiletries and you have to have hotel accommodations and living accommodations. You have to think about things that is a necessity to people,” he added. “We need Abaco’s economy to be jumpstarted and the best way to do it is to have persons living there and working there and if the government can get the school opened in another couple of months so that persons who are displaced can return back to their home again.”
PRIME Minister Hubert Minnis on his recent trip to Abaco
Photo: Yontalay Bowe/BIS
MAJORITY OF DOME STRUCTURES SET TO ARRIVE By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
A MAJORITY of the government’s 250 dome structures for displaced Abaco families are expected to be on the island today, according to Iram Lewis, minister of state for disaster preparedness, management and reconstruction. There is still no definitive date for the completion of the $6.4m temporary dome city, but Mr Lewis said the shell of each structure will take roughly four to six
hours to construct. He said teams have been working around the clock to ensure the drainage system is in place to handle waste that will be generated once the city is complete. A crew of 25 to 50 workers will work to complete the temporary city. “We do have the preparation being completed,” he told The Tribune yesterday. “The water lines are pretty much in so they’ll be connecting to Water and Sewage’s line today (yesterday). “The service roads are in, the ground is being grated and levelled to receive the
domes. All of the RV trailers for the workers who will be doing the construction are on site, so I guess we’ll have a good understanding in terms of timeline by next Tuesday.” He added: “We have a total of 250 domes. The assembly time of each unit is not that long, but there are so many of them to do, having to replicate over and over is time consuming. If you have a three-man team working with scaffolding in place, a three-man team can do it in less than four to six hours, that’s just to put up the shell itself.
“Then you have to put up the stud wall and you have to put up other things and finish that off so it will take a bit longer.” On Monday, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis told reporters the domes will only be in place for two years. “The rebuilding of Abaco is going to take a long time but the rebuilding has begun,” Dr Minnis said during a press conference following visits to Abaco and its cays over the weekend. “We must rebuild with great care and attention so
that Abaco and the Abaco cays are stronger and more resilient especially in the face of threats from climate change (that) include stronger hurricanes and rising sea levels. “My team visited the site for the family relief centre. The land has already been cleared. Infrastructure materials are arriving. Trailers for the workers to build the domes are at the site. “The infrastructure from the family relief centre will remain in place to accommodate permanent housing on the same site, which is near the Spring
City Subdivision and the temporary domes will be removed as individuals and families move to their permanent location. “The family relief centre will be located on government land and will be enclosed and it is anticipated that the family relief centre will be in place for approximately 24 months or two years,” Dr Minnis said. There have been concerns that the centre is being constructed near a well field in Spring City. However, Mr Lewis has said that this was untrue.
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, October 25, 2019, PAGE 7
WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO HARBOURING TWO HAITIAN NATIONALS By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN woman accused of harbouring undocumented migrants and six Haitian nationals were arraigned this week in the Freeport Magistrate’s Court for breach of the Immigration Act. Rossena Ulysse, 29, of Pearl Drive, appeared on Tuesday in Court Three before Magistrate Rengin Johnson, where she pleaded guilty to harbouring
two undocumented Haitian nationals at her home in Freeport. Prosecutors allege Ulysse harboured Darlene Joseph and Adly Brave at her home on October 21 with deliberate intent to evade apprehension by the Department of Immigration. Magistrate Johnson convicted Ulysse and ordered her to pay a fine of $6,000 or in default serve 12 months in prison. Six Haitian nationals also appeared before the judge — three on the charge of
illegal landing and three for overstaying. Joseph, 34; Brave, 39; and Jelo Jaina, 27, were charged with illegal landing. It is alleged that on October 21, they were found in Freeport, having arrived in the country without the leave of an immigration officer. They all pleaded guilty and were ordered to each pay a fine of $300 or serve six months in prison. They were also ordered deported on payment of their fines or upon completion of their sentences.
SEVERAL women appeared in a Freeport court this week on immigration offences
In a separate matter, Phiance Dieujuste, 52; Wilmane Noel, 41; and Vanise Lizaire, 28, were charged with overstaying. The three women were found in Freeport after the expiration of their legal status in the country. They pleaded guilty and were ordered to each pay a fine of $2,500 or in default serve nine months in prison. They were also ordered to be deported on payment of their fines, or on completion of their sentences.
Call for volunteer permits to be free from page one
ELSWORTH Johnson defended the government’s decision to mandate work permits for Hurricane Dorian volunteers entering The Bahamas. Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff
relief volunteers $300 for work permits to enter the country. Ms Baptiste has complained that it makes no sense and would only deter volunteers. She noted these volunteers have left families, jobs and businesses elsewhere to help the country in its recovery. “It makes no sense charging those volunteers coming to help Bahamians in desperate need - to have to pay, that is sickening,” Ms Baptiste said. She believes Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis should do something about the policy. “You have your immigration officers charging volunteers to come in and help rebuild the Bahamas, which makes no sense. Why should volunteers pay to come and help you build your country when a lot of Bahamian people talking crap about chase Haitian people and kick down doors so you could get rid of the Haitian people who are the same ones you
need to help build your community.” Ms Baptiste, who was an outspoken advocate in Grand Bahama on matters relating to the treatment of Haitians before relocating overseas, said that homes and schools need to be rebuilt in Grand Bahama and Abaco. “Here you have people coming, taking time off from their jobs and businesses, wanting to volunteer, and you asking them to pay to volunteer in the Bahamas. “I know you need the money Mr Prime Minister but, find another way to do it – this is not going to work, reverse that policy immediately,” she said. On Tuesday, Immigration Minister Elsworth Johnson defended the government’s decision to mandate work permits for Hurricane Dorian volunteers entering The Bahamas. At the time, Mr Johnson said the government still has an obligation to ensure only fit and proper people, who have the country’s best interests at heart, are allowed to enter and leave the country.
He said: “We have not just national obligations to ensure that the right persons are here but an international obligation. Because we are dealing with the OECD and the Financial (Action) Task Force and we are saying to the world that we can account for persons coming and going. “This is what the government has done post Hurricane Dorian. We issued the exigency order to allow products and services for the purposes of dealing with the devastation from Hurricane Dorian to come. You saw international groups came in and they fed persons, they were allowed in and their staff was allowed in.” Mr Johnson added: “(This) is still ongoing because the exigency order is for six months. Persons can’t just turn up; you must understand that around the world after devastation you had persons who came, and they did not have proper intentions. Women and children were hurt.”
CEO SAYS MEDICAL SCHOOL WILL HAVE ‘DREAM TEAM’
By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
WESTERN Atlantic University School of Medicine CEO Peter Goetz is confident he has all the senior leaders in place “to build a successful medical school” in Grand Bahama. During Monday’s signing, CEO Goetz stressed WAUSM was not only lucky enough to be in Freeport to open a medical school but was able to establish a “dream team” of people – eight “all-star” players for its senior executive positions. He said: “There are eight people you need to build a successful medical school - you need 800 probably when you talk about all the people you need – but eight people, senior leaders you need if you are going to be successful. “Not only were we able to get the eight we need, but we got the best eight in the particular positions from different schools. Some from US schools, some from other international schools, some from PHD programmes, and some from medical doctorate programmes.” According to Mr Goetz, WAUSM has an experienced team capable of creating and operating a “successful” medical school. Among the eight senior executives is Dr Joseph Flaherty, former dean emeritus of Ross University, who serves as president of WAUSM. “So, we did not just take eight all-stars – we took eight all-stars from different areas and put them all together, and in many cases a lot of us have played together before, so we are
not the team that does not know where to pass the ball to, or who should get the ball, who is going to make the shot, or who should play defence, who is going to get the rebound; we have all those positions covered because we all done it before.” According to Mr Goetz, Grand Bahama’s proximity to the US was very ideal compared with other islands in the region, including Dominica where the former Ross University was located. He noted Freeport is just 60 miles from the United States. “It took me 85 minutes to get here from my home in South Florida,” he said. “When we were in Dominica so many years as Ross, it would take a day and half to travel (there) and then you go through a nauseating ride through the rainforest the most beautiful nature island in Caribbean, but it is a tough ride - you need Dramamine and patience.” Being in Freeport would make travel much easier for students and executives. He also noted that getting students off the island in case of storms would not be a challenge. “You got a 5,000-ft runway you could land a 747 there, and if God forbid there is a hurricane you could evacuate students; you can have them out on one plane in one swoop, and have them back here as soon as the storm over to resume their studies – so that’s amazing.” PLP Senator Dr Michael Darville has questioned the “credibility” of government’s HoA signed with WAUSM. The university – which is newly incorporated – has
not yet obtained accreditation from any accreditation body in the Caribbean, or internationally. Dr Darville, former minister for Grand Bahama, also took exception to statements by Mr Goetz. Mr Goetz had mentioned
that there were “political obstacle out of our control” that had prevented them from their initial attempt to open the medical school in Grand Bahama during the previous Christie administration. However, Dr Darville
claims that this is “patently untrue and unfortunate,” and explained that after the closure of Ross University, his government entertained three proposals from at least three interested groups, and took a decision not to approve the
project based on professional and technical advice of the Bahamas Investment Authority and the Bahamas Medical Council, over failure on the part of the school to satisfy requirement of BIA, and accreditation protocols of BMC.
PAGE 8, Friday, October 25, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
This attempt to muzzle the media is laughable
MOULTRIE has morphed into the ‘Bully of the House,’ waging war on the media time and time again, Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff
ONCE again irony has collided with hypocrisy within the FNM, and it’s the perfect recipe for a good belly laugh. When will this administration wake up, and realise that their knock off version of POTUS Donald Trump’s “fake news media” is an epic failure? When will this administration remember, that regardless of how they feel about the media, in all it’s forms, that the media is still, and will always be, the fourth estate? When will this administration realise, that today’s media, smart phones and other forms of modern technology in hand, will not be muzzled or denied? In a nutshell, everyone’s favourite curmudgeon, Speaker of the House, Halston Moultrie’s recent attempt to muzzle the media in the House of Assembly was laughable at best. “Where yinna gern?” like old people say. Moultrie has morphed into the ‘Bully of the House,’ waging war on the media time and time again, in an obvious attempt to shield his FNM colleagues from public criticism and scrutiny in the public, for his administrations numerous shortcomings and in some cases failures. It seems this time Moultrie has issue with reporters using cell phones in the HOA. This past Wednesday, Moultrie ordered a reporter’s cellphone be turned over to a House clerk and the images deleted. “In the gallery, the reporter – it
is against the rules of this House and that has been explained when we had the disturbance in this House – for any reporter to use their cellphone in this chamber and to take photographs or videos in this chamber without the approval of the chair.” “And so on this occasion I request that you turn your phone over to the clerk and to have that portion of the video that you just recorded deleted from your cell phone.” “In future, seek the permission of the chair before you are permitted and allowed to take any video footage of the chamber.” You can’t be serious ‘Hallie,’ it’s 2019, smart phones are an integral part of today’s media, especially for reporters. Cell phones in the HOA weren’t a problem when the FNM was in opposition, and footage of PLP Ministers suffering from foot in mouth disease in the HOA made the rounds in all the dailies, and on the talk show circuit. Now they are a problem? Why have they become problematic ? Is it because the FNM is now on the clock, and after numerous
failures and few successes, in relation to campaign promises, the FNM doesn’t need footage of MPs picking their noses, checking their social media accounts, playing their favourite video games, texting numerous what’s app groups, holding private conversations amongst themselves, cracking jokes or just plain old diving conch leaking out to the masses? Is this administrations lackluster performance really the media’s fault, is all the aforementioned poor behaviour in the hallowed halls of parliament caused by reporters using cell phones to perform their jobs? I think not, and clearly this administration is looking for a scapegoat, something or someone to blame for its failing. Maybe Moultrie and his fellow FNM colleagues should start in their own mirrors first, have some deep introspection and move forward, vowing to do the best they can for this country and the media, while they can. Because before you know it, silly season will be upon us again, and nothing is guaranteed!
TOO MANY STALLS AT THE MARKET?
AFTER straw vendors criticised the Straw Market Authority’s (SMA) decision to close over 190 stalls at the market, readers gave their reaction on tribune242.com. Dawes said: “If $37.50 rent per week is too high due to the lack of sales, maybe it’s because there are too many stalls? Consideration should be done to cut the number of stalls so those who are there are able to make a living as they claim they are not able to do. Also if you don’t pay the rent, how do you expect to be able to demand the facilities are maintained? Government should not waste one more dollar on the straw market, rather turn it over to the Straw Market Association on a free lease but leave them to maintain it. If they don’t close it down.” Mandela had this to say: “The straw market and its concept have lived itself out, 500 stalls packed in that small area. The Nassau straw market experience is a horror, first, they are packed together like sardines in a can, when a tourist walks through the market they are swarmed by the vendors coming at them from all directions that it overwhelms the tourist to frustration, so on many occasions they don’t spend as they want to or spend at all. I visit the straw market twice a year with out of town guests and every time it’s a horror.” And Realfreethinker, referencing a quote from the vendors’ letter to the SMA which said “that should send a loud signal that highlights that the rent is too high, and some type of concession needs to be given to vendors,” asked: “Really? Is this person serious? And they want terlit paper, hand soap and hand towels. If you can’t pay that rent you may want to consider a new business to be in. Bahamians really think the government is responsible for them from the cradle to the grave.” Don’t miss your chance to join the debate on tribune242.com.
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, October 25, 2019, PAGE 9
Brothers who grew up with Lover’s Lane as their backyard
LEFT: John and Stephen on the porch of the Old Rectory. Above: A young Stephen enjoying life at the Old Rectory
I
F YOU ever want to waste a morning, try to cancel a credit card. In life, there are challenges and then there is the challenge of unwanting and ditching, whether online or by phone, a four-inch plastic card that holds the power of purchasing anything you want with an insertion, swipe or scan. Pay no mind to the baseless blabber about how important it is to manage your finances carefully, to save, limit your debt or balance your budget. The banking system, inclusive of the fee-hungry card provider, is clearly rigged against any and every meagre attempt at prudent management of your personal financial affairs. If the fee-addicted really had your interest at heart (as opposed to the interest you pay) they would have created one online option, just one, to kiss that piece of plastic goodbye. Instead, they give you dozens of others that let you increase your limit, add users who have a right to spend on your behalf, run up a charge for taking a cash advance and more. But look for a line to click on the online form that says cancel and you might as well order a conch salad in Slovakia. How do I know how much easier it is to get a card than to cancel one? Because I’ve done both. And the former outweighed the latter in ease of doing business by 100 to1, both by phone and online. It’s not just in The Bahamas. It’s no wonder more than 189 million Americans – or 128 million households – carry more than $13.5 trillion in debt including mortgages, car loans, student loans and credit cards. How do you escape when every time you buy a stick of gum or lumber, the sweet cashier rushes to inform you that you can save 10 percent on today’s purchase if you just take a minute to fill out the form to get a Target, Home Depot, Harbour Freight, Bass Pro Shop or Macy’s card. Explain you do not live in the US and you would not qualify and she says it doesn’t matter. How can it not matter? Would you
offer credit to someone who is about to fade into the remote sun-drenched Tropic of Cancer, never to file a tax return and has no way to prove their income or any intent to repay? Getting a card is so easy that in the US, millennials - who don’t instantly remember the number of World Wars we’ve had manage to qualify for an average of three cards per person. Average debt per person under 35 in the States is just over $5,800. No wonder there is a whole foundation dedicated to credit counselling. Debt has destroyed marriages, lives and contributed to a nation of card-carrying zombie-shopaholics. If there is a serious side aside from the stress it must cause the conscientious, it is how the system is geared to make getting in so much easier than getting out. On one site under a category mistakenly dubbed Help & Support, you can do everything but cancel a card even though you have a zero balance and cancel is all you want to do. You can request a balance transfer, arrange direct deposit from your credit card, add an authorized user, activate card, manage PIN, request a credit line increase, set travel notice, view or edit overdraft protection, dispute a transaction, check dispute status, request your agreement, view paperless settings, print statements, order a paper statement, order access check copies request a credit reference letter, view account fee. You get the point. Every option but goodbye. Maybe credit card facilities, which are really revolving small loans with high interest rates, should come with a separation agreement and when it’s over, baby, it’s just over. Though it’s really no one’s business, I endured this process on behalf of a close relative and it was a real eye-opener. I now know better. Laugh if you want. I am an AmEx fan and have been ever since BOB introduced the Platinum card with tennis star Mark Knowles – back in the spotlight again – as the brand. I pay it off in full every month. No interest. No penalty. No pain. Then again, I haven’t tried to cancel it yet.
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IN LAST week’s column, we asked who dreamed up the idea of naming a street that ran between a cemetery and a rectory Lover’s Lane? It was one of those rhetorical questions like why is the Moon called full instead of fat. We didn’t really expect an answer. Lo and behold, we got a hand-delivered letter - an incredible rarity in this land devoid of post. In it were photos of young brothers John and Stephen Knowles who grew up with Lover’s Lane as their personal backyard and the St Matthew’s Church, Shirley Street, yard their playground. “The Old Rectory”. Stephen wrote: “Where I was taken after I was born at the General Hospital (now known as Princess Margaret) was my home for my first two or three years until my father built the new Rectory down the hill where I grew up.” The man who let his boys run free in those days of innocence was Donald R Knowles. Posted in Acklins, Andros, Eleuthera, he spent the last 15 years of his active religious service as head of St Matthew’s, the beautiful work of architecture that graces the broad intersection of Shirley and Church Streets. Later, he became the first native Bahamian bishop of the Anglican Diocese and one of his other sons, Donald, Jr, became the first principal of the College of The Bahamas. Next to the Rectory and what was part of the complex at the time is now Genesis Academy. As for The Rectory, it became a seminary for nuns and those days of playing free aside Lover’s Lane – they became a memory worth sharing.
Stuck in the spider’s web of the great credit card machine
PAGE 10, Friday, October 25, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
How did Halloween become America’s most dangerous holiday? By W SCOTT POOLE Professor of History, College of Charleston THE unquiet spirits, vampires and the omnipresent zombies that take over American streets every October 31 may think Halloween is all about spooky fun. But what Halloween masqueraders may not realise is that in the early 1970s and well into the next decade, real fear took over. The media, police departments and politicians began to tell a new kind of Halloween horror story – about poisoned candy. No actual events explained this fear: it was driven by social and cultural anxieties. And there is a lesson in that about the power of rumours on this day of dark fantasy. Poison candy fear The Halloween candy scare began in 1970. An op-ed on Oct. 28, 1970, in The New York Times suggested the possibility of strangers using Halloween’s “trick-or treat” tradition to poison children. The editorial mentioned two unconfirmed incidents in upstate New York and offered a series of frightening rhetorical questions. The author, Judy Klemesrud, wondered, for example, if that “plump red apple” from the “kindly old
lady down the block… may have a razor blade hidden inside.” Some readers accepted her questions as definitive fact. Two days later, a fiveyear-old child died on Halloween in Detroit after consuming heroin. Early media reports of his death cited his uncle’s claim that he had been exposed to the drug in tainted holiday treats. By mid-November 1970, newspaper reportage showed the child had in fact found the heroin at his uncle’s home – not in his bag of Halloween candy, as investigators had at first been told. But on Oct. 31, 1974, another child died in Houston. This time, the death was a result of eating poisoned candy: the child’s father had murdered his own son by placing cyanide in a pixie stick. This story of the Houston “candyman killer” quickly metastasised. Though it had no evidence, Newsweek magazine asserted in a 1975 article that “over the past several years, several children have died and hundreds have narrowly escaped injury from razor blades, sewing needles and shards of glass put into their goodies by adults.” By the 1980s, some communities banned “trickor-treating” while hospitals
in some metropolitan areas offered to X-ray Halloween candy. Parent-teacher associations encouraged fall festivals to replace Halloween, and on Long Island a community group gave prizes to children who stayed home altogether for Halloween 1982. In 1982 the governor of New Jersey signed a bill requiring a jail term for those tampering with candy. Worries of parents and community leaders drove the fear. In a popular nationally syndicated newspaper advice column called “Ask Ann Landers,” Landers warned in 1983 of “twisted strangers” who had been “putting razor blades and poison in taffy apples and other Halloween candy.” Social tensions and fear However, a comprehensive 1985 study of the of 30 years of alleged poisoning did not find even a single confirmed incident of a child’s death, or even serious injury. Sociologist Joel Best at the University of Delaware, who led the study, called it an “urban legend.” Most reports of poisoned Halloween candy that appeared in print were editorials written by authoritative voices in politics and media rather than actual events. However, police all over the
country urged parents to accompany their children while trick-or-treating. In 1982, annual Halloween festivities at the governor’s mansion in Hartford, Connecticut were canceled. Why did a series of rumours, very loosely based on a a small number of tragic crimes, convince so many people in authority and led to such panic? In his book “The Vanishing Hitchhiker,” folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand argues that while urban legends may be grounded in actual incidents, they often come to stand in for real-world fears. In the case of poisoned candy, my own research into American politics and horror tales suggests that those fears might have been driven in part by the multitude of problems facing the United States at the time. The years from 1970 to 1975 were marked by cultural upheaval, both domestic and geopolitical. In 1974, President Richard Nixon resigned following the Watergate scandal. The scandal exposed the abuse of power and a criminal cover-up under his administration. Americans had much more to worry about than Watergate in the mid-1970s. Scholar of the Vietnam era Christian G. Appy, in his 2015 book “American
Reckoning,” described the era as one in which defeat in Vietnam combined with “stagnant economic growth and soaring inflation” caused many Americans to see the country itself as “a victim of forces beyond its control.” This sense of victimisation drove the sense that American society had become deeply unsafe. Young people in the streets of Harvard Square, with one of them wearing a President Nixon mask, after he resigned. AP Photo/ Peter Bregg All the social change in the 1970s fed the creation of urban legends, argues sociologist Jefferey S. Victor. A brutal story about strangers with poison candy seemed a preferable national fantasy to historical reality in the 1970s and 1980s. Horror at the state of the world can take the form of parody or simple scary stories. Americans had become so disenchanted, according to the journalist and historian Rick Perlstein, that bleak and frightening films such as 1974’s “The Exorcist” captured the the national mood. The false case of the poisoned candy legend is another way that American fears manifested: as an easily understood threat to innocence. Scholar David J. Skal in his book, “Death Makes a Holiday,” argues
Halloween, throughout its history, has provided a moment for people to unleash their political and cultural fears. As an example, Skal notes, Richard Nixon became the first president satirised by a rubber Halloween mask in the autumn of 1974, just two months after his resignation. Fears today Today a majority of Americans, of all ages, see Halloween as an opportunity to celebrate excess, a kind of a dark Mardi Gras. But some Christian churches, especially those attended by conservative evangelicals, continue to declare a kind of “war on Halloween” every year. Many evangelicals, in their own description, see the holiday as a celebration of the occult, often viewed in their religious worldview as connected to a very literal Satan. Halloween, with its association with the powers of darkness, can allow many legends to flourish – tales of dangerous outsiders, poisoned candy and other alleged threats to American life. Social media may serve that role the rest of the year. But on Halloween, dark rumours may actually knock at the door. theconversation.com
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, October 25, 2019, PAGE 11
All 39 victims in truck death were from China LONDON Associated Press
ALL 39 people found dead in a refrigerated container truck near an English port were Chinese citizens, British police confirmed yesterday as they investigated one of the country’s deadliest cases of human smuggling. The Essex Police force said 31 men and eight women were found dead in the truck early Wednesday at an industrial park in Grays, a town 25 miles east of London. A magistrate gave detectives another 24 hours to question the driver, a 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland who has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. He has not been charged, and police have not released his name. Police in Northern Ireland searched three properties there as detectives sought to piece together how the truck’s cab, its container and the victims came together on such a deadly journey. Pippa Mills, deputy chief of Essex Police, said the process of conducting post-mortem examinations and identifying the victims would be “lengthy and complex.” “This is an incredibly sensitive and high-profile investigation, and we are working swiftly to gather as full a picture as possible as to how these people lost their lives,” she said. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Chinese Embassy employees in
FLORAL tributes at the industrial park in Essex, England the day after 39 bodies were found inside a truck the UK were driving to the scene of the crime to aid the investigation. Police believe the truck and container took separate journeys before ending up at the industrial park. They say the container traveled by ferry from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge to Purfleet, England, where it arrived early Wednesday and was picked up by the truck driver and driven the few miles
to Grays. The truck cab, which is registered in Bulgaria to a company owned by an Irish woman, is believed to have traveled from Northern Ireland to Dublin, where it caught a ferry to Wales, then drove across Britain to pick up the container. Global Trailer Rentals Ltd told Ireland’s national broadcaster RTE that it owns the trailer and that
FIRES raging in California yesterday GEYSERVILLE, Calif. Associated Press OFFICIALS ordered 2,000 people to evacuate their homes and businesses in Northern California wine country yesterday after a wildfire exploded in size, fueled by powerful winds that prompted utilities throughout the state to impose electrical blackouts to prevent fires. The entire community of Geyserville and nearby residents were told to leave after the fire in the Sonoma County wine region north of San Francisco grew to more than 15 square miles. Among those fleeing
THOUSANDS ORDERED TO LEAVE AS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FIRE RAGES
the flames was 81-year-old Harry Bosworth, who awoke before sunrise to find a firetruck and firefighters in his driveway. As he and his wife drove off, flames surrounded their driveway and their barn caught fire. “I could see the fire coming, so we got the heck out of there,” Bosworth said. The fire started Wednesday night near the Geysers, the world’s largest geothermal field where nearly two dozen power plants
draw steam from more than 350 mountain wells to create electricity, said Mike Parkes, incident commander with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The cause of the blaze was not yet known, he said, but it was fueled overnight by 60 mph winds. The rugged terrain was hard to access, he said, and by yesterday afternoon, the blaze raged on the outskirts of Geyserville. There were no immediate reports of any injuries.
it was leased Oct. 15 in County Monaghan, in Ireland, at a rate of 275 euros per week. The Dublinbased company said it will make the data from its tracking system available to investigators. The company’s directors told RTE it was “shell-shocked” at the news and that it was it was “entirely unaware that the trailer was to be used in the manner in which it appears to have been.” Groups of migrants have repeatedly landed on English shores using small boats to make the risky Channel crossing, and migrants are sometimes found in the back of cars and trucks that disembark from the massive ferries that link France and England. But Wednesday’s macabre find in an industrial park was a reminder that criminal gangs are still profiting from large-scale trafficking. The tragedy recalls the deaths of 58 Chinese migrants who suffocated in a truck in Dover, England, in 2000 after a perilous, months-long journey from China’s southern Fujian province. They were found stowed away with a cargo of tomatoes after a ferry ride from Zeebrugge, the same Belgian port that featured in the latest tragedy. In February 2004, 21 Chinese migrants — also from Fujian — who were working as cocklepickers in Britain drowned when they were caught by treacherous tides in Morecambe Bay in northwest England.
SPAIN EXHUMES REMAINS OF GEN FRANCO MADRID Associated Press TURNING a momentous page in its history, Spain yesterday exhumed the remains of dictator Gen. Francisco Franco from his grandiose mausoleum outside Madrid and reburied them in a small family crypt north of the capital. The day-long operation featured Franco’s coffin being flown by helicopter to its new resting place, and the event was broadcast live on television and watched closely across the country. Large parts of the ceremony were carried out in private, however. Spain’s Socialist government was behind the decision to move the 20thcentury autocrat’s remains, saying it wanted to settle a debt to its victims. Many in Spain considered the vainglorious Valley of the Fallen mausoleum, which Franco had built for his tomb, to be an insult to the hundreds of thousands of people who died in Spain’s 1936-39 Civil War, which Franco’s forces won, and to those who suffered persecution under his subsequent nearfour-decade regime. The gargantuan shrine exalting a dictator was also considered a smear on Spain’s standing as a modern democratic state.
PAGE 12, Friday, October 25, 2019
THE TRIBUNE
TOP, from the left: Sir Michael Barnett, Lavern Eve, Basil Christie, Dr Giavana Jones, Dr P Samuel Bain, Malcolm Adderley’ Left: Jacinta Higgs; Right: Brent Stubbs
SAC set to honour 14 former pupils FOURTEEN movers and shakers in the country, all graduates of St Augustine’s College, are being recognised by the high school’s alumni association for their national contribution during a special awards ceremony and gala this weekend. This is the alumni association’s second annual event, with plans in the works for more events to continue to bring together the thousands of SAC graduates in the country and all around the world. SACAA believes that by strengthening the school’s alumni network, current and former students will be better able to connect and support one another in business, community and social spheres, helping each other to succeed.
The honorees include: Justice of the Court of Appeal Sir Michael Barnett; Dr P Samuel Bain, veteran educator and founder of Master Yourself Institute; Bridgette Francis, president of the country’s largest independent scholarship matching and international college planning firm; Kevin G Cambridge, accountant and advisory partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers; optometrist Dr Charlene Wallace; Basil Christie, MBE, Special Olympics chair and youth and sports advocate; motivational speaker, Bishop Arnold Josey and veteran Tribune sports journalist Brent Stubbs. Other honorees are psychologist and youth
advocate Dr Giavana Jones; former Senator and Director of the Department of Gender and Family Affairs Dr Jacinta Higgs; brewer & microbiologist at GoodRobot brewing company and Limestone group, Giovanni Johnson; track and field superstar, Olympian Laverne Eve; judge and attorney Malcolm Adderley; and the Galanis family, the children of Clifford and Zoe Galanis, whose children all attended SAC and achieved much in the community. The SACAA’s Lighthouse Awards and Gala will be held tomorrow at the British Colonial Hilton Hotel under the patronage of Patricia Minnis, wife of Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis.