Repatriating & Cultivating Bahamian Talent
by Simon
There are significant reserves of Bahamian capital, human and financial, currently abroad. That capital has been attracted to various overseas opportunities and markets able to utilize and often better reward such potential. This has resulted in a brain and financial capital drain on the country.
None of this is unique to us. Yet, The Bahamas must devise its own strategies to repatriate these resources, providing opportunities for such capital to be rewarded. Just as we target foreign direct investment and qualified international talent, we should do likewise with both Bahamian investment potential and talent resident abroad.
Of necessity, our greater, though not singular, emphasis is on attracting foreign direct investment to help capitalize our growth and development. Our developmental equation also requires world-class Bahamian talent.
This will require improved educational and training opportunities for Bahamians at home. It must also include an aggressive, consistent and sophisticated programme of recruitment of Bahamian talent around the world. This should include a database or registry of such talent from around the world.
The global Bahamian talent pool is considerable for such a small country. History and geography have, in many ways, been good to us. We have often returned the favour. Because of our strategic location and historical experience we have developed a resilient nation and a creative and diverse talent pool.
Despite an often indulged penchant for insularity, there is a cosmopolitan spirit to The Bahamas. Three things are inevitable for Bahamians: death, taxes and getting a passport.
Despite xenophobic sentiments, inward migration has generally been beneficial to the country in terms of diversifying our genetic pool. Scratch the surface and most of us are a few generations removed from being from somewhere else, despite the pretensions of some.
GENETIC DIVERSITY
The delusion of a superior or singular Bahamian identity or pedigree is historically and genetically dubious. The Bahamas DNA Project is revealing the fascinating extent of our genetic diversity. Like America, we are a relatively new and evolving people. Being a true-true Bahamian includes an acculturation into the values and ethos of the Bahamian spirit, not a genetic identify test.
It is a matter of pride and maturity that The Bahamas elected as Prime Minister, Sir Lynden Pindling, a Father of the Nation, the son of a Jamaican father and Bahamian mother. Those who deemed him insufficiently Bahamian demonstrated an unBahamian spirit antithetical to our larger national experience.
As a dynamic and global crossroads, we have produced a talent pool able to punch way above our small population. The Bahamian David has Goliathan ambitions, cleverly using core strengths to create outsized achievements.
In a revealing analysis of the medal count following the 2004 Athens Olympics, for a country of under 400,000. The Economist discovered that in terms of medals per million of population The Bahamas was not only first in the world. It was also significantly ahead of the parade of nations in achieving Olympic glory. As our medal count continues to climb so does the number of Bahamian Rhodes Scholars.
One of those scholars, Christian Campbell, recently won the best first collection prize at the Aldeburgh poetry festival in the UK for his book of poetry, Running the Dusk. The book was described by one festival judge as “the clear stand-out” among the many volumes read for the award. Campbell received a cheque prize of £3,000 and has been shortlisted for the Forward Prize for best collection.
Janine Antoni, hailing from Grand Bahama has had her work displayed in New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) as well as other notable museums and galleries. She has also received several prestigious awards including a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship.
Our recipe for success includes two key ingredients: Much of our talent has been nurtured at home and further developed overseas. We have had considerable global exposure and training, participating in international competition in various arenas from the arts to sports to academics to the business world.
Moreover, we should better acknowledge and further enhance the seeds, fertile soil and home-grown ingredients for our world-class success. The double equation of nurturing our talent at home and abroad has a third element in an ever-expanding equation of success.
REPATRIATION
Financial remittances from overseas nationals to their home nations are a significant portion of the gross domestic product of many countries. Similarly, the repatriation of human capital and talent will help to significantly boost our treasury of talent and training opportunities for Bahamians.
Devard Darling’s generosity is an example. Born in Nassau, this professional football player in the U.S. began the “As the One Foundation”, which sponsors the Devard and Devaughan Football Camps. The camps promote the interest of young Bahamians in American football.
Myron Rolle, the scholar-athlete, Rhodes Scholar and professional football player, is also lending his talent to his Bahamian homeland. He has launched the Myron L. Rolle Foundation and plans to open a free health clinic in Steventon, Exuma.
The clinic will be called the Myron L. Rolle Medical Clinic and Sports Complex after this young man with Bahamian roots who was named in September by Sporting News as the second smartest athlete in sports in the United States.
In addition to philanthropy at home by Bahamians overseas, The Bahamas is a highly-rich economy with significant and often untapped potential in multiple growth areas that may be filled by Bahamians abroad.
There are potential consultancies for those who may decide not to return home permanently, but who have a variety of specialty services to offer. Others, returning home, may seek to fill various jobs requiring specialty skills as well as a second and often third language or more. Yet others may want to open their own professional firms and businesses.
EXPERTISE
As the country continues to develop, significant specialty areas remain under- populated by Bahamian talent. There is a demand for a variety of skill-sets for major infrastructural projects.
Among others, these include project management, specialty engineering skills as well as individuals with experience in designing and producing environmental and social impact assessments for small island states. Other areas include expertise in sustainable tourism and heritage preservation, a range of environmental and marine sciences, as well as communications technologies and the life sciences.
The country should also be looking for Bahamian talent at home and abroad to administer and provide professional services to various agencies such as the Nassau Airport Development Company. A programme for the Bahmianization of NAD should be a part of the company’s mid- to long-term planning.
As The Bahamas continues to prepare for the development and management of our own air traffic region, the development of investment, consulting and job opportunities for Bahamians, at home and abroad, is a matter of priority.
Such a strategic focus on cultivating and providing training for Bahamians may serve as a model for other areas of national life. It will also provide enhanced opportunities for a Bahamian talent pool teeming with possibilities and desirous of avenues for success.
November 15, 2010
bahamapundit
An International Caribbean Online Log about the news and opinions in the Americas and World. This Caribbean Blog of global reach and appeal is maintained by Bahamian Blogger - Dennis Dames with all readers and subscribers in mind.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
What does the emergence of a unified, anti-American, Europe-oriented trade bloc mean?
Good morning Europe, Goodbye America, because when the people are starving democracy is just a word
It is clear that the new trend in Latin America is… Buenos dias Europe, Adios America, pero quando o povo esta morrendo de fome, a democracia e’ so uma palavra”.
By Rebecca Theodore
If argument persists that a state cannot be fully understood if it is isolated from its historical development, then the transition from democracy to authoritarianism for Latin American countries implies that there must be a constant rewriting of the social contract based on new social and economic relations that are continually emerging in Latin America. Paradoxically, the return of democracy from authoritarianism not only demonstrates that ‘a government is legitimate if and only if no better feasible policy exists’ but also exhibits the fact that it is possible for democracies to be authoritarian as well.
Opponents have argued that Latin American state formation is more closely aligned with European state patterns due to colonial influences from the fifteenth century and it is to Western Europe that one needs to turn in order to uncover the roots of the embryonic parallel. However, it must be remembered that the US has also been deeply ingrained in Latin American affairs since 1823, when President James Monroe created the Monroe Doctrine to keep European powers out of the New World. In light of this, America’s reputation as the great superpower of the Andes and the savior of protectionism and liberalism is now viewed in Latin America as a policy of imperialism and a sign of utter weakness.
While China’s ideological connection of communism and socialism weakens US power in Latin America, it is evident that the European trade bloc is now Latin America’s primary trade partner. Latin American trade group Mercosur is the only multinational continent in the world to be united by a common linguistic background, a common culture, and a common religion factor making South America’s path to assimilation a lot smoother into the congregation of the European States of Europe. The legal structure of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) not only unites South America’s two major trade blocs -- Mercosur and the Andean Community -- but has now launched a South American Defense Council, unlike a NATO alliance to mediate regional conflicts and defense from foreign intervention and excludes the US from military planning in the region.
Moreover, Latin America is far more important to Europe as an industrial base than as a simple trade partner. The giant storehouse of timber, natural gas, crude oil, minerals, precious metals, and iron in the region from the Rio Grande to Terra del Fuego are resources that Europe needs in its ascension to world supremacy. The completion of the largest steel-producing complex in Brazil by ThyssenKrupp means steel products will be actively churned out to be sold to Germany and South American countries, with Venezuela as the principal buyer. This also means that the US-backed Área de Libre Comercio de las Américas (FTAA) is dead. Estados de América Latina ha creado su propio barrio, y los Estados Unidos de América no es parte de ella. (Latin American states have created their own neighborhood and the US is not a part of it.)
It is clear that anti-Americanism is now the common premise across every political party in Latin and South America. While Evo Morales is rapidly following Chavez’s lead by nationalizing Bolivia’s oil and gas in a move that reverberates that of Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe’s land for grab deals, the newly elected president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff is just a hand-chosen puppet of wildly popular President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s policies. With huge oil reserves recently discovered off Brazil’s coast, and with a rare earth debate gaining momentum between China and Germany that excludes American interest, Rousseff inherits an economy that is among the world's hottest emerging markets and this means that it will need more than a party shift in the US House of Representatives to advance bilateral relationship.
Hugo Chávez on the other hand has, without doubt, polarized Venezuela’s society and intellectual debate by undermining civil liberties, threatening the continuity of democratic governance, hence his accompaniment of a repulsive episode of an ALBA alliance that provided Honduran president Manuel Zelaya and Ecuadoran Rafael Correa with a foretaste of how to rewrite the constitution and establish authoritarian rule in Honduras, leaving a Honduran legislature buried in turmoil and controversy over US intelligence officials bribing Ecuadoran police, and recruiting informants among them. Argentina, Peru, Uruguay, Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, and Chile are all offering radical transformation and presenting different alternatives to deal with the consequences of economic reforms.
Now that the US has lost Latin America to Europe and China as primary trade partners also means that the Republicans’ tsunami win in the House of Representatives will prove that Barack Obama is not suffering the blunders of a political double standard on the economy as has been so widely anticipated. As Republicans embrace their ambitious legislative agenda they will in time notice that the U.S. economy is starving to death and reducing the deficit or the current unemployment rate of 9.6% and fighting the Great Recession is no magic but a sign of the times.
Trade with Latin America, coupled with other economic factors, has already started reading the eulogy of the US dollar, thereby exposing the grave danger of the economic reverberations that are just now beginning to shake the nucleus of the world’s financial systems. Regardless of what anyone says, this is not an Obama problem, it is a global problem -- “blame it on the economy stupid”. The only self-sustaining economic bloc is the establishment of an EU-style government and for this reason EU status must be fortified in the UN because Latin and South American states, Caribbean states and even Africa have no option other than complete reliance on the economic ties of a German-led EU, or cling to the apron strings of a Russo-China alliance in their quest for economic reforms.
Whether it means that economic reformers in the US need to employ authoritarian tactics to defend democratic processes or risk total failure or that democratic governments in Latin America are not authoritarian enough to defend positive economic reforms; it is clear that the new trend in Latin America is… Buenos dias Europe, Adios America, pero quando o povo esta morrendo de fome, a democracia e’ so uma palavra.” Good morning Europe, Goodbye America, because when the people are starving democracy is just a word.
November 15, 2010
caribbeannewsnow
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Bahamians welcome the arrival of Dr. Betsy Vogel-Boze as she is set to take the reins as President of the College/University of The Bahamas
A Welcome to Dr. Betsy Vogel-Bose
By Felix Bethel
The Bahama Journal
Perhaps it could not be otherwise.
This is the conclusion we have reached concerning the long awaited announcement that a new president was set to be appointed to lead the College of The Bahamas.
As some public relations script coming in recites: “..."The College of the Bahamas is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Betsy Vogel-Boze to President of The College of The Bahamas with effect from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2014.
The same script notes that, “The appointment of Dr. Earla Carey-Baines as President will come to an end on December 31, 2010. The College is greatly indebted to Dr. Carey-Baines, who will resume responsibilities as Dean, with effect from January 1, 2011...”
We are told that, “Dr. Vogel-Boze comes to The College with a wealth of experience in building and transforming tertiary academic institutions; that her experience in academic administration spans 20 years in multi-campus university structures, including most recently, Campus Dean and Chief Executive Officer of Kent State University Stark, where she is also a Professor in Marketing...”
We note that, “Kent Stark is a public liberal arts university offering baccalaureate and masters degrees. It has a student population of 5,400 enrolled in academic programmes and about 5,000 that enrol annually in executive education programmes...”
Note also that, “Dr. Vogel-Boze holds a PhD in Business Administration from The University of Arkansas, a Masters in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, both from Southern Methodist University. She currently holds the post of Senior Fellow at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), a leadership organization for 430 public colleges and universities...”
We welcome her to the Bahamas; and as we are being told, she will be welcomed to the College of the Bahamas.
While we do welcome this fine scholar to the Bahamas and while we do wish her all the best; we are still somewhat discomfited by the fact that, there was apparently no Bahamian scholar worth his or her salt to be considered for this post.
This is most regrettable.
In this regard, we are hearing say that, while there are Bahamians at home and abroad who might have filled the post; many did not apply because they could see no reason why they should expose themselves and their families for anything that might smack of small-mindedness and spite.
When we heard this, we were fascinated; thinking then that, this might explain so much about how Bahamians routinely denigrate their own while –at the same time – going to extreme lengths to validate, affirm and legitimate all that is foreign.
And yet, there is that voice that now tells us that, this might well be the way things are. By necessary extrapolation, things as they are might well express the strong views held by some who now lead; thus the decisions made in the name of the Bahamian people; and [perhaps] thus the current choice of Dr. Betsy Vogel-Boze to the post of President of The College of The Bahamas with effect from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2014.
And thus, as we have done in some other instances, so today we do as we join some other Bahamians who now welcome the arrival of Dr. Betsy Vogel-Boze as she is set to take the reins as President of the College/University of The Bahamas.
Evidently, this scholar did have what it took for her to be one of the three choices thrown up as finalists in a much-touted process aimed at finding someone who could lead the College at this time in its development.
From some of the bits and pieces we have been able to glean about some of what is happening and much that is clearly not happening; and for that matter, about some of what could and should be happening in the College; we are –at this juncture- not impressed.
The College of the Bahamas could have and indeed should have done far more than it has done across a span of three decades and more.
As far as we are concerned, the College could have and should have done more in areas like teaching, nursing and small business development.
In addition, the College could have and should have been far more proactive in deepening its students understanding of the importance of civic education to their formation as citizens in an independent Bahamas; and in the wider region.
But be that as it may, we are yet confident that the day will come when the College of The Bahamas will welcome one of its very own; a man or a woman – born and bred Bahamian – who will lead with distinction.
And so, as we await the coming of that day, we welcome Dr. Betsy Vogel-Boze to the Bahamas and the work that is ahead for her.
We wish her well.
The Bahama Journal
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Michaelle Jean and UNICEF
By Jean H Charles
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) may have made the wrong move in naming the brainy and attractive Canadian-Haitian Michaelle Jean, formerly the Governor General of Canada, as its representative in Haiti. She minced no words and wasted no time in letting the world know it is time to stop the successive failed experiments in Haiti.
During the year 2010, no country has benefited from so much publicity and marketing and goodwill as the Republic of Haiti. Yet the return for the Haitian people is so insignificant that proper research must be done to find out why a consortium of actors and actions keep contributing to bringing Haiti into an abyss so deep that light at the horizon cannot be seen.
January 12, 2010, was a defining moment for Haiti to be reborn from its recent and past ashes. In less than one minute, a formidable earthquake shook the land under the capital Port au Prince and destroyed lives and limb in a random pattern affecting some 1.5 million people and killing more than 300,000.
A proud and resilient nation that instructed the world about the way to human rights two hundred years ago has been engulfed in a national and international intrigue that now lasted two centuries. The last sixty years have been one of the most painful for the nation. I am a living witness of a country seeking its destiny but halted by dictators, military misfits, and petty demagogues clothed with democratic vestments in bed with an international community too cynical to be naïve about the caustic mix of the relationship.
The Haitian intellectuals -- those who should have led the masses -- have short-circuited the long march forward. Like the Israelites in the Bible they have escaped into Egypt. That Egypt was Canada for Michaelle Jean; it was the United States for me and my family. It has been the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, France and Florida for others.
Luckily, a critical mass of Haitian intellectuals is returning home to lead the fight for a regime change that implies more than a masquerade election. It signifies the creation of a nation at the dimension of its initial aspiration; a country hospitable to all. The obstacles are many. In the past sixty years the ill governance of the Duvaliers, the Aristides and the Prevals has elevated mediocrity and stupidity as queen and squalor as king of Haiti.
During a cursory visit to Haiti, whether in the countryside or in the main cities, you will find the indices of no government, as well as a myriad of nongovernmental organizations like chicken heads seeking a proper mission. The main highway from Port au Prince to Cape Haitian is impracticable halfway from Gonaives. Desolation, misery lack of institutional support is the lot of the small towns. Bidonvilization, lack of electricity, no potable running water, and sporadic street cleaning is the expectations for the major cities. Port au Prince the capital is a ghost town at night and a hodgepodge of traffic jams and confusion during the day.
This canvas is framed with a mammoth United Nations occupation contingent, with the soldiers ready to shoot from a mounted vehicle or war tank. The only casualty for those soldiers is the wearing of the heavy helmet in 80-degree weather at the dawn of winter.
The international community, with the OAS as the lead agent, is pushing full speed for the futile exercise of election, pretending that democracy is the goal. With a population in abject poverty, uneducated and without hope, the present government is ready and able to buy each vote with a crisp 1,000 gourdes or the equivalent of US$25. For the millions who live under tents and in the hills of the countryside, this sum represents a winning lotto ticket.
This is democracy a la OAS and a la UN. Michaelle Jean, like her namesake St Michael, who chased Satan and the evil angels from heaven, might represent a Trojan horse thrown into the city ready to become a fierce advocate of true democracy in Haiti. From the international podium she may be needed on the national one as the CEO of CRHI, the Haiti Reconstruction Authority that has been dragging its feet on the speedy recovery process.
To apprehend the real problem of the country one has to superpose a triangle over the map of Haiti. The basis of the triangle is formed with a line that includes the 566 rural villages. The second layer represents the 142 small towns. The third layer constitutes the 10 major cities and the capital Port au Prince as the apex.
The rural villages constitute the structural basis of the triangle. They have not received funding for infrastructure and institutional buildings since the birth of the nation. Consequently, the internal migration to the cities has compromised the integrated development. Catastrophes, erosion, public health outbreak are constant companions that visit the nation regularly.
My organization – AIDNOH – has teamed up with Caritas to launch a project of (re)building in the north and the northeast part of Haiti. We have targeted six rural villages to bring about the rudiments of infrastructure and services such as school, health, economic development, youth leadership to root the citizens in their localities. There are 560 more rural villages to reach with the indices of good living! Starting Haiti on the right tract must go through that process.
Note:
A fund called the blue and red (the color of the Haitian flag) angel has been set up to that effect. It is seeking the tax exempt contribution of one thousand angels who will pledge $100 per month for the reconstruction of Haiti starting from the bottom up not the top down. We have already found one angel (Pat Schenck from upstate New York) as such we need 999 more. Would you subscribe to that worthy cause?
November 13, 2010
caribbeannewsnow
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) may have made the wrong move in naming the brainy and attractive Canadian-Haitian Michaelle Jean, formerly the Governor General of Canada, as its representative in Haiti. She minced no words and wasted no time in letting the world know it is time to stop the successive failed experiments in Haiti.
During the year 2010, no country has benefited from so much publicity and marketing and goodwill as the Republic of Haiti. Yet the return for the Haitian people is so insignificant that proper research must be done to find out why a consortium of actors and actions keep contributing to bringing Haiti into an abyss so deep that light at the horizon cannot be seen.January 12, 2010, was a defining moment for Haiti to be reborn from its recent and past ashes. In less than one minute, a formidable earthquake shook the land under the capital Port au Prince and destroyed lives and limb in a random pattern affecting some 1.5 million people and killing more than 300,000.
A proud and resilient nation that instructed the world about the way to human rights two hundred years ago has been engulfed in a national and international intrigue that now lasted two centuries. The last sixty years have been one of the most painful for the nation. I am a living witness of a country seeking its destiny but halted by dictators, military misfits, and petty demagogues clothed with democratic vestments in bed with an international community too cynical to be naïve about the caustic mix of the relationship.
The Haitian intellectuals -- those who should have led the masses -- have short-circuited the long march forward. Like the Israelites in the Bible they have escaped into Egypt. That Egypt was Canada for Michaelle Jean; it was the United States for me and my family. It has been the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, France and Florida for others.
Luckily, a critical mass of Haitian intellectuals is returning home to lead the fight for a regime change that implies more than a masquerade election. It signifies the creation of a nation at the dimension of its initial aspiration; a country hospitable to all. The obstacles are many. In the past sixty years the ill governance of the Duvaliers, the Aristides and the Prevals has elevated mediocrity and stupidity as queen and squalor as king of Haiti.
During a cursory visit to Haiti, whether in the countryside or in the main cities, you will find the indices of no government, as well as a myriad of nongovernmental organizations like chicken heads seeking a proper mission. The main highway from Port au Prince to Cape Haitian is impracticable halfway from Gonaives. Desolation, misery lack of institutional support is the lot of the small towns. Bidonvilization, lack of electricity, no potable running water, and sporadic street cleaning is the expectations for the major cities. Port au Prince the capital is a ghost town at night and a hodgepodge of traffic jams and confusion during the day.
This canvas is framed with a mammoth United Nations occupation contingent, with the soldiers ready to shoot from a mounted vehicle or war tank. The only casualty for those soldiers is the wearing of the heavy helmet in 80-degree weather at the dawn of winter.
The international community, with the OAS as the lead agent, is pushing full speed for the futile exercise of election, pretending that democracy is the goal. With a population in abject poverty, uneducated and without hope, the present government is ready and able to buy each vote with a crisp 1,000 gourdes or the equivalent of US$25. For the millions who live under tents and in the hills of the countryside, this sum represents a winning lotto ticket.
This is democracy a la OAS and a la UN. Michaelle Jean, like her namesake St Michael, who chased Satan and the evil angels from heaven, might represent a Trojan horse thrown into the city ready to become a fierce advocate of true democracy in Haiti. From the international podium she may be needed on the national one as the CEO of CRHI, the Haiti Reconstruction Authority that has been dragging its feet on the speedy recovery process.
To apprehend the real problem of the country one has to superpose a triangle over the map of Haiti. The basis of the triangle is formed with a line that includes the 566 rural villages. The second layer represents the 142 small towns. The third layer constitutes the 10 major cities and the capital Port au Prince as the apex.
The rural villages constitute the structural basis of the triangle. They have not received funding for infrastructure and institutional buildings since the birth of the nation. Consequently, the internal migration to the cities has compromised the integrated development. Catastrophes, erosion, public health outbreak are constant companions that visit the nation regularly.
My organization – AIDNOH – has teamed up with Caritas to launch a project of (re)building in the north and the northeast part of Haiti. We have targeted six rural villages to bring about the rudiments of infrastructure and services such as school, health, economic development, youth leadership to root the citizens in their localities. There are 560 more rural villages to reach with the indices of good living! Starting Haiti on the right tract must go through that process.
Note:
A fund called the blue and red (the color of the Haitian flag) angel has been set up to that effect. It is seeking the tax exempt contribution of one thousand angels who will pledge $100 per month for the reconstruction of Haiti starting from the bottom up not the top down. We have already found one angel (Pat Schenck from upstate New York) as such we need 999 more. Would you subscribe to that worthy cause?
November 13, 2010
caribbeannewsnow
Friday, November 12, 2010
A look at CARICOM from outside the box
By A. Ludwig Ouenniche
It was with mixed feelings and a pinch of sadness that I learned about the stepping down of His Excellency Edwin Carrington from the helm of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) as of December 31, 2010. The only consolation I got was that he will finally have the opportunity to spend some quality time with his family and loved ones.
For the Caribbean Community, it is rather sad news, and soon the region will realize the dangerous impact of the vacuum that a transition could create. I do hope that His Excellency will have the strength to continue advising and guiding with a much better listening ear.
As observers, from outside the box, such as in our case, the Dutch OCTs, quite often we are flabbergasted by the lack of regional coherence in implementing the multiple CARICOM initiatives during the last two decades.
I would like to share with you some of these initiatives:
The CSME:
As the fundamental base in the objective of CARICOM, we have been noticing an incredible preparation work being done for the CSME. Multiple meetings, workshops, reports, protocols and agreements, most of which were approved and signed, unfortunately, we did also notice that often they were hardly officialised and implemented by the member states.
This has resulted in an obvious lack of regional interaction, collaboration and economic partnership. This form of stagnation has led to a substantial slow down in the region preparedness to compete in this era of world economic globalization.
Regardless of the obvious similarities of the region and notwithstanding the outside influence and pressure diplomatically or financially advising the region to do so, no real effort was ever been individually done by the member states to officially recognize the urgent need for a true regional economic and social integration, this is noticeable not only between the 15 CARICOM member states, but also with the rest of the region, Dutch, British, French and independent.
As an example, the two historic initiatives of His Excellency to officially visit Curacao and Sint Maarten, has not been followed by any other visit by any official from the 15 member states.
The Regional Public Private Partnership:
Recognizing the private sector as a fully-fledged partner, CARICOM has been a fervent promoter of dialogue, interaction and collaboration, not only with individual consultants but with almost all organizations representing the private sector.
From those dialogues during the last decades, several initiatives, directly or indirectly linked to the private sector, were established, such as the CARIFORUM, the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ), the Caribbean Business Council (CBC), the Caribbean Court of Justice, PANCAP, the Caribbean Development Fund and many initiatives in Agriculture including CAPA.
So many well designed tools that, unfortunately, are still not optimally functioning as they are intended to be? Such important mechanisms, that I hope Sint Maarten can make use of some of them in the near future.
The Regional SME Development:
Through the years of struggle of the SME sector, it is obvious that it is still not being considered vital for the economy. To date the regional SME development has never been a priority, individually and regionally.
As far as history can show, the SME topic was never even debated in any of the multiple heads of states meetings. The latest effort made by CARICOM to establish a private sector/SME desk within the Secretariat has yet to receive the proper recognition and support by all the member states and ensure a real functioning Caribbean Association of SMEs, regardless of its geographic location.
The International Exposure, Recognition and Partnership:
The region has never had a real and effective exposure to the rest of the world like we have been experiencing the last few years. Indeed, under the creative initiative of His Excellency, the region has lately acquired serious attention from many “donor countries”, the most noticeable are from Europe, Canada, Central and Latin America and China.
In fact, to my recollection, it is the first time that the Caribbean was well represented in the historic Shanghai Expo.
Unfortunately, the real collective effort to maximize on these initiatives is lacking and in certain cases some have opted for a personal approach in the sole benefit of their individual economies, without any regional vision and/or collaboration.
These are my thoughts about some of these issues. I hope and pray that whatever changes to be made starting January 2011 will be made in respect of the work done so far and that the decision makers will have the wisdom to continue in the same path without any political and personal interference.
CARICOM is and should always be about continuity and the democratic system as having a rotating chairmanship every six months should favour this principal. What should be considered, though, is the instauration of a mechanism of organizational discipline, as in the case of the European Union where, when decisions that are collectively taken, must be individually implemented by all member states or face consequences.
This will certainly establish a much better competitive edge to the wider Caribbean and will definitely minimize the present syndrome of what I call the “Bermuda Triangle”: Trinidad, Barbados and Jamaica.
November 11, 2010
caribbeannewsnow
It was with mixed feelings and a pinch of sadness that I learned about the stepping down of His Excellency Edwin Carrington from the helm of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) as of December 31, 2010. The only consolation I got was that he will finally have the opportunity to spend some quality time with his family and loved ones.
For the Caribbean Community, it is rather sad news, and soon the region will realize the dangerous impact of the vacuum that a transition could create. I do hope that His Excellency will have the strength to continue advising and guiding with a much better listening ear.As observers, from outside the box, such as in our case, the Dutch OCTs, quite often we are flabbergasted by the lack of regional coherence in implementing the multiple CARICOM initiatives during the last two decades.
I would like to share with you some of these initiatives:
The CSME:
As the fundamental base in the objective of CARICOM, we have been noticing an incredible preparation work being done for the CSME. Multiple meetings, workshops, reports, protocols and agreements, most of which were approved and signed, unfortunately, we did also notice that often they were hardly officialised and implemented by the member states.
This has resulted in an obvious lack of regional interaction, collaboration and economic partnership. This form of stagnation has led to a substantial slow down in the region preparedness to compete in this era of world economic globalization.
Regardless of the obvious similarities of the region and notwithstanding the outside influence and pressure diplomatically or financially advising the region to do so, no real effort was ever been individually done by the member states to officially recognize the urgent need for a true regional economic and social integration, this is noticeable not only between the 15 CARICOM member states, but also with the rest of the region, Dutch, British, French and independent.
As an example, the two historic initiatives of His Excellency to officially visit Curacao and Sint Maarten, has not been followed by any other visit by any official from the 15 member states.
The Regional Public Private Partnership:
Recognizing the private sector as a fully-fledged partner, CARICOM has been a fervent promoter of dialogue, interaction and collaboration, not only with individual consultants but with almost all organizations representing the private sector.
From those dialogues during the last decades, several initiatives, directly or indirectly linked to the private sector, were established, such as the CARIFORUM, the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ), the Caribbean Business Council (CBC), the Caribbean Court of Justice, PANCAP, the Caribbean Development Fund and many initiatives in Agriculture including CAPA.
So many well designed tools that, unfortunately, are still not optimally functioning as they are intended to be? Such important mechanisms, that I hope Sint Maarten can make use of some of them in the near future.
The Regional SME Development:
Through the years of struggle of the SME sector, it is obvious that it is still not being considered vital for the economy. To date the regional SME development has never been a priority, individually and regionally.
As far as history can show, the SME topic was never even debated in any of the multiple heads of states meetings. The latest effort made by CARICOM to establish a private sector/SME desk within the Secretariat has yet to receive the proper recognition and support by all the member states and ensure a real functioning Caribbean Association of SMEs, regardless of its geographic location.
The International Exposure, Recognition and Partnership:
The region has never had a real and effective exposure to the rest of the world like we have been experiencing the last few years. Indeed, under the creative initiative of His Excellency, the region has lately acquired serious attention from many “donor countries”, the most noticeable are from Europe, Canada, Central and Latin America and China.
In fact, to my recollection, it is the first time that the Caribbean was well represented in the historic Shanghai Expo.
Unfortunately, the real collective effort to maximize on these initiatives is lacking and in certain cases some have opted for a personal approach in the sole benefit of their individual economies, without any regional vision and/or collaboration.
These are my thoughts about some of these issues. I hope and pray that whatever changes to be made starting January 2011 will be made in respect of the work done so far and that the decision makers will have the wisdom to continue in the same path without any political and personal interference.
CARICOM is and should always be about continuity and the democratic system as having a rotating chairmanship every six months should favour this principal. What should be considered, though, is the instauration of a mechanism of organizational discipline, as in the case of the European Union where, when decisions that are collectively taken, must be individually implemented by all member states or face consequences.
This will certainly establish a much better competitive edge to the wider Caribbean and will definitely minimize the present syndrome of what I call the “Bermuda Triangle”: Trinidad, Barbados and Jamaica.
November 11, 2010
caribbeannewsnow
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Bahamas: Government Ministers encouraged to adopt legislation to outlaw shark fishing in Bahamian waters
Government Ministers urged to protect sharks
By MEGAN REYNOLDS
Tribune Staff Reporter
mreynolds@tribunemedia.net
GOVERNMENT ministers were encouraged to adopt legislation to outlaw shark fishing at a breakfast briefing on shark conservation hosted by the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) yesterday morning.
Experts from the international non-profit organisation the Pew Environmental Group told Cabinet ministers how such legislation would not only ensure the health of the coral reefs and sustain vital fisheries, it would also continue to support the lucrative shark tourism industry as local populations are unmatched elsewhere in the Caribbean.
Director of global shark conservation for the Pew Environmental Group Matt Rand explained how shark populations are declining worldwide as 73 million a year are fished for their fins to be used in the Chinese delicacy shark fin soup.
“Because of this luxury item these creatures are being wiped off the planet,” Mr Rand said.
“The oceans have evolved for more than 400 million years with sharks and they never had predators.
“Suddenly the hunters have become the hunted, and we are taking that top predator out of the ecosystem and by doing that we are disrupting the whole marine balance. “For a country that depends on fishing, disrupting the marine balance could have severe consequences,” he said.
Sharks thrive in Bahamian waters by virtue of a long-line fishing ban imposed 20 years ago to prevent them from becoming by-catch – fish caught unintentionally.
Around 40 species of sharks are estimated to live in Bahamian waters.
Because of the healthy population the Bahamas has become known as “shark diving capital of the world” and attracts visitors to the tune of $78 million a year.
It has also supported 60 scientific research publications over the last 20 years, and allowed for a healthy marine environment.
Mr Rand said: “There are few locations where you can get in the water and see sharks, and you have defacto protection now, but not legislative protection.
“We think this would be a great opportunity, not only for the sharks, but also for the Bahamas.”
The Pew Environment Group has worked with governments around the world and was successful in Palau and the Maldives which have become sanctuaries for sharks.
Although sharks have never been targetted by the fishing industry in the Bahamas, the threat of international demand for shark fins was raised when sea cucumber export company Sunco Wholesale Seafood Ltd CEO James Mackey told The Tribune he would explore the possibility of shark finning from his operation in Mastic Point, North Andros for export to Hong Kong.
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Larry Cartwright reassured interested parties attending the event at the British Colonial Hilton yesterday that “the current policy of the government is to not allow for the export of shark fins, etcetera.”
However he did not indicate whether he would implement legislation to protect sharks as he commented on their multi-faceted importance for the marine ecosystem, tourism and scientific research.
“In this vein I applaud the efforts now being made by the BNT and others to protect sharks in the exclusive zone of the Bahamas,” Mr Cartwright said.
As apex predators, sharks feed on large fish, which in turn feed on herbivorous fish that control levels of algae on the reef. Removing them from the equation could have an unprecedented impact on large fish, herbivorous fish and algae levels. BNT president Neil McKinney said: “In this country it’s not just sharks, but the entire marine ecosystem that we need to try to protect, because if we break the web, or a link in the chain, there is a cascading effect.
“The loss of sharks would directly impact our coral reefs. We have to protect what we have. We cannot be a bread basket for the rest of the world and we have to be very careful so that it is here for generations after us.
“That is why there is a need for legislative protection, because policy can be changed much more easily than legislation.”
BNT executive director Eric Carey added: “A lot of times we advocate for issues when species are almost beyond recovery. We have a good opportunity now to do something for sharks while they are still healthy in the Bahamas.”
To find out more and support the campaign click to see The Bahamas National Trust and The Pew Charitable Trusts websites.
November 10, 2010
tribune242
By MEGAN REYNOLDS
Tribune Staff Reporter
mreynolds@tribunemedia.net
GOVERNMENT ministers were encouraged to adopt legislation to outlaw shark fishing at a breakfast briefing on shark conservation hosted by the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) yesterday morning.
Experts from the international non-profit organisation the Pew Environmental Group told Cabinet ministers how such legislation would not only ensure the health of the coral reefs and sustain vital fisheries, it would also continue to support the lucrative shark tourism industry as local populations are unmatched elsewhere in the Caribbean.
Director of global shark conservation for the Pew Environmental Group Matt Rand explained how shark populations are declining worldwide as 73 million a year are fished for their fins to be used in the Chinese delicacy shark fin soup.
“Because of this luxury item these creatures are being wiped off the planet,” Mr Rand said.
“The oceans have evolved for more than 400 million years with sharks and they never had predators.
“Suddenly the hunters have become the hunted, and we are taking that top predator out of the ecosystem and by doing that we are disrupting the whole marine balance. “For a country that depends on fishing, disrupting the marine balance could have severe consequences,” he said.
Sharks thrive in Bahamian waters by virtue of a long-line fishing ban imposed 20 years ago to prevent them from becoming by-catch – fish caught unintentionally.
Around 40 species of sharks are estimated to live in Bahamian waters.
Because of the healthy population the Bahamas has become known as “shark diving capital of the world” and attracts visitors to the tune of $78 million a year.
It has also supported 60 scientific research publications over the last 20 years, and allowed for a healthy marine environment.
Mr Rand said: “There are few locations where you can get in the water and see sharks, and you have defacto protection now, but not legislative protection.
“We think this would be a great opportunity, not only for the sharks, but also for the Bahamas.”
The Pew Environment Group has worked with governments around the world and was successful in Palau and the Maldives which have become sanctuaries for sharks.
Although sharks have never been targetted by the fishing industry in the Bahamas, the threat of international demand for shark fins was raised when sea cucumber export company Sunco Wholesale Seafood Ltd CEO James Mackey told The Tribune he would explore the possibility of shark finning from his operation in Mastic Point, North Andros for export to Hong Kong.
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Larry Cartwright reassured interested parties attending the event at the British Colonial Hilton yesterday that “the current policy of the government is to not allow for the export of shark fins, etcetera.”
However he did not indicate whether he would implement legislation to protect sharks as he commented on their multi-faceted importance for the marine ecosystem, tourism and scientific research.
“In this vein I applaud the efforts now being made by the BNT and others to protect sharks in the exclusive zone of the Bahamas,” Mr Cartwright said.
As apex predators, sharks feed on large fish, which in turn feed on herbivorous fish that control levels of algae on the reef. Removing them from the equation could have an unprecedented impact on large fish, herbivorous fish and algae levels. BNT president Neil McKinney said: “In this country it’s not just sharks, but the entire marine ecosystem that we need to try to protect, because if we break the web, or a link in the chain, there is a cascading effect.
“The loss of sharks would directly impact our coral reefs. We have to protect what we have. We cannot be a bread basket for the rest of the world and we have to be very careful so that it is here for generations after us.
“That is why there is a need for legislative protection, because policy can be changed much more easily than legislation.”
BNT executive director Eric Carey added: “A lot of times we advocate for issues when species are almost beyond recovery. We have a good opportunity now to do something for sharks while they are still healthy in the Bahamas.”
To find out more and support the campaign click to see The Bahamas National Trust and The Pew Charitable Trusts websites.
November 10, 2010
tribune242
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
“…Bitter/Sweet…”
Rough Cut
By Felix F. Bethel
The Bahama Journal
Nassau, Bahamas
Bitter, sweet or bitter/sweet, this life that is mine is wonderful.
Today I revel in all that happened just the other day.
As it now seems, it was just the other day that I took to heart Terecita Armbrister’s admonition, "Felix Bethel, you better listen to me; you have to take the bitter with the sweet!"
In times of trouble Mother Mary comes to me singing words of wisdom, let it be.
That is what I have been doing.
So it is today that I wish to share some more memories of mine that are stored in those archives labeled ‘Just the Other Day’.
Indeed, everything that has ever happened in my life happens to have happened just the other day. And so it is today that I remind you that just the other day some one murdered Deron ‘Sharky’ Bethel.
Deron "Sharky" Bethel was born just the other day and was murdered just the other day. And it was just the other day, when I tried to bring attention to the stinking fact that the blood-stench was offensive in the nostrils of God Almighty.
As important in this just-the-other-day story is the fact that just the other day Sharky baby born. He is well on the way to manhood.
So it was too that just the other day, a baby boy was born to a young shakira –woman. This woman was persuaded to name her baby boy Deron, Dwayne, Rodney, Felix Bethel.
Dwayne Bethel –his dead father’s brother- is today being called Uncle-Daddy.
I can also report that neighbors, family and friends in the Pines have already freighted this boy with the nickname, Young Sharky.
They do so because this man-child is Sharky’s baby.
Just the other day, I spoke about how when this baby was born, there was a wonderful scream and shout, Sharky baby born!
And so there you have it, just the other day is all about death and just the other day is all about life. In this and for this, we say with the Psalmist David," Give thanks to the Lord, who is good, whose love endures forever." This is how it is in a world where everything happened just the other day. Indeed, one of my favorite ‘just the other day’ memories have to do with the birth and death of a senior brother of mine, Jesus Christ. That this brother of mine was born some two thousand years ago is perfectly beside the point. It was just the other day that this precious child leapt out of his Blessed Mother’s womb.
And it was just the other day when He was murdered.
And it was just the other day, some one who reads some of what I am trying to say through the medium of these feeble, crippled words is of the view that this brother is somehow and for some reason ‘mad’ with the world. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Were I to meet the anonymous one and were I put in a position to explain myself, I would tell the person who thinks that I am ‘mad’ with the world; that the truth is precisely otherwise.
I would tell that person that I consider myself one of the happiest persons in the world.
I would explain to that person that while I am sometimes enraged about some injustice or the other, at some distress or the other; truth is that I am so happy with life that I quite literally exult when I try to wrap my head around the fact that I have come uninvited out of an oblivion of days and that I am headed into an eternity of tomorrows.
And so as I live in this shimmering moment, I am learning that you have to reach out to other human beings if you are to get in touch with your own God-given personhood.
My mind is turned in this direction as I wait like other Christians for the ritual coming of that Child on whose shoulders would sit the government; that Child who was fated to become that man who was scheduled to be acquainted with grief; that king who was fated to come in the guise of a suffering servant; that senior brother of mine who was fated to be denied, betrayed, deserted –and thereafter murdered by the authorities of those times in which he lived.
The people are gearing up for their enjoyment of a unique celebration, the arrival of a king. But even as they make preparations to receive the Holy One, they do so in a bitter-sweet kind of way.
That is so because they know the ending of the story. They know that the arrival that is epitomized with worship-Him ends with crucify-Him.
They know the eternal significance of the gold, frankincense and myrrh. Just the other day, the raucous cry was ride on King Jesus!
This happened some two thousand years ago; that is to say, just the other day.
And now –two thousand years later- the word on the street is "Mama bake duh Johnny cake, Christmas comin’
Lord knows that soon –and very soon- the word on some lips will be to the effect that ‘another year done come and gone.’ And Lord knows, too, that some, who anticipate this end to things, will not be here.
These are the ones who will succeed –one way or the other- in finding the exit; and now, take note of the fact that, just the other day, I visited Deron ‘Sharky’ Bethel’s house in Pinewood Gardens and just the other day, I commiserated in mute sympathy with his mother, Diana Bethel, his grandmother, Geneva Bain and with other family members.
And just the other day, I cried with them as they wondered out loud as to why ‘Sharky’ was dead and why they had to sum up his life and why they had to dress his days in a feeble garb of words about a time for every thing under heaven.
And it was just the other day, when I went to Sharky’s funeral and when I was asked to say a few words {Mr. Bethel, keep it short, I was told. And it was just the other day when some of Sharky’s neighbors demanded that there be no cover-up and demanded that the men who were involved in serving up death would be brought to justice.
And so it is that just the other day, Deron ‘Sharky’ Bethel was killed.
But the fact of the matter is that just the other day, the sweet word in Pinewood Gardens was to the effect that Sharky’ baby born.
This birth of this other man-child we celebrate this bitter-sweet Christmas. We celebrate young Sharky’s arrival even as we remember that very precious Child, who was born of a virgin. We also remember Deron "Sharky" Bethel; and we lament the manner of his departure.
But even as we lament sudden and bloody departure, there is a praise-shout on our lips at the arrival of the man-child who bears his name and those of some other men who have made it their business to help shelter this precious child from the wiles of the Evil One.
Sharky’ baby is my God-child. That makes me his God-father.
Today it seems like it was just the other day I celebrated another bitter-sweet Christmas.
That was some twenty-one years ago when something precious that I once owned was lost; that same time when something infinitely precious was found.
I experienced then –and yet again- the exquisitely mingled bitter/sweet taste of the bitter and the sweet.
November 11th, 2010
The Bahama Journal
By Felix F. Bethel
The Bahama Journal
Nassau, Bahamas
Bitter, sweet or bitter/sweet, this life that is mine is wonderful.
Today I revel in all that happened just the other day.
As it now seems, it was just the other day that I took to heart Terecita Armbrister’s admonition, "Felix Bethel, you better listen to me; you have to take the bitter with the sweet!"
In times of trouble Mother Mary comes to me singing words of wisdom, let it be.
That is what I have been doing.
So it is today that I wish to share some more memories of mine that are stored in those archives labeled ‘Just the Other Day’.
Indeed, everything that has ever happened in my life happens to have happened just the other day. And so it is today that I remind you that just the other day some one murdered Deron ‘Sharky’ Bethel.
Deron "Sharky" Bethel was born just the other day and was murdered just the other day. And it was just the other day, when I tried to bring attention to the stinking fact that the blood-stench was offensive in the nostrils of God Almighty.
As important in this just-the-other-day story is the fact that just the other day Sharky baby born. He is well on the way to manhood.
So it was too that just the other day, a baby boy was born to a young shakira –woman. This woman was persuaded to name her baby boy Deron, Dwayne, Rodney, Felix Bethel.
Dwayne Bethel –his dead father’s brother- is today being called Uncle-Daddy.
I can also report that neighbors, family and friends in the Pines have already freighted this boy with the nickname, Young Sharky.
They do so because this man-child is Sharky’s baby.
Just the other day, I spoke about how when this baby was born, there was a wonderful scream and shout, Sharky baby born!
And so there you have it, just the other day is all about death and just the other day is all about life. In this and for this, we say with the Psalmist David," Give thanks to the Lord, who is good, whose love endures forever." This is how it is in a world where everything happened just the other day. Indeed, one of my favorite ‘just the other day’ memories have to do with the birth and death of a senior brother of mine, Jesus Christ. That this brother of mine was born some two thousand years ago is perfectly beside the point. It was just the other day that this precious child leapt out of his Blessed Mother’s womb.
And it was just the other day when He was murdered.
And it was just the other day, some one who reads some of what I am trying to say through the medium of these feeble, crippled words is of the view that this brother is somehow and for some reason ‘mad’ with the world. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Were I to meet the anonymous one and were I put in a position to explain myself, I would tell the person who thinks that I am ‘mad’ with the world; that the truth is precisely otherwise.
I would tell that person that I consider myself one of the happiest persons in the world.
I would explain to that person that while I am sometimes enraged about some injustice or the other, at some distress or the other; truth is that I am so happy with life that I quite literally exult when I try to wrap my head around the fact that I have come uninvited out of an oblivion of days and that I am headed into an eternity of tomorrows.
And so as I live in this shimmering moment, I am learning that you have to reach out to other human beings if you are to get in touch with your own God-given personhood.
My mind is turned in this direction as I wait like other Christians for the ritual coming of that Child on whose shoulders would sit the government; that Child who was fated to become that man who was scheduled to be acquainted with grief; that king who was fated to come in the guise of a suffering servant; that senior brother of mine who was fated to be denied, betrayed, deserted –and thereafter murdered by the authorities of those times in which he lived.
The people are gearing up for their enjoyment of a unique celebration, the arrival of a king. But even as they make preparations to receive the Holy One, they do so in a bitter-sweet kind of way.
That is so because they know the ending of the story. They know that the arrival that is epitomized with worship-Him ends with crucify-Him.
They know the eternal significance of the gold, frankincense and myrrh. Just the other day, the raucous cry was ride on King Jesus!
This happened some two thousand years ago; that is to say, just the other day.
And now –two thousand years later- the word on the street is "Mama bake duh Johnny cake, Christmas comin’
Lord knows that soon –and very soon- the word on some lips will be to the effect that ‘another year done come and gone.’ And Lord knows, too, that some, who anticipate this end to things, will not be here.
These are the ones who will succeed –one way or the other- in finding the exit; and now, take note of the fact that, just the other day, I visited Deron ‘Sharky’ Bethel’s house in Pinewood Gardens and just the other day, I commiserated in mute sympathy with his mother, Diana Bethel, his grandmother, Geneva Bain and with other family members.
And just the other day, I cried with them as they wondered out loud as to why ‘Sharky’ was dead and why they had to sum up his life and why they had to dress his days in a feeble garb of words about a time for every thing under heaven.
And it was just the other day, when I went to Sharky’s funeral and when I was asked to say a few words {Mr. Bethel, keep it short, I was told. And it was just the other day when some of Sharky’s neighbors demanded that there be no cover-up and demanded that the men who were involved in serving up death would be brought to justice.
And so it is that just the other day, Deron ‘Sharky’ Bethel was killed.
But the fact of the matter is that just the other day, the sweet word in Pinewood Gardens was to the effect that Sharky’ baby born.
This birth of this other man-child we celebrate this bitter-sweet Christmas. We celebrate young Sharky’s arrival even as we remember that very precious Child, who was born of a virgin. We also remember Deron "Sharky" Bethel; and we lament the manner of his departure.
But even as we lament sudden and bloody departure, there is a praise-shout on our lips at the arrival of the man-child who bears his name and those of some other men who have made it their business to help shelter this precious child from the wiles of the Evil One.
Sharky’ baby is my God-child. That makes me his God-father.
Today it seems like it was just the other day I celebrated another bitter-sweet Christmas.
That was some twenty-one years ago when something precious that I once owned was lost; that same time when something infinitely precious was found.
I experienced then –and yet again- the exquisitely mingled bitter/sweet taste of the bitter and the sweet.
November 11th, 2010
The Bahama Journal
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