Make your voices heard

June 18, 2005

Dear Sir,

I can't believe my eyes as I read today's headline, “Man who rode over wife gets suspended sentence”. I am writing hoping that someone can explain to me how one person, who causes another person bodily harm, as Mr. Lima did, can walk out of a court room without punishment and yet a person who abuses an animal gets at least a fine or goes to prison.

Mrs. Lima, I feel for you. Neither you nor any other wife is her husband's property. Your husband had no right to harm you - regardless of the circumstances. In this case, I believe that once again our legal system has failed yet again. Sadly, it not only failed you, but in my view, it has also failed the entire population of women on this Island.

Women, we must get involved in ensuring that we are protected. There are some local women's groups that are fighting for us (i.e., Women's Resource Centre, Physical Abuse Centre), but they cannot do it alone. They need our help and support. We must come together to collectively make our voices heard. Yes, we have a say. Yes, we matter. Yes, we are valuable. But, if we don't exercise our right to be heard and come together and lend a hand and our support, who will protect the rights of our mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, nieces? We obviously cannot rely on our current legal system to do so. Therefore, I encourage you to call on your Government officials, write letters, make phone calls, join forces with women's organisations - let's make our voices heard, not just for the sake of making noise, but with the expectation that change will take place in this Island.

Someone once said, “in our hands we hold the seeds of failure or the potential for greatness”, Women, we are important, let's sow our seeds in community with the intent to harvest greatness. Our future and the future of young women growing up behind us depends on it.

ROBIN S. TUCKER

Southampton

Our rights come first

June 20, 2005

Dear Sir,

Your headline in today's paper asks the question: “Do expats have rights?” In my honest and not so humble opinion they have too many. They have the right to housing. The right to a job. The right to a liveable wage. The right to a plane ticket to and from home. That makes at least four rights. There are quite a few Bermudians that only have the right hand that they were born with. They have no home, no job, no wages and can't afford a plane ticket. So, Mr. Editor, you should be asking where are the rights for Bermudians?

There is supposed to be a housing crisis in Bermuda. But it is quite obvious it is only a housing crisis for Bermudians. Mr Yozzo stated that he worked here two years ago. And the foreign worker can't come to Bermuda without an address. So that means Mr. Yozzo has been able to find two apartments in two years while some of us have been on waiting list for years. There is something wrong with this picture. And then we wonder why there is so much frustration and the like in our little Island home. I said to myself when they said that they were giving me the option to gain a full British passport they want me to go and live in England and leave Bermuda to outsiders. Well I have news for them. I am not going anywhere. Enough is enough. Bermudians unite, let's stop this madness before it gets any worse. I live in my own home but I feel my fellow Bermudians' pain.

If these same Bermudian employers found affordable homes for their local workers, gave them a liveable wage and threw in a excursion to New York or somewhere else just like they do for the foreign worker, they would probably get some good local workers. Because this is not the first foreign worker that didn't work out and it won't be the last. So I am sorry, Mr. Yozzo, like the lawyer said, if you think you have been wrongfully dismissed, seek legal advice and take it from there. People get fired every day and I don't see your case as anything special.

There needs to be a moratorium on all work permits, no matter the skill level. Because if you keep bringing more and more foreign workers here and finding places for them to stay while Bermudians remain on waiting lists, the crime and frustration is not going to get better it going to get worst. And remember I told you so.

LESLIE SMITH

Sandys

I'm doing my part

June 24, 2005

Dear Sir,

It all started about two months ago. I was walking east along Front Street and as I passed the Cenotaph I looked up at it and was moved (still) that a fairly close relative died on the battlefield at the Pas de Calais a few weeks before the Armistice in 1918. There, at the foot of that most serious monument, an empty beer bottle had been placed. I was offended, went over, picked up the bottle and carried it to the nearest litter bin. To think I'd not been in that habit before!

As I walked north on Court Street, I picked up other bits of paper and bottles and those weird boxes take-out food comes in. Seemed fair to do for Court Street as I'd done for Front. I could write an essay on this subject, or a 25-minute monologue that I'd deliver in person from a pulpit or under a tree. Why not?

This morning, early, I picked up the waste on the west side of Cedar Avenue on to Victoria, and eventually to Church. How about this? People may think I'm crazy, but it would be wrong to say: “Why are you doing that, you fool?” I am performing a service and cannot be prevented from doing it. Odd things I've found? Dollars and other coins, and notes (one was for $50) and an old three-penny piece. Used condoms (I don't touch) in very odd places. We need to encourage random litter collection. Give some folks latex gloves and tools to get rubbish out from far inside hedges and over embankments, and go to it. Meanwhile, if you know there's pocket money in it with some luck, that alone might get the kids having at it.

ROSS ELDRIDGE

St. George's

Why respond that way?

June 20, 2005

Dear Sir,

My mother used to use a saying that went “You can catch more flies with honey”. Maybe our Minister of Tourism should think about this saying. After reading today's newspaper I am wondering if the Government actually thinks things through before making comments or even implementing ideas. I mean don't get me wrong I am not some person totally against the Government but some of the decisions and statements by our elected officials have me really mystified.

In today's paper (June 23) Dr. Ewart Brown took offence to the “deliberate campaign of destruction” by some of our schools against the “Pop By” campaign. Well it seems to me that these principals are not actually taking a stance against the campaign but simply voicing opinions of the teachers and parents of their students. These people have taken on a task to not only educate our young people but also give them some sort of guidelines for life. Also in every statement made by principals, they applauded Dr. Brown's campaign, as do I for the most part. All the schools also welcomed the Department into their schools to help jump start the programme. How Dr. Brown found these comments and decisions as a way to destroy his new campaign I don't understand. And the fact he now is saying he will now add extra energy to see this campaign succeeds is ridiculous.

Maybe, like my opening statement, he should bring in the principals, or have a sit down with them and talk about how he envisioned this campaign working rather than hitting out at them. I think if our Government can work with the people then the right things can be achieved. We are moving in a good direction and I applaud the Government on not giving up on Tourism, but if the Government officials would accept the comments of the community leaders and work together then I think we would see a better Island as a whole. I ask every elected official to listening to the people that put them where they are. We are the ones who elected you, you are working for us. Why not listen to us rather than work against us. No one wants to see Bermuda deteriorate.

IAN MORRISON

Paget

Beach party was great

June 21, 2005

Dear Sir,

Last Wednesday, June 15, I went to the beach party at Horseshoe Beach. I had a wonderful time. I danced all night long, the music was excellent and the food was delicious. They had Wilks Catering featuring a traditional Bermuda meal of peas and rice, macaroni and cheese, chicken, fish, coleslaw, corn on the cob (different) and a rum swizzle. I missed the Gombeys because I got there after 9 and watched the African Dancers. Bootsie was the MC (I think last week they had someone else, while Bootsie was off the Island) and Suzie Harvey's Dancers were there to pull the audience on the dance floor.

I had not planned to dance, just chill and watch the show, but Takai, (I think I spelled his name correctly), a former CedarBridge Academy student who dances, pulled me on the floor. He looks nice ... he cut off his plaits and looks like the handsome young man he is. The music was “off the hook”.

Pulse was the soca band that played. Those guys can jam. They had one song that had the audience rolling. The lead singer called it “Nursery Rhymes with a twist”. I think they performed very well. I am sure each member of that band lost weight that night. They played for an hour and a half or more ... non-stop. I forgot to mention the limbo dancers. I have not seen limbo since I was a child ... and I am a mature middle-ager now. (Don't tell my friends ... they all think we are young).

It is good to see that limbo is still being performed. I was afraid that it was lost. Limbo is alive and kicking. That girl ... she went so low, I am sure that stick was only six inches off the floor, well maybe eight. It was on fire and she wooed the crowd as she easily limboed under the stick. I wish I could do that. The last time I tried the limbo ... I couldn't walk for two weeks. Anyway, it was fantastic. At the end of the night, that place was picked up so fast; you would have never even known a party had taken place. I think it will get better as the weeks go by.

This year, I think I shall have a Bermuda vacation. I had a good time. I went by myself, acted like a tourist, danced with the tourist and even spent time sitting with a group of women chatting. At the end of the night, I wound up sitting and chatting with these people from the cruise ship who were waiting for the bus. I took some flyers and plan to hang them up around my job, because I plan to attend every single event they have around here. I will go again, I had a ball. Mind you I think I will wait until school is out because I had a hard time getting up the next morning. Paradigm Entertainment ... right on! (Old 70s saying)

GINA E.E. DAVIS

Warwick

Vendors put at risk

June 22, 2005

Dear Sir,

As a vendor involved in Harbour Nights each week, I am excited to be part of an activity that enables a variety of Bermudians to participate as a community, to enhance our visitors' experience while in Bermuda.

Harbour Nights involves a small inconvenience to motorists when Front Street is closed from 6 p.m. until 11 p.m. every Wednesday during the cruise ship season. It is necessary to ensure the safety of the visitors during the event, as well as the safety of the vendors as they set up and dismantle their stalls every night.

I am extremely disappointed in the Bermuda Police Service and how they have not handled the traffic restrictions on Wednesday nights. While it is published that the street will be closed between 6 and 11 p.m., Police officers are opening the street to traffic at 10.15! This is dangerous - as vendors can only start to pack up at 10 p.m., and the event coordinators need the street to be closed so that they can perform the thankless and back breaking duty of picking up tables and chairs with assurance they will not be hit by a motorist.

Why do the Police consistently open the street before 11 p.m.? Is it that they are just tired and don't feel like fulfilling their duty until the set time? The Corporation of Hamilton have some responsibility, in that at times, they collect the barriers that block the road early, but ultimately, the Police are tasked with road safety and traffic control - it is a fact. The Corporation of Hamilton blames the Police, and the Police blame the Corporation. No one takes responsibility - maybe it is just a fact of life in the “New Bermuda”. I hope this letter may spur both the Corporation of Hamilton and Police to make some sort of commitment to take responsibility for this situation, before a vendor or event coordinator is hit by a motorist.

DANIEL DESILVA

Paget

Tougher laws needed

June 17, 2005

Dear Sir,

There appears to be no easy solution to prevent road fatalities. This is because speeding is part and parcel of our very modern culture. We strive for speed everywhere. We want instant access, faster computers, instant gratification. We have adopted a rat race mentality.

You will not be able to prevent people from speeding unless harsh measures are adopted. Having a Police presence outside bars is admirable public relations, but will not stop people from being killed on our roads. People don't have speeding accidents outside bars. These are fruitless measures. People will neither heed Police or Road Safety Council calls to use better road judgment, nor will teenagers listen to parental advice on the matter. A parent can plead with their kid to slow down, but it is only a vain attempt that satisfies that parent's conscience. Every death on the road is not a lesson learned. Unless directly involved, very few people are convinced enough to make as dramatic a change as going slow.

Let's be honest, speeding is very risky and loads of fun. It's Bermuda's roller coaster and you cannot appeal to people's logic to make them go slow.

There is only one real way to convince people to go slow. Since human nature dictates that we take risks, the only solution as I see it, is through punitive measures. The only way to lessen the number of road fatalities would be to have fewer risk takers (speeders) on the roads. So I propose that we adopt a law that is harsh. Let's say a law that states that any person caught speeding over 50 kph will get a marginal fine but be suspended from driving for eight years. Advertise this change of law relentlessly and increase the amount of clandestine speed traps.

This will mean that eventually those persons who speed will have a (forced) change of behaviour or so many people will be using public transportation that those who do speed will be free to do so in a less risky environment.

ANTHONY CRICHLOW

Devonshire

A man of integrity

June 22, 2005

Dear Sir,

I was interested to see that some time back, the Bermuda College formed an Alumni Association, proudly announcing its formation in an advertisement in your paper. I haven't attempted to contact the College to verify the establishment of the Association, as many years ago I served as its President and along with others spent countless hours investing in its creation and meeting with the Presidents of the College over the years to establish its legitimacy.

I would like to state that the efforts of one man who tirelessly championed the cause of an Alumni Association, was Dr. Sean O'Connell. If it had not been for his efforts I would not have made the investment to participate in the establishment of this worthwhile Association.

It is really Dr. O'Connell's vision, drive and commitment that kept many of the graduates connected with the College and interested in its development.

His dedication to the College, its students and alumni was unwavering and as former students and graduates, we were grateful for his continued contact with us.

Therefore, it was surprising that Dr. O'Connell was fired after 29 years. Whether the dismissal was justified remains to be seen. The details of his termination are confidential and should be so, the media made some facts public and if true, disciplinary action is warranted. Racial slurs have no place in our lives.

However, termination without the right to defend is never warranted. There must be a balance, everyone is entitled to representation and has the right to appeal. Dr. O'Connell's rights have been thwarted and delayed beyond a reasonable time.

I challenge the College as an institution of education to lead by example. Dr. O'Connell is a man of integrity and commitment, these are values that cannot and should not be so readily and easily disposed.

THADDEUS A. HOLLIS

Warwick