True Bermudian justice

February 4, 2004

Dear Sir,

When our Bermuda botanical and environmental scientists discuss the vegetative and environmental destruction caused by Hurricane Fabian, invariably, they discuss, identify and stress the importance and advantage of our native plants over foreign invasive plants in establishing and sustaining our natural environment. We seem to grasp the logic at the vegetative level, Mr. Editor. However, when our Bermudian political and social scientists discuss the political and social destruction that is currently taking place by the current actions and current activity of Hurricane Vereker, some of these same vegetative understanding people can't seem to grasp that equally true is the fact that our local native Bermudian judges are more important and have advantages over foreign unnatural invasive judges in establishing and sustaining our natural Bermudian judicial and social environment.

Only Bermudian judges can deliver the Bermudian, deep-rooted, sun-baked, salt-watered Bermudian justice that Bermudians understand and rightfully deserve. Let's face it Mr. Editor foreign judges can only deliver foreign-flavoured justice!

Not only is this a logical scientific argument for rooting out foreign plants and foreign judges but more importantly it is a political and social argument for rooting out the entire British colonial system, if you will the entire British colonial matrix which is foreign, unnatural, invasive and quite frankly Anti-Bermudian.

Mr. Editor, right now we don't need anything foreign, any foreign plants, any foreign banks, any foreign judges or any foreign governors. Indeed Mr. Editor, we don't need anything Anti-Bermudian especially now when we as a people are actively and transparently preparing for our independence!

DR. AMENEMHET TAMERRY

Pembroke

Bigger is not always better

February 10, 2004

Dear Sir,

To quote Mark Twain, "you can go to heaven if you want. I'll just stay right here."

For those of us who visit Bermuda frequently and have fallen in love with the Island and its people we share that same feeling. Between the natural beauty of Bermuda and its unique architecture this island has a charm all of its own and is unlike any other.

Why then would anyone intentionally want to make changes that would risk loosing any piece of this delicate beauty? The partial demolition and redevelopment of the Newstead Hotel to a much larger scale would seem to do just that.

With the chance of disrupting the environment, wildlife, and cause unnecessary noise and pollution to its residents this project does not make sense nor does it seem fair. Newstead may not have any historic significance nor display the "quintessential Bermudian character," it does however stay "in tune" with the architecture of the neighbourhood and the Island.

I've always thought of Newstead as a special place and it saddens me to think of it being destroyed. This is a small island and the people are already cramped, why clutter it with overgrown hotels etc. Bigger is not necessarily better.

PAM BEDFORD

Champaign, Illinois

Barely getting by

February 10, 2004

Dear Sir,

To "Frustrated in Warwick", I wish I was in the position to assist you. From one single mom to another I hear you loud and clear. Why is it that there are so many Bermudian-born single mothers screaming for affordable housing?

I live one pay cheque away from doom. I pay $2,000 per month for an antiquated two-bedroom apartment. I returned to live in Bermuda three years ago. Actually returned with something to offer my country. Good upstanding citizen, proud Bermudian, happy to be home. Was asked to vote. For what? I voted for the first time in my life and guess what? I may only be one individual but like Hell if I vote again.

Reached out for assistance and guess what again, we can't help you we don't have anything at the moment. It would make me feel different if it were just me finding this housing thing to be such a big problem but I hear this same story just about every day.

I get paid once per month and I have $700 left over to pay my utilities. What about food? I have searched high and low for another apartment but can't seem to find anything less than the $2,000 I already pay. It's sad. I am barely getting by and not really living!

NOT IMPRESSED

Hamilton Parish

Get over it

February 10, 2004

Dear Sir,

I was amazed to hear Ed Ball of the Bermuda Public Service Union on the news tonight whining about the number of guest workers in the workforce, taking our jobs and eroding our culture.

Mr. Ball actually identified the real problem without even knowing it when he described young Bermudians who are unemployed "for whatever reason".

What is the reason, Mr. Ball? Perhaps if you looked at that question you would find some answers.

Mr. Ball and everybody else who blames all our troubles on guest workers and people who don't look like us need to get their heads out of the sand. None of these people are taking anything from us that we haven't given them. We need them more than they need us.

The prosperity this Island continues to enjoy in the virtual absence of tourism, escalating crime and rampant apathy is entirely the result of international business and the people who facilitate it.

These companies will hire the best people they can to staff them and the painful truth is that there are not enough capable Bermudians to do all the jobs so expatriates must fill the ranks.

This isn't news.

We've known for years that international business requires lawyers and accountants and a host of other professional qualifications. Are we introducing any of these subjects in schools? No.

Are guidance counsellors churning through the statistics collected by the Payroll Tax office, Immigration and CURE to find out what jobs are in demand, what the qualifications are and what the salaries are? No.

Is the Government taking a strategic interest in ensuring that every young person with the desire to complete tertiary education can do so regardless of their economic means. No.

Do qualified Bermudians always get a crack at the top job? No. But what entitles us to think we should?

These are largely international companies and while most are good corporate citizens and hire Bermudians where they can, at the end of the day it's their company and if all their execs come from their home town that's their prerogative. The alternative is that they go elsewhere.

If you want to guarantee Bermudians at the top you had better start your own company.

Simply having the dumb luck to be born here and staying awake through the BSSC is not enough to compete in a global economy.

Government, the schools, the unions and every parent on the Island has to get it on board that this is not a closed shop and the moment you try to make it one you cut the last leg out from under our economy.

Guiding and facilitating our young people on education and career paths which will allow them to compete on a even footing for the jobs they want is the only way to ensure we get to participate in the game as anything other than a spectator.

Mr. Ball would also do well to remember when he grumbles about being served by someone with a heavy accent, that person knows at least two languages in addition to having a skill set which has put him ahead of the competition.

Many of us barely have English under their belts, let alone a marketable skill.

So Mr. Ball, how about starting a scholarship fund with some of those union dues, or how about getting some of those statistics out in the public eye so young people can know what their options are. And as for our culture Mr. Ball, its fish cakes and marbles, get over it.

JONATHAN DYER

Hamilton Parish

Limit the 'rock doves'

January 9, 2004

Dear Sir,

It is getting a bit tiresome to hear so much about problems with birds, namely feral pigeons, and the only answers we get from a veterinarian is the concern for these introduced and troublesome pests.

To begin with they are not native, but escaped from or released by bird fanciers. Because we don't have the predators to control them, they have become a very real public health concern. They can cause serious intestinal problems and they were greatly feared in many cities in Europe because they were suspected of spreading pathogens for tuberculosis.

Since the world is becoming ever more crowded, and people travel more and many diseases have become immune to most of the antibiotics it is in the interest of all inhabitants of this island to prevent contaminants destroying water sources.

I am attempting to keep this short and I am also trying to avoid being patronising, unlike some of the correspondents in this verbal battle. But I firmly believe that for the good of all the people, as well as our wildlife we need to find a way to limit the rampant spread of rock doves (pigeons).

There is one point that nobody has brought to the fore and I consider it the key to sorting out the entire argument:

The reason the longtails are no longer nesting in their ancestral cliff holes is the fact that they can not use areas contaminated by the pigeons. Namely the pigeons carry a specific species of malophagans (or feather lice) which can not be tolerated by the longtails, therefore the latter have to avoid their former "homes".

We have an almost identical problem with sparrows, who carry the poultry feather lice which are then transmitted to our bluebirds and the babies are not strong enough to handle these blood suckers and die.

Anyway, there is no time left for dithering around and I hope our new Minister of the Environment will authorise appropriate solutions (which are well known to our conservation division), and clean up our environment.

We are going to find out that in order to protect our national bird, we have to undo what some people have perpetrated upon our environment- namely releasing pet animals which degrade what little open space we have.

HELGE TRAPNELL

St. David's

A safe seat for toddlers

February 9, 2004

Dear Sir,

After reading the letter from the retired Police officer on bike safety for children, I felt a need to write a letter of my own.

I disagree that holding a child in front of oneself is a safe practice. This is done in one of two ways: not holding the child at all, or holding the child with one hand while driving with only one hand (holding a child with your legs is not safe as you need to put a leg down when stopping). I also do not believe that a child riding behind the driver is any safer.

My solution? The Stamatakis child seat for scooters and motorcycles. We have found this to be the best solution. At a cost of approximately $250, there is no reason for a parent not to have one if they plan on driving with their child on a bike. The child seat is solidly attached to the bike seat with adjustable straps and has stirrups into which the child can place his/her feet. The child is prevented from falling off the bike as the child seat has higher sides (with handles) and a comfortable back rest. Once the driver is sitting down, the child is surrounded and cannot fall off the bike.

We have been using the Stamatakis (which is used primarily in Europe) for almost two years now and have found it to be a very safe method of transportation. I would definitely recommend it for children two or three years and up. These child seats are available at Oleander Cycles.

PRUDENT MOMMY

Paget

A struggling people

January 28, 2004

Dear Sir,

I am one who is deeply concerned about the future of Bermuda. From where I sit, I see a failing and falling Bermuda. This little island has been greatly blessed by God in many of ways. Indeed Bermuda is today's land of milk and honey, but for whom?! Certainly, not the average, every day, hard working Bermudian.

We are struggling as a people. Working day and night just to make ends meet.

We live in a society camouflaged with deceit, lies and, a society were it is almost impossible for the average Bermudian to by his or her own home. It's becoming so that we have hell just trying to find a job paying a salary fit enough for survival.

This should not be. The dehumanising factor and social ill must be addressed, and redressed. This particular problem is slowly, but surely shackling the souls, crippling the spirit, and destroying the social skills in many of us, especially the children of this land... our future Bermuda.

For too long we've set down on our rear ends bickering and complaining about the double standards, social immaturity, high costs of living and homelessness. Those days must come to an end. We can not afford to wait another general election, hoping for true change.

We can not and must not wait another year, month, week, day, hour, minute, or second! The time is now! Now Mister Editor. Now is the time that we the people of this land, (whether we be white, black, or Portuguese) step up, stand strong, and address these crucial issues! We must come together and find solutions to these problems.

The bible tells me, and I quote; "Where there is no vision, the people will parish."

We have been a people without vision for far too long. God, ... God has called me out of my own squandering hell, and has placed a burning passion in my heart to see the justification of the people of this land. Therefore, I am compelled to write this letter.

I write not as one greater or lease then anyone, but as your deeply and genuinely concerned fellow countrymen. If we don't act now, it will be the children of this 'our' land whom will suffer the greater consequence, ... and with their blood on our hands.

Like the great late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I too have a dream, and I see a Bermuda for the Bermudian people. A Bermuda were the average Bermudian makes a living and is able to put some money away for savings, after playing field! A Bermuda minus the small and large families sleeping in their car, tents, parks and bus shelters, due to homelessness!

A Bermuda were the people, from the old men and women, down to the youngest of child, is not illiterate or ignorant to our national anthem! A Bermuda were the anthem is song with dignity and pride! I see a Bermuda were the people take a special pride in raising the Bermuda flag, whether it's waving in the wind on a pole in some proud Bermudians yard, or on the antennas of the cars on a traffic jamming Monday morning on 'East Broad Way'. I see a new Bermuda! A proud Bermuda were humanity has blossomed into the level of maturity God has predestined!

Not too long ago, I sat in my prison cell watching the news. What I observed turned my stomach, angered me, and sadden me greatly, all at ones. You see, I was watching a group of young teenage Bermudians who were in a foreign land representing Bermuda in a sports event. Now when these youngsters were asked to sing the Bermuda national anthem, they stood there looking humiliated. Not one of them new the anthem. We were and still are the only people who know not their own national anthem. I don't know just how that makes you feel, but as far as I am concerned, it is intolerable! What are you teaching my child in school?! Perhaps I need to stand up and be accounted for. I should have taken the initiative to teach the song to my child, but how am I to teach it to them until I learn it for myself?

We have little or none, when it comes to Bermudian pride. You see, with pride comes dignity, and dignity begets a sense of will. A 'backbone' and an aching hunger to see the wrongs in your path made right. With out a sense of Bermuda pride we will continue down the dysfunctional path we are on. Without Bermuda pride, we have no go to and no come from. No sense of worth as a people. There for, 'Bermuda pride must be advocated, for the element of such a pride is the very foundation we as a people need. Upon this foundation we can and will come together and build Bermuda into the home land, and I emphasise (home) she is suppose to be. Thank you and May God bless Bermuda.

RODDELLE E. LIGHTBOURNE

Westgate Correctional Facility