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VOLUME:117 No.74, MARCH 9TH, 2020

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$1.8BN PROMISES Disaster relief pledges total up by $300m

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net THE Disaster Reconstruction Authority now says that grants and in-kind services raised during the Hurricane Dorian Pledging Conference amounted to $1.8bn, but only $364,000 was in actual cash and deposits. Following the January conference, officials said donors had pledged $1.5bn in funding and other services.

Yesterday, DRA managing director Kay Forbes-Smith said after further assessment of the full scope of pledges, the revised amount from the conference was “very close” to $1.8bn. However, she declined to make

POLICE in New Providence are investigating after a man was shot and killed near Carmichael Road early yesterday morning, bringing the country’s murder count to 14 for the year.

Speaking at the scene, Superintendent Shanta Knowles said officers were alerted to the body by residents in the community, who made the gruesome discovery after hearing gunshots in the area.

“Shortly before 8am, residents in this area, just east of Lazaretto Road off Carmichael Road heard gunshots being fired,” she told reporters yesterday.

“A few minutes later, they made a check of the

public individual donor identities. During the event, the most speculated and talked about pledge was from the P3 Group and its president, Dee Brown, who announced that $975m in loans at concessionary rates would be made available to The Bahamas.

But two months after the extraordinary pledge was made, Mrs ForbesSmith said no decision had been made on whether this was an offer that would be accepted.

Officials have not formally gone into “detailed” discussions with P3 or any other entity and the DRA has yet to delve deeply into the details of pledges made, she said.

SEE PAGE SIX

HIGH WINDS FUEL BLAZE IN N ANDROS WOODLANDS

SEE PAGE FIVE

AS FEARS continue to mount over the deadly coronavirus, Catholic Arhcbishop Patrick Pinder is urging parishioners across the country with flu-like symptoms to remain at home until their health has been fully restored.

This, according to Archbishop Pinder, is a precaution that must be taken by the church to alleviate rising concerns in the country over the possible spread of the coronavirus. Up to press time, there were no

reported or suspected cases of the virus in the country, however it is quickly spreading throughout the United States and other parts of the world.

“This is by no means to indicate that we are currently in a crisis or epidemic locally or rather it is to exercise an abundance of caution and to be proactive and responsible in the face of this current reality,” the religious leader said in a letter to parishioners last Thursday.

Other precautions, noted by the archbishop, include maintaining good hygiene.

SEE PAGE THREE

GUNMAN’S VICTIM IS FOUND IN BUSHES

By LEANDRA ROLLE lrolle@tribunemedia.net

CHURCH LEADERS URGE FAITHFUL TO BE CAREFUL

By LEANDRA ROLLE & EARYEL BOWLEG

HOME

By LEANDRA ROLLE lrolle@tribunemedia.net

WOMEN ON THE MARCH EQUALITY Bahamas held its annual International Women’s Day March and Expo on Saturday.

Report - Page 2 Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

POLICE in Andros are monitoring a large bush fire on the island that occurred on Saturday, an official confirmed yesterday.

Head of Police Fire Services, Chief Supt Walter Evans, confirming the incident to The Tribune, said the fire began in the northern part of the island, “just south of the South Andros Airport”.

“There was a large bush fire burning in North Andros, just south of the South Andros Airport on Queen’s Highway,” he said yesterday.

SEE PAGE THREE

CUSTOMS OFFICERS WARNED - NO MOONLIGHTING

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Customs has warned its officers they cannot moonlight as “de facto brokers” because of the fraud and corruption risks this practice presents, a top Ministry of Finance official has revealed.

Marlon Johnson, the acting financial secretary, told Tribune Business that the agency had recently issued such a reminder to its

MARLON JOHNSON personnel due to an “informal practice” occurring at certain locations where

Customs officers were helping to clear import shipments as well as inspect them.

“There has been an informal practice in some locations of Customs officers assisting persons to clear goods by helping them to fill out declaration forms,” he disclosed. “That can create complicated situations where the Customs officer is acting as a broker, but is facilitating the same entry that they have to validate.”

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

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INSIGHT WHEN THE ROYAL NAVY TURNED ON THE SLAVE TRADE SEE PAGE TEN

PAGE 2, Monday, March 9, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Women on the march

EQUALITY Bahamas held its third annual International Women’s Day March and Expo on Saturday Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff EQUALITY Bahamas held its third annual International Women’s Day March and Expo on Saturday. From Eastern Parade to The Dundas on Mackey Street, participants chanted, “What do we want? Equal rights! When do we want ‘em? Now!” and “My body, my choice.” Several drivers responded with horn honks and words of encouragement along the way. The march focused on bodily autonomy and many of the signs were about consent, marital rape, and the right to choose. All participants were given whistles with a disclaimer attached. It advised them that whistles are not magic, they cannot be trusted to prevent rape,

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and the burden should not be on women to end violence against them.

Participants in the march were greeted by Equality Bahamas volunteers and other supporters. The Tiny Talk Speaker Series began immediately upon arrival and included student Caden Smith who started Bahamas Red Nose while in elementary school, Phillipa Dean from the Dignified Girl Project, Orchid Burnside from Cat Island Conservation Institute, and Denise Major from The Empowerment Group.

Throughout the day, there were numerous workshops and activities including yoga sessions by Cosmosis, self defence by Bahamas

Judo Federation, backyard farming by Chiccharney Farms, information on the Sustainable Development Goals by the SDG Unit, and rapid HIV testing by the HIV Secretariat.

Following the speaker series, Equality Bahamas announced the launch of its #Strike5ive campaign for the criminalisation of marital rape. It calls for the issue to be taken off the back burner and properly addressed. Director Alicia Wallace said, “There is no need to create a new category of crime. The definition of rape needs to be changed. Delete those five words -- ‘who is not his spouse’. It’s not complicated.”

THE TRIBUNE from page one “This means: cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue then throw the tissue into the trash; avoid close contact with persons who are sick; avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth without washing your hands; clean and disinfect objects and surfaces that are frequently touched…”

The archbishop also urged individuals to “stay at home when you are sick except to get medical care; wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.”

In his letter, Archbishop Pinder also noted the various changes that will take effect during mass in all Catholic churches as a result of the virus.

For example, all holy water containers at the church door will be emptied, including the “baptismal font.”

Physical contact, “such as handshaking during the sign of peace” along with the distribution of “the precious blood” during communion, is temporarily suspended, he also said.

He added: “For the time being, communion should be distributed in the hand and not on the tongue.

Eucharist ministers should

Monday, March 9, 2020, PAGE 3

Church leaders urge faithful to be careful thoroughly wash their hands before and after the distribution of communion.

The celebrant is to use a verbal greeting and refrain from physical contact while greeting parishioners before and after mass.

“Parishioners who have respiratory flu-like symptoms are encouraged to stay at home,” he continued.

“As circumstances change with regard to the coronavirus (COVID-19), these guidelines will be modified accordingly and you will be duly informed.”

The Anglican diocese is also implementing new measures in view of COVID-19 fears, however Anglican churches in The Bahamas will continue the practice of Holy Communion with members of the congregation drinking from the same common cup.

A pastoral letter from Bishop Laish Boyd, which

was to be read and distributed yesterday in all parishes in the diocese, urged churchgoers not to panic, but to take the threat seriously.

“At this time, we will continue to use the common cup,” Bishop Boyd’s letter read. “Persons who are uncomfortable with this may receive in one kind, that is, the Body of Christ only.”

The measures also include suspending until further notice intinction.

This is the act of dipping the bread in the wine.

Hand shaking and hugging during the Anglican greeting of peace may continue and, if uncomfortable, individuals can bump fists, bump elbows or bow reverently.

Bishop Boyd also advised church members to practise frequent hand washing and use hand sanitisers. He added that those handling

money should take “extra sanitising precautions”.

He suggested, if possible, that hand sanitisers be placed at the entrances of all churches.

“Clergy, chalice bearers and servers should ensure that they wash their hands before and after services and, where possible, sanitise their hands before and after the administration of Holy Communion,” the letter noted.

“Holy water stoops should be emptied daily (the water being poured into the ground, as in our liturgical and devotional practice). In the blessing of holy water, salt is always used. For the time being we will use a little more salt than usual to increase the curative properties of the water.

“If you are coughing, sneezing, etc, then refrain from hugging or hand shaking at the peace, and receive

communion in only one kind, that is, the Body of Christ, only, in your hand.”

To date, the current number of confirmed global new coronavirus cases is 109,670. Cases in China account for the majority with 80,703 reported.

Italy comes in second with a total of 7,375 COVID-19 cases followed

by South Korea with 7,313 cases.

In an effort to further tighten the country’s borders against the entry of the virus, the government announced on Thursday it was implementing more quarantine measures for people travelling to the Bahamas from Italy, South Korea and Iran.

Any non-Bahamian resident who visited any of the three countries in the last 20 days will be denied entry.

However, Bahamian citizens and residents coming

from Italy, South Korea and Iran will be subject to quarantine for a maximum of 14 days. These measures were already in place for China, the epicentre of the outbreak.

With four Bahamians in quarantine up to press time, Health Minister Dr Duane Sands said officials expect quarantine numbers to increase in the coming days. To date, 26 people have been released from quarantine.

More than 3,000 people have died from the virus.

Meanwhile, the Catholic archbishop is urging local parishioners to pray for those who have contracted the disease.

“Let us pray too that we may be spared any outbreak of this disease among us,” Archbishop Pinder said.

Editorial View - Page 4

Tough rules for cruise passengers

RBDF HOLDS TRAINING SESSIONS TO DEAL WITH VIRUS THREAT

MEMBERS of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force are better equipped to deal with the probability of a local COVID-19 outbreak, after a series of preparatory and training seminars were hosted at the Coral Harbour base last week.

Led by Dr Derwin Johnson, the force’s physician, participants were updated on the effects of the virus throughout the region and the world. They were also enlightened on the signs and symptoms of the disease, which has spread to many countries around the world, including Italy, the United States

and the United Kingdom. The deadly new coronavirus originated in Wuhan, China.

Attendees were able to practise how to adorn and discard personal protective equipment.

Dr Johnson said that “military personnel are vulnerable to exposure of a myriad of diseases based on the nature of their jobs.

As such, it is imperative to continually upgrade our policies and protocols in our response and have our personnel attend refresher and awareness seminars like this.”

ROYAL Caribbean Cruises has implemented “rigorous” boarding and screening measures to protect guests and crew from the deadly new coronavirus, the cruise line announced in a press release.

Regardless of nationality, boarding will be denied to any person who has traveled from, to or through mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Italy, Iran, or South Korea 15 days prior to embarkation. Boarding will also be denied to any person who has come in contact with anyone with 15 days prior travel to mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Italy, Iran, or South Korea. The CDC characterises contact with an individual as coming within six feet of a person, the press release said.

Any person who has had contact with or cared for anyone suspected or diagnosed as having COVID-19, or who is currently subject to health monitoring for possible exposure to COVID-19, within 15 days prior to embarkation will also be denied entry to the ship.

As of Friday March 6, the cruise line began mandatory temperature screenings of crew members and guests with digital, non-touch scanners on embarkation day prior to boarding any vessel. If a person’s temperature registers about 100.4°F (38°), the person and his/her travel companions will be referred to a secondary health screening.

“To comply with guidance from CDC, WHO, public health authorities

HIGH WINDS FUEL BLAZE IN N ANDROS WOODLANDS from page one

Videos of the fire made its rounds on social media, sparking concern among some Bahamians who have loved ones on the island.

One Facebook user wrote: “Them large fire ain’t nothing to play with, if that is not subdue that will burn down everything (sic).”

Meanwhile, another said: “Lord please help the people in Andros, I pray God will intervene, Lord Jesus have mercy.”

However, according to CSP Evans, no one was injured as a result of the fire. “It’s been burning since yesterday (Saturday) and was being fuelled by high winds,” he said.

“Police officers who are down there on the ground are monitoring that fire but from the information I have so far is that there were no major threats to no businesses,” he said.

Asked about the cause of the fire, CSP Evans could not say as an official investigation will have to be conducted to determine the catalyst.

“We will have to investigate, but first we need to make sure the fire, we have to see where that goes first and then we will do our investigations,” he added.

In the meantime, CSP Evans said that officials will continue their efforts to extinguish the fire.

Last June, a fire on the island damaged part of a school building.

According to a police report, shortly after 4pm, Andros police officers were on patrol in the area of the Huntley G Christie High School, Queen’s Highway, Nichols Town, when they discovered the centre block of classrooms on fire.

Officers and volunteers

from the community extinguished the fire, which damaged four single story classrooms.

However, no one was injured during the incident and the school managed to remain open and students were able to complete their final exams.

around the world, and the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), we are enhancing our rigorous global boarding and screening measures to protect our guests and crew,” the cruise line noted. “These measures are intentionally conservative and apply to anyone boarding our ships, guests and crew alike. We apologise for the inconvenience created by these precautionary measures.”

Secondary, enhanced health screenings will be performed on any person who reports feeling unwell or displays flu-like symptoms; any person who has traveled from, to or through Japan or Thailand in the 15 days prior to embarkation; any person who is uncertain about contact with individuals who have traveled in the 15 days prior to embarkation from, to or through mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, Italy, South Korea, Japan, or Thailand.

In some cases, guests presenting certain symptoms in the specialised health screenings may be denied boarding.

All guests who are denied boarding due to these

restrictions will receive compensation.

“Additional restrictions may be imposed based on local circumstances,” Royal Caribbean noted. “For example, certain countries may deny visas or prohibit entry based on travel history or nationality. We have rigorous medical protocols in place to help passengers and crew members who feel unwell while sailing. Our protocols include professional medical treatment; isolation of unwell individuals from the general ship population; and intensified ship cleaning, air filtration, and sanitization procedures.

“We are assessing developments constantly and will update these measures as needed. Guests with questions may contact the customer care departments of our individual cruise lines.”

The temporary measures will remain in place for an estimated period of 30 days and will be reviewed daily, Royal Caribbean said.

More information will be posted on the cruise line’s website.

Cruise ship with 21 virus cases set to dock - Page 15

PAGE 4, Monday, March 9, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

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Don’t dismiss value of pledge conference IT would be easy to be quick to criticise the pledge conference that sought to raise funds after Hurricane Dorian.

After all, the first figure reported after the conference was that $1.5bn was pledged. The news yesterday was more of a mixed bag. Only $364,000 was in actual cash and deposits, though the overall sum pledged had risen to just shy of $1.8bn.

That of course is a huge sum – but a significant chunk of that is in grants and in-kind pledges, not hard cash that can go straight to helping people out. The biggest amount in that was a pledge of $975m in loans from the P3 Group – an amount that raised eyebrows and perhaps distorted expectations of the outcome of the conference. No decision has been made on whether to accept that offer – with no detailed discussions yet with P3 regarding the pledge, but if that were to be declined, then it alone accounts for more than half of the total.

So some will raise their voices in mockery and say the supposed success of the conference was overblown – and yet that would be missing the point, we feel.

Whatever sum was raised thanks to the conference was more than what we had without it. More than that, it opened up connections for The Bahamas with the donors that could have value over and above the dollar amount written on paper. That’s not even taking

into consideration the possibility that all these offers may be accepted – that they have the possibility of a $1.8bn shot in the arm for our hurricane-affected economy.

The process has shown up some of our weaknesses too, however. The conference was held in January, yet you’ll note that line about “no detailed discussions yet”. The Disaster Reconstruction Authority simply doesn’t have the staff yet to address the pledges in detail.

That’s a bottleneck that doesn’t help as the days and weeks tick by – especially if you’re in Abaco or Grand Bahama and don’t have a roof over your head.

But for the critics who will point and say the conference has failed to deliver, we would suggest that if even a quarter of the pledges turn into a reality that benefits Bahamians, it will have been a huge success. We often ask governments to try new things, to offer new ideas – well, this was one of them, and whatever came out of it is extra on top of all the other fundraising efforts.

The hard part is verifying which pledges will be of use to Bahamians – and which will not. Time is against officials in that race, there are people who need that help now. So we wish them well in finding the right staff to make that assessment, but remind them of two things – their own pledge to make public the list of donors, and the urgency to help the victims of the storm.

Lessons to learn to stop the virus THE eminently sensible request by Catholic Archbishop Patrick Pinder for parishioners to stay at home if they are suffering the symptoms of the flu shows the kind of thing we can do ourselves to minimise the spreading of the coronavirus should it reach our shores.

That seems like an inevitability now – with numbers of those affected rising in the US and the horror story of Italy quarantining up to 16 million of its people by blocking travel in the north of the country.

Archbishop Pinder has also suspended the practice of drinking the communion wine from the same chalice and shaking hands during the sign of peace at church services. All this added of course to thorough hand washing, including before and after distributing communion. Little things, but crucial

steps that could stop the virus spreading within the church community.

He is not alone in taking steps – with Bishop Boyd of the Anglican churches also taking steps, and advising the congregation to use hand sanitisers, with those to be placed at the entrance of churches where possible.

We often look to religious leaders for our lessons – and we hope Bahamians will take these lessons to heart, not just in church but in their own homes and businesses. What can you do to try to prevent the virus from spreading?

Does your business have hand sanitiser at hand for both staff and customers?

At home, do you have tissues ready to use once and throw away if you sneeze? Little things that can make a difference – possibly all the difference in the world.

Time for Straw Market vendors to do better EDITOR, The Tribune

to The Tribune that some of the vendors had rent NOT surprised that the arrears in the thousands, Straw Business Persons due to years of delinquency.

Society is upset with Works Apparently, successive Minister Desmond Bannis- governments had pandered ter and the Straw Market to this group of entitled Authority for making the business persons by turning unpopular decision to close a blind eye. With Nassau’s down the market for much booming economy, this needed maintenance work. is totally unacceptable.

With the Spring Break Downtown Bay Street is season beginning this week, always teeming with tourthe scheduled closure ists, which leads to the between February 23rd following question: What to February 29th couldn’t time would’ve been ideal have come at a more inop- for vendors to close down portune time for irate straw the market for remediation vendors, who are carrying work? Even had Bannister on like they are living from chosen a slow period, venhand to mouth, which is dors would still complain, difficult to believe, seeing because that’s what they do that the rental fee at the best. market is only $37.50 per Another vexing problem week. If straw vendors are with vendors is that many having grave difficulty in of the trinkets being sold meeting their rent obliga- at the Bay Street Straw tions, then they should give Market are being imported serious consideration to from China, with little straw finding another job. In July work being produced in the 2018 Bannister complained country, like in the bygone

era when the straw market was truly Bahamian. Consequently, the straw market is really a Chinese trinket store.

On the Facebook political page named Blame Dem, photos of inside the straw market were posted, showing piles of rubbish left behind by the straw vendors who are raising hell about the closure. The rubbish is a health hazard and a haven for rodents such as disease ridden rats and centipedes. How could straw vendors work under such nasty conditions?

For this issue alone, the straw market should’ve been immediately shut down by the Department of Environmental Health Services. In summation, straw vendors simply need to do better!

KEVIN EVANS Grand Bahama February 25, 2020

Why the PLP should show its support for Monique EDITOR, The Tribune.

The PLP squandered a public relations coup and a chance to demonstrate that they are turning over a new leaf. Going in to the next election the party should want to show that it is open to fresh faces, especially women.

The daughter of the revered leader of the party, the late Sir Lynden Pindling, offered them a golden opportunity to show that they had truly put out a clean welcome mat for newbies.

Monique Pindling has been telegraphing her interest in politics for some time.

At the PLP convention last year, she warned the party about its tendency to associate itself with her father’s name, while doing nothing to preserve his legacy.

Then came her public smack-down as the party put out the no-vacancy sign telling her she need not apply for the Andros constituency her late father represented in parliament for over 25 years, having decamped there after first winning in Over-the-Hill New Providence districts in 1956 and 1962.

Using the feeblest excuse possible, the party said they would remain loyal to the four MPs who didn’t get washed away in the FNM tsunami in the last general election.

While this may sound admirable and even loyal, it is actually a slap in the face to the people of the same Andros constituency now represented by Picewell Forbes.

It appears none of the big-wigs in the PLP bothered to ask the constituents whether they want to keep Mr Forbes or if they wanted to let Ms Pindling have a go at representing them in Parliament.

That same week one of the true dinosaurs of the party, Leslie Miller, brazenly predicted that he and

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net a handful of “old boys” who used to be standard bearers for the party will definitely be returning to front-line politics.

Party Chairman Fred Mitchell didn’t wade into that pool, largely because he is one of those defeated 2017 candidates who harbours ambition to return to parliament and to the cabinet.

For the party to make significant inroads with the national electorate, they will have to do more than just criticize the government. They will have to put forward an army of new faces, including a lot more women, to prove that they have tamped down their blatant cronyism.

Ms Pindling wants to continue the legacy. Good for her. She is entitled to chart her own course in politics by standing on her father’s shoulders. Both her parents have roots in Andros and so it is understandable that she wants to plant her political corn in fertile ground.

She has probably done what any aspiring politician does, canvassing the area, breaking bread, sipping tea and getting to know the residents by name.

Were the sitting MP on a solid footing in the Mangrove Cay and South Andros constituency voters would have informed Ms Pindling long ago and she likely would have packed her Georgie-bundle and looked elsewhere.

Instead, it is likely that she got a positive reception and lots of encouragement to run from a good slice of the 1,863 electors who voted in 2017.

Mr Forbes won the constituency with just 46 percent of the votes. Which means that between Zendal

Forbes of the FNM (720 votes), Cyril Miller of the DNA (21 votes) and independent spoiler Sharmie Farrington Austin (273), the majority voted against the PLP last time.

Perhaps Ms Pindling could do well in the constituency in 2022. But instead of sliding the tsunami survivor Mr Forbes into a safe constituency elsewhere, it was Ms Pindling they told to take a hike.

And they didn’t say, “By the way, Ms Pindling, we believe we could use your name power in a marginal constituency elsewhere.”

The smart bet is that it would be better to have Ms Pindling and her posse tied down and busy in a single constituency on Andros than to have them roaming free around the Commonwealth, doing as they please.

History has shown that family dynasties represent a high-return political investment. The Pindling flame still burns in the PLP and no doubt there are some who will take offence at the perceived slight of Ms Pindling.

Her sister tried and failed to get voted into Parliament. Her brothers have shied away from politics and the sip-sip was that the family baton was likely to be passed on to Sir Lynden’s grandchildren.

It is just as likely that current PLP Leader Brave Davis didn’t want the distraction of senior Pindlingites snapping at his heels.

Ms Pindling has demonstrated an independent streak and God forbid Brave has to watch his rear flank for disgruntled Lynden Pindling acolytes, or perhaps a living parent, advocating for her at every turn.

THE GRADUATE Nassau March 8, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, March 9, 2020, PAGE 5

UNIDENTIFIED VICTIMS TO HAVE INDIVIDUAL GRAVES

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

UNIDENTIFIED victims of Hurricane Dorian will be placed in individual graves, with a key recovery agency in the country urging that “no one should exploit” this issue.

This, according to Disaster Reconstruction Authority Managing Director Katherine Forbes Smith

yesterday as she insisted there would be no mass burial, adding every effort was being made to ensure relatives of the identified victims are aware of what is happening with the remains of loved ones. The burials will cost the government $247,000.

She said officials had received two estimated costs for burials and went with the most economical.

She said a team from

the coroner’s office in New Providence was expected to travel to Abaco today and officials were in the process of identifying a date for a national service for those who died during Hurricane Dorian.

“The DRA has asked members of the Bahamas United Funeral Homes and Morticians Association and Bahamas Christian Council to take carriage of the organisation and planning

of the burial in conjunction with the DRA,” Mrs Forbes-Smith said yesterday. “The group has been very strategic with its preparation.”

“On Tuesday the DRA’s technical team led by its chairman, Wendall Grant, a civil and structural engineer, will be on Abaco to determine the exact location for the burial on the site already determined,” she continued.

Disaster relief pledges total up by $300m from page one Mrs Forbes-Smith spoke of the matter during a sixmonth, post-Hurricane Dorian press conference at the University of the Bahamas.

“On January 13, 2020, the United Nations Development Programme organised a private sector Pledging Conference in New Providence and let me just say as well, according to the UNDP, this is the first time that they had ever organised a private sector pledge conference because normally when they do a pledge conference it’s usually a country-to-country kind of pledge conference,” she said.

“Bahamians and partners from around the world attended and made pledges to assist The Bahamas. This process happened in the open, in a room of hundreds of people with the media present.

“Initial assessments

indicated that $1.5bn in recovery financing and inkind services were pledged.

As has been emphasised many times, these pledges were of various types of financing and services.

They were not all cash and donations.

“The pledges included initiatives in home building and repair; educational assistance; renewable energy partnerships; relief aid; grants; direct assistance to storm victims; parks restoration; loans and financing.

“After further assessment of the full scope of pledges, the revised amount pledged was very close to $1.8bn.”

The breakdown includes: $41m in grants; $1.3bn in public-private partnerships; technical assistance worth $51m; $400m in other assistance and $364,000 in cash and deposits.

“Now these pledges line up this way according to our priorities as follows: the economy $102m; education $6m; environment

$1m; health $670m; housing $51m; infrastructure $155m; $785m is not allocated; cash and deposits $364,000,” she said.

“And when I leave here today, tomorrow these numbers may change because we’re getting donations every day.”

Mrs Forbes-Smith continued: “It is up to the (Disaster Reconstruction) Authority and the government to determine which pledges are best for The Bahamas and the Bahamian people and this rebuilding effort. Discussions are ongoing with the various local and international groups that pledged.

“As the groups stated openly at the conference, some of the amounts they allocated include work already done to assist the residents of Grand Bahama and Abaco.”

Following the press conference, The Tribune asked the managing director to reveal the status of P3’s controversial offer.

THERE WAS NO ILL INTENT, SAYS FORBES-SMITH AS SHE MISSES DISCLOSURE DEADLINE

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net FORMER Senate President Katherine Forbes-Smith yesterday told The Tribune there had been no ill intent behind her failure to file an asset disclosure for last year as required by law.

Instead, the managing director of the Disaster Reconstruction Authority said the issue came down to failing to have the documents notarised.

Those documents would have covered part of her tenure presiding over the upper chamber. Her resignation from the Senate to head the DRA was announced on December 1, 2019.

Last week, reliable sources informed this newspaper that Mrs ForbesSmith had failed to meet the requirement.

“I didn’t know it was an issue, but last week I did

receive correspondence from the Disclosure Commission saying that what I filed (for) last year didn’t have a notary stamp on it.

So they have asked me to have it notarised and sent back and I think it has gone back by now,” Mrs ForbesSmith said when she was asked about the matter.

Last week, Public Disclosure Commission chairman Myles Laroda said he wrote to the prime minister and leader of the official opposition revealing the status of the disclosures.

The letters gave a summary of submissions, requests for extensions and the only failure to disclose.

However, at the time, he declined to state who had not satisfied the requirement.

“I have written and sent both letters to the prime minister and the leader of the opposition so they would have all of the information with regards to who disclosed, who were late

and who asked for extensions,” Mr Laroda said last week.

“It was single digits for those who asked for extensions or who would have been late and that is a combination of members of Parliament and senators.

“A lot of them would have disclosed and a few were late. The rest were granted extensions and then there is one (that falls in the category of) other,” he also said.

Official Opposition Leader Philip “Brave” Davis said all Progressive Liberal Party officials “complied” with the law.

The deadline for disclosing is March 1 each year.

Elected and appointed officials were given until last week Monday to disclose, as the deadline was a nonbusiness day.

Early last month, Mr Laroda said officials had shown interest in fully complying with the requirement.

“During this process, the Christian Council and Morticians Association will meet with family members of people presumed deceased to discuss any special considerations and concerns they may be regarding the burial.

“The DRA will not exploit the memory of the deceased. We want to make sure family members are aware of what is happening.

“Discussions circulating

of a mass burial is not true, it is false, and no one should exploit this issue. The remains of the unknown will be placed in individual graves.

“Out of respect for families we do not wish to say anything further on this matter.”

It is expected that in the coming days, a date this month will be announced for the national service for the victims.

DEPUTY Prime Minister Peter Turnquest speaking at the Hurricane Dorian Pledging Conference at Baha Mar Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

“Well I don’t know why we are saying it was controversial,” she told this newspaper. “…Well that is part of why I said we have to sit down and we have to go through these pledges one by one and make a determination what’s in the best interest of the country.”

Asked if officials were at a point where they could definitively rule out the P3 pledge, she said: “No. The Disaster Reconstruction Authority along with our lead in our committees, which is our finance and audit committees, they have to get involved in this process as well. So we haven’t dug deep enough into any of these pledges yet to be able to say well we’re not going to use this one (or) we’re not taking this. We just haven’t gotten to that point yet.”

This is because the DRA simply does not have sufficient staff, Mrs ForbesSmith said.

“We’re just going to be starting to actually work.

We have to staff up. As you know part of what’s going on with the DRA is it’s a new entity so we need to staff up to a certain point.

“We’ve had successful interviews with a number of key positions that we’re taking on so we need to get our staff at the level that we need it to be at so that we can begin some of this work in earnest.

“So we want to make sure that we have our financial people on board before we start talking about financing and equity financing and loans and all of those kind of things so it’s really about getting our staffing right, making sure that our organisation is in play to be able to move forward on these things.”

Within the next three months, she said, the DRA would have hired the needed top tier level staffing to explore the pledge options.

As for the DRA’s decision to withhold donor identities, Mrs Forbes-Smith

said: “…It’s very important for us even though people would have pledged equity financing opportunities or loans or grants or whatever, grants is a different story, but we have to be very careful. “… The details is something that you really have to pay close attention to, so as I said before we have to make sure that whatever pledge comes in, when it comes to loans or equity financing, first of all the Ministry of Finance and the government of The Bahamas has to be involved in that as well.

“Secondly we have to pay close attention to the details of some of these pledges because as I said it may not be in the best interest of the people or the government or the country so we have to pay close attention to the details before we make public and say we are going to accept this or the next thing,” she also said.

Editorial View - Page 4

PAGE 6, Monday, March 9, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Gunman’s victim found in bushes from page one

area, a bushy area just behind us where the sounds came from and discovered the body of an adult male.

He was already deceased when we got here.”

Supt Knowles could not confirm to reporters how many shots were fired.

However, she said: “But, I can tell you that we do have evidence of gunshots being fired and we are appealing to anyone in this area who may have information or who may have seen anything (or) heard anything to give us a call at our Crime Stoppers line.”

The victim has been identified by family and friends as 24-year-old Edward Charles Ferguson, whom relatives described as a fun, easygoing person.

“Edward was a hustler.

He was a really sharp guy, but you know he had his own ideologies of what he viewed life was and how he felt he needed to do things,” said the victim’s

THE SCENE at yesterday’s killing near Carmichael Road Photos: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

brother, who did not want to be named.

“We all make our choices and he was definite in what he wanted to do with his

(choices). He was really fun.

He was a fun dude to be around that could connect with anybody. Everyone really knew him, and everyone knew him to be someone that would break bread, I guess,” his brother added.

Asked about the family’s reaction to his death, he said: “A lot of us weren’t really expecting it to happen especially, you know how this year just started. We hear a lot of the number of persons dying

every year and you never know which (person it will happen to next).”

Ferguson’s death came a little more than a week after the bodies of two Long Island women — Melissa Hui and Jane Harding — were found in the Salt Pond settlement after the mother and daughter were initially reported as missing.

While thanking Long Island residents for aiding officers in their investigations on the matter, Supt

Knowles said they also hope to receive the same assistance from members in the Carmichael community.

“Just a few days ago, we had an incident on Long Island, and we saw the community become involved in searching for those women who are missing,” she said.

“And we want a say thank you to the community especially Salt Pond, Long Island and the second homeowners who mounted

a search and assisted the police greatly on that island.

“That is what we’re looking for from the community. We get lots of assistance, but we want that partnership to continue and so we’re appealing to the people of Lazaretto community.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at the Central Detective Unit at 502-9991/2, Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS or the nearest police station.

SIX CHARGED WITH BREACHING IMMIGRATION ACT

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE FOREIGN nationals outside court

SIX foreign nationals were charged in Freeport last week with breach of the Immigration Act. Donna Alain, 35, Allia Samdi, 28, David Toussaint, 37, and Joseph Francis, 34, were charged with illegal landing before Deputy Chief Magistrate Debbye Ferguson.

It is alleged that on March 3 the four were found in Grand Bahama having landed from a place outside The Bahamas without the leave of an Immigration officer.

They pleaded guilty to the charge and were fined $300 each or in default, one-year imprisonment at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

They were also ordered to be deported to Haiti on payment of the fine.

The accused paid their fines and were turned over to the custody of the Immigration Department for deportation.

In a separate matter, Colombian national Elizabeth Cristina Bolivar, 37, and Peruvian national Ana Jurez Loayza, 35, were charged with overstaying before Magistrate Rengin Johnson.

It is alleged that the women were found at a resort on March 3 after the expiration of the period of time granted to them by an immigration officer. They both overstayed their visitor’s status by 91 days.

Both pleaded guilty to the charge. Bolivar was fined $700 or in default ordered to serve four months in prison and Loayza was fined $1,500 or in default to serve four months.

The women paid their fines and were handed over the Immigration Department for deportation to their respective countries.

The six nationals were flown to New Providence on Thursday to the Detention Centre to await deportation.

MURDER AND ATTEMPTED MURDER CHARGES IN GB

LEFT: Obrien Reckley; right: George Anterio Willie

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net TWO men were charged in the Eight Mile Rock Magistrates’ Court on Thursday – one for murder and the other for attempted murder.

Obrien Reckley appeared before Magistrate Gwen Claude. He was not required to enter a plea to the charge of murder.

The accused was initially charged with attempted

murder last year, however the charge was upgraded to murder.

In a separate matter, George Anterio Willie, 21, of Pinder’s Point, was charged with attempted murder.

The case is in connection to an incident that occurred on March 3. The accused was not required to enter a plea to the charge.

Both men were remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until April 27.

73-YEAR-OLD WOMAN IN AIRPORT COCAINE ARREST A 73-YEAR-OLD woman from Panama was arrested at Lynden Pindling International Airport on Saturday after police found cocaine in her luggage.

She was arrested shortly after 11am by Drug Enforcement Unit officers. The officers, acting on information while at LPIA, conducted a secondary search of a duffle

bag belonging to the elderly Latina woman who had arrived in New Providence on a flight from Panama.

Police said they found a black package containing cocaine in the bag.

The drugs weighed 12 pounds and have a street value of $85,000. The woman is expected to be charged in court soon.

MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020

THE STORIES BEHIND THE NEWS

When will we wake up and break this vicious cycle that haunts Bahamian women?

by Malcolm Strachan

SOMEONE once said that being a Bahamian woman was a most difficult thing. There’s no doubt that’s true when we analyse the lack of growth we have had in the area of gender equality. While we are far better off than other countries in the developing world, we are light years behind where we need to be. And after Opposition Leader Philip “Brave” Davis’ proposal that the government provide complimentary whistles to women (and children) as a method of rape prevention, the Bahamian people got in a rather good laugh.

There will be enough memes of the Opposition Leader to last the entire silly season, for sure. But who gets the last laugh here?

Certainly not our sisters and the mothers of our children. Indeed, they are the ones who still have to live with the fear of being accosted and violated – having their entire being invaded by another in a traumatising fashion. I often wonder if rape had been more of an equal opportunity offence, would our men – those who make up the whopping majority of our policy makers – not put forth prevention mechanisms that had real teeth?

It is not our goal to poke fun at Mr Davis over such a serious issue. To do that would miss the mark. However, all those who have had the power to increase punishments and preventative measures for rape and have failed to deliver deserve criticism.

In this regard, they have all failed us. Sisters of this Bahamaland, they have failed you.

Though rapes reported by Princess Margaret Hospital have declined in a five-year period dating back to last year, The Bahamas still is noted as a leader in the Caribbean region. Such an ugly statistic underscores the low value women hold in Bahamian society.

More importantly, such statistics given by PMH should include a footnote highlighting the reality that many women do not report incidents of rape.

And even more unfortunate, it seems the large majority of us – particularly men – fail to understand why that may be the case.

How can we posit that we

support Bahamian women on this issue without looking at it from all its angles?

Could you imagine what it must feel like to have to endure such a violation and live in a society where gender-based violence has not yet been able to galvanise us toward its complete eradication? Such sluggishness can only be indicative of the cultural acceptance of gender-based violence.

And as a result, rape continues to be part of the broader prevailing culture that permeates our country.

Patriarchal mindsets held by many Bahamian men and supported by some Bahamian women have led to an unsafe environment for our sisters, wives, mothers and daughters.

Davis’ potentially inadvertent display of lack of understanding of the issue may have him trying to dislodge his foot from his mouth for quite a while.

And though the government, in particular, National Security Minister Marvin Dames, along with the RBPF Commissioner Anthony Ferguson, can be credited for their efforts on the overall impact on crime since the FNM became the government, rape continues to a problem.

During her visit to The Bahamas in December 2017, United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women of the Human Rights Council Dubravka Šimonovi - after just a week - was able to easily point out some of the systemic problems and point to the lack of political will to change.

Just take for instance the issue of marital rape - a topic controversial enough to send even the most vociferous political firebrand into hiding. Worse, in a “Christian” nation, pastors remain reluctant to condemn marital rape to the point that it should warrant a crime.

It’s so hard to believe that in 2020 such archaic principles continue to be so widely accepted in our society.

To that point, Davis’

DUBRAVKA ŠIMONOVI

AFTER Philip “Brave” Davis’ proposal that the government provide complimentary whistles to women (and children) as a method of rape prevention, the Bahamian people got in a rather good laugh.

suggestion reflected that he, and quite possibly his party, is not correctly contextualising solutions to the country’s problems.

In that same vein, however, neither is the current administration.

Upon forming the current government, two items that should have served as foundational policy planks on gender-based violence would have been the Strategic Plan to Address Gender-Based Violence and the National Taskforce for Gender-Based Violence – both formed under the previous government. Nevertheless, what we’ve heard about their implementation has been sparse, generously speaking.

Furthermore, whether that is an issue of good ideas being left to collect dust when government changes is something the Bahamian people need to become more vocal about.

Good and workable ideas are good and workable ideas. Continuing on a course a previous administration was on is far from the worst thing in the world.

Because here is something we must seriously consider: We can’t continue with the status quo and make suggestions to women that only help us to sleep better at night. Meanwhile, they are the ones who have to always have a man present.

They have to feel the fear of being in dark places or pulling up to their driveway in a footrace to the front door.

No man in this country would want to live with that level of vulnerability.

It is absolutely insane that this is what we are resigned to as opposed to attacking this issue at its core. The solution to gender-based violence will only be successful is if it is driven by secure men who aren’t only able to view equality through a lens where they see themselves as being less powerful.

Our true power must now be exhibited through our willingness to relinquish it, where we must step in line with more mature thinking on these matters.

Similarly, Special Rapporteur Šimonovi also gave some great suggestions in her report. Most notably, when discussing the links between gender equality and sexual violence, she espoused a broader legal framework should be coupled with the relinquishing of patriarchal norms.

Last year, Director of the Bahamas Crisis Centre Dr Sandra Dean-Patterson, while voicing her concern

over the number of rapes that have escalated in recent years, offered her sobering perspective to the media. As a leader and advocate for women’s rights in the country, she believes women have lost confidence in the judicial system.

And one can hardly blame them.

Until we incorporate crime prevention, mass public education and sensitivity training, and most of all, a cultural reset of the role men (and some women) believe women

should have in Bahamian society. Indeed, in theory, that sounds easy. However, from a practical standpoint, we know this challenge will be no easy feat. Yet, that doesn’t mean that collectively we can’t get it done.

Much depends on it.

PAGE 8 MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020

INSIGHT

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

Connor Reed, a 25-year-old from North Wales, has worked in a school in Wuhan, China, for almost a year. In November, he became the first British man to catch the coronavirus. Here’s his account in the British Daily Mail of how he beat the illness now sweeping the globe

A cold, hot toddies and surviving the coronavirus Day 1 — Monday Nov 25: I have a cold. I’m sneezing and my eyes are a bit bleary. It isn’t bad enough to keep me off work. I arrived in this country to teach English as a foreign language — but now I’m a manager at a school in Wuhan, the city in central China where I have lived for the past seven months.

I speak Mandarin well, and the job is interesting. My cold shouldn’t be very contagious, so I have no qualms about going to work. And I live alone, so I’m not likely to give it to anyone. There hasn’t been anything in the news here about viruses. I have no cause for concern. It’s just a sniffle.

Day 2: I have a sore throat. Remembering what my mum used to do when I was a child, I mix myself a mug of honey in hot water.

It does the trick.

Day 3: I don’t smoke and I hardly ever drink. But it’s important to me to get over this cold quickly, so that I can stay healthy for work. For medicinal purposes only, I put a splash of whisky in my honey drink.

I think it’s called a ‘hot toddy’.

Day 4: I slept like a baby last night. Chinese whisky is evidently a cure for all known ailments. I have another hot toddy in the evening.

Day 5: I’m over my cold.

It really wasn’t anything.

Day 7: I spoke too soon.

I feel dreadful. This is no longer just a cold. I ache all over, my head is thumping, my eyes are burning, my throat is constricted. The cold has travelled down to my chest and I have a hacking cough.

This is flu, and it’s going to take more than a mug of hot honey, with or without the magic whisky ingredient, to make me feel better.

The symptoms hit me this afternoon like a train and, unless there’s an overnight miracle, I will not be going to work tomorrow. It’s not just that I feel so ill — I really don’t want to give this flu to any of my colleagues.

Day 8: I won’t be in work today. I’ve warned them I’ll probably be off all week.

Even my bones are aching.

It’s hard to imagine I’m going to get over this soon.

Even getting out of bed hurts. I am propped up on pillows, watching TV and trying not to cough too much because it is painful.

Day 9: Even the kitten hanging around my apartment seems to be feeling under the weather. It isn’t its usual lively self, and when I put down food it doesn’t want to eat. I don’t blame it – I’ve lost my appetite too.

Day 10: I’m still running a temperature. I’ve finished the quarter-bottle of whisky, and I don’t feel well enough to go out and get any more. It doesn’t matter: I don’t think hot toddies were making much difference.

Day 11: Suddenly, I’m feeling better, physically at least. The flu has lifted. But the poor kitten has died. I don’t know whether it had what I’ve got, or whether cats can even get human flu.

I feel miserable.

Day 12: I’ve had a relapse. Just as I thought the flu was getting better, it has come back with a vengeance. My breathing is laboured. Just getting up and going to the bathroom leaves me panting and exhausted. I’m sweating, burning up, dizzy and shivering. The television is on but I can’t make sense of it.

This is a nightmare.

By the afternoon, I feel like I am suffocating. I have never been this ill in my life.

I can’t take more than sips of air and, when I breathe out, my lungs sound like a paper bag being crumpled up. This isn’t right. I need to see a doctor. But if I call the emergency services, I’ll have to pay for the ambulance call-out myself. That’s going to cost a fortune. I’m ill, but I don’t think I’m dying — am I? Surely I can survive a taxi journey. I decide to go to Zhongnan University Hospital because there are plenty of foreign doctors there, studying. It isn’t rational but, in my feverish state, I want to see a British doctor. My Mandarin is pretty good, so I have no language problem when I call the taxi. It’s a 20-minute ride. As soon as I get there, a doctor diagnoses

pneumonia. So that’s why my lungs are making that noise. I am sent for a battery of tests lasting six hours.

Day 13: I arrived back at my apartment late yesterday evening. The doctor prescribed antibiotics for the pneumonia but I’m reluctant to take them — I’m worried that my body will become resistant to the drugs and, if I ever get really ill and need them, they won’t work. I prefer to beat this with traditional remedies if I can.

It helps, simply knowing that this is pneumonia.

I’m only 25 and generally healthy: I tell myself there’s no reason for alarm. I have some Tiger Balm. It’s like Vick’s vapour rub on steroids. I pour some into a bowl of hot water and sit with a towel over my head, inhaling the fumes. I’m going ‘old school’. And I’ve still got the antibiotics in reserve if I need them.

Day 14: Boil a kettle.

Add Tiger Balm. Towel over head. Breathe for an hour. Repeat.

Day 15: All the days are now blurring into one.

Day 16: I phone my mother in Australia. There was no point in calling her before now — she’d only worry and try to jump on a plane. That wouldn’t work: it takes an age to get a visitor’s visa to China. I’m glad to hear her voice, even if I can’t do much more than croak, ‘Mum, I feel so ill.’

Day 17: I am feeling slightly better, but I don’t want to get my hopes up yet. I’ve been here before.

Day 18: My lungs no longer sound like bundles of broken twigs.

Day 19: I am well enough to stagger out of doors to get more Tiger Balm. My nose has cleared enough to smell what my neighbours are cooking, and I think I might have an appetite for the first time in nearly two weeks.

Day 22: I was hoping to be back at work today but no such luck. The pneumonia has gone — but now I ache as if I’ve been run over by a steamroller. My sinuses

are agony, and my eardrums feel ready to pop. I know I shouldn’t but I’m massaging my inner ear with cotton buds, trying to take the pain away.

Day 24: Hallelujah! I think I’m better. Who knew flu could be as horrible as that, though?

Day 36: A tip-off from a friend sends me hurrying to the shops. Apparently, the Chinese officials are concerned about a new virus that is taking hold in the city. There are rumours about a curfew or travel restrictions. I know what this will mean — panic buying in the shops. I need to stock up on essentials before everyone else does.

Day 37: The rumours were right. Everyone is being told to stay indoors.

From what I’ve heard, the virus is like a nasty dose of flu that can cause pneumonia. Well, that sounds familiar.

Day 52: A notification from the hospital informs me that I was infected with the Wuhan coronavirus. I suppose I should be pleased that I can’t catch it again — I’m immune now.

However, I must still wear my face mask like everyone else if I leave the apartment, or risk arrest.

The Chinese authorities are being very thorough about trying to contain the virus.

Day 67: The whole world has now heard about coronavirus. I’ve told a few friends about it, via Facebook, and somehow the news got out to the media.

My local paper back in Llandudno, North Wales, has been in touch with me.

Maybe I caught the coronavirus at the fish market. It’s a great place to get food on a budget, a part of the real Wuhan that ordinary Chinese people use every day, and I regularly do my shopping there.

Since the outbreak became international news, I’ve seen hysterical reports (especially in the US media) that exotic meats such as bat and even koala are on sale at the fish market. I’ve never seen that. The only slightly weird sight I’ve seen is the whole pig and lamb carcasses for sale, with their heads on.

Day 72 — Tuesday, Feb 4:

CONNOR and the cat that hangs around his apartment in Wuhan, China.

It seems the newspapers think it’s terrific that I tried to cure myself with hot toddies. I attempt to explain that I had no idea at the time what was wrong with me — but that isn’t what they want to hear.

The headline in the New York Post says, ‘UK teacher claims he beat coronavirus with hot whisky and honey.’

I wish it had been that easy.

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net MY LESS than 1,000 words commentary, on the case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) between Guyana and Venezuela, provoked a response of 2,069 words from two academics of Universidad Central de Venezuela. The response merits reply if only because the authors, Kenneth Ramirez and Mirna Yonis, have attempted to masquerade their political position as an objective academic analysis.

In their lengthy response, the two authors devoted 688 words to the internal politics of Guyana and its general elections. This is a complete irrelevance to Venezuela’s claim to twothirds of Guyana and to the question of whether the ICJ has jurisdiction to arbitrate the contention between the two countries.

Their demeaning narrative of Guyana’s domestic politics highlights their intent to delegitimize the country.

Suffice to say Guyana’s internal political discourse has been conducted within the framework of law. Further, it has been firmly established, by scholarship and demonstrated positions, that the political parties and the people of Guyana are united in their resistance to territorial claims by any group in Venezuela.

The bias of the authors was revealed in two further statements in their response.

The first was their assertion that Nicolas Maduro, the de facto Venezuela President has a “well earned, bad reputation”. This placed them in the camp of the opposition parties in Venezuela which have been even more strident than the Chavez/ Maduro governments in

INSIGHT

Masquerade by Venezuelan academics to avoid rule of law aggressively laying claim to Guyanese territory.

The second was their pronouncement that there are a few Caribbean diplomats at the Organization of American States (OAS) who support Maduro “in the name of the principle of non-intervention”. They are right that non-intervention in the internal affairs of states is a settled principle in the OAS, reflected in its binding Charter, and in the United Nations, and that Caribbean diplomats uphold the rule of law.

The authors would evidently prefer Caribbean diplomats to discard principle and law in favour of the agenda of opposition forces in Venezuela. That will not happen; not because of any bias to one or other political group in Venezuela, but because Caribbean countries have consistently signalled the position that Venezuela’s internal political impasse must be settled by Venezuelans, and, further, that the rules and norms of international institutions should not be twisted to the advantage of one side or the other, nor

for the benefit of any external interests.

As for the actual case before the ICJ, remarkably the authors boldly state that UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, in referring the contention to the ICJ, “misunderstand and exceeded his authority” given under a 1966 agreement signed in Geneva by the parties. They impugn the integrity of the Secretary-General and the considerable capacity of the UN legal machinery, suggesting that, despite every other determination made on international matters, this one is wrong simply because it does not accord with their preferences.

The UN Charter recognizes that “legal disputes should as a general rule be referred by the parties to the ICJ in accordance with the provisions of the Statute of the Court”. The Statute of the Court, which is an integral part of the UN Charter, clearly states that: “The jurisdiction of the Court comprises all cases which the parties refer to it and all matters specially provided for in the Charter of the

United Nations or in treaties and conventions in force.”

The authors claim that, by going to the ICJ, Guyana broke the spirit of the 1966 agreement to negotiate bilaterally. But they conveniently ignore the reality that Venezuela verbalized negotiation while executing aggression. Numerous examples lay bare that story, among them: Venezuela’s invasion and occupation of Ankoko Island in 1996 and its illegal occupation ever since; President Raul Leoni in July 1968, claiming “sovereignty” over a 12-mile strip of Guyana’s continental shelf; a decree by President Nicolás Maduro in May 2015, creating the “Atlantic coast of Venezuela” which included Guyana’s territorial waters in the Atlantic Ocean off the Essequibo region; and by other well recorded acts of aggression.

As a basis for discarding international arbitration, the authors claim “Venezuela has a inveterate doctrine of foreign policy that consist in not submitting issues related with its territorial integrity to adjudicative methods that involve the settlement of these disputes by international tribunals”. In other words, unlike every other country in the world – large ones like the United States and small ones like the Marshall Islands – Venezuela prefers the use of its superior military and economic

Stepping in the right direction but challenge is immense

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net FORMER United Nations President Maria Espinosa has said The Bahamas is on the right track when it comes to the collective global war on climate change.

The country can now proudly boast of being among dozens of nations around the world that have banned single use plastics and deemed it illegal to release balloons into the air.

However, Ms Espinosa told The Tribune that while these are important steps, they might not be enough to safeguard this archipelagic nation from the dangers of climate change.

There has been no greater example of the effects of climate change than the disaster and utter destruction suffered by Bahamians when Hurricane Dorian pummelled Abaco and Grand Bahama. Thousands are now left to piece together lives that were once comfortable and sure.

Scholarly articles contend “the strongest hurricanes in the present climate may be upstaged by even more intense hurricanes over the next century as the Earth’s climate is warmed by increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere”.

The Bahamas is not a contributor to this, meaning the culprits are larger countries that have amassed gigantic populations and vast industries.

China, the Unites States, United Kingdom, Brazil and Russia are among the world’s largest contributors to climate change.

Combined along with many other nations, their

MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020 PAGE 9

greenhouse gas emissions have led to climate change.

“I think what The Bahamas has done are very, very important steps,” Ms Espinosa said.

The Ecuadorian politician and academic was the president of 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly 2018/2019. She was the fourth woman in history and the first from Latin America and the Caribbean to preside over this body since it was founded in 1945.

“As president of the United Nations General Assembly one of my strongest campaigns was against single use plastics.

We launched the campaign from Antigua and Barbuda.

We launched that campaign starting with the Caribbean with the idea of protecting the same policies worldwide and we have succeeded.

“So I really applaud and congratulate the decision of The Bahamas to ban single use plastics and the balloons idea. Of course it’s also a very wise decision because it all contributes to fight climate change.

“But you’re asking me is that enough? The Bahamas is carbon negative. I mean that it is the victim of climate change and the emitters are elsewhere.”

“So basically it comes down to climate justice, international co-responsibility,” she continued.

“Shared responsibility, collective action, especially looking at the countries that are most vulnerable. This is really not about charity and what we saw during Hurricane Dorian last September is exactly what can happen to a vulnerable country.

“We are speaking about $3bn dollars in losses affecting mostly Grand Bahamas and the northern Abaco

area. It really had huge devastating effects.

“The response capacity of the government has been strong, but it is not enough.”

She said international communities should act and act quickly to make sure that resilience building efforts are continuous in countries like The Bahamas.

“This is ensuring The Bahamas is well funded and supported and for that you need wisdom within the financial system, the multilateral bank system, access to concessional funding. “…Technology transfers to expand the coverage and new energy matrix on renewable energy. There are so many things that need to be done and too accompany the efforts of The Bahamas.

“We have seen extraordinary commitments, great response capacity from the government and we need more of the international co-responsibility that as mentioned goes beyond charity and cooperation. It is a matter of burden sharing and climate justice.”

Ms Espinosa believes a key part in getting the wheels of global responsibility spinning lies with the Organisation of America States.

She said during her 25 years negotiating on climate

MARIA ESPINOSA

power to impose its will on a militarily weaker and, up until recently, a poor state.

And to the authors, this big stick approach, away from the watchful eye of the world’s legal machinery, is perfectly right.

Staggeringly, these authors who claim academic credentials – and presumably, therefore, scholastic objectivity – state the Arbitral Award of 1899, which settled the boundaries between Venezuela and Guyana, “was decided behind its (Venezuela’s) backs and enforced under the threat of coercion of the great powers”. It is little wonder that with professors such as these, Venezuelan students imbibe, as fact, the myth of a legitimate claim to two-thirds of Guyana.

Documentary evidence shows the Arbitration Panel that produced the 1899 boundary settlement included the Chief Justice of the United States of America, Weston Fuller, who was nominated by no less a person than the President of Venezuela.

Far from “behind Venezuela’s back”, the Venezuelan President was frontal in the composition of the Panel.

Further, the arbitration gave to Venezuela “the mouth of the Orinoco and control of the Oronico basin”.

So, delighted was the Venezuelan government with the award that the Venezuelan Ambassador to London, Jose Andrade, the brother of President,

Ignacio Andrade, declared: “Greatly indeed did justice shine through when in spite of all, in the determining of the frontier the exclusive dominion of the Orinoco was granted to us, which is the principal aim we set ourselves to obtain through arbitration”.

Successive Venezuelan governments jealously protected their acquisition of more territory and the new border until 1962, when political ambition resurrected an unsubstantiated claim, attributed to one of its long dead lawyers from the 1899 arbitral process, that the US Chief Justice – Venezuela’s own appointed arbitrator – had been bribed. But, since the award gave Venezuela what it proclaimed was its desire, for what purpose was the US Chief Justice bribed?

If the authors are so certain of the rightness of the Venezuela contention, then there should be no fear of the ICJ – after all, as the saying goes, “truth will out”.

The writer is Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States and the Organization of American States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and at Massey College in the University of Toronto.

The views expressed are entirely his own) Responses and previous commentaries: www.sirronaldsanders.com

THE DEVASTATION caused by Hurricane Dorian

change, there had been no climate change position stated on members’ behalf from the OAS. “The OAS should have climate change in its agenda. It should use its convening power be brokering roles.

“Its capacity to interact and discuss with the multilateral banks with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to bring the agenda especially of the Caribbean countries to the consideration and team up the OAS with CARICOM for example as a very powerful negotiating platform on these issues. I think that we need to hear the voice of the OAS in climate discussions and negotiations but that’s also true for all of the other main discussions worldwide.

“We haven’t heard the voice of the OAS in the global development agenda and advocating for the sustainable development goals for (or) for example the fight against poverty and inequality. We haven’t heard the voice of the OAS in the international community on these critical matters.

“If you take the issue of security and the drug problem that’s an issue where the OAS countries have done great. (This is) where there is a very avant-garde mechanism and a peer review system on efforts that countries are doing to fight drug trafficking for example. But when you are at the global level, like the UN where I have been president, we don’t hear the OAS voice or the OAS contribution even though we have successful examples and concrete outcomes to show and share worldwide.

“The same goes for the agenda on migration and refugees. Our hemisphere faces huge challenges with migration and refugees and the right platform is the OAS because we all are either countries of origin, transit, destination or the three at the same time and there has been little progress on putting together our policy that has worked.

“So I think that the OAS should really be apart of the global conversation on the issues that are of concern in the hemisphere.”

As this will take time, there is more Bahamians can do, Ms Espinosa said.

And it will definitely require more than a single use plastics ban and a balloon release fine “I think that to fight climate change there is no one single action that will do.

It’s an entire development model that has to come into place, new energy matrix relying heavily on renewable energy. Solar is one option, but wind energy and other options are there so there is a need for investment.

“I think the private sector should also take its part. I think the Bahamas and several Caribbean countries need to form sustainable and responsible tourism and there also needs to come into place connections to reduce emissions (and) perhaps more importantly resilience and adaptation to climate disasters. This is extremely important.

“So here it’s not only an issue of plastic bags, which is important but it is the entire development model that has to come into place.

“But yet again I am saying that the Bahamas is a victim of the effects of climate change and by no

means it is a big contributor. So what have to happen are checks and balances in losses and damages because of climate change and international co- responsibility has to happen.

“The $100bn per year that was promised under the Green Climate Fund has to come to fruition and a fast track lane of access to these funds have to be put in place especially for the countries that are most vulnerable like The Bahamas.”

Ms Espinosa further recommended that Bahamians officials continue to be a strong voice in international communities to advocate for climate reforms, considering its vulnerability.

“I have seen the Bahamas strongly advocate and put forward its case, but in the world scene it is also extremely important that multilateral organisations support and team up with specific countries to have a louder voice and attraction for the negotiations. I think that that’s what the OAS should do in transitioning, accompanying and advising the countries when they put forward their agendas.

“Once again what I have seen in The Bahamas is a great response capacity - a strong leadership internationally.

“I have benefitted myself from the wisdom of The Bahamas. I have used the ambassador of the Bahamas to the United States to lead the negotiations for the political declaration on the sustainable development goals for example, so you know The Bahamas is a key player in the international arena.”

This she said has to continue for marked change in the fight against climate change.

PAGE 10 MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020

by MARY WILLS Honorary Fellow, Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation, University of Hull

B

RITAIN was once among the most enthusiastic of slave-trading nations. But, just over 200 years ago, the country dramatically changed course and used its naval dominance against the transatlantic trade in enslaved African people, one of the worst historical crimes against humanity.

After the Abolition Act of 1807 made British involvement in the transatlantic slave trade illegal, the country switched rapidly to an extensive commitment to enforce its abolition. For the next 60 years, the Royal Navy’s West Africa Squadron worked to suppress the human traffic between West Africa and the plantations of the Americas, as Britain exerted increasing diplomatic and coercive pressure on nations continuing the slave trade such as Spain, Portugal, France and Brazil.

At its peak in the 1840s and 1850s, British operations off the West African coast involved up to 36 vessels and more than 4,000 men, costing an estimated half of all naval spending – amounting to between one percent and two percent of British government expenditure.

In all, nearly 200,000 African men, women and children were released by the navy. It’s a huge number of people, but represents only a relatively small share of the estimated 3.2 million who were taken from West Africa as slaves between 1808 and 1863.

Nevertheless, the work of the West Africa squadron was the first chapter in a long history of British naval campaigns against international slavery, including in the Indian Ocean from the 1860s, and in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf in the 1920s and 1930s.

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When the Royal Navy turned on the slave trade, the suffering still would not end THE CAPTURE of a slave ship by the Royal Navy in 1859, from which 847 enslaved Africans were released.

Picture: Illustrated London News

Abolition looks at the personal experiences of British sailors serving in West Africa, including their relationships with the African

people they met while intercepting and detaining slave vessels at sea, and while spreading the British antislavery message on shore.

Alongside their official duties of law enforcement, chase and capture, sailors’ experiences of anti-slave trade service included their roles as negotiators, guardians, humanitarians and “liberators”.

Conditions of this service were extraordinary, and the naval personnel involved need to be recognised as more than just sailors performing a job. Their stories uncover notions of duty and a sense of moral and religious imperative to end the slave trade, but also raise questions of racial identity and the meaning of freedom.

A snapshot of the human interactions at the heart of slave trade suppression is the “prize voyage”, where intercepted slave vessels were transported to Admiralty Courts, usually in the British colony of Sierra Leone. The terrible conditions for those captive aboard slave vessels on the infamous Middle Passage across the Atlantic meant dysentery, fever, smallpox and eye diseases were common, compounded by over-crowding and poor ventilation below deck.

These conditions were not easily alleviated if the ships were taken under the control of the Royal Navy.

In a letter written home from Sierra Leone in 1863, naval officer James Bowly described how on one captured vessel only around 200 of the 540 original captives survived the passage to Sierra Leone: “They were in the most dreadful condition that human beings could be in … I should never have believed that anything could have been so horrible … some of them mere walking skeletons.”

Diseases were easily transmitted to sailors, and the squadron suffered significantly higher mortality rates than other naval stations in this period. As one officer noted: “I dread sending away an officer and men in such a floating pest house!”

Witnessing the distressing realities of the slave trade was for many a transformative experience.

Commodore John Hayes, a hugely experienced officer, witnessed cases “too horrible & disgusting to be described”. His compassion for the enslaved led him to plead, in his correspondence with his seniors: “Gracious God! Is this unparalleled cruelty to last for ever?”

Sir George Collier, appointed as the first leader of the squadron in 1818, believed the dreadful realities of transatlantic slavery roused “active benevolence” and “philanthropic feelings” in his fellow crew members.

However, the conditions of the prize voyage could also contribute to tensions between sailors and recaptured Africans.

‘In the hands of new conquerors’ Regrettably, few African testimonies survive, although it’s possible to create an idea of the conditions of captivity that led former slave Mahommah G. Baquaqua to declare: “my wretchedness I cannot describe”.

Were recaptured Africans even aware of a favourable change in their circumstances? Born in present-day Nigeria, Samuel Ajayi Crowther was released from a Portuguese

slave vessel in 1822 and went on to have a remarkable career as a respected missionary and, later, the first African Anglican bishop. Crowther’s firsthand account reveals the distrust inherent in these initial encounters with the Royal Navy. “We found ourselves in the hands of new conquerors”, he wrote, “whom we at first very much dreaded.”

Naval officers were tasked with maintaining order and discipline on prize vessels as on any other ship. Tensions were exacerbated by language barriers, as Africans enslaved from diverse communities invariably spoke different languages. Racial prejudices of the time also played a part.

Some naval men were prepared to assert control in ways reminiscent of those used by the trade they were attempting to suppress.

When an African man on his prize vessel was accused of stealing a 4lb piece of beef, Lieutenant Philip de Sausmarez tied the man in the rigging with the piece of beef suspended above him, and made the slaves process around him as an example.

While Britain’s abolitionist campaign was presented to the rest of the world as a shining example of the country’s benevolence, the reality revealed in the accounts from the front line is more nuanced. The granting of liberty (or more accurately, British perceptions of liberty) to captive Africans was riddled with ambiguities.

This continued after recaptured Africans were resettled in British territories, where, rather than being repatriated, they became part of the wider British anti-slavery campaign to end slave trading within Africa by “civilising” the continent via Christian education and European commerce. We should also remember that until the Emancipation Act of 1833, many Britons still owned slaves in the Caribbean.

The British commitment to anti-slavery operations in this period is rightfully commended. The insight offered by the personal experiences of British sailors from the West African coast, however, serves to remind us of the complexities of British abolitionism in this period.

theconversation.com

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By LEANDRA ROLLE lrolle@tribunemedia.net A WOMAN on Friday recalled the moment when she ran and carried her child to safety shortly after gunmen opened fire at Freedom Park during the 2013 Fox Hill mass shooting.

Erskilla Davis, sister of two of the victims - Claudezino “Zino” Davis, deceased, and Chino Davis – told the court that she was having a cocktail with some friends and family members at the park, waiting for Junkanoo results, just before the deadly shooting occurred.

Ms Davis said her daughter, who was sitting in her carrier at the time, was also there at Freedom Park on the fateful night.

“I had my baby in front of me,” she said in response to a question by defence attorney Geoffrey Farquharson.

While standing around waiting for the results, Ms Davis said she saw a grey Honda car “pull up” and begin firing upon the area.

“After that, I run to the shop of my uncle and gave him my baby and went back to the park,” she continued. “It was couple of them they took to the hospital in a private car. After that, I

Monday, March 9, 2020, PAGE 11

Mum saves child during shootings went home and gone to the hospital.”

The occupants of the car, Ms Davis said, were not made known to her. She also did not know the licence plate of the vehicle, she also said during Friday’s trial.

However, she told the court: “I saw the gun on the left-hand side of the car hanging out that night. (The car) was heading west and coming out of the corner of Reeves Street.

“The shots sound like firecrackers…I only saw the back of the car.”

Questioned by defence attorney Murrio Ducille on whether she remembered signing a police statement saying she did not see the car in question, Ms Davis replied: “I never told them that. I signed a statement

because at the time, a lot of stuff was going through my head.”

Ms Davis’ recollection of the incident came during the trial of Peter Rolle, Jermaine Curry and Justin Williams concerning the December 27, 2013 shooting before Justice Deborah Fraser.

Williams, Rolle and Curry are accused of murdering four people – Claudezino Davis, Shaquille Demeritte, Eric “Bonafide” Morrison and Shenique Sands on that date. They are also charged with attempting to murder Janet Davis, Samuel Ferguson, Chino Davis, John Davis, Jermaine Pratt and Leroy Taylor.

While testifying during Friday’s trial, Ms Davis said she remembered seeing

blood oozing from Morrison’s mouth and ears on the night in question.

Although Ms Davis could not say how many bullets were fired during the shooting, she said she believed it was more than 20.

Asked by defence attorney Sonia Timothy if she heard anything else, Ms Davis replied: “I only heard screaming and stuff because shots was firing.”

She was then questioned

by Mr Farquharson, who asked her to speak on the measures she took to safeguard her child.

To this, she replied: “I didn’t move. My baby was protected and so was I.” Her comments came after Mr Farquharson previously suggested Ms Davis was lying to the court to

have the accused purposefully sent to jail.

“Why don’t you admit that you and your family came together to make this up to jail these men?” he asked.

Ms Davis, seemingly annoyed by Mr Farquharson’s line of questioning, said: “No sweetie, I can’t admit to that…we ain’t making this up.…this serious. This my brother and my friend.”

Also testifying on Friday was Dr John Neely, who told the court he examined one of the victims following the shooting.

Dr Neely said his patient had received gunshot wounds to his perineum and medial thigh. Dr Neely also told the court that in a police form he had filled

out following his examination, he had indicated he did not think his patient’s injuries were likely to result in death.

According to initial reports, around 6pm, occupants of a small, dark vehicle opened fire in the area just behind the basketball court near Fox Hill Park where several people were gathered.

Davis was pronounced dead at the scene while 10 others were taken to hospital. Demeritte, Morrison and Sands later died in hospital of their injuries.

Curry is represented by lawyer Murrio Ducille, while Rolle is represented

by Sonia Timothy. Williams is represented by Geoffrey Farquharson. The trial continues tomorrow.

PAGE 12, Monday, March 9, 2020

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Monday, March 9, 2020, PAGE 13

PRIME Minister Hubert Minnis gave the keynote address at the Official Renaming Ceremony of the Mastic Point Primary School to the Rozelda Woodside Primary School in Andros.

Photos: Yontalay Bowe/BIS

School gets new name - and an upgrade in the technology game THE Ministry of Education is set to begin its technology upgrade at the primary school in Mastic Point this year by ensuring that all students from preschool through grade three receive a tablet, said Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis.

The teachers will also receive a laptop and a projector to ensure the groundwork is in place for digitisation to occur, said Dr Minnis. So far, the Ministry of Education has distributed 2,725 tablets, 123 laptops and 133 projectors to students and teachers in various public schools.

The nation’s leader was speaking at the Mastic Point Primary School renaming ceremony in honour of veteran educator Rozelda Woodside on Friday. Minister of Education Jeffrey Lloyd, Minister of Public Works Desmond Bannister and North Andros MP Carlton Bowleg also attended the ceremony.

The school is now called

Rozelda M Woodside Primary School.

“We believe that public private sector collaboration is key to us ensuring that all of our three through fouryear-old children are given a firm foundation to prepare them to enter grade one,” said Dr Minnis.

The Ministry of Education has partnered with three private preschools in North Andros and two private preschools in Central Andros to increase the number of children who are able to receive free pre-primary education.

Currently more than 100 preschoolers between the ages of three and four years, in the North and Central Andros district are having their tuition paid by the government to attend private preschools.

This initiative, known as the Universal Pre-Primary Education Programme, was launched with a mandate to accept students who could not be accommodated in the government preschool sector.

This programme allows private preschools to receive vouchers from the Ministry of Education of up to $2,000 per child, to secure the child’s enrolment in the approved private preprimary school.

Dr Minnis applauded Mrs Woodside for almost six decades of service, helping to mold the lives of thousands of Androsians, producing students of character and competence.

Mrs Woodside started teaching in the late 1950s at the Staniard Creek All Age School as a monitor

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and joined the Mastic Point Primary School in 1970, where she remained – with the exception of a oneyear transfer – until her retirement.

Dr Minnis also

commended Mrs Woodside for her work within the Baptist Church and Church of God, particularly as a minister, youth director and Sunday school teacher.

“My government is

putting in place the platform to ensure that we are able to continue the transformative work that was put in place by Mrs Woodside and others,” said the prime minister.

PAGE 14, Monday, March 9, 2020

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Monday, March 9, 2020, PAGE 15

HARRIS ENDORSES BIDEN WHILE JESSE JACKSON BACKS SANDERS WASHINGTON Associated Press

KAMALA Harris yesterday endorsed Joe Biden and said she would “do everything in my power’’ to help elect him, becoming the latest dropout from the Democratic race for president to line up behind the former vice president in his battle with Bernie Sanders for the nomination.

The decision by the California senator who was one of three black candidates seeking to challenge President Donald Trump further solidifies the Democratic establishment’s move to

close circles around Biden after his Super Tuesday success. Her endorsements comes before the next round of primaries, with six states voting tomorrow, including Michigan and Mississippi.

Sanders, a Vermont senator, countered with his own major endorsement yesterday, announcing that civil rights icon Jesse Jackson was formally backing him.

Jackson appeared with Sanders during a campaign stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In a statement released by Sanders’ campaign, Jackson said Biden had not reached out to him for

endorsement and Sanders had. He also said he chose Sanders after the senator’s campaign offered responses on 13 issues Jackson raised, including protecting voting rights, increasing funding for historically black colleges and universities and committing to putting African Americans on the Supreme Court.

In a statement on Biden, meanwhile, Harris said, “There is no one better prepared than Joe to steer our nation through these turbulent times, and restore truth, honor, and decency to the Oval Office.”

“He is kind and endlessly

caring, and he truly listens to the American people,” her statement added.

Harris said the United States “is at an inflection point. And the decision voters make this November will shape the country and the world our children and grandchildren will grow up in. I believe in Joe Biden.”

Among Biden’s former rivals, Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, Beto O’Rourke, Mike Bloomberg, Tim Ryan, Deval Patrick and John Delaney have endorsed him.

Sanders has got the endorsement of Marianne Williamson and Bill de Blasio.

Also coming out for Biden were two prominent Mississippi Democrats, former Gov. Ray Mabus and Mike Espy, agriculture secretary under President Bill Clinton. Espy is also on the ballot today as he seeks the party’s Senate nomination for the chance to face the Republican incumbent, Cindy Hyde-Smith, in November.

Biden and Sanders, two white men in their 70s, are now the front-runners for the nomination in what was once a field of candidates that included several woman and much younger politicians.

NORTH KOREA FIRES OFF UNIDENTIFIED WEAPONS

‘HONOUR THE WOMEN IN YOUR LIVES’ LONDON Associated Press PRINCE Harry’s wife Meghan visited a school in east London to offer an International Women’s Day message with an appeal to men to honour the women in their lives.

In one of her final duties as a senior British royal, Meghan urged the boys to “continue to value and appreciate the women in your lives and also set the example for some men who are not seeing it that same way.’’

“You have your mothers, sisters, girlfriends, friends in your life, protect them,’’ she said.

“Make sure that they are feeling valued and safe. And let’s all rally together to make International Women’s Day something that feels like every day of the year.”

SEOUL Associated Press

THE DUCHESS of Sussex smiles as Aker Okoye speaks in a school assembly about International Women’s Day

Cruise ship with 21 virus cases set to dock SAN FRANCISCO Associated Press

AS THE US death toll from the new coronavirus reached at least 21, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the mayor of Oakland yesterday sought to reassure the public that none of the passengers from a ship carrying people with the virus will be released into the public before undergoing a 14-day quarantine.

The Grand Princess carrying more than 3,500 people from 54 countries is expected to dock today in Oakland, in the east San Francisco Bay, and was idling off the coast yesterday as officials prepared a port site. Those needing acute medical care will come off first.

“This is a time that we must be guided by facts and not fears, and our public deserves to know what’s going on,” Mayor Libby Schaaf said.

Meanwhile, the number of infections in the United States climbed above 500 as testing for the virus increased.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the National Institutes of Health’s allergy and infectious diseases chief, said that widespread closure of a city or region, as Italy has done, is “possible.”

“You don’t want to alarm people, but given the spread we see, you know anything is possible and that’s the reason why we’ve got to be prepared to take whatever action is appropriate to contain and mitigate the outbreak,” Fauci said.

NORTH Korea fired three unidentified projectiles off its east coast earlier today, South Korea’s military said, two days after the North threatened to take “momentous” action to protest outside condemnation over its earlier live-fire exercises.

Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement it detected the three launches made from an eastern coastal town in the North’s South Hamgyong province.

It said South Korea’s military is monitoring North Korea for possible additional launches.

In the past 10 days, North Korea has said leader Kim Jong Un supervised two rounds of live-fire artillery exercises in its first weapons tests since late November. Kim had entered the new year with a vow to bolster his nuclear deterrent and not to be bound by a major weapons test moratorium amid a deadlock in a US-led diplomacy aimed at convincing Kim to abandon his nuclear programme in return for economic and political benefits.

South Korea and some European countries protested against the second North Korea drills.

SIX KILLED IN ALPINE AVALANCHES Associated Press

CARRYING multiple people who have tested positive for COVID-19, the Grand Princess maintains a holding pattern about 30 miles off the coast of San Francisco yesterday US Surgeon General Jerome Adams said communities will need to start thinking about canceling large gatherings, closing schools and letting more employees work from home, as many companies have done in the Seattle, Washington, area amid an outbreak at a care home that has killed 17.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown yesterday declared a state of emergency after the number of confirmed cases there doubled from the previous day to 14.

On the Grand Princess, Donna LaGesse and her sister-in-law

BIG FISH

Jackie Eilers had a small celebration in their cabin on Saturday night after the captain announced the ship would soon dock. “We’re keeping our senses of humor. We’re laughing at the whole situation,” said LaGesse, 64, of Greenville, North Carolina. “We’re lucky because we have a room with a balcony so we can get some fresh air.”

The Oakland port was chosen for the ship to dock because of its proximity to an airport and a military base, Newsom said. US passengers will be transported to military bases in California, Texas

and Georgia, where they will be tested for COVID-19 and remain under a 14-day quarantine, federal officials said.

The 1,113-member crew will be quarantined and treated aboard the ship, which will dock elsewhere, Newsom said. “That ship will turn around — and they are currently assessing appropriate places to bring that quarantined ship — but it will not be in the San Francisco Bay,” he said. Canada announced it was sending a plane to collect nearly 240 Canadians on the Grand Princess.

SIX people were killed in two separate avalanches in the Austrian Alps yesterday.

Five snowshoers who were hiking in central Austria were hit by one avalanche at about 9.30 am. Several people witnessed the avalanche and immediately informed emergency services, but the hikers, believed to be from the Czech Republic, were already dead by the time rescuers got to them.

There had been high winds and heavy snowfall in the area over the past few days, leading to the avalanche.

And in southwestern Austria, a police officer who was undergoing Alpine training was killed when he was hit by a separate avalanche.

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PAGE 16, Monday, March 9, 2020

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CADET Paula Greene and Cadet Christina Adderley with Captain Minnie Mouse

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DISNEY PRESENTS SCHOLARSHIPS TO FOUR WOMEN

By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

FOUR Bahamian women cadets of LJM Maritime Academy received Disney Cruise Line Scholarships on Friday, which covers two years of study and one year of service aboard a Disney ship.

Emily Bain, Antoinique Lightbourn, Paula Greene, and Christina Adderley were selected based on their academic excellence and aspirations to become ship captains and shipboard leaders.

The women were honoured during a ceremony held at the academy.

LJM’s president Dr Brendamae Cleare said the academy was “proud of the cadets”, adding they were “outstanding examples of the next generation of female leaders in the industry”. She also noted that the scholarship was “a hallmark” for the academy.

“This is what we’ve been dreaming of for the few years that we’ve been in place, to have partnerships with shipping companies like Disney.

“They’ve stepped in about almost a year ago and we’ve been negotiating back and forth and they’ve actually come forth and are actually paying full scholarships for these four young ladies.

“And so to us, this is actually the beginning of something greater to happen and we believe if they’re setting the pace we believe that all the shipping companies will fall in line.”

Yvonne Sweeney, Disney Cruise Line’s vice president of human resources, presented the recipients with trophies and highlighted the company’s allegiance to support communities across The Bahamas and the future maritime professionals.

“At Disney Cruise Line, we’re proud to have women in prominent leadership roles on our ships and it’s very important to us to have a wonderful opportunity to support the next generation of female shipward leaders.

That’s why we’re excited to

partner with LJM Maritime Academy to offer scholarships for women pursuing careers at sea,” she said.

In her remarks, Carla Stuart, the Ministry of Tourism’s director of cruise development congratulated the women, telling them she saw them one day being captains of a sea vessel.

“You have distinguished yourselves not only by your academic excellence but also by your vision,” she said. “You have exemplified by your fellow cadets and for the youth of this nation what it means to dream big.”

First-year student at the academy and Freeport native Ms Greene hopes to work in the deck department as a marine pilot and is excited to work on Disney’s ships.

“It is indeed an honour and a privilege to receive a scholarship from the Disney Cruise Line organisation and here at LJM we really do hunker down on discipline and academics and we hope to carry on what we learn in school on the cruise vessel,” the freshman told those gathered.

The academy held a camp programme for more than 40 Bahamian students, which Disney Cruise Line sponsored last summer.

The programme provided students the opportunity to learn more about the local and global maritime industry and know more about career opportunities.

Scholarships from Disney Cruise Line and other cruise companies are important for the academy’s funding.

LJM Maritime Academy had been receiving $30 million from its founder previously. However, Ms Cleare said that sponsorship was withdrawn in June 2016.

She admitted: “We’re still fending for ourselves so therefore we are trying our best to keep the doors open. We’ve been begging and asking sponsors to come forth and assist us and that looks pretty good. “..I think as we move forward things will get better.

People have been coming forth and assisting us but we do need a lot more help.”

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CADET Antonique Lightbourn and Cadet Emily Bain.

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Monday, March 9, 2020, PAGE 17

HIGH SCORES AT ARTS FESTIVAL

CENTRAL Eleuthera High School students showcased their talents, at the E. Clement National Arts Festival Adjudications, held at the school in Palmetto Point, Eleuthera. Especially impressing the adjudicators were their female singers, who garnered a number of high scores, including honours and distinction.

Photos: Eric Rose/BIS

PAGE 18, Monday, March 9, 2020

PRIME Minister Hubert Minnis welcomed in a courtesy call the Presidents of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, and other officials. Pictured are: Mary D. Hinton, President of the College of Saint Benedict, Minnesota; Eugene McAllister, President of Saint John’s University; Valerie Jones, CSB Executive Director of Alumnae Relations; John Young, SJU Associate Vice President, International; Mike Becker, SJU Leadership Council; Owyn Ferguson. SJU Senior (2020), President of the SJU Senate; Mary Jepperson, CSB/ SJU Professor & Department Chair, Global Business Leadership; Deborah Pembleton, CSB/ SJU Professor, Global Business Leadership; Philip Galanis, SJU

THE TRIBUNE

Board of Trustees, SJU Alumni; Denneisha Dean, Board Member, CSB Bahamas Alumnae Association; Theresa Bastian, Board Member, CSB Bahamas Alumnae Association; Shenique Smith, Board Member, CSB Bahamas Alumnae Association; Denard Cleare, President, SJU Bahamas Alumni Association; Alpheus Finlayson, Board Member, CSB Bahamas Alumnae Association; Terrance Bastian, Board Member, CSB Bahamas Alumnae Association. Present at the courtesy call were PS/David Davis, SPA/ Joshua Sears, COO/PMDU, Viana Gardiner, Director of Communications/Erica Wells-Cox, and Cabinet Office officials.

Photos: Yontalay Bowe/BIS

PRESIDENTS POP IN