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Chastanet Welcomes Taiwanese President! Left to right: Republic of China (Taiwan) President Tsai Ing-Wen, Prime Minister Allen Chastanet and wife Raquel.
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02 LOCAL
Address by President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Her Excellency Tsai Ing-wen at the Joint Sitting of Parliament in Saint Lucia on Thursday July 18, 2019
F
irst, I would like to thank Prime Minister Chastanet for inviting me to Saint Lucia. It is an honour to share this special moment with you all, and to celebrate the 40th anniversary of your country's independence. I am delighted to see many familiar faces here today. Prime Minister Chastanet and Speaker Daniel have both been to Taiwan, and many ministers visited Taiwan last year as well. It is indeed an honour to be surrounded by so many old friends, so far away from home. Saint Lucia has long been a staunch ally in the Caribbean. Prime Minister Chastanet forcefully spoke up for Taiwan at last year's United Nations General Assembly. And Minister of Health and Wellness Isaac made Taiwan's voice heard at this year's World Health Assembly. I want to thank all of you for your courageous support. On behalf of the people of Taiwan, I thank you all. Your support means much more to us than you would know, and I hope you will continue to stand by us. Taiwan has much more to contribute, and we are determined to make this known to the world. I chose the themes of freedom, democracy, and sustainability for this state visit because these three values truly reflect our efforts in the Caribbean. We are dedicated to steadfast diplomacy, and mutual assistance for mutual benefits. With partners like Saint Lucia by our side, we can help advance regional peace and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Over the past decade, our countries have undertaken many projects that embody the spirit of the SDGs. Together, we are ensuring health and wellness for people of all ages. Taiwan has always been more than willing to share our medical and public health expertise. And we are putting this willingness into action right here in Saint Lucia, strengthening your healthcare system through mutual sharing and assistance. Yesterday morning, Prime Minister Chastanet and
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I attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the new St. Jude Hospital. This facility marks yet another important milestone in our many years of medical cooperation, and I am proud that Taiwan is able to take part in this achievement. Beyond health, we have also worked to pursue sustainable agriculture. In 2013 we initiated a project that successfully tackled Black Sigatoka disease in Saint Lucia. Banana farmers now enjoy increased productivity, new international markets, and high profits. Today, Saint Lucia is the only country in the Eastern Caribbean exporting bananas to the European market. Our cooperation in agricultural development resonates with the work of William Arthur Lewis, Saint Lucian economist and Nobel Prize winner, who dedicated much of his work to ending rural poverty. We have made great efforts together in ICT as well. Internet infrastructure is vital for providing efficient government services and narrowing the digital divide. It makes it easier for people to get education, to find a job, and to do business. And of course, reducing inequality is at the core of the SDGs. Here, I would like to invite all of you to join us later in a ceremony to launch the second phase of the Government Island-wide Network. This will further broaden Internet access across the island. Public infrastructure is the foundation for sustainable development in any country, and this year we have initiated many major projects. In addition to the St. Jude Hospital, we have also begun work on the International Airport, as well as a national road system. These projects do more than build resilient infrastructure. They also create high-quality jobs. That is also an important element of the SDGs. While project loans will come from Taiwanese banks, the work will be contracted to Saint Lucia's companies through Taiwan's Overseas Engineering & Construction Company. This means we will be hiring local
workers and using local materials. This model of cooperation ensures that both our peoples can participate and reap the benefits. There will be no issue of "debt traps", unlike some other cooperation models. We believe in mutually beneficial projects rooted in strong communication and collaboration. Both of our countries want to provide brighter futures for our next generation, in line with the SDGs to provide equitable, quality education. Taiwan is honoured to help young Saint Lucians develop professional skills and expertise through scholarship programmes and vocational training. Saint Lucian students now have access to more diverse channels to make use of their talents and give back to their communities. Students returning from Taiwan bring home new expertise, knowledge, and ideas, creating new possibilities right here in Saint Lucia. My time here calls to mind the words of another Nobel laureate from Saint Lucia, the poet Derek Alton Walcott, whose writing made readers all over the world fall in love with Saint Lucia. In "The Sea is History" he captured the many opportunities and challenges that maritime nations have faced throughout history. Taiwan and Saint Lucia are small countries, and we both face challenges brought about by geography, access to resources, and climate change. Yet we have both walked the long road to democratization. We respect the values of human rights and democracy. Our shared journey gives us a duty to work together to achieve regional stability, freedom, and democracy. Once again, I want to thank both Senate President Giraudy-McIntyre and Speaker Daniel for giving me this opportunity to address you all. Your government and people have been true friends to Taiwan. May our countries enjoy a sustainable future and lasting friendship! Thank you.
French Bastille Day Celebrations By Doretta Francois
H
is Excellency, Ambassador of France Mr. Philippe Ardanaz is a wise man. He knew better than to compete with Lucian Carnival so, instead of commemorating French National Day, otherwise known as Bastille Day, on July 14, he invited guests, including Governor General Sir Neville Cenac, to join him and embassy staff at his official residence on Friday July 12. In his speech, Mr. Ardanaz focused on two topics: multilingualism and education; and environment and pollution. The Ambassador reminded the gathering of a comment last year by the governor general: “In order to be successful and competitive in the job market, every Saint Lucian should be able to speak three main languages: English, French and Spanish.” Mr. Ardanaz then informed guests: “We have launched a very ambitious programme named ‘Passport to French Higher Education’. It has been formulated to offer Eastern Caribbean students a high quality and very affordable alternative to the expensive regional and foreign universities. It will facilitate
P
French Ambassador Philippe Ardanaz
access to general and technical higher education in Martinique, Guadeloupe and to France mainland as well . . . The idea is not only to promote education and languages, but also to give access to new opportunities; attractive jobs, a better quality of life; and these opportunities in East Caribbean countries go hand in hand with a better cooperation and regional integration.” On the topic of the environment and pollution, the Ambassador proudly stated: “Last year I told you that we had a project to make all used plastic bottles disappear from Saint Lucia . . . I can officially declare that the programme is
now on! “The collection system is now designed to be as efficient as possible. A deposit and refund system will be established with the various partners including the private sector, government and NGOs. Step by step, each and every community should be involved to transform what used to be a simple idea a year ago, into a national effort leading to zero plastic waste in the wild.” Quebecoise Master of Ceremony Elaine Champagne proposed a double toast: to Franco-Saint Lucian friendship; and “Long live Sainte Lucie! Vive la France!”
Pas Jalou makes Miami Jealous
as Jalou, one of the Caribbean’s top emerging swimwear brands, made its Miami Swim Week debut this past weekend. Miami Swim Week, one of the largest global swimwear shows, boasts a long history dating back to 1989. The show has become home to many of the world's largest and most coveted swimwear fashion houses. Pas Jalou, the Saint Lucian-owned swimwear brand, was featured in the 2019 show and shared the runway with brands the likes of Bfyne and SaksFifthAvenue. Brand owner and Creative Director Kashima Montoute said about the experience: “I am excited about the direction the brand is headed and this was an important platform for the exposure of the Pas Jalou brand and a wonderful opportunity for me to grow my industry network. I would like to thank all the persons who have supported me during this process and I encourage other Caribbean
Pas Jalou models with creative director Kashima Montoute (fourth from left).
designers to continue to push the boundaries.” Pas Jalou will be featured in more upcoming established fashion events regionally and internationally, and continues to aggressively market and sell product via social media and online mediums; Instagram and its company website.
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03
Chastanet on St. Jude:
We are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel Dean Nestor
A
s the dust swirled and the scorching sun beat down on the sweaty brows of those in attendance, it occurred to me that the coarse environment of the St. Jude highway was an odd stage for all the finely attired players who had made their way to this relatively remote part of Vieux Fort. The long-awaited sod-turning ceremony of the St. Jude reconstruction project, ten years after the tragic fire, was about to commence. The star guest was President Tsai Ing-wen of the Republic of
A
President Tsai Ing-Wen sang Allen Chastanet's praises at the St Jude Hospital reconstruction project sod-turning ceremony.
China (Taiwan), fresh off from her visit to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Seated next to her was
Prime Minister Allen Chastanet, accompanied by Health Minister Mary Isaac, and Economic Development Minister
Gros Islet Theatre Named for Native Son Vladimir Lucien
fter years of stagnation since its ground-breaking on September 24, 2011, the Gros Islet Human Resource Development Centre finally opened. The occasion was marked by the attendance of President Tsai Ing-wen of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Residents from the town, students from nearby Gros Islet Infant School and others came to witness an event some feared would never happen. The parliamentary representative for Gros Islet, Lenard Montoute, said the centre was something he always felt the people of Gros Islet deserved. Alas, he lost the 2011 elections before he was able to deliver it. Nevertheless, on Thursday he proudly welcomed everyone to the town’s latest accomplisment: “If there was one project that I wanted to ensure delivery on, it would be the opening of this centre. This facility will allow for a greater ease of service in the community.” The centre is fitted with an indoor theatre, training room, music lab, conference room, office space and a restaurant. Its original plan had accounted for a cistern in the building’s foundation, self-serving generators so that it could double up as an emergency shelter, and an exhibition hall so artists could set up their work. However, Montoute said that the finished product differed slightly: water tanks and generators will be installed later. The exhibition area was replaced with a music lab
Opening of the Gros Islet Human Resource Development Centre.
which Montoute believes will provide more technical support to the community. The theatre offers a large hall and stage to accommodate plays, shows and large groups for conferences. It also features state of the art lighting and sound equipment. His countenance beaming, Montoute said: “The theatre within this facility has enabled us to honour and acknowledge a Saint Lucian prodigy of the literary arts by naming it after him.” He referred to 31-year-old Vladimir Lucien. The renowned poet, writer, actor and critic is one of the youngest awardwinning literary artists from Saint Lucia, more specifically from Gros Islet town. Montoute predicted that this laurel, paired with the centre’s prime location and technology, will institute a cultural renaissance in Gros Islet, and Saint Lucia by extension. Montoute anticipates that the addition of the centre’s resources in the community will provide new facets to the Gros Islet Friday Night experience by providing a different scope of events. He also noted that his ministry holds to a mandate
of efficiently training the adult population, and the centre is expected to host a series of skills-training opportunities for citizens in Gros Islet. “I also firmly believe that the centre presents an avenue for income generation for the community,” Montoute said. “Given the demand for conference and training space nationally, I expect these rooms to be booked regularly.” The restaurant space will also be an option for small businesses to set up and earn revenue. Montoute ended with expressions of gratitude to the Government of Taiwan for its invaluable contribution to the fruition of the Gros Islet Human Resource Development Centre. Taiwan provided the main source funding for the project. President Tsai noted that projects such as the centre epitomise the Saint LuciaTaiwan relationship because of all the new opportunities they provide members of the community as Taiwan seeks to enable sustainable growth in Saint Lucia. ---Claudia Mc Dowell
Guy Joseph, who opened proceedings. “It is indeed a momentous occasion to stand here today,” he said, “though with very mixed feelings about where we are.” Apparently it was not so momentous as to attract the invited House opposition leader Philip J Pierre, who explained the evident snub at his party’s weekly press conference that coincided with the Wednesday morning ceremony in Vieux Fort. “As it was for the Independence celebrations,” said Pierre, “as it was for the appointment of the Integrity Commission, as it was for the appointment of the Public Service Commission, and Teaching Service Commission, I have not been asked, whether by writing or verbally, to have any official engagement with the President of Taiwan. As a matter of courtesy, I was invited to attend a state banquet tonight. I was also invited to attend the so-called sod-turning ceremony at St. Jude which, as a party, we will not attend because we think it’s an embarrassment to the President of Taiwan. So, we are not going to attend any ceremony that we think is an embarrassment to the president of any country.” Considering its history with Taiwanese ambassador Tom Chou, what a relief to discover the new SLP leader harboured such loving feelings for the country’s president! Pierre need not have worried. Whatever her feelings as she sat with the prime minister, they obviously did not include embarrassment. Indeed, at the ceremony she reassured the nation that
“exchanges between Taiwan and Saint Lucia have grown closer over the past two years, as Prime Minister Chastanet has visited Taiwan three times and today I am delighted to be visiting Saint Lucia for the first time at the invitation of the Prime Minister”. The SLP had an explanation for that too. Former External Affairs Minister and current Laborie MP Alva Baptiste declared, presumably without “lubricants for diplomatic intercourse”, that “it must never be misconstrued as a symptom of happiness, the visit by the President of Taiwan. One of the expressions that is commonly used in the diplomatic world, and you see that in literature all the time: as a diplomat you must suffer fools gladly.” He did not say how many fools he had suffered in his time, nor who had suffered whom. To the above, he added this hypothetical situation: “Even though a country may not be entirely happy with the manner in which you manoeuvre, they will respect your sovereignty, they will respect your territorial integrity. But they are going to note the indiscretions in the country, notwithstanding. And if there was an improved framework for them to contribute significantly more official development assistance, they will not increase it, if it is a situation of wastage.” Did he have ambassador Tom Chou in mind? Some may well have felt Pierre was determined to avoid any reminders of his party’s failure to complete the Vieux Fort project during his last five years in government. Which
returns us to Guy Joseph and his “mixed feelings” about the momentous St. Jude reconstruction sod-turning ceremony. “The reason is primarily because this project should have been completed a long time ago,” he acknowledged. “For many reasons known and unknown, this hospital project remains incomplete after 10 years.” The prime minister echoed Joseph’s sentiment: “The initial attempt at reconstruction has not, we regret to say, been successful. In fact, it has produced very disappointing results.” He pronounced also that “the town of Vieux Fort needs and deserves a modern hospital to serve this southern part of the island. And this is what we’re embarking on today. This project must be completed once and for all.” In expressing gratitude to President Tsai and the people of Taiwan, he stated: “It is fitting, Mde President, that the first official engagement of your visit should be taking place in the part of the island which has been the focus of my government, and to see it become a major centre of development in the coming years.” A time frame for the hospital’s completion was not given on the day. Nevertheless: “I would like to place on record my government’s appreciation for the patience and cooperation of the doctors, nurses and the staff of St. Jude during these very difficult ten years, and to promise them that we are now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.” Hopefully it won’t be long before Saint Lucians arrive at the end of the tunnel itself!
04 local
JUly 20, 2019 THE STAR
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PM’s Senior Communications Officer declares Press Shut-out an Accident! Joshua St. Aimee
P
rior to the arrival of President Tsai Ing-Wen of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in Saint Lucia, local media houses received an invitation to the several “media opportunities” during her stay. The list included a sodturning ceremony for the St. Jude redevelopment project, the opening of the Gros Islet Human Resource Development Centre, and a visit to the Inland Reception and Distribution Centre. On Thursday, all roads led to the House of Parliament. Following a police parade, President Ing-Wen made her grand entrance to address the gathering of parliamentarians, senators and invited guests. Also in attendance were about thirty Taiwanese reporters, a
A temporary view afforded the local press at Thursday’s sitting of parliament. Moments after this picture was taken, the House entrance was shut.
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crew from the National Television Network (NTN) and two local reporters inclusive of the writer. To our surprise, moments before the proceedings got underway, local reporters were told by apparent security that the event was only to be covered by the Taiwanese and NTN. Efforts at explaining our invitation to cover the event fell on deaf ears. A press pass issued by the parliament office some thirty minutes earlier served no purpose. Shortly after the session, parliamentarians and the Ing-Wen-led delegation proceeded to nearby Constitution Park for the launch of Phase II of the GINet project. This time local press representatives encountered no barriers. The Prime Minister’s Senior Communications Officer Nicole McDonald blamed the earlier situation on “a miscommunication”; it was never intended that the local press should be left out. “There was no decision at all to exclude local press from anything,” she said. As if in support of McDonald, at the launch the Foreign Affairs Minister Sarah Flood Beaubrun thanked both the local and foreign media for their services. “If we were going to do this and nobody would know about it, well, that would be an unhealthy thing. Sometimes we just take it for granted that this is going to be reported. The press works very hard to ensure the world knows what Taiwan and Saint Lucia are doing together.”
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JUly 20, 2019 THE STAR
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A word to Philip J. Pierre on Putting Country First! Peter Josie
T
he carnival is over. A good time was had by those who desired it. It’s now time to return to other socio-economic issues. I offer the following unsolicited advice to Philip J. Pierre, leader of the House opposition and of the St. Lucia Labour Party. I trust it is received as a beacon of hope. He has toiled long and hard in the political vineyard of this country. Few can offer friendly disinterested advice, because many fear being accused of supporting a desperate, losing cause. My credentials include his help when I contested the Castries East seat in the mid1970s. I know, Philip, you share my concerns and understand the reasons we put country first. We both erred when we deviated from this noble principle. I have made the correction; it’s now your turn. I am painfully aware of the difficult road you have travelled ever since you threw your hat in the political ring. Unlike many others whom
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we can both name, our early involvement in politics was a high-wire trapeze act without the safety net of the amateur performer. Indeed, any political departure from the party was difficult to contemplate as we both persevered in a life-or-death situation in which few had dared to stand up against the might of John Compton. Ours was not a task for the fainthearted. Some described us as political upstarts. But that was fair wind considering the storms that were to come. Still, there were early differences between us, which we did not emphasize. I perceived at an early age that the only visionary in Compton’s camp of the ‘70s that coincided with my own, was Hunter J. Francois. Henry Giraudy was not cut for the rough and tumble of elective politics, and Compton was driven mostly by British colonial aid. I believed that, given the opportunity, I would out-perform these men. That was the reason politics needed people like you (and me) and why we canvassed to help our country socially and economically. I campaigned hard, but never begged anyone for votes or deviated from the process of enlightening the electorate. I was confident that we, along with Hilary Modeste and a few other young progressives, should have formed the nucleus of a new SLP, casting out the opportunists and the moneychangers from our midst. The sweat and toil that you and I put in politics deserved more than the sad disaster of 1979-82. My most difficult moment was standing on the Castries market steps alone, amidst boos and jeers from the massive crowd. I did it to save the SLP because no one else dared. I proved that night that I would rather die on my feet than submit to the fakery and selfinterest that threatened to strangle the SLP. I also proved that I could no longer support the ambitions of the “big brother” or the weaknesses of the political leader. Today, 38 years and some eight general elections later, I am still around to offer advice, even unsolicited. Standing alone on the Castries market steps has qualified me to make this offer to you because I proved that the SLP (and party politics) was worth saving. Such independent political stance is never easy, but by grace I’m still standing! You have now arrived at a point where you must pause and take a firm decision how to proceed, and with whom. You must decide what patriots will help you cross the Rubicon. Your job as leader of the opposition and SLP demands a visionary, focused and respectful articulation of the alternative country you wish to build and how you intend to do it. Will it be an all-inclusive and strongly united country, or will it be as divided as you found it? It has been said that in a multi-party democracy
The writer explains to now Opposition Leader, Philip J Pierre (pictured), that although they have had differences with regards to the Saint Lucia Labour Party, he is still willing to offer solid advice and explain the reasons why the writer himself left the SLP.
a government—any government—needs a strong opposition to perform optimally. It also affords the electorate a clear choice between contending political, social and economic visions of the country. Criticisms of the government must therefore be thoughtful, measured and hit the mark. Constant attacks on one man will not cut it. You now have to stand firm and not be used by novices or failed leaders. Do not allow every Tom, Dick and Harry to join the SLP and push you around as if you were some idiot who never studied at a renowned university. You must take a couple of weeks or more off island to meditate and review what I have written here. In the process, confide in those people whose only interest is the progress of Saint Lucia. Stop your party ignoramuses from talking
nonsense about “that white prime minister”. There is nothing some party hacks would like more than to be embraced by some white man (or woman) for pay. Every time an SLP hack says he or she does not want a white man as prime minister, ask yourself what has sixty-plus years of adult suffrage revealed. Since George Charles in the 1950s and Allan Louisy’s brief spell, what do you see? Cenac, Pilgrim, Compton, Anthony . . . Some people make it appear that any difference of opinion within a party spells division and doom. But isn’t it better to cleanse the party and have the bloodletting before general elections, not after? It’s not hard to do if one believes that the country always comes first. Politics must aim to serve the country, not self. Your campaign must therefore be an offer to help people—all the people!
In closing I recommend that you and your experts discuss Sir Arthur Lewis’s The Theory of Economic Growth and Economic Development with Unlimited Supplies of Labour. While you’re at it, decide whether it makes sense to establish industries (job creation) even though their costs of production may greatly exceed their monetary cost of imports. You may also wish to discuss whether, with the high cost of road construction, lands bounded by public roads (and feeder roads) that are vacant, and not in production, ought to be taxed. Finally, try and envision a new agenda with reputable people that put country before self. If you cannot do this, then you must decide soon, the best time to call that George.
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Sweet, Sweet Saint Lucian Carnival! Claudia Mc Dowell
T
he feathers have moulted, the tons of garbage have been removed from the streets and the Events Company of St. Lucia has already begun promoting the next big thing: Roots & Soul. Saint Lucia Carnival, the country’s biggest “cultural” showcase, ended this week with an extended Carnival Tuesday as fourteen bands crossed the judging stage. Media, deejays and tourists from around the world were attracted to our shores as thousands of revellers flooded the Gros Islet highway in their brightest colours and glitter while jumping and gyrating non-stop. As expected, Events Company of St. Lucia and the Cultural Development Foundation have been shouting about “the most successful carnival season”, not without good reason. National
events and parties, although increasing in number and entrance fees, were all well attended, up until the eve of the Parade of the Bands. Carnival in the Caribbean traces back to African cultural celebrations of freedom from slavery, obscurely mixed with European traditions of final indulgence before the Lenten season. In Saint Lucia the Parade of the Bands would not be complete without complaints on social media, in every workplace and aired loudly on the radio. This year, Newsspin host Timothy Poleon expressed particular concern about the rampant exposure of female behinds and breasts in the presence of innocent children at the roadsides. A caller to his radio programme was shocked at the sight of a woman’s posterior that he claimed “just open” in his line of view. Other callers talked about WhatsApped scores of photos and videos that featured wall to wall twerkers, jiggly butts, splayed thighs and various
Pointe Seraphine • La Place Carenage • Hewanorra Airport ~ ST. LUCIA Esplanade Shopping Complex ~ GRENADA
MULTIPLE SALES CONSULTANTS WANTED Harry Edwards Jewelers – founded in 1999 – continues to be St. Lucia’s premier duty-free retailer for almost 20 years, specializing in exclusive world-renowned luxury branded jewelry, watches, crystal, and accessories. With multiple retail locations island-wide, and current expansion into other islands, we are seeking results-driven sales consultants with dynamic personalities to join our team. Candidates for this position should prioritize customer care, acquisition, and company profitability. Sales Consultants - required for high performance, commission-based roles Duties and Responsibilities: • Achieve and surpass store targets while closing sales by means of excellent customer service and salesmanship. • Maintain a personal customer database and positive customer relationships in addition to keeping clientele informed by notifying them of preferred customer sales and future merchandise of potential interest. • Generate and qualify leads via phone and email. • Welcome customers into our stores with a warm and friendly disposition. • Ensure our stores have a pleasant shopping atmosphere and are kept up to the standard set by management. • Promote products/services to new and existing customers. • Represent our company at various functions, showcases, and product training during and outside of regular store hours. • Work on weekends and holidays. • Continuously improve through feedback. Requirements and Qualifications • Must have a positive attitude and be able to accept criticism. • Must take pride in his/her appearance. • Must be a self-motivated, assertive individual. • Must be determined to meet and exceed monthly sales targets. • Must be confident and well-spoken with excellent customer service and communication skills (verbal and written). • Must have an aptitude for negotiation and persuasion. • Must possess strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work independently as well as with a team in a highly competitive commission-based environment. • Must have strong organizational skills and excellent time management. • Must be able to learn and implement sales techniques. Please submit your CV by July 31, 2019, to info@harryedwardsjewelers.com with the subject: SALES CONSULTANT APPLICATION or mail to: Harry Edwards Jewelers Attn.: Hiring Manager P.O. Box 1889, Maurice Mason Avenue Sans Souci, Castries LC04 101
acrobatic splits. Perhaps what garnered the most attention was a video of a man seemingly gobbling the thonged derriere of a gyrating female at the side of a parked truck. By all the protesters said, they never saw this sort of public behaviour coming. For some time the carnival costumes worn by women have been growing smaller and smaller. It seemed every band, save Tribe of Twel, displayed female nipples poking out of wired bras, near invisible thongs and shaking bellies of all shapes and dimensions. If Soca and Dennery Segment music asked for increased jooking, sticking, vibrating, and shaking; if they encouraged celebrants to get on madder, badder, drunker and wilder, clearly their pleas did not go ignored. Even the prime minister joined in by confirming several energizer-bunny road marchers had appealed to him to “Call My Mother For Me, My Head Bad!” Arguing for police intervention, Timothy Poleon and others cited the Criminal Code while railing against public nudity or near nudity, to say nothing of sexual activity in the street, whether real or pretend sex. Agnes Francis, chairperson of Events Company of St. Lucia, said: “This is not what our carnival is about. I don’t mind the merriment, I don’t mind adult behaviour, but when you have spectators who are not able to view the event, not able to take their children to view the event, there is something that we have to do. We cannot just put up our hands and say this is the way of the world, this is the way we’re going.” The fact is, most of it like it so, Ms Francis. As for the revellers, they offer a common defence, and it has everything to do with our African heritage and free expression. One of the
laws referenced by Poleon and others: “A person who knowingly and without lawful justification or excuse exposes to view in any public place, any obscene picture, photograph, video recording, drawing, or model or any other object tending to corrupt morals . . . is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for six months.” Who is the jury? Saint Lucians who have classified carnival as a major contributor to our economy? And how will the police arrest over a thousand people? Where will they be housed? And for what? Some panty malfunctions? For a nipple that broke loose from its wiring? A misbehaving vagina or two? Imagine the police trying to make their case in court. Imagine the laughter from the gallery! We did not arrive where we are in one leap. As for protecting the children from the fall-out of Carnival Gone Wild, considering what today’s kids easily access on their cellphones, is little more than, dare I say it, child’s play. In the world we live in today, we do have a problem
with the meaning of such words as decency, morality, culture and good behaviour, freedom, self-respect. There is also a problem with depending for our survival on an industry that demands thrills that require more and more of what was once considered deviant. Now here’s another word waiting to be redefined for the times!
THE STAR
JUly 20, 2019
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CARNIVAL 09
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Courts Babonneau Steel Orchestra does it again! W ith at least five other activities on Events Saint Lucia's Calendar of Events for Friday July 12, the National Panorama Competition still managed to draw a modest crowd to Vigie playing field. Seven orchestras—Lucelec Pantime Steel, St. Lucy Steel Pan, Pantastic Muzik, Caribbean Grains Laborie Steel Pan, Soufcan Steel, two-time defending champions Courts Babonneau Steel and West Coast Survivors—competed for the title. Performing first, Lucelec Pantime Steel Orchestra came out with a bang, with Victim Story by former Calypso Monarch the Mighty Pep. The group seemed determined to unseat last year's champions and had the crowd swaying in no time. Pantastic Musik was among the best for presentation. Playing Arthur Allain's Sha Leh Sho, the performance also featured fireeaters. Presentation aside, the band's rendition of the song was also well executed. The defending champions came well prepared with a large contingent of players and steel pans. The event’s final act, they played the Boo Hinkson classic One Bad Prick. Even before the end of their performance, most of the audience had declared them the night’s bigger winner. Officially they tallied 475 points to guarantee victory. Caribbean Grains Laborie Steel Pan, with 428 points, placed second. Third place went to Lucelec Pantime with 423 points. Babonneau's musical director Alison Marquis’ reaction to his group’s third big win: "I don't really dwell on these things.
I'm just happy that they put on a great performance.” He took the opportunity during a short interview to thank their sponsor, Courts. “They've been with us from the year 2000 and through their help and assistance we've been able to reinvest in new instruments and make things happen." ---JSA
Prime Minister Congratulates Carnival Winners and Commends Police
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rime Minister the Honourable Allen Michael Chastanet has congratulated all stakeholders on an amazing and successful Saint Lucia Carnival 2019. “The growth in Saint Lucia Carnival is now clearly evident. The participation level has improved considerably and we had an influx of visitors from around the world,” stated Prime Minister Chastanet. “The reach of the festival locally is also expanding and we want to see this continue so that it benefits all Saint Lucians. We can do this by continuing to encourage and develop the aspects that are unique to us, including our island’s music and culture.” The prime minister took the opportunity to thank all who were part of the activities including the Events Company of St. Lucia, all the carnival bands, the Cultural Development Foundation, the
Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, the calypsonians, the sponsors, the volunteers, the revellers and patrons. “I congratulate all the winners and participants,” said PM Chastanet. “I thoroughly enjoyed Panorama and the street parade, watching the traditional and newer bands. I congratulate and thank our musicians, calypsonians, soca artistes on a great showing this year and commit to continuing to support the development of our music. “Of course, we still have our challenges and we will continue to work on enhancing our cultural product, which has become a regional and international attraction,” Prime Minister Chastanet added, “We will make the necessary adjustments to make this an event we can always be proud of, whether it is improving our music, the parade experience
Prime Minister Chastanet poses for ‘selfie’ with Carnival revellers. (Credit: WaveMaker Photography)
and other factors such as our traffic management and the upgrade of our road networks.
“What is evident is that government’s increased investment in Carnival, and the Saint Lucia Summer Festival as whole, over the past three years is bearing
fruit and once again we are seeing that we are on the right track. Our country is moving forward and Saint Lucia Carnival is well on its way to becoming the premier event of summer in Caribbean.” The prime minister also commended the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force for the management of Carnival activities, noting that there were no reports of serious incidents associated with Carnival. “A large part of having a successful Carnival is the safety of our citizens and our visitors,” said PM Chastanet. “I commend our police for a job well done and a relatively incident-free Carnival, and encourage our officers to keep to that standard especially as it relates to the management of mass crowd events. Our police are so important in this regard and they must continue to work closely with event organisers and stakeholders to ensure we have safe and successful events.” The prime minister took the opportunity to encourage visitors to stay on in Saint Lucia or return for more events during the summer, including the upcoming Roots & Soul Festival. Visit eventssaintlucia.com for more information.
THE STAR
Ti Carro dethrones T C Brown! F ollowing over six hours of competition last Saturday at the Calypso Finals, Ti Carro beat out nine other artistes to the 2019 Calypso Monarch award. Contenders included last year's winner T.C. Brown, Ambrose the Juiceman, Chocolate, Educator, Menell, Ready, Taker, Teddy Boy and Walleigh. Not even the night’s heavy rain could dampen the spirit of the event. The show attracted massive turnout to the Vigie playing field venue, all patrons armed with umbrellas. T. C. Brown sang Both Arms and We The People. The first was a tribute to Botham Jean, the Saint Lucian who was killed in his Dallas apartment last year by an off-duty police officer. The crowd's response was somewhat chilly. His second number was better received. It called on Saint Lucia's leaders to lead by example, to uplift and inspire the nation. Performing Act Your Age, eventual champion Ti Carro had the audience chanting and cheering from the first few notes. The song's lyrics note that at
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Ti Carro, the 2019 Calypso Monarch.
age 40, Independent Saint Lucia often carries on as if this were still pre-Independence. The song touched on the shortcomings of our justice system, the state of healthcare, the comatose banana industry and limited washroom facilities in the capital. Queried Ti Carro’s song: "Saint Lucia, if after 40 years you can't pass that stage, when will you act your age?" His second song, Remote Control, cited his "favourite prime minister" Allen Chastanet.
Another great performance came via Chocolate who sang Wall Of Fame, based on the prime minister's comments about children having children. While Chocolate described some fathers as only "sperm donors", she regretted that the prime minister may have given absentee fathers a pass by his remarks about single mothers. She reminded her audience that much of our society was built on the backs of single mothers.
Her Wall of Fame included the names Alix Walcott, Fidelia Poleon and Lona Hinkson—mothers of Nobel laureate Derek Walcott, journalist Timothy Poleon and musician Ronald 'Boo' Hinkson, respectively. In the end Menell came in 4th with 728 points, followed by T. C. Brown in 3rd with 736 points. In 2nd place was Walleigh tallying 765 points. Ti Carro was crowned Monarch with 791 points. "I cannot begin to soak it in yet,” Ti Carro said afterward. “I just hope that maybe when I’ve slept tonight and got up in the morning, this will still be real.” As for the recently dethroned, Brown said: "It was good for me on stage. My crew and I did what we had to do. We were confident; we put on a real good show like the other calypsonians. I think the standard of calypso tonight was pretty high and I'm just happy that I was a part of it." He offered congratulations to the night’s big winner: "Well done to the reigning monarch. That's what we do in kaiso; we bring messages, and may the best man win. Tonight Ti Carro is triumphant, he's the man. We'll all be coming for him next year!" ---Joshua St. Aimee
Ricky T Dominantes Soca Finals Night
Carnival Queen Wenia Verneuil awards Ricky T (left photo) and Sly.
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icky T remains Saint Lucia’s undisputed king of soca, as he successfully defended his crown in the Power Soca competition and also managed a first-runner-up finish in the Groovy contest on July 6. In the Groovy Soca segment, performing his popular hit Just a Friend, the soca legend pipped crowd favourite Shemmy J to second by a single point. Ricky T also narrowly missed out on the double crown to Vye Twizeen Boyz’ Sly, who won with the song Mix Up. 378, 370, 369 and 367 was
the final point tally of the top four finishers of the night’s first competition. It wasn’t that close in the second. With 392 points in the Power Soca competition, Ricky T crushed his opponents by a landslide. Coming in second was Ezra D’Fun Machine with 355 points, a whopping 37 points behind. Soca veteran Mantius came in third with 340 points while Pablo rounded off the top four with 339 points. Ricky T’s dominance in soca looks set to continue. ---DN
12 COMMENT
JUly 20, 2019 THE STAR
www.stluciastar.com
What has St to Deserve H O
Carnival has always been a reflection of who we are as a people, our collective sense of decency, a celebration of our history, a showcase for what we consider our art. But most important, perhaps, years ago we also decided to make carnival our greatest money maker, regardless of price!
ver the weekend I received two reviews of my most recent contribution to this column; one solicited, the other courtesy an overseas-based friend for whom the Saint Lucian postings on Facebook are “scribbled porn,” to be indulged when there’s no one else around. We need not reproduce the latest sample here. Suffice it to say that all its producer gleaned from my pointed references to John Pilger, Tom Wolfe and other journalists whose work continues to inspire my own was that I was “just showing off,” yet again engaging in “self-promotion,” blahblahblah. The proffered anonymous critique reminded me of the following from V.S. Naipaul’s The Middle Passage: “I knew Trinidad to be unimportant, uncreative, cynical. The only professions were those of law and medicine, because there was no need for any other; and the most successful people were commission agents, bank managers and members of the distributive trades. Power was recognized, but dignity was allowed to no one. Every person of eminence was held to be crooked and contemptible. We lived in a society which denied itself heroes . . . It was a place where the stories were never stories of success but of failure: brilliant men, scholarship winners, who had died young, gone mad, or taken to drink; cricketers of promise whose careers had been ruined by disagreements with the
authorities. We lived in a society which denied itself heroes.” Ring bells? This might: “It was also a place where a recurring word of abuse was ‘conceited’—an expression of the resentment felt of anyone who possessed unusual skills. Such skills were not required of a society which produced nothing, never had to prove its worth, and was never called upon to be efficient. And such people had to be cut down to size . . . Generosity, the admiration of equal for equal, was therefore unknown; it was a quality I knew only from books, and found only in England.” Yes indeed, harsh. Rough stuff. But is it truth? Is it true of Saint Lucia? Today’s Saint Lucia, where Derek Walcott’s ostensible aloofness and intolerance of fools live after him, not his universally lauded oeuvre? Where George Odlum is at once a saint and “the Great Satan?” Where native son Sir Arthur Lewis was “a black Anglo Saxon” who deserted his country? Where . . . oh, but already the point is made, hopefully. Now for the other review, requested of a home-based Saint Lucian who actually reads books—a rara avis: “What was the point you sought to make?” she queried, who knows whether out of professional curiosity or plain bitchiness? I said her opinion would better serve my purpose without my salt. She wrote back: “Sorry to say. I literally thought the words in my head. ‘I’ve read Rick write this before. Why is he writing such a love letter to Claudius?’ The writing is always good but the content this time was meh . . . for me. What was the insight? What was the
THE STAR
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JUly 20, 2019
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t. Lucia Done Her Artists? elucidation?” I’d hoped she might’ve challenged—at the very least—the advertised virtues of the so-called “New Journalism” techniques cited in the column offered for review. Nevertheless I took the opportunity to remind her that the degree of “elucidation” and “enlightenment” received from any writing depended on the reader. As someone much wiser than I had noted a long time ago: “What you take away from a book is largely determined by what you take to it.” Or something like that. Meaning: it’s unlikely a book on sprinting, say, by Kenny Anthony, will deliver much elucidation to Usain Bolt. Or, for that matter, enlightenment. As for my “love letter to Claudius,” I assured my invited reviewer that it had little to do with the radio presenter, despite his loaded recent comment that “when Rick was Rick he wrote articles that affected the country. Now he . . .” The lady fired back: “It wasn’t about Claudius per se but it was sparked by his comment that rankled. Or you used it as a writing prompt.” On that score the lady was right. At any rate, half right! For purposes of enlightenment and elucidation (not to say underscoring underappreciated past-present connections) I offer some more Naipaul, still referencing himself as a young man (and Saint Lucia, inadvertently): “Though we knew that something was wrong with our society, we made no attempt to assess it. Trinidad was too unimportant and we could never be convinced of the value of reading the history of a place which was, as everyone said,
only a dot on the map of the world. Our interest was all in the world outside, the remoter the better. Australia was more important than Venezuela . . . Our own past was buried and no one cared to dig it up.” More food for thought, this time courtesy Anthony Trollope from his The English in the West Indies: “Had I not seen Grenada, if I had not known what I was about to see in Dominica, I should have thought it the most exquisite place which nature had ever made, so perfect were the forms of the forest-clothed hills, the glens dividing them and the high mountain ranges in the interior still draped in the
white mist of morning . . .” Who’s to blame if the above is no more? In 1992 Derek Walcott offered a hint: “The Caribbean is not an idyll, not to its natives . . . Its peasantry and its fishermen are not there to be loved or even photographed; they are the trees who sweat, and whose bark is filmed with salt, but every day on some island, rootless trees in suits are signing favorable tax breaks with entrepreneurs, poisoning the sea almond and the spice laurel of the mountains to their roots. A morning could come in which governments might ask what happened not merely
to the forests and the bays but to a whole people.” How many times had our legendary native son delivered the particular sermon? Just two years before his passing, frustration from years of addressing eyes and ears that would not (could not?) see and hear had made him angry enough to say to a gathering of media practitioners, among them two Facebook giants: “There are times when I think Saint Lucia does not deserve her artists . . .” The Nobel winner took the opportunity to mourn: “Must I, like my brother Roddy, also die before this country provides a home for the arts?”
Every other day another “boring story” is retold. It may be about child abuse; it may be about our countless unresolved homicides; the random rapes with impunity; blatant official corruption; the scores of homicides turned cold cases hours after discovery; police officers gone rogue . . . All had been heard before, over and over and over. What we yearn for is fresh meat to chew on for a few hours—that is, fresh as imported iced fish is fresh. Better to redirect our attention to the nubile sweating secretaries gyrating naked in our streets, inviting random
shirtless males to bury their noses in the nearest oscillating lady parts—all in the name of our African roots. Not altogether new, but a lot closer to Senator Kentry JnPierre’s expressed desire to see “people no longer embarrassed to make love in public!” Meanwhile Walcott’s “rootless trees in suits” are singing the same old song: “Best carnival ever . . . it’ll be even better next year . . .” The poet’s “sometimes I think Saint Lucia does not deserve her artists” has been turned on its head, even as his nightmare morning fast approaches!
Financial Action Task Force Recommendation 24: Transparency and Beneficial Ownership of Legal Persons By The Attorney General’s Chambers and the National Anti-Money Laundering Oversight Committee (NAMLOC)
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ecommendation 24 requires countries to take the requisite measures to prevent legal persons from being misused for money laundering and terrorist financing. It is imperative that countries have systems in place to ensure the availability of accurate and adequate information on the beneficial control and ownership of legal persons. A beneficial owner refers to the natural person
who ultimately owns or controls a business, or the actual person on whose behalf a transaction is being done. Legal persons refers to any other entity other than the natural person that can enter into a permanent relationship with a financial institution or who owns property. Legal persons may include companies, foundations or associations. The competent authorities within a country should be able to obtain or have timely access to current and accurate information on the beneficial ownership and control of companies and other legal persons. This can only be achieved if a country institutes mechanisms
to ensure transparency of beneficial ownership. These mechanisms are to include: the ability to identify and describe the various forms and basic features of the legal persons within the country; being able to describe the processes for the creation of legal persons within the country and the public having the ability to obtain information on the beneficial ownership of a business. Domestic companies which are formed in Saint Lucia register through the Registry of Companies and Intellectual Property and are guided by the Companies Act Cap.13.01. Section 4(1)(2) of that Act states “one or more persons may incorporate a company
by signing and sending articles of incorporation to the Registrar and the name of every incorporator shall be entered in the company’s register of members as soon as may be after the company’s registration. An individual shall not form or join in the formation of a company under this Act who (a) is less than 18 years of age; (b) is of unsound mind and has been so found by a registered medical practitioner in Saint Lucia or elsewhere; or (c) has the status of a bankrupt”. International Business Companies register through the Registry of International Business Companies, and are guided by the International Business Companies Act
Cap.12.14. During the on-site assessment from September 16 to 27, 2019, assessors from the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) will seek to determine how effectively Saint Lucia is handling information on beneficial ownership. This will in turn lead to the assessors assigning a rating to Recommendation 24. For members of the public who wish to gather further details on Recommendation 24, information can be sought from the FATF Recommendations manual which is available on the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force’s website at CFATF at www.cfatf-gafic.org.
14 LOCAL
JUly 20, 2019 THE STAR
www.stluciastar.com
The Week at SLHTA
The Windward Islands (WINERA) Packaging Co Ltd
Tourism Matters
Beane Field, VIEUX FORT
VACANCY
Applications are invited from suitably qualified persons to fill in the following position in WINERA’S Production Department:
SLHTA Consultant, PM and Tourism Minister Discuss Tourism Security Plan
Tourism Enhancement Fund Makes Good on its Commitment to Distribute Wheelchairs Islandwide
PROCESS ENGINEER GENERAL PURPOSE Offer technical inputs to the various areas in the company in relation to production processes and general technical aspects of the products with the objectives of: continuous process improvements, satisfying customer requirements, and championing enterprise wide compliance with the company’s health and safety policy and quality management system. OBJECTIVES • Provide technical support to the various areas of the company with respect to production processes, technical aspects of the products manufactured and general technical information through continuous improvement programmes. • Control the plant waste generated from the various production processes and develop strategies to achieve the proposed objectives. • Enforce the company’s health and safety policy so as to guarantee the well-being of personnel and physical integrity of building and machinery. • Work in conjunction with the Management Representative to guarantee enterprise-wide compliance with quality management and other standards adopted by the company. QUALIFICATIONS/ REQUIREMENTS • Bachelor’s degree required. Preferably in in Mechanical, Manufacturing or Industrial Engineering • Post-graduate education in process control, project management, quality management systems, or industrial health and safety would be considered an asset • 2 to 3 years of experience in a manufacturing/ industrial operation preferred • Must be self-motivated, results and action-oriented • Ability to make independent and sound decisions • Ability to conduct assessments and audits and evaluate to measure progress • Effective oral and written communication skills • Proficient in Microsoft Suite applications • Ability to give and receive constructive feedback • Ability to lead a team-based approach to decision making • Demonstrated ability to work in a results-oriented, challenging environment • Strong leadership with the ability to get results through mentoring others • Effective coaching, facilitation, presentation, and team building skills Closing date for applications is July 27, 2019. Applications should be addressed to: The Human Resource Officer The Windward Islands (WINERA) Packaging Co Ltd Beane Field P. O. Box 248 VIEUX FORT
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rime Minister and Minister of Finance, Honourable Allen Chastanet, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Dominic Fedee, along with President of the Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA), Ms. Karolin Troubetzkoy and SLHTA Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Noorani Azeez, met this week with Tourism Safety and Security Expert, Dr. Peter Tarlow. The group had the opportunity to engage in much needed discussions on the development of a National Tourism Security Action Plan. The plan would seek to address both immediate and long-term
issues facing the sector. Dr. Tarlow is a worldrenowned speaker and expert specializing in such areas as: the impact of crime and terrorism on the tourism industry, event and tourism risk management and economic development. Dr. Tarlow is currently conducting a tourism safety and security survey on behalf of the SLHTA which will outline shortcomings and strengthening measures in the island’s tourism safety and security framework. The SLHTA will be aiming to provide training and certification for various stakeholders in this area upon Dr. Tarlow’s next visit.
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he Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) last year provided funding of EC$120,000 to the Rotary Club of Saint Lucia to facilitate the importation of wheelchairs to the island. This week marked an auspicious occasion as this venture between two private sector entities came to fruition, with the presentation of over 200 wheelchairs to be distributed islandwide. The wheelchairs will create greater independence for persons with disabilities by improving their mobility and enhancing their overall quality of life.
TEF Sponsors another Cycle of Maritime Training for Young Saint Lucians
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he Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) continues to invest in the young people of Saint Lucia through the recent injection of EC$35,000 into maritime training. Each sailing course, which has been successfully run for a number of years, provides intensive training for ten unemployed youth from across the island. The youngsters engage in a sailing, soft skills training and personal development programme. The Jus’ Sail youth sailing programme continues to benefit from TEF financing due to the positive impact it has had on the lives of the young persons who have successfully completed it. The programme has provided a number of employment opportunities for its graduates who have been
SLHTA Meets with Hotel Heads of Security to Discuss Development of a National Tourism Security Plan and Training Program
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able to progress in the local maritime sector. The TEF’s commitment to this programme is in keeping with one of the key mandates of the Fund which is human resource development. Supporting our youth and their development is one of the many positive outcomes of making a voluntary contribution or becoming a friend of the TEF. (See contact details above right.)
This project would not have been possible without the support of the establishments participating in the Fund and the voluntary contribution from guests of US$2 per room per night to the fund. This voluntary contribution enables the TEF to support projects of this magnitude. If you are interested in being part of this exciting initiative, please donate US$2 for each night of your stay at resorts here in Saint Lucia or become a partner/friend of the TEF. For more information contact Ms. Donette Ismael, TEF Programme Manager on (758) 453-1811.
ourism security expert Dr. Peter Tarlow and SLHTA’s Security Liaison Officer Mr. Anthony Martial met with hotel heads of security to discuss the dire need for training within the sector. This allowed for an in-depth dialogue with persons who deal with tourismrelated safety and security issues on a daily basis. After thorough dialogue, some of the key areas highlighted for the training included: the training of managers in tourism safety and security, creation of security plans for hotels, handling cases of sexual harassment, and customer service training for security personnel. It was also noted that there is a need for fast-tracking the cases of crimes against visitors. If you are interested in partaking in future discussion or training sessions dealing with tourism safety and security, please contact Security Liaison Officer Mr. Anthony Martial on (758) 453-1811.
THE STAR
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JUly 20, 2019
Has Kimberly DeLeon joined Verlinda, Trisha Dennis and other homicide victims too numerous to mention?
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WhatsApp message read out by Newsspin’s host last week caught my attention. Earlier, human rights advocate Mary Francis had phoned in and called out the DPP Daarsrean Greene for his continuing silence on several case files sent to him. “Yes,” said Francis, “he’s independent, according to the Constitution. So why are we hearing nothing from him on these matters?” On the same Newsspin programme police malpractice was also cited, the latest example being a video that featured an officer beating a shirtless individual with what appeared to be a cutlass, while two other officers looked on. Only days earlier this newspaper’s publisher had stated in his regular column Writings on the Wall: “The RSLPF is widely perceived as uncaring, corrupt, incompetent, a law unto itself, growing increasingly dangerous.” Francis’ reference to the DPP resonated with some of Newsspin’s audience, one of whom offered via WhatsApp: “Ms. Francis is right. Whenever the police want to brush you away, they say they’ve passed your file to the DPP. That’s how they get the public off their back. The DPP is for another topic.” This week’s the STAR publisher’s article came to mind, especially the following lines that he got from an unnamed ghetto source: “Keep in mind the cops grew up with us, they think and act like we do.” The article also touched on at least one expert analysis of the police psyche, which claimed that what separates the police from criminals is a uniform that in effect permits them to commit crime with impunity. A shocking revelation that the earlier cited videotaped beating seemed to substantiate. As for the dangerous public perception that the police always protect their own, it has been given further credence in recent times: months after Kimberly DeLeon was fatally shot at the
Mary Williams pictured with placards designed by her grandchildren in memory of their murdered mother.
home she shared with her police officer husband and their two young children, Mary Williams, mother of the deceased, has learned little that might justify her faith in the justice system. Even the public seems to have forgotten Kimberly. As someone said during last Thursday’s walk for justice: “This is all leading to one place: more and more people are losing faith in the system. And what the system won’t do for them, they will do for themselves before long!” A frightening thought! ---Dean Nestor
Police investigating Two More Fatal Shootings!
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aint Lucia suffered homicides 23 and 24 this week, after two more fatal shootings. One occurred on Thursday at Bois Patat, Morne Du Don; the other at Pavee, on Tuesday. Addressing the media about the latest fatalities, Acting Assistant Superintendent of Police, Elvis Thomas, said: “We can say that Curtis Christopher, a 34-year-old male of Morne Du Don, was pronounced dead at
about 8:00am. There’s not much more that we can say for now. The investigation is very much active and so we’re hoping that as it progresses we would be able to provide you with more information.” As for the Pavee homicide, Thomas revealed that the deceased had been identified as Earl Emmanuel, a 45-year-old male originally from Vieux Fort. According to the Acting ASP,
officers on the scene requested assistance from emergency personnel, who then transported Emmanuel to Victoria Hospital via ambulance. "He was later pronounced dead by a medical practitioner,” Thomas confirmed. He was unable to provide any information regarding suspects in relation to either homicide.
---DN
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JUly 20, 2019 THE STAR
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Miss Understood
THE FUNNIES!
The Power of Women By Allana Maximin
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Ladera Resort is seeking to fill the post of Human Resources Manager to complement its Management Team. Summary Job Purpose: The Human Resource Manager is responsible for providing professional support and advice on all human resource management areas to the resort. The HRM will need to be a proactive leader in the development of an outstanding workforce that emphasizes excellence, continuous improvement, and high performance. The primary responsibilities include but will not be limited to: • Creates and enhances training and development programmes that align with the hospitality industry standards; fulfilling all tasks and procedures to maintain local and international requirements i.e. Forbes Travel Guide, Health Department, Labour Department, Fire Department, First AID and CPR, AAA Certification, Green Globe Certification, Community Footprints and any other industry related programmes. • Ensure maximum return on investment of Ladera’s human capital. • Ensures planning, monitoring, and evaluation of employee work results by developing and overseeing appropriate performance management systems, and training managers to coach, develop and where necessary discipline employees. • Establishes and maintains company compensation programmes to ensure internal and external equity is maintained and guides management on promotions, reclassifications, transfers. • Manages employee relations practices to ensure a positive employee-employer relationship. • Evaluates turnover and performance trends and provide solutions to management to ensure that Ladera maintains its standing as a preferred resort to work with on the island. • Guides management and employee actions by developing and updating HR policies, procedures, methods, and guidelines; and communicating and enforcing organization values. • Works as a trusted advisor and communicates feedback and recommendations confidently to the executive team on all human resource management issues. • Complies with local legal requirements by studying existing and new legislation, enforcing adherence to requirements,
and advising management on needed actions. As an ideal candidate, you will meet the following Education & Experience requirements: • A Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management from an accredited University and/or at least 8 years professional management experience, at least two of which has been at a senior management level. • Knowledge of current trends and practices in human resources administration, employee classification, compensation and benefits, recruitment, selection, performance management, training, and labour relations; • Considerable knowledge of leadership and managerial principles, techniques, and practices. Skills & Abilities: • Demonstrated ability to understand and promote the linkage between business and human resource activities. • Adept at planning, directing and administering human resources programmes and systems. • Exceptional skills in communicating effectively verbally and in writing and at establishing and maintaining working relationships with employees, company officials, and labour department officials. • Superior analytical and problem solving skills. • Experienced in establishing performance standards and ability to counsel, motivate, and manage staff, ensure excellent performance and secure commitment to the Resort’s goals. • Ability to effectively articulate and promote Ladera’s strategic positions, including its core values, to a diverse audience. Remuneration • Competitive Salary & Benefits package commensurate with experience and qualifications. Application Please submit your application and resume by 5pm Friday, July 26, 2019 to: administration@ladera.com We will confirm receipt of all applications. However, we will only interview persons short-listed for the position. Thank you for considering a career with Ladera Resort.
n the past few months I have changed the way I view myself as a woman. Growing up I was told that women were powerless creatures, restricted to certain roles in the household and in society. As the years have gone by I've seen this mentality slowly disappear as women have risen to prove that idea wrong. Women are now very independent, powerful and determined to be seen as more than cooks, housewives and baby-makers. But has it gone too far? That is a very tricky question. While most women might say yes and others no, I think that our determination to be viewed as more than we were has had a great positive impact on our lives but has also had a few negatives. "What negatives?" you say. Well, I'll be happy to share. As a young girl, I knew that women had jobs but came home to care for the kids and cook and clean. Now with the rise of feminism and also the change in our focus, women have evolved to be more goal-driven, powersearching individuals. However, with that responsibility there comes neglect in other areas. I am afraid that with all the extra work we put in to prove ourselves, we have become the type of man we used to complain about. The type who is never home, does not show appreciation to those who care about them, fails to nurture their kids or show love to their spouses, and the list goes on. Because of that shift, a lot of these women end up alone and bitter, and don't get to fully enjoy the fruits of their labour. Dating is already difficult enough but dating as a successful, powerful, independent woman, boy do you have your work cut out for you. The next part of that is some of us get so consumed by our work that we don't even consider anything or anyone else. We get cold and bitter from loneliness but then think that it is normal and ok. Focusing too much on being a successful, independent woman not only affects us women but,in this new light of things, men have
Female empowerment and feminism have their place in ensuring that women are treated fairly, but do they come at a cost of losing all our femininity?
become complacent. Most men no longer feel the desire to work as hard as they did or play their part as a man in the household because they don't feel like they have to anymore. Most young men are more concerned with “wifing” a successful woman, just to make their lives easier. They have no problem sitting at home waiting for an allowance from their partner. But who can blame them? We have provided them with an easy way out of their responsibilities. We are so hellbent on being independent, and we might not even know what it means. “Independent” according to the Cambridge dictionary is not depending on another for livelihood or subsistence, being self-sufficient, self-supporting, self-sustaining, self-reliant. Key word here: “self”. If we could do everything for ourselves on our own, why do we yearn for companionship? While it is important to be successful and to have goals and follow your dreams, it is also important to bear in mind that
everyone in this life needs some sort of balance. Let me urge you to keep on the road to becoming successful but never neglect your other needs as a human being. Remember, a strong woman is defined not only by the degrees and awards she has earned or the business she owns, but by her ability to juggle a career, her family and spirituality. Power isn't in your position at a place of work, but is when you are able to align who you are with your purpose. Power is giving back and knowing someone feels joy in their life because of you. Women are naturally nurturing creatures. It is a power that we have to be able to care for others as we do. Do not forget who you are because of the job that you do. Most say feminism is equality for both men and women. However, I think equality should allow women to embrace the fact that we are kind, nurturing, emotional creatures who are capable of achieving anything we set our minds to.
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HEALTH
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THE 8 LIMBS OF THE TREE OF YOGA I
n the ancient philosophy of Yoga we have the 8 Limbs of the Tree of Yoga which relate to how the process of Yoga evolves. This is the most basic concept within the philosophy of Yoga. The 8 Limbs are the Yamas, Niyamas, Asanas, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. The Yamas are the social disciplines and how we deal with society; they are considered the roots of the tree. The Yamas comprise the five principles of non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, control of sensual pleasure, and freedom from covetousness and possessions beyond one’s needs. The observance of Yama disciplines the five organs of action which are the arms, legs, mouth, organs of excretion and the organs of reproduction. The Niyamas are considered to be the trunk of the tree. They are cleanliness, contentment, self-discipline along with a burning desire to achieve a goal, self-study, and self-surrender. The five
principles of Niyama control the organs of perception which are the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. They are considered the organs of knowledge because, without these organs, we could not learn about the world. The Asanas are the physical postures that we practice in Yoga; they are considered the branches of the tree. The Asanas bring the physical and the physiological functions together into harmony with the psychological discipline of Yoga. They bring us optimum health and wellness, irrigate each and every cell of the human body and nourish it through an abundant blood supply from the circulatory system. The leaves of the tree correspond to Pranayama, the science of the breath; prana is energy. The leaves draw oxygen into the tree. Through Pranayama, the respiratory and circulatory system come into harmony within the human body. Pranayama channels the energy of the body.
The bark corresponds to Pratyahara, the 5th limb, because it protects the energy which flows inside the tree between the leaves and the root. Pratyahara is withdrawal of the organs of perception (eyes, ears, tongue, nose and skin). It is the inward journey from the skin to the core of the being. It controls the mind and cleanses all of its impurities. The 6th limb is Dharana, meaning concentration. It corresponds to the sap of the tree, and links the roots of the tree to the tip of each and every leaf. Dharana, complete attention, brings the wondering mind to a state of restraint. Moving from the periphery (the skin) to the core of the being, Dharana awakens the intelligence and sharpens it to grow sensitive, preparing us for meditation. Dhyana, meditation, is the flower of the tree, which integrates the intelligence and brings the body and mind to a peaceful state. Samadhi is the fruit of the
The Tree of Yoga is a bluebrint for yogis to adopt wholesome living and practices in mind, body and soul.
Taken from the books The Tree of Yoga and The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by BKS Iyengar and The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Edwin Bryant, Phd.
tree, where the intelligence and consciousness come together like two rivers that meet and merge as they flow towards the sea, experiencing the ultimate bliss. The tree of Yoga leads us as we practice through layer after layer of the body and mind until we come to live and experience the beauty of the fruit of Yoga.
Join Yoga St Lucia and Rainforest Adventures on Sunday August 4 for ‘A Day of Yoga in the Rainforest’, and explore the practice and The 8 Limbs of the Tree of Yoga. See advertisement below.
Jill Hagar is a certified instructor of Iyengar Yoga and a certified International Yoga Therapist. She holds regular Yoga classes at Harmony Suites in Rodney Bay. For more information about classes please contact Jill by phone or WhatsApp on (758) 718 1297 or by email on yogastlucia@gmail.com
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Patriots Cheerleaders can’t get enough of Saint Lucia
W Members of the cheerleading squad were all smiles as they began their week stay on the island last Thursday.
ith the 100th season of the United States’ National Football League set to kick off in September, the New England Patriots will look to defend their title. The team secured victory at Super Bowl LIII in February, this their 6th championship. Still in a celebratory mood, members of the organisation were visibly upbeat last Thursday afternoon when they landed at Hewanorra International Airport.
The team’s 34-member cheerleading squad was on-island to shoot a 2019/2020 fitness calendar. This is the ladies’ second visit to Saint Lucia, their first being in 2013, for a previous calendar shoot. As before, they were hosted during their eight-day stay by Coconut Bay Beach Resort. “We rarely repeat a destination but Saint Lucia is so stunning and amazing, once was not enough,” said the team’s director of cheerleading, Tracy Sormanti. She also had nice words for the people they encountered. “We’ve been to so many destinations but we left the last time with reluctance. When it came to where we wanted to go next, I thought ‘Where did we leave a piece of our heart?’ ” Sormanti said that they intended to shoot with the Pitons as a backdrop “but we really want to go out into the towns and connect with some of the locals. We also want to visit some of the sites we haven’t seen before.” The Saint Lucia Tourism Authority’s PRO, Geraine Georges, welcomed the cheerleaders to the island. She boasted that the island is an internationally recognized film destination, with production teams choosing to utilize the many stunning backdrops. Sports Illustrated released its popular annual swimsuit issue in May; one of the magazine’s three covers features an image of American national footballer Alex Morgan, shot in Saint Lucia. Described by the publication as the “perfect Caribbean getaway”, featured locations include the Pitons, Anse Chastanet beach and the Toraille Waterfall. ---JSA
Make It Happen Lends a Hand to Bordelais
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esponding to a request from the Bordelais Correctional Facility, the Make it Happen Foundation on Thursday last week donated over $11,000 worth of sporting equipment and games to the facility. Chairperson of the MIHF Raquel Du BoulayChastanet remarked during the handover ceremony that it is important to keep the offenders housed there (particularly younger offenders) physically and mentally engaged as much as possible during their period of incarceration. She expressed her hope that this contributes to the rehabilitation of the inmates so that they can later on become positively contributing members of society. Inspector Lucius Lake, one of the directors of the Foundation, also spoke at the event and he stressed the importance of not turning our backs as a country on offenders. Citizens must be able to offer these persons some hope to help them turn their lives around and be reminded that people still care. The director of Bordelais expressed his gratitude to Mrs Chastanet and the Foundation for acceding to Bordealais’ request to provide the items. A representative from West Technology Group, which waived thousands of dollars in broker’s fees to clear the items, also expressed elation from the company on being able to participate in such a profound initiative. The Foundation is currently in the process of effecting major remedial works at the Rodney Bay Police sub-station and assessing the needs of some fire stations around the island which are in need of renovations. The next fundraiser for the MIHF will be the annual Officers’ Ball to be held on Saturday 7th December at the Sandals Grande Resort.
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KIM’S KORNER
Fighting the Effects of Ageing A
geing can be seen as a blessing or a curse, and at times maybe a bit of both. With age comes experience and wisdom. How many times have you wished you knew at age 20 what you know now? However, as much as wisdom is power, age can also be a curse. As we age there are certain conditions and problems we face that seem to be an inevitable part of the process of getting older. However, there are steps you can take to slow down problems, and in some cases avoid them altogether. Let’s face it, there must be a reason why 60 is the new 40. One such problem we can alter with attention and lifestyle changes is osteoporosis, more common in women, than in men, over 50. So what can we do to avoid the risks, or at least slow them down? Osteoporosis is a condition where low bone density causes thinning and weakening of the bones. It afflicts predominantly the elderly, but younger people can also experience it. Bone is a tough substance made up of collagen and calcium that is continually renewing and remodelling. Osteoporosis occurs when there is an imbalance between new bone being formed and old bone being reabsorbed. This can lead
to weakening of bone tissue. The most common reason for this happening is low levels of calcium, phosphate and vitamin D. Calcium and phosphates are minerals that are vital in bone creation; calcium is also essential for the health of the heart and brain, and vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium. There are many reasons why osteoporosis occurs. One is lower levels of oestrogen, a significant factor during menopause which may be why it is a condition seen more often in women, particularly in Asians and Caucasians. It can also be as a result of alcoholism, kidney disease, low bodyweight,
hyperthyroidism, smoking, a sedentary lifestyle and also certain medications. Osteoporosis is not easy to detect. Initially the first indication may be a fracture, often from a simple movement or fall that would not normally result in breaking a bone. For this reason, many people who have any of the risk factors should seek advice and diagnosis before suffering any significant injury. The most common bones at risk are the spine, ribs, hip and wrist. As the disease progresses, changes in posture and height may be noticeable as well as dull aches and pains, sometimes accompanied by
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All applicants should meet the following criteria to be eligible for the DSF Scholarship: 1. Citizen of Saint Lucia 2. Between the ages of 10 and 17 3. Enrolled in primary or secondary school 4. Aspiring athletes who are part of the school team, community or local league team or a club member for extracurricular activities 5. Students from low-income families 6. Continuous improvement in school grades 7. Pass grade of 70% and
over. Copies of the report cards/books for the last three terms must be submitted with all applications. This applies to new applicants, as well as current grant holders seeking renewal of scholarships. The deadline for receiving applications is July 22, 2019. For further information, please contact the Daren Sammy Foundation at darensammyfoundation@ gmail.com
deterioration is prevented or at least reversed. This can be done by using medications that increase calcium levels and uptake in the body; by incorporating lifestyle changes; adopting a healthy eating plan and adding more exercise to your daily routine. Even simple steps, such as giving up smoking and limiting alcohol intake, can have a positive effect on increasing the strength of your bones. Prevention is always better than cure so start making those changes now. A healthier lifestyle can help keep bones stronger for longer.
Kim Jackson is a UK-trained physiotherapist with over 20 years’ experience. She specialises in musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction including back pain and sciatica, stroke and other neuro conditions plus sports physiotherapy, having worked with local, regional and international athletes and teams treating injuries and analysing biomechanics to improve function and performance. She is registered with the Allied Health Council and is a member of PASL. She currently works at Bayside Therapy Services in Rodney Bay, O: 458 4409 or C: 284 5443; www.baysidetherapyservices.com
Bone is living, growing tissue that changes throughout the lifespan.
APPLICATION SEASON OPEN FOR THE DAREN SAMMY FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP
he Daren Sammy Foundation (DSF) announces that it is now open to receiving applications for the Daren Sammy Foundation Scholarship for the Academic year 2019/2020. Parents and guardians are advised that application forms are available from Gaspard Prospere at the Ministry of Education, 3rd Floor, NIC building, Castries. Grant recipients for the school year 2018/2019 are also invited to apply for renewal scholarships.
they can also determine if there are problems with the thyroid and kidneys. All of these are risk factors associated with osteoporosis. • Bone mineral density tests measure the density of bone throughout the body. There are different machines that test different areas of the body and in different ways, but they are all non-invasive and painless and have the same objective: to detect osteoporosis and areas that may be susceptible to fracture. If osteoporosis is diagnosed, then the next step is to make sure that further
bouts of sharp pain when doing simple tasks. If osteoporosis is suspected, there are several ways that it can be diagnosed. These tests are also a good way to monitor the health of your bones over time: • Blood tests measure calcium, vitamin D and testosterone levels in the blood;
Request for for Proposals Request Proposals Roots & &Soul 2019 Roots SoulFestival Festival 2019 EventsCompany Company of St. invites reputable organizations to submit TheThe Events St.Lucia LuciaInc. Inc. invites reputable organizations to submit proposals for the provision of the following services for proposals for the provision of the following services for Roots & Soul Festival 2019, Roots & Soul Festival 2019, which forms part of the Saint Lucia Summer Festival. which forms part of the Saint Lucia Summer Festival.
• Bar Management
Mobile Containerized Washrooms Bar Management • Catering Services – Artiste, Production, VIP, Media Photography Catering Services – Artiste, Production, VIP, • Concert Production Media Plumbing • Customs Brokerage Concert Production Road Side Cleaning Services Customs Brokerage • Event Décor & Lighting Event Security Event Décor & Lighting • Ground Transportation VIP Shuttle Services Ground Transportation• Temporary Electrical Installation Temporary Structures – Tents & Stage Temporary Electrical Installation Venue Cleaning • Mobile Containerized Washrooms
• Photography • Plumbing • Road Side Cleaning Services Please contact Events Company of St. Lucia Inc. for detailed guidelines and • Event Security submission details for any of the above-mentioned services. • VIP Shuttle Services • TemporaryTel. Structures – Tents & Stage # (758) 458-6076 • Venue Cleaning nd The deadline for receipt of proposals is Friday, August 2 , 2019
Please contact Events Company of St. Lucia Inc. for detailed guidelines and submission details for any of the above-mentioned services. Tel. # (758) 458-6076 The deadline for receipt of proposals is Friday, August 2nd, 2019
20 SPORTS MAKING ALL THE RIGHT MOVES...
GUYANA AND TRINIDAD MUTUAL INSURANCE (GTM), after 65 years of providing dedicated and unflinching insurance services to Saint Lucia, is aggressively and strategically repositioning itself in the Insurance Industry. We are making bold, transformative moves through our people, our products and our business philosophy to serve and protect you better. We will continue to do this with pride and excellence as we journey with you through life.
Here’s your career opportunity for you to join us in that journey:
SALES MARKETING AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER The ideal candidate should be a smart, outgoing but focused person with excellent communication and interpersonal skills. They should possess a sound knowledge of the insurance business with relevant qualifications and working experience in a supervisory/ middle management level. Primary duties will include: • To manage and achieve sales targets for both Life and General Insurance products through a team of Sales Agents island. • To develop strong, productive relationships with insurance brokers, banks & finance companies, real estate companies, medical practitioners & institutions, building contractors, engineers and other related industry partners to promote sales growth and portfolio expansion of all General and Group insurance product lines. • To lead, drive and be the main voice of the company’s Marketing, Advertising, Social Media and Public Relations initiatives and activities in promoting new, innovative products, developing emerging niche markets and establishing the company’s new corporate image and market position. • To engage in developing and implementing budgets and strategic plans, market intelligence through industry research, co-ordinate cross-fertilization of leads internally between departments, recruitment and training of new sales agents. QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE & OTHER REQUIREMENTS: • Undergraduate degree in Business Management, Sales and Marketing or related field • Certificate/Diploma in Insurance Practice or equivalent • Minimum 3 years’ experience in a similar position in the field of insurance. • Full use of a reliable motor vehicle
ADMINISTRATIVE AND HUMAN RESOURCE SUPERVISOR The ideal candidate should be a mature and experienced individual with working experience in a supervisory/middle management level. They should possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills and a working of Saint Lucia’s Labour Laws. A good understanding of insurance business would be beneficial to the candidate. Primary duties will include: • To ensure the company operates in full compliance with all labour laws. • To organize and co-ordinate the recruiting, training and annual performance appraisals of all staff. This will include the interviewing process, due diligence exercises, communications, performance improvement plans, preparation of training material and handling the resignations and terminations process. • To monitor and co-ordinate licensing requirements for sales agents and timely execution of the functions involved. • To organize and co-ordinate interactions with labour unions, statutory bodies and trade associations • To monitor and maintain staff data base and all staff records in respect of payroll, overtime, benefits, leave entitlement, training & personal development and ensuring occupation health and safety as per company policy. • To administer and mediate Employer - Employee Relations • To administer travel plans and accommodation for official company trips, QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: • Associate Degree or Diploma in Human Resource Management, Business Management or related field • Certificate/Diploma in Insurance Practice or equivalent • Minimum 3 years’ experience in a similar position. Qualified candidates should send applications by e-mail to info@gtmstlucia.com
JUly 20, 2019 THE STAR
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Apply by: July 31, 2019
Seven players to benefit from LAB development through SLBF
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he Saint Lucia Basketball Federation (SLBF), with non-profit organisation the Learning Academy of Basketball (LAB), successfully hosted its inaugural Youth Basketball Camp recently at the Beausejour Indoor Facility. The camp, which attracted boys and girls from as young as four years old to eighteen, targeted core values (teamwork, sacrifice, communication, leadership and hard work) coupled with a special discussion that focused on health and socio-economic issues which, according to Coach Greg Griffith, are applicable to all aspects of life. Players were put through several gameplaying situations which resulted in seven of the island’s most elite being selected to enter the LAB programme. They are: Jaiden Lebrun, Kymani Charles, Tyler Hubain, Cheic Bocoum-Alphonse, Justin Hippolyte, Sadiq Serville and Zachary Auguste. These players will all receive continuous development through the internationally acclaimed LAB programme. The camp ended with a small closing ceremony when President of the SLBF, Leslie Collymore, expressed sincere thanks and gratitude to the players, parents, coaches and members of the LAB for ensuring a sound preparation for the island’s youth in basketball. Said Collymore: “We are very pleased with the inaugural LAB camp held in Saint Lucia. The turnout by both parents and kids was very encouraging and bodes well for the future of the programme. The SLBF is dedicated to developing our young boys and girls who we recognize as the foundation of our sport, but we know that this is deeper than basketball; it’s about preparing our
President of the SLBF Leslie Collymore (front row, second from left) with LAB official Greg Griffith (front, centre) and coaches at the Youth Basketball Camp.
Co-founder of LAB Greg Griffith instructing at a recent Youth Basketball Camp.
youth for their futures in our communities, our country and the world.” Collymore admitted that the camp wouldn’t have been the success it was without the support of partners such as presenting partner 1st National Bank and other partners including Blue Waters, Lucelec, FLOW and Domino’s Pizza. The SLBF is an affiliate of FlBA, the world governing body of basketball, with full rights and duties as stipulated in the General Statutes of FIBA. The SLBF has been assigned to the FlBA Zone of Americas as per the Annex to the General Statutes of FlBA.
A player goes for a lay-up during a practice session.
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Athletes named for Pan American Games
Stephanie Devaux-Lovell competes in sailing.
David R Pascal
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aint Lucia’s contingent to the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru was recently announced at a press conference at the St Lucia Olympic Committee (SLOC) Inc headquarters in La Clery. The contingent to the Games consists of seven athletes representing athletics, swimming and sailing. In attendance at the press conference were President of the SLOC Inc, Fortuna Belrose; Secretary General of the SLOC Inc, Alfred Emmanuel; Chef de Mission, David “Shakes” Christopher; Assistant to the Chef de Mission, Velica Augustin; Paula James of the St Lucia Swimming Federation; and Coach Henry Bailey. SLOC Inc Public Relations Officer Ryan O’Brian chaired the
High jumpers Levern Spencer (left) and Jeanelle Scheper.
proceedings. Before the official announcement of Team St Lucia, there were opening remarks from Belrose. After welcoming everyone she said: “As you know, the St Lucia Olympic Committee really is the agency responsible for multi-sport games for Saint Lucia, and having Saint Lucia represented at these multisports events. This year is no exception and we have the 2019 Pan American Games upon us. Our responsibility as an Olympic Association is to ensure that we facilitate sporting excellence and encourage our members to strive for that excellence in the most effective way. This year we have been able to identify throughout our programming seven of the top best athletes who will be going out to represent Saint Lucia at the Pan American Games under the guidance of Chef de Mission
Triple jumper Sandisha Antoine.
David “Shakes” Christopher and Velica Augustin who is the Assistant to the Chef de Mission.” In the past, how well has Saint Lucia done at these Games? Berlose said: “This is the seventh edition of the Games [that] St Lucia is participating in. We have done so since 1995 where (sic) we participated in Argentina. Through the seven years we have won all three classes of the medals by two persons: Dominic Johnson—bronze in 2003 in pole vault, and Levern Spencer has done consistently well with a bronze, silver and now she is the defending champion with a gold medal.” Belrose pointed out the SLOC Inc supported quite a number of athletes through Olympic Solidarity Scholarships and that six of them competing at the Pan American Games “have benefitted tremendously
from the financial support that we were able to muster for our athletes”. She congratulated the associations that continue to produce athletes who have the calibre to represent us at international events, and mentioned athletics, sailing and swimming associations. In closing, Belrose said: “Of course, we continue to support all our federations in the hope they will continue to turn out athletes. In the last seven months we have contributed half a million dollars, with respect to support to enable and facilitate programming for elite athletes within Saint Lucia. There is a lot of work still to be done at the base level of sport. That is something that has to be worked out with each of the national sports federations and, of course, the development agency, government agency
Former Fairfax newspapers lose Gayle defamation appeal By Amanda Meade
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he Sydney Morning Herald and Age newspapers have lost an appeal against a defamation payment of $300,000 to international cricketer Chris Gayle, who was wrongly accused of exposing himself to a female massage therapist in 2015. The court of appeal unanimously dismissed the appeal from the former Fairfax media group, as well as a cross-appeal from Gayle who wanted to increase the amount of damages. The newspapers alleged the Jamaican cricketer indecently exposed himself to a team masseuse in the dressing room of a suburban oval in Sydney during the 2015 World Cup but a jury believed Gayle, who said the masseuse had fabricated the allegation. Gayle and team mate Dwayne Smith, who was in the dressing room when the alleged incident took place, both gave evidence in the supreme court before Justice Lucy McCallum in 2017. The four jurors also found that Fairfax was motivated by malice when it published the articles. The publisher argued that it did not receive a fair trial because Gayle’s barrister, Bruce McClintock SC, had launched a “pretty full-throttled attack” on the credibility of massage therapist Leanne Russell. The court of appeal
Sailor Luc Chevrier.
within government for sport.” Christopher, who is Chef de Mission, had the distinct pleasure of naming Saint Lucia’s contingent to the 2019 Pan American Games. First and foremost he mentioned Levern Spencer (high jump) followed by Jeanelle Scheper (high jump), Albert Reynolds (javelin), Sandisha Antoine (triple jump), Stephanie DevauxLovell (sailing), Luc Chevrier (sailing) and Jean Luc Zeph (swimming—100m and 50m free style). Augustin is the Assistant to the Chef de Mission. The contingent also includes coaches Henry Bailey, Peter James and Robert Hemming. Christopher said: “Hopefully we will be bringing back some medals for Saint Lucia. As the president mentioned a while ago, Levern has been doing very well at these Games and we do not expect anything different.
found the closing address had been unfair to the masseuse and had impugned her credibility but directions from McCallum to the jury had mitigated the effect. The directions to the jury “must have ameliorated the unfairness occasioned by Mr Gayle’s counsel’s departure from the pleaded case”, the appeal court found. McClintock had attacked Russell’s credibility in the original trial by bringing up an eating disorder she suffered and saying people with eating disorders were prone to lie. It should be noted that Fairfax is now owned by Nine News.
Albert Reynolds will compete in javelin.
We hope that the other athletes can be injury-free and have a good run because, you know, in sports, injuries can slow you down. I wish all the best and that we can go down to Lima and really represent Saint Lucia in a big way.”
India A crushes West Indies A by 148 runs to take 3-0 lead By CWI July 17
West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle leaves the New South Wales Supreme Court in Sydney October 25, 2017. (Getty Images)
Swimmer Jean Luc Zeph.
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est Indies A failed to build on a tidy, half-century opening stand between John Campbell and Sunil Ambris, and slumped to another defeat against India A by 148 runs in their one-day series. Ambris scored 30 and Campbell made 21, putting on 51, but the rest of the batting failed to fire, except for all-rounder Keemo Paul whose 34 was the top score as West Indies A, chasing 296 for victory, were bowled out for 147 in 34.2 overs in the third match of the series at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground. None of the other home team batsmen reached 20, as Krunal Pandya scythed through the batting with a spell of 5-25 from seven overs. The result meant that Roston Chase’s side trails the fivematch series 0-3.
The next match took place Thursday at the Coolidge Cricket Ground, a few kilometres away. Earlier, off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall and Romario Shepherd grabbed two wickets apiece, but they and the rest of the West Indies A attack failed to make inroads into the India A batting as the visitors’ captain Manish Pandey hit a sparkling, even 100 and opener Shubman Gill supported with 77. Shepherd grabbed the early scalp of Anmolpreet Singh for a four-ball duck but Shreyas Iyer came to the crease and put on 109 for the second wicket with Gill. Cornwall removed Gill and Iyer (47), in the space of 11 deliveries, to leave India A 137-3 but Pandya shared 110 with Hanuma Vihari for the fourth wicket to consolidate their side’s advantage before the last six overs yielded 48. The Indians won both the first and second one-day matches by 65-run margins.
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JUly 20, 2019 THE STAR
News from the St Lucia Football Association T he Saint Lucia Football Association (SLFA) Inc launched the 2019 Island Cup Championship on Wednesday evening at the Bay Gardens Marina Hotel in Rodney Bay. In attendance were President of the SLFA Inc, Lyndon Cooper and other executive members inclusive of staff members; Chairman of the National Lotteries Authority, Caron Serieux; Mr. Benson Emile, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports; and representatives of the various leagues. Following welcome remarks by Vice President of the SLFA Inc, Stephen Regis, Competitions Officer Stephen Marcellin gave an overview of the competition. First held last year under the sponsorship of Coca Cola, the competition was won by Marchand. This year the competition, which is now sponsored by the National Lotteries Authority, has been expanded to include 17 teams representing the District Leagues who have complied with the club licensing regulations. The competition will see the teams placed into two groups playing in a round-robin format, following which the top four teams in each group will further engage in a single round-robin competition comprising eight teams. At the conclusion of this second phase, the top four teams will engage in a semi-finals, third place playoff and finals. Matches will be played at the Marchand Grounds, Anse La Raye playing field and the La Resource playing field on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 4:00 pm, 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm respectively. Upon conclusion of the SLFA Inc 2019 Island Cup, a total of 95 matches will be played surpassing FIFA’s stipulated 90 matches. This would put the Association in good standing with the world governing body. Serieux, while expressing his organisation’s delight in coming on board to partner with the Association,
expressed some concerns. Among those were players’ attitude towards the sport, structural weakness at the district level, the unavailability of suitable grounds to host tournaments, and refereeing and officiating. The latter was of grave concern and, while lamenting the absence of top class referees on the island, he nevertheless hoped that this area is paid specific attention, saying that the Authority will be monitoring it closely. Also of concern to the Authority was the seeming lack of organised football development at district level, which he hoped will be given attention. Serieux concluded that while the National Lotteries Authority has already committed to sponsoring the tournament with a specific figure in mind, this could increase as it continues to monitor the progress of the tournament. Emile, who was making his first public outing since being appointed, lauded the Association for the strides being undertaken in the development of the sport. He challenged the players that, despite them being engaged in an amateur sport, they need to think big, like professionals, and raise their game perception and outlook. Emile committed his ministry to assist in whatever tangible way and pledged his ministry’s and government’s continued thrust towards the development of youth and sports on the island, inclusive of the development of playing fields. The second phase of Wednesday’s press conference involved the prizegiving of the 2019 First Division Championship which began in February and ended in April. Ten teams SLATWALL & STORE FIXTURES participated and forty-five matches were played, with the outcome being Baskets.Hangers.Mannequins.more… • Baskets• Hangers•Mannequins and more determined in the final round of matches. At the end, defending champions
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finding the back of the nets early in the 14th and 20th minutes, setting the perfect platform for her side. They never looked back and, despite Antigua and Barbuda reducing the advantage in the 39th minute with a goal by Danesia Wilson from long range, the Saint Lucians never panicked as they went on to record another victory, and qualification to the round of 16. The lone goal in the second half was scored by St Louis in the 72nd minute, formalizing her team’s dominance as she completed her hat trick. She has now taken her tally of goals to five and become the second Saint Lucian to register a hat trick in the tournament; the first was Tanika Bernard in Saint Lucia’s first game against Suriname. Dylan Neptune (left) of Platinum FC receiving the 2019 First Division Club Championship trophy from Saint Lucia has scored Chairman of the National Lotteries Authority, a total of nine goals while Caron Serieux. conceding five. In other matches played Platinum FC regained the plagued-Saint Lucia, led in Group A, Bermuda defeated championship with a total of 23 astutely by captain Krysan St Suriname 4–1, while in Group points. They prevailed by virtue Louis who blasted all three B, Grenada edged out Barbados of a better goal difference. In goals against Antigua and 1–0. Grenada’s goal was second position was Uptown, Barbuda on Wednesday, became scored by Nyah Hood. Saint also on 23 points, with VSADC the first team to qualify from Vincent and the Grenadines and placing third on 18 points. Group A to advance to the Anguilla played to a goal-less Apart from the round of 16. The third round draw. presentation of the major of matches continued in the In other footballing news, trophies, the following Concacaf Women’s Under Saint Lucia’s Men’s Under 23 individual awards were also 20 Qualifying championship, team opened their campaign in presented: Top Goal Scorer, joint currently taken place in Guyana. the Under 23 Olympic Qualifiers, award with nine goals each: Saint Lucia picked up its third Dylan Neptune of Platinum win in as many matches and led going down to host Dominican Republic 3–1. The half-time FC and Shaquille Degazon the point standings with nine, score was 1–0 in favour of the of VSADC; Best Goalkeeper, with the final match scheduled Noah Didier, Uptown, who only for Friday against host Guyana, host country. The game was played on Wednesday. Saint conceded three goals; Most the outcome of which will Lucia’s game on Friday was Disciplined Team, Knights FC. determine who tops the group. against Puerto Rico. In other news, injury St Louis set the tempo,
VALLEY SOCCER 2019 FOOTBALL SUMMER CAMP
T
he Valley Soccer Academy, powered by LUCELEC, announced the commencement of its annual Youth Football Summer Camp from Wednesday July 17 at the Castries Comprehensive Secondary School, Vide Bouteille. The football camp is open to boys and girls, ranging from five to 15 years of age, and will be offering much more than just football. Valley Soccer Academy expects to use this camp to attract: students who may have an interest in the sport but just need the fun environment to get hooked; players who would like to improve their technical skills and game intelligence; players who are interested in additional playing time as well as exposure to other sporting activities; and the avid youth interested in seven days of fun-filled physical activity and competition. The camp, powered by LUCELEC, will expose participants to laws of the game, conflict resolution, dealing with sports injuries, and a panel discussion focusing on issues affecting youth football players. A field trip to the west coast to engage in friendly football games is also on the cards. The theme of Wednesday’s activities was based on physical fitness, and started with player registration from 8 a.m. onward. A brief on camp rules and regulations, followed by player assessment, ended the morning session. After lunch, players competed in the first of a series of house games.
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Looking radiant in their team kit, little ones lit up Wednesday’s opening of the LUCELEC Valley Soccer Academy Summer Camp.
THE STAR
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july 20, 2019
HUGH JACKMAN AND I ROBOT F
or playing the role of “Wolverine” in the X-Men film series from 2000 to 2018, Hugh Jackman holds the Guinness World Record for the longest career as a live-action Marvel superhero. So, when he said he would love to have a robot at home, it set me thinking, not just ahead but back into the very distant past. In 1953, when I was eight years old, I had a robot at home. It was a new game known as “Magic Robot”, released in Britain in 1950. It soon became available in Trinidad. By that time I was already a voracious reader and listener to radio serials like The Shadow (my mother loved Dr Paul), and this toy fascinated me and helped to feed my love for knowledge. Looking back, even though it was called a robot, it was nothing like Wall-E, the Waste Allocation Load Lifter (Earth Class) or anything even remotely close to R2D2, C-3PO or BB-8 from Star Wars. It was essentially a small robot figure holding a pointer or stick in the centre of a circular pattern of questions. You first rotated the robot to a question and when the stick pointed at the question you picked up the robot and put it in the answer area on a mirrored surface. It then automatically rotated to the correct answer. It was never wrong. Never made a mistake. I am not sure who I got it from, but it was a breakthrough event in my development. Even though it used magnetism instead of any motor to find the right answers to questions, and would be considered primitive by today’s standards, it was indeed magic to us and I learned a lot of what was known in those days as general knowledge from it. In fact, that Magic Robot stimulated two of my later passions: one for technology and the other for information. The context was also important. The great Isaac Asimov, whose science fiction books I later avidly consumed, had published I, Robot in 1950 and introduced the term “robotics” at the same time. The subject was fascinating and provided an exciting glimpse of what the future might hold. It made us think, even then, about the nature of intelligence and humanity. I became a techno-
freak although my family keep insisting that I should leave out the techno part. I am still a kind of Inspector Gadget and keep buying stuff I can barely afford because of their novelty or breakthrough value as technology. In 1974, while in my final year at Carleton University in Canada, and despite the fact that theses had to be written, I decided to be the first student to include a TV documentary as part of my thesis and approached the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada for help. I was working on a documentary on a Canadian poet and lecturer, Mel Thistle, and wanted to animate excerpts from two of his poems. One year earlier, in 1973, the NRC had opened its facilities to Jakob Bronowski, the British mathematician and historian, for his famous, ground-breaking Ascent of Man series, helping him with what was at the time breakthrough technology: a process called “key-frame” animation. Before then, the animator had to draw each frame separately so at 24-frames a second, producing a 15-minute cartoon could take an extremely long time. What the technology did was take the first and last drawing in a series and programme in the rest. The NRC insisted that I learn the two computer programming languages of the time, Fortran and Cobol, and then agreed to help me with about two minutes of animation which required the closure of the facility to all other work for an entire night, and using 38mm movie film for the images. My return to Trinidad deprived me for a long time from access to computers. So when in the early 1980s the Vic-20 computer was available at a relatively low price, I bought one and have kept on exploring, buying and learning. I’ve never been without a relatively new computer, cellphone or gadget since. Even when I once lived in a basement, I had Windows. Last month, there I was with June 14, Indranie’s birthday, fast approaching. I generally buy her a piece of gold, perfume and clothes. This time, however, I had to deal with an issue that only technology could solve. I hate housework. I do not like to wash cars, cut grass or do household chores. I
am a reader and writer. I prefer to pay someone to wash the car or cut the grass. I washed the boat when I had one but not the cars, though I’ve had many. Indranie was on my back to vacuum the many rugs, mostly woollen, which she has scattered around the floors. They add a lot to the appearance of the house but I hate having to take time from my “work” for a chore that is so mindless. I had been following the saga of robot vacuum cleaners for a while and. despite Indranie’s resistance to artificial intelligence in any shape, form or function, I bought one for her as a “birthday gift”. With my usual thoroughness, I looked through the reviews and got one that several reviewers believed was the best value for money. Of course, she read my intentions clearly, deeming it a gift that I bought for myself using her birthday as an excuse. However, it was too good a gift to turn down. From the moment our son Zubin made it operational, the robot, whose official name is “Deebot” but called “Wall-E” by Indranie, and “I” (for “Indranie”) Robot by me, has been a hit, bouncing against the chairs and tables but thoroughly cleaning the rugs and floors. It initially scared our pet rabbit, Bugsy, but she too has got used to the metallic creature who is here fur better or fur worse. I sit and watch Deebot whisking around the floor, its side brushes like little Hercule Poirot moustaches sweeping dust and breadcrumbs into its maw, carpets and rugs all part of its day’s work, and I say to myself, “There but for the grace of God, who made me a technofreak, and technology which made me even lazier, go I.” Tony Deyal was last seen thinking of buying a Wolverine robot but believes he can build one from scratch. Tony Deyal is from Trinidad. He now runs a column in the Jamaica Gleaner, NationNews Barbados and the St Lucia Star, and runs a free literary magazine on mytrinidad. net. Tony can be contacted at tdeyal@yahoo.co.uk or on 1-868-351-1000.
FORM P7 THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN SUPREME COURT IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE (PROBATE DIVISION) SAINT LUCIA CLAIM NO. SLUHPB2019/0162 -ADVERTISEMENT OF APPLICATION FOR GRANT OF PROBATE(Rule 15) In the Estate of MARY CECILE GABRIEL late of Coolie Town in the Quarter of Castries, The Deceased. TAKE NOTICE that an application has been filed by MERLANA SHANIKIA GABRIEL Singlewoman and Registered Nurse a Saint Lucian National of Coolie Town in the Quarter of Castries in the State of Saint Lucia for a Grant of Probate to The Applicant who is the Executrix of The Deceased, The Deceased having died testate on the 30th day of January, 2019 at Victoria Hospital in the District of Castries, Saint Lucia. Any person having an objection to the Grant of Probate to the application shall file an objection within fourteen (14) days of the publication of this Notice. Dated this 3rd day of April, 2019 ......................................................................... ANDRA GOKOOL-FOSTER Legal Practitioner for The Applicant This Advertisement of Application for Grant of Letters of Administration is presented for filing by Chambers Andra Gokool-Foster whose business address for service is No. 5 High Street, Castries, Saint Lucia. Tel/Fax No. 758-451-9300; E-mail: agokoolfoster@yahoo.co.uk The High Court Office is at La Place Carenage, Jeremie Street, Castries, Tel. No. 758-468-7500, Fax 758-468-7543. The Office is open between 9:00a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 9:00a.m to 3:00 p.m. on Fridays except Public Holidays. The Office can also be contacted via E-mail: stluhco@eccourts.org
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