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12. FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 2014. THE VINCENTIAN
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We must not destroy our country for the sake of tourism ACCORDING to a resident who lives opposite the holiday resort in Buccament and (who) observed the construction of the resort, stones were removed from the nearby Buccament river and used to build a high back wall for the resort. The devastating consequence of the removal of the stones from the Buccament river, was that the Buccament riverbed dropped and was several feet below the level of the sea. Therefore, when the heavy rain came, the Buccament river water could not adequately flow into the sea. This caused a massive build-up of the Buccament river water, and the Buccament river was forced to change its course due to the sheer pressure and volume of water. The resort had been protected with the big stones in its wall, but this left the people and village of Buccament dangerously exposed. We must not destroy our country just to get a few dollars from tourism. The flood disaster on 24th and 25th December 2013 is a clear indication that there are foreigners who come to our country, under the guise of tourism, who will have no qualms about destroying the environment of our country as long as they can make a few dollars from tourism. There are many alternatives to tourism that can create thousands of new jobs and bring prosperity to our people. We can start our own billion
dollar tuna fishing and canning industry; we can build factories to export goods from agro-processing; we can export water in tanker loads; we can build a university to educate our people and create a nation of entrepreneurs and thousands of new small businesses, and we can rejuvenate the agricultural sector by using import substitution. These are just some of the alternatives to tourism we can turn to that will not destroy our environment and not cause misery for our people. As well as focusing on these alternatives, we should also take positive action to protect our environment. We must: * make preparations to reduce the effect and frequency of disaster; * make sure a proper environment impact report is done before big projects are started, and that the report is adhered to; * put in place appropriate infrastructure changes so that we adapt to climate change; * stop the cutting down of trees in the forest area and plant more trees in the forest area; * make changes to protect the watersheds, otherwise fresh drinking water will become scarce and we will see an outbreak of diarrhoea, cholera and other diseases caught from drinking dirty water.
We must make the SVG economy Green by investing heavily in renewable energy, local food production, innovation, small businesses, science and technology, and education to skill the workforce and change our economy so it is export-oriented. The global Green market is worth
more than £3 trillion and is projected to reach £4 trillion by 2015. Going Green is the clear alternative to tourism as the engine of our economy. Going Green will also protect our environment. SVG Green Party www.svggreenparty.org
The MHC: Attending to mental illness AS THE Mental Health Centre (MHC) gears itself towards a relocation to Orange Hill, supposedly a few months from now, we feature here the old institution and its service, and some issues concerning the public’s attitude as it relates to the mentally ill. Two areas to cover are: the importance of medicine in terms of treating mental illness, and misconceptions which the patients have about it; and the lack of education of the caregivers and relatives of the mentally ill. In my experience of interacting with both in and out patients, both groups and their relatives have the explanation or excuse for mental illness, that a person just trips out due to trauma, (e.g. a breakup or excessive mental workload), or is a victim of obeah and the like. However, the experts will affirm that it is not so. It is an illness often hereditary, or caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. In the same way as you would treat diabetes or hypertension, mental illness can be treated and controlled. Patients always complain about the feeling one experiences especially under sedation, and with general use
for the first time. Hard to get used to are the side effects of some of the medications. However, there are at least two very effective side effects medicines offered at the Mental Health Center. In reality, if you stay on the medication and take it under direction, there would be no need for revisits as many patients do to the hospital. There needs to be a massive reeducation of the public, the families and patients. Also we hope that the powers that be take steps to import more current medications, a few of which have no side effects at all. L.W. is a returnee to the MHC. He is currently in a situation where he will have to continue to reside there. His complaint was that the medication spoilt his ability to concentrate and be creative in his chosen field - music. That can be true to an extent, however, the aphorism “God gives us not more than we can bear’, applies. The fact is that a well regulated diet and natural dietary supplements can offset the long term problems to be expected with taking medication. A pure spiritual connection to the higher power can also play its part.
Signs of the time THE SON of the Most High and liberator of humanity gave us some signs preceding his second coming to set the kingdom of God on earth. Many so-called Christians and nonChristians do not believe that. Jesus taught his disciples and us today to pray for that kingdom to come to earth, not that we go up to heaven, but ‘God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven’. (Satan will be kicked off planet earth as he was kicked out of heaven) Before we look at the signs of the time, let us look into the mind of our creator, God, to see the reason why he created man and placed him on earth. ………. Let us make man, (how?) in our image and likeness, (why?) and let them have dominion over every living thing on earth. Did God confirm that after he finished making man from earth and breathe life in him? “And, he blessed them and said unto them be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over everything that moveth upon the earth.” (Gen. 1:26-28). We see God’s plan (implementation and commission) for man to govern planet earth. How Satan got between God and man? Lucifer, a name which appears only once in the Bible (Is. 14:12), was the chief musician and light bringer in heaven. He saw God take earth and make a dead man. He didn’t see when God breathe life into
man. Lucifer was upset because he did not see how life was placed into the dead man, Adam. He started a campaign, and one third of the angels believed and followed his rebellion. God kicked them out of heaven to earth, then his name was changed to Satan, the devil. He deceived Eve to make her believe that right was wrong. Adam fell into the deception. As earth’s population grew man got more evil because of Satan’s magical and witchcraft influence. Man enslaved man, exploited and oppressed one another. Pharaoh in Egypt did it, but when Moses and Aaron used the power of God against Pharaoh and his magicians, they couldn’t withstand the power of hail and fire (Ex. 9). Down the line of history, many politicians, religious authorities, businessmen and leaders used that satanic witchcraft power to enslave, exploit and oppress people. It is still rampant in our world today. There is much more to learn, but we are left to think as we look at the signs of the time. Just like the signs in Egypt and in the days of Noah, so shall it be today. Change in the weather and in human nature, man will be confused, distracted, cornered, embarrassed, mystified, puzzled, worried, troubled — Jesus said these words in one word, ‘perplexity’ (Luke 21:25). Christian Democrat