March 9, 2006

Dear Sir,

I wholeheartedly applaud Mr. Robert Stewart?s eloquent defence of our Constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of speech, especially his most recent letter reminding us of Mr. Frederick Douglass? magnificent oration delivered in 1860 Boston. Such a right is particularly critical at institutions of higher learning like Bermuda College where attempts to censor can have a chilling effect on the stimulating exchange of ideas and points of view that can be so challenging to young minds and so encouraging to critical thinking.

However, Mr. Stewart stated in his letter to the Editor of February 24 that I ?had the temerity to say something with which the unprincipled College administration disagreed?. This statement is incorrect since the Board dismissed me on the basis of accusations which were entirely false and contradict my most profoundly held core values and fundamental beliefs.

SEAN O?CONNELL

Hamilton Parish

March 13, 2006

Dear Sir,

I just heard Randy Horton ask that the people using the roads be more careful and cited all sorts of traffic violations that have to change. It?s our culture that has to be changed, he said. My reply to that is ?Teach by Example?. GP2 on Sunday morning came ?burning up behind me?, I lightly touched my brakes to let him know to slow down! I turned off at the roundabout and wasn?t there to hinder his speed any longer. Did he continue at a reasonable speed or did he speed up after I was out of the way?

I could name names, but won?t, of people that need to take a long hard look at themselves. You all know who you are! I see you every day going to work. I travel in the opposite direction and am amazed at who travels in the ?third lane?. ANYONE, travelling in the ?third lane? with a child on the back should be charged with child endangerment and taken off the roads. The children today have learned from you, the adults. I challenge everyone to teach by example.

Slow down and be careful.

MI DESILVA

Paget

March 7, 2006

Dear Sir,

Responding to the Flatts Village Resident who complained about the debris on the Police Beach, the amount of accumulated trash is a sad commentary on the quantity of rubbish that falls or is thrown into the ocean. Over the winter months there are no beach goers to help pick up and the smaller beaches get literally feet deep in flotsam and jetsam. At Police Beach, some community minded citizen has already commenced the job of gathering up the trash. At Bailey?s Bay the dedicated woman who makes it her job to clean up the beach estimates that she fills four large garbage bags a week with the detritus that she picks up. Charming Tobacco Bay suffers from the floating debris washed in on the tide but St. George?s Prep School has already stepped forward and targeted this area for a clean up. Good for them.

If you want to see Police Beach looking clean and attractive, call KBB and volunteer to help. Gather up some of your friends and relatives and KBB will provide black and blue bags for trash and recyclables and bottled water for thirsty workers. The organisation will also liaise with Waste Management or Parks to arrange a timely pick-up of the filled bags.

We, who live in Bermuda as temporary or permanent residents, are the ones who create the litter problem. We also have the power to provide the solution. Expecting Government to clean up after us all the time simply means higher taxes ? already we have one of the best trash collection systems we could ask for.

Jack Kennedy once said: ?ask not what your country can do for you ? ask what you can do for your country.? This beautiful Island is our home and our sacred trust ? let?s get out there and make her as pristine as the day the first human set foot on her.

Anyone who wants to be part of the solution should call Keep Bermuda Beautiful at 295-5142 or e-mail litternorthrock.bm. Contact the organisation to volunteer to help or to report litter problem areas. We can make 2006 a new beginning.

SUSAN HARVEY

Executive Director

Keep Bermuda Beautiful

March 11, 2006

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your coverage of my presentation to the Bermuda Public Services Union International Women?s Day Forum on Wednesday, March 8, 2006. Please note however, the statistic cited in your article regarding the numbers of children sexually exploited each year is not correct. This figure should read over 100 million ? not ten million. In fact the number cited by the United Nations Children?s Fund is actually 150 million. Please also note the following excerpt taken from full text of my speech for the information of your readers:

?It also has been recently suggested that underage sexual activity amongst girls in Bermuda should not be a major concern and that other jurisdictions are more progressive than Bermuda. Let us therefore examine these sentiments in the context of the global realities for women:

The United Nations reports that at least one out of every three women world wide has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime.

Internationally it is estimated by the United Nations Children?s Fund that over 150 million children ? mostly girls are being sexually exploited world wide.

An estimated 10 million women and girls are ensnared into commercial systems of sexually exploitation ? including prostitution, sex slavery, pornography and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation.

A high percentage of women and girls involved in prostitution in the United States were sexually abused between the ages of 3 and 14. Many report that their first sexual experience was being raped prior to adolescence.

Victims of rape are 13.4 times more likely to develop two or more alcohol related problems and 26 times more likely to develop two or more drug abuse related problems.

In December, 2005 the World Health Organisation reported that there are over 40 million people living with aids world wide. Of this figure over 17 million are women and girls aged 15 to 49.

So again I ask, do we as women want to inspire our daughters, sisters, nieces, god daughters and granddaughters with the message that it is ok to for someone to sexually exploit them ? even if they are not mature enough to understand the ramifications of this exploitation? Are these global realities that we want for our young women in Bermuda??

In conclusion, I would like to remind those of us who are here today that many women in Bermuda are a fortunate minority who enjoy opportunities and freedoms that millions of women world wide do not even know exist as they struggle on a daily basis for survival. Therefore women in Bermuda must continue draw our strengths from the accomplishments of other women and inspire ourselves towards even greater achievements. We must also advocate for the rights of women globally and in Bermuda. In this regard:

We must inspire our young women with knowledge of other women who have blazed trails of opportunity for them both locally and internationally.

We must empower our young women with a respect for and a control over their bodies. We must instil in our young women an understanding that they have the right not to make premature decisions or to be coerced by peers or others into acts that can have devastating consequences on their future economic condition, their social and psychological well being and their health.

In this regard, we must also speak out against sexual exploitation of girls and women and make it clear to our policy makers and our courts that abuse of laws to protect the rights of girls and women will not be tolerated.?

DR. EUGENIE SIMMONS

Somerset