Dominica: Speak! Or forever hold thy peace

by Rebecca Theodore in collaboration with Dr Peter K.B. St Jean on behalf of the Peaceful World Movement

Suddenly, like the violent crash of a bomb-blast, Dominica nationals at home and in the Diaspora are awakened. They were once entrenched in a tradition of conspicuous and ubiquitous peaceful existence, but now it seems that it is no more. The peace and tranquility of that nation has recently become under rapid challenge. Intellectuals, ordinary citizens and scoundrels alike are seeking to preserve her nostalgic status.

They are finding strength in the vision and agenda of the Peaceful World Movement, created and led by a native son, Chicago based, and internationally recognized criminologist and sociologist, Dr Peter K. B. St Jean.

Concerns about crime and violence need to be addressed systematically and with promising vision before conditions blow out of proportion like sister Caribbean islands. Peace must be implemented as an economic product in Dominica, says Dr St Jean and the Peaceful World Movement.

As the world watches and listens at vicious attacks from politicians, social commentators, criminals, and those in high places, the moral fiber of a people and nation entangles. A peace industry seems to be the only way out for like a breeched birth, strangling on its own umbilical cord, ‘Tall is her body’ is now confined to a restricted growth.

Long term problems are fuelled. Underlying causal factors are rooted in deep social, ideological, economic, cultural, spiritual, political, and psychological influences, but there is denial that a problem of its true magnitude exists.

Prime Minister Skerrit says that the ‘government at present or the foreseeable future cannot afford the rates….’

Yes! Men of power are turning a deafened ear as horn dogs imperil all the land and intellectuals mourn for peace for they see the approaching danger.

Leading social scientist, Dr Peter K. B. St Jean raises the ‘Code Bravo’ throughout the land. A successful crime reduction strategy must address prevention, intervention, and interdiction, he says. An analysis must be conducted to determine the extent to which these three dimensions are engaged in Dominican society, and adjustments must be made accordingly to suit the local demands of everyday life.

He evokes the enlistment of a ‘Peace Czar’ to provide professional guidance and hands-on assistance to the government and people of Dominica so citizens can harmoniously dwell. A peaceful paradigm shift is evident so peace can breed and bloom, for peace is the golden key that opens all doors.

Extreme crime and violence related events are so critical that they demand strategic and immediate responses. If not properly executed, they drastically undermine the success of existing short term, midrange, and long term strategies; yet a prime minister toys with the idea.

Hence, “a peace industry as a sustainable antidote to the problems of crime, violence, delinquency, and their associated troubles,” is the only answer.

And so voices continue to cry out in the dark, for peace is not a sheer cloud-bound dream but a dynamic process of living without or amid seemingly inevitable conflict, tyranny, and hatred. The ‘sinews’ of peace await. A white dove is flying in the wind waiting to take us home under its wings. We can at least give peace a try.

For more info visit www.peacefulworldmovement.org

October 17, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

Jamaica: Achieving True Justice For All

jamaica-gleaner editorial



A former chief justice of the US Supreme Court is reported to have said: "Power of the judiciary lies not in deciding cases, nor in imposing sentences, nor in punishing for contempt, but in the trust, faith and confidence of the common man."

In recent days, Jamaica's justice system has come under the microscope once again, with Justice Minister Delroy Chuck speaking out about corruption and the heavy backlog of cases. He described a system in flux as he addressed new lawyers who were graduating from the University of the West Indies.

Against that background we ask the question: How does the common man in Jamaica feel about our justice system that is hopelessly clogged with cases?

For many years we have heard cries of injustice coming from inner-city folk who have become frustrated with the system. From time to time, we have heard their sharp criticism of a system that they believe serves only the interests of those with connections and money.

The justice minister made it clear, during his address, that the overburdened courts of Jamaica are not properly serving the common man. Indeed, the course of justice is obstructed when cases are allowed to drag on for years. So what is Mr Chuck going to do about this cloud that hangs over the justice system?

The minister spoke about some of the options to remedy the huge case backlog that has resulted in lengthy delays. For example, he is proposing that courts extend their hours of operation so that more cases can be tried. It would appear that the introduction of night court for traffic offences has worked well, so it seems that this suggestion may have merit.

harsh criticism

One of the reasons cited for the ballooning caseload in courts across the country is the lack of judges. Given the meagre budget allocated to the Ministry of Justice and the fiscal bind which has entrapped Jamaica, it is unclear how the Government would pay for salaries for more judges, clerks and other support staff.

There is also the matter of lawyers doing clever dances, which have also put a spoke in the wheel. In the scheme of things, shouldn't there be legislation setting concrete parameters and rigorous timelines for the management of cases?

The work of the police has also come in for harsh criticism. It is not enough to talk about the back-door deals that go on among police, criminals and witnesses. We need an aggressive campaign to tackle the problem before it becomes more deeply entrenched. There has to be a resolve to investigate, prosecute and punish those who tarnish the quality of justice.

Opposition spokesman on justice, attorney-at-law Mark Golding, also recognises the impact that corruption has on the system and appears willing to work with the Government in finding solutions to the problem. The crisis calls for unequivocal leadership and cooperation between the Opposition and Government, a welcome step which we hope will be more than mere gesture. Working together, we can find a strategy to undo the damage to the judiciary and have a fair and equitable system.

It is clear that the courts need serious overhaul to improve efficiency and public perception of the country's ability to dispense transparent and true justice.

October 15, 2011

jamaica-gleaner editorial

Bahamas Blog International

Haiti and the issue of education

By Jean H Charles



The month of October used to be the cruelest month of the year in Haiti. It is the month when parents must find the full tuition payment for their children’s education. The previous Haitian governments have been so delinquent in their mission of educating the children that 80 percent of the education system is the hands of the private sector.

Joseph Michel Martelly, the president of Haiti, akin to Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City, has made education and the acquisition thereof, the cornerstone of his administration. He was not afraid of the ire of some members of the Diaspora in resting on their back the bulk of the education funds by taxing $1.50 for each transfer to and from Haiti and by exacting 5 cents on each call to and from Haiti. He plans to raise as such $300 million per year to send all the children in age of education to school, free of charge to their parents.

The business of providing an excellent education to the children of a nation is not the business of the parents. It is the business of the state. The business of the parents is to provide the enrichment and the nurturing to support the education received in school.

According to Emil Vlajki often cited in this column, the wealth of a nation depends not on its natural resources but on the degree of education and the extent of creativity and resilience of its people.

Singapore in Asia, with limited natural resources but with a highly educated population, is a world giant in economic development, while Niger or the Sudan, with ample natural resources but with a poorly educated population, is a basket case in Africa.

As such it is in the interest of the state to take the necessary measures to establish a critical mass of citizens, well educated, creative and resilient, to build the sustaining wealth of the country.

President Joseph Michel Martelly is breaking the circle of treating the children of the Haitian masses as second class citizens in pushing forward a policy of universal free education. The program started this year with some 772,000 students, those who have never been to or left school because their parents were too poor to help them to remain in a program of study.

The education funds that started in May 2011 have already collected $28 million. PAM and UNICEF are putting their resources into the fray in adding a hot meal a day and a school kit with bags and books and notebooks for the children. In addition, President Martelly has also taken the initiative to insure that the children have free transportation to and from school, with a police officer in each bus to provide security.

Haiti has come a long way in pushing forward education as a priority in its public policy expenditure. In the Caribbean area, Haiti occupies the last place in education indices. This practice is as old as the history of the Republic. At the eve of the revolution leading to independence, the topic amongst those freed from servitude was: what measure should be adopted to create a distinction between those who were free before independence and those who became free after.

The choice was that education should be as restricted as possible for the former slaves; as such the privilege of an upper class would be preserved for ever.

If Haiti’s founding father Jean Jacques Dessalines wanted to create a Haiti hospitable for all in the new Republic, at its birth in 1804, it was not the vision of his comrades in arms. In fact, he was assassinated two years after independence on October 17, 1806. Henry Christophe, who became king of the north of Haiti after being denied the presidency of the whole Republic, introduced the British system of education, as well as civic formation for all. (Who said the men of the north of Haiti are better!). It lasted only twenty years.

Alexander Petion, who controlled the rest of the Republic, stamped the nation with the culture of discrimination against the majority of the population. (It is true the Alexander Petion Lyceum was his creation!) That culture, extended by his successor, Jean Pierre Boyer, became the law of the land until today when Joseph Michel Martelly took the decision to put education at the center of his social revolution.

His ambitious program may have a few holes at the beginning; they will be corrected as the program goes along. The extreme joy was in the face of Senatus Antoine, a father of two, whom I met on the public bus recently. The fee that he was struggling to find “has been paid by the government” he was told by the principal.

Speaking of principal, I met with the principal of Marie Jeanne Lyceum, a no-nonsense woman, who led her school with an iron hand. Parents travel from close and a far to enroll their children in this public school for girls. The public school system in Haiti needs many more principals as the one at the Marie Jeanne Lyceum; the competition will drive more children to the public school system, leaving the meager income of the parents for other options such as food and shelter.

In the end, education as a priority is essential but as New York City indicates, Mayor Bloomberg, after more than eight years in command of the city, needs much more than education as a priority to keep New York City afloat.

Michel Joseph Martelly will have to prepare and implement a complete vision for Haiti that includes complete security in the territory, decent infrastructure and sane institutions to root the population in their localities with economic incubation to put value in each citizen; as such the nation of Haiti will be rebuilt after it has been ravaged by 60 years of national governments that were at best predatory and at worst criminal.

God’s hand was also in the fray, the Republic of Port au Prince that gobbles 80 percent of the national economy was almost destroyed by an earthquake that occurred on January 12, 2010!

Haiti will have to use, as said Michaelle Jean (the former Governor General of Canada), a new paradigm to (re)build a nation filled with promises but that went astray because education for all was not at the center and at the end of all the transactions conceived and elaborated by the government.

October 15, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International

The Bahamas cannot continue to follow in Jamaica's criminal shadow...

Criminals — Jamaica and Bahamas’ problems

tribune242 editorial

Nassau, The Bahamas



JAMAICA, which has been working hard to get its crime under control, seems to have taken a long slide backwards in recent months.

Even more worrying is the corruption that Justice Minister Delroy Chuck -- in an address on Saturday to graduates of the Norman Manley Law School-- says has reached a formidable level in Jamaica's legal system.

He told graduates, entering a system threatened by corruption, that one of his ministry's priorities under the Justice Reform Programme was "to build trust and confidence in the justice system".

"There is corruption within the court and the justice system, where the police have been paid to say they cannot find a witness, or persons have been paid to have documents destroyed - amongst many other things," he told the graduates.

"Cases languish on the books for years with very little progress, clients become frustrated and cannot move on with their lives, sometimes they appease their grievances by taking justice into their own hands," Monday's Daily Gleaner quoted Justice Minister Chuck as saying.

Reported the Gleaner: "He noted that developments in the system leave lawyers with a bad reputation as being of no help while the justice system gets a bad reputation of being of no use.

"Our judges are known for their integrity and fair play but so much more is required of them," Justice Chuck told the graduates, who he urged not to contribute to the problems when they go into practice.

"They (the judges) must assist in removing any taint of corruption, vulgarity or malpractice that may exist and they must help us to strengthen public trust and confidence in the justice system."

He said hundreds of thousands of cases had been in the court system for eight months -- some even for years.

Last year, said the justice minister, there were almost 460,000 cases before the courts -- with more than half being a backlog.

He said that stemming the backlog was everybody's business as it posed a real threat to the nation's economy.

Many years ago, Sir Etienne Dupuch sounded like a broken record as he constantly urged, through this same column, that Bahamians get a handle on crime - which at that time was nothing to what it is today.

He warned that the Bahamas was following down the same dead-end path as Jamaica.

According to the US International Safety and Travel alert "violence and shootings occur regularly in certain areas of Kingston and Montego Bay".

As for the Bahamas: "The Bahamas has a high crime rate. New Providence Island in particular has experienced a spike in crime that has adversely affected the travelling public... The Bahamas has the highest incidence of rape in the Caribbean according to a 2007 United Nations report on crime, violence, and development trends."

In Jamaica recently, gangs not only kill, but behead their adversaries. They then hide the head, obviously to make identification more difficult.

The Daily Gleaner reported a Jamaican police officer moaning: "This haffi stop, it has to. But the justice system not working for us (police). You hold a man for murder, him go jail, and him get bail and is back on the road again. It can't work!"

Sound familiar? No, it can't work and it won't work.

This is the very matter that will be discussed in the House of Assembly in this session as government prepares to crack down on criminals by amending the Criminal Procedure Code.

The Bahamas cannot continue to follow in Jamaica's criminal shadow.

October 11, 2011

tribune242 editorial

Bahamas Blog International

Cuba: A Black Spring and White Ladies!

By Rebecca Theodore


Lo! The paradox unfolds. The gleam of the golden morn of freedom pierces through the night of gloom and oppression. The old paradigms and systems are decaying, ready to be replaced with new, more evolved ideas and energies. There is a voracious indignation. At last! The Twitter Revolution comes to Cuba.

‘And the vultures circle overhead waiting for the old man to die.’

Cubans yearn for Wal-Mart and McDonald’s. They covet ATT, Coke, Nike, and Levi’s. The young stare in passion at iPhones and Apple computers. Pornography is the entertainment of choice. Evangelists lie in wait with a message of redemption hungry for the harvesting of souls. Old exiled Cubans chat in busy coffee shops on Miami’s boulevards. They long to touch the green, green grass of home and light cigars under the starry nights and reminisce of memories lost, long before a 1959 revolution usurped their world of contentment.

“Enough is enough they say”

The voices of Ladies in White -- "Las Damas de Blanco” -- wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, widows and fatherless brides waiting for their bridegrooms, lament in pain as political prisoners continue to die dehydrating deaths in dark dungeons of shame. Yet, they continue to rebel against a demagogue government. For them Cuba is not a Caribbean paradise, it is the gates of hell. They live in humble homes and buy food with ration books. They lay claim to the “freedom” that exists in Cuba.

Abuse of human rights dissipates the void. Freedom of assembly and expression sparkle the emptiness of reality and cease to derail on the frontline of time. Youthful endeavours are lost in dreams unknown. Beyond the smoking curtains, they no longer want to be like ‘Che Guevara’, for they seek deliverance from the oven of wrath.

It is true that Cuba has a better literacy rate than the United States, better maternity leave for mothers, better equality for women in the workplace and more doctors per capita than the US. These are economic factors that should make Cuba the envy of many countries, but Castro’s method of freedom and human rights inspire another revolution.

Moreover, in a new and technological zeitgeist, where communism is just an antiquated political philosophy, a footnote in history, and an unsuccessful ideological experiment, a technological revolution looms supreme.

In a country where Castro is the currency of real politics, Cubans are no longer afraid. Power is slowly being taken over by social media. Repression and internet censorship are gently peeping through their veils of suffocation. Gross darkness dispels into the light of liberty.

It is clear that ideology has failed.

Hark! The courier -- The Cuban Revolution is now an emblem on a T-shirt. Fidel Castro a man against capitalism and commodities is now a commodity sold for capital on the streets of America. St Castro is now the new patron saint of capitalism. Cuba is now gripped in the claw of ‘Manifest Destiny.’

Hereafter, there will be blood. There will be freedom. There will be a Cuban Spring.

October 12, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International

The Bahamas government should let straw vendors know that this is the last straw market the people of The Islands will build for them... Going forward, straw vendors and their association need to start thinking of ways to be autonomous

The last market for straw vendors

thenassauguardian editorial

Nassau, The Bahamas

The House of Assembly is debating rules to govern the new straw market at Bay Street.  The market is a gift of sorts to vendors from the government of The Bahamas.  A visitor to The Bahamas might wonder why a government would build a multi-million dollar commercial space for independent business people in a commercial district.

Well, our political parties regard vendors collectively as a ‘special case’.

The parties think they must ensure that regular black merchants have a space on the main part of Bay Street, a district historically controlled by white merchants.

There is consensus on this point by the governing Free National Movement (FNM) and the opposition Progressive Liberal Party (PLP).

The PLP planned, as it is good at doing, a market between 2002 and 2007.  It built no market, however.  The FNM, which has been in office from 2007, has built a market.  It will open soon.  The old market was destroyed by fire in 2001 and vendors have been in ‘temporary’ accommodations since.

At this stage, we are past the relevant point of debating whether the government should have spent more than 10 million dollars on this market.  What we must consider is if such a practice should continue in the future and if vendors should graduate from state grace and welfare and become independent.

When governments offer subsidies to local industries, the objective should be to help Bahamian businesses start and build capital bases from which they can operate independently.  The subsidies should not last forever.  The subsidies cannot last forever because the state has many responsibilities, some of which become urgent abruptly.

For example, there are currently intertwined crises affecting The Bahamas – crime and education.

The government of The Bahamas needs to place as much of its focus as possible on these issues. Coddling long-pampered merchants should become less of a priority during these times.  Business people take risks.

The state can help and set policies assisting entrepreneurs.  The state, however, should not take care of business people forever.

The Bahamas has changed since the government became the patron of straw vendors decades ago.  Majority rule and independence have come about and opportunity in The Bahamas is more equally distributed now than it was in the earlier parts of the 20th century.  There is now no bogeyman keeping anyone down.

The government should let vendors know that this is the last market the people of The Bahamas will build for them.  Going forward, vendors and their association need to start thinking of ways to be autonomous.

If they want to operate as a collective, more of the revenue taken in by these merchants would need to be set aside to create an empowered association.

Such a body, run by vendors, would then have the resources to purchase the market and administer the affairs of vendors.  The government could then get back to its role as regulator.

Our major political parties should push to graduate vendors from state welfare.

In doing so, they will become better business people and the Public Treasury will be less burdened.

Oct 11, 2011

thenassauguardian editorial

Bahamas Blog International

The Bahamas Christian Council supports the creation of a national sex offenders register in The Islands

By CELESTE NIXON
Tribune Staff Reporter
cnixon@tribunemedia.net

Nassau, The Bahamas



THE CHRISTIAN council has thrown its support behind the creation of a national sex offenders register.

Council president Rev Ranford Patterson said his members support many of the government's ideas for tackling crime - particularly its willingness to discuss tracking persons convicted of sexual crimes.

"We support all efforts to protect our children from sick sexual predators, be they heterosexuals or homosexuals," said Rev Patterson. "We call on family and friends to blow the whistle on known predators who need counselling and must be kept away from civil society."

According to Bishop Simeon Hall, the public tends to be more concerned about the rights of murderers and child molesters than the victims of crime.

He said: "When we talk about publishing a national sex offenders list, people seem to sympathise with the perpetrator instead of the little boy."

Rev Patterson said he believes it is important for the public to know the location of convicted sex offenders and others who might pose a danger to society, so parents can better protect their children.

Prime Minister Ingraham addressed the public on Monday evening on his government's strategic plan to combat what he described as the country's growing criminal element.

Along with amendments to the Bail Act, the laws governing the death penalty, and the Firearms and Dangerous Drugs Act, Mr Ingraham said the government would be willing to debate a sex offenders registry.

He also said the government intends to introduce new legislation for the control and regulation of pawnbrokers and second-hand dealers, such as "cash for gold and scrap-metal operators" to block the onward sale of stolen property.

In addition, Mr Ingraham said, efforts will be made to crack down on illegal firearms and weapons smuggling, and harsher penalties will be meted out to persons found in possession of illegal weapons.

Mr Ingraham also emphasised the need for greater community involvement in what he hopes will be a "new era of national volunteerism."

The council said it is extremely pleased with the crack-down on illegal firearms and the National Programme of Volunteerism, which will encourage Bahamians everywhere to "get involved."

Rev Patterson said the prime minister's speech was a sign that the government is serious about crime, and should be taken as a strong message to would-be criminals that no one is above the law.

"We are anxious to see the implementation of all those things raised, and we shall monitor them to ensure they are implemented," said Rev Patterson.

The council warned all persons "prone to angry confrontation, robbery, jealous rage and gun toting," that all criminal offences will be punished, and called on them to reconsider their behaviour.

October 10, 2011

tribune242

Bahamas Blog International