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‘MY DADDY DEAD’

• Two-year-old undergoes surgery for bullet wound to her head • Shocked victims’ families search for answers to ‘senseless’ slaughter • Commissioner insists no evidence to suggest police were involved

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net GRIEF-STRICKEN family members say they want answers after their loved ones were ambushed and “senselessly” killed during a brazen shooting at the Jerome Avenue and Chesapeake Road intersection on Thursday afternoon.

The deceased are Renardo Bastian, also known as “Crack Teeth”, Travis Cooper, Maurice Pinder, Kendal Lord, Delano Smith, and Dequant Brown, according to relatives and close friends.

The car in which the

men were shot was riddled with bullets after they were approached by four gunmen who were said to be wearing all black and were armed with high-powered weapons and handguns.

The killing came shortly after the men were released from police custody for firearms possession.

A woman and two-yearold girl were also injured in the shooting, and are said to be in critical but stable condition.

Police suspect it was a gang-related attack.

The men’s deaths marked the country’s

TWO-year-old D’Lani Smith with her father 34-year-old Delano Smith. Her father was killed in Thursday’s shooting and she is fighting for her life after surgery to remove a bullet from her head.

SEE PAGES TWO & THREE

SANDALS STAYS SHUT ‘TIL NOV 4

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A CABINET minister yesterday voiced optimism Sandals Royal Bahamian will be “firing on all cylinders” from a multi-million dollar renovation that has pushed its post-COVID re-opening to November 4.

Minister of Tourism Dionisio D’Aguilar told Tribune Business senior

Sandals executives had informed him it was “full steam ahead” on upgrades that will add a further five months to the resort’s return from the pandemic.

Disclosing that Sandals is forecasting “a robust bounce back” once its Cable Beach-based property re-opens in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas, Mr D’Aguilar added the hotel chain wanted “to yield more” from its

room revenue and restaurants by overhauling Royal Bahamian’s guest experience.

However, Sandals’ focus on renovations means that the property will have been closed for almost 20 months since the COVID19 pandemic hit in March 2020, and lockdowns plus other restrictions were imposed.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

INSIGHT

PM’S HOUSE A WHITE ELEPHANT OR A LOST OPPORTUNITY?

SEE PAGE EIGHT

PAGE 2, Monday, April 19, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

TWO-YEAR-OLD HAS SURGERY FOR BULLET WOUND TO HER HEAD

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE two-year-old girl who was injured in Thursday’s mass shooting underwent surgery to remove a bullet from her head, according to a relative.

Shortly before the shooting, two-year-old D’Lani Smith was picked up by her father 34-year-old Delano Smith, an aunt said on Friday. She says the two were probably heading to get ice cream.

Unfortunately, that day would be the last time his daughter would spend time with her dad as he was killed with five others in a shooting at the intersection of Jerome Avenue and Chesapeake Road.

As the six men pulled up to the intersection in a silver Honda Inspire shortly before 5pm on Thursday, a white KIA SUV trailed behind them. Four men in

black then emerged from the SUV, two with high powered weapons, and shot at the men in the Honda.

Police suspect it was a gang related attack.

The child and a 19-yearold woman were also injured.

The toddler is aware that her father is gone.

According to the aunt: “The first thing she said to my sister when my sister walked into the hospital room (was), ‘My daddy dead’.”

Police said that the child and the woman are both in critical, but stable condition in hospital after the shooting. The aunt confirmed to The Tribune on Friday that surgery was done on her niece to remove a bullet.

“The bullet went to the back of her head,” she said.

“The bullet stopped right into her skull. It didn’t penetrate any further.

“She’s quite fine. She’s awake.”

However, the aunt said

the family wanted to airlift the little girl to the United States and complained about the initial treatment she received at Princess Margaret Hospital.

“We didn’t know they took her to PMH (Princess Margaret Hospital), but when we got to PMH we called Doctors Hospital to remove her from PMH to carry her to Doctors Hospital and they told us they don’t have a facility to operate a bullet wound on a two-year-old. I don’t understand what you paying insurance for if they cannot help your child... that’s the most frustrating thing about this,” she said.

“My niece right now is laying (in) a hallway in PMH,” she said on Friday.

“They don’t even have a bed for (her). That is the most frustrating thing. You have the money to do, but you can’t do it.

“We wanted to airlift her out last night (Thursday) but they said they could do it – not to do it. Now,

we have to suffer with her laying in the hallway of the hospital. She don’t even have a bed. She (is) on a gurney.”

When contacted for an update yesterday, the girl’s aunt said the child was no longer in the hallway but had been moved to a hospital ward.

The 19-year-old woman who was injured in that incident was Mr Smith’s girlfriend, the aunt said.

The six men who were shot dead on Thursday were released from police custody shortly before they were ambushed, police said.

According to initial information from police, the men were in one car while the woman and child were in another.

The child’s aunt questioned this.

“When he came here... it was him and the girlfriend in the car. I don’t know about anybody else being in the vehicle,” she said.

Assistant Commissioner

D’LANI SMITH with her father Delano Smith.

Solomon Cash previously “He literally just picked reported two victims were her up and they probably found on the outside of the was going to McDonald’s. silver Honda Inspire while He normally would carry four others were inside the her to McDonald’s in Palmcar. dale to get ice cream and After the incident, many that seems to be the direcquestions remain about tion they were heading. who targeted the men.

“I know they were “They just got released. heading to Palmdale The first stop he made was McDonald’s.” here to this house…..to pick Anyone with information up my niece. He didn’t even on this incident is asked to have my niece for 10-15 call police at 502-9929, 502minutes,” the aunt said.

9935, 502-9942, or 502-9952.

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

the police were in any way involved in this shooting and if persons have information as to who may be responsible, we ask them to provide information to the police so that we can have answers for the families.”

The six men were ambushed and killed during a brazen shooting at the intersection of Jerome Avenue and Chesapeake Road on Thursday afternoon.

The deceased are Renardo Bastian, also known as “Crack Teeth”, Travis Cooper, Maurice Pinder, Kendal Lord, Delano Smith, and Dequant Brown, according to relatives and close friends. The shooting came shortly after the men had been released from police custody for firearm possession.

Yesterday, Commissioner Rolle said police are checking area CCTV videos to determine the men’s final movements before they were killed.

“The individuals were released from custody on an unrelated matter approximately two hours prior to the shooting incident and we are checking all surveillance cameras to try and determine their movement after being released,” he said.

Some people in the area of the shooting have alleged one of the men was alive in the vehicle after the shooting and a video circulating showed one of the victims moving his hands to bystanders.

Ricardo McKenzie, cousin of Renardo Bastian, previously told this

newspaper how he watched Mr Bastian take his last breath at the scene. Yet, Mr McKenzie further claimed when they tried to get medical assistance for the wounded man, they were denied help.

Yesterday, the Public Hospitals Authority released a statement in response to allegations that at least one victim was still alive when officials were on the scene.

“The following steps as required by National Emergency Medical Services (NEMS) were followed, a scene size up was conducted and back up ambulances were requested,” PHA said.

“Triage took place immediately on arrival of the EMTs to determine viability and order of treatment

and transport. The first arriving team comprised two EMTs: one went to assess the female and child and the other went to assess the male victims in the car.

“All of the males were pulseless. One had agonal gasps which is not true breathing but a brainstem reflex that occurs in cardiac arrest. The female and the child displayed vital signs and were transported to hospital. The six males were pronounced dead at the scene. The EMS team that was dispatched to the scene of the mass shooting was debriefed prior to being released from work,” PHA said.

When asked about the claims, Assistant Commissioner of Police Solomon Cash said: “I can only tell

COMMISSIONER: NO INFORMATION TO SUGGEST POLICE INVOLVED COMMISSIONER of Police Paul Rolle said there is no information to suggest the police were in “any way involved” in the mass shooting that killed six men last Thursday.

In a statement to The Tribune yesterday, he said police are concerned about the “level of misinformation being perpetrated by persons making unsubstantiated assertions”.

“Our hearts go out to the families for their loss,” the Commissioner said.

“The police are concerned to establish the identities of those responsible for this terrible tragedy. There is no information to suggest that

you that paramedics were on the scene. They examined the bodies… and they pronounced him dead on the scene.”

Asked if the men were released from police custody due to the Royal Bahamas Police Force not having enough evidence to charge them, ACP Cash replied “yes”.

He explained: “If there’s insufficient evidence for the allegation (they are) in custody for, then we release them (pending an investigation).”

A 19-year-old woman and a two-year-old girl— the girlfriend and daughter of deceased victim Delano Smith — were also injured during the attack. They are in hospital in stable condition, at last report.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, April 19, 2021, PAGE 3

Shocked victims’ families search for answers to ‘senseless’ slaughter from page one deadliest shooting in recent times, according to police.

It has also pushed the nation’s murder count to 39 for the year, according to this newspaper’s records.

Relatives of the murdered victims and members of the Kemp Road community were distraught and inconsolable when The Tribune visited the area on Friday morning. Some were screaming in anger at police, who were also heavenly present in the community.

The Tribune was told that all of the victims were friends and grew up in the area.

Ricardo McKenzie, cousin of Renardo Bastian, recalled how he watched him take his last breath at the scene. He said his last words to him and others were “don’t let me die.”

However, McKenzie claimed when they tried to get medical assistance for Renardo, they were denied help.

“His last words was don’t let him die. I was on the scene... It’s sad that it has to come to this and the family is very hurt on the situation also because police officers allowed the situation to happen and told the ambulance not to assist while he was still living and breathing,” he alleged.

“The family is really hurt and we are calling on the commissioner to look into his officer because this is totally disrespectful to family members.”

Renardo’s father, Alfred Bastian also said he wants answers concerning his son’s death.

Mr Bastian said he was shocked when he heard his son, a father-of-four, was shot because he believed him to still be in police custody.

“When I heard the shots, I didn’t think it would’ve been him until a guy come on a bike and say, ‘Boy they just shoot up Crack Teeth in one car’ and I said how that could be because Crack lock up?

“How could that be and he lock up and so how he get through there? But…when I got there, my son was living and some guys try to take my son out the car but the police them run them and they holler ‘let him dead’,” Mr Bastian alleged.

Yesterday, the Public Hospitals Authority addressed allegations about Emergency Medical Services’ response to the incident, saying when they arrived at the scene, the men appeared lifeless.

“Triage took place

TRAVIS COOPER, in this picture provided by his mother.

LAVERNE CARTWRIGHT, the mother of Travis Cooper.

ALFRED BASTIAN, the father of Renardo Bastian.

KENDAL LORD SR, the father of Kendal Lord.

RICARDO McKenzie, the cousin of Renardo Bastian.

immediately on arrival of the EMTs to determine viability and order of treatment and transport,” a PHA statement said. “The first arriving team comprised two EMTs: one went to assess the female and child and the other went to assess the male victims in the car. All of the males were pulseless. One had agonal gasps which is not

true breathing but a brainstem reflex that occurs in cardiac arrest.

“The female and the child displayed vital signs and were transported to hospital. The six males were pronounced dead at the scene.

The EMS team that was dispatched to the scene of the mass shooting was debriefed prior to being released from work,” PHA added.

Renardo is Mr Bastian’s third son to die from gun violence. His second son, Alfred Bastian Jr, aka “Halfman”, died last December after he was fatally wounded during a shooting incident outside a home in Cooper’s Terrace.

The eldest son, Kino Alfred Kelly Bastian, was killed in a drive-by shooting in the Kemp Road area in 2017.

“I gone tell you the truth, it hurts,” Mr Bastian said of his sons’ deaths.

“Right now, I just trying to hold my head above water and take it as it is,” Mr Bastian said. “The last one was my financial support because I haven’t worked for years and anything I wanted or needed, my sons used to do for me and they really used to take care of me. All—Ally, Keno and Crack was the last one.

We was very, very close. I just have my daughter.”

Ruth Bastian, the victim’s aunt, said it seems the family cannot catch a break, telling The Tribune they have lost several relatives to gun violence over the last several years.

“How much can one family take? It is a deep wound especially how he just came out of the cell.

Something there is not right. How would they know that he was locked up for a few days and just got released and on his way home, he was murdered?”

‘DON’T JUST CALL KILLERS MONSTERS, BRING THEM TO JUSTICE’

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party Leader Philip “Brave” Davis said National Security Minister Marvin Dames has to do more than just call the gunmen behind last week’s mass shooting “cowards” and “monsters”, but must “promise to bring them to justice”.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Mr Davis said Mr Dames must also clarify “backwater chats on social media” about the immediate events leading to the men’s deaths.

“Were the victims in police custody immediately prior to their untimely demise? Who would normally be privy to the release of wards of the state? What additional preventive and social engineering measures has the government implemented over the last four years?

“Important internal security and social issues of this nature must be adequately addressed and clarified if the government is to secure public support and confidence in its ability to manage and handle crime,” Mr Davis noted.

Police have said the men were shot about two hours after they were released from custody in connection with illegal firearm possession.

Police also suspect the killings were

motivated by gang activity.

Meanwhile, Mr Davis also raised concerns about the crime prevention technology purchased by the Minnis administration.

“I raise the issue of crime prevention yet again because as I have said in the past, the multimillion dollar Shotspotter technology is clearly reactive.

“The efficacy of the multimillion dollar drones remains to be seen.

“By the time the shots fired were detected or spotted, conveyed to a control centre somewhere to a foreign country and relayed back to the Royal Bahamas Police Force for action, six people lay dead, two injured and the assailants made good their escape.

“In its wake, families are devastated and communities are left deeply shaken and vulnerable, trying to make sense of this senseless act of violence, while questioning the government’s ability to keep them safe.”

Mr Davis said it appears Thursday’s ambush was well-planned and executed. He said anti-crime measures must not only be comprehensive, but more dynamic and proactive than the organised criminal elements seeking to counter them.

“Like mutating viruses, organised criminal elements constantly change their criminal methodologies in order to evade authorities,” Mr Davis continued.

Yesterday, Bishop Simeon Hall also

weighed in on gun violence.

The former chairman of the National Advisory Council on Crime said Mr Dames must keep his election promise of putting a major dent in crime. While crime has been trending down in recent years, there have been frequent gun attacks this year.

The outspoken pastor called for the issue of guns to be tackled in an effort to deal with the country’s murder count.

“I think the least we could do is to let the Minister of National Security lead the country as he promised in his pre-election campaign he would lead the country in getting rid of guns,” he said.

“Now I know he’s done a good job so far, but obviously guns are not made in The Bahamas. We can solve to a greater degree murder counts by ridding the country of illegal weapons.

“We need to do better with how guns come into The Bahamas.

“Right now, I believe that as good a job as Minister Dames is doing, it could be better and he must keep his election promise that he’s going to put a major dent in crime and we need to hold him to that.”

The pastor emeritus of New Covenant Baptist Church also said Christian parents should turn in their “criminal sons and daughters” instead of turning a blind eye to their illegal activities.

KENDAL LORD

MAURICE PINDER

RENARDO BASTIAN

DEQUANT BROWN

she said. “This is the third nephew and my son was murdered.”

On Friday, The Tribune also spoke to Laverne Cartwright, mother of victim Travis Cooper, who was visibly distraught.

Ms Cartwright lost two sons in the span of hours in what she described was a mother’s worst nightmare.

Her older son, who was sick in hospital, died late on Wednesday night, several hours before his younger brother was fatally killed Thursday.

“I really don’t know how to say what sort of day I had because it feels as if I wasn’t even here and to lose two children. It was hard and I don’t know how many mothers could go through something like this,’’ she said with tears streaming down her face.

“I don’t know how they live to see another day, but they were my children and I wouldn’t want this for any other mother.”

Asked about her reaction when she first received the news, Ms Cartwright replied: “I was right here in my yard when I heard the shots and when I heard the shots, I told the child to come and carry me and when I reached I saw him and I know that was my child and I just lose it.”

The mother-of-three described her 25-year-old son as a kindhearted person who was well loved. She added he also had a daughter with whom he was close.

“My son Travis was kind and loving and everyone loved him and he tried his best and I know he loved

me and I loved him and he would be greatly missed but I just want to say to all of the mothers out there with children, please pray over y’all children,” she said.

“Keep them close and cover them in the blood (of Jesus) because things does happen too fast in this place and I don’t know what’s happening, but I just want the nation to pray for me and keep me in y’all prayer.”

Kendal Lord, Sr, father of victim Kendal Lord, said he was also at his home at the time of the shooting. He said the last time he saw his son was Tuesday morning, a day before he was taken into police custody.

“I heard the shooting because I lived right there and I heard the gunshots but I didn’t know who it was at the time and then my daughter called and say if I here because we call him Kel and she asked me if I hear about the shooting and he was in the car who got shot up and apparently he was in there,” Mr Lord said.

Mr Lord said while his son’s death was a shock, he is trying to cope with the news as best as he can.

“You just have to move on,” he said. “You can’t turn back the hands of time so you just take it one day at a time and cope with the grief and just move on.”

Kendal leaves behind three children, two daughters and one son.

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call police at 502-9929, 502-9935, 502-9942, or 5029952. Tips can also be made to Crime Stoppers at 328TIPS (8477).

PAGE 4, Monday, April 19, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

TOTAL CASES TOTAL DEATHS ‘Bahamas is now in a 9,736 194 third wave’

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

WITH total COVID-19 cases nearing the 10,000 mark, the country’s top infectious disease expert believes The Bahamas is now facing its third wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

The comments from Dr Nikkiah Forbes, director of the National HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Programme at the Ministry of Health, came as health officials reported 40 more cases on Saturday, pushing the nation’s overall tally to 9,736. Of this figure, 441 cases are active.

Friday saw 62 new infections, while 41 cases were recorded on Thursday, 30 on Wednesday, 58 on Tuesday, 45 on Monday and 21 last Sunday for a total of 297 last week.

The week prior saw 189 infections.

Last week, health officials also reported a rise in COVID-19 deaths, with the current toll at 194. The latest deceased victims are a 69-year-old woman from New Providence who died on April 8; a 57-year-old Abaco man and a 51-yearold New Providence woman—both of whom died on April 9; a 75-yearold woman from Andros who died April 11 and a 82-year-old New Providence man who died April 15.

Meanwhile, 45 people are currently in hospital fighting the virus.

Speaking to The Tribune yesterday, Dr Forbes confirmed the climbing COVID numbers and hospital cases show the country is now in its early stages of the third wave.

Dr Forbes said Bahamians have let their guards down, which she said contributed to the spike.

However, she said some of the cases recently recorded have also been linked to the workplace and travel.

“Undoubtedly, we’re not all following the public health measures,”

Dr Forbes said yesterday. “But, there are other scenarios. There are workplace exposures, there’s also gatherings. There has been an uptick in cases after the Easter holidays that contributed to. . .(the) rise and then there’s travel related cases and so there are several things that are contributing to what’s happening with the increase of cases.”

However, the COVID19 task force member said the nation could still get a handle on the situation if Bahamians continue to follow all of the health measures among other things.

She also noted vaccinations, COVID-19 testing and isolation strategies will be key in helping to tackle this wave of the pandemic but said all measures will “have to be done in combination”.

She said: “The public health measures are very effective, but the key is for that to work is everybody has to follow them…The other way that the COVID outbreak could be stopped is a full robust vaccination programme but that takes time and we have to get a very large proportion of the population immunised and that takes time so there’s two parts—prevention like the vaccine and public health measures—and then there’s control measures. “(This includes) having public health platforms that identifies the cases early and early means it has to be done very early like within a day or two and put those cases in isolation and find the high-risk contact and put them in quarantine and do follow up testing and it can work, but all those things have to be done in combination.”

Last week, former Minister of Health Dr Duane Sands told The Tribune he believes the country has reached a point where “draconian interventions” might be needed to bring rising COVID-19 cases under control.

He said the high COVID numbers confirmed in the last few days show the country has a “serious problem” and added that officials will now have to determine what sort of intervention is needed to curb further COVID spread.

Asked whether she thought more restrictions were needed to get cases under control, Dr Forbes did not give her thoughts on the matter yesterday, but said officials would have to consider several factors before making such decisions.

She told this newspaper: “Now, here’s the challenge when you start talking about restrictive measures, if you are following the preventive strategies and public health measures but you see not everybody does it, that’s where policy makers have to consider, do we need to put in place things to reduce gatherings and opportunities to reduce gatherings?

“That’s how that works because if people are not following or complying with the measures, then the question arises, do you now have to put in place certain things to reduce the chance that COVID could spread?’

She added: “For example, if you reduce the curfew down, then it reduces the chance that it could spread through some of events that a lot of people are attending. You also want to make sure that people in the workplace are adhering to the workplace guidelines and that people who are traveling are reducing their risks and only doing essential travel and also are people compliant with all of these measures.

“So that it is what one needs to consider when thinking about restrictions. . .and you still have to know that restrictions will still impact socialisations and the economy.”

Both Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and Health Minister Renward Wells have recently said there are no plans to increase COVID restrictions.

‘ONLY A FEW’ CONTRACTING COVID-19 VIRUS AFTER RECEIVING VACCINATIONS

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

OUT of more than 15,000 people who received their first shot of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, only “a few” people ended up contracting COVID-19 after getting vaccinated, according to the country’s

top infectious disease expert.

Dr Nikkiah Forbes said while it’s not common for people to contract the virus after getting vaccinated, it’s also not “impossible” as the vaccine does not offer complete protection.

Still, Dr Forbes insisted that this does not take away from its effectiveness and again reminded Bahamians

that the benefits of taking the vaccine far outweigh the risks.

“There are a few cases, not very many, maybe in the single digits that got the vaccine and got COVID of all the tens of thousands of people who got vaccinated... and perhaps the CMO (the chief medical officer) is the best to speak to that,” she said

NEWLY CONFIRMED CASES SATURDAY 40 CASES NEW PROVIDENCE GRAND BAHAMA

28 12

FRIDAY

62 CASES

NEW PROVIDENCE 48 GRAND BAHAMA 11 EXUMA 2 LONG ISLAND 1

THURSDAY

RECENT CONFIRMED DEATHS

• AN 82-YEAR-OLD MAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON APRIL 15.

• A 57-YEAR-OLD MAN FROM ABACO ON APRIL 9.

• A 51-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON APRIL 9.

• A 53-YEAR-OLD MAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON APRIL 9.

41 CASES

NEW PROVIDENCE 31 GRAND BAHAMA 8 ELEUTHERA 2

TOTAL TESTS

82,467

HOSPITALISED

45

CASES IN ICU

4

RECOVERED

9,031

MORE VACCINE SITES ADDED TWO new community COVID-19 vaccination sites have been added to service more walk-up appointments and increase access to the vaccine.

The new sites are located at the Pilgrim Baptist Church on Kemp Road and St Anselm’s Roman Catholic Church, Bernard Road.

COVID-19 vaccines will resume on New Providence and Grand Bahama today at the following sites until Friday.

• Kendal GL Isaacs National Gymnasium (Monday - Friday) • Pilgrim Baptist Church, St James Road (Monday - Wednesday) • Church of God of Prophecy, East St. (Monday – Friday) • Loyola Hall, Gladstone Rd (Wednesday– Friday) • St Anselm’s Church, Bernard Rd. (Thursday – Friday) • Susan J Wallace Community Centre, Freeport, Grand Bahama.

Vaccinations will take today place at the Stapledon School for those with disabilities and their caregivers. Caregivers must accompany the person they are caring for.

For the week of

Monday 26 to Friday, April 30, vaccinations will be administered on New Providence and Grand Bahama at: • Church of God of Prophecy, East St. (Monday – Friday) • Kendal GL Isaacs National Gymnasium (Monday - Friday) • St Anselm’s Church, Bernard Rd. (Monday) • Susan J Wallace Community Centre, Freeport, Grand Bahama (Monday – Friday) Please note that the following priority groups are now eligible to receive the vaccine: • Healthcare workers; • People 50 years of age and older; • People with disabilities • Uniformed branches (RBDF, RBPF, COVID Ambassadors, BDOCS, Customs and Immigration); • Teachers and staff of schools; • Hospitality workers (hotel and resort employees, public transportation workers, Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA), Nassau Airport Development (NAD) Co, Nassau Cruise Port (NCP), straw market, port and beach vendors and tour

operators); • Restaurant and retail workers; • Students and athletes studying or competing abroad, coaches and other support; • Home-bound physically disabled residents; • Members of the clergy; and • Accredited media (editors, reporters/anchors, photographers and videographers).

Appointments may be made online at https:// vax.gov.bs for all sites. For residents without access to the internet, walk-up appointments are available at the Church of God of Prophecy, East St, Pilgrim Baptist Church, Kemp Rd and St Anselm’s Roman Catholic Church, Bernard Rd. Those who do not fit into one of the above groups should not attempt to make an appointment at this time. Proof of age or occupation is required at the vaccination site.

For students and athletes, proof of study or competition abroad is required.

To register a homebound physically disabled resident with the COVID-19 Vaccine Mobile Unit please call 511 or email deborahfox@bahamas.gov.bs.

in an interview with The Tribune.

“But, I know globally, at the last report, I heard that there were just a little over 2,000 people who did get breakthrough COVID — that’s what we call it — despite being vaccinated.

But, out of many, many million people who got the vaccine, it’s not very common.

“But, it’s not impossible and let me just reiterate, that vaccines are very effective to prevent COVID-19 but there is still a small chance that you could get COVID-19 after getting vaccinated especially as no one in The Bahamas is fully vaccinated yet and so it’s a combination strategy.”

Dr Forbes, the director of the National HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Programme at the Ministry of Health, said this is also why it’s so important for Bahamians to not let their guards down and become relaxed with the current COVID rules.

She also sought to shut down claims that the vaccines are giving people COVID-19 after concerns were raised on social media over the issue last week.

She said: “The vaccines do not give you COVID19. There is no live SARS CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in the vaccine. But when you are vaccinated, you could still

get COVID and you could have some additional protection. However, if you let your guards down, you can get COVID in the days after you get vaccinated and certainly until you’re fully vaccinated, you’re not fully protected and you should still follow all of the health measures.”

Data released by Astrazeneca company last month found two doses of the jab to be 76 percent effective against the virus following test trials conducted in the US. The company also said that test trial results confirmed that the vaccine is “highly effective in adults” and it remains 100 percent effective in preventing severe disease.

The country received its first batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine in March, which were 20,000 doses donated by the Indian government.

An additional 32,500 doses landed in the country earlier this month through the World Health Organisation’s COVAX facility—the global vaccine programme.

The remaining doses are expected to arrive before the end of May. Since the launch of the government’s vaccination programme, more than 15,000 people have received their first shot to date.

Health officials have said there have been no reports to the Ministry of Health of allergic reactions, blood clots, post-vaccination hospitalisations or deaths associated with receiving the AstraZeneca COVID19 vaccination in The Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, April 19, 2021, PAGE 5

‘FOUR YEARS ON, PLP ‘to limit in-person’ I CAN’T GET A campaigns over COVID POLICE REPORT’

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

FOUR years after he was allegedly hit by a truck, 27-year-old Theo Saunders claimed he is still unable to obtain a police report in relation to this matter.

In 2017, The Tribune reported Mr Saunders saying he was knocked down by the vehicle from a local gaming house as he watched the Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival Road Fever March in May of that year.

However, he was unable to seek legal recourse due to the absence of the police report.

The 27-year-old told The Tribune he has been trying to get a police report ever since but has been repeatedly told it was not ready.

When asked if officers gave an excuse why the report was not ready, Mr Saunders said he never received one.

“It got so frustrating and tiring. Keeping going there - hearing the same thing over and over,” he said.

He said he checked on the matter again last year at the traffic division.

“The last time I actually followed up I think last year January and that was due to the fact the pandemic came around and we were on lockdown.”

More recent calls to the police station for an update have been unsuccessful, he said.

In 2017, Mr Saunders said he had recurring headaches and total

numbness in his right leg from the knee down. Now, Mr Saunders claimed he still experiences numbness in his leg.

He added: “To date, like I still have some sort of numb feeling from right knee go down. Like it is be on and off. They said because where I get hit on my back it was spinal shock that caused the (numb) feelings on the right side.

“When I was examined in the hospital when the initial accident happened back in 2017, that’s what they deemed it – a spinal shock.”

Although he is employed now, Mr Saunders added the incident left him unemployed for nearly two years.

“At that time when I got hit in 2017, I got released from hospital I couldn’t work because I was walking with a cane for I think a year and a half until I actually decided to just put it down.”

He claimed that neither the local gaming house nor the truck driver reached out to him.

“To date, I actually messaged both of these persons and I didn’t get an answer on all social media forums,” Mr Saunders said.

The Tribune contacted the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s Traffic Division to ask what would hold up a police report for two years. Police said in normal instances it should be turned over no later than 14 days once everything is in order, but did not speak specifically to Ms Saunders’ case.

MAN KILLED IN HEAD-ON COLLISION

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net AN Abaco man is dead after the vehicle he was driving collided head on with a truck on SC Bootle Highway on Thursday evening.

Superintendent of Police Terecita Pinder reported that the accident occurred shortly before 8pm, near the area of Treasure Cay Airport, involving a white 2002 Chevrolet Silverado with two male occupants and a brown Daihatsu Mira with a lone male driver.

According to police reports, the Daihatsu Mira was travelling east at a high rate of speed when it collided head on with the white Chevrolet Silverado, which was travelling in the west bound lane.

The driver of the Daihatsu Mira was ejected from the vehicle before it burst into flames. The victim was later pronounced dead by a doctor at the Marsh Harbour Community Clinic.

The driver and passenger of the Chevrolet Silverado received serious injuries and, at last report, were listed in stable condition.

Supt Pinder said police are actively investigating the matter.

In a little over a month, there have been two previous traffic deaths on SC Bootle Highway.

On February 28, police were called to an accident shortly after 1pm at SC Bootle Highway in Marsh Harbour, involving a white 2010 Suzuki Alto, which was in bushes with no disc or license plate attached.

According to initial reports, the male driver was travelling along SC Bootle Highway when he lost control of the vehicle. The car flipped over several times before coming to rest some 69ft from the highway. The victim — a 21-year-old male of Treasure Cay — was discovered and pronounced dead at the community clinic.

On March 7, shortly after 5am officers were called to a traffic accident at Forest Drive, Dundas Town, involving a white Honda Civic coupe with two male passengers. The vehicle was travelling east on Forest Drive when the driver lost control and hit a tree. The driver of the vehicle was seriously injured. However, the male passenger died at the scene.

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By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party Leader Phillip “Brave” Davis has said his party will be limiting in-person campaigning and implementing several new safety protocols, due to a worrisome uptick in COVID-19 cases in the country.

The opposition leader also revealed the party had planned to have a meeting this week to ratify additional candidates but decided against it due to the rise in cases.

In a statement released yesterday, Mr Davis said he is concerned about the climbing COVID numbers and again criticised the government for having no plan to safeguard the country against this third wave of new infections.

His comments came after health officials recorded 40 new cases in the country, pushing the nation’s overall total to 9,736. Of this figure, 441 cases are active. Meanwhile, 45 people are said to be in hospital.

Yesterday, Mr Davis said: “Neither the minister of health nor the competent authority has communicated specific initiatives to the Bahamian public for mitigating the impact of this third wave. This continues to be a government that reacts instead of planning ahead.

“The PLP is not going to wait for their guidance in order to act. We are therefore announcing a pull-back on in-person campaigning and implementing the following: canvassing will take place in groups no larger than five. Canvassers should not enter homes, but stay outside at a distance of several feet, with masks on at all times. PLP candidates are already undergoing weekly COVID testing as part of our internal protocols designed to reduce COVID risks. This will continue.”

His comments were also echoed by

A PLP curbside breakfast at PLP HQ earlier this month.

PLP COVID taskforce co-chair, Dr Michael Darville, who said the party wanted to lead by example and act responsibly as the country battles its third COVID wave.

He also called on the government to be proactive and not reactive in its COVID response.

“We are very concerned about the apparent rise in positive COVID-19 cases in the country, specifically in New Providence and Grand Bahama,” he told The Tribune. “We believe the government must move swiftly to address what appears to be community spread, first by increasing PCR testing and preparing the public healthcare system for possible increase in admissions of symptomatic COVID-19 patients. The clock is ticking and we must be proactive and not reactive.”

During a Ministry of Health press conference earlier this month, Chief Medical Officer Dr Pearl McMillan said political gatherings should not be happening during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, despite Dr McMillan’s suggestions, some parties have still been seen campaigning and hosting walkabouts in certain communities.

Most recently, Dr Minnis and party members canvassed the South Beach

community on Saturday.

“Last week, I called on the Prime Minister to show that his actions could match his rhetoric about the importance of keeping Bahamians safe.

He talks the talk, but does not walk the walk,” Mr Davis also said. “He has increased FNM campaign activities even while asking Bahamians to restrict their own gatherings. His failure to communicate the date for the elections is further evidence of his disregard for Bahamians (as well as representing one of many broken promises); removing uncertainty about the date could allow all political parties to create campaign plans that reduce risk to Bahamians.

“The PLP COVID Task Force will continue to follow scientific updates and advise our campaign. In the meantime, we are planning a number of virtual events to share our economic plan with the Bahamian people.”

When asked to respond to criticisms of the hypocrisy of his calls for small gatherings while large political gatherings are occurring, Dr Minnis has previously said: “You would’ve seen them (campaigners) still spacing out somewhat and each and every one, regardless of the political organisation, each and every one was wearing a mask.”

COMMITTEE TO HELP YOUNG PROFESSIONALS APPOINTED PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has appointed members of the Committee for the Development of Communities for Young Professionals.

The committee was formed in March to advise Dr Minnis, as minister responsible for land, on the use of governmentowned land for the social and economic empowerment of young people through land ownership.

The committee will guide the administrative and technical development of communities for young professionals, a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister said.

Committee members include professionals with multi-disciplinary experience, including property development, real estate, engineering, financial, legal, project management and public policy.

Members of the committee include: Viana

Gardiner, chief operating officer, Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit (chair); Nathaniel Beneby, retired commercial banking executive; Christine Wallace-Whitfield, president, Bahamas Real Estate Association; Michele Thompson, country managing partner, Ernst & Young; Sonia Brown, principal, Graphite Engineering Ltd; Carlyle Bethel, investment advisor associate, CIBC First Caribbean International and Charles Sealy, business administrator.

The committee will work closely with government agencies responsible for subdivision developments, OPM said.

Specific subcommittees made up of members of the public and private sectors also will be formed to provide for wider consultation and support where needed to the committee and to successful applicants.

The first community to be undertaken is the Prospect Ridge development for young professionals, with both residential and commercial offerings.

Last week, Parliament passed a resolution for the development of the 83 acres of land in Prospect Ridge as an upscale community for young professionals and the granting of concessions which would allow them the opportunity to access affordable land for the building of their homes.

Parliament also approved the conveyance of 83 acres by the treasurer to the Crown.

This first step of securing the land will now enable the government to proceed with the proposed development.

In preparation to advance the development, members of the Committee have already had meaningful dialogue with commercial financial

institutions on funding mechanisms for young professionals. Architects and civil designers have already started work on designing an eco-friendly, upscale, sustainable and resilient community.

In the coming week, members of the committee will engage with representatives of various government agencies on the technical requirements for the development of the community.

The committee has completed the application form necessary for the Prospect Ridge community. It has been submitted to the Department of Transformation and Digitisation to digitise the application process.

A digital application form will allow young professionals to submit all supporting documents digitally and to track their applications.

Details on the application process will be announced in the coming weeks.

PAGE 6, Monday, April 19, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

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Black Americans experiencing collective trauma CARLIL Pittman knows trauma firsthand.

As the co-founder of the Chicago-based youth organization GoodKidsMadCity-Englewood, he grieved the loss of Delmonte Johnson, a young community activist, more than two years ago to the very thing the teen fought fiercely against: gun violence.

He’s also been angered and frustrated by the onslaught of stories of Black Americans killed at the hands of police across the nation throughout the past year.

First, there was Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was fatally shot in her Louisville, Kentucky, home last March.

Then there was George Floyd, whose Memorial Day killing by a Minneapolis officer sparked global protests. Just this week, Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota — just minutes from where Floyd died. And on Friday, Pittman spent much of the day planning a demonstration with other Chicago organizers to protest the police killing of 13-year-old Adam Toledo, who was Latino.

“We’re constantly turning on the TV, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and seeing people that look like us who are getting murdered with no repercussions,” said Pittman, an organizer for A New Deal for Youth. “It’s not normal to see someone get murdered by the click of a video on your phone, yet it has become the norm for our people, our Black and brown communities.”

Many Black Americans are facing a collective sense of grief and trauma that has grown more profound with the loss of each life at the hands of police in America. Some see themselves and their children reflected in the victims of police violence, heightening the grief they feel. That collective mourning is a great concern to experts and medical professionals who consider the intersectionality of racism and various forms of trauma impacting communities of color a serious public health crisis facing America.

The racial trauma impacting Black Americans isn’t new. It’s built upon centuries of oppressive systems and racist practices that are deeply embedded within the fabric of the nation. Racial trauma is a unique form of identityrelated trauma that people of color experience due to racism and discrimination, according to Dr. Steven Kniffley, a licensed psychologist and coordinator for Spalding University’s Collective Care Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

“A lot of cities across the country are realizing that racial trauma is a public health issue,” Kniffley said, citing health concerns such as increased rates of suicide among Black men, a life expectancy gap and post-traumatic stress disorder. “There’s no other way that we can explain that except for the unique experiences Black and brown folks have based on their identity, and more specifically, when they encounter racism and discrimination.”

Kniffley said each generation of Black Americans since slavery has faced its own unique iteration of racism and discrimination, which has manifested into a form of intergenerational trauma.

“We’ve essentially handed down 10 or 15 generations worth of boxes of trauma that have yet to be unpacked, and that’s what’s contributing to a lot of those biological and mental health related issues that we’re having,” Kniffley said, noting the trauma extends beyond police violence.

In a 2018 study examining the mental health impact of police killings on Black Americans, researchers found exposure to police killings of unarmed Black Americans had adverse effects on mental health among Black people.

Nearly half of Black Americans who responded said they were exposed to one or more police killings of unarmed Black Americans in their state of residence — either through word of mouth or the media.

“That effect was found only in Black (Americans),” said Dr. Atheendar S. Venkataramani, one of the authors of the study and a physician at

Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia.

Rashad Robinson, the president of Color of Change, said the trauma has also created generations of Black Americans who have valid mistrust of law enforcement agencies. And many are experiencing further mental anguish while watching the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck.

“We have a whole set of folks with badges and guns who are supposed to protect and serve and they do neither,” Robinson said. “In order to survive, we have to integrate into a system in a structure which is brutal — brutal to our lives, our dignity, our health. It has collective and long-term impact.”

While much of the media spotlight on police killings impacting Black Americans is focused on Black men, experts say it’s important to also highlight misogynoir — misogyny directed toward Black women. Black women experience misogynoir in various aspects of their lives but also in connection with police violence. The #SayHerName campaign was launched in 2014 to bring awareness to the lesser-known stories of Black women and girls who have been victimized by police. The hashtag flourished again after Taylor’s death, prompting accusations of delayed justice in her case.

“As a mom, I’m constantly in fear for my son and my heart is broken by this country over and over again,” said Aimee Allison, who leads She the People. “It really calls into question how Black women in particular, who’ve sacrificed so much to serve this country in terms of democracy and bringing voters to the polls, upholding a vision of peace and justice for everyone else, how much more can we take?”

Chicago resident Erendira Martinez said the Little Village community, a Chicago neighborhood with a majority Latino population, is also hurting, not just from Toledo’s killing but also from the trauma of losing other children to gun violence.

On Thursday night, just hours after the video of Toledo’s death was released, a 17-year-old girl was shot and killed in the same neighborhood. Martinez’s own teenage daughter was shot and killed in Little Village in December.

“We had just buried my daughter, and a month later, we’re burying this kid that grew up with my daughter,” she said.

“No mother should bury their child.”

Some community organizations are working to address the trauma, said Aswad Thomas, chief of organizing for Alliance for Safety and Justice, who runs Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, a network of more than 46,000 crime survivors from mostly Black and Latino communities. The group is releasing its first-ever National Crime Victims Agenda next week to address collective trauma.

“The tragic truth is that police violence is the most horrific, visible symptom of a larger systemic problem of how our public safety system is designed and we need to address that head-on,” Thomas said. “But while also investing in the mom and pops who are on the front lines to violence, hosting the community vigils and interventions groups.”

Uzodinma Iweala, CEO of The Africa Center, based in New York, said sometimes the thought of what he and so many other Black Americans have experienced is rage-inducing. He thinks of the times he and his brothers have been stopped by police. Or the time his uncle was called a racial slur by an officer.

And how in each instance they prayed they would make it out alive — experiences he thinks some white Americans willfully ignore.

“We’re going to need a real fundamental examination of the roots of what America is,” Iweala said. “America refuses to acknowledge that America is not a country without the labor of and the blood, sweat and tears of Black people. Until America values those contributions, it will never value Blackness as a life form.”

By KAT STAFFORD Associated Press

America’s clone EDITOR, The Tribune.

WITH each passing day, this tiny, archipelagic Caribbean nation known as the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, becomes more and more like its giant neighbour to the north, the United States. And if you’re paying attention to what’s going on in America as of late, you know that that’s not a compliment.

Mass shootings are becoming more and more common in America, so much so that it would seem to both Americans and the international community that these tragedies have a weekly occurrence. In fact, even as I write this very letter, America comes to grips with yet another mass shooting, this one taking place at a Fed Ex facility in Indianapolis, Indiana. An absolute massacre: eight people shot dead, dozens more injured, some critically, and the suspected gunman also dead, most likely from a self inflicted gunshot wound.

Eight dead. Eight. Eight families that now have to mourn the senseless loss of their loved ones while making funeral arrangements. There’s also the family of the alleged shooter, who without a doubt will face the wrath of both the public and the family of the victims; they will have to deal with the many questions and harsh, unblinking eye of the Press and media.

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net Here, in the Bahamas, we’re dealing with the very same problem of mass shootings. Yesterday, we experienced our own mass shooting and massacre: Six young men in a car, ambushed and executed, on Jerome Avenue, in New Providence, their vehicle sprayed with gunfire, most likely from an automatic assault weapon, their blood splattered like paint. The RBPF were quick to state that this shooting was the result of “gang activity”, but really, is there ever a reason for such mindless violence? Gangs and gang activity have existed in the Bahamas for decades; mass shootings of this scale have not, the last mass shooting that Bahamians can remember is the Fox Hill drive by shooting from a few years ago. For a long time, this was the worst shooting to have ever occurred in the Bahamas, an act of absolute depravity that many continue to talk about to this day. And now, this shooting has been eclipsed by an even worse act.

This recent shooting on Jerome Avenue, as well as the Fox Hill shooting, is just another example of the Bahamas “following fashion” and “monkey see, monkey do.” If it

happens or is “trendy” in America, you can almost certainly guarantee that it will happen and/or become a trend here. Americans eat too much junk food, suffer from obesity, Bahamians eat too much junk food and suffer from obesity. Americans excessively smoke cigarettes and die from cancer and heart disease, Bahamians excessively smoke cigarettes and die from cancer and heart disease; it is impossible to walk about on New Providence and not breathe in second hand smoke. Americans drink alcohol ad nauseum, Bahamians, ditto. And now, we have wholeheartedly adopted America’s “gun culture”. Gone are the days when disputes are settled with fistfights, where the worst thing that could happen to you was getting “burst” with a rock, beer bottle, or conch shell; or getting “lick” with a 2×4.

This used to be a part of our Bahamian heritage and culture, an embarrassing part, yes, but it was indicative of the Bahamas. We don’t do mass shootings.

At least, we didn’t, until we began to lose our identity, and now, slowly but surely, we are becoming America’s “clone”, an unrecognisable caricature of our neighbours to the north.

TRUTH Nassau, April 16, 2021.

Abaco shanty town EDITOR, The Tribune.

HAITIANS were brought into Abaco in the early 90s to work the 3,000acre Bahamas Star Citrus Farm. They were more or less treated as slave labour and treated cruelly and paid a pittance. They worked behind barb wire topped fencing with gates padlocked from 5pm to 9am.

Without the Haitians there would have been no citrus farm.

When the citrus groves failed, they took up jobs “beneath” the status of Bahamians such as gardeners, domestic workers.

One quote from a Reverend Carlton Dorsett in April ‘93 states: “If 60 percent of the Haitians were repatriated from Marsh Harbour, businesses would collapse.” After Hurricane Dorian many Haitians lost everything as their main shanty town, The Mud, was destroyed.

Being resilient as marginalised communities often

are they got on with it. Life is tough and cruel living in a society which very much considers them as second class citizens. Their role is to provide cheap labour and to do jobs Bahamians just won’t do. It is without doubt a dilemma for the government as to how you deal with the emergence of new shanty towns. Between a rock and a hard place.

The Bahamas purports to be a Christian country?

Haitians are human beings and therefore our brothers and sisters. In Abaco they have made themselves essential workers and essential to the economy a fact which riles Bahamians, but regardless it’s true.

Haitians are excluded from the normal economic social ladder. They would not be entertained at a local bank for a mortgage as an example. It’s an act of extreme cruelty and severely anti-christian to destroy their shanty dwellings as this government has just done.

It’s also the height of hypocrisy as this government knows the Haitians are very much needed for Abaco to function. To throw men, women and children to the wolves in such a manner is despicable.

There are thousands of acres of Crown land in Abaco sitting empty and practically worthless. Why doesn’t the government have the intelligence to donate a few hundred acres to the Haitian community?

Some fast track loose but enforced conditions could be imposed to ensure structures are solid and sanitary.

What’s the alternate to continuously bulldoze their homes? It’s so illogical as in the final analysis the Haitians are remaining in Abaco and in the long term should be fully integrated into our society. That surely is the Christian thing to do?

THE REALIST Nassau, April 16, 2021.

THE TRIBUNE

SON DEAD AND FATHER IN HOSPITAL AFTER BIMINI CRASH

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net A 20-YEAR-OLD American man is dead and his father is in hospital after their plane crashed in waters near South Bimini shortly after take-off on Friday night.

According to Air Accident Investigation Authority chief investigator, Captain Delvin Major, officials received information about the incident around 10.48 pm.

Initial reports noted that an

aircraft had crash landed in waters near the island.

Captain Major said after receiving word of the incident, a team of investigators from the AAIA and Civil Aviation Authority was dispatched to the area early Saturday morning.

Investigations by the team revealed that a Piper Navajo PA-31 aircraft, pictured, registered in the United States, took off from South Bimini International Airport with two men on board.

According to international reports, family members have identified the victims as

59-year-old Andre Wade and 20-year-old Kyle Wade, father and son. Their plane was headed to Opa Locka, Florida.

However, shortly after takeoff, the plane crashed in shallow waters at the end of the airport’s runway around 10.10pm.

“Two persons (father and son) were onboard the aircraft at the time,” Captain Major said in a statement released on Saturday.

“The son succumbed to injuries sustained and the father was airlifted to Nassau. Up to press release time, he was being prepared for transfer to the USA to

$5,000 FINE FOR FAKING COVID-19 TEST

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 21-YEAR-OLD woman who tried to use falsified COVID-19 test results to travel to Grand Bahama was fined $5,000 in Magistrate’s Court.

Monalisa Davis appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt after she presented a fake Bonaventure Medical Lab RT-PCR negative COVID test to a COVID ambassador at Lynden Pindling International Airport on April 11.

She pleaded guilty to possessing and uttering a forged document.

The court was told when

Davis, who was attempting to travel to Freeport, showed the official the test results on her iPhone that day, he suspected the electronic document was fraudulent.

The ambassador contacted Bonaventure Medical Lab which confirmed the test was not issued by their system.

The prosecution said further investigations not only confirmed Bonaventure Medical Lab had not issued the results, but also revealed Davis had never visited the facility. She was arrested. During an interview with police, she owned up to the offences and said she got the fake test from a woman she knew.

During the hearing, Davis

apologised and insisted she made a “stupid decision” she deeply regretted.

Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt told her what was supposed to be an ordinary trip to Freeport landed her before the courts for a serious offence with heavy penalties.

She insisted the virus was “nothing to play with” and said the court had to send a clear message that the conduct was unacceptable.

She fined her $2,500 for having the fake test result and another $2,500 for presenting it to an official at the airport.

Magistrate FergusonPratt said if Davis failed to pay the $5,000 fine, she would be sentenced to three months in prison.

MAN WHO PUNCHED WIFE MUST TAKE ANGER CLASSES

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 66-YEAR-OLD man who punched his wife during a heated argument was on Friday ordered to compensate her for injuries and attend anger management classes.

The retired contractor — whose name has been withheld to protect the identity of his partner — was charged with one count of assault when he appeared before Assistant Chief Magistrate

Subusola Swain.

The court was told the woman and her husband of 43 years got into a heated argument on April 2. The prosecution said during the verbal altercation, the accused punched her in her head, causing her pain.

After she reported the matter to police, her spouse was arrested. When he was questioned, he admitted being involved in an argument, but denied hitting her.

During the hearing, the father of four pleaded guilty. His attorney also told

the magistrate his client was remorseful for his actions and had chosen to own up to his “burst of anger” to avoid wasting judicial time.

Magistrate Swain placed the accused on probation for nine months and ordered him to compensate his wife $500 for the pain he caused her. She also ordered the accused to attend anger management counselling. She said if he failed to comply with the conditions of his release, he would be sentenced to two months behind bars.

‘COPS ATTACKED WITH CONCH SHELL’

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

AN ANDROS man accused of assaulting three police officers with rocks and a conch shell a day before he allegedly tried to kill them was on Friday denied bail ahead of his trial.

Police said John Newton Jr, 43, attempted to murder Sergeant 2690 Kirkwood Dean, Corporal 2963 Oostrum Douglas and Corporal 3226 Christopher Griffin in Staniard Creek, Central Andros on January 5.

The prosecution said the accused also used a handgun to endanger the lives of the officers during the incident, which took place on Queen’s Highway that same day.

During the hearing, Newton Jr was further accused of threatening to kill a woman, along with Sgt Dean and Cpl Griffin on January 4.

Police said the accused also assaulted the two officers with rocks and a conch shell that same day.

On Friday, Newton Jr denied the threats of death

and assault allegations and those matters were adjourned to June 18 for trial.

Due to the nature of the attempted murder offences, he was not required to enter a plea and that particular case was also adjourned to June 18 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

In the interim, he was denied bail and remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

Newton Jr has a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

receive medical treatment.

“The pilot was in possession of a valid USA commercial pilot license with appropriate ratings for the aircraft as well as a valid medical certificate.”

Captain Major said Royal Bahamas Police Force officers and Royal Bahamas Defence Force officers as well as OPBAT and Bimini residents assisted with rescue and recovery efforts, “arriving within two minutes of notification”.

“Efforts are underway to retrieve the aircraft from its current location to secure it at

Monday, April 19, 2021, PAGE 7

a facility where further analysis can be conducted. The AAIA is on site and will continue its investigation to determine the cause of the crash,” he added.

Last month, an aircraft headed to Inagua crashed near Salina Point, Acklins with two Bahamian men onboard. There has been no recovery of the aircraft or its occupants to date.

However, relatives of one of the missing men told The Tribune last month that they have not given up hope and “believe wholly and solely” that he’s alive.

THE STORIES BEHIND THE NEWS

THE PM’S PARTY HOUSE - A WHITE ELEPHANT OR A LOST OPPORTUNITY?

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net RECENTLY, much ado has been made over the government-owned, once majestic home located right beside the Goodman’s Bay recreation area. The grubby fingers of politicians are being pointed across the Parliamentary floor casting sarcastic remarks as to what the building is for, all the while totally missing how much tremendous wastage it represents. A whopping $3.5m’s worth of wastage.

“La Playa”, the property left to rot next to a public beach, recently made headlines while Parliament debated a resolution brought to the House of Assembly by Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis which is set to afford young, Bahamian professionals a chance at homeownership in an upscale area in Western New Providence.

Dr Minnis said next to the 83 acres set for the housing scheme, is a plot of land set aside for the official residence of the Prime Minister.

The row in Parliament started when the Prime Minister said “La Playa” was acquired by the Progressive Liberal Party who “frivolously” spent some $10m to buy and renovate the building which would be used to “entertain” the Prime Minister and whomever else he wants there.

The figures from the Prime Minister were confusing, as he first said the property was purchased for $4m and up to $3m added to it for renovations which when added together equals $7m.

Opposition leader Philip “Brave” Davis was not happy with the flippant remarks from the PM and told House Speaker, Halston Moultrie the PLP government never spent $10m and that it was not purchased for the personal use or entertainment of the Prime Minister as Dr. Minnis claimed. Mr Davis asked for the remarks to be withdrawn saying they were a mischaracterisation of the investment.

According to a wellplaced Tribune source, the last Christie administration purchased the building for $3.5m, using funds from the National Insurance Board.

The source also gave the “important reason” for the Christie administration purchasing the house.

“This information from the Prime Minister is all wrong,” the source said.

“This was not about entertaining any Ministers or the Prime Minister’s guests.

That is foolishness! Mr

Christie sought the government to buy that house to stop Baha Mar from taking over that area and closing off public access to the beach. That was the owner’s plan. All that property house along that beach was to be allotted for it.

The same acquired by Baha Mar and Mr Christie was not going area the Prime Minister is boasting in Parliament that to allow that. He took this he identified for young on personally! professionals to build on “So an agreement was and the Prime Minister’s made and he had NIB purresidence to be built is chase the house to use as a the same land Sir Lynden protocol house when dealhad for a Prime Minister’s ing with foreign dignitaries. residence.

It was never designed for “I agree with you, Mr a Prime Minister’s house. Ingraham mentioned it It was to be used by the a few times, but it was government for foreign Sir Lynden who initiated delegates. Many countries those talks and made a around the region have major attempt to bring it these protocol houses. This to fruition.” is nothing new!”

Tribune research found The Tribune’s source Sir Lynden spoke to conwent on to say that this was structing a Prime Minister’s not the only land that the residence several times in Christie administration, parliament, but it was not “rescued and kept for the supported by MPs. Bahamian people”.

According to the gov“The Bahamas National ernment’s Budget of 1980, Trust sold a lot of beach estimates submitted to the front land in Harbour House of Assembly in late Island that Bahamians November 1979 by then would have had no access to Finance Minister Arthur anymore,” the source con- Hanna, said $450,000 was tinued. “Mr Christie took set aside for the buildthat on too and the govern- ing of a Prime Minister’s ment purchased that land residence. and it is now in the govIt was not said where ernment’s treasury. It now the resibelongs to the dence would people of The ‘This was not be built, but Bahamas!” about entertaining there were The Tribune reports at that further inves- any Ministers time, that it tigated this or the Prime would be on and can con- Minister’s the banks of firm that the Lake Cunland in Har- guests. That is ningham bour Island foolishness! Mr near Prospect was in fact Christie sought Ridge. sold by the For the trust to inves- the government remainder of tors and then to buy that house the Pindling purchased by to stop Baha Mar administrathe Christie tion, no more administration. from taking over was heard During the that area and about the first two terms closing off public official resiof former dence since Prime Min- access to the that budget ister Hubert beach. That was debate of Ingraham, he the owner’s plan.

1980 when the often spoke of project was building an All that property severely critiofficial Prime along that beach cised by then Minister’s resi- was to be acquired High Rock dence as other MP Maurice by Baha Mar and countries do.

Moore.

However, Mr Christie was On Septemduring his not going to allow ber 11, 1980, terms in office Mr. Moore there was no that. He took this said the folaction taken on personally!’ lowing in to achieve this.

Parliament: When this “It can’t be a was mentioned to the Trib- priority in this nation,” said une’s source, he said Mr Mr Moore. “Perhaps the Ingraham was in fact not next step will be providing the first to suggest this, but housing for Ministers. This instead the country’s first is not the way to reduce Prime Minister, Sir Lynden the distance between the Pindling. distance between the haves “Sir Lynden brought that and the have nots. You are to Parliament from the lengthening it. The people 1980s,” the source said. “In of this nation deserve fact he had a designated better than what the Govarea near to Boozie Rolle’s ernment is giving them.”

MONDAY, APRIL 19, 2021

Mr Moore also told House members at the time that he was not against the concept of building an official residence for the Prime Minister, but questioned its importance at that time when the country was not doing well.

Sir Lynden went quiet about this matter and then suddenly a house was erected in the Prospect Ridge area that made the public feel he took the government’s money and constructed a home for himself since he could not bring life to an official Prime Minister’s residence.

It was confirmed by The Tribune that the house was privately built and paid for

by Sir Lynden. It was built for half a million dollars by B&A Construction Co. Ltd, owned by now deceased contractor Arnold Cargill with architectural drawings done by Henry Melich.

After all that history is relived, the matter at hand regarding “La Playa” is still one of extreme wastage. The Tribune’s source continued with the tale of the hapless property which now stands at Goodman’s Bay, lifeless having lost its prestige and dignity.

“Just before being voted out in 2012, Christie was in the process of making an arrangement with the Wynn Group which is now building that resort in front of the Prime Minister’s Office on West Bay Street,” said source. “The government was to lease the property to Paul Wynn of the Wynn Group to house its high end guests and also make the house available to the government for its protocol needs for foreign delegates.

“The Wynn group was also to buy the properties beside ‘La Playa’ as well which includes ‘Fairview’ and so on. So Wynn would have leased this place, making itself responsible

for fully refurbishing that property and the maintenance. It was a very good deal for The Bahamas in regards to revenue. Bahamians would still have owned the property. I don’t know why this current administration didn’t continue that agreement.”

The building, which from the outside seems to be in a state of disrepair, is said to be palatial inside; displaying marble tiles and mahogany fittings. Clearly, a place where the rich and famous lived, the building is said to have about eight or nine bedrooms.

The Tribune sought counsel from another source on the history of “La Playa’s” ownership. It seemed to have been in the hands of quite a few, before finally belonging to the government. A once beautiful building, such as this one, deserves better treatment than to lay dormant with its gate’s rotting.

The building was constructed in the 1950s by very wealthy American owners and then later purchased from them by British millionaire, Peter de Savary who owned it for some time and then sold it to Sir Nicolas Nuttall and his wife Lady Eugenie Nuttall. Sir Nicolas was a Baron.

The Nuttalls sold the home to Swedish couple, Lars and Karen Wisen who later sold it to a wealthy Canadian who made the purchase as a wedding gift for his son. He was later disappointed when his son told him he had no intention of coming to The Bahamas.

“The Christie government did not start the renovations that can be seen on the property,” The Tribune’s second source said. “It was the Canadian owner who was tweaking the exterior for his son. He later started to negotiate a

sale with Baha Mar to get the property off his hands, but the government of that day attempted to block it to preserve beaches for the Bahamian people.

“Furious by the government’s actions, the Canadian threatened to sue the Christie administration and the government’s legal advisor told Mr Christie to settle the case by purchasing the property. He took the advice and that is how the government acquired the property. It’s a shame to see it just sitting there deteriorating. It was magnificently built! These fellas need to stop playing politics with these things.”

The GoldWynn project is the brainchild of Paul Wynn of the Wynn Group of Companies which is an investment and development firm. GoldWynn, valued at $120m, includes a mix of private residences and a condo-hotel, with amenities like a beachfront infinity pool, seaside dining, a theatre, a spa, a tennis club, a “social house and gallery” and a rooftop terrace and pool.

Regardless of who paid what and what the building is for and the state of building, “La Playa” cost some $3.5m which was coughed up from the public purse.

Agreed, this is not a matter to play politics with, but instead a matter of national importance as the state of economic affairs in this country calls for not one, red cent to be wasted.

Instead of parliamentarians making a mockery of the purchase of the home and using the entire matter to gain brownie points with the public, its future should be decided upon. But until then, as its name in English suggests, “La Playa” will remain sitting idly on the beach with the sea breeze and the whispering pine trees as its only company.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, April 19, 2021, PAGE 9

What’s really being done to address what puts a young man’s finger on the trigger of a gun?

THE SCENE after the mass shooting on Thursday that saw six men shot dead.

By MALCOLM STRACHAN

Last Thursday’s mass murder that killed six men puts our tragic state of ONE of the main cam- affairs on display for all to paign positions of both of see. No doubt, the horrifiour last administrations cally public nature of these has been an emphasis on killings has shaken the eradicating the scourge country. Only a few hunof crime. As record mur- dred meters away from the ders were set under both police station after being the Ingraham and Chris- released from custody, tie administrations, our some suspect this was a politicians, in hopes of well-orchestrated hit, and engendering confidence in it reeks of the country’s the electorate, claimed to drug and gang wars.

On one hand, we have have the answer.

Inarguably, the former been relieved crime has government’s performance reduced, but how can we on crime was woeful. Prime feel safe when we live in a Minister Minnis’ boasting country where violent acts of a Cabinet that would like this play out in broad include a former Deputy daylight?

Time and again, the Commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police Force Royal Bahamas Police Force assures signalled a us the councommitment ‘As long as we try is safe, and to getting the that violence job done this continue to have is only being time around. the mentality done by a few Certainly, that these young bad apples. under the men are either But we must leadership be careful not of National foreigners or to allow the Security Minforeign to us, conversation ister Marvin to end there as Dames, this in the sense we may risk an administration that promotes explosion of has reduced violence. the numbers an “us versus This isn’t of people them” mentality, just the parbeing killed we are missing ents’ problem. in the counJust as this is try.

Many an enormous our society, had believed opportunity to this is all of Dames’ expe- build a better our problem. rience as a country and We can high-ranking all remempolice officer save the lives of ber what the would pay so many of our country felt dividends, and like in 2011 he did not young men.’ as the level disappoint. violence escalated.

But we can also stand in of one accord that despite the While murders have been reduction of murders, there marginally lower, we are is still a glaring social issue. continuing to see young Our young men continue to men hauled before the choose to join gangs - steal- courts for drug and ganging the futures of our sons, feud motivated killings. brothers, and in some cases, Mothers, and where they fathers, who end up on a are present, fathers, were path that leads them to jail left with the stigma of what they did wrong in their or an early grave.

Celebrating fewer mur- child’s life to end up on ders feels like a vain either side of the gun as the exercise if we are not also rest of us looked on as if we reducing the number of were somehow immune.

As long as this remains a young men joining gangs.

While we understand the game of ‘good guys against powers-that-be view gang bad guys’, an unchecked violence as a concern, it social epidemic may spread does not appear to be high as opposing sides try to up the ante – answering vioon the list of priorities.

Hurricane Dorian and lence with more violence.

COVID-19 may be occupy- And although the current ing our attention when it administration came in comes to social issues, but with a focus on crime, our we cannot lose sight of the little country set against the battle for our young men backdrop of paradise is still from the inner city. They ranked as one of the top too suffer limited oppor- ten murderous places in the tunities in harsh economic world per capita.

This is, indeed, sobering. times. This perhaps makes a Outlined in the Free life of crime more attractive.

National Movement’s social agenda ahead of the 2017 election was a focus to launch a real property tax amnesty programme, combatting HIV/AIDS, reducing infant and maternal mortality rates, improving the Disability Register, implementing the Disability Equal Opportunity Act and enhancing the National Commission for Persons with Disability.

While the government has successfully contributed to each of these areas during their tenure, there has been no real thrust to create social programmes to empower youth and create environments and provide resources conducive to healthy family structures.

Thus, we are still embroiled in a vicious cycle with our young men becoming harder to reach.

If we consider what the past year and some has done to ordinary citizens – those who have not faced trauma and adversity their whole lives – we can only imagine what those who have been more disadvantaged coming from the inner cities have to deal with. And yet, as a society, we lack the empathy to demand our government addresses the problem at its foundation.

I have said it in this space before, and I will say it again – as long as we continue to

have the mentality that these young men are either foreigners or foreign to us, in the sense that promotes an “us versus them” mentality, we are missing an enormous opportunity to build a better country and save the lives of so many of our young men.

When a child is born, we are all like a blank hard drive waiting for software to be downloaded – clay waiting to be moulded by the potter. We are developed by various inputs – our parents, our environment, our community, teachers and economic standing. It will be a grand day in our country when our leaders realise the importance of the investment in every single Bahamian child when they are young – especially those born in the most challenging circumstances.

Because when we don’t, a world out there awaits them that we have seen has a propensity to turn young men into monsters.

Whoever forms the next government needs to have an incredible understanding and appreciation for the heart of this particular social issue and develop a strategic plan to reverse course. We have been spiralling out of control for over a decade now, and it will only become harder to fix this problem.

Death Notice For

Matriarch Beverley Farida Bain-Finley, 75 a resident of Turtle Drive, Bel Air Estates, formerly of Little Farmer’s Cay, Exuma, passed peacefully at her residence on Tuesday, April 13th, 2021.

She is survived by her two daughters: Christine Smith-Munroe and Donna Smith Henderson-Glinton; one son: Stephen Finley; adopted daughter: Thelma Evans; adopted sons: Dr. Dane Bowe and Scott Godet; three granddaughters: Shamsi Munroe, Brittany and Paige Finley; two grandsons: Vashaun and J. Drew Henderson; one greatgrandson: Xavier Henderson; four sisters: Marena Rolle, Pastor Valurine Bain-Pinder, Veronia Gaitor and Visna Bowe-Mackay; four brothers: Terry Bain, Dean Harry Bain, Patrick Bain and Warren Bain; one adopted brother: Durogene “Shorty” Phanord; three sisters-in-law: Ernestine Bain, Ann Woodside-Bain, Yvonne Bain; one grand daughter-in-law: Rechea Henderson; numerous nieces and nephews and a host of other relatives and friends.

Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.

PAGE 10, Monday, April 19, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Small countries need an IMF that is a lender of conscience World View

By SIR RONALD SANDERS

AS undesirable as it may be, governments of Caribbean countries that are not in International Monetary Fund (IMF) programmes are being pushed in that direction.

Through no bad policy decisions that they have made, governments are confronted with considerably reduced revenues and extraordinary expenses because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many countries, particularly those regarded by the international community as “high income”, have exhausted their capacity to borrow from commercial markets and to issue bonds.

They have been denied access to concessional financing by the IMF and World Bank.

Faced with sudden high unemployment caused by the severe decline in tourism, and continuous high expenditure on public health, including managing the coronavirus and purchasing costly COVID-19 vaccines, as well as gravely reduced income, Governments will have to engage the IMF as a lender of last resort.

It is either an IMF programme or a prolonged period of economic decline that will make recovery even more difficult than it already is. The present financial predicament in many Caribbean countries is worse than any plight caused in the past by hurricanes. It is far deeper in its

effects and much longer in its duration.

Many governments have been unable to service their international debt that lenders, especially those in the Paris Club, continue to insist must be repaid in full, adding interest that is building a huge burden that will weigh down countries for decades to come. They have also incurred debt with domestic banks and other creditors that provide services. In the reduced financial circumstances in which they operate, governments are strained to settle these obligations, tightening conditions in the economy, and limiting the possibilities of new borrowing.

Hope, by tourism dependent countries, that the industry would have rebounded by now, has been dashed. Realistically, there is no bright prospect that, even by the last quarter of this year, tourism by sea and air will bounce back sufficiently to make a meaningful difference. And, with the best will in the world, diversification into import substitution projects, while helpful and necessary, will not have a substantial impact on revenues and employment.

The tourism situation is worsened by the latest methodology adopted by the US Centres for Disease Control that places most Caribbean countries at ‘Level 4’ – very high risk. Changing that

The COVAX facility, organised by the World Health Organization, promises deliveries of supplies it has negotiated with major pharmaceutical companies. But governments of rich countries, representing 18 percent of the world’s population, have bought 4.6 billion doses or 60 percent of available supply. The competition by the governments of the remaining 82 percent of the global population is obvious. categorisation will require measures to curb the rate of COVID-19 infection further, and to accelerate inoculation of the population. These measures need funds that governments are hard pressed to find.

In terms of inoculation, as of April 15, the following was the level of inoculation

in CARICOM countries: Antigua and Barbuda, 27.6 percent; Montserrat 25.3 percent; Dominica 24.6 percent; Barbados 22.9 percent; St Kitts-Nevis 19.6 percent; St Lucia 11 percent. Thereafter, all CARICOM countries are below 10 percemt with five of them below 3 percent.

The COVAX facility, organised by the World Health Organization, promises deliveries of supplies it has negotiated with major pharmaceutical companies. But governments of rich countries, representing 18 percent of the world’s population, have bought 4.6 billion doses or 60 percent of available supply. The competition by the governments of the remaining 82 percent of the global population is obvious.

There have been pledges to donate money to COVAX to help developing countries, such as those in the Caribbean, to obtain vaccines. But many of the pledges have not yet been delivered. More importantly, the main producers of COVID-19 vaccines cannot fulfil any new orders before the first quarter of 2022.

Regrettably, the International Financial Institutions (IFIs), and the rich nations that control their policies, continue to apply criteria for access to funding that should long have

been discarded and which make little practical sense in today’s conditions.

But, CARICOM countries, apart from Guyana and Suriname with their high growth rates and revenues from oil and gas, have little choice but to engage the IMF for support programmes.

Recourse to the IMF is a last resort. Over the years, the tough conditions for support from the Fund have caused countries to avoid it.

But, in the current circumstances, for many countries, the IMF has become the necessary option to get the financial liquidity that they need urgently.

It is claimed that the language and approach of the IMF have changed, and that the institution has become more flexible and less dogmatic. The proof of that pudding is in the eating. Therefore, governments will engage the IMF, recognising that their options are limited. They will do so with caution. The last thing they want is additional debt tied to stringent conditions such as more taxes, cuts in public service employment and immediate repayment of foreign debt.

For its part, the IMF policy makers should appreciate that small Caribbean states cannot be measured by the same yardstick as richer and larger

nations. COVID-19 and other disasters affect all countries to some extent, but the extent in small states is total. We need look no further than St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Already reeling from the effects of COVID-19, the eruption of the Soufriere volcano, which has not yet reached its zenith, has crippled it.

The vulnerabilities of small countries are lived experiences that must be taken fully into account if the IMF is to make a credible difference. The Fund should also remember that it is lending money, not granting it. The terms of engagement should be such that countries can repay their debts and yet survive, giving their people opportunities to grow.

The question is: can those who control the IMF make it, at least, a lender of conscience.

• Responses and previous commentaries:www. sirronaldsanders.com (The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador 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 Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are entirely his own.)

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, April 19, 2021, PAGE 11

A million migrants granted status and the right to work

By ERIKA FRYDENLUND, Research assistant professor, Old Dominion University, JOSE J PADILLA, Research associate professor, Old Dominion University and KATHERINE PALACIO, assistant professor and data analyst, Universidad del Norte COLOMBIA will grant legal status to all Venezuelan migrants who fled there since 2016 to escape their country’s economic collapse and political crisis.

The bold new policy – which will give nearly one million undocumented migrants rights to legal employment, health care, education and Colombian banking services for 10 years – is driven by both empathy and pragmatism, says Colombian president Ivan Duque.

“They’ll likely stay for more than a decade,” Duque announced. “So it’s better to… open them the opportunity to contribute also to the Colombian economy.”

Venezuelan arrivals to Colombia are not confined to refugee camps, so they live scattered across the country. Documenting and absorbing so many migrants – who often arrive on foot, with only a handful of personal belongings and no valid ID – has been a challenge. Even rich countries like the US struggle to handle mass migration.

But in some ways Colombia – itself no stranger to political strife and displacement – is uniquely prepared for this migration crisis.

HISTORY OF CONFLICT

Colombia has received the brunt of the exodus from neighbouring Venezuela since 2015.

When many other South American countries closed their borders with Venezuela, Colombia offered a series of two-year permits giving about 700,000 Venezuelans the right to work and access to health care between 2017 and 2020.

Together with the new legalisation plan covering 1 million additional migrants, nearly all the roughly 1.7 million Venezuelans who have come to Colombia since 2015 will have some form of legal status. New arrivals who are legally processed in the next two years will also be covered.

Colombia is not wealthy.

But Colombians understand better than many what it means to be driven from your home.

Over eight million of Colombia’s 50 million people have been displaced by ongoing civil conflict since the 1990s. At least one million moved into neighbouring Venezuela, seeking

VENEZUELANS rest at a shelter set up in a community centre in Arauquita, Colombia, last month on the border with Venezuela. Venezuelans are seeking shelter in Colombia this week following clashes between Venezuela’s military and a Colombian armed group.

Photo: Fernando Vergara/AP safety and opportunity. A government peace agreement with the FARC guerrilla group in 2016 quelled but did not end violence in Colombia.

Because of this history, international organisations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and World Food Program have worked in Colombia for decades.

Today, the UN‘s refugee agency and International Organization for Migration are leading a group of 73 international organisations and agencies to align their work with Colombia’s national humanitarian efforts. The group works in 14 states across Colombia, providing assistance that ranges from distributing COVID-19 hygiene kits to enrolling migrant children in school.

HUMANITARIAN NETWORKS ADAPT

The Colombian government also has some 50 agencies dedicated to helping Colombians displaced by armed conflict. Now many are adapting that experience to help Venezuelan migrants.

Since 2019 we have interviewed over a dozen government officials, lawyers and civil society representatives in two Colombian “departments,” or states, that have received high numbers of Venezuelan migrants: Atlántico and

Norte de Santander. This work was part of a broader study on how countries manage mass migration.

At the religious charity Secretariado de Pastoral Social-Cáritas, part of the Catholic Archdiocese of the city of Barranquilla, in Atlántico, the longtime director said the migrant situation today looks a lot like it did decades ago when Colombia’s civil conflict peaked in the Atlántico region, with people wandering around, not knowing anyone and not sure what to do or where to go. Then as now, they slept in the parks and on the streets.

“We already lived it in the ’90s,” said the director of Pastoral Social.

Back then, the group helped the Colombians displaced by fighting to find food and shelter. Now many of its clients are Venezuelan.

The non-profit Opción Legal – an umbrella organisation that manages refugee programs for the UN – has a similar origin story.

At its start 21 years ago, staffers worked in some of the most difficult conflict regions in Colombia, training the nonprofits that help displaced Colombians in accounting and legal processes, among other technical functions.

Now Opción Legal offers Venezuelan migrants free legal advice about getting Colombian health care and education, among other services. Using a nationwide

network of 22 Colombian universities developed over many years, it trains students and professors to extend the reach of its legal support programmes to Venezuelan migrants.

TROUBLES AHEAD

In 2019, nearly 80 million people across the globe – mostly Syrians, Venezuelans, Afghans and

South Sudanese – were driven from their homes by crime, climate change, chronic poverty, war, political instability and disaster, according to the UN – an all-time high. Many will spend years or decades waiting for a permanent solution, whether that be settling locally, returning home or finding a new country to make a life.

Colombia’s new

legalisation plan reflects an assessment that Venezuela’s collapse is a long-term challenge and that integrating migrants is a better solution, economically and socially, than trying to keep out or expel them.

Colombia is being internationally applauded for its humanitarianism. But equipping hospitals and schools to handle the needs of this rapidly growing and often very needy population will require a lot of money. And most of it will have to come from the international community, because Colombia does not have the money to do it single-handedly.

Yet the Venezuelan migrant crisis is a chronically underfunded area of humanitarian work.

The legalisation plan also risks inflaming anti-migrant sentiments in Colombia.

Particularly in border areas, some blame rising violence on migration – though evidence shows Venezuelan migrants are more likely to be crime victims than perpetrators.

And Colombia still has domestic migration problems of its own. Dissident FARC members, other guerrilla groups, drug cartels and insurgencies continue to battle over territory and resources, displacing 70,865 more Colombians last year alone.

The Colombian government is betting that the UN and international agencies will help it fulfil its ambitious goal of welcoming 1.7 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants.

If it works, that money would improve government services for all Colombians, too.

• Originally published on theconversation.com

PAGE 12, Monday, April 19, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

The Queen goes on alone

US AND CHINA TO COOPERATE ON CLIMATE

THE United States and China, the world’s two biggest carbon polluters, agreed to cooperate to curb climate change with urgency, just days before President Joe Biden hosts a virtual summit of world leaders to discuss the issue.

The agreement was reached by US special envoy for climate John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua during two days of talks in Shanghai last week, according to a joint statement.

The two countries “are committed to cooperating with each other and with other countries to tackle the climate crisis, which must be addressed with the seriousness and urgency that it demands,” said the statement, issued on Saturday.

Meeting with reporters in Seoul on Sunday, Kerry said the language in the statement is “strong” and that the two countries agreed on “critical elements on where we have to go.”

But the former secretary of state said, “I learned in diplomacy that you don’t put your back on the words, you put on actions. We all need to see what happens.”

China is the world’s biggest carbon emitter, followed by the United States. The two countries pump out nearly half of the fossil fuel fumes that are warming the planet’s atmosphere. Their cooperation is key to the success of global efforts to curb climate change, but frayed ties over human rights, trade and China’s territorial claims to Taiwan and the South China Sea have been threatening to undermine such efforts.

Noting China is the world’s biggest coal user, Kerry said he and Chinese officials had a lot of discussions on how to accelerate a global energy transition. “I have never shied away from expressing our views shared by many, many people that it is imperative to reduce coal, everywhere,” he said.

BRITAIN’s Queen Elizabeth II sits alone in St George’s Chapel during the funeral of Prince Philip, the man who had been by her side for 73 years, at Windsor Castle on Saturday. Prince Philip died on April 9 at the age of 99.

Photo: Jonathan Brady/Pool via AP WINDSOR, England Associated Press SITTING by herself at the funeral of Prince Philip on Saturday, Queen Elizabeth cut a regal but solitary figure: still the monarch, but now alone.

The Queen sat apart from family members at the simple but somber ceremony at Windsor Castle, in accordance with strict social distancing rules during the coronavirus pandemic. But if the ceremony had been for anyone else, at her side would have been her husband of 73 years, who gave a lifetime of service to the crown.

Wearing a face mask, the queen was dressed all in black, except for the diamond brooch that flashed on her left shoulder — a piece she had often worn on engagements with her husband.

The monarch’s four children — Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward — sat nearby, as did the queen and Philip’s eight grandchildren. The stripped-back service made their loss somehow more personal for people who often live their lives in public.

Just 30 mourners were allowed to attend the service for the prince,

who died on April 9 at the age of 99. The entire royal procession and funeral took place out of public view within the grounds of the castle, but was shown live on television.

Hundreds of people lined the streets outside the castle to pay their respects to the prince. Some held Union flags and clutched flowers, while others wore custom face masks featuring the royal’s photo.

“We have been inspired by his unwavering loyalty to our queen, by his service to the nation and the Commonwealth, by his courage, fortitude and faith,” the dean of Windsor, David Conner, said in his call to prayer.

The nation honored Philip with a minute’s silence observed across the United Kingdom at 3pm, its beginning and end marked by a gun fired by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery. The final shot signaled the start of a funeral service steeped in military and royal tradition, but infused with the duke’s personality.

Philip’s body was carried to St George’s Chapel at the castle on a Land Rover that the prince himself had specially designed. It was followed by members of the Royal Family, including Princes William

and Harry, who made their first public appearance together since Harry and his wife, Meghan, gave a controversial interview to US television host Oprah Winfrey in which they discussed the difficulties of royal life and how the two brothers had grown apart.

The procession traversed the grounds of Windsor Castle, passing military detachments arrayed under bright blue skies.

Inside the medieval Gothic chapel, the setting for centuries of royal weddings and funerals, this service was quiet and without excessive pageantry. Philip was deeply involved in planning the ceremony. At his request, there was no sermon. There were also no eulogies or readings, in keeping with royal tradition.

Former Bishop of London Richard Chartres, who knew Philip well, said the 50-minute service reflected the preferences of the prince, who was a man of faith but liked things to be succinct.

“He was at home with broad church, high church and low church, but what he really liked was short church,” Chartres told the BBC. Philip’s coffin was draped with Philip’s personal standard, topped with his Admiral of the Fleet Naval

Cap and sword. The sword was given to him by his father-in-law, King George VI, on the occasion of his marriage to the Queen in 1947.

The monarch offered her own touches to the day. Ahead of the funeral, Buckingham Palace released a photo of the queen and Philip, smiling and relaxing on blankets in the grass in the Scottish Highlands in 2003. The palace said the casual, unposed photo was a favourite of the Queen.

The funeral reflected Philip’s military ties, both as the ceremonial commander of many units and as a veteran of the Royal Navy who served with distinction during World War II. More than 700 military personnel took part in the commemorative events, including army bands, Royal Marine buglers and an honor guard drawn from across the armed forces.

William and Harry were part of the nine-member royal contingent, although their cousin, Peter Phillips, walked between them. There was no obvious tension between the brothers, whose relationship has been strained since Harry’s decision to quit royal duties and move to California. After the service, they walked back to the castle together, seeming to chat amiably.

HALF OF US ADULTS HAVE RECEIVED AT LEAST ONE SHOT WASHINGTON Associated Press HALF of all adults in the US have received at least one COVID-19 shot, the government announced yesterday, marking another milestone in the nation’s largest-ever vaccination campaign but leaving more work to do to convince skeptical Americans to roll up their sleeves.

Almost 130 million people 18 or older have received at least one dose of a vaccine, or 50.4 percent of the total adult population, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. Almost 84 million adults, or about 32.5 percent of the population, have been fully vaccinated.

The United States will likely move to resume Johnson & Johnson’s

COVID-19 vaccine this coming week, possibly with restrictions or broader warnings after reports of some very rare blood clot cases, the government’s top infectious diseases expert said yesterday.

Dr Anthony Fauci, in a series of news show interviews, said he expects a decision when advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention meet Friday to discuss the pause in J&J’s single-dose vaccine.

“I would be very surprised if we don’t have a resumption in some form by Friday,” he said.

“I don’t really anticipate that they’re going to want it stretch it out a bit longer.”

Fauci, who is President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said he believed

that federal regulators could bring the shots back with restrictions based on age or gender or with a blanket warning, so that it is administered in a way “a little bit different than we were before the pause”.

The J&J vaccine has been in limbo after the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration said last week they needed more evidence to decide if a handful of unusual blood clots were linked to the shot — and if so, how big the risk is.

The reports are rare — six cases out of more than 7 million US inoculations with J&J vaccine. The clots were found in six women between the ages of 18 and 48. One person died.

The acting FDA commissioner had said she expected the pause to last only a matter of days.