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The Tribune

Volume:116 No.181, SEPTEMBER 13TH, 2019

Established 1903

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page 13

Former PMs ‘jockeying for position’

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis expressed disappointment and surprise yesterday in his predecessors, Hubert Ingraham and Perry Christie, over their comments suggesting he has ignored their capacity to help the country recover from Hurricane Dorian.

In a statement, Dr Minnis called their comments misleading and referred to them as an “unnecessary distraction”.

“We as a country do not

have the time for divisiveness, partisan politics or jockeying for position,” he said.

After touring Abaco on Wednesday, the former leaders expressed scepticism to reporters about whether Dr Minnis will have them play an active role in the recovery process.

Mr Ingraham, the former MP for North Abaco, said though he spoke to Dr Minnis after Dorian’s passage, he did not think the prime minister would give him a role in recovery efforts.

SEE PAGE THREE

MISSING LIST FALLS TO 1,300

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

POLICE Commissioner Anthony Ferguson yesterday suggested the total number of lives lost due to Hurricane Dorian may never be fully recorded as he defended the pace of the official count.

The number of confirmed deaths has stalled at 50 over the past two days, and at a NEMA briefing yesterday, Commissioner Ferguson said officials have not progressed much further.

Meanwhile, the number of missing persons has

dropped significantly to 1,300 - down from the 2,500 reported on Wednesday.

“We are going thoroughly step-by-step and we do not want to make people believe that this job will be one that will happen overnight,” Mr Ferguson.

“We have to go though all of that rubble, take our time and search. We have never said that it’s going to be quick and I say again, this process is going to be very slow because we want to make sure that whatever is there we want to recover it, the land mass is vast.”

SEE PAGE THREE

TEREHA DAVIS, 45, eats a meal of rice as she sits among the remains of her shattered home, in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian in McLean’s Town, Grand Bahama. She and others said they had not seen any government officials and have only received food and water from some non-profit organisations.

Photo: Ramon Espinosa/AP

REBUILD COULD COST FLOODS HIT BREWERY: ‘BILLIONS AND BILLIONS’ NO SANDS FOR 6 MONTHS

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A CABINET minister last night predicted it will cost “billions and billions” to rebuild Abaco and east Grand Bahama’s infrastructure after the “awesome challenge” laid down by Hurricane Dorian.

Desmond Bannister, minister of works, told

Tribune Business that “the figures are huge” although he declined to provide details ahead of further Cabinet discussions on reconstruction efforts in the Category Five storm’s aftermath. He said Melanie Roach, director of public works, and her staff were “looking at everything very comprehensively”.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIANS will be unable to drink Sands Beer and its fellow beverages for six months after its Freeport-based producer “took a hell of a hit” from Hurricane Dorian’s storm surge.

Jimmy Sands, the Bahamian Brewery and

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

Beverage Company’s founder, yesterday told Tribune Business that the manufacturer/distributor was likely to “be out of commission” for half a year after four feet of flood water penetrated its buildings and destroyed all its electrical machinery, finished product and ingredients in inventory.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

PAGE 2, Friday, September 13, 2019

PLP leader Philip ‘Brave’ Davis during a tour of Grand Cay by the party to assess damage.

THE TRIBUNE

WARNING AS NEW TROPICAL STORM LIKELY TO FORM

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

PARTS of the country recently devastated by Hurricane Dorian are at risk for more bad weather, as a tropical storm warning was in effect last night for the northwest Bahamas.

Yesterday, Chief Meteorological Officer Arnold King said the heavy showers and thunderstorms passing over the northwestern Bahamas could develop into a tropical storm if favourable conditions persist. This could hamper relief and recovery efforts in Abaco and Grand Bahama, which were hard hit by Category 5 Dorian a little over a week ago.

Up to press time, a tropical storm warning was in effect for the islands of Eleuthera, Andros, New Providence, Abaco, Grand Bahama, Bimini and the Berry Islands. A tropical storm could bring sustained winds up to 39 mph, and higher gusts of 45 to 50 mph, according to senior meteorologist Basil Dean, who forecast the system will be out of the area before it develops into something more significant.

The weather disturbance, dubbed 95L by Accuweather, was moving through the northwest Bahamas towards the Florida Peninsula at five to ten miles per hour.

At an earlier NEMA

briefing, Mr King warned the system will bring heavy rainfall and gusty winds to portions of the country affected by Hurricane Dorian. Flooding is also a major factor in low-lying areas and flood-prone zones.

Formation chances within the next 48 hours stood at 70 percent, and 80 percent through the next five days, Mr King said.

NEMA spokesperson Carl Smith yesterday urged the public to closely monitor public announcements as officials were “doing the best we can”.

Mr Smith acknowledged the inclement weather could potentially threaten relief and recovery efforts, and further expose vulnerable communities in hurricane ravaged areas.

“To some extent there may be an issue of communication,” he said, “I’m not saying that there is – but certainly we are inviting people who are fluent in the Creole language to assist us in getting the message out, because I know a number of them who are in vulnerable positions speak that language.”

Mr Smith continued: “We are putting up additional shelters that would have been for persons affected in Grand Bahama.

We are putting up temporary shelters that will have capacity to accommodate persons. Technical people are making determinations on where those shelters

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should be, the best positions. We are doing the best that we can.

“The public should keep tuned to public announcements, to what’s happening around them.”

Mr Smith said NEMA and its partners were on the ground in Abaco collecting data on how many people remain on the island. He said there was no specific timeline on the erection of temporary shelters planned for both Abaco and Grand Bahama.

“Under the circumstances we are moving as quickly as we can, as efficiently as we can, as expeditiously as we can, to address those needs,” Mr Smith said.

“We want people to return to a normal life. It’s very fluid, as quickly as we can get them in and up and running. There is no desire for people to be displaced for any long period of time.”

Another system being closely monitored by forecasters is a tropical wave 700m west of Cabo Verde islands.

Conditions appear conducive for development of a tropical depression, according to Mr King, who said it could form early next week while it moves westward through the tropical Atlantic.

Mr King added: “Formation chances remain low.

Zero percent over 48 hours, formation through five days is 40 percent.”

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, September 13, 2019, PAGE 3

Minnis bites back from page one

“After the passage of Hurricane Dorian,” Dr Minnis responded, “Mr Ingraham reached out to me. An offer of a major assignment was made. He declined the offer. He also declined to meet with me at the Office of the Prime Minister.”

“In the spirit of bipartisanship, the Cabinet of the Bahamas recommended that Mr Christie should also be asked to serve. An approach was also made to Mr Christie. It is clear that there was and still is a misunderstanding but patriotism requires us to put this aside and move forward.”

The Tribune understands Dr Minnis wanted Mr Ingraham and Mr Christie to lead fundraising efforts for the government in the wake of Dorian but both former leaders wanted to play a more substantive role.

While Mr Christie and Dr Minnis have always been political rivals, the statements this week have thrust the long simmering tension between Mr Ingraham and Dr Minnis into public view for the first time, stunning Free National Movement insiders yesterday, some of whom were already contemplating what it could mean for the party. Dr Minnis succeeded Mr Ingraham as FNM leader in 2012 and they are the only people to ever lead the party to general election victories.

“The prime minister would have inaccurately represented the four brief conversations we had since the storm, the text messages exchanged and the email sent by me to him which he claimed not to have received, resulting in my having a copy delivered to him,” Mr Ingraham told this newspaper yesterday in response to Dr Minnis’ statement. “Had he done so, he would have revealed that I advised him that I was convinced he did not wish to have my assistance.”

On Wednesday, Mr Ingraham said he offered Dr Minnis assistance “in any way, shape or form” but the prime minister thanked him, expressed appreciation and said he would get back to him. “We’ve spoken several times since that time,” he said.

He also said he believed people in The Mudd and Pigeon Peas shantytowns were not sufficiently warned about Dorian’s approach. In particular, he believed they were not spoken to in Creole.

Dr Minnis said in response: “The other thing I wish to mention is the claim

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis at Treasure Cay International Airport. that government officials did not visit shantytowns with Creole speakers to warn residents to evacuate.

Mr Ingraham is mistaken on that issue as well. Media reports attest to this fact.”

On August 31, Pastor Wilson Isnord, head of Seventh-Day Adventist churches in Abaco, was accompanied by several Royal Bahamas Defence Force officers as he traversed the two shanty towns speaking Creole and urging residents to evacuate to shelters. Police officers, speaking English, also urged them to evacuate about six hours before Dorian made landfall.

Dr Minnis said, in responding to the largest natural disaster in the country’s history, his government is focused on helping to restore people’s lives.

“I am heartened and deeply grateful by the extraordinary number of Bahamians and foreigners who volunteered to help and are helping the government and charities in response to Hurricane Dorian,” he said. “I thank all who are contributing their time, resources and talents. As I have said in my address, this is a time for the greatest act of volunteerism in Bahamian history. We welcome all Bahamians of goodwill and generosity of spirit to make their contributions to helping those in need.”

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

MISSING LIST FALLS TO 1,300 from page one

Former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham has said he believes that the hurricane death toll is in the “hundreds”.

For his part, the police chief stressed recovery did not stop at simply finding bodies.

“This process is slow,” Commissioner Ferguson said. “We haven’t made much progress from the 50 we gave you. We will continue to do our very best. I know that there are persons making comparisons but the police is not going to be involved in that.

Everybody is free to make whatever comparison they wish to make, we are not going to query anybody’s opinion.

“But I will tell you at the end of the day, we will give you what we recover, the facts,” he continued, “even at that point we recover persons we are not saying that’s the end of it.

“Every single person in here knows in major disasters such as the magnitude of what we went through in the Abacos and Grand Bahama, it’s going to take a long time before you can really say numbers, and you

A CAR is sunk in the wreckage Bahama. may never get the amount of numbers but we have to do all within our power to do our best and try to bring resolve to this issue.”

At the NEMA briefing yesterday, the police chief also revealed two people have been arrested for firearm possession in Marsh Harbour this week.

He underscored police presence was not just focused on recovering bodies, but also ensuring the security and safety of

to avoid that because we’re standardising what we’re bringing in and distributing it but there will be that issue and there are going to be those reports and the Red Cross is working diligently with their partners to resolve it as well as NEMA. If you go to the airport you see all of the boxes that are coming in, people are bringing them and setting them down on the runway and unfortunately that’s part of the nature of what can happen.”

Nate Mook, the interim executive director for World Central Kitchen, said NEMA has quickly established a process for allowing them to bring

goods in and get them to those in need.

“I think as long as the international organisations are working closely with NEMA and following the protocols and making sure the proper authorities are notified and working with the Port Authority, (it will be fine),” he said.

“Talking specifically about Grand Bahama, things have been going very smoothly, we haven’t had any problems. I think a lot of the issues that you might be hearing about are stemming from donations, an outpouring of support, people want to send in planes, they fill up with things, they don’t

and debris caused by Hurricane Dorian in Mclean’s Town, Grand Photo: Ramon Espinosa/AP the people in affected have begun cross-referzones, adding Abaco was encing various databases “fully covered”. of people who have been At a press conference evacuated from the islands. yesterday, NEMA revealed Mr Smith said the the number of missing Department of Social Serpersons has dropped signifi- vices is working closely with cantly to 1,300 - down from the police to identify people 2,500. who have been found.

National Emergency He encouraged people to Management Agency contact the help desk at spokesperson Carl Smith Department of Rehabilisaid the number of miss- tative Services to report if ing persons on the they have found relatives government’s register is previously reported as decreasing daily as officials missing.

AID GROUPS: WE’RE NOT BEING HELD BACK BY RED TAPE

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

REPRESENTATIVES of international organisations providing relief to the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian said yesterday red tape has not hindered their efforts.

During a press conference, leaders of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Samaritan’s Purse and World Central Kitchen described a smooth process getting services to people affected by the storm in Abaco and Grand Bahama.

They suggested less

organised groups, ones that do not coordinate directly with NEMA, are likelier to encounter difficulty processing their goods.

“What I am seeing that is going to be a problem is there are thousands and thousands of unsolicited donations and (that have to be sorted and organised),” said Ken Isaacs, vice president of programmes and government relations for Samaritan’s Purse. “This is not unusual in response to a crisis. Good-hearted people are sending things in but they’re not necessarily classified or prequalified. That does become a material management issue. We as an organisation are trying

LOUIS BACON PLEDGES $1M TO AID EFFORT LOUIS Bacon, founder of The Moore Bahamas Foundation, an affiliate of The Moore Charitable Foundation (MCF), pledged $1m for a combination of short-term and long-term hurricane relief and reconstruction following the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian.

His donations began with funding for emergency relief measures last week. “The extraordinary suffering of thousands of people in the Bahamas and the struggle to address such widespread need has left a deep impression on people everywhere,”

Mr Bacon said in a statement.

“The Bahamians are our friends and neighbours, and it is heart-wrenching to see and hear about the extent of their losses, particularly on Grand Bahama and the Abaco islands. There is an urgent need for emergency food, clean water and shelter. And there will be a continuing need for months and probably years to come for money to rebuild homes, schools, phone and electric services and other infrastructure.

“Many people have generously answered the call for help. I hope

others will join in supporting this urgent relief and reconstruction effort.

“We have all been touched by the courage and resilience of the Bahamian people as this tragedy continues to unfold. The Moore Charitable Foundation is currently doing a needs assessment to determine where our money could best be used to have the greatest strategic impact, including potential investments in clean and sustainable renewable sources of energy. We will be announcing the recipients of our first grants in the near future.”

know where they end destination is, but from our perspective it’s been going pretty smoothly. I could only speak on the food side of things and we track very closely since we’re producing the foods and also working on the delivery of the food so we have exact maps and numbers and communities and where things are going. I know for us at least we can make sure that anything coming in is coming through our kitchen and being distributed out.”

Tim Callahan, the senior regional advisor for Latin American and the Caribbean at USAID’s Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance, said he hasn’t heard

criticism of red tape.

For his part, Carl Smith, NEMA’s spokesperson, said some red tape is necessary to avoid compounding the disaster by wasting donations.

He talked about his experience in Grenada where unnecessary winter clothing was donated and medication and food became expired.

“They call it red tape, but we are not refusing, we are saying everyone wants to donate, that is wonderful but at certain times during the disaster process certain items have priority and we need to get those ahead of what you want to give,” he said.

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THE TRIBUNE

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A ship can only have one captain IT is without doubt that we are in a time of national crisis. Hurricane Dorian has torn at our hearts, and devastated our northern islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco.

We do not know how many are dead, and we wait in hope and dread to find out how many remain missing - hope that the number goes down bringing with it the joy of family reunions, and dread that the number will remain high.

So there should be no doubt of the answer to one question: What should the prime minister be focused on?

The answer, of course, is the disaster response. So the sight of Dr Hubert Minnis having to take time out of that schedule to respond to his predecessors is as frustrating for us as we are sure it was for him to have to do.

In a terse statement, Dr Minnis said yesterday: “We as a country do not have the time for divisiveness, partisan politics or jockeying for position.”

He is right. In the situation we face, if the leader calls and asks you to do something for him, the answer should be a straight yes or no. No haggling, no meetings to explore other options.

Dr Minnis says he wanted the former PMs to lead fundraising efforts - a role that two former leaders with their extensive networks of contacts and knowledge of those with the money to donate would be well suited to.

For whatever reason - and perhaps Hubert Ingraham and Perry Christie might have a different story to tell about what was offered - it was not to be. Instead, we saw on Wednesday,

criticisms of the government response and suggestions that Dr Minnis would not carve out a major role for his predecessors, Mr Ingraham in particular.

Dr Minnis is right too in pointing out Mr Ingraham’s error in suggesting that government officials did not visit shanty towns with Creole speakers to warn residents to evacuate. Our reporters were present when Pastor Wilson Isnord walked The Mudd and Pigeon Peas areas, trying to convince residents to seek safety.

We will not speculate as to why there appears to be bad blood between our political leaders, former and current.

This is not the time for that. We would note, however, that we cannot imagine similar circumstances where Mr Ingraham would have been comfortable as prime minister seeking the assistance of Sir Lynden Pindling.

There is, in the end, only one captain of the ship - and we do not need three sets of hands squabbling over who gets to hold the steering wheel.

If the captain asks you to do something, you do it or you get out of the way.

We do hope that the experience and contacts of both former prime ministers can be brought to bear in a manner that can help - but this is no time for distractions.

We have said it many times in this column - unity is what is required to drive the nation forward. As the nation faces the largest natural disaster in its history, that unity is required now more than ever.

Honouring Jennie Smith EDITOR, The Tribune.

ON Sunday, September 8, I am deeply sadden by the passing of my mother Jennie Smith, but I do know God has a place for her in Heaven. My mother was the pillar and foundation of our family with 12 kids – eleven boys and one girl. Their names are Tino, Roberto Romano Dino, Larry, Barry, Cyril, Erskine, Ambrose Richard and the only daughter, Jackie. With many grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Mom’s incredible impact on teaching her children the importance of having manners, moral standards, principles and to become somebody to make mom proud. Mom will live in our hearts, mind, spirit

and soul, because of the invaluable and priceless contribution she made to her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Her legacy will live on forever as a great Bahamian Mom of The Bahamas. If mom did not make her children go to church every Sunday my life would never been impacted by God to write an inspired poem “My Dream for One Bahamas”.

A Bahamas, where there would be no hatred, but love. A Bahamas where there would be no dishonesty, but trust. A Bahamas where there would be no disloyalty, but sincerity.

A Bahamas where there would be no injustice, but fairness. A Bahamas where there would be no

degrading of one another, but respect for each other.

A Bahamas where there would be no differences because of our belief or religion but being united as One Bahamas.

In dedication to my mother I am now in the early stages of planning to help and assist mothers financially affected

by Hurricane Dorian in Abaco and Freeport, Grand Bahama, by launching a company to sell products with donations given to help mothers. May my mom’s soul rest in peace.

Missed sadly by her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

on Wednesday was have a spectacle of a press conference for attention.

The Government of the Bahamas has invited in the big relief agencies from around the world.

Major first world countries are on the ground too like the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Our Caricom countries are here as well.

Prime Minister Minnis is leading a coordinated international response. Because of his good reputation around the world organisations and countries are

willing to help.

The former Prime Ministers must accept that their time for leading is over. The people voted Mr Ingraham out in 2012, and Mr Christie out in 2017. Neither man will ever be Prime Minister again.

It is disgraceful that the former Prime Ministers were on TV begging for attention. This is a crisis.

Bahamians expect better than that from them.

PEDRO SMITH Nassau, September 9, 2019.

Attention seeking by former PMs EDITOR, The Tribune.

IT was so, so sad to see the two former Prime Ministers on TV Wednesday night. Both are retired and in their 70s.

Perry Christie and Hubert Ingraham said their press conference was about the hurricane response, but we all know that was not what it was about.

Both men love politics and attention. Neither has been able to find another vocation he finds fulfilling since being voted out of office. So what they did

DARWIN R LUTHER Nassau, September 12, 2019.

A monster of a lesson EDITOR, The Tribune.

BAHAMIANS got a first-hand lesson in the urgency of global warming in the form of a monster hurricane named Dorian.

Whether you subscribe to the belief that the good Lord was sending us a message, or that our family in the north didn’t deserve so severe a punishment, or that this was a wake-up call to the world, the inescapable fact is that we got caught in the cross-hairs of a new normal.

Hurricanes will intensify, and we had better prepare for them.

For starters, we should advocate to the world to update the Safer-Simpson scale. Prior to the storm too many Bahamians were lulled into a sense of complacency having ridden out category five hurricanes in the past.

When the wind speeds reach 157 miles per hour, it is labeled category five. More people might have heeded the warning had they heard that it was a category six or perhaps a seven with potential sustained wind speeds exceeding 200 mph.

The world was shocked that so powerful a storm formed. And then they sympathized with us when this cyclone “went to sleep” over the northern Bahamas as the Prime Minister so aptly put it.

If you must box Muhammed Ali, best to get knocked out in the first 30 seconds of the fight than have to endure round-afterround of pummeling. Abaco took the first round, softening Dorian just a little, doing Grand Bahama and Walkers Cay a big favour.

What was left in its wake, besides dead bodies, broken lives and shattered homes and businesses, was a carousel of Bahamian cynics, naysayers and haters, bashing all and sundry from the comfort of their lazy-boy chairs in Nassau.

Few of those posting on social media told of what they were doing to assist the effort to help our cousins in the north. Yet they didn’t demur in showering verbal bricks on the Prime Minister, the national government, the local government, the foreign governments and the army of volunteers that assembled to help.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the US has a staff of 10,000 highly trained disaster assistance employees and they were caught on the back foot by this hurricane, yet Minnis should

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net have seen it coming. The head of the US International Aid Agency surveyed the carnage and compared it to a nuclear bomb going off.

But that didn’t stop the haters criticising our own emergency management agency who in their wildest dream could not have done “what-if” scenarios for a 200-mph hurricane that stalls over any part of The Bahamas.

Some of the hate emanated from those on the ground in Abaco and Grand Bahama, but they must be excused because their pain is real.

While some in Nassau literally worked around the clock to send help, others quickly pivoted to the 2022 general election telling of how they will patch hell on the FNM because residents underestimated the hurricane, brushed aside pleas to evacuate and were left homeless.

Nobody offered any suggestions of what else the government could do.

Some wanted us to believe that the Prime Minister and his Cabinet were planning the junkanoo parade rather than dealing with the biggest calamity ever to hit any Bahamian government.

Smart people like former Attorney General Alfred Sears didn’t do himself any favours when he complained that his chartered airplane, admirably carrying relief supplies and hoping to evacuate some of the sufferers, was delayed on the ground in Nassau pending air traffic control clearances.

Conveniently forgotten was the fact that on the best day air traffic control over the Bahamas is a coordinated effort with controllers in Miami. Now put slow moving helicopters, circling fixed-wing aircraft, supply planes and military aircraft into the theatre, combined with a damaged airport infrastructure, a runway of only 6,000 ft, and limited apron space and it becomes clear that Mr Sears should have complimented the Civil Aviation Authority instead of putting them on blast.

The next day, a Bahamasair pilot flying the Prime Minister to the war zone, had to take evasive action to avoid hitting another aircraft.

Just as hurtful was the Haitian lady sitting in Abaco and complaining to foreign reporters after refusing the offer to evacuate with her

children to Nassau because “too much crime in Nassau”.

The country’s decades long failure to deal with illegal immigration also gave us a black eye in the international press. Because we had no idea who lived in Haitian communities like the Mudd and Pigeon Pea, how was the government supposed to immediately account for all souls?

The Haitian government, true to form, didn’t step up and offer to assist their citizens. It’s our problem, and without a doubt we have a moral, humane and, dare we say, Christian duty to assist all and sundry, regardless of status.

Not a peep was heard from the litigious campaigner Fred Smith, who went to court to block government’s attempt to clean up the Mud, Pigeon Pea and other shanty towns.

Eighteen months ago, a devastating fire razed many houses in the Mud. Smith worked to block legal attempts to dismantle these shanty towns.

Dorian did it for him.

And what about the slum lords and the proprietors of the citrus farms on Abaco that exploited cheap Haitian labour and then left them to fend for themselves in sub-human conditions?

The Mudd and Pigeon Pea may shock our collective conscience but those who have visited Haiti know that it looks like Club Med when compared to parts of Port-au-Prince.

Perhaps when we look to rebuild better and stronger homes, businesses and lives, we will also take a moment to finally address the vexing problem of illegal immigration, if only to save Haitian lives in the future.

A social media post by American Doctor Marc Binard proved both witty and uplifting. After immediately going to help out on Abaco he told of a Bahamian grandmother evacuating on a flight to Nassau with others.

She had no time for unruly, no-manners children on the flight, using the authority of age to keep decorum and respect for others in an otherwise glum situation. With order restored on the plane she generously shared with others all that she had left in her handbag – bananas and mints.

Tony McKay, the Obeah Man, reminded us in song that Iron can’t stop Bahamians from advancing.

Neither will Dorian.

THE GRADUATE Nassau, September 11, 2019.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, September 13, 2019, PAGE 5

PASTOR Jeremiah Saunders among the ruins of his church in High Rock, Grand Bahama. He said: “I spoke to the water: ‘Peace, be still.’ It never listened.”

Photos: Ramon Espinosa/AP

BPL repair costs after hurricane may be $50m

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net IT could cost Bahamas Power and Light at least $50m to repair the damage to its infrastructure caused by Hurricane Dorian, according to a well-placed source.

And even this figure could be on the low end of the spectrum, the source told this newspaper.

This comes as BPL sent an 11-man team to Abaco early today to begin the arduous process of fully restoring electricity on the island.

Notwithstanding the anticipated cost of repairs, the company yesterday sent trucks and additional material, which will be met with manpower today.

Earlier this week, BPL said housing options for workers on the island would be a challenge.

However, The Tribune was told this issue will be remedied through lodging in South Abaco. The south of the island fared better

EBONY Thomas looks at her phone a she sits on a sofa inside her shattered home in Mclean’s Town, Grand Bahama. The 15-year-old lost three members of her family to the hurricane.

(AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) than central and northern planting poles by this after- packages. noon. This team includes “The team of 11 is led portions.

In a statement yesterday four former employees by Assistant Manager of afternoon, the utility pro- who recently also received Family Island Distribuseparation tion Paul Tynes, a former vider said its team will begin voluntary

BAHAMIANS TRYING TO ENTER US TURNED AWAY AT AIRPORT

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

SCORES of Bahamian storm victims trying to enter the United States have reportedly been turned away at the Lynden Pindling International Airport.

According to The Miami Herald, there is confusion over whether requirements for US travel have also been somewhat altered, with airline officials telling the Florida daily that US Customs and Border Protection was now requiring some Bahamian travellers to have US visas along with a passport, instead of clean police records as the agency has required previously.

CBP agents are also apparently requesting proof of income, property ownership, utility bills, employer contact information and proof of pre-purchased return flights in some cases, it was claimed. The Tribune reached out to the US Embassy in Nassau on the claims, however a response was not sent up to press time.

Before Dorian’s destruction in Abaco and Grand Bahama, Bahamians could board US bound flights after presenting their passports and clean police records or US visas at a preclearance checkpoint; now many have said they face a longer screening process from CBP officials.

Some have said because

of the screenings, they either missed flights or were turned away.

The Herald said several passengers — some with visas, some without — who made it to Miami International Airport on Wednesday evening said they are only allowed to stay in the country for two weeks.

Travellers from Abaco and Grand Bahama are being subjected to extra screenings by US immigration agents in Nassau, passengers and airline officials say, the paper further claimed.

Rachel Thomas, an Abaco resident, was turned away Wednesday because she did not have proof of her earnings.

“I can’t prove I own property when all my documents were carried away by the storm. They are asking me for the impossible,” Ms Thomas from Abaco was quoted as saying.

She was rescued from her roof amid rising waters.

“How am I supposed to provide copies of my light bills when all I have left is the clothes I’m wearing?”

Jade Darling, 24, who arrived at MIA on Wednesday on Bahamasair with her Bahamian passport and police record was one passenger that missed a flight because of US officials questioning.

She noted that officials asked her for her boss’ name and contact information, as well as how

much money she had in the bank. They also wanted to know how bad the damage had been to her house on Abaco, and noted that officials were telling passengers not to enroll their children in US schools.

The Miami Herald said US Customs and Border Protection would only say the agency’s requirements for Bahamian citizens have “not changed.”

How long the person is able to stay in the United States has always been at the discretion of the CBP officer and varies on a caseby-case basis, the agency said.

Typically, the default length of stay is about six months.

However, CBP officers factor in several things when making their decision on how long the Bahamian citizen will get to stay.

“Each application is different and up to the officer’s discretion,” a CBP spokesperson told the Herald. “We always look at how many times the person has travelled to the US and how much time they’ve spent here during the year. We factor in whether or not we believe their intent is to stay here or eventually go back.”

A CBP spokesperson further referred the Herald to the Immigration and Nationality Act, which says agents can also consider a person’s assets, whether a traveller has certain communicable diseases, and criminal convictions.

overhead linesman with more than 25 years’ experience in the business,” the statement said.

“In addition to Tynes, the team includes four former employees who took the recent voluntary separation of employment package but who opted to come back and use their skills to aid in the recovery process. These are men with experience all over the Caribbean: they have worked in Dominica, St Kitts, Antigua, Bermuda and Jamaica, as well as all over the Bahamas and other places.”

It continued: “Together with the four team members who stayed in Abaco to begin the reconstruction process following the devastating passage of Hurricane Dorian, plus the influx of workers expected from other Caribbean Community nations under the CARILEC banner, we expect the team to have the 53 poles erected in South Abaco within the next 14 days.”

BPL sent prayers out to Abaconians and others who suffered loss as a result of

Hurricane Dorian, adding they were committed to restoring power to the island as quickly, safely and sustainably as possible.

On Monday, BPL said its infrastructure on Abaco has been “obliterated”, adding there were no standing electricity poles along the 16-mile stretch of road from Marsh Harbour to Treasure Cay. Additionally, one of two power lines running from Wilson City to Marsh Harbour is a total loss, while the other will have to be rebuilt as a great portion of it was damaged.

Given the extent of the damage, the power provider said rebuilding the network in Abaco will require a massive level of effort. As a result, the company plans to utilise relationships with partners in CARICOM through the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC).

BPL has also received offers of assistance from the United States and Canada.

PAGE 6, Friday, September 13, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Sweeting’s Cay in ruins but residents determined

BY DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE once picturesque island of Sweeting’s Cay is in total ruins but the more than a dozen remaining residents – who survived the fury of Dorian for two days – said the worst is behind them and they are determined to stay and rebuild, despite unliveable conditions there.

Most of the homes and structures were destroyed.

Houses were swept off their foundation, roofs were blown off, and some had collapsed in a pile of rubble. The stories of survival are surreal – two men held onto to a fig tree after their home crumbled and was overtaken by storm surge.

On Wednesday afternoon, a team comprising representatives from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the Department of Environmental Health Services, Social Services Department, and local government officials, took a ferry from McLean’s Town dock in East Grand Bahama to the cay.

In the channel, some 12 vehicles that had been swept out to sea during the storm were submerged underwater.

During the boat ride into Sweeting’s Cay, this newspaper observed that many of the homes along the shoreline were badly battered and destroyed. The Deep Water Cay Fishing Lodge had also suffered significant damage, and its barge that was swept miles away, is now resting in the middle of the road in the Pelican Point community.

As the team arrived at Sweeting’s Cay, no one was prepared for what they

CHIEF councillor Gladstone Russell at Sweeting’s Cay All Age School, which was completely destroyed. saw. The cay looked like with debris removal,” he a battlefield – debris explained. was everywhere, and the Mr Russell, who stayed island’s 12 businesses were on the cay with his family destroyed. during the storm, said his Buildings were destroyed, home and three boats were including the Sweeting’s destroyed.

Cay All Age School, as well It was an experience he as the BTC building, and its won’t soon forget. tower. The two churches – “The wind was beating on Ebeneezer Baptist church, me and my family for three and St Michael’s and All days and we were in water Angels Anglican Church – up to our chest – it was an were also destroyed. The experience I never want to government clinic sustained go through ever again in significant damage also. this world,” he said.

Although the front road Mr Russell said water had been cleared by resi- filled his house fast. “I had dents on the cay, the back to think quick and I kicked road was still obstructed by the back door open so the debris. water could flow out to Chief Counsellor Glad- stop the water level from stone Russell, a resident rising in the house, “he of Sweeting’s Cay, said recalled. the community has been While moving through “totally demolished,” and is the island, The Tribune saw in dire need of clean-up. that some residents, such as “We have maybe about Shawn Davis, had pitched three homes standing that tents on the foundation people can live in – many where their homes once are destroyed and there stood. They say they are is no need to come to the staying and will rebuild. cay,” he said.

He recalled how the “We need to start some surge came in and knocked general cleanup of the down the walls of his house. island, and we need some He and his brother swam equipment to assist us to a fig tree and held on for

A COLLAPSED house in Sweeting’s Cay. two days.

“It was really drastic, it was bad, I never experienced a storm like that, and I don’t want to go through it again,” he said.

Mr Davis also managed to save a 77-year-old man who was trapped in his home in flood water. “I got him out and try to go to my Grammy’s house, but the water rushed that down, and I went to the fig and we stayed there for two days in that tree,” he said.

When asked how high the water had gotten, Mr JOSEPH TATE, left, and Tyrone Duncombe.

Davis said that it was about A neighbour next door in the yard, and that’s why 17ft, the same height as sought shelter at Mr Dun- I took the chance of staying the arches of his house which had collapsed to the combe’s home after they here,” he said. lost their roof. “I heard my A RBDF commander ground.

Mr Davis said he was neighbour shout that their who was on the cay given a tent and some roof was gone,” he said. He said officers came to review other items from the US let them inside his home, and see the condition of the Coast Guard after the which was under five feet of area following Dorian, and water. to see what resources are storm.

Although he has expe- needed to restore the island Tyrone Duncombe weathered the storm rienced hurricanes before, to normalcy.

“Having looked at the with his wife, Michelle, and Mr Duncombe said nothing could have prepared him state of the island, there is their two teenage sons. tremendous devastation.

“I saw the roof start to lift for Dorian’s wrath.

“When we had hurri- But I am sure if the comup, and so we prayed and prayed, and the weather canes in the past, the water munity binds together, they keep coming down more only reached far as the can over a period rebuild and more,” he said. road, it don’t never come their community,” he said.

NON-PROFITS PLAY THEIR PART

By RIEL MAJOR Tribune Staff Reporter rmajor@tribunemedia.net NON-PROFIT organisations such as the World Central Kitchen, Samaritan’s Purse and the Bahamas Red Cross have all pitched in to bring relief to evacuees impacted by Hurricane Dorian.

Nate Mook, executive director of World Central Kitchen which prepares and delivers fresh cooked meals after disasters, said a 25-member team plus volunteers have fed thousands of victims.

Mr Mook said: “We have about 25 team members based in the Bahamas and plus hundreds of local volunteers supporting the efforts. To date we have prepared and delivered 160,000 fresh meals across three of the islands: New Providence, Abaco and Grand Bahama. We expect to surpass 200,000 fresh meals served by tomorrow (Friday) as we expect to produce about 30,000 meals today in total. We have full time kitchens operational on Grand Bahama in Freeport and here in Nassau at Atlantis.

“We also have a full-time team based on Abaco in Marsh Harbour and that team has been there since immediately after the storm had passed the team had arrived to be setting up there. We currently have three full time helicopters to make those deliveries as we are producing out of Nassau to get food to Abaco.”

He added: “We expect to have a fourth helicopter up and running by tomorrow, weather permitting, we all know the storm is brewing.

Currently delivering with assistance of partners on the ground with 22 locations on Abaco that includes Treasure Cay, Cooper’s Town, we are also delivering to isolated communities with our helicopter including some Haitian communities. With these helicopters, we have been able to support with 14 evacuations to date and that number changes every day.”

The NGO was founded in 2010 by Spanish celebrity chef, Jose Andres.

Mr Mook said to date, approximately one million pounds of food and supplies were brought in by the World Central Kitchen.

He said the NGO is working to procure as much local food as it can.

The group is also ensuring communities cut off from contact are getting the food they need.

“We also have an amphibious vehicle that allows us to deliver to places that were isolated or cut off, washed out or bridges are out. In Grand Bahama, we are working closely with Minister Sands, Minister Pintard, members of the Senate and the local community to make sure that food is reaching communities in need.

“In Grand Bahama, our team has been to High Rock and continuing to push east to try to get meals further and we are hoping today to reach some of the communities that are harder to hit.

I expect that operation in Grand Bahama will alone to produce 20,000 meals today and working closely with the local community.”

He added: “In Nassau we have been feeding the evacuee shelters including the large shelter here at Kendal G L Isaacs Gym and many of the other smaller shelters- this includes lunch and dinner. We also have set up a food truck that has been producing breakfast for evacuees at Kendal Isaacs.”

In Grand Bahama, international group Samaritan’s Purse has set up a mobile tent hospital. The island’s public hospital was damaged by flooding during the

hurricane.

The NGO’s vice president Ken Isaacs said the tent hospital has seen more than 232 patients in the past two days.

Mr Isaacs said: “There are still serious injuries out there, trauma injuries from the storm itself that are coming into us and we have seen a lot of chronic diseases.

“We’re working closely with the Ministry of Health on this and I want to recognise Dr Duane Sands for being very helpful.”

Bahamas Red Cross President Terez Curry said the charity now has 90 tons of aid in the Bahamas.

She said: “Hundreds of volunteers have donated their time and talents to help people in need. Red Cross volunteers have delivered medical care to evacuees arriving at Odyssey Airport. We are sorting and distributing relief supplies and food parcels.

“Individuals and corporations have been given financial donations to help us fulfil our mission of alleviating human suffering. These donations have come from all over the Bahamas and all around the world. Our teams hope to reconnect people separated by the storm with six successful cases of families reconnected so far.”

She said BRC is giving out food vouchers to storm victims and trained psychologists and nurses are providing health support to evacuees who have experience trauma.

BRC has opened a psychological support centre from 9am to 5pm for people impacted by the storm.

A 12-YEAR-OLD Bahamian girl who was separated from family by US immigration officials at a South Florida airport on Sunday was reportedly reunited with her family last night.

The Miami Herald reported that the US Customs and Border Patrol confirmed Kaytora Paul, 12,

was picked up by her mother and aunt last night after spending four days at His House, a shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.

The girl had been detained because she was not travelling with her biological parent after travelling with her godmother to Florida.

GIRL, 12, REUNITED WITH FAMILY

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, September 13, 2019, PAGE 7

Insurance payouts for Abacos could be $600m

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net COMPLETE restoration in Abaco will take a “massive” effort, former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham has said, adding insurance payouts in the hurricane devastated islands could be between $500m-$600m.

While Mr Ingraham told reporters he did not know how long it could take to rebuild Abaco, he said

there were “several low hanging fruits” that could work to the advantage of the island.

“The vast majority of that will be money spent back to restore Abaco,” Mr Ingraham said at a press conference on Wednesday.

“You know there was a hurricane in Grand Bahama where I think that the amount of money paid out was more. About $100m of that was for the Grand Lucayan hotel but

that hundred million dollars went straight back to China where it came from in the first place.

“In the case of Abaco you do not have any big hotel that’s been destroyed. It’s mostly homes and business and generally speaking it’s going to be used for the benefit of those in Abaco and the same thing applies to Grand Bahama, quite frankly because the damage down there was not as substantial as the damage in Abaco.”

Former Prime Minister Perry Christie said the same level of focus will be needed in Grand Bahama with an appropriate person leading the charge.

Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has appointed Jack Thompson and Algernon Cargill as hurricane relief and redevelopment coordinators in Abaco while Senate President Kay Forbes Smith has been appointed coordinator for Grand Bahama.

Regarding rebuilding efforts in Abaco, Mr Ingraham said: “There are a couple of low hanging fruits. We were in Grand Cay today (Wednesday), that’s a community of about 350 to 400 people.

“It has central electricity, it has reverse osmosis so the community has water.

It doesn’t take very much to get the electricity restored or to get the water operational.

“The owner of Walker’s

Cay next door has resources (and) manpower. He told me that he has already put together nearly $1m for the restoration of Grand Cay. “If they were given permission or if BPL could go and restore the couple poles and the two transformers and the fuses that are damaged his generation capacity would be able to hook in and generate electricity for Grand Cay and they could be up and running in a matter of days.”

FRUSTRATION AS DISPLACED STUDENTS TRY TO REGISTER

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

PARENTS and guardians of evacuated children from Abaco and Grand Bahama have expressed their frustration with the school registration exercise held at the National Stadium yesterday.

Their complaints included long wait times and a lack of transparency as to when they would finally be able to complete the process, with some parents worrying it will take weeks for their children to finally be placed in a school.

However, Education Director Marcellus Taylor defended the registration yesterday. While acknowledging the parents’ anger and confusion, Mr Taylor said officials are doing their best to make registration easier by having multiple agencies conducting operations at the stadium.

“I understand people are frustrated,” Mr Taylor told The Tribune. “I understand that. But the same way they were displaced and have to now make adjustments, we have to make adjustments to the normal process of things.

“Normally, the ministry, the department, we don’t get involved in registration. That’s a school based activity. But in order to facilitate these persons who were displaced…and not to turn people around (to various agencies), we set up something to try to make it easier for them.”

On Tuesday, officials announced all children who have been displaced

by Hurricane Dorian and are currently in New Providence will be placed in new schools by the Ministry of Education.

“No child in The Bahamas should be at risk of dropping out of school because of Dorian,” Education Minister Jeff Lloyd said in a statement released yesterday.

The Ministry’s statement also noted 10,000 displaced children have to be registered.

UNICEF representatives were also present yesterday to support the exercise.

School Registration Coordinator Zane

EUGENE FERGUSON Lightbourne yesterday outlined the impossibility of registering every child in a single day, especially as the process involves multiple government agencies.

Consequently, the first step is registering names and contact information so appointments can be made.

Mr Lightbourne added some people “ignored” the parameters that priority would be given to those from the shelters, not evacuees living elsewhere or locals who had not yet completed their child’s registration.

One mother who wished to remain anonymous said she was unaware that shelter victims would be given first preference. She was attempting to register her two children and two young cousins.

“We’re staying with a friend because…at least (staying with a friend provides) a little bit of normalcy for the kids,” she said. “We came from a shelter already in Abaco.

“So the (registration) process isn’t what I expected. I’d hoped… they would’ve had everything lined up where you could’ve gone to register the children in school.”

The mother added only her name and number were recorded.

“They said the next step would be that they would call us,” she said.

“They haven’t given us a timeframe…. I asked and they said they don’t know.

They’re trying to work with the crowd.”

Wilda Cadet, 22, tried to register her younger brother. Frustrated with the process, she left to attempt to register him directly at a school.

“They’re only taking your

EUGENE “GIO” FERGUSON

name and number and then they tell you it’s a lot of process you have to go through before they have to actually register you,” she said.

“So kids probably aren’t going to school probably until the last week in September.”

Mr Lightbourne outlined the procedure yesterday, noting it took approximately an hour for 20 people to complete the initial step of providing contact information.

“When that is complete, they go to health,” Mr Lightbourne said. “Health does the screening — audio, visual, immunization and test for communicable diseases.

“Once that screening finished, they go to education (for) the registration

PARENTS and students queuing at the national stadium. Photos: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff process, which will seek to put them in a school. Once that process is being done, once all that information is gathered, they see the other agencies like social services…youth and sports, they have to register for extracurricular activities.

“Once all of those agents stamp the application form in their particular area, those agencies send them back to be given a final letter to carry to the school, giving them entrance to the school.”

When asked how long these other processes take, Mr Lightbourne replied: “That estimation is difficult because it can’t be consistent. Some cases take longer than others…parents in some cases and four and five children.”

Mr Taylor also addressed parents’ concerns - particularly those of evacuees who are not staying in shelters. He added they were instructed to call ahead and make an appointment, to prevent swarms of people descending on the stadium.

“What we didn’t want to do was to create an inconvenience to individuals.

Those people who live in the shelters, we are working with the shelter manager to say ‘we are registering people in this shelter for school. Give us 20 and a time and we will work with them’. Simultaneously, we don’t know how many people are out there living with relatives.

“The idea was really to deal with both groups simultaneously. But because so

many people showed up… today, the effort was being made to try and deal with some of them on the spot but take as many of them today or tomorrow so they can be addressed…Some people in shelters weren’t registered today.

Regarding complaints, Mr Taylor said the registration process was designed to be a “one stop shop” to help evacuees.

“If they are coming from Abaco, if they don’t have immunization cards (and other documents). Even if they have those things, if there are public health concerns about people having cholera…and we want to just check to make sure everybody is fine for the public safety. How is this going to happen at a school?”

PAGE 8, Friday, September 13, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

A bigger bromance with Trump than with former PMs THIS week, in the wake of the utter devastation left behind by Hurricane Dorian, two former prime ministers stepped to the microphone, and a bromance bloomed.

NO MAN IS AN ISLAND Hurricane Dorian was a catastrophic event the likes of which Bahamians have never seen. Right now, as the country struggles to comprehend the extent of the blow we have taken in terms of loss of human life and treasure, two old, familiar faces in former prime ministers Perry Christie and Hubert Ingraham have reappeared on the scene.

Picture this: Ingraham and Christie sitting at a table together, jovial, friendly, circumspect, and pleading to be of use to the country.

It was a surreal scene, I’ll admit, because you would never imagine these two men, who have been mainstays of politics in this country for over decades, ever having to call a press conference to reiterate that they are prepared to do whatever is needed to help our country in its hour of need.

Accepting their help, and giving them both a “seat at the table” seems like a precarious position for our current prime minister, Dr Hubert Minnis, who has been juggling a million irons in the fire left behind

by Hurricane Dorian.

Based on the fact that former PM Christie has said he reached out to Minnis only to be hit with the ‘I’ll

get back to you,’ while former PM Ingraham said he doubts Minnis will welcome his advice, I have to say I’m surprised.

As unique as Hurricane Dorian was, so is the opportunity now before Doc to bring us through this storm in the best possible position to rebuild.

Maybe Doc doesn’t trust that the former prime ministers will not use their participation in the relief efforts to their political advantage. That’s fair. I wouldn’t trust two of the most successful political animals outside of Sir Lynden O Pindling this country has ever seen either.

That doesn’t make Minnis FORMER Prime Ministers Hubert Ingraham, left, and Perry Christie during their tour of Abaco to survey damage. insecure, it makes him just They will always have like it or not. thought would never win.

We’ve had our own “speas savvy as they are.

To much of the world, So it was no surprise cial relationship” with the What is not smart, the ears of world leaders have been to listen to Minnis, in his US that is being viewed though, is continuing to with whom they have culti- Bahamians “refugees,” latest national address, wax through a different lens sideline Christie and Ingra- vated relationships over the designated something I never thought poetic about Donald Trump now. We have had priviham when they are offering decades.

And they will always I’d see in my lifetime. We’re in light of the fact that the leges with easy travel to the to help out.

If Minnis (who is no have the gravitas that relying on a host of coun- American president has, US that is under threat now.

It’s a good time for Doc doubt under a lot of duress) comes with being a former tries to help us out. We so far, provided priceless prime minister. have foreign soldiers on assistance to our country in to pick up the phone and is a clever, political animal You know what we could active duty on our shores.

Dorian’s aftermath. call the US president, then too, he will recognise We need more money.

I wondered if their rela- speak plainly to the Bahawhat so many Bahamians use a little of right now?

Everything that Ingraham We need more good tionship would hit a snag mian people, so we remain already do; neither Christie when the US president on the same page. nor Ingraham will ever be and Christie, in their cur- press. rent incarnation, can bring We need the tourists to declared,“I don’t want to On another note, many prime ministo that imagikeep coming. allow people that weren’t Caribbean countries, the ter again. nary table We need, we need, we supposed to be in the United Nations, ComWhat they ‘We have two Bahamas to come into the monwealth Countries, will always statesmen-in-waiting where they need. don’t have Figuring out the best way United States, including Barbados, Jamaica, as be, however, willing to do some seats. forward is a lot for one man, some very bad people and well as Dutch, French and are men who We need in the form of PM Minnis, some very bad gang mem- German soldiers, Norway have a lot heavy lifting so all hands on to carry on his shoulders. bers and some very, very (I’m watching you, Equiof political go ahead and put deck when To be fair, I think he’s bad drug dealers.” nor), Japan, China and capital in this some boulders it comes to done better than can be But nope.

Doc kept of course the US have country. getting us expected. it moving with the stepped up to the plate to They will on their backs.’ through the But take my advice and #TrumpLove like Trump help. always have national take the help, Doc. never even made that The United Kingdom, rock solid connections. nightmare that Hurricane We have two statesmenbizarre statement. mired in their own politiThey will always have in-waiting willing to do cal turmoil, has also sent diehard supporters. They Dorian has brought.

Based on their press con- some heavy lifting so go in their Royal Navy to lend will always have instibig time assistance working tutional knowledge of ference the other night, the ahead and put some boultwo former law partners are ders on their backs. along with our own Police the inner workings of stepping into the limelight If it makes you feel and Defence Forces. government. whether Minnis likes it or better, keep one eye on On a side note, please not. your predecessors, and I’ll cease the unnecessary critiIs it not better to have be sure to keep one eye on cisms of the Police Force Go check Trump’s Twit- and Defence Force, who them working with the gov- them for you. ter feed, if you don’t believe are doing as best a job as ernment than criticising it? me.

I mean, former PM can be expected. I mean, The bromance is strong how can y’all be mad they Ingraham has already done with these two.

Minnis a huge favour by don’t have helicopters when The reality, though, is you all know darn well we bluntly stating what we that the United States gov- don’t have no helicopter already know - the true ernment has not granted money?

Hurricane Dorian death Bahamians fleeing to Flortoll is likely in the hundreds But I digress.

Watching the “man ida (not to be confused (if not thousands).

The Queen of the BahaThis is the “say what I crush” between Prime with Miami) to seek refuge mas, her Majesty Queen mean, and mean what I Minister Minnis and US temporary protected status Elizabeth II, also sent out a say” Ingraham Bahamians president Donald Trump (TPS). nice tweet from herself and has been quite something.

This is a tricky situation, Duke Philip with thoughts love.

I always knew the two made worse by that episode and prayers.

And former PM Christie, of those fleeing our country for all his shortcomings, is a would get along well.

With climate change and Trump is a conservative, who have, embarrassingly more monstrous hurricanes master at enunciating diffiand sadly, been made to on the horizon, it may be a cult positions, and spinning Doc is a conservative.

Trump hates the press, disembark a popular boat good idea for Doc or our The Bahamas’ tribulations Doc hates the press. because they didn’t have new Governor General C A in the best possible light.

Trump is a multi-bil- the right paperwork.

The criticism of the govSmith, to give Mr Trump’s Our plight has become a other good friend, her Majernment’s handling of the lionaire who many people wreckage left by Dorian are thought would never win political tool in the United esty, a call just in case we coming from our interna- an election, and Minnis is States, and this may not be need that lil backup ting in tional ‘friends” whether we a millionaire who many to our advantage. the future.

DONALD TRUMP LIKES MINNIS FOR LIKING TRUMP

BETWEEN QUEEN, COUNTRY AND TRUMP

Death Notice For

Bertha Ritchie, 65 affectionately called

“Birdie”

of #27 Yamacraw Road, New Providence, Bahamas and formerly of Scrub Hill, Long Island died at the Rand Memorial Hospital, Freeport, Grand Bahama on Thursday, September 5th, 2019.

She was predeceased by her parents: Alvin and Sarah Ritchie; brothers: Mitchell and Anthony.

She is survived by her daughter: Keara Ellis; sisters: Elizabeth Strachan (Willrow) and Kathleen Ritchie; brothers: Reginald (Sandy), Gordon (Daphney) and David (Jacqueline); sisters-in-laws: Jacqueline and Bridgette Ritchie and other relatives and friends Arrangements for the funeral service are being finalized and details will be announced at a future date

MURDER SUSPECT: POLICE TOLD ME THEY WERE GOING TO CRACK MY SKULL

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net A 21-YEAR-OLD man accused of murdering a father of four claimed yesterday he was denied basic hygienic rights and suffered threats of harm while on remand.

Chadwick Capron told Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson that prison officers told him “they going to crack my skull” while on remand for allegedly murdering Bryan Smith on April 22.

Additionally, Capron, aka “Oldie”, complained that prison officers don’t allow him to bathe, and do not allow him to exercise daily.

Capron’s attorney Wayne Munroe, QC, also mentioned the existence of

“horrendous” issues pertaining to his client’s case, so much so that his legal team “may need an anonymity order against the Crown”. A juvenile and a woman have also been charged in connection with the murder.

Meanwhile, Bjorn Ferguson, attorney for the 17-year-old suspect, said his client has been attacked on two occasions while on remand—one by a prison officer and once by an inmate.

Mr Ferguson also said his client was not given medical attention following those incidents until he went to visit him at the prison and requested that his client be seen by a physician.

Justice Grant-Thompson noted the concerns, and adjourned the matter to December 4, 2019. Capron and his coaccused were further remanded until that time.

In April, Capron, of McQuay Street, was charged before Magistrate Kara Turnquest-Deveaux on one count of murder in connection with Smith’s death.

The following month, Natasha Charles and one of the 17-year-olds were charged with conspiring to and consequently murdering the Montrose Avenue resident.

According to initial police reports, shortly after midnight on April 22, police responded to reports of a man being shot in the area of Forster Street, Chippingham.

Officers at the scene discovered Smith with a gunshot wound. Paramedics were called and attempted to revive the victim, but were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, September 13, 2019, PAGE 9

What happens when the story’s off the front page?

By Diane Phillips

A

T THE Fox Hill Community Centre, volunteers try to keep 56 children occupied. It isn’t easy. The shelter is at full capacity with 250 souls. It is one of the better ones, newly built, air-conditioned but still it is rough. People aren’t supposed to live like this, herded like cattle, sleeping in rooms with hundreds of strangers, sharing toilets with those they have never met, wearing the same clothes day after day.

Every one of them knows that no matter how tough it is now, they are the lucky ones. They are alive. Some of them lost loved ones and many are still in shock. Fox Hill MP Shonel Ferguson is trying to bring as much dignity to the setting as possible. She is appealing for a washing machine and dryer so sheets and towels can be laundered. She needs a microwave. The children need crayons and colouring books, the older ones need black and white writing books for school.

Chances are good that she will collect those supplies now. Everyone is in a frame of mind to give. The outpouring of love for the people of The Bahamas is so extraordinary it almost defies explanation.

A former Miami-Dade high-ranking official said in a strange way, he envied The Bahamas.

“If this had happened to us in Miami, do you think people from around the world would have come to our aid and rushed in to help? No way. People all over the world know The Bahamas and love the Bahamian people,” he said.

All true. But what happens when the headlines fade? What becomes of the calls for food and water, clothing and especially

housing when another story begins to creep in on Page One space? As a friend said, the impact of and the recovery from Dorian is not a sprint. This is a marathon and we are in it for the long haul.

The wisest among us will begin training for that marathon. If evacuees are to remain in shelters, each one must be equipped with laundry and proper bathroom facilities.

They must have cooking facilities or arrangements with those who provide meals on a consistent basis.

Whether it is the Bahamas Feeding Network or Hands for Hunger or one of the churches, there must be a consistency because when the headlines fade and the other volunteers and those who are responding to immediate needs retreat back into their everyday lives, the people living on cots will still be there waiting for a better tomorrow.

Their stomachs won’t stop begging for nutrition, their children won’t stop needing attention, their desire to connect with others in a social context won’t vanish.

Perhaps it is time to revive what turned out to be one of former Prime Minister’s Hubert Ingraham’s last attempts to pull volunteers together just before the 2012 election. Hundreds of us piled into a room, ready to lend service.

The PLP won that May election and the idea got swept away as fast as the old guard moved out of the offices they had occupied.

There was no crisis then, no Dorian to respond to and yet hundreds did. What about now? A rallying call for a non-political pool of volunteers to continue the work as the headlines fade and a running nation in still in lap one of a very long marathon.

RABBI Sholom Bluming hugging a Freeport survivor.

THROUGH ONE MAN’S EYES

LIKE many churches and organisations like HeadKnowles and Rotary, who have all done amazing work, the Jewish community has drawn supporters from as far away as Israel to assist. Provisions for 10,000 meals a day, setting up of 10 child-friendly spaces equipped with counsellors, palettes of water and personal items, especially for children and women, have all been arranged, but the rabbi’s description of what he saw and how it touched him bears repeating.

These words from Rabbi Sholom Bluming: This week I met devastation. I came face to face with it, and seeing it with my own eyes has left a lasting impact on me. Allow me to share.

I spent the last few days in Freeport. I was met with what was once a beautiful

island, filled with sprawling buildings, colourful homes and vibrant life. All of that is now gone.

I met people aimlessly wandering up and down the streets with no direction of where to go, people searching through the ruins of their homes to find a remnant of what was once there. I met a young girl and gave her a teddy bear, hoping it would bring a small measure of comfort.

She held it tight and started to cry and said, “Mom, this reminds me of the doll I left on my bed before our house fell down!”.

I met an elderly woman sitting on a stoop in front of a dilapidated and broken home, and upon seeing the case of water and food items we had for her, she told me, “I haven’t had a drop of water in 24 hours!”

I walked into a shelter that usually holds up to 100 people, but this day there were over 200. It was hot and sticky inside and I wondered if sleep was even possible in such a room.

There is barely any electricity or running water on the island and the shelters are no exception.

I met with people who have lost everything to the hurricane; their homes and everything inside it, and many who unfortunately lost family or friends. The amount of damage, despair and lack of basic necessities is heartbreaking.

I cried. I cried to see good people suffer so much. I found myself hugging them, and when I tried to let go, they held on. They needed the hug, they needed love, and they needed to know that people care.

Together with a group of

volunteers, we went around to visit people in the various affected areas. Our team gave out thousands of meals, water bottles and hygiene items.

We will be there for the people of Freeport in the long run. We are committed to helping them rebuild their city. We are in touch with building companies in Miami that will come down to repair damaged homes and broken roofs so they can begin their lives anew.

My friends, every person in the world is connected to one another, and when tragedy hits someone, it affects us too. We must be with them in their difficult times…

Wherever you are, open your hearts for the people of Freeport and Abaco and let us pray that God gives them the strength, comfort and healing needed.”

PAGE 10, Friday, September 13, 2019

MOURNING FOR MUGABE MARRED BY DISPUTE AND STAMPEDE

By ANDREW MELDRUM AND FARAI MUTSAKA ASSOCIATED PRESS

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Controversy over where and when former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will be buried and a stampede which injured several people trying to view his body marred the mourning for the deceased leader Thursday.

A crowd insisting to see Mugabe’s face in the partially opened casket surged past a police cordon, causing a crush in which several were injured at Rufaro Stadium in the capital’s poor Mbare neighbourhood where thousands had come to view his body.

“I want to see my father,” said Margaret Marisa, 63, one of those who pushed their way into the line. “I was a collaborator who supported him in the war against Rhodesia. I have supported him ever since.”

At least five people were carried away on stretchers and the severity of their injuries wasn’t immediately clear. Others limped away or were treated by Red Cross medics on the field. Riot police later restored order, at times using batons to strike those pushing to get into the line.

Mugabe’s widow, Grace, sat on a podium to the side of the sports field where Mugabe’s casket was under a tent at the centre. The event was marked by singing and drumming of traditional songs of bereavement.

The casket was open to allow a view of Mugabe’s face, eyes closed and calm.

Even the most raucous youths who were in the crush were subdued after walking single file past the casket.

A military helicopter later landed on the field and carried away the coffin with Mugabe’s widow, wearing a black veil, at its side.

The casket was returned to Mugabe’s Blue Roof house in the capital.

The dispute between Mugabe’s family and the government has overshadowed arrangements for Zimbabweans to pay their respects to the late leader.

Mugabe will not be given a state burial on Sunday at the national Heroes’ Acre site, family spokesman Leo Mugabe announced Thursday. The burial will be a private, family affair, he said to press outside Mugabe’s Blue Roof house.

THE TRIBUNE

JOHNSON DENIES LYING TO THE QUEEN, WINS BREXIT COURT CASE

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The British government insisted Thursday that its forecast of food and medicine shortages, gridlock at ports and riots in the streets after a no-deal Brexit is an avoidable worst-case scenario, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson denied misleading Queen Elizabeth II about his reasons for suspending Parliament just weeks before the country is due to leave the European Union.

In better news for the embattled British leader, a Belfast court rejected claims that the Conservative government’s Brexit strategy should be ruled illegal because it risked undermining Northern Ireland’s peace process.

Johnson took office in July vowing to get Brexit done on the scheduled Oct. 31 date, even if there is not a divorce deal to smooth the way. But many lawmakers, economists and businesses fear a no-deal Brexit would be economically devastating and are fighting him every step of the way.

This week, Parliament forced the government to publish its official assessment of the impact of leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement.

Document The six-page classified document, dated Aug. 2, said customs checks meant the number of trucks crossing the main freight route between Calais and Dover would drop by between 40% and 60% within a day of a no-deal Brexit, with disruptions lasting up to three months.

The supply of certain types of fresh foods and essential medicines would decrease, prices would go up and the poor would be hit hardest, it said.

The paper also described major disruptions for travelers between Britain and the EU and uncertainty for U.K. citizens living in Europe, and it said attempts to maintain an open border between Ireland and Northern Ireland would probably fail. It also said a no-deal exit could trigger major protests and even riots.

Johnson insisted the bleak scenario was “not where we intend to end up.”

“This is a worst-case scenario which civil servants obviously have to prepare for, but in the last few months, and particularly in the 50 days since I’ve been prime minister, we’ve been massively accelerating our preparations,” he said.

Opposition politicians said the “Operation Yellowhammer” document — the government’s code name for its Brexit preparations

BRITAIN’S Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits the NLV Pharos, a lighthouse tender moored on the river Thames, to mark London International Shipping Week in London, Thursday. The British government insisted Thursday that its forecast of food and medicine shortages, gridlock at ports and riots in the streets after a no-deal Brexit is an avoidable worst-case scenario, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson denied misleading Queen Elizabeth II about his reasons for suspending Parliament just weeks before the country is due to leave the European Union. (Daniel Leal-Olivas/ Pool photo via AP)

— proved that Johnson is reckless to consider leaving the bloc without a deal.

Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve said it was extraordinary that a U.K. government “is content on inflicting on the British public the level of disruption which is set out in the Yellowhammer papers.”

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the scenario was a “planning assumption” and would only come true if the government did nothing to offset it.

“We are spending the money on doing lots of things to mitigate those assumptions,” he told the BBC. The government said it would publish an updated version of the assessment soon that would show how much progress had been made.

The government refused to comply with another part of Parliament’s demand — that it hand over email and texts among officials and aides discussing the government’s decision to suspend Parliament in the run-up to the Brexit deadline. Michael Gove, the minister in charge of Brexit planning, said the request was inappropriate and disproportionate.

The order to release the Yellowhammer document was one of a series of blows to the government by opposition lawmakers and rebel Conservatives. They also passed a law that orders the government to seek a three-month delay to Brexit if no agreement has been reached by late October, and rejected Johnson’s call for a snap general election.

After suffering six defeats in the House of Commons in as many days, Johnson suspended Parliament for five weeks until Oct. 14, sparking outrage among legislators and several legal challenges.

The U.K. Supreme Court is set to consider next week whether the shutdown should be reversed, after conflicting rulings in lower courts.

Last week, the High Court in London said the decision was inherently political and “not a matter for the courts.” But Scotland’s highest civil court ruled Wednesday that the shutdown was illegal “because it had the purpose of stymieing Parliament.”

Advice Johnson insists he suspended Parliament so that he can launch a fresh domestic agenda at a new session next month. He said he had “absolutely not” misled the queen — whose formal approval was needed to suspend Parliament — about his motives. Critics say Johnson must resign if it turns out he lied to the monarch, who is Britain’s head of state and is bound to act on the advice of her prime ministers.

In Northern Ireland, claimants had argued that a no-deal Brexit would undermine agreements between the British and Irish governments that were struck during the peace process.

A no-deal Brexit could lead to the return of a hard border between the U.K.’s Northern Ireland and

EU member Ireland. An open border is crucial to the regional economy and underpins the peace process that ended decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland.

Judge Bernard McCloskey ruled that the “claim and counterclaim, assertion and counter-assertion, allegation and denial, blow and counter-blow” of the raging Brexit arguments belonged in the world of politics, not law.

“Virtually all of the assembled evidence belongs to the world of politics, both national and supranational,” he said.

If the claimants appeal the ruling, the case could join the two other legal challenges to Johnson’s Brexit plans before the Supreme Court next week.

Johnson said Thursday he was “working very hard” to strike a new deal with the bloc after the agreement made by his predecessor Theresa May was rejected three times by Britain’s Parliament.

Johnson’s envoy David Frost has been holding talks in Brussels this week but no breakthrough has been made, and the EU says it is still waiting for firm proposals from the U.K. “The U.K. hasn’t proposed any alternatives and anything that’s been legally credible and workable,” said European Parliament President David Sassoli.

The bloc’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, told reporters that “we are still ready to examine objectively any concrete and legally operational proposals from the U.K.”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PUTS TOUGH NEW ASYLUM RULE INTO EFFECT

By JULIE WATSON AND CEDAR ATTANASIO Associated Press

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — A new level of despair spread among tens of thousands of migrants waiting on the Mexican border to seek refuge in the U.S. as the Trump administration began enforcing radical new restrictions Thursday on who qualifies for asylum.

“The United States is the only option,” Dunea Romero, a 31-year-old Honduran, lamented with tears in her eyes at a shelter in Tijuana.

“She said she packed a bag and fled her homeland with her two boys, ages 7 and 11, after learning that her abusive ex-husband, a powerful gang leader, was going to have her killed.

The new U.S. policy would effectively deny asylum to nearly all migrants arriving at the southern border who aren’t from Mexico.

It would disallow anyone who passes through another country without first seeking and failing to obtain asylum there.

The rule will fall most heavily on Central Americans, mainly Hondurans and Guatemalans, because they account for most people arrested or stopped at the border.

But it also represents an enormous setback for other asylum seekers, including large numbers of Africans, Haitians and Cubans who try to enter the United States by way of the Mexican border.

It is perhaps the biggest change to U.S. asylum policy since it was established in 1980 and the most

consequential move of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration, a signature issue as he heads into a re-election campaign.

The Trump administration put the policy into effect the day after the Supreme Court cleared it to do so while legal challenges move forward.

Acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan called the high court’s go-ahead a “big victory” in the administration’s effort to curb the flow of migrants. Migrants and their advocates decried it as tantamount to a death sentence for many of those fleeing poverty and violence in their homelands.

Cases Jessica Collins, a spokeswoman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that handles asylum cases, said it will be retroactive to July 16, when it was announced.

Collins said it will help remove one of the factors that impel people to set out for the United States, “leading to fewer individuals transiting through Mexico on a dangerous journey.”

An unprecedented surge of asylum-seeking families from Central America has overwhelmed U.S. authorities during Trump’s tenure, prompting the unprecedented response.

Under another Trump administration policy, introduced in January, more than 40,000 asylum seekers have been forced to wait in Mexico while their cases wind through the clogged American immigration courts.

PAGE 12, Friday, September 13, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

‘UNREASONABLE’ TO REJECT BAIL AHEAD OF MURDER TRIAL

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THE Court of Appeal has quashed a Supreme Court judge’s decision not to grant a man bail ahead of his murder trial, as it would have been “unreasonable” to keep the accused

in custody for almost four years until that time.

Appellate Justices Sir Michael Barnett and Milton Evans both agreed it is a “grave matter” to deprive Kyle Farrington – who is “presumed by law to be innocent” – of his liberty for three and a half years awaiting trial. Sir Michael in particular

said that without undermining the safety of the public and/or “facilitating persons to gainsay the system by schemes”, the courts “must protect a person’s right to personal liberty.

As such, Farrington, accused of murdering Frederico Ramsey on September 7, 2017, has been granted

$20,000 bail with three sureties. He is to remain on the island of Exuma at all times ahead of his trial in 2021, and is to report to the George Town Police Station every Monday, Wednesday and Friday before 6pm.

Additionally, Farrington is ordered not to have any contact, directly or indirectly

with any witnesses.

Appellate President Sir Hartman Longley dissented from his colleagues, asserting that his fellow justices have paid “lip service” to the principles that govern appellate applications.

Sir Hartman further explained that it is not the role of an appellate court to substitute its own discretion for that of the trial judge, in this case Senior Justice Vera Watkins. Rather, Sir Hartman said the appellate court’s role is “merely to see whether the judge exercises her discretion judicially and reasonably”.

According to the ruling, on September 26, 2017, Farrington was charged with a co-accused in connection with Ramsey’s death.

Ramsey, 22, of Kemp Road, was found in the passenger seat of a stolen black Honda Stream that was parked outside a home in Hillside Estates with a gunshot wound to the head.

In February of that year, Ramsey was charged with the January 18 murder of 16-year-old Ricardo Fawkes in Kemp Road.

However, he was released from prison in April after the director of public prosecutions instructed that the charge be withdrawn.

Farrington’s initial trial date was fixed for December 3, 2018. Two days later on September 28, he applied for bail, but that was refused. The trial date was also vacated as neither counsel was able to proceed. A new trial date of January 28, 2019, was set.

On that date, both counsel for the appellant and his co-accused were still engaged in another trial. In February, the court offered August 5 as a trial date; that date was convenient for Farrington’s attorney but inconvenient to counsel for his co-accused who indicated he was unavailable until December next year.

The court fixed March 1, 2021, as the trial date with a backup date of November 30, 2020. Following that, Farrington again asked for

bail as it would have meant he would have been in custody awaiting trial for more than three years. Justice Watkins denied the application because she was of the opinion that the delay was caused by Farrington and it was likely he may interfere with witnesses or pervert the course of justice.

Farrington appealed, his chief argument being that Justice Watkins erred by not giving sufficient weight to the fact he had been in custody for a year and seven months, and a 2021 trial date would mean he would be in custody for three-anda-half years awaiting trial.

He further submitted that his constitutional right to a fair trial within a reasonable time as outlined in Article 20 of the Constitution had been breached.

Sir Michael said: “There can be no doubt that prima facie it is unreasonable for a person to be in custody for three-and-a-half-years awaiting trial. It is a grave matter to deprive a person, presumed by law to be innocent, of his liberty for a period of 3½ years awaiting trial. Without undermining the safety of the public and or facilitating persons to gainsay the system by schemes the courts must protect a person’s right to personal liberty.”

Justice Evans asserted that Farrington’s continued detention “can only be justified if the court is satisfied that there is in this case a need to protect society which is created than his right to freedom as a person presumed to be innocent of the crime alleged”.

“In my view…where the court is faced with the decision as to whether to detain an accused person beyond the three year period there must be compelling reasons to do so,” Justice Evans said. “It follows that even where bail had previously been sought and denied the spectre of the detention beyond three years must warrant a review of the status of the accused.”

Farrington was represented

by Wayne Munroe, QC and Jomo Campbell on appeal.