FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013 VOLUME 107, No.33 www.thevincentian.com EC$1.50

The National Newspaper of St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Story and photos By NELSON A. KING naking@verizon.net;neloking@msn.comUS CORRESPONDENT

A PROMINENT VINCENTIAN lawyer andformer government senator earlier thisweek got “a taste” of what has beendescribed as the “unjustified anddiscriminatory brutality” often handedout to many blacks and other minorities,including Caribbean immigrants, at thehands of officers of the New York PoliceDepartment (NYPD).

After a court appearance and hisrelease, Ronald Marks told THEVINCENTIAN on Monday, that hewas arrested late Sunday night in

Brooklyn, New York, while viewingnetball matches between Caribbeanteams, and meeting friends at theLincoln Terrace Park in the CrownHeights section.

In recent years, the Lincoln TerracePark has become a central meetingplace on summer weekends forCaribbean nationals, particularlyVincentians, during netball matches,organized by the Brooklyn-basedCaribbean American NetballAssociation (CANA).

“I’m a bit battered and bruised, butI’m alright,” said Marks, stating thatpolice had charged him with resistingarrest, attempted assault, being in apark after sunset and disorderlyconduct.

Marks, who was vacationing inNew York with his wife, TamaraGibson-Marks, the court registrar inSt. Vincent and the Grenadines, saidthe presiding judge at Brooklyn

Supreme Court “adjourned (the case)in contemplation of dismissal.”

His lawyer, Colin Liverpool, toldTHE VINCENTIAN that, once thereis “no reaction (falls afoul of the law)in six months, the case is dismissed.”

The incident

On seeing one of his former clients,Darren Dopwell, handcuffed andthrown into a police squad car, Markssaid he had inquired about the matterfrom a female police officer.

Continued on Page 2.

Orande ‘ManKemmie’Christopherconfirmed that theNY Police officersinvolved in theincident usedexcessive force.

The manhandlingof and arrest ofDarren Dopwell(pictured) led toMarks’ inquiry andhis (marks)subsequentarrest.

The 77th Police Precinct station house and signs of street on Utica Avenue in Brooklyn, whereVincentians lawyer Ronald Marks, Orande ‘Man Kemmie’ Christopher and Darren Dopwell were heldbefore transferred to Central Booking, downtown Brooklyn.

Right: Attorney Ronald ‘Ronnie’Marks is set to make a formalcomplaint to the NYPD’s InternalAffairs Bureau about the ‘battering’he received at the hands of NYPolice.

Continued from Page 1.

He said Dopwell hadalso shouted to him:“Ronnie, I ain’t doanything, and they lockme up.”

Marks said the policeresponded that an officerhad asked Dopwell to“move, and he didn’t move,and he had an attitude.”

Marks further saidthat, since he has not beenadmitted to practice law inNew York, he inquiredabout the whereabouts ofLiverpool, who is allowedto practice law in the

state, whom he had seenat the location a fewminutes before.

Marks said, as heturned around, he felt hisfeet “removed from underme” by two police officers,and their knees jammed tohis back after he dropped,chest down, on thepavement.

Marks said he did not“hoist a stroke,” addingthat, after the policemanhandled him badly,they came up with the“trumped up charges.

“If a client had told meabout such an attack, itwould be hard for me tobelieve,” Marks added. “Icouldn’t believe the policein New York could act sowickedly.”

Marks said former St.Vincent and theGrenadines’ junior calypsomonarch, Orande ‘ManKemmie’ Christopher, apopular DJ in Brooklynand football (soccer)player, was also arrestedafter he questioned thepolice’s actions.

“It’s another story howthey treated us in the cell,not allowing us to use thebathroom,” he said. “Theyslammed Darren (Dopwell)against the wall on thesame shoulder he hadsurgery on.”

Marks said whenChristopher questionedthe treatment meted outto Dopwell, “they told himto shut up and put him ina different cell.

“From that, I learned toshut up,” said Marks,who has since postedimages of bruises,sustained at the LincolnTerrace Park, on the socialnetwork, Facebook.

Christopher andDopwell have also beenreleased.

Christopher later toldTHE VINCENTIAN that,while he does not want thespotlight to be on him, hewas very irate about thealleged physical abusemeted out to Marks.

“I’ll support Ronnie 150percent, because he didn’tdeserve it (roughtreatment),” saidChristopher, stating thathis case has beendismissed.

“It’s just a bunch of‘stupidness’ — four, fivecops on his back for noreason,” he added aboutthe police officers whoallegedly abused Marks.“They just used excessiveforce.

“The man did not doanything,” he continued.“He was walking back tous (at the Lincoln TerracePark), when one of them(cops) tripped the manfrom behind and thenpounced on him.”

Complaint to be filed

Marks is appealing tothe public for videofootages to help bolster apotential lawsuit againstthe NYPD.

He also told THEVINCENTIAN that he willbe filing a complaint withthe NYPD’s InternalAffairs Bureau.

Marks, who couldhardly raise his right armfrom the “police abuse,”was expected to undergo abattery of tests and x-rayson Wednesday beforeflying to Miami the nextday to continue hisvacation. He said he willbe returning home onThursday, Aug. 22.

St. Vincent and theGrenadines’ Deputy NewYork Consul General,Edson Augustus, who wasamong Vincentiannationals at the 77thPolice Precinct, offeringsupport to the arrestees,described the incident as“a very unfortunatesituation”.

“At the end of the day,justice will be served,” hesaid. “It’s also unfortunatethat it happens at thistime, when we are gettingtogether for ‘Vincy Day’ (inNew York on Saturday).”

Recent history

Marks is the secondprominent Vincentiannational to be arrested bythe NYPD within the last18 months.

Former United NationsAmbassador CamilloGonsalves, the eldest sonof the Vincentian leader,was arrested in the lobbyof the building that housesthe St. Vincent and theGrenadines Mission to theUnited Nations, after theNYPD claimed theyounger Gonsalves refusedto go around a barricadein front of the building.

Two years ago,Grenadian-American NewYork City CouncilmanJumaane Williams wasunlawfully arrested byNYPD officers during theWest Indian AmericanDay Carnival parade onBrooklyn’s EasternParkway.

Marks’ arrest alsocomes as a United Statesfederal district judge onMonday ruled against theNYPD policy of stop-and-frisk against Caribbeanimmigrants, blacks andother minorities.

In a ruling inManhattan FederalDistrict Court, JudgeShira Scheindlin said thepolicy wasunconstitutional,appointing a monitor toreform the practice.

New York City MayorMichael Bloomberg saidhe will appeal the judge’sruling.

2. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

NewsV

A soft ball match involving Caribbean persons, underway on Tuesdayevening at Lincoln Terrace Court where the incident took place.

Prominent Vincy lawyer ‘battered, bruised’ by NYPD

by GLORIAH…

THE INVEST SVG 2013Secondary School SummerInternship Programmecame to an end last Friday9th August, after fourweeks of active studentparticipation, workingwithin business entitieshere.

Programme andParticipants

This year, theprogramme, inauguratedin 2011, provided theopportunity for ten fourthand fifth form students tobe exposed to ‘best-practising’ businesses,with the aim of peakingtheir career curiosities,and gaining hands-onexperience and knowledgeof the businesses in whichthey were placed.

The participants and

their placements were:Terricia Graham — InvestSVG, MarketingDepartment; Sienna Wales— Invest SVG, Researchand InformationDevelopment Department;Kurtisha Baptiste — InvestSVG, Export DevelopmentDepartment; TerikaAlexander — Invest SVG,Business FacilitationDepartment; MalikhaProvidence — the LawChambers of Baptiste &Company; Crystal Webband Mekisha David —SVG BroadcastingCorporation; BrittneyLewis — Financial ServicesAuthority; Rhea Cain —GECCU; and DevontiBoyea — IKTV.

Presentations

Upon commencement ofthe programme, a work-plan was created for each

participant. This waspersonalized, givingdetails of specific activitiesthat each was expected tobecome involved in, as anintern.

The Closing Ceremonyprovided an opportunityfor each intern to give abrief synopsis of thenature of endevour of thebusiness at which he/sheinterned, and to outlinesome of the tasks thatwere undertaken. Thiswas done through amandatory Power Pointpresentation.

The participantsshowed clearly that theyreceived a goodunderstanding of thebusiness entities. Severalof them gaveoutstandingly detailedreports that proved theirlevel of commitment antthe eager enthusiasmwhich they brought to the

programme. Relationshipsamong staff members wereemphasized by eachintern.

Invest SVG

In attendance at thisevent were: newlyappointed ExecutiveDirector of Invest SVG,Mrs. Bernadette Ambrose-

Black; Mr. AllanAlexander, DivisionManagers of Invest SVG;representatives ofpartnering businesses andother members of staff ofInvest SVG.

Communications Officerof Invest SVG, TedraKirby, in her talk to theinterns, encouraged themto “be good ambassadors of

Invest SVG.”She said that this

would add mileage in thefulfillment of their“mandate of marketingSVG as a uniquedestination.”

Each intern waspresented with aCertificate ofParticipation.

V News 3THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. 3.

PRIME MINISTER Dr. Ralph Gonsalves hasmade it clear that “there is no proper basisfor either the OECS or CARICOM tointervene formally in the current politicalsituation in St. Kitts and Nevis,” and assuch, “I an unable to make any formalrepresentation for the resolution of theongoing challenges in that magnificentcountry.”

Dr. Gonsalves expressed the positionin his written response to Leader of theOpposition Arnhim Eustace’s letter,dated August 5, 2013, in which Mr,Eustace posited that “it is incumbentupon you (Dr. Gonsalves) and the otherCARCOM heads of Government tointervene so as to broker a resolution tothe Kittitian parliamentary deadlock.”

The deadlock to which Mr. Eustacehad referred was the situation in the St.Kitts and Nevis House of

Representatives in which the oppositionheld six places to the government’s five,and the refusal of the Speaker of theHouse to table for a debate a no-confidence motion.

In his lengthy response, dated August13, 2013, Dr. Gonsalves also cited that,“the matter of the no-confidence motionin St. Kitts and Nevis has beencomplicated by the institution of legalaction by members of the parliamentaryopposition against the Speaker of theHouse and the government,” andcontinued by assessing that, “theeternal, core principles of RepresentativeGovernment underpinning the filing,debating and determination of a no-confidence motion have become entwinedwith the sanctity of the judicial system.”Dr. Gonsalves concludes in part that,“The difficulty faced by the OECS,

CARICOM, or indeed any internationalbody such as the Commonwealth, tointervene in the impasse…… is that apossible path, or at least the opening ofan avenue, towards a political resolutionresides in the internal judicial andpolitical processes. In the absence of anexhaustion of these internal processes,any formal outside interference in acountry’s internal affairs is premature

and unacceptable, particularly sincethere is no breakdown in law and orderand none is reasonably apprehended.”

The Prime Minister, though, admitsto speaking informally to the PrimeMinister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr.Denzil Douglas, on more than oneoccasion over the last six months, andassured Mr. Eustace that he willcontinue to do so.

The House of Representatives/Parliament in St. Kitts andNevis.

The 2013 Invest SVG Interns: (L-R Back) Mekisha David, Sienna Wales,Kurtisha Baptiste, Terika Alexander, Devonti Boyea and Terricia Graham. (L-RFront) Rhea Cain, Malikha Providence, Brittney Lewis and Crystal Webb.

Invest SVG 2013 internship ends

‘Cannot intervenein St. Kitts/Nevis,’says PM

Right: Dr. Ralph Gonsalves hasstated his case as to why he andother CARICOM heads will notintervene in the St. Kitts andNevis parliamentary deadlock.

MARGARET MITCHELLMAY NEVER recover fromthe emotional wounds andtrauma caused by lastweek Thursday night’sshooting death of hergrandson, Duwayne‘Chucky’ Mitchell. But shefirmly believes, “God willbring everything to light.”

The 27-year-old self-employed man wasgunned down about 30yards from the house atGibson corner, where helived with hisgrandmother and 3-year-old daughter.

Reports are that hewas shot several timesaround 10:15 p.m. Up topress time Wednesday,police were continuingtheir investigations.

Mitchell has beenfinding it very difficultto accept the reality oflosing her grandson in that manner. She hadadopted Duwayne from a baby after his father died.His mother, Debra Dickson, resides in Canada.

Interestingly, Duwayne’s father died when hewas 3 years old, the same age as his daughter, hisonly child.

“I would miss him because it wasonly three of us living together. It isvery hard to accept,” Mitchellsighed. But she hastened to add,“God is in control, and whoever didthat, God is going to bringeverything to light. God neversleeps. He is the one I trust.”

She described her grandson asvery loving, quiet and mannerly.

Mitchell had left home shortly before 8 a.m. thatfateful day to visit the doctor, not having theslightest clue that she would never see her grandsonalive again. She had left Duwayne alone at home.On leaving, she told him, “I am going to the doctor

to get a check up.”He asked, “What

happen, Mummy, you sick?” “I said no, I just going to get a check up,” the

elderly woman related.Duwayne was not at home when Mitchell

returned around midday. Her worst fears wouldbe realized later when gunshots rang out inthe area around 10:15 p.m.

Mitchell recounted hearing the sound ofgunshots, but could not recall how manyexplosions she heard.

At that point, Mitchell did not know whathad happened as, according to her, there wasno activity or crowd outside. But she admitted,“I know he (Duwayne) was accustomed cominghome around that time, so I was a bit scared.”

She called his mobile phone, but it just keptringing. She sensed that something wasdefinitely wrong when someone looked in the

direction of her house about an hour later andasked, “Are you ‘Chucky’s grandmother?”

Mitchell was soon to be struck with the hard coldreality that her grandson was killed.

“I was so numb, I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t walk,”Mitchell recalled, adding that it was not untilMonday that relatives forced her to eat something.She was so shaken that up to Tuesday afternoonwhen THE VINCENTIAN spoke to her, she had notseen the body.

Duwayne’s aunt, Claudine, told THEVINCENTIAN, “It’s just terrible to lose your lifethat way; nobody deserves to die that way.”

Duwayne will be buried on Sunday at theKingstown cemetery following a service at theKingstown Seventh Day Adventist Church.

4. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

CourtV

by HAYDN HUGGINS

ONE OFFENDER, WHO APPEAREDat the Kingstown Magistrate’s Courton Tuesday, received some soundadvice from Magistrate RechanneBrowne-Mathias.

“This crime life is not for you, justpull yourself together,” the Magistratetold Giovanni Ferrari as she sentencedhim to six months in prison forreceiving a stolen item.

The 30-year-old welder of CaneGarden was charged with, knowing orbelieving oneToshiba laptop to bea stolen item,dishonestly receivedsame for his ownbenefit.

Ferrari hadpleaded not guiltywhen he initiallyappeared at theKingstownMagistrate’s Court,April 9, 2013, andthe matter wasadjourned to lastTuesday.

One prosecutionwitness, MachelMcKie of Long Wall,Kingstown, wascalled; but while hewas giving evidence,Ferrari indicated tothe court that he

wished to change his plea.Prosecutor Assistant

Superintendent of Police (ASP)Glenford Gregg told the Court that onOctober 22, 2012, police were carryingout investigations into a report ofburglary in which a Toshiba Laptopwas stolen. The lawmen met someonein possession of the laptop, and heindicated that Ferrari gave him it tohold. As a result, Ferrari was arrestedand charged.

He told the Magistrate, “when Ihear police lookingfor me, I go”.

Browne-Mathiastold Ferrari that hecould have beensentenced to twoyears for theoffence, but in thecircumstances shewould give him sixmonths, whichwould runconcurrently to aterm of three and ahalf years Ferrari iscurrently serving fortheft.

The three andhalf year sentencewas handed downby the High Courtwhere he wascommitted forsentencing earlierthis year.

„God never sleeps,‰ saysvictimÊs grandmother

The area of the Leeward Highway whereMitchell’s body lay.

A younger Duwayne ‘Chucky’ Mitchell,this country’s latest homicide.

Giovanni Ferrari’s latest sentenceof six months will runconcurrently to one he iscurrently serving.

‘Pull yourself together,’ Magistrate tells offender

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. 5.

RegionalV

DR. JEAN HOLDER,Chairman of the Board ofDirectors of LIAT, hasadmitted that the publicshould have been madeaware much earlier ofwhat LIAT was attemptingto do.

Dr. Holder made theadmission whileaddressing the ceremonywhich marked thesigning of the CaribbeanDevelopment Bank/LIATloan agreement, for there-fleeting of the regionalairline.

The Chairman alludedto the disruptions anddiscomfort resulting from

circumstances created bythe move to re-fleet.

Among thecircumstances referredwere: training pilots andengineers in France tooperate and service thenew aircraft (ATR 72-600); awaiting theconfirmation from theregulatory bodies in 21different countries tocertify each new aircraftbefore it can operate totheir country; having tocontinue to operate ascheduled service to allcountries at the busiestperiod of the year; thedaily occurrence of

breakdowns of theairlines old aircraft.

While apologizing forthe disruptions, Dr.Holder did promise that“LIAT must and will dobetter.”

He was, however, inhigh praise of theresilience of the airline.

“For 57 years, LIAT,with the support of a fewshareholder governmentsof considerable fortitude,has survived the slingsand arrows of outrageousfortune, when others ofgreat reputation inbusiness enterprise havefailed. ….. Certainly, in

executing sodifficult a mandate(serving 21countries), LIAThas made its fairshare of mistakesand owns them.But some of thetime, LIAT seemsto suffer from apropensity of theCaribbean culturalnorm to hold its ownpeople to a higherstandard than those fromoutside.”

As far as the loanagreement was

concerned,theChairmanasserted,

“this LIAT re-fleetingproject was tailor-madefor the objectives ofCDB,” the benefits ofwhich would be seen “bymid- January 2014,

(when) 7 of the 12 newaircraft planned will bein place and providingthe public with a betterand more comfortable airtransportation serviceacross the Caribbean.”

In 2012, LIAT carriedjust under 800,000Caribbean passengers.

FOLLOWING CLOSELYon the heels of theCARICOM Heads decisionto heighten activity,discussion and action onthe issue of reparations,the University of the WestIndies (UWI) hasannounced itsinvolvement in theongoing discussion.

Last week, the Monacampus of the UWIannounced plans to offer acourse on reparation,looking at the issue ofcompensation for slaveryin theCaribbean.

The course isbeing designedby lecturer inthe Departmentof Governmentin PoliticalPhilosophy andCulture, Dr.Clinton Hutton,who said thecurriculum willexamine thearguments forreparationwithin ahistoricalcontext.

Speaking at a Jamaica InformationService (JIS) Think Tank held recentlyat the agency’s headquarters inKingston, Dr. Hutton said that it wasimportant to educate the Caribbeanpopulation about the issues of slaveryand reparation, as many young peoplestill do not see a connection betweenthemselves and their enslavedancestors.

“In other words, they are unable tofeel empathy for their own ancestors,”he said, noting that the same lack of

feeling displayed for our ancestors isthe same that the Europeans hadtowards black people.

Hutton told the Think Tank thatsome students have argued that thereason their foreparents were enslavedwas because they were uneducated.

He argued, however, that some ofthe people, who came across theMiddle Passage, were state makers,scientists and highly skilled persons.

“In fact, the reason for Europeansgoing to Africa was that Africa wasrich in tropical agriculture and notbecause of the physical makeup of ourancestors,” he stated.

“We need to walk through thepassages that our ancestors walked,and we can only do that if we educateourselves,” he added.

He said education will also generatea bigger and growing political voice tosupport the work of the NationalCommissions for Reparations that arealready in place in some CARICOMmember states, and those that willsoon come on board.

“I have no doubt that if the peopleare educated they will begin to thinkdifferently,” Dr. Hutton said. (Source:Caribbean 360 News)

Holder admits toLIATÊS shortcomings

Left: Dr. Jean Holder, Chairman ofLIAT Board of Directors, concededthat LIAT should have beenforthcoming about the repercussionsof its plans.

LIAT’s aging DASH 8 fleet presentsgoing problems with its constantbreakdowns.

Dr. Clinton Hutton, seen here speaking at the JISThink Tank, will design the course.

Freundel Stuart,Barbados PrimeMinister, heads aCARICOM Committeeset up to drive theissue of reparation.

UWI Mona to offercourse on reparation

6. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

CrimeV

by KENVILLE HORNE

VILLAGERS in the North Leewardcommunity of Troumaca on Wednesdayapprehended and beat a man theyaccused of killing one of their own.

According to Alston Pompey, hisuncle, 45-year-old Troumaca residentOwen ‘Big Ras’ Pompey, left his homeon Monday for the Soufriere Mountain,a trek he made frequently.

‘Big Ras’ did not return home thatday, and when he failed to turn up onTuesday, family members becameconcerned. A search party, however,was not mounted until Wednesday.

Alston was not part of the searchparty, but a relative who was, told himthat they encountered, in themountain, a man with a hoe who, fromreports, was looking quite suspicious.

Members of the search partyquestioned the man about thewhereabouts of ‘Big Ras’ and he deniedknowing anything about the missing

man.Not convinced that he was telling

the truth, members of the search partyproceeded to administer a beating onthe man, who eventually succumbedand led the irate party to a shallowgrave in which ‘Big Ras’s’ body wasdiscovered.

No Police search party yet

The search party descended themountain with the ‘suspect’ whoselimbs were restrained. His bodyshowed clear signs of having beenbattered. The procession to theChateaubelair police station createdquite a buzz among residents.

“When them done take the man toChateaubelair police station, a wholeset a police came in a coast guardboat,” said Alston.

He said someone inquired from thepolice if they were going to recover thebody. An Officer said they would

ratherleave it forThursday.

“Thepolice themlapsing, they are not doing their job,”said the angry nephew, whocontended, “Suppose somebody removethe body, then they would lose all theevidence, and then the man will die invain.”

Many villagers also expresseddisappointment with the police’srefusal to go into the mountain toretrieve the body. One personremarked: “Ah sure if was a stashfound, dey would camp overnight, butis just a body. Are we serious? After2pm too late to go bush for a body?”

A police source confirmed thatsomeone is helping the police with aninvestigation, and that the manbrought from the mountain was takento the Chateaubelair Hospital to treathis injuries. He was, up to press time,in police custody.

There were indications that thepolice were to begin the trek to themountain to recover ‘Big Ras’s’ body onThursday.

But North Leeward residents arestill perturbed by the lack ofimmediate action by the police.

by HAYDN HUGGINS

A FORMER St. Vincent GrammarSchool student who, according toProsecutor ASP Glenford Gregg, hasembarked on a life of drugs, wasjailed on Tuesday.

Brian Richards, a 43-year-oldlabourer of Biabou, was sentenced to2 years in prison for stealing aquantity of panties, brassieres, boxershorts and other clothing amountingto a total value of $23,314, theproperty of Julia Walters of Chateau-

belair. He

received aseparate six-month termfor enteringthe dwellinghouse ofElfordPayne, a 75-year-oldretiredengineer ofLevelGardens, asa trespasserwith intentto steal.

The 2-yearsentence willrun conse-cutively toan 18-monthtermRichards isserving forstealingfrom thesame man,while thesix-monthsentence willrun

concurrently, meaning Richards willserve three years and six months inprison.

Magistrate Rechanne Browne-Mathias handed down the penalties atthe Kingstown Magistrate’s Courtafter Richards pleaded guilty to bothcharges.

In relation to the burglary charge,Prosecutor Gregg told the Court thataround 8:15 p.m. August 6, 2013,Payne was at his Level Gardens homewhen he heard a noise in his livingroom. The elderly man armed himselfwith a cutlass and proceeded to theliving room where he met Richards,whom he knew. Richards tried to runpast Payne, but the complainantchopped him on his left wrist.Richards, however, escaped through adoor. Payne reported the matter tothe police and Richards wassubsequently arrested and charged.

In respect to the theft charge, theCourt heard that around 4:30 p.m.July 24, this year, Walters, a clothesvendor in Kingstown, gave a ‘cartman’ a quantity of items to carry tothe Kingstown Vegetable Market forsafe keeping, until the following day.He was offloading the items outsidethe Vegetable Market. He made thefirst trip, but on returning for thesecond, he noticed the items he hadleft there were missing. He toldWalters what had happened and shereported the matter to the police.Investigations led to Richards’ arrest.

ASP Gregg told the Court thatRichards is a former student of the St.Vincent Grammar School.

“This young man is not a dotishman, but he is beyond redemption.This young man is just taking coke,(cocaine) left, right and centre,” Greggcontended.

The magistrate agreed thatRichards is not a stupid person.

The man who was apprehended andbeaten by a search party of Troumacaresidents.

Owen Pompey, whosebody residents found ina grave in the Soufrieremountain.

Villagers apprehendalleged killer

Brian Richards aboutto board a policetransport forconveyance to prison.

Former Grammar Schoolstudent on wrong path

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. 13.

CARIBBEAN POLITICS has been notedfor its dominance of the family over thepast seventy years or so. That historicalphenomenon is largely understandableup to a point. What I wish to point outhere is that its rationale gradually fadedwith time, and that family politics is athing of the past, whereas we in SVGseem bent on giving it a new lease of life.

Let us start with Jamaica. Its politicstoday hardly bears the imprint of the“Great Cousinhood”- Norman Manley andAlexander Bustamante- who headed inthe early 1940s the PNP and JLPrespectively, and which still vie forpower. But significantly absent are theinfluences of direct descendants of theGreat Men.

We jump from North to South, andnote that the husband and wife team ofpolitical leaders was born in Guyana withCheddi Jagan and Janet Jagan.

It spread to the immediate North toGrenada where a diluted form took inEric and Cynthia Gairy, and SVG whichboasted Ebenezer and Ivy Joshua.

Then there has been a plethora ofsiblings which added lustre to the politicsof their country, like Siboonath andRudrinath Carpildo, and Ashford andMitra Sinnanan, and A.N.R Robinsonand Lionel, and John Donald senior andjunior, all of Trinidad and Tobago.

Travelling North, we encountered in StLucia the Compton duo of John andClive, the Bousquettes of Allan andJames, and the Odlums, George andJohn. Generally, they followed a greattradition probably started by Allan Lewisand son, Vaughn.

In Jamaica, there have been the Lloydbrothers (P.N.P) and the Hills (JLP).

The classic pair in this category hasbeen the Dominican brothers of Michaeland Roosevelt Douglas who both held thePrime Ministership in succession, andboth had their stints suddenly cut shortby fatal maladies.

Montserrat has been an exceptionthat proves the rule. William Bramblewas succeeded as head of Government byhis son Austin: that is, the father was infact defeated by Austin who headed arival party!

For some forty years, Antigua hadbeen a Bird sanctuary led by Vere Bird,then his son Lester assisted by Vere Jr.

We wrap up this section by citingsome interesting avuncular relationship:Duncan O’Neal and Prime Minister ErrolBarrow of Barbados; Joseph Gibbs andDame Hilda Bynoe Governor-General ofGrenada; and the colourful RobertBradshaw and the currently controversialDenzil Douglas of St Kitts.

Welcome Home, Camillo

Back home we followed the father andson tradition with, for example, Hermanand Herbie Young; George Charles and

son KennethWilliams;Vincent andGlen Beache, and John and JerrolThompson.

Current moves by SVG’s PrimeMinister Ralph Gonsalves might suggestthat he desires to impose his son Camilloas head of his party, the ULP, which hasbeen running the affairs of SVG sincevirtually the start of the twenty-firstcentury.

Absolutely nothing is wrong if Camillohad worked himself up through the ranksof the party and/or Government.

The great examples in the WestIndies of yester-year, Michael Manleyand Tom Adams, sons of their moreillustrious fathers Norman Manley ofJamaica and Grantley Adams ofBarbados, proceeded by the democraticroute here suggested. The son paid theirdues, won their spurs, and eventuallyearned the top position.

Furthermore, in the Democraticworld, the father to son successionnormally takes place after theintervention of one or two seasoned partyfaithfuls. The Birds’ case is an exceptionto abhor. The Manleys were separated byDonald Sangster and the Adamses by Dr.Cummings and Bernard St John.

The latest news on the street of‘unofficialdom’, is that Camillo is to besworn in as a senator and the country’sForeign Minister. If that be the case,persons are asking: Is his nextpromotion to be leader of U.L.P whenPapa has vacated?

To get an open field, there was asystematic and methodical clearing of thedecks, professionally done.

First, René was eased out. Strakerwas knighted, and Girlyn honoured.Neither Thompson, who was once ratedas “arguably the brightest member ofcabinet”, and Slater who delighted inmaking the rounds of internationalcapitals accompanying his leader whoseeyes he failed to full.

Fitz Huggins, who had had his eyeson East St George, following Burgain’sdrift from grace, was paid off with adiplomatic posting. Saboto Caeser, whohad cloned himself after Ralph, has beenmade to realise that he was never thereal thing which has now arrived in theperson of Camillo, who presents the rightD.N.A of flesh-and-blood.

Even before the event, Papa has toensure the naming of Milton Cato as thenew National Hero, which would reboundto the glory of Camillo now hunting inCato’s former stronghold. If not Cato, thewhole time-table would be set back to yeta later date awaiting more propitioustimes which will never be!

For, there can be many a slip twixtthe cup and the lip: a NDP victory forinstance.

In 2001, THERE WAS AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE on racism in SouthAfrica, at which the Caribbean had both government and non-governmentalrepresentation.

African countries represented there and then, demanded an ‘apology’ forthe slave trade, and by extension slavery; but the European countriesoffered a position of mere regret.

It appeared that the European countries, fearing that an apology wasequivalent to an admission of guilt, and that it would have legalconsequences, wanted no part of it.

The final wording of the Conference declaration read, in part; ‘Weacknowledge that slavery and slave trading, including the trans-Atlanticslave trade, were appalling tragedies in the history of humanity, not onlybecause of their inherent barbarism, but also in terms of their magnitude,organised nature and especially their negation of the essence of victims’.

Clearly, this was definitely not an apology and no inherent commitmentto offer any sort of reprieve!

Fast forward to 2013, and the issue of the slavery in the Caribbean andthe trans-Atlantic slave trade has resurfaced with a vigor that has not beenseen or articulated before in these parts.

The July 2013 Summit Heads of CARICOM held in Trinidad andTobago, unleashed, for the first time, a united effort to seek compensationfrom three European nations (England, France and the Netherlands) forwhat they described as ‘the lingering legacy of the Atlantic slave trade, theevils of slavery, and the genocide of indigenous peoples.’

If the ‘talk’ after that Summit is anything to go by, the current Heads (ofCARCOM) are preparing themselves for the long haul, and that they meanbusiness, one indication of this being that they have contracted the servicesof a reputable human rights/legal firm to advise on and pursue(preliminary) action on their part. The hope here is that the vigor,determination and commitment of this crop of leaders will be continued byany new crop that will replace them.

That aside, there should be few dissenting voices, if any, as far as thisissue is concerned. It would appear that if there are any who still questionthe veracity of the reparation effort, they do so on purely childish, politicalgrounds, and/or subscribe to the belief that reparation is all about money.

Moreover, anyone who opposes the issue of reparation does notunderstand the value of history and how that history connects us to awider context of economic, cultural and social development.

The reparation effort, therefore, is not just about money. It is about anacknowledgement of guilt and involvement in the trans-Atlantic slavetrade, slavery in the Caribbean and colonial exploitation, includinggenocide. It is also about an apology, nothing less, for slavery andexploitation, and the return of artefacts stolen.

The effort has as an underpinning intention also, i.e. one of educatingCaribbean people about their heritage and reflecting for the world thecontribution that this area has made to world history and civilization.

Reparation, therefore, has at its core a twofold purpose: to get Europeancountries to acknowledge their complicity in an abuse of human rights, andalso to acknowledge that they committed immeasurable social, economicand political harm on a people, African people, past and present.

That there should be some form of compensation for all their(Europeans’) ill-gotten gain is natural. But that restitution is not aboutmoney amounting to trillions. Rather, it is about debt forgiveness,investment in our education and health sectors, support for our arts,science research and other community-driven initiatives to be identified byus.

It is useful in the debate to recognize that past actions are directlylinked to the present and affect the future.

The Caribbean, in which descendents of African slaves now reside andengage themselves in mapping their own development and destiny,continues to stumble through trying economic, social and culturalarrangements, controlled by a minority group of world powers, in a mannernot unlike the days of colonialism.

The misfortunes, partly of our own doing, as we mimic the politics ofthose who colonilised us, are in the major part attributable to a systemicand institutionalized ‘vampirization’ of Caribbean societies and economies.

Is it wrong to seek redress, called it reparations, call it compensation,call it restitution, for the sins committed?

This could be nothing but the correct thing to do; but whether those fromwhom reparation is sought will acquiesce, is another question that points tomany a battle before the war is done.

Who said, something to the effect, ‘You have to seize the time’?. Thetime begins now.

8. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

ViewsV

Editorial

Managing Editor: Desiree Richards

Editor: Cyprian Neehall

Telephone: 784-456-1123 Fax: 784-451-2129

Website: www.thevincentian.com

Email: vinpub@thevincentian.com

Mailing Address: The Vincentian Publishing Co. Ltd.,

P.O. Box 592, Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The National Newspaper of St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Reparation: The timebegins now Close family circles as a factor in

Caribbean politics

I GATHER on thematter of the politicalsituation in St. Kittsand Nevis, that bothour Prime Ministerand Leader of theOpposition havereceived letters fromopposition members inthat country,requesting the twoleaders to bring somepressure to have a noconfidence motiondebated in that twinisland OECS memberParliament.

The situation in theSt. Kitts and Nevisparliament, as Iunderstand it, is thatthe opposition has sixseats to thegovernment five. Thestory is that theopposition went intoparliament with fiveseats but increased toone when a member ofPrime Minister Dr.

Denzil Douglas’ partydefected to the otherside.

The situation of sixopposition seats togovernment’s fiveclearly constitutes amajority in favour ofthe opposition. So,what in heaven’s namecould be motivatingDr. Douglas to hold onto the reins ofgovernment?Regardless of whetherthe opposition comesfrom one party or twoor three for thatmatter, the fact issimple: six is morethan five. Dr. Douglasshould therefore, be inopposition, or heshould see to it that ageneral election iscalled.

But there are a fewquestions that I havein this whole matter.What role is the

Governor Generalplaying in all of this?If the oppositionapproaches the GGand providesunambiguous proofthat they have amajority in the Houseof Parliament, isn’t theGovernor Generalbound by law to askthem to form thegovernment? Inaddition, doesn’t theGovernor Generalhave the power, in thecircumstance, todissolve parliamentand cause a generalelection to be held?

And where is theSpeaker of the Housein all of this? Isn’t hebound by his office tohave the motion of noconfidence debated? Itcould well be asituation where thatSpeaker is a supporterof Government and

therefore, would notwant to do anything tohave his side removedfrom government.Sounds familiar?

And amidst all ofthis, my information isthat Dr. DenzilDouglas, PrimeMinister, is bent onseeing to it thatchanges to theconstituencyboundaries are madebefore the next generalelection, which is duein 2015. Dr. Douglasis down as saying thatthe present boundariesare illegal. Did he notknow this when hewent to the pools in2010, with thoseboundaries that henow wants to change,and came away awinner? Who canblame the oppositionfor saying that he isgerrymandering the

electoral process?Our Prime Minister

is known to enjoy goodrelations with Dr.Douglas. I am notcertain about Mr.Eustace’s relationshipwith Dr. Douglas. Butwhat I know is thatboth Dr. Gonsalvesand Mr. Eustace sharea strong adherence tothe principles ofdemocracy. Is it at allpossible that they cancome together on thisone and make a singleappeal to Dr. Douglasto stop his nonsenseand get on with theprocess of building atrue democracy in hiscountry? Wishfulthinking?

Basil

Dishonest judgment – The policeWHEN are we going to get honestjudgment in this country?

For years, the Police Force has hadsome big bugs biting the flesh of itsmembers. To today’s date, no one hasused any spray to kill them. It seems

that the ones responsible to killthe bugs are not learning fromtheir mistakes.

Promotions must be made oneligibility, e.g. you must have atleast ten years of service to beconsidered for any promotion.We cannot slip persons with nopolice experience through theback door and push them intotop positions. Can a junior teachyou a job?

Before you are promoted, youmust go before a specialcommittee of retired seniorpolice officers, who will have arecord of your performance, not acommittee who will meet you inthe street and say to you, “Youshould be a Sergeant , come tomy office,” and tomorrowmorning, he or she is promoted

without the knowledge ofthe Commissioner.Promotion must be doneunder the watchful eyes of acommittee, not by theCommissioner himself whomight not like you, or youmay not be a favourite ofthe government in power.

An investigation must belaunched, as soon aspossible, by a specialcommittee to determinewhich officer(s) was/wereleft back in the ranksbecause they were not infavour of the Commissioner, wasn’twearing any political colours, wasn’tcarrying any news, and who arecurrently assigned duties they shouldnot be.

Whose idea it was to bring in aforeigner to set the Police Force on itsright track — a man who does not knowthe history of the Police Force in St.Vincent and the Grenadines? How canwe use such a person and pay himsuch a big sum. Can I say he must pay

back the moneybecause he did notmake a difference?

Look at what tookplace in the PoliceForce over the pastyears. All or most ofthe senior memberswere either ‘age up’or left because ofunfair practices. Leftbehind were someschool childrenwithout experience.When will anotherconsultant be calledin?

When are we goingto have someone who

is going tostand up tothe clergy-man and sayto him, wemust comeup with aplan to stopthese gun-men from using theseunlicensed firearms soon? Who is goingto say that the people of this countryare fed up with these unsolved crimes?Who is going to say the authorities inthis country are sleeping and need toget out of bed soon to come up with aplan to stop these crimes? Who is goingto say that too many convictedcriminals are let loose in the prisonsystem and before you know it, theyare back on the streets? Are we goingto bring another consultant again togive away tax payers’ money?

Who is going to say too muchrubbish in parliament? Who is going tosay it is time for a big wig crimemeeting which will include Mr. Shine,the clergyman, Mr. Smile, and manymore time wasters?

Are we waiting for America to giveus the green light?

Spy

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. 9.

ViewsV

MAN-ABOUT-TOWN would like toknow a few thingsabout VINLEC:

* Has VINLECintroduced a ‘MetreMaid’ programme?

* Are these‘Meter Maids’supposedly assignedto check on metresin designated orselected households?

* Have thesedesignatedhouseholds beenshowing a decreasein electricityconsumption over aperiod of time?

* Is the ‘MetreMaid’ programme tocheck to see if themetres arefunctioningproperly?

* Or is VINLECconcerned that itscash flow is beingaffected asconsumers do asVINLECencourages,conserve energy andtherefore pay lowerbills?

DAMN if we do, damn if we don’t.We can beat up all we want onLIAT, but unlike most of the otherterritories which it serves, wedepend solely on the ‘Leave IslandAny Time’ airline.

Lord knows that LIAT has beenbad… I have had my share ofexperiences of late luggage arrival,late flights, missing ongoingconnections, overbooking so that youget bounced in the strangest placesand have to sleep in the airport.Yes, man, I have had what somewould call an overdose of the badside of LIAT.

But you know something? I haveflown LIAT for well over 30 years,and I must be honest and say thatin the majority of cases, I got whereI wanted to go on time, got myluggage and made my connectingflights.

Now that the airline is trying toimprove its service, we have to givethem some slack. Mistakes will bemade before the going gets smoothagain. I know, Vincentians willalways say we deserve better fromLIAT, since in recent times we havebeen pumping money into it, andour Prime Minister doesn’t holdback on seeking what is good for it.That may be so, but we must acceptthat LIAT is, for the time being, ouronly scheduled airline service, andwe have to depend on it.

So the next time you fly LIAT,think about it as you getting intoyour own car. Wouldn’t you want totake care of your car?

Let’s give LIAt a chance to be thebest it could be.

Jane P

Give LIATa chance

I HAD A GOOD chuckle at thefront page story of last week’sedition of THE VINCENTIAN.I chuckled because I wonderedwhat those criminals werecomplaining about.

After all, those who are nowcomplaining are where theyare because they cause someharm to someone, or didsomething that they shouldn’thave done. They broke thelaw, so what is all thiscomplaining about? They

deserve to be in Her Majesty’sprison. They deserve theirpunishment, mosquito bitesand all.

However, Mr. Editor, I haveone concern, and that is aboutwhen these fellows get out. Ifthere is something reallyhappening in the prison andone of these fellows gets somedisease that is contagious, onhis release he should spreadthat disease to the generalpublic.

That is the only reason Iwould encourage those who areresponsible for the prisons tocheck in on what they(prisoners) are saying. It is acase of prevention better thancure.

Paul(Editor’s Note: Not all the

inmates at Her Majesty’sPrison in Kingstown areconvicted criminals. Many ofthose housed are on remand —awaiting trial.)

Prisoners complaining for what?

I RECALL a recent letter to the editorpublished in your newspaper. It had to dowith an observation that nothingsubstantial was planned or held forEmancipation Day here.

That writer was bemoaning that fact,and I must agree with him.

With all the talk around aboutreparations for slavery, genocide and allthe evil inflicted on the Africans in theCaribbean, I would have thought thatEmancipation Day would have taken onsome celebration of national proportions.

Are persons involved in the reparationtalk afraid to get their hands into the realsoil?

Let’s hope next year would be better.

Ole Pants

Emancipation Day

That St. Kitts and Nevis saga

10. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

ViewsVOVER THE YEARS, tourism hasemerged as a major global economicactivity that generates significantforeign exchange. Today, a significantnumber of people around the globe areemployed in the travel trade andtourism. In the future, the tourismindustry is likely to see unprecedentedgrowth.

Tourism presently contributessubstantially to the Vincentian nationaleconomy and, if properly developed andmanaged, has the potential to make aneven bigger contribution. In recognitionof this, the NDP, when returned tooffice, will place emphasis on thecontinued development of the tourismsector in St. Vincent and theGrenadines, as it has done in the past.

Of all the economic sectors, thetourism sector is highly labourintensive. As such, the rate ofemployment generation is higher whencompared to (most) other economicsectors. We have not fully developedthis lucrative sector of our economy. Thepotential for growth is real since St.Vincent and the Grenadines possesses awide range of tourist attractions,including the attractions of its naturallandscape and scenery, wildlife,beaches, historical attractions (e.g. forts), and a number of unique culturalactivities.

The inability of the ULPadministration to develop our fulltourist potential is due to ineffectiveinternational marketing, inadequateinfrastructure, the lack of planning andthe lack of specialised personnel in thehospitality industry.

The main objectives of the NDP ontourism development will be toaccomplish the following: increase intourism’s contribution to GDP, inclusiveof but nor restricted to encouragingincreased expenditure by tourists,creation of employment opportunities atall levels throughout society; creation oflinkages with other economic sectors;protection of the environmental andcultural resources, and quality of St.Vincent and the Grenadines.

Cruise Tourism and Yachting

The NDP, when it is returned tooffice, will work with the private sectorand all relevant stakeholders to developa Cruise Tourism Policy which isfocused on manageable numbers, anddesigned to encourage a fairdistribution between all official portsthroughout St. Vincent and theGrenadines. The development of a smallcruise ship pier in North Leeward willbe considered

The NDP sees the improvement andupgrading of Kingstown as an integralpart of a successful cruise tourismpolicy, and will work assiduously todevelop a short to medium termdevelopment strategy towards the end.Identification and development ofappropriate strategies will be critical toachieving desirable levels of visitorexpenditure. The provision of suppliesand services for cruise ships, andencouraging the employment ofVincentian nationals on cruise shipswill be other important thrusts in theNDP’s Cruise Development Plan.

The yachting industry is in a state ofgrowth internationally. With anincreasing number of persons retiringearly and higher average incomes, thereis an increasing amount of leisure time.Furthermore, a greater proportion ofleisure time is now being spent in/onwater. The growth of the yachtingindustry is also evident by the growth inthe production of pleasure craft andmega yachts. This increase in thenumber of recreational boats worldwideis creating additional strain on theexisting yachting infrastructure, and

the demand for marina space isincreasing.

The benefits of developing theyachting industry outweigh the costs toa great extent. Countries are nowinvesting significantly in additionalinfrastructure in an attempt to meet theever increasing demand. St. Vincent andthe Grenadines will capitalise on theopportunity for employment creationand foreign revenue generation.

In our overall development plan, weare actively seeking economicdiversification. We believe that theyachting industry is a viable option.There are several key international bestpractices, which have been identified indeveloping this industry. These include:voluntary programmes for certificationfor marinas to meet internationalstandards; measures for environmentalprotection; aggressive marketing topromote our country as a yachtingdestination; provision of adequatetraining facilities to expand the workforce in the yachting sector; provision ofincentives and supporting legislation tofacilitate further growth of the industry;emergency planning and disasterpreparedness; establishing aninternationally competitive shipregistry.

The yachting industry has thepotential to be a catalyst for economicdiversification. The industry has stronglinkages with several other industriessuch as service sector (includingrestaurants, etc), boatbuilding,maritime services and fishing. Theyachting industry will have positivespin-off effects for these relatedindustries.

The development of the yachtingindustry and the cruise ship industrywill also facilitate expansion of thetourism industry without majorinvestment in additional hotels andairlift, and promote the Grenadinesinternationally as a possible venue forinternational yachting events.

Human resource

As expected, the NDP is committed toproviding the trained personnelrequired for proper management andoperation of the tourist sector. The NDPwill undertake, as a matter of urgency,a national study of labour supply anddemand for the national economy todetermine the availability of persons towork in tourism industry, to include thesupervisory and management levels.

In tandem with the encouragement ofinvestment in the tourism sector, theNDP will develop full-time vocationalprogrammes designed to facilitate entryto employment in hotels and othertourism enterprises, includinggovernment tourism offices.Competency-based centres of excellenceand/or a hotel school will be developedand expanded as the industry grows.Greater emphasis will be placed on theteaching of tourism in schools so as toencourage the development of a well-rounded student who is socially mobile.The NDP will also work closely with theCaribbean Examination Council tofacilitate the introduction of a two-year‘Travel and Tourism Studies’programme.

The NDP will also develop a nationalongoing programme of quality customerservice and a Vincentian hostprogramme. The Vincentian hostprogramme will seek to develop aVincentian who is knowledgeable aboutthe country’s history and heritage andits present development, and whodisplays a huge degree of national prideand self esteem.

It is clear: St. Vincent and theGrenadines can benefit significantlyfrom tourism, but only under a NDPgovernment.

The Issue

THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT That the UnityLabour Party government is the mostscrutunised administration in the historyof St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Everyaction by the government, everystatement by Prime Minister Dr. RalphGonsalves and members of his Cabinet isexamined with a fine-tooth comb, by theOpposition, their supporters andspokespersons on radio, in thenewspapers, on Facebook and You Tube.

This is nothing new, and is not anissue for the ULP administration.Prime Minister Gonsalves haspromised transparency, and theactions of his government are open andabove-board. The ULP administrationhas been extremely careful inpreserving the level of democracy thatVincentians currently enjoy, and willcontinue to enjoy. No media entity, noreporter or broadcaster, has beenhindered in the performance of his orher duty.

There are no restrictions beingplaced on freedom of expression, orfreedom of the press, save and exceptthose laws which exist for thepreservation of good order. Almostevery other day, one or two radiostations defame Prime Minister, Dr.Ralph Gonsalves and members of hisCabinet. Opinions have turned intofacts; truth is hidden, and in somecases banished from the statementsmade by Opposition spokespersons andtheir supporters, and there is verylittle attention to accuracy.

Desperation by the NDP

This state of affairs is occasioned bythe level of desperation within theranks of the NDP. They are faced witha miasma in relation to theirleadership, and they cannot mount anycredible attack on the track record ofthe ULP in terms of its performance,the deliverables that have beenachieved, and the philosophy that isused to provide good governance in thestate.

So they have launched an attackbased on the most outrageous lies, onthe ULP administration. They dependon two factors: one, that despite theadvances of the Education Revolution,there are still persons who are gullibleand will believe the lies put out by theNDP; the second factor is based on theoutrageous level of the lies. Theirtheory is, the more outrageous the lie,the more likely that the public willbelieve.

And so there is a level ofrecklessness on the part of the NDP asthey continue with their strategy oflies and half truths. The voters haverejected them at the polls, which is anindication that these lies have failed toachieve the purpose for which theywere intended.

The Social Media

The growth in the social media,particularly Facebook and Twitter,brought more focus and attention onthe ULP administration, and providedNDP activists with an avenue tospread their lies. Daily, NDPsupporters are on Facebook trying totake apart the work of the government.They are abusive, they lie and speak

falsehoods, and they malign ULPministers and key supporters of theULP.

We are happy that there are partystalwarts and fair- minded Vincentianswho are ready and willing to defendtheir government. These stalwarts postphotos of key projects in St. Vincentand the Grenadines, so that VincentianFacebook users in the Diaspora can seewhat is happening in their belovedcountry. This is a defeat of the dirtypropaganda campaign mounted dailyby the NDP, about key projects like theInternational Airport at Argyle; theEducation Revolution; the drive tobuild houses for middle, low and no-income Vincentians; the developmentsin the Tourism and Health sectors, andthe many achievements of Vincentiansat home and abroad.

The truth is that the NDP ismistaken in its belief that it can run acampaign on lies, slander, insults,misinformation and half truths.Despite electoral defeats in 2001, 2005and 2010, and a further defeat lurkingon the horizon in 2015, the NDP is stillto learn the lessons of this failedcampaign of lies.

The ULP defence

In the face of these lies, the onlydefence that the ULP can adopt istruth. So our operators on radio andFacebook have used this strategy togood effect. There is a constant flow ofinformation in relation to importantprojects implemented by the ULP,including the Education Revolution,the International airport project atArgyle, the Housing revolution, thebridge over the Rabacca River, the jetport in Canouan, the Buccama Resort,the training of young Vincentiannurses, the ongoing development at theCommunity College and the revival ofthe Banana industry.

The people of St. Vincent and theGrenadines have dismissed the liestold by the NDP, but in the processthey are angry. They are angry whenthey hear the NDP claim that they areso poor, that they can only afford halfpound of chicken back, and half a ‘cakeof soap’. They are annoyed that theNDP is claiming that Vincentians areunplugging their refrigerators at night,to save on the cost of energy. And thelist goes on.

Visitors to the country know whatall Vincentians are aware of; thatdespite the ravages of the globalfinancial and economic situation, thecollapse of CLICO and BAICO, and thenatural disasters including Tomas,that the country is holding its own,and that in fact, Vincentians are doingbetter than their counterparts in theOECS.

The people of St. Vincent and theGrenadines are patiently waiting for“de Comrade” to ring the bell for theelections in 2015. It is then they willdeal the NDP another electoral defeat,and punish Eustace and his followers,for the lies told on this beloved countryand its people.

TourismWhy the ULP is winning the information war

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. 11.

ViewsVPART OF THE REASON whyJews do so well in this world isbecause they make everyone elseashamed of the crimes committedagainst them throughout history.More importantly, Jews buildinstitutions to ensure that theiroffspring learn about Jewishhistory and remind future generationsto never forget the evils committedagainst their forebears.

African people need to take a pageout of the Jewish story if they are tounderstand why Africa and itsDiaspora are in the condition whichbedevils its descendants.

Celebratory activities to markEmancipation Day 2012 brought hometo those in attendance theunspeakable crimes which Europeans,especially the British, committedagainst the indigenous population andthose brought to these shores asenslaved Africans.

On the eve of Emancipation,Tuesday July 31, the University of theWest Indies Open Campus held anEmancipation panel discussion withthe theme ‘Slavery and Resistance:The Vincentian Experience.’ ‘Therewere presentations by Dr Joyce Toneyon Women and Resistance in Slavery;historian Curtis king on the ‘Role ofEnslaved Africans in the Black CaribWar,’ and Dr Michael Dennie on‘Disease and death in VincentianSlave Society.’

To demonstrate the depth of theinjury the British colonizerscommitted against out people, there isemphasis on Dr Dennie’s presentation.Dr Dennie outlined that at the end ofthe Carib war in 1797, there wereabout 3000 enslaved Africans in SVG.These were held mainly by Frenchcolonizers. By 1807, the year in whichthe slave trade was abolished, StVincent was home to more than 28,000 enslaved Africans. By the timeslavery was abolished in 1834, theAfricans were so badly treated thatthe slave population fell by 25 percentto 22,000.

Dr Dennie showed that the Britishgenocidal policies against theGarifunas, which got to a high pointfollowing the assassination of ChiefJoseph Chatoyer, paved the way forthe importation of 1000s of enslavedAfricans. The extermination of theGarifunas meant that SVG movedfrom ‘being a society with slaves to afull blown slave society.’

Dr Dennie noted that the fight forthe right to be free in SVG became afight for the right to live. Even asSVG emerged as one of the mostimportant slave societies in the regionbetween 1797 and 1807, slave deathswere higher than slave births. Theenslaved Africans died mainly fromthe harsh conditions of life and thebrutal treatment meted out to theenslaved, especially those whorebelled or sabotaged slaveproduction.

Dr Dennie also cited statisticswhich showed that the years 1807 and1834 represented a ‘most dangeroustime’ to be a child in SVG, as 25percent of all the children died beforethey reached the age of 5 years. Fortypercent of all enslaved Africansbetween the ages of 19 to 40 also died.

Most Vincentians, Dr Dennie said,simply did not live to be very old. Hecontended that emancipation was ablessing in that it aided life andpopulation growth, even though the

country continue as a colony untilindependence in 1979.

A number of truths that came outof Dr Dennie’s lecture. Chief amongthem is that before the Europeanscame into contact with the Americasand rudely interrupted and disruptedthe way of life of these proudlyindependent people, life was muchbetter than the pain and suffering,death and destruction brought on byEuropean conquest and colonization.

Another point is that Europeancontact with the rest of the world,especially Africa and the Americas,led to the development of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and slavery whichbrought enormous benefit to theEuropean societies and contributed tothe underdevelopment and stagnationin the both Africa and the Americas.

The first act of the British after thedeath of Chief Chatoyer was thebanishment of thousands of Garifunasfrom their homeland. Those thatremained were pushed to the remotenorthern regions of the country. Asthis was done, the British took controlof over 100,000 acres of the mostlyfertile lands.

Worse, even after exploiting thelabour of thousands of enslavedAfricans, when emancipation legallycame in 1834, it was the Britishplanters who were rewarded by theBritish Parliament with close to600,000 pounds. Estimates are thatthis payment is about 120 millionpounds in today’s dollars. Those whowere enslaved and made to work forfree, those beaten and raped andkilled are yet awaiting compensationfor their labour.

Herein lies the basis for the call forreparations, in which demands aremade for the British government topay our country for the wrong which itsanctioned, especially after the deathof Chief Chatoyer and establishmentof British crown colony in SVG.Imagine what our country could dowith 120million pounds.

If these crime were committedtoday, the British will definitely havea case to answer before theInternational Criminal Court in theHague. As Dr Dennie showed, thereis ample proof that genocide and massdeportation of a people, allrecognized as war crimes werecommitted by the British against ourancestors.

The celebrations held in Diamondsto ring in Emancipation on July 31and in Georgetown and other pointsacross the country to mark the 174themancipation anniversary are proofthat more people are getting themessage of slavery and the need forrecompense.

More of this slave andemancipation story need to be broughtto our young, so that rather than beashamed of our slave experience wemust join as one to proclaim: neverforget, never again.

This column with minor changesfirst appeared on August 10, 2012.

Send comments, criticisms &suggestions to wefirst@aol.com

“Clean your finger before youpoint at my spots.” - BenjaminFranklin (1706–1790)American statesman, scientist,philosopher, printer, newspapereditor & writer

THE PHOTOGRAPHS THATAPPEARED at the lower half of the frontpage of The News Newspaper of Friday,August 9, 2013 angered me. The photos,in an article entitled “Disgusting!”,showed a member of the police ‘BlackSquad’ making a middle finger sign to acameraman while a police constablelooks on with a smile. My disappointmentwas magnified when I realised thatSuperintendent Kenneth John wasstanding just four or five feet away fromthe delinquent officer and appeared to belooking in his direction. And while I couldnot confirm that the Superintendentactually saw the action, it left mewondering whether the offending memberof the Rapid Response Unit had anyregard for the senior officer. Suchbehaviour, even without a senior officerpresent, would be considered mostoffensive. But to do it in the presence ofa senior officer magnifies the obscenity.The article indicated that the incidenttook place outside the Central PoliceStation on Bay Street in Kingstown on26th July, 2013, the day the NewDemocratic Party (NDP) held its protestmarch.

In St. Vincent and the Grenadines,and in Western countries, extending themiddle finger is considered to be mostoffensive; it is ranked among one of themost obscene and insulting gestures. Itis therefore most unfortunate that anofficer of the law would appear to bepublicly displaying such obscenity.What message is this sending to oursociety? What message is it sending toour children? I vividly recall readingan article in The Star Newspaper (anorgan of the Labour Party) some fourdecades ago. It was written by one oftheir popular columnists, Ad Astra.The article was entitled, “He who wantsrespect must first show some”, andreminded the reader that we must berespectful if we wanted to be treatedwith respect. When law officers showsuch utter disrespect for members ofthe public, they cannot expect civiliansto respect their authority. Yes,civilians will bow to their power underthe law, but they will not be perceivedto have “moral authority”. They will berespected because of their uniforms andthe weapons they carry, but they willhave no moral credibility. There aregood, decent men and women in thepolice force, but incidents like theseencourage the public to incorrectlypaint the police force with a commonbrush. The officer needs to bedisciplined (and the public needs toknow that this has been done). Theofficer needs to make a public apologyfor his indiscretion. We will expect thePolice Public Relations Committee, thePolice Christian Soldiers, the St.Vincent and the Grenadines ChristianCouncil, and other concerned civicorganisations to join the cry to havedisciplinary action taken against policeofficers who demonstrate suchdisrespect for their uniform andresponsible position in society. Enoughis enough! They must not be allowed tocommit such infractions without beingheld accountable. As responsiblemembers of society, we must speak out(and write) when we see suchundesirable behaviours being exhibited.

Over the years, I have used thefingers of the hand to teach aspects ofcivic responsibility. I recently used it atthe graduation ceremony for the BlessUs Pre-School and Day Nursery atRedemption Sharpes, as I challengedparents and guardians to provide

proper guidance for all of our children.I did this by drawing their attention tothe thumb; it does not look like theother fingers; it is shorter and fatter; itlooks odd; it looks different. The adultsin the audience were reminded to lookout and respect those who appear to beodd (i.e. physically handicapped,mentally challenged, obese, slowlearners, etc.). I then drew theirattention to the index finger (some referto it as the ‘pointing finger’), andreminded the adults in the audiencethat they should provide the youngsterswith proper direction. Parents,teachers, and other concerned citizensmust be prepared to give properdirection and, most importantly, lead byexample. We then get to the middlefinger and I would indicate that it‘stands taller’ than all of the otherfingers, and reminds us that we shouldrespect authority in our homes, schools,the government, and the community atlarge. The ‘ring finger’ talks aboutcommitment (i.e. as married couplescommit to each other) and I remindedthem of the need to have strongcommitments to high moral and ethicalprinciples; these keep societies strong.And finally we get to the ‘little finger’and I reminded the audience that theyneeded to look out for the smaller onesamong them; to be always willing tohelp them; to aid them with their schoolwork, to encourage good manners andbehaviour, to look out for them, and soon. Law officers and respectablecitizens should be lending a hand toteach these principles - not theopposite.

Well, the next few days will revealwhat “spin” will be put on thisphotograph. This writer will not besurprised if an announcement is madethat the images displayed were totallymisinterpreted. This writer will not besurprised if it is reported that theofficer was merely exercising his fingersand the camera just happened tophotograph him when he was exercisinghis middle finger. Or we may discoverthat this is the finger that the trainedofficer uses to pull the trigger of hisrevolver, and he periodically has toexercise it to avoid cramps. Yes, youget the picture. We could take aserious matter and make it laughable.However, the seriousness (or lackthereof) will determine what theauthorities think of law and order,respect of authority, and respect for thecitizens in this country.

While I do not mean to appearnegative, I am not hopeful that“corrective action” will be taken inrelation to this incident. There havebeen a “proliferation of offences”committed by law officers within recenttimes. Many appear to be swept underthe carpet or somehow end up in “file13” (lost never to appear again). If wewere to conduct a national survey, wemay readily discover that the generalpublic has lost a lot of confidence in somany of the law enforcement officers.However, we are thankful for the manygood and decent officers who seem tobalance out the infractions of theirdelinquent colleagues. They point a“different finger” and assure us thatthey still have the moral authority toshow us our spots.

Send comments, criticisms &suggestions to

julesferdinand@gmail.com

The Middle Finger Never forget never

SVG’s economy has crumbled after 32years of Taiwan’s continuous scroungingfrom our economy. Taiwan creams-offbillions of dollars a year on SVG’s deepsea fish licence. Meanwhile, SVG issuffering with an economy on the vergeof collapse and high unemployment.

SVG must urgently cut ties withTaiwan and open ties with China. The

message to the Taiwan President, MaYing-jeou, is ‘Go home and stopmilking SVG’.

SVG’s relationship with Taiwan hasbeen bad for Vincentians, but good forTaiwan. Taiwan is a very rich country.According to the CIA World fact book,Taiwan has reserves of foreignexchange and gold amounting to

US$408.5 billion; theseventh highest in theworld. Unemployment inTaiwan is only 4.2%,whereas in SVG it’s morelike 20% and countingupwards.

According to Bloomberg.com,Taiwan was home to 230,000millionaire (US dollars) households in2012, representing 3% of the totalnumber of household, and is ranked9th highest in the world. On top ofthat, according to forbes.com, as ofMarch 2013, Taiwan also had 44billionaires (US dollars).

Where do you think SVG ranks onthe millionaire list? The contrast isvile and immoral.

After 32 years of relations withTaiwan, one has to ask: ‘Has thedream come true for our people?’ No,certainly not. Looking around at allthe poverty and squalor in SVG, it’seasy to see that our people aresuffering and Taiwan is not our friend.

Taiwan imported US$268.8 billionin goods in 2012, but none of that wasfrom SVG. We can do without TaiwanPresident Ma Ying-jeou’s e smile. After32 years in SVG, Taiwan has not builtone factory in SVG to help stimulateeconomic growth and create jobs.

SVG has children going to bedhungry, and poor families living inpoverty in ‘lean-to’ shelters, butTaiwan cares little. They continue toskin us and cream-off billions ofdollars a year on our deep sea fishlicence, regardless of how manyVincentians are suffering. This

exploitation is killing our children’sfuture.

According to Chinasmack.com, lastyear, Ma Ying-jeou declared a personalwealth of just over 77 millionTaiwanese dollars (TWP). Even thoughMa Ying-jeou’s monthly salary is470,000 TWP, he deposited monthlysavings last year of 480,000 TWP.

The Taiwanese public is angry andasking questions about Ma Ying-jeou’smassive personal finances.

With an all-time low approval rateof just 15% in Taiwan, President MaYing-jeou may be hoping for betterabroad.

SVG must take back its deep seafish licence from Taiwan, and operatea tuna fishing and fish processingindustry ourselves, to createthousands of new jobs and surplusrevenue to invest in science andtechnology, universities and renewableenergy.

SVG must get rid of Taiwan andwelcome China instead. TheTaiwanese should go home — thirty-two years of scrounging in SVG isenough. President Ma Ying-jeou, gohome.

SVG Green Partywww.svggreenparty.org

12. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

Opinion VPresident Ma Ying-jeou, „Gohome and stop milking SVG‰

0by GLORIAH…

THE ROYAL ST. VINCENTand the Grenadines PoliceForce Band is currentlyinto the 4th week of its6th annual five-weekPolice Band SummerProgramme.

The programme, heldat the Police Band Roomat Largo Height, offersfree tutoring intheoretical and practicalaspects of music bymembers of the PoliceBand, to young peoplebetween the ages of nineand fifteen years.

Instruments

When THEVINCENTIAN visitedthe Programme duringits third week, fifteengroups of a total ofeighty-five participantswere actively engaged inplaying instrumentswhile reading frommusical scores. Therange of instrumentsincluded the trombone,

saxophone, clarinet,recorder, electronickeyboard, rhythm andbass guitars, drums,xylophone and steel pan.

According to StationSergeant BernardHaynes, Band Master,with the exceptions ofthe newly introducedxylophone, B flatbaritone and trombone,all of the otherinstruments were used inthe previous years.

He identified apreference for the steelpan and keyboard amongthose applying to theprogramme.

Atmosphere

An obviousenthusiasm pervaded the‘band room’. The youngparticipants, werenoticeably focused ontheir tasks.

There was animpressive age range ofparticipants and thereappeared to be nospecific gender bias

among thisyear’sparticipants,who openlyexpressed theirdelight at beingat theworkshop,several of themindicating adesire to learnmore than oneinstrument.

On thisscore, StationSergeantHaynes notedthat someparticipantsoften try toincorporatemore than oneinstrument in a

single workshop, but“this is not feasible,”given the constraints oftime and the availabilityof instruments.

He was, however,pleased , “overwhelmed’with the growing desireamong young people tolearn music, andbemoaned the fact thathe had to turn away alarge number ofapplicants to this year’sProgramme.

Instructors

When asked about theattitude of the officerstowards the programme,Station Sergeant Hayneswas proud to report thatall officers acting asinstructors were veryenthusiastic. He,however, lamented thefact that the workload,undertaken with suchintensity within such ashort space of time couldbe very telling on them.

Station SergeantHaynes, though,commended them fortheir patience and theexpressions of care and

love that theyextended to the

participants.The team of

instructors comprises: PCSmart - bass guitar; PCCuthbert Lee - rhythmguitar; PC DelroyPompey - saxophone; PCRaymond -Powertrumpet; PC Sid

McDowall - clarinet; PCSerrano Hunte —keyboards; PC GanishGeorge - xylophone,; PCStevan Baptiste -recorder, PC DelanoRiston - steel pan; PCJermaine John - B flatbaritone; PC TeshonWilliams - B flattrombone; PC Bernard

Burke - piano.This year’s

Programme is scheduledto close on August 24,when participants areexpected to demonstratethe skills they learned.That ceremony will beheld at the Old MontrosePolice Station. (MoreYouth news on Page 25.)

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. 13.

YouthV

The focus and determination exhibited by these guitar trainees reflected thegeneral mood among participants in this year’s Police Summer Programme.

Inset: These young saxophonists give hope that there could well be anotherSyl M Intosh, SVG’s internationally renowned saxophonist, in the making.

The steel pan is a popularchoice of instrumentamong those applying tothe programme.

Inset: Station Sergeant Bernard Haynes, Band Master, is pleased withwhat he sees as a growing desire among young people here to learnmusic.

Police trainfuture musicians

by KENVILLE HORNE

IN ADDITION TO TROPHIES and plaques,some EC$600,000 in prize money havebeen presented to the winners andparticipants in the different categories ofthe 2013 Vincy Mas competitions.

The presentation took place duringthe Annual Prize-Giving Ceremony ofthe Carnival Development Corporation(CDC), held this yer on Thursday 8th

August, at Murray Heights Hotel,McKie’s Hill.

Changes paid off

Among those addressing theCeremony was Dennis Ambrose,Chairman of the CDC.

He expressed satisfaction with thefestival, its organization, offerings bythe various components and the

general festivities, and hinted that hisCorporation could look back with asense of accomplishment on thesuccess of the changes introduced forVincy Mas 2013.

Among changes to which Ambrosereferred were: the increased directinvolvement of private promoters; themerging of a number of rural carnivalactivities; the programme change ofhaving the Raga and Soca Monarchcompetitions on the same night.

As far as the rural carnivals wereconcerned, the CDC introduced twoincentives: a Best Organized RuralCarnival and a Most Improved RuralCarnival award. Marriaqua wasadjudged the Best Organized andNorth Leeward the Most Improved.

More marketing input needed

Ambrose, even as he expressedpleasure with the outcome of VincyMas 2013, had some words of caution,particularly related to the marketingof the festival.

He warned that other Caribbeancountries, “are willing to pump morefunds into marketing their Carnivalsusing our Vincy Mas tools. It’sbecause they see a good thing, andthey aim to overtake us, and couldeventually crowd us out of ourplacement as the ‘hottest carnival’.That could happen if we fail to put abigger thrust on marketing thisspectacular festival of ours.”

As far as he was concerned, “It is awell established fact that in order tomake money, we must be prepared tospend... . We must be prepared tospend some money to market ourfestival in a powerful way.”

Air Transport setback

The issue of air transport did notescape the ire of the Chairman.

LIAT came in for criticism, even asAmbrose acknowledged the airtransportation provider as a partner.

He bemoaned the situation of“absolute frustration in getting to andfrom this (SVG) destination,” for VincyMas.

“We don’t hear it happening forAntigua Carnival, not for Spice Mas,nor Crop-Over, not for St. Lucia , norTrinidad Carnival,” said Ambrose, andcalled on LIAT to take some concerted,genuine, and corrective measures atresolving the issue.

“It’s an embarrassment to thecountry, to the government and to thepeople like you and me, who put heartand soul into producing this marvelousfestival that is the envy of many othernations, when people have difficultygetting here and leaving here,” addedAmbrose.

And he declared sternly that, “Wehave endured this far too many years.We are sure that the time has come togive us a better deal. I am sure wedeserve better.”

Vincy Mas 2014 will be celebratedfrom June 27 to July 8.

14. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

ArtsVCDC rewardsCarnival winners

Dennis Ambrose, Chairman of CDC,wants to see Vincy Mas marketed in apowerful way.

The Annual Prize-Giving Ceremony of the CDC always attracts a largegathering of Carnival related and not so related persons.

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. 15.

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. 17.16. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

IntroductionTHE NUTRITION INTAKE (24 hour recall) Module is another component of the National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHNS). This module includes collect-ing data on your total food consump-tion during the previous day, and will be done through asking questions and estimating portion sizes for a 24-hour food intake recall form. Food portion sizes will be estimated with Portion-size Measurement Aids (PSMAs). Portion-size Measurement Aids are essential to the accuracy of food recall. The PSMAs to be used in this survey will be food models, household measures and rulers. Some of the food models to be used include one slice of bread, one medium banana and one medium potato, while household measures such as table-spoons, teaspoons, bowls, and cups will be used. The 24-hour recall will be administered by the survey enumera-

tor/interviewer who will record your responses on the paper instrument provided. This module aims to assess average energy, food and nutrient intakes (total fat, saturated fat, total carbohydrate, sugars, protein, sodium/sodium chloride, iron and cholesterol), nutritional adequacy and dietary patterns in the adult population aged 18-69 years, and to examine these relationships to obesity and other Chronic Non-Com-municable Diseases (CNCDs) risk factors.

Overview of the 24-Hour Intake Recall The 24-hour food intake recall will take place in a three stage process. The details of each stage are highlighted below.

Stage 1: Recall of Food and Bever-

ages Consumed. At this stage, the interviewer will ask you to recall your exact food/drink intake during the previ-ous day. For example, if the interviewer visits you on Friday, the information collected should cover food and beverage intake from Thursday beginning at 12:01 a.m. until Thurs-day night at Midnight. The interviewer will ask specific details to get a clear description of food/drinks consumed, types, brand names, cooking methods and any other additions such as salt and sugar.

Stage 2: Estimation of Amounts In the second stage, the inter-viewer will ask you the amount of food/drinks consumed by working back from the first food, down to the

last food recorded on the form. In this stage, it is important for you to note that the interviewer is interest-ed in how much you actually ate and not how much you were served.

Stage 3: Review of Interview Data This is the final stage of the 24-hour food intake recall. At the end of the interview, the interviewer will go over the recall to ensure that complete and accurate information has been recorded for each item. For example, the interviewer may say, “at 6:30 a.m., you had ½ cup of Nescafe coffee with ¼ cup of evapo-rated milk and 1 heaped spoon (A) of brown sugar. Is that correct?” The heaped spoon (A) relates to the household measure you identi-fied. In this particular scenario, heaped spoon (A) is a tablespoon. In this stage, a checklist will also be used to ensure that no foods or

drinks have been overlooked during the recall. The check list includes foods and drinks such as chips, ice cream, gravy, juice, alcohol (rum, wine, beer), mayonnaise, energy drinks, chocolate etc. The last questions the interviewer will ask before leaving your home are:1. Yesterday did you eat? 2. Did you eat about the same?3. Did you eat more than usual? 4. Did you eat less than usual?5. If more or less than usual, why did you eat more or less than usual? Your participation in the Nutrition Intake (24 hour recall) Module of the National Health and Nutrition Survey is important. The information collected will influence the lives of Vincentians as the estimates will be used by the Minis-try of Health, Wellness and the Environment as a basis for policy and programme intervention

planning, which will translate to improved or additional health services. Without your cooperation in the survey, reliable and important data will not be obtained. Partici-pate and do your part in contribut-ing to the continuous improvement of the health sector.

By: Health Nursing Supervisor Christobelle King THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH, WELLNESS and the Environment, in collaboration with the European Union, through the 10th European Develop-ment Fund (EDF) project, the Caribbean Public Health Agency and the Pan Ameri-can Health Organization, will be conducting the National Health and Nutri-tion Survey (NHNS) from September to November this year to collect information on chronic diseases. There are several components to the survey. This component will give a clear understanding on the types of questions you will be asked, once you are selected to participate in the survey.

A questionnaire will be used to collect needed information, and the interview-ers will also take Physical Measurements for the following: • Blood pressure, • Weight • Height and • Waist circumference.

Blood Pressure will be taken to deter-mine the proportion of the population with raised blood pressure, using a blood pressure automatic machine after a period of rest of about 15minutes, and will be taken three times, with a three minutes rest after each reading.

Weight and Height will be taken to calculate body mass index (BMI) that is used to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the popula-tion; while waist circumference will be taken to provide information on over-weight and obesity.

There will be questions on health screening relating to stool examination, and colonoscopy, (introducing a tube through the rectum which will be able to

visualize the intestine to know if there are any alterations or problems). Specific questions for women on breast exam-ination, pap smear and mammogram, (an x-ray exam of the breast that’s used to detect and evalu-ate breast changes), and a question for male on prostate examination.

If you have been selected, to participate in the survey, take some time to talk to the interview-ers, give factual informa-tion; as the valuable information will create national baseline data, and will be used to help develop sound public health policy, direct and design health programs and services to address chronic diseases.

Remember your health is a shared responsibility.

Nutrition Intake (24 Hour Recall) Module Prepared by: Nadia Browne, Dietitian MCMH, Nutrition Unit, MOHWE (right)

Alana Williams, Community Dietitian, Nutrition Unit, MOHWE

Physical Measurements and Health Screening

18. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

PeopleV

by NELSON A. KINGneloking@msn.comUS CORRESPONDENT

A VINCY AUTHOR is‘Walking inFulfillment ofPropheticRevelation: TheNaturallySupernatural Life’.

Auriol SoniaMorris — youngersister of sportingicons Stanley‘Luxie’, Alexander‘Pete’, Desmond‘Des’ and Stacia‘Stacy’ Morris,originally from Layou —says her first book, bythe same title, is her“way of sharing how Godhas been drawing mecloser to Himself, savingme from destruction, andrevealing my reason andpurpose for being.”

Sonia’s eldestsister, Sylvia, a

registered nurse,is the director ofpatient care atthe Bronx, NewYork VeteranHospital.Sylvia andStacy are alsoauthors.Sherry-Ann isthe youngestsibling.

“This hasgiven me

direction and thetenacity to keep

going,” writesSonia, who resides

with some of hersiblings in Norwalk,

Connecticut. “So, contrary to what too many

Christians believe, God is neithersilent nor distant,” adds the author,who migrated with her family to theUnited States in 1978. “He wants us toknow Him, and that relationshiprequires two-way communication.”

A purpose to our life

Sonia writes that God is speaking,and revealing Himself and His will tous all the time.

“We just need to have ears tohear, a heart to perceive, and a will todo what He says,” she writes. “Hewants to be intimately involved withus. That is why He makes people oneat a time.

“Isn’t it interesting that He madeAdam, then Eve?” she asks. “He couldhave made them simultaneously.That’s because He is a God ofindividual and of corporate relation-ships.”

The author posits that before wecan discover our purpose, “we mustfirst discover the One who gave usthat purpose in the first place, and designed us for it.”

“Everyone wants to know (his/her)purpose: Why was I born to thisfamily, in this place and at this time?What am I here for? How do I findout?

“Whether we are willing to admit itor not, we live our lives in search ofthe answers to these very importantquestions,” she writes.

“We were created for a purpose,”she adds. “That is why we constantlysearch for significance.”

Reason for the book

Sonia — who holds a bachelor’sdegree in the Philosophy of Politicsand Law, a master’s in Public Policy(Government), and a juris doctorate(law degree), as well as licensure insecurities NASD Series 7 and 66,along with various insurance licenses— told THE VINCENTIAN she wasunsure about her initial reason forwriting the book.

She said she was in China in 2008—

vacationing in Shanghai betweensemesters, while teaching business ata university there — and wrote fourchapters of the book after returningfrom a church service.

“I believe I had already started it,but the work was established afterthat service,” she said. “And thereason was more about what wasmissing than what was present.”

She, however, said the main reasonfor writing the book is to “let peopleknow, whether they are Christian ornot, that God has made them for apurpose.

“And it does not have to be amystery if they are open to receivingcommunication, however He chooses todo it,” she said.

“After all, He is the One who madeus,” Sonia added. “I do this by sharingabout my own walk, using examples from the beginning, middle and mostrecently. God is not far. He is as near as you want Him to be.

“This limitless God came near over2000 years ago, allowing Himself to belimited by time and space in a humanbody,” she added, with a preacher’svoice.

“Redemption was an expensivetransaction for God, but totally free tous,” Sonia continued. “We simply needto embrace Him in all His goodnessand love. That is the message of‘Walking in Fulfillment of PropheticRevelation: The NaturallySupernatural Life,’”

A ‘miracle’ of sorts

The author — who pursued herjunior high school, through college,education in the US, and travelledextensively in Africa, Europe, Asia andthe Caribbean — attributed a change inher walk with Christ to hermiraculous recovery from a brainhemorrhage, stroke and paralysis.

A year and a half after heading tograduate school, Sonia said doctorstold her she would live in a “vegetativestate for the rest of my life.”

“God proved that statement to beridiculous,” said Sonia, who,professionally, was a financial advisor(early-to- mid 2000s); legal consultant(mid- 2000s); Information Technologistat International Business Machines(IBM) (80 to 90s); university businessinstructor in China (2008-2009); andvarious educational projects (2010 topresent).

Currently a writer, preacher,teacher and speaker, Sonia said sheintends to make herself available toconduct workshops and conferencesbased on the message of the book, andon hearing and following God’s plansfor lives.

She said the book is the first ofthree in a progressive series.

“I love to equip people, whethereducationally, professionally orspiritually,” she said. “But my favoritepart is spiritually equipping people,because that will be the basis for theothers, then educationally.”

The book was released in June 2013.

Pictured right: Auriol Sonia Morris says the bookis her way of showing how God has been drawingher closer to Him.

Vincy author ‘Walkingin Fulfillment of

Prophetic Revelation’

by PATMOS RICHARDS

A KEEN interest in the development ofSt. Vincent and the Grenadinescharacterizes the intention and work of agroup of Vincentian nationals who havereturned home after residing in Canada,USA and the U.K.

The group, known as ReturningNationals of SVG, was established in2009 primarily for the purpose ofbecoming an active participant in thenation-building process.

This coterie of forty (40) persons iscurrently occupied, sparing no effort,in undertaking ventures aimed atraising money to assist theconstruction of the international

airport at Argyle.The group is, in fact, busily engaged

in managing and promoting a raffletowards this end.

The first prize in the raffle is a$108,000 Kia Sportage vehicle whichwas donated by the Mustique AirwaysCompany.

Prior to this effort, the group hosteda dinner, a barbeque and a dinner anddance towards its airport effort.

According to Mrs. Nioka Clouden,Chairperson of Returning Nationals ofSVG, the airport development projectwill bring long term economic benefitsto SVG, create jobs for young people,not to mention the relief it will bringto Vincentians returning home for

vacation or otherwise. She views the project as one of

which all Vincentians should be proud.Vincentians home and abroad are

encouraged to support the raffle whichis scheduled to be drawn on October28, 2013.

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. 19.

NewsV

NICHOLETTE CYRUS andDavid Alexander, the twooutstanding 2013Common Entrancestudents of the BrightonMethodist School (BMS),are the latest recipients ofthe Striders Cultural andSocial Organizationscholarships.

David placed firstoverall for BMS 2013common entrancestudents, and Nicholettewas first among the girls.

With the scholarshipsto support them, Davidheads for the BoysGrammar School andNicholettte the St,Joseph’s ConventKingstown, David eying acareer in sciences, andNicholette set onbecoming a doctor.

In a short presentation ceremonyheld at the office of THEVINCENTIAN last Friday, August 9,Sister Patricia Caruth, the localliaison for the primarily US-basedStriders Organization, aftercongratulating the recipients, toldthem that the assistance wouldensure that “they have books,uniforms and other supplies for thefirst year of their secondaryeducation.”

She commended the headteacher,Ms. Anita John, and the staff of theBMS for their dedication, and theparents of the scholarship recipientsfor their preparedness to offer theirchildren the necessary guidance.

She urged the parents to continueto offer this guidance, and imploredthe recipients to “be focused and put

your best feet forward.”The Striders Cultural and Social

Organization, formed in the 1970s,was active within the communities ofDiamond, Stubbs, Brighton, Enhams,Revierre and McCarthy.

While most of its original membersare today resident in North America,they come together to raise funds tosupport the ongoing scholarshipawards and an annual Christmasoutreach programme of support toelderly and infirm residents.

The Organization is a member ofthe Council of St. Vincent and theGrenadines Organization USA, Inc.(COSAGO).

Sister Caruth, wife of the lateJulian Caruth, a former permanentsecretary and foundation member ofStriders, continues the work of herlate husband by servicing as theOrganization’s local liaison.

Scholarship recipients Nicholette Cyrus (2nd fromleft) and David Alexander (2nd from right) picturedwith Sister Patricia Caruth (centre), Nicholette’smother, Cheryl (right) and David’s mother, Kerry(left).

Two get Striders awards

Returning Nationals on the move

The Returning Nationals of SVG has been an ongoing contributor to the fundto aid in the construction of the international airport at Argyle.

20. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

LeisureVACROSS

1. Dogpatch’s creator Al

5. Filly feature9. Common article12. Sharif who

played Zhivago13. Parsley unit14. Shakespearean

Monarch15. __-mutton

(hyph.)16. Hand in “The

Addams Family”17. Singer Guthrie18. Quake shake20. Male heir21. Unmarried

woman22. Pizza serving24. Roberto’s “rah”26. Mansion’s

manservant28. Word in CIA31. Devotee32. Mixes batter34. Patriot Allen36. Politician

Landon37. Singer Kate __39. Great wonder40. Royal authority43. Skin openings45. Verb ending46. Tolerates48. Church tables50. Doughboys’

conflict (abbr.)51. Used a key

board

52. Piggy __55. __ Galahad57. Tops a cake61. Busy as __

(2 wds.)62. Riviera depar-

ture word64. Perlman of

“Cheers”65. Footnote

abbr.66. Set back67. Actress Carter68. Prepare

leather69. Halloween

wear70. “Peter Pan”

pirate

DOWN

1.Sire’s offspring2. U.S. native

(abbr.)3. Congressional

aide4. Punctual5. Speed rate

(abbr.)6. Come up7. Boy (Sp.)8. Nutmeg-fla

vored drink9. Actress Garr10. Holbrook and

Linden11. Love god13. Roadways14. Say “Woe is

me!”

ARIES (Mar. 21- April 20)Expect to have problems with the onesyou love. Don't expect new acquain-tances to be completely honest aboutthemselves. Get the whole familyinvolved in a worthwhile cause or cul-tural event. Take the initiative and goafter your goals.

TAURUS (Apr. 21- May 21)Get busy trying to make more money.Your energy will be high. Good day forromance. You could have trouble per-suading others to accept your ideasand opinions.

GEMINI (May 22-June 21)Opportunities to meet new lovers will Icome through pleasure trips or socialevents. Don't let someone take thecredit for a job you did. You have yourown family to consider as well. Go afteryour professional goals. Instantromance could be yours if you go outwith friends.

CANCER (June 22-July 22)Try spending the day catching up onany responsibilities that need to betaken care of. You can make rewardingconnections through the organizedgroups you associate with. Don't beafraid to push your beliefs and atti-tudes. This is not the time to lend orborrow money or possessions.

LEO (July 23-Aug 22)You might have some problems balanc-ing your books. Do not allow col-leagues to hinder your ambitions.Partnerships may be plentiful. Put yourenergy into learning new skills or pick-ing up valuable information.

VIRGO (Aug. 23 -Sept. 23)Colleagues may try to undermine you.Your social skills with people may bemore than just helpful. Travel opportu-nities must be taken advantage of.Take the time to help old friends or rel-atives who have had a stroke of badluck. LIBRA (SEPT. 24 -OCT. 23)Get involved in jobs that require cre-

ative input. You can win points with bothpeers and superiors. You are best tolook into investments that will grow invalue over an extended period of time.Travel will be favorable. You can gainknowledge from dealing with foreigners.Don't promise to deliver the goods ifyou aren't positive that you can meetthe deadline.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22)Social activity with friends and relativeswill be most successful. Colleaguesmay try to undermine you. Someoneyou work with could try to undermineyou. Secret affairs will only lead todeception.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23 -Dec. 21)You may find it necessary to confront asituation that has gotten out of hand.You may be able to get some goodadvice about your personal problems.Start sending out those resumes. Beprepared to take care of the issues athand.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22.- Jan. 20)Spend time with friends or family. Becareful how you handle friends and rela-tives, they may take things the wrongway. Anger may cause you grief; controlyour temper and try to sit back andcalm down. Don't be afraid to saywhat's on your mind.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 21.- Feb. 19)You'll find it easy to charm members ofthe opposite sex this week. Don't con-fide in anyone for the time being.Partnerships will be successful.Romance will be yours if you get outand do things in large groups.

PISCES (Feb. 20-Mar. 20)Opportunities to get together withfriends will be enlightening and enter-taining. You will be able to make favor-able changes in your living quarters.The only thing you'll accomplish is abad reputation. You mustn't take onother people's responsibilities or youmay find yourself irritable and exhaust-ed.

19. Some paints23. Curls25. Golfer

Trevino26. Ties up hay27. Incompetent28. No longer on

the right path

29. Committee head

30. Signs of sleepiness

31. Remote33. River, in

Madrid35. Darkroom

item (abbr.)38. Considerate41. Stared gog-

gle-eyed

42. SSE’s opposite

44. After ham or gang

47. Take away weapons

49. Garnishes51. Journeys52. Fishing need

53. Israel’s Eban54. Germen equiv-

alent of “nyet”56. Concept58. Ark passenger59. Prefix for gram60. Boutique event63. Scared shout

LA

ST

WE

EK

’sS

OL

UT

ION

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. 21.

Dear George,

I HAVE not had a sexual relationshipwith my wife for over 3 weeks, and itis not for lack of trying on my part.Since she returned from this cruisewith her girlfriend, she began actingstrangely.  We were supposed tocruise together, but I ended upsending her because of the amountof work which had to be donearound the house.  We had nevergone on a cruise before, and hergirlfriend convinced me to send hereven if I could not go.  Now she isback from the cruise, I’m not sureshe is back with me. 

My mind is going crazy here!Did she meet another man on thecruise? I am not going to be naïveand think that her girlfriend isnot involved in some way or theother. How can I get my wifeback?

Concerned

Dear Concerned,

To bow out from your firstcruise together so that you canspend that time doing workaround the house is just the kindof thing that could send anegative signal to your wife. Youhave missed out on spending somequality time with your wife, and

maybe, just maybe,she is sending you amessage, in herway, to show herdispleasure withyour decision toremain at home.

It does not haveto be another man,and you should take the time todo some introspection rather thanlooking outside for your answers.Go to her and apologize for notgoing with her on that cruise, and

see whether that opens up thechannel for discussion of the realissue.

George

Dear George,

MY HUSBAND keeps giving hishard-earned money to all kinds ofwishy-washy women, and leavingour bills unpaid. I am fed upwith his nonsense!

He owns a small store in‘Town’, and these women areeating him out, but he is the onlyone who is not seeing it. I do notintend to go down with him whenhe crashes, and I am fed up withthe embarrassment when wecannot pay our bills. What wehave is not a marriage but rathersomething that resembles amarriage.

Tired.

Dear Tired,

Your concern about yourhusband’s decision-making abilityis understandable and withinreason. You however, need totalk with him about hispriorities and the future of yourmarriage, and whether or not heintends to be a part of it.

It is best to settle foran immediate visit to a marriagecounsellor, in an effort to saveyour marriage.

George

AdviceV 22. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

Have I lost her?Dear George

I AM HAVING trouble figuring out if myboyfriend will ever marry me.

It’s 16 years since we are dating, and all he istelling me is he is not ready yet, but “we willsee.” In the meantime, he is having children allover the place like some village ram. I do notwant to leave him just like that, but he is leavingme no choice but to seriously consider doing so.He is the man that I will want to be the father ofmy children, but my biological clock is ticking,and I need to get my answers now, but he is nottalking.

Worried

Dear Worried

Your biological clock may be ticking, but it ispretty obvious that your boyfriend is not hearingit.

It is interesting that a man who has refused tomarry you after 16 years of courtship, finds noproblem having children with everyone elseexcept you. You have described him as a ‘villageram’: Do you still think he is the best candidateto be the father of your children?

The question you need to ask yourself is: Doyou deserve better, and is that the best you cando? It would be a tragedy to waste the best yearsof your life waiting around for a man who doesnot seem to be committed to you. If he is notready and you are, then you need to make adecision now.

George

Bill unpaid

Holding on toa ‘village ram’

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. 23.

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by NELSON A. KINGnaking@verizon.net;neloking@msn.comUS CORRESPONDENT

IF YOU THINK the inauguralVincy Unity Picnic in New Yorklast year was a smashingsuccess, expect more this yearin the staging of the secondannual event on Saturday,August 17, at Heckscher StatePark on Long Island, a New YorkCity suburb, according toorganizers.

“I definitely think this yearwill be bigger and better, asword gets out in the Vincycommunity here,” saidLaverne Mc Dowald-Thompson, president of theBrooklyn, New York-basedumbrella Vincentian group inthe United States, Council ofSt. Vincent and theGrenadines Organizations,

U.S.A., Inc.(COSAGO), whosegroup is part ofthe organizingcommittee,spearheaded bythe New YorkConsulateGeneral, in aVINCENTIANinterview.

“I have beengetting calls fromnationals in themetropolitan areawanting to knowhow to get to thesite — to be part ofthe event,” addedMc Dowald-Thompson,disclosing that atleast 13 buses willbe transportingnationals along the easternUnited States seaboard,

includingPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania andBoston,Massachusetts, tothe event.Hundreds moreare expected totravel by car.

“One of thegood thingscoming out of thisis the big reunionof Vincentians,”she said.

EdsonAugustus, thedeputy St.Vincent and theGrenadines’ NewYork Consul,speaking onbehalf of ConsulGeneral Selmon

Walters, chairman of theorganizing committee, agreed

that the crowd at the unitypicnic will triple this year.

“This year, certainly, ourexpectation will be three timesthe amount from last year,because the word has gonearound,” he told THEVINCENTIAN. “It has grownbeyond our expectations”.

Augustus said nationalswill also be traveling fromCanada and even home to partfor the historic affair.

Former presidents of thePhiladelphia-based St. Vincentand the GrenadinesOrganization of Pennsylvania(SVGOP), James Cordice andArlette Dopwell-James, arecoordinating the Pennsylvanialeg of the trip.

“I feel great that we, inPennsylvania, can be part of

it,” said Cordice, who is alsoSVOP’s coordinator of St.Vincent and the Grenadines’participation in the popularPenn Relays.

“I just hope we can worktogether to make it as big asthe 1,000 Is. (Unity) Picnic (inBrown’s Bay, Ontario,Canada),” he added.

Over the years, SVGOP andCOSAGO have beencollaborating in organizing bustrips to the Vincy Unity Picnicin Canada that attracts, onaverage, 18-20,000 nationals.

Like last year, organizershave planned a full day ofactivities, includingentertainment by local socaand calypso artistes, duringSaturday’s massive VincyUnity Picnic in New York.

Part of the crowd in attendance at last year’s N.Y. VincyPicnic.

Laverne Mc Dowald-Thompson, Presidentof COSAGO, sayspeople have beeninquiring about how toget to the venue.

Thousandsexpected forVincy N.Y. Picnic

by KENVILLE HORNE

GENERAL MANAGER atLIME, Leslie Jack, hasaccused Digicel, LIMETelecommunicationscompetitor, of lying aboutoffering the cheapest rate,and reiterated that hiscompany, in fact, has thecheapest rate.

Jack’s pronouncement,at a press conference onTuesday 13th August, will,according to observers, re-intensify the battlebetween LIME and Digicelin the local market, if notthe regional one.

Doing away with theformal language withwhich he opened hisstatement at lastTuesday’s pressconference, Jack declared:“When dem talk bout demha the cheapest rate, theylied.”

This, of course, was inresponse to Digicel’scountry Manager, Sean

Latty’s statement in thelocal newspapers, in whichhe denigrated LIME’s‘Rate Test’ , referring to itas “not correct”.

Jack took further aimat Latty and Digicel byreferring to a NationalTelecommunicationsRegulatory Commission(NTRC) full pagenewspaper advertisement(see THE VINCENTIANof August 9, 2013, page13), in which the NTRCpublished the rates of bothcompanies, by saying thatthe advertisement wasclear evidence that LIMEcustomers were paying 60cents a minute both onlocal calls and regionalcalls, while Digicelcustomers were paying 86cents, 26 cents more.

“So when Digicel writesto LIME and tell thepeople of SVG that theyhave the lowest rate in themarket and LIME issupposedly misleading

consumers, they arelying,” repeated Jack.

The LIME managernoted that the informationcontained in theadvertisement was what“Digicel send to them, soNTRC could only publishinformation that youprovided,” added Jack.

In response to LIME’srecent implementation of a60 cent per minute rate,Digicel countered with anadvertisement rate of 59cent per minute rate.

However, Jackdenounced suchundertaking by Digicel,referring to it as a

promotion that requires a‘divinity code’ to access.

According to Jack,LIME will contue to takethis issue to the public,since they viewed it assignificant to allVincentians.

An attempt to get aresponse from Digicel

24. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

NewsVÂDigicel is lying,Êsays LIME Manager

2013 CSEC: Theresults are in!AFTER WHAT SOMESTUDENTS described asa “long wait”, thepreliminary results of the2013 May/June CaribbeanSecondary EducationCertificate (CSEC) of theCaribbean ExaminationsCouncil were released lastMonday, August 12th.

From all reports, manyschools showed differing levels of individual increasesover past performances on the exam, with upwardpercentages especially over the last two years.

An overall analysis showed that, of the eleventhousand, five hundred and seventeen (11,517) subjectentries, in thirty-three subject areas from a total oftwenty-six secondary schools, 69% of these receivedGrades I to III. The corresponding figures for 2011and 2012 were 67% and 67% respectively.

Four schools who recorded performances of 80% andover were: the Girls’ High School with 96.43%; the St.Vincent Grammar School with 94.06%; the St.Joseph’s Convent Kingstown with 88.27%; and theThomas Saunders Secondary School with 80.18%.There were twelve other schools which recordedcreditable pass rates between 60% and 80%.

These performances are indeed commendable, butthere are also other schools that have performed wellagainst their own previous performances, for whichdata is not readily available.

A release coming out of the Ministry of Educationreports though, that one such school, the Sandy BaySecondary School, has shown the most remarkableimprovement in performance in this year’sexamination. While last year’s figures show a passrate of 34.22%, the 2013 figure registered at 45.90%.This showed a total increase of some 11.68%.

In next week’s publication, THE VINCENTIAN willhighlight individual performances of students whohave gone the extra mile to achieve numerous passeswith excellent grades, which would have caused theoverall increase in performance of their particularschools.

Leslie Jack, GeneralManager at LIME, didnot mince his wordsabout disparaging thecompetition’sannouncement ofhaving the cheapestrates.

YouthV

by GLORIAH

AT THE CLOSING CEREMONY of the SVGRotary Club’s Young EmployeesSocialization (YES) Training Programme,twelve young participants showcased theemployability skills they had acquired tothose gathered to witness their passingout.

The ceremony was held at the SVGCommunity College Division ofTechnical Vocational Education onMonday, 12th August, after a week-long workshop from Monday 5th toFriday 9th.

Participation

Groups of participants took to thestage to simulate activities whichyoung people may encounter in theworld of work. The main issuestackled were preparation for the jobinterview; what a prospectiveemployee should or should not doduring a job interview; assessinginterviewees after an interview; andsexual harassment on the job.

While some of these encountersproved to be very humorous, each onecarried an excellent and seriousmessage.

After each session was completed,the participants took the time toverbalize their impressions of whatthey had gleaned during the previousweek.

The participants were:Omesha Spence, TamekaDaSouza, Royson Ollivierre,Mikel Marksman, SheniceWilson, Shanique Hoyte,Bijorn Bullock, CyrilinePrescott, Mylz Williams,Priscilla Stapleton, ShontellLewis, and Zenila Chance.

Programming

The Young EmployeesSocialization (YES) initiativeis a partnership between theEastern Caribbean Instituteof Banking and FinancialServices, Rotary Club of St.Vincent and the Bank of NovaScotia. It coversemployability fundamentalsfor high school graduates,

graduates of the St. VincentCommunity College, and youngrecruits interested in pursuing acareer in the commercial banking andfinancial services sector and othercommercial areas, and serves to assistthese businesses with theirperformance improvement efforts byproviding new employees withpractical knowledge and insights thatgo beyond the narrow confines of joborientation.

The Workshop topics coveredincluded: ‘An overview of the local,regional and international businessenvironment’; ‘How to project apositive business image’; ‘Basics ofquality customer service’; ‘Businessbasics’; ‘Work habits and etiquette’;‘Interpersonal skills’; ‘Responsibility,goal setting and self-esteem’; ‘Careerpathing, including occupation-specificdetails’; ‘Personal service statementand standards’; and ‘Personalfinancial management’.

The Certificates of Participationwere handed out by Mr. Earl Tash,President of Rotary SVG and Mr.Basil Alexander, Treasurer; with Ms.Lidia Williams, new member of RotarySVG, doing the officiating.

Two participants, Cyriline Prescottand Bijorn Bullock, received monetaryawards for their excellence inperformance during the workshop.

Rotary YES Programmeconcludes Below: Participants into

one of their simulationexercises.

Cyriline Prescott (right) and Bijorn Bullock -top performers in the Workshop.

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THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. 25.

26. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. 27.V

by E. GLENFORD PRESCOTT

PRESIDENT OF THE SVG CricketAssociation Julian Jack has admittedthat his organisation has fallen short ofsome of its objectives as it seeks toadvance the game here.

Speaking to THE VINCENTIAN onWednesday, Jack indicated that, whilehe is generally happy with the waythings have progressed, there certainlyis a lot more to be done.

“We must say that we have tried,and the fact that we can say that wehave more to do is a sign that we areprepared to make the effort…TheSuper40 for example is one of the newtournaments we have introduced andit will be played out of town (at thePark Hill Playing Field) and this isbeing done to encourage people to takethe game into the rural areas”, Jacksaid.

The Super40 will see the three topteams in the Premier Division alongwith the newly promoted team fromthe First Division competing over twoweekends in forty overs knockoutaffairs.

Jack said the rules of thiscompetition which gets going atmonthend will see teams beingafforded the opportunity to includethree players in their lineup who werenot part of their team for the domesticseason. He said that depending on howthings take shape with regard tosponsorship, there could be anambitious expansion where players

from the otherWindward Islandsmay be recruited bylocal teams.

Friends not so friendly

Looking at theother localcompetitions, Jack was concerned thatthe local tournaments are getting offto late starts when things have beenput in place to facilitate an earlycommencement, and lauded therelationship that the Association nowhas with the National Sports Council.

He expressed some disappointmentwith the level of support that theAssociation is getting from the‘Friends of Female Cricket’, towardsthe organising of the women’s gamehere.

The ‘Friends of Female Cricket’ isan organisation which, according toreports, was hastily formed just priorto the dissolution of the WomenCricket Association, and inherited theLotto Booth previously owned by thelatter.

Reports say that they had given anundertaking to contribute towards themanaging and organising of the

women’s game here but,based on Jack’s responseto questions, indicationsare that they have notbeen honouring thiscommitment.

Jack said he did not

wish to cast any negative shadow overthe organisation, but the contributioncould be more than what is beinggiven now.

Another area of concern to thepresident was the fall off in the agegroup tournaments, including those inthe schools.

The President attributed theproblem as partly the responsibilitiesof both the Ministries of Educationand of Sports, whom he accused of notshowing enough initiative in trying toget things in place to have thesetournaments.

Commentators here have beenhighly critical of the Association forwhat is described as its shambolicUnder15 tournament, which saw onlyplayers from one part of the islandtaking part and therefore, only thosebeing available for selection.

Jack said that the situation whichtook place was unfortunate and, basedon information from the committee,this was as a result of a number ofproblems, with communications beingone of those.

SVG placed last in the WindwardsU15 Tournament, failing to win amatch.

THE SKILLS OF UNDER15cricketers in the NorthLeeward are expected to befine-tuned after theirinvolvement in a three-weekcoaching camp organized bythe North Leeward SportsAssociation (NLSA).

Julius Anthony, the co-ordinator of theprogramme, said that it isa continuation of wherethe NLSP left off a coupleyears back.

“In North Leeward, weused to produce a numberof national Under15 and19 cricketers, but withinrecent time, we have notbeen able to do so. Ibelieve this was due to theabsence of such aprogramme,” Anthonysaid.

Anthony also alluded to theLocal Cricket Association’shosting of the Zonal Under15programme during theJuly/August vacation, butnoted that for the past threeyears or so, the programmewas not held.

“As a result we are thinkingif we do a coaching programmearound this time it will serveas a spring board from whichthe village teams can be

strengthenedforparticipation innext year’sNorth LeewardUnder15

competition,” Anthonyexplained.

‘The ultimate goal is to beable to put back some playerson the national Under15 andthe Under19 teams, theWindward Islands andpossibly the West Indies team.Some of them will also end upin the VINLEC North LeewardTournament where they willplay for their senior villageteams,” added Anthony.

Also cited as a reason for

staging the camp the intentionto help curb the socialproblems in the community.As far as Anthony isconcerned, youngsters occupiedin this manner will mean theyhave less time to be temptedinto lives of crime.

The program, which startedearlier this week, is expectedto run for three weeks at thePetit Bordel Playing Field,from 9am to 12 noon.

Assisting as instructors areSt Clair Bramble, RoniqueLaBorde, Ian Allen, AlstonBobb and an Executive of theNLSP.

I.B.A.ALLEN

IN A SEMI-FINALMATCH of the BrooklynCricket League lastweekend, Donwell Hectorand Mark Audain sharedin a 232 record openingpartnership to helppropel Middlesex to a 148runs win over StCatherine.

Middlesex won the tossand elected to bat. Theyposted 284 for seven from35 overs, led by anaggressive 142 fromWindward Islands batsman,Donwell Hector. This was histhird century for the season. Itincluded 20 fours and 1 six,while his opening partner,former SVG all-rounder MarkAudain, stroked 72 with 9 fours.

In reply, St. Catherinereached 136 for 7 wickets, from29 overs, losing 6 overs for theirlate start. Donwell Hector

opened the bowling with hismedium pace and captured 2wickets for 57 runs. M. Hofmasbatted with some determinationfor 27, while S. Maughn dealt afighting 24, and skipper DonParris showed some fight with agritty 21. Off spinner TreldonMcMillan took 2 for 13 runs.

I.B.A.ALLEN

Jack wants more help forfemale cricket

Julian Jack, President of the SVGCricket Association, admits that thebusiness of Women’s cricket hereleaves something to be desired.

Female cricketers here may not be getting their fairshare of attention.

Anthony upbeat about U15 camp

Left: Jules Anthony, Co-ordinator of the U15Cricket Camp, views it as an exercise inmore than cricket.

Some of the Uunder15 players involved inthe Camp.

Hector runs amok in Brooklyn

Donwell Hector (left) and Mark Audainon their way to the wicket where theyproceeded to register a record-breaking partnership.

THIS Country’s Under-15 National Football team ispresently competing in the CONCACAF Under-15Championship, which is taking place in the CaymanIslands.

The Championship, which runs from August 15 —25, is being played at three venues in GrandCayman.

Participating teams in this, the inaugural under-15 event, come from across the Caribbean andCentral America, and include Aruba, the Bahamas,Belize, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, El Salvador,Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras,Jamaica, Martinique, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, St.Lucia, St. Martin, St. Maarten, St. Vincent,Trinidad & Tobago, and the US Virgin Islands.

The Championship is an initiative of CONCACAFPresident Jeffrey Webb, with a view towardsstrengthening the game at the youth levels amongall of the Confederation’s members.

Teams are divided into 4 groups. The SVG teamis grouped with Haiti, Martinique, Puerto Rico, ElSalvador and Antigua and Barbuda in group D ofthe preliminary round.

The top sides will qualify to a knockout roundwhich will yield the regional champion at this level.

The SVG contingent reads: Kaicy Peniston,

Derron Rouse, Tevin Daivs, Timon McKie, KewonClarke, Marcus Dennie, John Compton, Dylon,Joyn, Jante James, Avanzini Victory, Jamal Bishop,Carlos Solomon, Trey Prince, Jacal Samuel,Chrstopher Harry, Nyron Butcher, Javil Lewis andMark Charles, along with Christopher Harry,former national defender (Head Coach), RohanThomas Jr. (Manager), Lason Lewis (AssistantManager) and Keith Ollivierre (Technical Director).

I.B.A.ALLEN

SportsV 28. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

by E. GLENFORDPRESCOTT

ST. VINCENT TABLETENNIS officials areconfident of putting up agood showing at the twochampionships later thismonth in St. Lucia.

St. Lucia will be thehost country of both theOECS and CaribbeanChampionships set torun from August 24th toSeptember 1st.

The OECSTournament will beplayed from August 24thto 25th, while theCaribbeanChampionships will takeplace from August 27thto 31st.

Following a weekendof play-offs, the localTable Tennis Associationselected a nine-playerand a three-officialcontingent to representSVG at the tournaments.

The squad includesfour senior men inveterans RobertBallantyne and JosephCarrington, along withthe fast improvingRomano Spencer and thetalented butinconsistent KamalHunte.

Two junior playerswere also selected in thepersons of Kavir Gaymesand and 14-year oldJavier DeShong.

The female selectionsare national championUnica Velox, TishaunMathews and KarenBrowne.

Sean Stanley, asexpected, travels as thecoach. Newly electedpresident, Tyrone Jack,travels as manager andDamion Dublin travels in

what appears to be thenew found role ofUmpire/player.

A release from theSVG Table TennisAssociation reports Jackas saying that he expectsthe team to play well andgive a good account ofthemselves.

According to therelease, Jack said that“the two young men, inJavier Deshong andKavir Gaymes, will beexposed to a much higherlevel of competition andshould learn a great dealfrom the overseasexposure.”

The release alsoreported Coach Stanleyas stating that “the teamis well-balanced andstrategically poised toperform at the highest

level.”Stanley, according to

the release, added thattechnically speaking, heis confident that theywill play to the best oftheir ability and do theircountry proud.

SVG’s lastparticipation in theOECS Championshipswas in 2011 when theSVGTTA hosted theevent and captured theMen’s Open Singles titlethrough Ballantyne andthe Mens Doubles titleby way of Kamal Hunte& Romano Spencer.Carrrington also reachedthe semi-finals of themen’s singles but wasbeaten by Ballantyne.

This is the first timethat the SeniorCaribbean

Championships would beplayed in the OECS.

Full squad- Men’sTeam: Robert Ballantyne(Captain), JosephCarrington, RomanoSpencer. Kamal Hunte;Kavir Gaymes (Junior),Javier Deshong (Under15).

Females: KarenBrowne, Unica Velox,Tishuan Matthews.

Officials- Tyrone Jack(Manager), Sean Stanley(Coach), Damion Dublin(Umpire/Player).

DUKE continued their rampage through BequiaBasketball last weekend, with another two wins.

Ishama McKree came up big once more for Dukein the First Division, as they recorded 94 — 64 and69 — 65 victories over Rising Stars and EastBlazers respectively, in the 2013 VitaMalt BequiaBasketball Competition.

McKree accounted for 26 points, 5 assists and 3steals against Rising Stars and 18 points, 3rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals against EastBlazerss.

Kirstin Lampkin had 21 points for Rising Starsand Michael Peniston 19 points for East Blazers.

In the other First Division match-up, MichealPeniston scored 25 points to lead East Blazers to a57 to 38 victory over Warriaz.

The Second Division matches opened with actionresulting in Young Duke defeating Rising Stars11, 70 to 57. Top performer for Young Duke wasDonis Baptiste with 26 points, 7 steals, 1 blocksand 1 assist, while the leading scorer for RisingStars 11 was Shar Foyle with 22 points.

Also in the Second Division, Blazing Heatdefeated Young Duke 69 to 52, Denroy Hutchinsgetting 14 points for Blazing Heat and YoungDuke’s Jefferson Goodluck, 19 points.

In the Under 16 division, Hawks, like Duke, hadtwo wins. They defeated Dragons 32 to 29 withCody Compton dominating with 20 points, 10rebounds, 9 steals and 2 blocks, and returned toregister a 38 to 23 win over Rockets, Comptonagain leading with 16 points.

Rockets had some consolation when theydefeated Titans 35 to 28. Selisha Hazell led thescoring for Rockets with 12 points. Kirsty Baileyregistered 13 points for Titans.

Titans also came out of defeat to record a victoryagainst Young Wizards. Kirsty Bailey had 11 ofTitans 30 points, and Jerome John also 11 forYoung Wizards.

Competition continues this weekend at the CliveTannis Playing Field.

I.B.A.ALLEN

Duke on a rampage in Bequia

VINCENTIAN tennis player,Akeil De Roche of the GrassrootTennis Club (GTC), rekindledsome respect for Vincy tennis inthe region, when he dominatedthe Boys Under 10 Tournament atthe recently concluded Coca ColaTournament in St Lucia.

De Roche entered themain draw, having won his groupin the round robin stage, butremained unseeded and was givena bye in the quarters, where hemet Jordan Hunte of St. Lucia inthe semi-finals. Hunte haddefeated 4th seeded Seth Josephof Antigua to proceed to the semi-final round.

Akeil De Roche dismissedHunte, 6 — 0 and moved on to thefinals where he met 2nd seededMax Williams. Williams’ presencein the final round came about

through his defeat of the number1 seed, Aiden Bosquet of St.Lucia, in the first semi-finalmatch.

The brilliant Vincentian, DeRoche continued to break throughwith a 6 — 2 victory over Williams,to take the title.

De Roche’s team mate, Rio,Connell, captured the Boys’Consolation Title, while AntonioCaine was able to work his way tothe semi-final round in the BoysUnder-12.

The team returned home lastFriday, 9th August, from St.Lucia. It was led by AssistantCoach Khir Huggins.

Support for the team came fromC.K. Greaves, Scotia Bank,Deputy Commissioner of PoliceFrankie Joseph, and the GTCfund-raising team.

Romano Spencer hasmade markedimprovement in hisgame.

Kamal Hunte isconsidered to be one ofthe more talentedplayers to have comethrough the ranks inrecent times.

Karen Browne will betested at this level.

SVG table tennis officials confident

The GTC contingent: (front L-R)Che Connell and Akeil De Roche(U10 winner); (Middle L-R) RioConnell and Anthonio Cain;(Back) Khir Huggins (Ass’tCoach).

SVG re-building respect in OECS tennis

SVG U-15 footballers off to CONCACAF

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. 29.

30. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

ClassifiedsV

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013. 31.

ClassifiedsV

DRUE MORRIS

St. Mary’s Anglican Church

BuccamentTuesday

13th August, 20131:00 p.m.

WINSTON TOBY

Church of God of Prophecy

Monday 12th August, 2013

3:00 p.m.

DUNCAN SIMON

Age: 77St. Paul’s Anglican

ChurchCalliaqua

Friday 9th August, 2013

Service at 3:00 p.m.

VELTIE CORNETTA EDWARDS

Layou Miracle ChurchTuesday

13th August, 2013Service at 2:00 p.m.

EPANETHA SCENA GILL-VEIRA

Kingstown Gospel Hall

Sunday 11th August, 2013Service at 3:00 p.m.

by HAYDN HUGGINS

UP TO PRESS TIME Wednesday, attorneyGrant Connell had received no responseto a letter he had written, dated August5, 2013, to the prison authoritiesconcerning the health of inmates at HerMajesty’s Prison, Kingstown.

When contacted on Wednesday,Acting Superintendent of PrisonsDennis Williams told THEVINCENTIAN that he was still inpossession of the letter, asSuperintendent of Prisons LinusGoodluck was on leave.

In the letter, Connell stated that hewas informed by several of his clientscurrently on remand at Her Majesty’sPrison that, “there is a presence ofrats in areas of the prison where foodis stored and consumed, and that theinmates are bitten by blood-suckinginsects while in their cells at nights,resulting in lesions to their skin.”

The letter also stated, “To say atleast, this is cause for great concern,not only to the inmates on remand,who are innocent until proven guilty,but to prison officers as well, since Itrust you will agree that the rodents

don’t choose whose belongings theydefecate or urinate on; therefore youare all at risk”.

Money for fumigation

Connell revealed, in the letter, “Ihave taken the liberty in contactingthe proprietor of Flick Pest Controland they have indicated that theywould be able to fumigate the entireproperty at the approximate cost ofEC$200 per room/cell. This amount, Iam sure, is negotiable, given thenature of the institution and the role itplays in our society.”

The letter added, “In this harsheconomic climate, there may be limitsto the budget of your good office;therefore, I humbly suggest youcontact the Human Rights Associationand the Bar Association with a greatdegree of urgency, in your quest tooffset this cost. Given the nexusbetween certain members of the latteraforementioned Association, in thatmany of their clients are within thewalls of the institution, I trust yourrequest would trigger their socialconscience in addressing the issue and

would be a catalyst in the process ofraising the necessary funds.”

The letter concluded, “In my humbleopinion, this is a very serious matter,and hopefully you would give it yourserious and urgent attention. If I canbe of any assistance, please contact mychambers at your convenience.”

The letter was addressed toSuperintendent of Prisons LinusGoodluck, and copied to PrimeMinister and Minister of NationalSecurity Dr. Ralph Gonsalves; Directorof Public Prosecutions (DPP) ColinWilliams; Permanent Secretary in thePrime Minister’s Office GodfreyPompey; President of the BarAssociation Dr. Linton Lewis;President of the Human RightsAssociation Nicole Sylvester; ChiefMagistrate Sonya Young, andInspector Adolphus Delpleche, ChiefProsecution Services.

Former inmate speaks

The issue was highlighted on thefront page of last Friday’s publicationof THE VINCENTIAN, in an articleheadlined ‘Prisoners complain of rat,

bug invasion’, in which the newspaperreported an interview with formerinmate Nigel ‘Third World’ Regisford.According to Regisford, there is aninfestation of rats, cockroaches andbugs at the Prison, and some inmateshad contracted leptospirosis but hadbeen cured.

When contacted by THEVINCENTIAN last week Tuesday, andon Wednesday this week, the ActingPrison boss denied knowledge of a ratand bug infestation at the male penalinstitution, and indicated there wereno reports of leptospirosis there.

He admitted that rats are in thearea and could be seen running aroundjust outside the gates to the prisoncompound. But he could not saywhether they were on the prisoncompound, as he is not there at nights,and had not received any reports inthis regard.

He told THE VINCENTIAN onWednesday, “It is not only around theprison there are rats; there are rats inthe market and all about.”

He said it seems as though somepeople want to make a political issueof it. He reiterated that Vector Controlpersonnel usually visit the prison, andwere there up to Monday.

NO RESPONSE FROMPRISON AUTHORITIES

FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013 VOLUME 107, No.33 www.thevincentian.com EC$1.50

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Published by The VINCENTIAN Publishing Co. Ltd, St. Vincent and the Grenadines; Printed by the SVG Publishers Inc., Campden Park.

The National Newspaper of St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Her Majesty’s Prison, Kingstown (background) is said to be running over withrats and ‘blood-sucking’ insects.

Attorney Grant Connell has had noresponse to his letter regarding thehealth situation at Her Majesty’sPrison, Kingstown.

Acting Superintendent ofPrisons Dennis Williamsadmitted that rats could be seenrunning around outside thegates to the prison compound.