Cruise lines need a watchdog agency

By Rene A. Henry

The traveling public needs an official agency to gather and report on safety, health, security and environmental issues, customer service and complaints against cruise lines. Nearly 13 million Americans took a cruise last year and not all of them had a Love Boat experience. The US Department of Transportation regularly publicizes and ranks US airlines on their on-time performance, lost baggage and customer complaints but there is no central source for consumer information regarding cruise ships.

The US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will hold hearings to review whether current cruise ship industry regulations sufficiently protect passengers and the environment. Ships have run aground and sunk. Engine and mechanical problems have left ships stranded at sea without power and working toilets. Fires and explosions have killed and injured passengers. Outbreaks of Norwalk Virus, also called Norovirus, and other illnesses have ruined cruises for thousands more. Some passengers have been seriously injured, robbed or died on shore excursions. Add to this those who have fallen overboard and reports of assault and rape.



“When accidents do occur and lives are tragically altered, passengers have little recourse,” says Sen. John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-W. Va.) committee chair. “Complicated ticket contracts limit passenger rights and antiquated laws prevent passengers from collecting fair compensation. Our laws have not kept up with the changes in the industry, and I believe we must revisit them.”



The world’s two largest cruise lines are headquartered in Miami – Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Carnival had revenues last year of $14.4 billion, more than 10,000 employees and 75,000 crew. Its combined fleet of more than 100 ships controlled a 49.2% share of the worldwide cruise market sailing under brands including Carnival, Costa, Cunard, Holland America, P&O, Princess and Seabourn. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd is the world’s second largest with 40 ships sailing as Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara Club and other brands.



The Department of Transportation should create a database to list all incidents and complaints regarding cruise ships but such a website would be fiercely opposed by the cruise lines. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, in 2011 Cruise Line International Association (CLIA), the industry’s trade association, Carnival and Royal Caribbean spent a combined $3.6 million on lobbying. This does not include money given directly to members of Congress, PACs or Super PACs or routed through law firms. In the past four years alone CLIA spent $8.562 million and Royal Caribbean $6.847 million on lobbying.



Rockefeller has concerns that without numerous government services that the industry couldn’t operate and says that the environmental practices of cruise lines are unconscionable. “We deserve to have the industry pay its fair share,” he said. “Just three miles from shore, a cruise ship can discharge thousands of gallons of raw sewage. In addition, they dump a significant amount of solid waste at sea. The Coast Guard has limited resources to police against these devastating discharges. We cannot continue to let our oceans fill with trash and debris. We must adopt stronger laws to protect our fragile marine ecosystems.”



Many cruises may be more like the movie Titanic than television’s Love Boat. The January 13 sinking of the Costa Concordia required the evacuation of 4,252 people on board, killed 32 and injured 64. According to internal company documents leaked and published in several Italian newspapers, this was the second cruise ship crashed by Captain Francesco Schettino. He also damaged the Aida Blu cruise ship in June 2010 after sailing too quickly into the German port of Warnemunde.



In November 2007 the MS Explorer, operated by Lindblad Expeditions and the first cruise ship built with a double, ice-hardened hull for sailing in the Antarctic, hit submerged ice just south of the South Shetland Islands and sunk. All 154 passengers and crew were rescued. Earlier in the Antarctic cruising season in January that year, 294 passengers on the Norwegian ship Nordkapp had to be evacuated after the ship struck a rock. A third incident happened in December when another Norwegian ship, the MS Fram, lost power and drifted into a glacier wall.



While almost all of the tourist ships sailing the Antarctic are small, Carnival’s Princess Cruises’ Golden Princess with 2,425 passengers plus crew sailed the icy waters in 2006 and was the largest tourist vessel to operate in the areas. In response to the fact that Princess does not sail ice-strengthened ships, Julie Benson, a company spokeswoman, said: “We don’t believe that [ice-strengthening] is necessary because we cruise in the summer months when it’s relatively ice free and our ships transit only in open water areas with very limited ice flows.



But like the MS Fram, ships lose power and drift without any control. Last month a fire knocked out the power and disabled the Costa Allegra, Carnival’s sister ship to the sunken Costa Concordia. It was adrift for four days in the Indian Ocean without lights, working toilets, water, air conditioning and hot food until it was towed to a port in The Seychelles. There were safety concerns for the passengers because of Somalian pirates. In 2005, after the Seabourn Spirit came under attack by two boats firing automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, many cruise lines adopted security plans for ships that sail in the area.



In November 2010 an early-morning fire in the engine room of the Carnival Splendor left the ship and its 3,299 passengers and 1,167 crew in a similar mess. Stranded in the Pacific 130 miles West of Ensenada, Mexico, it took several days to tow the ship back to San Diego. Both Holland America and Norwegian Cruise Lines have had ships lose power on cruises to Alaska.



Nothing could be as embarrassing to cruise line management than when the new, $500 million Crown Princess departed for New York from Port Canaveral, Florida in July 2006 with 3,100 passengers and 1,200 crew. The ship rolled and listed badly to its portside, throwing passengers and crew to the decks; water flooded several upper decks and gushed from the swimming pool; gym equipment and television sets were flipped over; and shattered glass was strewn across the decks. The ship righted itself before returning to port. Initially the incident was attributed to a steering problem and the cruise line posted a letter on its website blaming human error for the tilt.



For more than a decade cruise lines have worked hard to prevent any outbreak of a virus. Most now require passengers to use hand sanitizers before boarding the ship and in all areas serving food. Nothing can ruin a vacation more than Norovirus, a contagious gastrointestinal illness that causes vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea for one to three days. This past February 5 a virus struck more than 100 people on the Ruby Princess sailing from Ft Lauderdale to the Caribbean. The week before another Carnival ship, the Crown Princess, was afflicted by the same virus.



The virus is spread through food and water and close contact with infected people, or things, they have touched. It afflicts more than 23 million Americans year. As more people sail on cruise ships the number of illnesses has increased and doubled since 2000.



All cruise lines offer shore excursions but disclaim having any liability or responsibility for the quality, safety and security or for anything that happens with the land based operators even though the cruise line was responsible for selecting or recommending the shore operator. Land tour operators advertise their services to vacationers while they are on the ship or the cruise line does it in advance on a website. Some ship passengers have died on shore excursions.



This is one area where passengers have almost no recourse except through litigation. The way cruise ships market shore excursions has been the subject of lawsuits. Charles Lipcon, a Miami lawyer, has filed class action suits against Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean Cruises and its Celebrity Cruises unit, and Norwegian Cruise Lines. “The companies say the excursion operators are independent, and the ship is booking the activities as a convenience for its passengers,” Lipcon said. “What they don’t tell you is they’re keeping up to half of the money. It’s an undisclosed charge. A kickback.”



In March 2006, 12 American tourists sailing on Celebrity Cruises’ Millenium from Valparaiso, Chile to Ft Lauderdale were killed and four injured on a shore excursion when a bus plunged 300 feet down a mountain ravine near the border of Peru and Bolivia. A press release from Royal Caribbean was quick to point out that they “were on an independent private tour, not affiliated with the cruise line.” The cruise line obviously had a crisis plan in place that it followed because it immediately responded and reported the incident to the US Consulate in Santiago, the US Coast Guard and Bahamian authorities. It sent a special assistance team to the ship to help guests and crew, immediately issued a sympathy apology, had toll-free phone lines for family members and guests in both the US and on ship, flew family members of the victims to Chile, and kept information about the accident posted on its website.



This February 27 passengers sailing on the Carnival Splendor, which was adrift without power for four days off the Mexican coast two years ago, were robbed while sightseeing in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. Bandits robbed 22 people of their valuables and passports. Just two weeks earlier the US State Department issued a travel warning to Americans to avoid all but essential travel to all or parts of 14 Mexican states, including Jalisco. Carnival suspended the tour for future sailings.



Most ships have a physician on board but that does not assure you of the capability or quality of emergency care if your appendicitis ruptures or other surgical emergencies arise. While the ship may have facilities for surgery, the doctor may not be qualified. Lawyers have written fine print on most tickets with a disclaimer that the doctor on board is only for the convenience of passengers and is not to be considered in any respect an employee or agent of the cruise line. Most doctors are independent contractors whose name and photograph are in promotional materials and who are in uniform and introduced at on-board welcome parties. “This is a very important question for millions of passengers,” says Lipcon. “Unless cruise lines are responsible for their doctors, there is basically no recourse for passengers.”



A frequent passenger complaint is a change in itinerary, ports being skipped and delays in arriving home which can cause missed airline flights and connections. Some changes and delays can be because of weather and others because of mechanical problems or engine failures. Before you sign on for a trip, ask if the cruise line will reimburse you for an airline ticket change and get answers in writing. If you deal through a travel agent, do the same due diligence.



Cruise ships have as many different prices for cruises as do airlines for flights. Be sure where your cabin is located and what deals you are getting. Unlike airlines, trains and hotels, most cruise lines discriminate against single travelers and impose an additional surcharge of 135 percent, 150 percent or even 200 percent. The most blatant form of gouging is when cruise lines charge single travelers a penalty for hotel rooms for pre- and post-cruise stays even though no hotel ever charges a single customer a penalty.



Until the US government has a watchdog agency compiling information and reporting it to the media, when you are wronged here are some options:



* File a complaint with the travel agent who booked the cruise.



* Go to www.cruiselines.us and follow instructions. The website suggests letting travel media know of the complaint and provides you with email addresses as well as other travel message boards and consumer sites.



* www.travelcomplaint.com will contact the company on your behalf and seek a negotiated solution for a one-time fee of $19.99.



* www.consumeraffairs.com is an independent web-based consumer news and resource center supported by advertising. Click on cruise lines under travel and follow instructions.



* www.complaints.com is a free site for all visitors and the entire content of email messages it receives are posted to its website. The complaints are indexed by Google, Yahoo and other search engines.



* www.thesqueakywheel.com has a one-time $5 charge per complaint, which is added to the five biggest Internet search engines. It designs a complaint webpage and sends emails to the company you have a complaint against every time the page is viewed.



* www.econsumer.gov is a consumer database maintained by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. There are 13 participating countries and complaint information is shared with participating consumer protection law enforcers.



* The Federal Maritime Commission at www.fmc.gov. The commission has very limited jurisdiction over cruise lines but has on-line forms for filing complaints.



* Your state consumer protection agency.



* Your local Better Business Bureau.



* If you have a complaint about unsanitary conditions on a cruise ship, write the Chief of Vessel Sanitation Program, US Public Health Service, National Center for Environmental Health, 1850 Eller Drive, Suite 101, Ft Lauderdale, FL 33316 or phone 954-356-6650.



* Let the travel editor of your local newspaper know of your complaint.

March 14, 2012

caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International

Threats to The Bahamas' fishing industry: ...With Dominicans poaching in Bahamian waters singled out as the main issue affecting Bahamian fishermen... Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said there are two contributing factors that need to be dealt with... foreigners obtaining work permits to fish, and foreigners who marry Bahamians "for convenience" ...and are able to gain spousal permits

Foreigner fishing ban proposed

By CELESTE NIXON
Tribune Staff Reporter
cnixon@tribunemedia.net

Nassau, The Bahamas


THE government is considering amending the law so that foreigners who marry Bahamians will be excluded from the fishing industry.

Dozens of local fishermen gathered at Holy Cross Anglican Church in Hamilton's, Long Island on Friday to meet with Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and other government officials, including Defence Force Commodore Roderick Bowe, to voice concerns over threats to the fishing industry, the backbone of the island's economy.

With Dominicans poaching in Bahamian waters singled out as the main issue affecting fishermen, Prime Minister Ingraham said there are two contributing factors that need to be dealt with - foreigners obtaining work permits to fish, and foreigners who marry Bahamians "for convenience" and are able to gain spousal permits.

"There are some things we can do to make life better for you as fishermen to reduce the number of non-Bahamians who are on boats," he said.

The first issue has already been addressed with immigration officials being given clear policy guidelines about the granting of work permits for non-Bahamians working on Bahamian fishing boats, Mr Ingraham said. He added that the second issue is more problematic.

Mr Ingraham suggested putting limitations on spousal work permits could be an option.

He said: "It may be possible for the government to say the right to work does not include the right to fish."

While it could be a good move going forward, Mr Ingraham said it would be difficult to take away from the right from those who already enjoy it.

During the town meeting, fishermen also requested increased policing and surveillance of Bahamian waters by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force.

The Defence Force will increase its presence in the area with a new base in Ragged Island and 10 more boats added to the fleet, Mr Ingraham said.

He added that the force was "neglected" under the previous government.

According to Mr Ingraham, a five year plan is being put together that will facilitate increased access to equipment and boats, and more substations.

"We sought to catch up over the last four years or so. We have a long way to go, we are putting together a plan to equip the Defence force fully beginning the year 2014," said Mr Ingraham.

Fisherman Keith Carroll said he thought the meeting went well and some good ideas were put forward.

Noting that fishermen have been dealing with the poaching problem for more than 20 years, Mr Carroll said the problem has recently become increasingly worse and disrupts the economy of the entire island.

March 12, 2012

tribune242

Bahamas Blog International

Haiti, akin to the other islands around the Caribbean Sea will remain in the ebb of growth and development as long as the issue of dual nationality remains a ghost raised by the politicians to scare the nationals ...as well as the sons and the daughters who by choice or necessity have chosen to belong to another country...

Haiti and the issue of dual nationality


By Jean H Charles

For the last two months the issue of dual nationality has been on the front and the back pages in the media, the legislature and in the public mind in Haiti. Indeed, Senator Moise Jean Charles of the north of Haiti is accusing President Michel Martelly of holding dual nationality not only from the United States but also from Italy.

A special commission of the Senate has been instituted to investigate the issue. All the ministers and the state secretaries have been invited to bring their travel documents to determine whether they are holding another passport in addition of the Haitian one.

President Martelly has steadfastly refused to offer for examination his documents stating his passport will remain where it belongs, in his pocket.

The issue is of importance. Can the legislature compel a sitting president, whose document has been examined by the electoral council at the time of the election, to produce his travel documents to determine whether he is a true citizen of Haiti?

I am of the opinion that the legislature does not have such authority. I have combed the entire Haitian constitution; I could not find any article that gives the authority to the legislature to adjudicate whether a Haitian citizen is a true and legal Haitian citizen. It is the province of the court to determine whether a citizen is a born or legalized citizen of another country not the realm of the legislature.

In addition, the legal documents: passports, certificate of birth, decree of divorce, certificate of death and certificate of marriage delivered by a sovereign state enjoy the presumption of legality at home and the full faith and credit of the sister states.

The Haitian legislature has brought ridicule to itself when it has stopped all its other initiatives including the examination of the present budget as well as the issue of ratifying the new prime minister, focusing instead on the issue of the nationality of the current president.

The electoral council in stating that Michel Martelly is a true citizen of Haiti, eligible to run as president of the country, has the imprimatur of the sovereign state of Haiti. President Martelly enjoys the stamp of the concept of legal presumption of authenticity.

Akin to the legal principle that protects a child born in wedlock from a different father as a legitimate child to maintain the stability of the family, the state of Haiti has an interest in protecting the stability of the country by not revisiting decisions of nationality entered into by its state authority, the Electoral Council.

At the invitation of the commission Religions for Peace, made up of interdenominational religious authorities, Catholic, Episcopal, Voodoo and Protestant, President Martelly has yielded to the pressure and offered finally to the press and to the general public all his passports (eight of them) proving that he is indeed a citizen of Haiti who did not renounce his nationality of origin.

Haiti is confronting at this point the struggle between the new and the ancient regime. Should the ancient regime that kept the country poor, divided and in shackles remain at the seat of power, putting the brakes at will on the initiatives introduced by the new president?

Haiti, since it independence in 1804, has been afflicted with the curse of continuous setbacks. The first one occurred with the assassination of its founding father some two years after its liberation from the yoke of slavery. Jean Jacques Dessalines was killed in an ambuscade on October 17, 1806, plunging the young republic into turmoil that caused its division in two parts, the republic of Petion in the west and the kingdom of Henry Christophe in the north.

One hundred years later, the country did not solidify its nation building experience; it was occupied by the United States on July 1, 1915, which remained in the country until 1934, with no apparent seeding of democracy building.

A quarter of century later, on September 22, 1957, Francois Duvalier took control of power in the country, with the slogan of change for the masses. Their fate after some thirty years of the dictatorial regime took a turn for the worse.

The expulsion of the Duvaliers on February 7, 1986, and the adoption of a new constitution on March 29, 1987, were supposed to bring the country to calmer waters. However, the transitional governments as well as the democratic elected one of Jean Bertrand Aristide were as nefarious to the country as the dictatorial ones.

Rene Preval, Aristide’s nemesis, brought the nation to a low so deep in economic and social insecurity that the people of Haiti chose a neophyte in politics in the person of a former band leader, Joseph Michel Martelly, as their president.

Can the new president enjoy enough space to deliver on his promises of education, employment, environment and the rule of law? He has been confronted with roadblocks of different size and shape every week by the press, the legislature and the opposition made of the losing political parties. Yet the president seems to gaze into the support of the majority of the population and of the international community.

Joseph Michel Martelly is guiding the Haitian ship of state with confidence and gusto. One million additional children are receiving the bread of education; a new program of electricity for the rural areas is being implemented. His wife, Mrs Sophia Martelly, is shepherding a war against hunger. The population reflects the sentiment that the opposition is just demonstrating sour grapes against a government that finally is bringing results against all odds.

The issue of dual nationality was a smokescreen in a nation where four million of its population live in a foreign country, with the passing of time holding dual nationality. Haiti like the rest of the Caribbean is hostile to its Diaspora. In comparison, the European Union reaches its hand long and far to create new citizens out of the generation of the children of immigrants who left Europe long time ago.

Haiti akin to the other islands around the Caribbean Sea will remain in the ebb of growth and development as long as the issue of dual nationality remains a ghost raised by the politicians to scare the nationals as well as the sons and the daughters who by choice or necessity have chosen to belong to another country from returning to the motherland.

In the age of globalization the citizens as well as the corporations have difficulty in confining themselves to one country. The nations that refuse to apprehend this new phenomenon are condemned to remain backward, underdeveloped and marginal to the tide of progress and prosperity.

March 12, 2012

caribbeannewsnow

The Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas (ALBA) Expands its Allies in the Caribbean

ALBA Expands its Allies in the Caribbean

 

By KEVIN EDMONDS - NACLA:

 

The weekend of February 4^th and 5^th saw the Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas (ALBA) convene their 11^th summit in Caracas, Venezuela.  ALBA began as an alternative vision to the reckless neoliberal agenda promoted by Washington throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

In 2004, Venezuela and Cuba sought to establish a regional alliance which would be committed to an agenda of poverty eradication, sustainable development and social justice founded upon the values of co-operation, equality, and solidarity.  The regional integration promoted by ALBA importantly stresses policy flexibility, fair trade, and recognition of the unique circumstances faced by the small Caribbean economies.

As many expected, the weekend summit contained the standard denunciations of American imperialism and the need for deeper economic integration – but surprisingly ended with St. Lucia and Suriname expressing their desire for full membership in the organization, with Haiti also joining ranks as a permanent observer.

While St. Lucia and Suriname cannot fully join the organization without following the necessary political processes in their respective countries, the two nations were admitted to the meeting as “special guest members”— a prior step to their full entry.  St. Lucia, Suriname, and Haiti would join their fellow CARICOM neighbours Dominica, who joined the regional organization in 2008, and St. Vincent and Antigua who became members in 2009.

Professor Norman Girvan of the University of the West Indies, a leading scholar in Caribbean political economy sees the recent regional shift towards ALBA as the result of the organization providing a more dynamic alternative to CARICOM, remarking that “(ALBA) poses the urgency of revitalising CARICOM and if CARICOM continues to be relatively moribund in its economic integration aspect then inevitably ALBA will become an attractive alternative for more and more CARICOM states.”

Furthermore, Petrocaribe— an alliance which allows Caribbean nations to purchase oil from Venezuela in a preferential agreement, has proved to be an attractive option for the cash strapped governments.  The oil can be paid for over a 25 year period, at a 1 percent interest rate.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, in comparison to the traditional methods of purchasing oil in the region, Petrocaribe provides significant savings to the participating countries, providing an importance source of finance which respective governments can use to invest in social development programs.  David Jessop, the Director of the Caribbean Council stated that “If it were not for the energy lifeline that it [Venezuela] has provided to every Caribbean nation other than Trinidad and Barbados, much of the region would by now be in economic free fall.”

It is precisely because the Caribbean has been hit so hard by the forces of globalization that many CARICOM members are looking to establish deeper alliances with Caracas and Havana instead of Washington— and for good reason.

The forceful intervention by Washington on behalf of the financial interests of multinational fruit companies like Chiquita in the nearly 20 year long “banana war” at the World Trade Organization fundamentally changed the economies of St. Lucia, Dominica and St. Vincent for the worse.  Furthermore in Haiti, the reintroduction of a sweatshop model of development called HOPE II, is little more than a recycled version of Ronald Reagan’s failed Caribbean Basin Initiative of the 1980’s which perversely sees the country’s poverty as its greatest asset.  Based upon the poverty inducing actions of the United States in the region, it makes one wonder how the Caribbean did not explore this alternative alliance to neoliberal globalization earlier.

Speaking on the economic realities which sparked St. Lucia’s decision to explore membership in ALBA, Prime Minister Kenny Anthony stated that “It is going to be critical and crucial that St. Lucia look for new opportunities of support and in particular for governments who are willing to assist the development of the country…So we have to be busy, we have to search for new sources of funding and it is in that context that we have to look at organisations like ALBA as an option.”

According to Professor Girvan, this makes perfect sense as ALBA is “mobilising resources on a much more significant scale... The ALBA bank and Petrocaribe funding are much larger than those mobilized by the CARICOM Development Fund and ALBA is moving ahead.  They keep launching into new projects for example, food security and agriculture that CARICOM has been talking a lot but doing very little.”

Looking at the record of assistance ALBA has already provided to its three initial Caribbean members, it provides a strong incentive to other CARICOM nations looking to join the bloc pragmatic reasons.

• 
  In Dominica, the government reports total financial assistance of $119 million East Caribbean dollars for 26 projects in housing, infrastructure, security and agriculture; benefitting over 1,000 families and 34,000 individuals; the latter figure being approximately 45 percent of the national population.
• 
  In Antigua, ALBA provided a $7.5 million U.S. dollar grant to refurbish the V.C. Bird International Airport, and another US$8 million to finance a major water infrastructure project. During 2011 Antigua and Barbuda had 125 students on scholarship in Cuba.
• 
  In St. Vincent, $10.275 million U.S. dollars has been provided as a grant by the government of Venezuela to finance housing for low-income or no-income beneficiaries, and $1.85 million East Caribbean dollars has been given for rural development projects related to eco-tourism, sporting facilities and fishing. 

Figures taken from: Is ALBA a New Model of Integration? Reflections on the CARICOM Experience by Norman Girvan.

Despite the many successes of ALBA in the Caribbean so far, the future of the organization hangs in a precarious position, as the October elections in Venezuela will do a great deal to determine both its strength and durability.  Nevertheless, the expansion of the group’s membership in the Caribbean, in addition to the newly formed Community of Latin American and Caribbean States signals an important shift away from American hegemony in the region – that it is no longer Washington’s “backyard” anymore – but rather a region which has been taken for granted and is now looking to put their priorities first for a change.  It is a change which is long overdue.

Part 2: Haiti

When looking at the vast array of reconstruction plans and promises of aid to rebuild Haiti, the old cliché "actions speak louder than words" rings true.  Two years later, the failed reconstruction of Haiti has shown that a great deal of the international community’s optimism which emerged after the earthquake was simply that—talk.  While this may be a harsh criticism of seemingly well-intentioned efforts, when contrasted to the actions of a small but determined group of Latin American and Caribbean countries, the majority of international efforts in Haiti are shameful.

The countries which comprise the Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas (ALBA) have always regarded Haiti as an important sister nation and partner in the fight against imperialism and neoliberal globalization.  At the inauguration of President Michel Martelly last May, Héctor Rodríguez, vice-president of the Social Area Council of Venezuela wasted no time in renewing ALBA’s cooperation to Haiti, stating, “We have a historical debt to pay to our brothers and sisters in Haiti, because they helped us liberate our Latin America.”  Rodríguez’s remarks referred to the assistance of then-Haitian President Petion to Simón Bolívar during the independence wars against Spain, where newly liberated Haiti provided soldiers, financial aid, and political asylum to the Latin American revolutionary.

The first week of February saw the 11 summit of the Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas (ALBA) convene in Caracas, Venezuela.  With Haiti in attendance as a permanent observer, Martelly’s attendance at the summit was a surprise to many, due to his reactionary political program domestically, his close relationships with the Haitian elite, and his determination that Haiti will achieve real and sustainable development through neoliberal policy and the construction of low-wage sweatshops.

Despite Martelly’s political positions, the impact of ALBA’s assistance to Haiti (primarily via Cuba and Venezuela) is too powerful for him to ignore—doing so would discredit him in the eyes of the Haitian people.  At a regional summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, which was founded last December, Martelly confirmed the vital role Venezuelan aid is playing in Haiti, saying that "The cooperation with Venezuela is the most important in Haiti right now in terms of impact, direct impact... We are grateful to President Chávez for helping us from the bottom of his heart.”

The principal reason why Venezuela and Cuba have been so effective in delivering assistance to Haiti is their engagement in developing infrastructure and professional capacity prior to the earthquake.  These countries had spent tremendous time and resources developing networks, relationships and infrastructure which would prove critical to the relief effort, and they had a proven capacity to work constructively with the ministries of the Haitian government and organizations of civil society.

Perhaps the most important example of solidarity in Haiti has been the deployment of Cuban medical brigades.  Cuban medical assistance to Haiti began after Hurricane George in 1998.

An agreement to establish a sustainable model of public healthcare was initiated between Fidel Castro and President René Préval.  The model would focus on the immediate provision of services and the construction of medical clinics throughout the country, and the beginning of training of Haitian doctors, nurses and technicians, both domestically and at the Latin American School of Medicine in Cuba (ELAM).  Seventy Haitian students were enrolled per year at ELAM; the first year of graduation was 2005.

By 2007, eight years after the Cuban medical cooperation began in earnest, Cuba had become the primary healthcare provider for nearly 75% of the population which has access to healthcare services, with over 14 million medical consultations.  Statistics from the Pan American Health Organization in 2007 indicated that the presence of the Cuban doctors had led to several dramatic improvements in several key public health indicators.

Improvements in Public Health in Haiti, 1999-2007

Health Indicator                                            1999        2007

Infant Mortality, per 1,000 live births                 80           33

Child Mortality Under 5 per 1,000                     135        59.4

Maternal Mortality per 100,000 live births          523         285

Life Expectancy (years)                                   54          61

**Figures taken from Emily J. Kirk and John M. Kirk’s One of the World’s Best Kept Secrets: Cuban Medical Aid to Haiti

On the eve of the earthquake, Cuba had trained 550 Haitian doctors at no cost, with another 567 medical students enrolled in Cuba.  These doctors, in addition to Cuban medical personnel, would provide the most widespread and successful medical campaign in post-earthquake Haiti.

In an incredibly important gesture at the United Nations Donor Conference in March 2010, Cuba pledged to rebuild a sustainable, public healthcare system in Haiti—over ten years and at a cost of $690.5 million.  Not wanting to be outdone by small, socialist Cuba, this ambitious and deeply needed plan for Haiti was virtually ignored by the international media.  Despite the rejection by the United Nations, Cuba’s medical efforts in Haiti continue, with collaborative assistance from Venezuela, Brazil and Norway.

Notwithstanding the cholera epidemic (introduced to Haiti due to the negligence of United Nations troops), many non-governmental organizations have left the country as their funds dried up.  Cuba is once again leading the charge to save lives.

Its medical brigades have established 44 cholera treatment units and 23 cholera treatment centers.  They have achieved a mortality rate of just 0.36% in the areas they serve, four times lower than thenational average.  Cuba’s medical assistance to Haiti was chosen by Project Censored as one of the top 25 underreported news stories in 2011.

With the signing of agreements with Venezuela in 2007 during President Hugo Chávez’s visit to the country, a series of significant projects were ushered in, including US$80 million for an oil refinery, US$56 million for three electricity plants, US$4 million for a liquid gas plant, and US$3 million for a waste collection program.

Venezuela has also provided significant financial assistance to Haiti through the terms of the Petrocaribe program.  Under the program, Haiti became a participant in a preferential trade agreement, where they could pay for Venezuelan oil over a 25-year period, with 1 % interest rate.

After the earthquake Venezuela once again stepped up to help Haiti, by pledging US$2.4 billion in reconstruction and relief aid, the largest financial contribution among 58 donors,according to the U.N. Office of the Special Envoy for Haiti.  In another significant act of solidarity, in June 2010, the Venezuelan government also cancelled all of Haiti’s debt with Petrocaribe—amounting to the cancellation of almost US$400 million.

The February 2012 ALBA summit in Caracas produced a further roadmap to Haiti’s recovery, focusing on Haiti’s sustainable reconstruction, building infrastructure, and increasing independence in the areas of energy, agriculture, healthcare and education.

Due to decades of unfair trade and aid policies, Haiti currently imports nearly 80% of its main food staple, rice.  Venezuelan assistance is helping to restore the devastated rice industry in Haiti’s Artibonite Valley by providing technical assistance and financial aid to Haitian farmers.  According to President Martelly, the benefits of Petrocaribe include, “a deal where we repay the amount owed with rice, so this is good for us.  Because the main thing for us is to create jobs.”

Implementing assistance programs which develop rural linkages in Haiti and encourage domestic industrial growth is something that is unfortunately missing from many of the reconstruction plans of non-ALBA countries.  For example, despite many announcements of reform, current USAID food assistance policies prohibit the procurement of foodstuffs from local sources.

This means that US food aid (food grown and subsidized in the United States) is dumped into Haiti, destroying the agricultural industry.  By comparison, Venezuela is creating incentives for Haitian farmers to cultivate rice once again in an effort to develop food security and employment opportunities.

In contrast to the aid provided by the United States and other major donors, President Martelly has stated that Venezuela’s aid comes without excessive conditions and bureaucratic controls.  "Sometimes for a simple project, it might take too long for the project to happen," he remarked.  "If you're asking me which one flows better, which one is easier, I'll tell you Venezuela."

The foreign ministers of ALBA countries will meet at a summit to be held in Jacmel, Haiti in March.  It would be naive to assume that the United States will let Haiti join ALBA or establish deeper ties without a fight.

U.S. diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks have revealed that the United States government and the large oil companies fought to prevent Haiti from joining Petrocaribe under the administration of President Préval.  The United States and big oil exerted significant political pressure upon Préval, fearing the loss of traditional geopolitical dominance, not to speak of handsome profit margins from fuel delivery (Haiti received its first shipment of Petrocaribe fuel in March 2008.)

Haiti’s entry into full membership of ALBA would unleash untold pressure upon whatever Haitian government attempts to do so.  Whether President Martelly’s gestures are acts of political posturing or a signal of genuine intention to join ALBA, it is too early to tell.  What is clear is that ALBA has offered extensive and unconditional support to the Haitian people, in contrast to many hollow promises of the international community.  It has provided a model of solidarity and sustainability which should be emulated in the reconstruction of Haiti.

Source: NACLA

March 6th 2012

venezuelanalysis

As we celebrate International Women’s Day and look forward to the 50th anniversary of the Women’s Suffrage Movement in The Bahamas...We must examine the role that the Bahamian woman plays in the social and economic development of our nation - The Bahamas... ...We must encourage our Bahamian women who feel trapped ...to take the limits off of their minds and become innovative to find ways to progress economically

Economic empowerment for women through entrepreneurship

By Melisa Hall

Nassau, The Bahamas

As we celebrate International Women’s Day and look forward to our 50th anniversary of the Women’s Suffrage Movement in The Bahamas, we certainly salute, honor and recognize all of those Bahamian pioneers and trailblazers who have made significant strides and accomplishments that we the women of the 21st century are beneficiaries of.

As we continue to cherish the historic moments, successes, victories and challenges they overcame to empower women socially, economically, politically and nationally, it is only fitting that we also use this occasion to take an introspective look and evaluate where we are on the global scale of economic empowerment for women.

We must examine the role that the Bahamian woman plays in the social and economic development of our nation.   Here are a few questions we should consider:

• Are we consistent carriers of a progressive movement towards educating, enhancing and empowering our women to have a voice across the board in all equal facets of the economy?

• In what ways can we continue to contribute to the development of our younger generation to appreciate and value the significance of the Bahamian woman?

• What role is the government playing in developing and creating initiatives to empower and promote the advancement of women and is this an area that is often overlooked?

• Are there others mechanisms we can implement corporately or individually to open avenues for women to succeed?

Over the past few years and in recent times I have had the privilege and opportunity to meet so many women while hosing the annual business conferences for women, namely Kingdom Women in Business (KWIB).

What was and still is apparent to me is that most of these women sincerely aspire to be and do more for themselves professionally and economically, but oftentimes regardless of their marital status be it single or married, many of them feel trapped, restricted and prohibited; trapped in abusive relationships, restricted by their social peers and prohibited by their male counterparts especially in the workplace.   In most cases they simply feel financially bound.

We must therefore train and teach our youth and adult women, especially those who have found themselves in a pit, that through the power of God, belief in themselves along with timely information, tools and initiatives that there is a way to the palace.

As we can see from our heroines like Dame Doris Johnson, Mary Ingraham, Mabel Walker, Georgianna Symonette, Eugenia Lockhart, Althea Mortimer, Albertha Isaacs, Grace Wilson, Mildred Moxey, Ethel Kemp, Gladys Bailey and Madge Brown, Janet Bostwick, just to name a few, the road and journey was not easy but it is possible to make significant achievements as a woman.

We must continue to advocate for equal opportunities for women socially, economically, politically, constitutionally, corporately, nationally and most certainly legally.   We must encourage our Bahamian women who feel trapped to take the limits off of their minds and become innovative to find ways to progress economically.

Personally, I want to challenge every woman who may feel suppressed, oppressed and depressed to use this time of reflection to position yourself to succeed.

One of the ways you can do this is through entrepreneurship.   Entrepreneurship, while challenging, will build your confidence and will definitely teach you the art of becoming economically empowered.

Here are three preliminary steps you can take towards becoming an entrepreneur.

1. Discover your purpose: Take an inventory and assessment of your skills, gifts, talents, strengths and weaknesses.   Be true to yourself and identify what it is you were born and created to do.   This is usually something you are really good at or would even enjoy doing even if you did not get paid to do it.   There is indeed something unique inside of you.

2. Have a plan and a vision: Imagine where you would want to be in the future and create a step by step process to get there.   Remember there is a process.   Know where you are and seek help through a mentor, coach or professional who can help you to get where you want to be.   This also means that you must count the cost, don’t just quit your job but create a financial plan towards starting your business.

3. Be prepared and persistent: Go back to school if you have to, become educated and qualified if necessary and attend training sessions that will enhance you.   Begin to hunt and gather information about what you want to do.   Be real and find out if there is really a need for your product or service, and don’t quit.   If our forerunners have done it, you can too.

In closing, as we continue to stand on the shoulders of those who have paved the way forward, we must remain confident in the ability that God has placed on the inside of each of us to bring transformation to build our nation and become economically empowered as women through entrepreneurship.

  • Melisa Hall is an attorney, advocate for women’s empowerment and business coach who hosts monthly workshops for women.

You may contact her at 341-2204, or reach her via Facebook.

Mar 08, 2012

thenassauguardian

Venezuela: ...Incumbent President Hugo Chavez’s re-election prospects are currently being challenged by Governor Henrique Capriles Randanski... and now must face the formidable competition represented by the attractive youthful governor who hails from the state of Miranda

The new man in Venezuela


by Lemi Tilahun
COHA Research Associate


Increasingly confident and adored opposition politicians see themselves as being able to effectively challenge the government’s pro-Chavez status quo. Incumbent President Hugo Chavez’s re-election prospects are currently being challenged by Governor Henrique Capriles Randanski and now must face the formidable competition represented by the attractive youthful governor who hails from the state of Miranda.

There are growing numbers of followers of the compelling and attractive Capriles. But whether he will be able to appeal to the citizenry to a sufficient extent in order to win over hundreds of thousands of devoted Chavez voters in next October’s presidential election, remains unclear. Up until to this point, there has been a deficit of appealing opposition candidates capable of effectively challenging the existing order.

Anti-Chavez opposition figures have gathered together to support Capriles in part due to his key victory in last week’s primaries, which indicates a potentially strong run in the general elections. While many Venezuelans are being energized by Capriles, such optimism could later lead to disappointments in October if Chavez’s predictable hotshot campaign is able to mobilize his electoral battle cry, especially with the tools and the crowds that Chavez has at his call.

Although Capriles is now charming the crowds across the country, it should be recalled that holding public office has its limitations; just look at leaders like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Robert Mugabe as well as Venezuela’s current president, who once had the very same mystifying appeal to young voters that Chavez displayed in 1998 when he hatched his current preeminence.

Some leaders may fail to deliver on promises that they’re now making, which could be the factor that puts them into power. For this reason, I believe that the Venezuelans should limit their expectations for change even if Governor Capriles is elected in October. President Abraham Lincoln once said, “Character is like a tree and reputation is like a shadow, any man can stand adversity, but to truly test a man’s character give him power.”

While it seems he is receiving large amount of attention, the presidential candidate and his indisputable charisma are sweeping people off their feet with triumphant promises and the silhouette he is now making regarding Venezuela’s future. Enough could be read in this early phase of the race that Capriles is running a plucky campaign but, at the end of the day, the numbers are against him, even with the win at the primaries.

Is the young governor worth the signature attention with which he is being adoringly rewarded? More importantly, some are now asking what makes him different from President Chavez or anyone else who has had the same effect on people in the past.

Some may argue that Capriles is a new combination of the young and the prepared, which Venezuela desperately needs to make a qualitative leap into the future. However, this is bound to rub off in a matter of time. At the end of the day, time will tell whether or not the opposition leader is someone who would meet the everyday needs of the Venezuelan people. Governor Capriles may be new and dazzling, but is playing the same game politicians of the past have played. They also showed the same promise, but ultimately failed to save the people on election day, without much meaningful impact.

The Council on Hemispheric Affairs, founded in 1975, is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, tax-exempt research and information organization. It has been described on the Senate floor as being "one of the nation's most respected bodies of scholars and policy makers." For more information, visit www.coha.org or email coha@coha.org

March 8, 2012

caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International

On the eve of a general election, sleeping trade unions in The Bahamas awaken... and suddenly take notice of ‘the plight of their membership

More union action as general election looms

By Taneka Thompson
Guardian Senior Reporter
taneka@nasguard.com

Nassau, The Bahamas

It never fails. On the eve of an election, sleeping trade unions in the country awaken and suddenly take notice of ‘the plight of their membership’. It is almost as perennial as the grass. They carry on about agreements that have been languishing at the negotiation table for years, company bosses who ignore them and a government that moves too slow. They summon the media to announce, time after time, that they are about to resort to industrial action to shut the country or a business down.

The truth is that these worn tactics – in the face of the global economic downturn and changing dynamics in the demand for labor worldwide – are becoming increasingly dangerous for the union’s members. Unionists have to, more than ever, work with employers, certainly to protect the ‘rights of the working man’ but also to ensure that this same man has work to go to the next day. No one can force a business to keep its doors open and no one would blame someone for closing up shop if that shop was not profitable. And as the events of the past few years have shown us, there is no such thing as a company too big to close its doors.

The most talked about issue over the social networks over the past few days was the nine-day closure of KFC. While many disgruntled customers joked about the lengths they would go to get their hands on a ‘two piece spicy meal’, the human element of the situation was glossed over. During the closure KFC executives said they would not pay staff, who they accused of engaging in ‘illegal’ industrial action on February 20.

For the 300 employees of KFC who sat in limbo, reporting to work every day under the union’s orders only to the find doors locked, there was more at stake than getting a fix of the Colonel’s 11 herbs and spices. They were forced to loiter outside the company’s nine Nassau locations, chatting amongst themselves, some with children on their laps or underfoot. Many of KFC’s employees are single mothers with, as a few of them told me, two and three ‘deadbeat baby daddies’. Unsure of when the next paycheck was coming in, some workers applied for the dole, desperate for emergency food stamps to feed their families.

Luckily for them, the standoff between the union and their employer was brief. After a series of negotiations mediated by Labor Minister Dion Foulkes, both sides came to an agreement over the terms of a new contract and stores opened on February 29. But the tentative contract terms contain reduced benefits for new employees and some concessions, albeit with expiration dates, for current employees.  And those employees are today without a week’s pay.

The unions overextended their hand and underestimated the lengths their opponent would go to prove his point. The franchise owner of KFC Nassau, George Myers, doesn’t need the doors of the chicken restaurant to be open to put food on his table – the union’s members do.

George Smith, former Cabinet minister and a good friend of Myers told The Nassau Guardian that Myers was ‘pushed too far’.

“We (the country) are having economic problems. They (the union) should have said, ‘Look, when the economy turns around can we revisit these things and set some benchmarks for when the economy improves?’ They know that their union isn’t about to supplement those people but [executives at KFC] know they could afford to hold out for a long period of time. I assure you, George Myers used the time to give his top people holidays and clean the place up a bit,” Smith said.

The only resort chain in The Bahamas to have two proprieties on two different islands, Sandals, faced recent union drama of its own. There was no actual industrial action taken by current employees of the Sandals Royal Bahamian, the resort’s property on New Providence. During the whole ordeal, I wondered what would have happened if in fact there was a walkout of workers at the property. Chairman of Sandals Resorts International Gordon “Butch” Stewart just invested $20 million in the refurbishment of a block of rooms at Sandals Royal Bahamian and millions more expanding his current holdings at Emerald Bay in Exuma.

His general manager in Exuma, Jeremy Mutton, recently spoke about the cost of running a resort on the out island. His son and CEO, Adam Stewart, has said that Emerald Bay will not be profitable until at least 2014. Royal Bahamian General Manager Patrick Drake is on record referencing the high cost of utilities in Nassau.

Gordon Stewart is essentially the sole proprietor of the multi-billion-dollar company. He has no shareholders, no board of directors to consult if either property does not make money. It is not out of the realm of possibility that he could one day pick up his marbles and leave. No one does business in The Bahamas – whether they are local or a foreign investor – because they think Bahamians are cute. They do so to make money. Let’s not fool ourselves; unions are a business as well too. They make money from the salaries paid to their members. Pushing an employer so far that he would rather close the doors of his business is like a parasite killing its host.

Labor unions have always had to negotiate in the context of the economic realities in which businesses and the employees who work in these establishments exist. As the world attempts to rebound from the worst global recession since the Great Depression, they have been focused on keeping the doors of businesses open and securing their members’ jobs. Nowhere is this truer than in the United States.

The Washington Times reported that according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, major work stoppages — situations when 1,000 workers or more go on strike or are locked out — dropped 95 percent in 2009 compared with the previous year. This is the lowest level since the U.S. government began keeping a tally in the 1940s, the Washington Times said.

Even the mighty automobile unions of Detroit, in order to save the jobs of their members who are employees of General Motors and Chrysler, agreed to no-strike clauses which expire in 2015 as conditions of the government bailout.

However, here at home it seems the threats, and sometimes follow through, of work stoppages have not gone dormant because of the recession. Union leaders continue to threaten to withdraw labor and shut down essential services.

It’s not much of a stretch to say that the trade union movement has been flexing its muscles recently because of the looming general election. Union leaders, and their members, know that politicians will say and do anything to quell any discord that could derail their political ambitions.

“Unions tend to try to get what is duly, rightfully theirs at this time in the political season because over the past years unions have not been getting their fair share before elections. So if it takes a union this period of time to save their problems until now, then there you have it,” said Dwayne Woods, president of the Bahamas Utility Service and Allied Workers Union (BUSAWU), which represents workers at the Water and Sewerage Corporation.

“It doesn’t mean that they are not entitled, and it doesn’t mean that they are being political. Whatever is going on here is non-partisan and non-political. I don’t play games; [these are] the wishes of the membership,” Woods added.

A few dozen of his members protested and withdrew their labor for at least two days last week. They were pressuring government to immediately address a list of labor concerns, including the regularization of several contracted workers, some of whom had been working with WSC for 11 years, and who did not enjoy the same benefits as permanent workers. The union is also pushing for the corporation to revisit its ‘unfair’ promotion policies; pay separation packages to workers made redundant after government ended its practice of water barging from Andros, and rehire two employees who were recently let go from the corporation or pay them severance packages.

Over the last few months, unions representing Customs and Immigration officers, air traffic controllers and the public service have also been agitating against government to address their issues – or face industrial action.

Labor Minister Dion Foulkes said while some unions do have genuine concerns, it is no coincidence that they have ramped up their efforts to conclude trade disputes as the next election draws nearer.

“It does seem that some of the unions are using the election season as leverage in their negotiations. Some of the issues that have come forward have been very legitimate issues by the various unions. Some of the matters have been in negotiation for quite some time and they are just coincidentally coming to head at the same time when the next elections are due.

“It seems to be there may be some political motivation behind the actions by some unions, but the public will have to draw their own conclusions from the facts presented,” Foulkes said.

Mar 05, 2012

thenassauguardian