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HERE WE GO AGAIN Beach vendors’ fury as owners move to close off their access By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net CABBAGE Beach vendors were irate and shocked yesterday to see the Paradise Island beach entrance locked and their items relocated when they showed up on site in preparation for their return to work next month. The angry group took action and eventually opened the locked gates. Persons were seen taking the moved possessions from across the street back onto the beach.
Some claimed their items had been damaged by whoever moved them off the beach. They questioned where Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis was, noting that he protested against a similar situation while in opposition in 2016. When contacted yesterday, Minister of Tourism Dionisio D’Aguilar said he was “blindsided” by the move. He said he personally called the entity that owns the property — Access Industries — and was told SEE PAGES TWO & THREE
UNION’S CHALLENGE ON BPL BLACKOUT By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net
THE union responsible for line staff at Bahamas Power and Light is accusing executive management of not being accountable to its consumers and employees, saying these are the worst times it has ever seen. The capital and Family Islands alike have been plagued with frequent power outages recently. Some frustrated consumers feel no substantial reasons are given for these outages by BPL.
Kyle Wilson, president of Bahamas Electrical Workers Union, told The Tribune that Wartsila, a company working with BPL to maintain power supplies, is mostly at fault for recurring power outages, but he feels management will not hold that company accountable. “From day one, when the two engines burned down at Clifton Pier, no one has been made accountable and we’ve never been given a full breakdown of the investigation,” the union chief said. SEE PAGE 11
‘PRIVATE PROPERTY’
POLICE at the scene yesterday after Cabbage Beach vendors discovered the entrance locked and their items relocated. Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff
‘FARM THIEVES NEED VOTERS DIVIDED OVER A TOUGHER PENALTY’ McALPINE CANDIDACY By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net SOCIAL Services Minister Frankie Campbell said yesterday he believes there should be tougher penalties for people who steal from farmers, saying the issue is a vexing problem in his constituency that needs to be addressed. Mr Campbell told MPs that since being elected to
represent Southern Shores, he has received increasing complaints from residents about their food crops being raided and stolen by thieves. He said it’s unfair for people who choose not to work to take the bread out of the mouths of hardworking Bahamians, who are trying to make ends meet. SEE PAGE THREE
By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net PINERIDGE residents expressed mixed feelings about supporting area MP Rev Frederick McAlpine as an independent candidate in the next general election. Mr McAlpine, who won under the Free National Movement in 2017, has not yet received a nomination
to represent the constituency in the 2022 election. In 2019, the outspoken parliamentarian broke ranks with the FNM after he voted against the increase of VAT from 7.5 to 12 percent. Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis then fired Mr McAlpine as chairman of the Bahamas Hotel Corporation. SEE PAGE FIVE
PLANE COULDN’T CARRY OBESE COVID VICTIM FRONT PORCH By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
RELATIVES of a Bimini woman who died from COVID-19 earlier this week say they believe their loved one could have survived the deadly virus if she had been evacuated to Nassau sooner. Christal Saunders, 38, died on June 14 after a rapid antigen test diagnosed her with the virus
CHRISTAL SAUNDERS several days earlier. She is the country’s latest victim to have died from COVID-19.
Her sister, Christie Saunders, told The Tribune yesterday the family is not certain where she contracted the virus, but noted she started experiencing flu-like symptoms sometime last week. Ms Saunders said her sister’s worsening symptoms eventually drove her to the clinic to get answers, where she was eventually diagnosed with the infection. SEE PAGE FOUR
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
MERCY IS A GIFT FROM GOD WE SHOULD NOT BE AFRAID TO GIVE
PAGE EIGHT
PAGE 2, Thursday, June 17, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
Beach vendors’ fury as owners from page one
VENDORS returning their belongings to the beach yesterday after they were removed and the access closed. Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff
the company plans to develop a condo-hotel on the land, hence the reason for the area being closed off. “I was not aware that what happened today was going to happen,” Mr D’Aguilar said. “The first time I heard about it this morning (Wednesday) was when people started sending me messages and pictures and videos about what had happened. “...I wasn’t aware that this sudden move was about to occur. So I did what everybody else did, which was to call the number that was on the sign and spoke to the gentleman and he said ‘Well, we’re intending to redevelop the land, it is private property and as a result we very politely moved all of the items that were used by the Cabbage Beach vendors and put them across the street where we will provide security for them for the next three days for the vendors to come and pick it up.’ “I indicated to him that yes it might be private property but the vendors who have operated there for decades believe that they have an inalienable right to operate their business there as they have always done in the past and I indicated that when they bought the property, these persons were operating on the land so they should have indicated what their intention was to either accommodate or not accommodate these vendors.” He said Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis also did not know about the situation beforehand. When asked what yesterday’s development means for the beach vendors who were expecting to return to work in July, Mr D’Aguilar said that depends. “What we’re trying to
do is to sensitise the developer to the process they should follow as they move forward. It depends what intention they have. If their intention is to seize the land and deny access to the vendors, then that will then garner a different response from the government of The Bahamas, but if their intention is to redevelop the property and somehow incorporate them into their redevelopment and make sure they have access, well that’s a different discussion.” He added: “We just want to see what the way forward is and if they are intending to incorporate the vendors into the development then that’s good, but we got to know that. If it isn’t, it’s a whole different discussion.” The words will bring little comfort to vendors who have been out of work for more than a year due to the pandemic. “This is our livelihood and we refuse to move from here, we are not moving,” one vendor said yesterday. “We gon’ fight... and if Minnis looks like he want a war with the Bahamian people, he will get it, because we ain’t moving.” The vendors called on Dr Minnis to fix the situation. “Dr Minnis, you and the FNM in trouble if y’all don’t remedy this,” another vendor said. Vendor Ishmael Sutherland said that out of his 96 beach chairs, only 42 had been accounted for yesterday. He estimated about 12 of them are broken from being transported from the beach. “I have (about) 63 umbrellas – all of them are broken,” he said. “I don’t know who’s behind it, whoever it is, I know we’re going to put a lawsuit to them because we don’t appreciate what went down today.” Vendor Capprio Saunders-Miller said no warning
MAN KILLED IN MURDER NOT REPORTED BY POLICE By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
A 29-YEAR-OLD man was murdered off Shirley Street over the weekend but police did not include the homicide in its crime report to the press. The victim was identified by his mother, Talita GrayClarke, as Francisco Jeremy Smith. FRANCISCO JEREMY SMITH Police were contacted after claims circulated on When I went back to my social media about another WhatsApp to her, that was homicide. the photo and I gave it Assistant Superintendent to my son and one of my Audley Peters confirmed to friends. I say look and see if The Tribune yesterday that that’s Cisco for me and they a homicide had occurred said it looks like him.” on St James Road over the Ms Gray-Clarke said her weekend. son had a quiet disposition “Sometime around 12am and kept to himself. Saturday morning police “Very humble person – received reports of gunjust how you see him sitting shots on St James Road in that picture I sent to you, and the officers arrived on that’s the kind of person he the scene. They met the body of a male lying on is. “He would walk from the ground with several St James Road to Town gunshot wounds. EMS was called in when they came in Centre Mall before he they pronounced the body would ask someone for a ride.” lifeless.” Asked if he had any runIt is unclear why the matter was not included in ins with the law, she replied: the weekend crime report. “He’s a young boy. He However, when asked, experimented with drugs ASP Peters said it was and stuff like that but like because the incident did not problems, no. “Dealing with marijuana come to the police’s attention through the regular and stuff like that….trying channels. He declined to to fit in with friends, yeah. But problems to say you say more. Mr Smith’s mother said know how people want to her son was shot near Pil- say you affiliated with a grim Church. She learned gang or whatever, no.” This comes after a father about her son’s death when her niece from Freeport was shot dead in a New sent a picture of him laying Providence bar on Friday night. According to police, on the street. “She sent me a What- shortly after 9pm patrons sApp first saying she can’t were at a bar located on gather the words to say Martin Street and Blue but have her condolences. Hill Road when a gunman I sent a reply back and I entered and opened fire, say what happened and she injuring a man and a woman. sent the picture to me. The male victim, identi“I didn’t open it when I see someone laying on the fied by family as Lamont ground,” she said yesterday. Johnson, 45, was pro“Before she sent me the nounced dead at the scene. The woman was taken to photo I would’ve called my sister because I know my hospital. On Monday, police said mummy wasn’t doing well. I thought my mum had a man was shot dead near passed. So I called my sister his home on Polhemus and and I asked them if they Nassau Streets by armed was okay and she was like assailants who emerged they was in good spirit... from a Honda Civic.
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, June 17, 2021, PAGE 3
move to close off their access
BEACH chairs and other belongings which were removed from the beach and placed on the side of the road. Photos: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff was given about the move. Mrs Saunders-Miller said a Ministry of Tourism official had informed the vendors previously to clean up their work site and informed them they would return to work next month. “We clean up the beach, move all the old stuff we are not using... we ain’t never thinking they gonna close the beach,” she said. “As far as we are concerned, we going back to work. All the vendors went and got their license and... everything they needed to get health certificate…” A sign reading “notice private property” was seen at the entrance of the gate blocking access to the beach. Vendor Larry Miller said the company in question had no right to move the vendors’ property. Hair braider Jennifer Sturrup called the situation “unfair”. Asked if any Ministry of Tourism officials came to the beach, she replied: “Two people came. They said they was coming back to give us an explanation... they was in a meeting so they couldn’t do nothing. They left us to fight on
our own.” In March 2016, police clashed with Cabbage Beach vendors and protestors for a second consecutive day after FNM and DNA political factions led a group from Sidney Poitier Bridge to the Paradise Island beach. Angry demonstrators tore down a fence blocking one of two access points to the beach. At the time, Dr Minnis called the effort “a sure sign” that Bahamians were fed up with the empty promises offered by the Christie administration. The Office of the Prime Minister did not respond to a request for comment yesterday. Ownership of Cabbage Beach was transferred from Atlantis (Brookfield) to a subsidiary of Access Industries in 2014. In 2019, Supreme Court Justice Gregory Hilton ruled in a matter involving Atlantis Holdings Ltd, the plaintiff in the matter, and a beach vendor, that a public access point in question to Cabbage Beach was a “private access way” and ruled that the vendor was trespassing on the property.
LINCOLN Bain of Bahamian Evolution with Cabbage Beach vendors.
ACCESS POINT CLOSED ‘DUE TO SAFETY CONCERNS’ ACCESS Industries released a statement on the controversy surrounding a locked gate blocking entry to Cabbage Beach yesterday, saying the fence was erected due to upcoming work on a $250m project. The company said due to “safety” concerns during construction, the access point to the beach will be closed. “Clearing work on the privately owned, vacant tract has begun for a condominium-hotel development,” Access Industries said in a statement sent to The Tribune. “The Paradise Island project is expected to generate more than $250m in investment and economic activity for The Bahamas, including new jobs in construction, tourism and related industries. Due to safety concerns during the work phase, the path that runs over the private tract to the beach will be closed. “Unauthorised items that had been left on the private property have been carefully collected, and security will have them available for pickup through Friday. The public still can readily access the beach at Beach Club Drive, off Paradise Island Drive, or consider Junkanoo Beach or Montagu Beach on Nassau. “This new development will be an appealing addition to the amenities on the island, designed as an area of pride that will embrace and feature the local community. Developers are
keen to ensure continued local participation, featuring Bahamian workers, artisans and others. The development also plans to include restaurants and retail that will be open to the public.” Meanwhile, the Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority released a statement yesterday which said it is committed to ensuring “full and unobstructed access” to all public beaches. The statement by the authority’s executive chairman, Shanendon Cartwright said the agency is aware of the events which occurred at Cabbage Beach and is working diligently to “resolve all matters concerned”. The Tribune has previously reported that the Cabbage Beach easement, adjacent to the Riu Paradise Island Hotel, has been in use for decades by the public and vendors that work on the beach. However, for more than 20 years, the property itself has been owned and operated by private companies. In 2014, the ownership of the Cabbage Beach property was transferred from Atlantis (Brookfield) to a subsidiary of Access Industries, the One&Only Ocean Club. Prior to the sale of the property, Atlantis (Brookfield) had allowed access to the beach via private property; however, the company had petitioned the government on several occasions to address the
unregulated vendor operation there. Those overtures by Atlantis (Brookfield) led to a number of minor changes to the way vendors were allowed to operate at the site: business licences were needed, along with other requirements. When Atlantis (Brookfield) finally sold the property to Access Industries, the sale agreement mandated that Atlantis (Brookfield) would address the vendor issue with Access Industries requesting that they be removed totally as the company was looking to extend its One&Only Ocean Club brand onto the Cabbage Beach property. The issue last came to a boiling point in 2016 when fences were erected to keep the vendors out. This led to a protest in March 2016, when dozens of irate vendors blocked the traffic flow to the Sidney Poitier Bridge. Some vendors tore down the fence as well and later faced court charges. Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, who took part in the protest in 2016, had suggested the criminal records of those protestors would be expunged if he won the 2017 general election. In 2018, a magistrate discharged ten protesters from the matter concerning the destruction of a fence after officers failed to appear in court to testify and multiple adjournments in the case.
‘FARM THIEVES NEED A TOUGHER PENALTY’
from page one
“Farmers in that area, and I’m sure throughout that southwestern area, the minister and member for Marco City would confirm, continue to complain that their hard-earned labour is being stolen from them and while someone seeks just a hand of bananas, but I want you to compare it with another individual’s monthly salary because in fact, that is what it is,” Mr Campbell said during his budget contribution in the House of Assembly yesterday. “When the farmer plants that banana sucker and waits for months and months and waters it and now there’s bananas and the farmer is counting days before he can reap that banana, but some thief decides ‘I shouldn’t have to work, I shouldn’t have to sweat, Farmer Turnquest, Farmer Kates, Farmer Jones, Farmer Sweeting…. has planted something for me.’ It’s wrong, Mr Speaker.” He called for a review of the country’s penal code so penalties for such offences can be toughened, later noting that he had been informed that the Minnis administration intends to bring legislation to Parliament to that effect. He said: “I believe the good minister for agriculture will concur when I say we probably need to revisit the penal code or I’m being told we’re bringing the legislation to revisit the penal code to make it a more serious offence to steal from our farmers.” Yesterday, House Speaker Halson Moultrie also chimed in on the issue, noting a similar problem is also being experienced in his constituency, the Nassau Village community. He said he fully
supported Mr Campbell’s statements and added that he hopes to see some law reform to help curb widespread theft in the country. “In the Nassau village constituency, we have a problem where some persons in the constituency feel that they should not respect private property and they jump over your walls, jump over your fence, cut holes in your fence,” Mr Moultrie added. “We had a backyard farm for the young people of the constituency where youngsters would come forward
and learn how to sow and grow… and we have persons who believe that after those seeds have sown, not only would they come in to reap the harvest, but they would root up the trees and carry the entire tree. “They would destroy the young fruit that are left that they didn’t reap, and I believe that something must be done. It’s only a few persons who are responsible, but I think it’s a national issue that needs to be addressed and discipline needs to be in place, and I support that statement
from the member of Southern Shores and I hope to see some reform in the law to address this issue.” Meanwhile, giving a report on his ministry, Mr Campbell said the social safety net continues to work to assist hurting Bahamians amid the pandemic. According to the 2021/2022 budget, the Department of Social
Services has received $81.5m, about $20m more than last year’s allocation. “Because of a caring, compassionate Hubert Minnis led government, I have the ability to say that today, I’m going to be presiding over the largest social services budget in the history of the Bahamas,” the minister told the House of Assembly.
“..While we see the home porting, while we see the increased requests for travel visas, while we see the light at the end of the tunnel, we want to make sure in the interim there is that safety network standing in the gap to assure that our Bahamian people and to assure and ensure that no one is left behind.”
PAGE 4, Thursday, June 17, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
PLANE COULDN’T CARRY OBESE COVID VICTIM from page one
“She told my daughter she was going to walk to the clinic because she didn’t like how she felt… so I went up there (after work) and they told her it sound like pneumonia and they did a rapid (antigen) test and it was positive,” she said. The Bimini resident said doctors told the family they were going to evacuate Ms Saunders to New Providence to get further medical care. However, the relative said officials were unable to do so the same day after experiencing difficulties locating a suitable isolation pod able to accommodate her sister’s size. Ms Saunders added her sister was overweight. “She went up to the clinic on Saturday around
7am and we spent the whole night under the tent because we didn’t go in the clinic and we spent the whole night, because I wanted to make sure she was okay, and then she didn’t leave Bimini until Sunday I think after 6pm,” the Bimini resident said. “We were trying to get a flight to come in to get her here but because of her size, we had an issue with the chamber thing that she needed to transport her to Nassau.” Asked if she believed her sister would still be alive if she had been airlifted earlier, Ms Saunders replied: “Yeah, from what the doctor told my dad, he did tell them a day would’ve made a difference, so yeah.” She called the situation disheartening, especially considering the fact that
similar episodes have happened on the island in the past. Kim Johnson-Rolle, the country’s first COVID19 death, died in March 2020 after officials were also unable to evacuate her from Bimini in time. It took officials about 24 hours to evacuate Mrs Johnson-Rolle and she died soon after arrival in New Providence. A year later, Louis Edward Rolle, a 74-yearold fisherman who also lived in Bimini, died from the virus after he was not evacuated to New Providence, again because he weighed too much. “It’s crazy because it’s the same thing over and over and I feel like you shouldn’t have to be going through the same thing,” Ms Saunders told this newspaper yesterday. “It’s a problem
and it needs to be rectified. That’s something from that first instance where we should’ve been working on it. “We can’t just keep sitting down and hoping and praying that our loved ones would get the proper medical attention and just sitting down and praying that they could actually find an isolation chamber to transport them,” she added. “We shouldn’t have to be going through this. We already been through enough. It’s something that needs to be fixed and they need to fix it. Everybody ain’t the same shape and everybody ain’t the same size.” In May, Health Minister Renward Wells said that the government had acquired isolation chambers that can transport obese people
from the Family Islands to New Providence. It is unclear, however, in this case, why the deceased was not airlifted off Bimini sooner. Ms Saunders said her sister’s untimely death has deeply affected the family, who are still in “disbelief” over the whole ordeal. She described the 38-year-old as a quiet, loving and family-oriented woman who got along with everyone she met. “Everybody is pretty much numb and we’re still in disbelief. We’re trying to push,” the relative said. “Everyone is just trying to push because we have our moments where you have to separate and just random breakdowns so nobody taking it well. She has a lot of nieces and nephews, and they were like her children, all of
them. Every single one. They were her kids so ain’t nobody taking it good. We were close, very close. “She was the main person to take care of our mom. (Our mother has) Alzheimer’s. Everything she did for her... I think (our mom) has a feeling. She don’t understand, but I think she feels it. We noticed that in the last few days, she was quieter and more withdrawn.” According to data released from the Ministry of Health yesterday, 240 people have died from the virus to date. Health officials also recorded 17 new cases on Tuesday, pushing the nation’s overall tally to 12,242. Of this total count, 710 cases are still active. Meanwhile, 40 people are said to be in hospital with the virus.
BID TO REASSURE HESITANT TOTAL CASES TOTAL DEATHS By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net
FOR those Bahamians who are still having vaccine hesitancy, a Pan American Health Organization chief said the public should accept that the vaccines have been assessed as safe and take them. “I want to remind citizens that the vaccines authorised by WHO and delivered through COVAX have been thoroughly assessed by experts,” PAHO director Dr Carissa Etienne said at the organization’s weekly regional webinar. “So, when it’s your turn to get vaccinated, embrace what’s available to you and don’t delay your vaccination. “Getting vaccinated as soon as you’re eligible is the best way to protect yourself and your community. This also means that if your vaccine requires two doses, you should get your second dose when it’s scheduled to ensure you have the best possible protection. “Across Latin America and the Caribbean, we have a long legacy in immunisation and trust in the life-saving power of vaccines. Once new doses are available, countries are ready to distribute them as quickly as they arrive and PAHO will work tirelessly to get vaccines to every corner in our region, until this pandemic is behind us.” Regionally, over the past week there were 1.1 million new COVID-19 cases recorded with 31,000 new deaths. Four of the five countries with the highest weekly death counts in the world continue to be here
in this region. As of June 15, there were 17 new cases of COVID-19 reported in The Bahamas bringing the overall count of reported cases to 12,242. There was one new death reported – a 38-year-old female resident of Bimini who died on June 14. This brings the death toll to 240 with 28 other deaths being investigated. Dr Etienne said neighbouring Cuba and the Dominican Republic continue to drive most new cases in the Caribbean, while Trinidad and Tobago is still reporting high death rates. There is, however, good news coming from the world leaders – G7. “Over the weekend, leaders from the Group of Seven pledged one billion COVID vaccine doses for countries in need around the world,” Dr Etienne said. “This promise brings fresh confidence that we will overcome the supply barriers that have prevented many nations and territories in our region from getting the doses they need to protect their populations. “Today, less than one in ten people in Latin America and the Caribbean have been fully vaccinated against COVID, yet we’re a region of more than 600 million people where cases are mounting, hospitals are full, and variants are rapidly circulating. “So, while vaccines are needed everywhere, we hope G7 nations will prioritise doses for countries at greatest risk – especially those in Latin America that have not yet had access to enough vaccines to protect even the most vulnerable. These doses cannot come
soon enough, so we urge G7 countries not to delay their donations.” Dr Etienne assured the region that the COVID19 vaccines work and pointed to the results of the COVID-19 inoculations. “It’s easy to see why: vaccines work,” she said. “More than two billion COVID doses have been administered around the world. In places where COVID vaccination coverage has been high – like some US states, the UK and Israel – there has been a dramatic reduction in COVID-related hospitalisations and deaths. “When outbreaks occur – as Chile is experiencing now – COVID vaccines are protecting those who are vaccinated, including health workers, from the worst of the virus. This is exactly what COVID vaccines were designed to do: protect our communities and help us save lives. With the prospect of additional doses, we want to remind countries about the importance of communication campaigns to maintain trust in vaccines. “Having clear and transparent information about when doses are or aren’t available, and consistent guidance on who is eligible for vaccinations is key to increasing confidence in our vaccination programmes. It is when there are breakdowns in information or when details are slow to arrive that misinformation can take root.” She said WHO and PAHO have issued updated guidelines for countries making and adjusting their COVID vaccination campaigns as additional doses are made available.
12,242 240 NEWLY CONFIRMED CASES TUESDAY 17 CASES
RECENTLY CONFIRMED DEATHS • A 38-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FROM BIMINI ON JUNE 14.
NEW PROVIDENCE 14 GRAND BAHAMA 1 BIMINI & CAT CAY 1 ANDROS 1
TOTAL TESTS
101,962
HOSPITALISED
40
CASES IN ICU
4
RECOVERED
11,208
HEALTH MINISTER REVEALS $640K POT FOR COVID NURSES By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
HEALTH Minister Renward Wells said $640,600 has been allocated for 143 frontline healthcare workers who volunteered to help COVID-19 victims last year. He said the money is for “front-line healthcare workers who stepped forward initially who came forward and said ‘here am
I, send me,’ when others were somewhat tepid and hesitant.” He added: “For those who later joined the fight, there is approved, an additional $3m in honorarium in this upcoming budget to be paid out to some 1,690 healthcare workers.” Mr Wells’ comments came during his contribution to the budget debate yesterday. He will finish his speech this morning, however, because
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technical difficulties prevented the Parliamentary Channel from broadcasting the address, prompting the House of Assembly to adjourn early. Mr Wells said $1,040,600 in honorarium and death benefits has also been approved for healthcare workers and will be paid out in this fiscal year. He said the money corresponds to the period March 19 through June 18 of last year. Mr Wells said of this amount, $400,000 is a death benefit to the legal representatives of the four healthcare workers who passed away in the line of duty. He then led parliamentarians in a moment of silence for those workers. Mr Wells also noted that in October, the government paid $162,313 in overtime to nurses who worked from January to August. Some nurses, however, have complained the government hasn’t paid everybody. Nurses have demonstrated in Rawson Square this year over the issue. As the country struggles with a shortage of nurses, Mr Wells also said an additional 170 nurses are expected to join the frontline by the end of the next fiscal year. Forty of them recently graduated from University of the Bahamas and will sit the Nursing Council’s exam in November. Another 30 will graduate by the end of this summer and another 100 nurses are expected to graduate next year.
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, June 17, 2021, PAGE 5
Call for extension of hurricane orders in GB By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
SOME Grand Bahama residents are calling on the government to honour expired letters of exemption that were issued before May 31 to import vehicles and are also asking for an extension of the Hurricane Dorian Exigency Order to December. On Tuesday, several people gathered near the Office of the Prime Minister in the Harold DeGregory Complex and complained that they are unable to claim exemption on cars they brought in at the harbour because the Department of Customs refuses to honour the letters that have expired and are therefore no longer valid. They say the three years allotted for persons to purchase and import vehicles is not enough given the current economic climate,
circumstances, and challenges facing residents as a result of Hurricane Dorian and the COVID-19 pandemic. PLP chairman Fred Mitchell and the five PLP candidates on Grand Bahama and other PLPs were present to offer their support. Jason Martin, one of the three people who spoke on Tuesday, said the Grand Bahama economy is not doing well and people are still struggling to rebuild their homes and lives post-Dorian. “I think they (the government) should have been more lenient with the people of GB, especially coming through a devastating storm like Dorian. People lost lives, homes, and now can you imagine trying to build a home all over again in this economy, and then they are forcing you to have a vehicle within three years?” Mr Martin remarked.
“You are not focusing on having a car at that time; we are trying to rebuild homes… and now we are dealing with COVID 19, which is another devastating blow to GB, and our already spiraling economy.” Mr Martin believes that the three-year timeframe given for persons in Grand Bahama to purchase a vehicle is not practical. “It is not fair,” he said. “I have a document where a customer is approved for three years; he did not have money in 2019 or 2020 and had to borrow money to get a vehicle just to find out… there is nothing they can do.” Mr Martin said the ferry Balearia only ships vehicles once a week. “I would like the government to extend it (the time) and give people more time,” he said. James Turner, the PLP candidate for East Grand Bahama, agreed that Grand Bahamians need more time.
“I am talking to the five representatives for GB; you are living here and you should know the pain and be able to communicate the pain to those in Nassau. If this government had done what they were supposed to do, we would have been able to get cars in six months. But things are shut down and the economy was bad when they started, and look at where we are today – we are begging for them to do the right thing,” Mr Turner said. For his part, Mr Mitchell said the PLP supports the public demand for the government to allow all residents of Grand Bahama and Abaco who have letters of exemption issued before May 31, 2021 pursuant to the Hurricane Dorian Exigency Order, to utilise those letters to import vehicles duty-free for at least another year. “The announcement made yesterday does not cure the mischief about
which there are complaints. The extension order only applies now to vehicles purchased before May 1, 2021,” he said in a statement yesterday. “The order makes no sense since customs had previously agreed to honour all transactions in train before May 31, 2021. Customs should honour that commitment.” In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Ministry of Finance said the government has agreed to amend the Special Economic Recovery Zone order to allow for the tax-free provision for eligible vehicles landed in the SERZ areas before August 31. This would only apply to eligible vehicles that were purchased before May 1, 2021, the ministry said. “We had to strike the right balance with providing the necessary assistance and being fiscally responsible with managing the government’s purse. However, we
noted and accepted that there have been valid logistical concerns raised by several persons who had delays caused by operational challenges of the shipping agencies. These issues have been raised by individuals and local Members of Parliament in the affected areas. The government has heard those concerns and thus we have decided to extend the landing date to August 31, provided eligible persons in Grand Bahama and Abaco can demonstrate that the vehicles were purchased by May 1,” said J Kwasi Thompson, minister of state in the Ministry of Finance. “If by chance you purchased a vehicle on or before the May 1, 2021, which was brought in between June 1 and today’s date and you paid the full duty and would have otherwise been eligible, you will be entitled to a refund of the sums paid,” Mr Thompson added.
VOTERS DIVIDED OVER McALPINE CANDIDACY from page one Mr McAlpine has said if he does not receive a nomination by his party, he will run as an independent candidate. The Tribune recently spoke with several Pineridge constituents to get their view. Johnvan Smith, 29, a selfemployed mechanic and owner of an import/export business, said he would not support Mr McAlpine as an independent candidate. “I would not support him because since he was elected I have not seen any progress in the constituency,” he said. “I know his job is not to put money in people’s hands, but he should make provisions for persons to better themselves.” Mr Smith complained that he has not seen the MP since the past election. “I saw him when he was trying to get my vote in the past election, but it has been four years and I have not seen him walking through to check on the community,” he said. “I see him in the media debating on some things that happening in GB, but to say what he fighting for isn’t clear. “I feel the Coalition party
is on the right track; they have persuaded me but it is not final,” he said. Another male resident who did not want to be named said: “I never met him; he never come around.” However, the resident said that he is aware that Mr McAlpine is a fighter for the people. “He was the only one who stood up to the PM, I feel he did a good job and he deserve to be in there.” Edwin Strachan, a resident of Back of Town, said he would not support Mr McAlpine as an FNM or independent candidate. “No, I have no intention of supporting him in the next election,” he said. “If he is running FNM I would not support either. But, if he decides to join the PLP and walk with Ginger Moxey (PLP candidate for Pineridge) that would be good because he is a really good man.” Mr Strachan said that Ms Moxey is all about empowering people in the community. “I think he should partner with Ms Moxey because I feel this election is only going to be between the PLP and FNM when all the ballots are counted.” Mr Strachan believes that while Rev McAlpine “will
have good support as an independent, it would not be enough to take him back to Parliament.” “In my view, I rate him as a good MP, but his party pushed him out, so, I guess, he did not have the support of his party to do what he wanted to. I was disappointed in the way his party dealt with him, but I will not support him as an independent candidate,” he said. Giovanna Swain said she did not vote for Rev McAlpine in the last election. “I did not vote for him and he did not do nothing for me. He never been around to see how I doing.” Ms Swain said that after Hurricane Dorian, she went to his headquarters, but did not get any coupons. On the other hand, resident Cecil Allen said he will support Rev McAlpine. “I always liked Rev McAlpine and I will support him as an independent candidate. He is a good man,” he said. Mr Allen commended MP McAlpine for opening the Pineridge Education Centre for youngsters. “He was a good MP,” said the retired resident. Resident Michael Vildor said he respects the MP for what he is doing and will continue to support him.
“I respect Rev McAlpine based on everything he does and says; he is fighting for the people. I commend him for being bold to speak out in the House. Honestly, he needs to flush out some of these people who doing these devious things.” Mr Vildor said that jobs are needed in Grand Bahama. “We need job flows, and I am pleased that Rev McAlpine has started a school to help train and educate young people. And anything that benefits people right now I am in support of and I would support him,” he said. A woman resident, who did not want to be named, believes that Rev McAlpine will do well as an independent candidate. “I would think lots of people around here would support him. He has done a good job and when he had the opportunity, he did a lot for Pineridge. I think he will get full support because he was there for us. He did the best he could have done so, I can’t see people not voting for him. I think he will get full support,” she said.
FREDERICK McAlpine speaking outside the House of Assembly after the Budget. Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff
PAGE 6, Thursday, June 17, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
The Tribune Limited NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”
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Beach battle has already been fought - in court YESTERDAY’S closure of the entrance to Cabbage Beach brought a sense of déjà vu. When vendors discovered the entrance closed off yesterday, they forced open the locked gates and set about taking their belongings – placed across the street from the beach – back down to the sand. In 2016, when vendors found a fence blocking off the entrance point, they tore it down in protest – and a number of them were arrested and charged as a result. Back then, FNM leader Dr Hubert Minnis, before he was Prime Minister, said the party would expunge the convictions of anyone involved in the protest – though by 2018, a number of those protestors were saying they felt abandoned by Dr Minnis on the issue. They were subsequently discharged when police officers failed to show to testify. Well, the issue has come back right to Dr Minnis’ doorstep with the beach access being again closed off by the somewhat ironically named Access Industries. On one level, the issue is simple. Access Industries owns the land, and the company has decided to close it off amid plans for a condo-hotel on the property. But it is a very emotive issue – as shown by people being willing to risk arrest and going to court over the matter. Minister of Tourism Dionisio D’Aguilar said he was “blindsided” by the move to close off the beach entrance. Blindsided about the closure perhaps, but the situation should be no surprise, we’ve been here before. More to the point, we’ve been here in court too. In 2019, the Supreme Court ruled the public land is the part between the high water and low water marks – although that is not very well distinguished and depends on decades-old surveys, but also ruled vendors had no right to be on property owned by private owners – which would be the land above the high water mark. As for the entrance way to the beach, the court ruled that was a private access way over which the owner could set terms and conditions of its use. In other words, the owner can define who gets access – and close it off if they want.
An executive with long-time involvement with Atlantis who understands the issues spoke in 2016 too, cautioning that “emotions are taking over” and that “it’s an issue of property rights, not birthright”. He said: “A path was allowed; it’s not a right of way or easement.” So while the government might not have been expecting this, it ought to have known the legal position with regard to the Supreme Court ruling. It is more than two years since that ruling – the legal position shouldn’t be a surprise. Mr D’Aguilar may be talking yesterday about what the developers’ intention may be and whether they intend to “seize the land and deny access to the vendors” – but they don’t need to seize the land, they already own it. That said, Access Industries must have known this would stir up a hornet’s nest when they took this action. Without warning or notice, they blocked off the entrance knowing what the reaction was in 2016. Just as bad, they picked up other people’s belongings and placed it on the other side of the road without the courtesy of telling people in advance. The company’s actions are far from those of a good neighbour – but it’s their property. Why the company has done this, knowing the emotions surrounding the issue, is hard to say. In a statement last night, the company said due to “safety” concerns during construction, the access point would be closed. The statement said clearing work had begun – and that access to the beach was still available through Beach Club Drive. Unhelpfully, the company also suggested people “consider Junkanoo Beach or Montagu Beach” – which is a comment more likely to stir the pot than to make peace. With election season around the corner, making such a move without advance notice seems an unnecessary provocation. We talk about the need for good corporate citizens in this country – this move is not a step towards that. In the meantime, let’s get creative with access to the beach and do the same as in many other countries if this can’t get resolved and have a flotilla of small boats bringing people to the beach. Where one business prevents access, let’s have some entrepreneurs find another way.
What riles you on the road? EDITOR, The Tribune. WHAT are the things that yuck up your vexation the most during your morning commute? Well, nah, leh muh see. What bout dese ignorant people who is run da light an who ain know what signal indicator for? Or maybe da set who is be skinning up in dey rear view mirror putting on dey clothes an face paint like dey ain gat no mirror
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net home? Afta we done finish wid da paint job, it’s time to make love to our phone even though we been hugging it up at home since we roll outa bed. Now dat we done scratch dat itch, it’s time fa breakfast at da wheel. Chile!!! Das corn beef you dribble
on ya dress? Vell Muddos gal! You bettas try dash home an change, don’t mind if you’se lil bit late fa work das a erryday ting, come late leave early. And with this circus going on everyday where are the RBPF’s finest?As usual, always conspicuous by their absence. DA ROAD RAT Nassau. June 15, 2021
Baby timing EDITOR The Tribune.
I AM somewhat confuddled by the timing of your front page article this morning on the Stervante Moss killing. His mother notes that her son was arrested a few
years ago for drugs, and was released from prison in February this year. She then adds that he also has a three-month-old baby. So he is released from prison in February 2021, but he has been in jail for a few years prior. If the
prison doesn’t offer conjugal visits then the baby must have been immaculately conceived, or they got the wrong calculator. MONKEYDOO Nassau, June 15, 2021
Readers have their say TRIBUNE readers have been having their say on issues in the news on www. tribune242.com. After former MP Loretta Butler-Turner suggested there should be a timeframe legislated for new citizens to wait before they could vote amid claims of citizenship being given in exchange for votes, TimesUp said: “How many people are we talking about? What percentage of voters? What special interests would they lobby for and how would it influence an election? “Each of the many demographics in the country influence an election with their vote, we could all list which group tends to vote for which party. Who gets to choose which of those demographics should not vote? “Should you have to own property to vote? Should a Bahamian have to prove second generation lineage to vote? Should you have to have some level of education to vote? Should you have to be employed to
vote? Or show NIB contributions to vote? Should you have had to serve our country in a prescribed way to vote? “t is a slippery slope. Unfortunately when talking about newly naturalized citizens or any immigration issue we tend to mean one particular demographic which leads to unsavory policies for the rest of the nation.” Ondrap4 replied: “Oh great, one more way to victimize people. “But the premise is wrong, spouses do not have citizenship pending for 5 years. The path is that they can apply for permanent residency (no right to to vote), APPLY, APPLY--it is not even automatic. “Just show your
xenophobia, call it like it is, ‘PAPER BAHAMIANS’. “But, while you are at it, let them wait 5 years to get a passport, open a bank account and get vaccinated. “I used to like LBT. another one bites the dust.” John replied: “How asinine. The citizenship process itself takes several years. And not everyone that applies get it the first time around. So elections are every five years. So if you get your citizenship two or three years before a general election, must you wait seven or eight years before you vote? How very silly! Someone please lend he the whistle.” Hrysippus said: “If this report is correct Mrs Butler Turner is proposing the creation of a second and lower class of citizens that do not have the right to vote for five years.. The right to vote is the basic right of a citizen. has she been having too much two meat lunches with Rodney, or what?” • Join the debate on www.tribune242.com.
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, June 17, 2021, PAGE 7
Court hears of officer injuries By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
ANTON Johnson outside court yesterday. Photos: Racardo Thomas
JOHN Hanna outside court.
PAIR ACCUSED OF COCAINE SMUGGLING By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
TWO men who were accused of smuggling 150 pounds of cocaine into the country last weekend were yesterday remanded to prison pending a bail hearing. Anton Johnson, 59, and John Hanna, 27, appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt charged with several drug related offences in connection with the recent seizure of the drugs that were found on Exuma last Sunday. Police alleged the men conspired to possess a quantity of cocaine with intent to supply on June 13. They further alleged that they were found with the drugs in Steventon, Exuma that same day. Johnson and Hanna are also accused of conspiring to import the cocaine into the country on the day in question and actually smuggling the dangerous drugs into this jurisdiction on the same date. According to initial police reports, at the time, members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force in a joint operation with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the US Coast Guard and the Marine Support Services Unit, arrested two men in connection with possession of dangerous drugs. Police said sometime around 1pm, the officers were on routine air patrol, when they observed a white and blue twin engine Piper Aztec flying at a low altitude over the settlement of Steventon, Great Exuma. Sometime later, officials said they noticed when
QUABINOR Campbell outside court.
occupants of the aircraft threw two objects to the ground. The aircraft continued flying north bound at the low altitude and later landed on Staniel Cay, Exuma. “While there, the officers arrested and took into custody two Bahamian males ages 59 and 27 years for possession of dangerous drugs,” police reported. “The two objects, which were white crocus sacks, were collected. An examination of them revealed that they collectively contained 58 black taped packages of suspected cocaine. The suspects and drugs were transported to New Providence. The weight of the drugs is 150lb and has an estimated street value of $1,161,000.” During the hearing both accused denied the allegations. However, before the issue of bail could be determined, the prosecution requested an adjournment as they did not have the necessary documents needed to make a “proper decision” on the matter. Magistrate FergusonPratt adjourned the case to today for a bail hearing. Johnson and Hanna were remanded to prison overnight. • Meanwhile, in a separate matter, Quabinor Campbell was granted bail after he pleaded not guilty to marijuana related drug charges. Campbell is accused of conspiring to possess a quantity of Indian hemp with intent to supply sometime between December 23, 2020, and January 13. He is also accused of being found with the drugs in New Providence and conspiring to import them into the country within that same timeframe. When he appeared before Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt yesterday, he denied two counts each of conspiracy to possess dangerous drugs with intent to supply, possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply, conspiracy to import dangerous drugs, and importation of dangerous drugs. As a result, the matter was adjourned to September 21 and 28 for trial. Campbell was granted $34,000 bail in the interim.
A FORENSIC pathologist testified yesterday that Petty Officer Percival Perpall had multiple injuries at the time of his death, including a lung contusion, a fractured vertebrae and a “collection of blood” in his chest cavity. Dr Kiko Bridgewater gave evidence about the autopsy his colleague performed on the former Royal Bahamas Defence Force officer within days of his April 28, 2019, death. According to reports, around 2.30am that day, PO Perpall, Calvin Hanna and Ellis Rahming were attacked while on duty at Government House when an assailant entered and opened fire on them. Prosecutors have charged Able Seaman Jevon Seymour with PO Perpall’s death as well as the attempted murders of Hanna and Rahming. He has denied the charges at his trial before Senior Justice Bernard Turner. Yesterday, Dr Bridgewater told jurors the autopsy
of PO Perpall’s body was performed by Dr Caryn Sands on May 2, 2019. He said at the time, Dr Sands concluded the officer died from gunshot wounds to his torso and right upper extremities. He also said the first bullet entered PO Perpall’s right shoulder above the axillary fold and injured the seventh vertebra of his spine before exiting through the left side of his back. Dr Bridgewater said the “front to back, right to left, and then downard” movement of the bullet contributed to the contusion of PO Perpall’s lung, a fracture to his vertebrae and right thorax and a collection of blood in his chest cavity. The next gunshot entered from the right side of PO Perpall’s chest, the court was told. “There was no evidence of a close-range discharge,” Dr Bridgewater said. “(The bullet) went through the skin, soft tissue of the chest, the sixth rib anterior, the lower lobe of the right lung (and the) diaphragm…and exited the left side of the abdomen.” He added the injuries
associated with this wound included a fracture of the right rib and spillage of intestinal contents into the abdominal cavity. According to Dr Bridgewater, the third gunshot entered PO Perpall’s right side and exited the left side of his abdomen. He said no bullet, or bullet fragments were recovered although the ammunition fractured the lower part of PO Perpall’s spine and caused bleeding along the wound path. The fourth gunshot entered through the posterior of PO Perpall’s right arm and caused a laceration to the back of his left thumb. Dr Bridgewater said “other findings” of the autopsy report included an “enlarged heart and bleeding to the liver, pancreas and intestines”. Yesterday, two officers from the Forensic Science Section of the Royal Bahamas Police Force also gave evidence under oath. When Woman Corporal 3087 Elkia Coakley took the stand, she said on April 28 she received over 20 sealed cardboard boxes which all contained fired and unfired .9mm cartridge cases and swabs.
She said on September 29, 2020, she handed the exhibits over to Chief Superintendent Earl Thompson for analysis. During her testimony, Inspector Raquel Francis said she also received a sealed cardboard box with firearm exhibits on the day in question, which she later handed over to Supt Thompson in November 2019. Corporal Chris Curry previously testified about finding the body of PO Perpall motionless and slumped over in a couch with bullet wounds when he had responded to questions about the shooting incident at Government House in 2019. He said when he saw PO Perpall, he contacted the police control room to request EMS assistance. He also said he noticed “a number” of 9mm casings on the floor when he made checks of the front and rear sections of the guardroom. Crown attorneys Terry Archer and Destiney McKinney are prosecuting, while Seymour is represented by defence counsel Murrio Ducille. The case continues today.
PAGE 8, Thursday, June 17, 2021
WE BOAST of ourselves as being a deeply Christian society, a people of faith in a God who sets captives free, whether a people in slavery or a fellow prisoner on the cross being crucified through the penalty of death. Yet our criminal justice system is often retributive, punitive and harsh despite our personal invocation of “Lord have mercy!” Our system and penal code, which have seen some reform, are in desperate need of more wide-ranging and comprehensive reform. A number of reforms were instituted during an administration of former Prime Minister Perry Christie, who spoke often of the need for “second chances” in life. Dr Elliston Rahming, with a background in criminology, served as Superintendent of the Department of Corrections for a number of years, during which he instituted critical reforms. We are often a very judgmental people, using the Bible to condemn others, especially those convicted of various crimes. Many in the country seem more committed to locking people up to punish them rather than as a pathway for possible reform, conversion and restorative justice. Though we speak of the love and healing power of Jesus Christ, we are
typically reluctant to offer this quality of mercy to offenders and ex-offenders. Why do so many Christians appear to believe they are more deserving of God’s grace and mercy than those who are imprisoned in penal and corrections institutions? Instead of the application and healing balm of the New Testament, we are quick to whip and punish offenders with the narrow strictures and proof-texting of parts of the Hebrew Scriptures.
NARROW MINDED
Much of our collective mindset in criminal justice matters is driven by a narrow fundamentalist approach and a human and Christian anthropology steeped in a harsh view of human nature and a limited appreciation of human possibilities and God’s salvific grace. The efforts to reform the criminal justice system have been joined by two former senior members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, including current Minister of National Security Marvin Dames and former Commissioner Paul Farquharson. A Roman Catholic and an Anglican respectively, the former officers know well the criminal realities, violence and brutality in The Bahamas. They understand
THE TRIBUNE
MERCY IS A GIFT FROM GOD WHICH WE SHOULD NOT BE AFRAID TO GIVE
the need to be tough on criminals. Neither man wears rose-colored glasses when viewing what needs to be done to protect society,
especially from extremely violent offenders. But they also understand and have seen the familial and sociological realities undergirding certain criminal conduct. They are men with minds and compassionate hearts. They know the reform of prisoners and the deviation of certain offenders from prison may reduce recidivism and in turn decrease criminal activity and conduct. Rehabilitation reforms individual prisoners and protects society. As chairman of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Committee, Mr Farquharson is leading an effort to help in the expungement of certain records for some ex-offenders. He recently noted that more than 100 Bahamians have applied to have their records expunged. In a 2015 visit to a prison in Philadelphia in the US, Pope Francis urged: “It is painful when we see prison systems which are not concerned to care for wounds, to soothe pain, to offer new possibilities. “It is painful when we see people who think that only others need to be cleansed, purified, and do not recognize that their weariness, pain and wounds are also the weariness, pain and wounds of society.”
HYPOCRITES
Our moral hypocrisy and divisions in society are recalled in a Bahamian parable. Years ago, in a church on a southern Family Island, the pastor converted his community of faith into a jury to expel a vile sinner from the Body of Christ. In this incarnation, the woman at the well was single, young - and pregnant. In expelling her, they were also punishing her unborn child. In their self-righteousness, these disciples of Christ judged her iniquity stained their community like communion wine seeping from a broken chalice might bleed through an altar cloth. Purging the defiler was necessary for their salvation and purification. There was no room in the inn for this unmarried mother-to-be. That Family Island church did not use stones to assault this teenager or her unborn child. Instead, they stoned her with a torrent of loathing intended to
break her spirit and sever her umbilical cord from the worshipping community in which she had been nourished since infancy. This jury of fellow sinners and Christians refused to see that her expulsion was akin to ripping the embryo in her womb, birth cord and all, from her body. Rather than throwing their stones and hypocrisy, the church could have recalled the words of Jesus addressed to the mob condemning the woman caught in adultery. But that day, when the word became flesh, that girl’s flesh was too much for the narrow interpretation of the words that rejected her from that community of faith. The congregation turned pious mob painted a scarlet letter on the outcastto-be. Then they expelled her from their gatedchurch-community. Instead of their tongues wagging with mercy, many of the congregants gossiped about this mere girl for the same behaviour in which they often religiously indulged. More morally reprehensible was the identity of the Grand Inquisitor presiding over her trial and expulsion. It was her pastor, the man for whom she was actually pregnant. Yet, she alone bore the burden of the church’s wrath. The married older man, the father of her baby, escaped a public trial. Then as now, this young girl was cast as the temptress and the seductress. The church community knew that she was pregnant for their pastor. Still, most blamed her for seducing their beloved pastor who, “in a moment of weakness”, succumbed to the temptations of this “bad” girl. The pastor received a free get-out-of-responsibility pass. But, there was no public mercy for this young girl. Instead, her expulsion served the narrow interests of the church and the narrower interests of its pastor. Rather than a plenitude of mercy, the congregation chose to scapegoat and save face. When he looked at the girl whose physical and emotional virginity he exploited, the pastor saw his own moral failings. But to maintain his reputation and position, and to keep his pastoral garments pristine, he abandoned her and his moral responsibility. He dutifully led his congregation by hurling the
heaviest and the first stone. Mercy is a gift from God. It shatters our human pretensions, presumptions and posturing. It is a reciprocal gift that we bestow on one another. It is also a gift we owe ourselves when we fall short of the glory of our moral best. The quality of our Christian witness mirrors the quality of our mercy. Mercy, it has been said, is the willingness to enter with compassion into the chaos and struggles of another’s life.
MERCIFUL
The God who gifted us with life, who sustains this gift, and who has conquered death, extends his mercy to every aspect of our spiritual existence. He extends his majesty and mercy through and beyond the circumstances of birth, life and death. It has been said that, “Those who are not willing to give pardon and mercy are those who appear not to need it.” Fortunately, our capacity for mercy allows us to experience more fully the heart of God and the redeeming power of mercy. It is one of those paradoxes of the Christian life that by entering with compassion into the chaos of another’s life, that much of the inner chaos bred by our own narcissism and selfcentredness is redeemed beyond our wildest imaginings and longings. Where there was once cowardice, there is now courage. Where there was once cynicism, there is now hope. Where there was once sloth, there is now rebirth. Where there was once judgmentalism, there is now understanding. Rather than moral growth, the congregants of that Family Island church years ago stunted their hearts and spirits by refusing an invitation to mercy. Mercy is a gift from God. It shatters our human pretensions, presumptions and posturing. It is a reciprocal gift that we bestow on one another. It is a gift we owe ourselves when we fall short of the glory of our moral best. It is also a gift we may offer, and indeed owe, to set captives free, including those in prison who seek conversion and those who seek the expungement of certain criminal records in our criminal justice system.
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, June 17, 2021, PAGE 9
Showdown in Switzerland but the real challenge is elsewhere
D
IDN’T it all feel like the run up to a heavyweight boxing match or even the titanic showdown between two powerhouse American football teams? Analysts were excitedly speculating on how the recent arrival in the White House would fare in the big match with his wily, experienced foe from the Kremlin. Two old, veteran, experienced antagonists pulling on the gloves for a rematch under different circumstances and yet with very familiar themes running through the endless pre-match speculation? Joe Biden’s much-anticipated showdown with Vladimir Putin took place
yesterday in Geneva, one of the most expensive cities in the world, where summit meetings and international gatherings have often been held and sometimes yield results. When you think about it, the Swiss have really turned the business of searching for international peace or at least partial reconciliation into quite a lucrative undertaking. Consider all the pomp, the limousines, the regiments of miscellaneous security personnel, the numerous rehearsals lest any oversight give unwanted advantage to one protagonist or another. Imagine the jostling for a seat on the planes bearing Biden and Putin to
Switzerland. The validation that an invitation to join a correspondent’s network coverage live from Geneva would provide. The restored primacy of the American Secretary of State, admitted to the ultimate inner sanctum of the four-person, four-hour private presidential meeting held just across from and around the western end of Lake Geneva from the main city. The pomp and circumstance of a US-Russia summit meeting still holds a fascination for political insiders from government, the media and the vast web of private and university think tanks in both capitals. Yesterday’s meeting also moved a certain distance in
AN AGONISING MOMENT FOR ALL SPORT LOVERS
T
centre of most of the Danish team’s creativity ime stood still on Saturday after- for 42 minutes. noon in Copenhagen. A champion His performance was reminiscent of his athlete’s heart stopped beating in seven seasons as the creative mastermind and the middle of a soccer match televised live assists leader for Tottenham in the English around the world. Premier League. ESPN’s broadcasters were stunned, then Teamed with high-scoring players like stumped. What do you say when Christian Wales’ prolific scorer Gareth Bale, EngEriksen, a 29-year-old Danish midfielder with land’s current captain Harry Kane and South a glittering resume at the highest global levels Korean ace Son Heung-min, Ericksen rouof the world’s most beloved game, simply tinely dissected the defences of Liverpool, drops in his tracks toward the end of the first Manchester United and Chelsea as Spurs won half of a “Baltic derby” match against Fin- consistently in the English Premier League land in the 2021 version of the 2020 European and barely lost in the Champions League final Nations Cup that was postponed from last just two years ago. year by the COVID-19 pandemic? Now, on Saturday, Ericksen lay motionless Every once in a while, a boxing match ends on the Copenhagen field, quickly surrounded with one of the contestby medical staff and ants dying of concussive teammates shielding trauma suffered during him from news camthe course of a brutal, eras and spectators’ cell losing match. But boxing phones. matches aren’t so widely Thousands of spectatelevised anymore. tors, viewers, opponents Other rough teleand teammates held vised sports like mixed their breath while Erickmartial arts, American sen’s heart stopped football, professional beating. Later, doctors hockey and rugby feawould confirm he had ture dramatic collisions suffered a sudden, masamong players, but the DENMARK soccer player Christian Eriksen sive cardiac arrest and, worst that anyone really in effect, died. gesturing from his hospital bed and the expects to happen is a But this is a highlyparticularly bloody or message that he sent to accompany the conditioned athlete who photo. (DBU via AP) gruesome injury. is trained, conditioned A baseball player died from taking a and nourished by highly-skilled professional pitched ball to the head during the 1920 assistants. After collapsing on the field, ErickWorld Series. That was a century ago. While sen was immediately attended by his team’s baseball and other sports are now played with doctors and trainers, who administered CPR so much more intensity by players so swift and used defibrillators to literally get Erickand powerful that equipment safety standards sen’s heart restarted and revive his heartbeat. are constantly being upgraded, serious injuStill in hospital undergoing tests this mornries remain relatively rare. ing, the Danish star has reassured fans he is Players don’t just drop dead on the playing “doing well – under the circumstances”. field. Shocked players and spectators alike may But that’s just what Ericksen did on the face a longer recovery. Someone doesn’t just weekend toward the end of the first half of die on an internationally broadcast sporting what would become a huge upset as Finland event. There’s no script for a broadcaster or won 1-0. viewer caught by complete surprise as a top Ericksen, one of the most skilled passers competitor literally suffers clinical death at the top levels of world soccer, had recently before their eyes. celebrated a stirring Serie A championship It looks like Ericksen will recover his in the top Italian league with his Inter Milan health, doubtless with some lifestyle changes teammates, ending a long run of titles strung mandated by what the doctors ultimately together by Juventus of Turin. diagnose as the causes of his cardiac arrest. Now playing as leader of a talented but Perhaps in time he will again torment top overlooked Danish team expected to chal- opposing defences. lenge for a top finish in Europe’s quadrennial Recovery for some of those who witnessed national competition, Eriksen was at the his near demise may take longer.
U.S. President Joe Biden, left, and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, right, pose for the media at Villa La Grange for the U.S.-Russia summit in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday. (Denis Balibouse/ Pool Photo via AP) returning to influence and prominence the vast array of American specialists inside the Russian government and the even larger group of Soviet/Russian experts in and around Washington who make a very comfortable living and reside in lovely suburban homes based almost entirely on the perpetuation of a US-Russian nuclear and strategic rivalry. Yet certain realities continue to suggest the USRussia relationship is less than ever one among equals. Pundits this week were merrily recalling former senator, presidential candidate and war hero John McCain’s famous remark that postSoviet Russia is just “a nation connected to a gas station”. Indeed, an estimated onethird of Russia’s GDP is derived from oil and gas production and exports. And Russia’s GDP is also believed to be lower than, for example, that of Canada, another nation whose GDP relies importantly on energy resources and production. It was interesting to watch all manner of analysts opine about the Americans and Russians, showing various charts depicting the economic strength of various
nations linked by their location in North America, Japan or Western Europe. Missing from all these analyses was China. Still in many ways more enigmatic and inscrutable for the West than is Russia, the world’s most populous country and second largest economy was notably absent from all the ceremonial build-up to a Biden-Putin summit meeting that seemed almost pointless to some observers and premature to others. Geography dictates that still-powerful Japan and emerging South Korea look first warily at their colossal neighbour in Beijing. So too do India, whose relationship with Pakistan and China remains troubled, and the economically growing and populous nations of Southeast Asia. Geography similarly mandates that Germany especially, with its enormous appetite for energy, plus the rest of Eastern Europe and most of Western Europe, focus more on their giant, intermittently ominous neighbour in Moscow. With his decision to make his first trip abroad to Western Europe and then to the summit meeting with Putin,
President Biden is reflecting his long Cold War experience in Washington and that of so many of his key advisers. Even Putin acknowledged this in an interview with NBC leading up to yesterday’s summit meeting. He began by characterizing ex-President Donald Trump as a “colourful, talented individual who did not come from the American political establishment.” In summarizing Trump so briefly – and accurately – Putin left the indelible impression that he is the experienced hand in the US-Russia relationship. By dwelling on him so briefly in his remarks, Putin also appeared to almost dismiss Trump as something now in the past. Putin seems to understand much more clearly than do stubborn, recalcitrant members of the Republican Party that Trump should be exactly that: an aberration. Maybe that is why Biden chose to inaugurate his administration’s diplomacy by reaffirming pre-Trump strategic imperatives, while simultaneously subtly endorsing Trump’s aggressive posture toward America’s real rival on today’s world stage – China.
PAGE 10, Thursday, June 17, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
The racial bias lurking behind US decisions to go to war By VLADIMIR ENRIQUE MEDENICA, assistant professor of political science, University of Delaware and DAVID EBNER, assistant professor of political science and international relations, University of Delaware
Forty-five percent saw China as a “major” threat to the US and 43 percent saw it as a “minor threat”; only 11 percent of whites believed that China presented no threat to the US. Again, racial attitudes strongly shaped these perceptions. Our analysis found that whites with racist attitude were 20 percentage points more likely to consider China a major threat in 2016 than other whites. While at first glance this might suggest that racial attitudes were less of a factor in 2016 than 2012, the lower percentage reflects the fact that a much higher percentage of Americans viewed China as a threat in 2016 than 2012. This trend continued during the presidency of Donald Trump, who portrayed China as a great adversary, calling it a “threat to the world”. Today 22 percent of all Americans see China as the greatest enemy of the US, according to a 2020 Gallup poll.
THE effects of American racial bias and anti-Asian sentiment do not end at the nation’s borders. The racial attitudes of white people also influence their support for American military intervention abroad, according to our working paper on US foreign policy and racism. White Americans who hold racist beliefs are significantly more likely to endorse aggressive military interventions over diplomacy or economic strategies in foreign countries at odds with the United States, if the residents of those countries are perceived as non-white. This is particularly true when it comes to China.
RACE AND PUBLIC OPINION
Researchers have long known that race and racism powerfully shape white Americans’ views on domestic issues like social welfare and criminal justice. Scholars have given less attention to how the racial resentment harboured by white people influences their foreign policy views, in part because the typical voter cares less about foreign policy than about domestic policies that affect their everyday lives. But when tensions between the US and
A VICIOUS CYCLE
another country escalate, as they have lately with Iran, North Korea and China, popular interest in foreign policy rises. That can influence policy decisions. To analyse how racial attitudes affect support for US military action abroad, we examined 30 years of public opinion data collected by
one of the country’s longest-running national public opinion surveys, the American National Election Study. Our analysis focused on answers by white Americans from 1986 to 2016. Specifically, we examined their responses to the “racial resentment” scale. Social scientists use this meticulously tested set of questions to assess anti-Black prejudice in the post-civil rights era. In recent decades, white Americans have become less willing to express explicitly racist views, such as opposing interracial marriage or supporting segregation. But they may still harbour bigoted perceptions, doubting black Americans’ work ethic or commitment to self-reliance, for example. The racial resentment scale is designed to capture this kind of discriminatory anti-black views. Social scientists have repeatedly demonstrated that white people who hold such views are also likely to hold negative views of other nonwhite US. populations, including Latinos, immigrants, Muslim Americans and Asian Americans. Based on responses to the
racial resentment scale in the most recent American National Election Studies – administered in 2012 and 2016 to about 3,000 nonHispanic white respondents each – we found that racist attitudes are correlated with and meaningfully influence white Americans’ support for US military interventions in other countries. For example, people with racist attitudes favoured more aggressive action against Iran. Thirty-five percent would support bombing Iranian suspected nuclear development sites, compared with 15 percent of whites with less racist attitudes and 31percent of white Americans overall. White Americans with racist views also favour military engagement against Muslim populations. For example, they are five percentage points more supportive of continuing the global “war on terror” than the overall white population, 46 percent to 41 percent. Because a number of factors influence people’s foreign policy opinions – including educational status, income, gender, ideology, military service and partisan affiliation – we
adjusted for these in our study. We also controlled for respondents’ reported attention to political news, their level of white ethnocentrism and their authoritarian leanings. We find that racial resentment has a significant effect above and beyond these other variables.
ANTI-CHINA VIEWS
Racial resentment seemed especially influential in white American views of China – which has become an economic and political competitor to the US over the last decade. In 2012, of the 3,196 white Americans surveyed in the American National Election Study, 28 percent believed that China posed a “major” military threat to the US, 53 percent saw China as a “minor” threat and 19 percent did not see China as a threat. Racially resentful whites were 36 percentage points more likely to see China as a major threat than other white respondents, according to our analysis. In 2016, 3,505 white Americans answered the same survey questions about China.
Americans’ growing perception of China as a threat comes as both countries compete for control over the South China Sea. China and the US routinely deploy weapons and engage in military planning and exercises in the South China Sea. US President Joe Biden frames tensions between the two countries as a competition between democracy and autocracy. He has described relations with China as one of the top priorities of his administration. Many analysts, including high-ranking US military personnel, view the risks of violent conflict between the US and China as relatively low. But all that sabre-rattling in the South China Sea, and years of heated presidential rhetoric under Trump, have domestic implications. Studies suggest that when politicians describe the relationship between the US. and China as a “great power competition,” it stokes anti-Asian beliefs among white Americans. These anti-Asian beliefs, in turn, make white Americans more likely to see China as a major threat, according to our research – one potentially worthy going to war over. We document a vicious cycle of racial animosity with potentially global consequences. • Originally published in theconversation.com
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, June 17, 2021, PAGE 11
Union’s challenge on BPL blackout
THREE of the Wartsila engines prior to their move to Clifton Pier. from page one “It is alleged that engines are running out of fuel causing power outages, but we see nothing happening. Even if the engines aren’t running out of fuel, but there is some other issue causing the constant power outages, no one is being held accountable. “It is not necessarily the line staff or the union members, it is the private company and the private management Wӓrtsilӓ that is causing a lot of these issues. No one is being held accountable. This is the worst we have ever seen.” The Tribune contacted BPL for comment. The power company said a new system has been designed to prevent outages. The BPL statement read: “In relation to the comments regarding Station A, and given the company’s concerns about the management of Station A in recent weeks, Wartsila – the company that operates and maintains the engines – has recently conducted an operational audit of the plant and has implemented new systems designed to ensure that recent setbacks do not recur.” Mr Wilson has other issues with BPL management, such as financial concerns, saying the union was promised an audit “which never happened”. Over the years, some people have questioned if “sabotage” was behind outages at BPL. Mr Wilson denied any knowledge of this. “I don’t know about any sabotage,” he said. “Madam, there are cameras everywhere on this compound. The only sabotage they should suspect is from the foreigner with those fake IDs, entering this compound unknown and deceiving the security.
I suspect that person of trying to commit sabotage if you ask me. “Clifton Pier is a fortress so if it is sabotaged, why don’t they have who is suspected of doing it investigated? Bring in the police and check the place for fingerprints. You have cameras everywhere on the compound, so it’s easy to tell.” In regards to his comment on fake IDs, at the beginning of the week, social media was flooded with images of what appeared to be a BPL ID bearing the name of a consultant on it with a photo of deceased actress Marilyn Monroe. In response to questions from this newspaper, BPL said: “It has been brought to the attention of Bahamas Power and Light Company Limited (BPL) management that there is some confusion over an incident at one of our power stations. For clarification purposes, what is being purported to be a ‘fake ID’ is not an identification card at all, but in fact an electronic access card. “The gentleman to whom the electronic access card was issued chose to put a photo of a famous deceased Hollywood actress on the electronic access card. The electronic access card was not used as an ID card, but to gain access to our power station at the main gate. As such, the allegation is false.” Meanwhile, Mr Wilson is calling for an audit on the company’s foreign consultants, holding firm to his accusation of BPL running engines low on fuel. “It is shocking to know that we are not getting any audit and we have so many foreign consultants,” he said. “If we have all these consultants, where is the money coming from? A novice knows better than running a machine without
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fuel. You know what will happen if you run your home generator out of fuel. “Reliable energy is part of the national security of the country. “We have the hotels where these tourists are now coming in. We cannot be embarrassing our nation constantly like this with these outages. We have been doing this too long.” He also said: “This is why this company is sort of failing. This is why we are having power outages after power outages. The union is trying to explain to them that they have to put some of the better employees in charge… promote some people. They don’t care. They bring in who they feel like and these people are unproven, with no track record. This is why we are the way we are. “If you are short staffed then why did you get rid of two fifths of your employees and then bring in foreigners who are making these big, fat, Gussie Mae salaries without proving themselves?”
PAGE 12, Thursday, June 17, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
AIRSTRIKES BY ISRAEL TARGET GAZA JERUSALEM Associated Press
ISRAELI aircraft carried out a series of airstrikes at militant sites in the Gaza Strip early yesterday, the first such raids since a shaky cease-fire ended the war with Hamas last month. The airstrikes targeted facilities used by Hamas militants for meetings to plan attacks, the Israeli military said, blaming the group for any act of violence emanating from Gaza. There were no immediate reports of casualties. On Tuesday, hundreds of Israeli ultranationalists, some chanting “Death to Arabs”, paraded in east Jerusalem in a show of force that threatened to spark renewed violence. Palestinians in Gaza responded by launching incendiary balloons that caused at least ten fires in southern Israel. The march posed a test for Israel’s fragile new government as well as the tenuous truce that ended last month’s 11-day war between Israel and Hamas. Palestinians consider the march, meant to celebrate Israel’s capture of east Jerusalem in 1967, to be a provocation. Hamas called on Palestinians to “resist” the parade, a version of which helped ignite last month’s 11-day Gaza war. With music blaring, hundreds of Jewish nationalists gathered and moved in front of Damascus Gate. Most appeared to be young men, and many held blueand-white Israeli flags as they danced and sang religious songs. Several dozen youths chanted: “Death to Arabs!” In another antiArab chant, they yelled: “May your village burn.” Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said on Twitter that those shouting racist slogans were “a disgrace to the Israeli people,” adding: “The fact that there are radicals for whom the Israeli flag represents hatred and racism is abominable and unforgivable.”
‘No hostility’ at summit
PRESIDENT Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet at the Villa la Grange in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday. GENEVA Associated Press PRESIDENT Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded their summit yesterday with an agreement to return their nations’ ambassadors to their posts in Washington and Moscow and a plan to begin work toward replacing the last remaining treaty between the two countries limiting nuclear weapons. But the two leaders offered starkly different views on difficult simmering issues including cyber and ransomware attacks originating from Russia. Putin insisted anew that his country has nothing to do with such attacks, despite US intelligence that indicates otherwise. Biden, meanwhile, said that he made clear to Putin that if Russia crossed certain red lines — including going after major American infrastructure — his administration would respond and “the consequences of that would be devastating”. Will Putin change his behavior? Biden was asked at a post-summit news conference. “I said what will change
their behavior is if the rest of the world reacts” in a way that “diminishes their standing in the world,” Biden said. “I’m not confident of anything. I’m just stating a fact.” Both leaders, who have stirred escalating tension since Biden took office in January, suggested that while an enormous chasm between the two nations remains the talks were constructive. Putin said there was “no hostility” during three hours of talks, a session that wrapped up more quickly than expected. When it was over, Putin had first crack at describing the results at a solo news conference, with Biden following soon after. Biden said they spent a “great deal of time” discussing cybersecurity and he believed Putin understood the US position. “I pointed out to him, we have significant cyber capability,” Biden said. “In fact, (if) they violate basic norms, we will respond... I think that the last thing he wants now is a Cold War.” Putin noted that Biden raised human rights issues with him, including the fate
of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Putin defended Navalny’s prison sentence and deflected repeated questions about mistreatment of Russian opposition leaders by highlighting US domestic turmoil, including the Black Lives Matter protests and the January 6 Capitol insurrection. Putin held forth for nearly an hour before international reporters. While showing defiance at queries about Biden pressing him on human rights, he also expressed respect for Biden as an experienced political leader. The Russian noted that Biden repeated wise advice his mother had given him and also spoke about his family — messaging that Putin said might not have been entirely relevant to their summit but demonstrated Biden’s “moral values.” Though he raised doubt that the US-Russia relationship could soon return to a measure of equilibrium of years past, Putin suggested that Biden was someone he could work with. “The meeting was actually very efficient,” Putin said. “It was substantive, it
was specific. It was aimed at achieving results, and one of them was pushing back the frontiers of trust.” Putin said he and Biden agreed to begin negotiations on nuclear talks to potentially replace the New START treaty limiting nuclear weapons after it expires in 2026. Washington broke off talks with Moscow in 2014 in response to Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea and its military intervention in support of separatists in eastern Ukraine. Talks resumed in 2017 but gained little traction and failed to produce an agreement on extending the New START treaty during the Trump administration. The Russian president said there was an agreement between the leaders to return their ambassadors to their respective postings. Both countries had pulled back their top envoys to Washington and Moscow as relations chilled in recent months. Russia’s ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, was recalled from Washington about three months ago after Biden called Putin a killer; US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan left Moscow almost two months ago, after Russia suggested he return to Washington for consultations. Putin said that the ambassadors were expected to return their posts in the coming days. The meeting in a booklined room had a somewhat awkward beginning — both men appeared to avoid looking directly at each other during a brief and chaotic photo opportunity before a scrum of jostling reporters. Biden nodded when a reporter asked if Putin could be trusted, but the White House quickly sent out a tweet insisting that the president was “very clearly not responding to any one question, but nodding in acknowledgment to the press generally.” Their body language, at least in their brief moments together in front of the press, was not exceptionally warm. The two leaders did shake hands — Biden extended his hand first and smiled
Photo: Patrick Semansky/AP
at the stoic Russian leader — after Swiss President Guy Parmelin welcomed them to Switzerland for the summit. When they were in front of the cameras a few minutes later—this time inside the grand lakeside mansion where the summit was held—they seemed to avoid eye contact. For months, Biden and Putin have traded sharp rhetoric. Biden has repeatedly called out Putin for malicious cyberattacks by Russian-based hackers on U.S. interests, for the jailing of Russia’s foremost opposition leader and for interference in American elections. Putin has reacted with whatabout-isms and denials — pointing to the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol to argue that the US has no business lecturing on democratic norms and insisting that the Russian government hasn’t been involved in any election interference or cyberattacks despite US intelligence showing otherwise. The White House announced ahead of the summit that Biden wouldn’t hold a joint news conference with Putin, deciding it did not want to appear to elevate Putin at a moment when the US president is urging European allies to pressure Putin to cut out myriad provocations. Biden has repeatedly said that he believes executing effective foreign policy comes from forming strong personal relations, and he has managed to find rapport with both the likes of Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom Biden has labeled an “autocrat,” and more conventional Western leaders including Canada’s Justin Trudeau. But with Putin, who he once said has “no soul,” Biden has long been wary. At the same time, he acknowledges that Putin, who has remained the most powerful figure in Russian politics over the span of five US presidents, is not without talent. “He’s bright. He’s tough,” Biden said earlier this week. “And I have found that he is a — as they say ... a worthy adversary.”