iven her work-related experience, there probably can?t be many people better equipped for the job of Director of Human Affairs than Myra Virgil.

The former social worker has already enjoyed stints as an executive officer at CURE (Commission for Unity and Racial Equality) and also worked on investigations at the Human Rights Commission (HRC).

Her current job heading Human Affairs now includes overseeing and co-ordinating both CURE and the HRC, as well as the busy Consumer Affairs board. So it?s clear that she?s bringing plenty of know-how to her new Government role.

And that knowledge looks like it is going to be crucial in getting to grips with challenges that lie ahead ? some of which have already landed squarely on her desk.

One of Dr. Virgil?s first tasks will be to sort out ongoing problems at the troubled HRC, a body that has hit the headlines frequently in recent months.

Things got so bad in July that Minister Dale Butler declared himself ?very worried? with its performance when it emerged that its chairman had resigned and its lead civil servant was still involved in disciplinary proceedings.

Controversy had flared earlier over the commission?s handling of the infamous David Burch ?house nigger? complaint, a decision that led some to question the effectiveness of the body, although the HRC stressed the Minister?s use of the word was not a Human Rights Act breach. It ruled that Sen. Burch?s use of the term on his radio show was, though distasteful, not illegal.

The HRC was also criticised after dismissing complaints about Premier Alex Scott, when it found that Mr. Scott had not breached the Human Rights Act in an e-mail he mistakenly sent to entertainer Tony Brannon which said he was tired of ?taking crap? from people who ?look and sound like Brannon?.

Adding to what seemed like a general sense of upheaval, the HRC also attracted heavy criticism over its failure to produce annual reports for the last four years.

It?s clear that Dr. Virgil has plenty on her plate.

But she seems to have hit the ground running. And in her first interview since she started work in July, she told that those four ?missing? reports would be on Minister Butler?s desk by the time Parliament resumed in the next few weeks. ?The Minister will have his reports for the opening of the House of Assembly and we are very pleased to be able to provide them to him,? she stated. Dr. Virgil has the reports problem solved less than two months after starting work, however, she gave a guarded response when asked why weren?t they handed in sooner.

?The HRC has been through some challenges and I?m really not at liberty to say all of the different challenges. This is the outcome of one of those challenges.?

Asked how tricky a task the turnaround was, she replied: ?Producing these reports has been a team effort. The HRC itself had a lot of input into writing them and the previous director put a lot of effort into bringing them to fruition.

?I came in and was able to co-ordinate. The Minister was very serious about getting them produced and I suspect he?s very happy that they have been.?

The process of hiring a new executive officer for CURE and the HRC has started, and Dr. Virgil also confirmed that plans were in hand to shake up procedures and policy at the HRC. Public forums on the work it carries out will be rolled out soon.

Dr. Virgil is equally careful when asked about the commission?s decisions on Minister Burch and Premier Scott. In the wake of the ruling, some questioned whether the HRC had teeth. Although she said she could not comment on the specifics of the cases, Dr. Virgil sounded a confident message on the body?s relevance and its future.

?The HRC works from a piece of legislation. The commissioners are people of this community who are there to serve and who have the interests of the community at heart.

?I?m not only confident but I?m certain that as a team we can offer and will continue to offer a service to the community, and go above and beyond that in future.?

She also sounded a business as usual message for the commission, at the moment running two members down from a full strength team of 12.

And she praised the work of previous director Brenda Dale, who she described as the catalyst who enabled her to come in and deal with a ?relatively clean slate?.

Dr. Virgil added: ?We have some organisational issues to resolve but the office is still open and ready to take complaints, even though it?s been through some change. We have had several meetings in terms of getting it back on course.?

orn and raised in Canada, Dr. Virgil is Bermudian from her father?s side. He grew up in Sandys before moving to the US where he met his wife. The couple moved to Canada, where Dr. Virgil was born and raised, although there were regular vacations back to the Island.

During a successful stint as a social worker in Canada she rose to the rank of child protection network manager, the youngest manager ever in an organisation that dealt with high risk and vulnerable youngsters on a daily basis.

She returned to Bermuda in 2001 after securing three degrees, finishing her social sciences PhD through an overseas mentoring scheme.

She decided to move into human rights work at the HRC, a field she says requires similar skills to those needed in her previous career. Learning to listen was key, she said.

?I found there were a lot of parallels between human rights protection and protecting the rights of children. The work was similar in terms of how do you conduct an investigation, how to speak to people and how do you treat complaints.

?People are coming in with stories of what they feel are real violations of their person.?

Dr. Virgil added: ?What struck me was that when people are in pain it manifests itself in very similar ways whether it be emotional or physical. They needed someone to listen to their story and in some cases that was enough.

?It was just a case of getting it off their chest.?

Work also included presentations on human rights legislation at various companies across the Island. In June 2003, Dr. Virgil moved to CURE with the aim of kick-starting a dialogue on race issues in Bermuda with leaders of the community. Under her watch nearly 100 people flocked to the Harmony Club for a leadership diversity forum the following January.

?CURE had been off the map for a period of time and it was hard with two staff to do the work that the organisation needed to do,? she recalled.

She said that after meeting with different employers, and outlining CURE?s goals, they started to put in place written policies on equality. ?This could not have happened without face to face interviews.?

URE?s latest report, an annual survey of the workforce in which employers are told how the racial make-up of their firms compare to others on the Island, is due to go before Parliament soon, and Dr. Virgil said she was not able to give any insight before it was published.

Calls have been made in some quarters for a truth and reconciliation committee to be set up in a bid to heal the Island?s racial wounds. In July, Government said it would not consider setting up such a commission to help Bermuda overcome its painful past, rejecting a call by backbencher Ren?e Webb for one to be formed. Dr. Virgil did not comment on that, but she told how her views on race had changed over the years, which have included voluntary work with the recently re-launched the community-driven, anti-discrimination group, CURB (Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda).

?When I was in University, I had very youthful and somewhat inflexible convictions with regard to race,? she recalled. ?As I?ve matured, I believe that I am more objective, and perhaps more prepared to look critically at the perspectives on race.

?As a result and personally speaking, I am uncertain but hopeful about the direction that race equality is taking.

?The recent activities and rallies in response to community events have been heartening.

She added: ?As a community we really did need to be, and feel, compelled to take action. In the last few months, I have heard people taking many risks with the discomforting dialogue of racism.

?These dialogues cannot always be comfortable ? they are painful and they are personal. I encourage the people of Bermuda to stay the course on this most challenging issue.?

Meanwhile, changes planned include more training for Board of Inquiry members. They sit on long-running cases that go to the HRC that can?t be settled through mediation.

A review of the Human Rights Act has also just started, although Dr. Virgil is quick to distance this from the events of the summer, when Government backbencher Ren?e Webb?s attempt to protect gay rights in the Act was rejected amid controversial scenes in the House of Assembly.

Introduced in 1981 and based on a Canadian model, she said that one criticism of Bermuda?s Human Right?s legislation was that it had been amended on a piecemeal basis ? and now needed to be reviewed as a whole. Dr. Virgil would not be drawn on possible changes that could lead to specific protections for certain groups in society, but added: ?We have to consider the current day issues that are out there. A good review of legislation will take into account the social climate and human rights issues of the day.

?I can?t be specific but it will be a good and thorough review.?