A message from Aquil's mom

February 8, 2008

Dear Sir,

Please allow me some space to ask ten questions to the so-called 'town & country' youngsters. I am the mother of the late Aquil Richardson who was murdered on Boxing Day, December 26, 2007. I would like the 'town & country' youngsters to know that Aquil was my only son and he was the father of three children. I am not from a large family and Aquil was my life.

Here are the questions:

1. Why do you hate your fellow brethren?

2. What is the feud about between 'town and country'?

3. How did it start?

4. When did it start?

5. Why is it still going on?

6. Haven't enough lives been lost or wounded as a result?

7. Do you know that you don't own 'town or country'?

8. Do you know that most of you come from opposite sides?

9. How can anyone help to sort out this feud so it can stop?

10. Is this how you want Bermuda to remain?

Please, Stop the Violence!

SHAHIDAH ABDUR-RAHIM

Another mother in mourning

Why ignore Parks Dept.

February 1, 2008

Dear Sir,

In case people forget, if it wasn't for Parks Department they wouldn't have decent parks, school grounds, beaches, playgrounds, a nice roundabout at Crow Lane (maybe not now but, usually nice at other times), and cut grass at Government House as well as nice designs at Botanical Gardens. Facilities at some areas in Parks Dept. need upgrades not, changing (new MULES if possible). So basically, why ignore Parks Dept. (Are you hoping W&E covers every area?)

CIVIL SERVANTS ONLY?

Pembroke

We used to be nice people

February 6, 2008

Dear Sir,

I wonder what is happening to Bermuda. I was recently insulted at one of the local hotels and called a "blonde racist" — just because I asked someone to let me get on with my work. He then proceeded to say "we're in power now so get used to it". The guests were close by and must have heard this comment. He further continued this tirade demonstrating how he and his people had to lie with arms and legs outstretched so they could be chopped off. What on earth is this Island coming to with such nonsense?

This same individual said he would refuse to carry the luggage of any hotel guest unless they spoke nicely to him because they must remember they are guest in his country. Bermudians used to be the nicest people but, sadly, no longer. One could greet people with a "good afternoon" or "good morning" without the fear that you would be insulted. I have lived in four different countries in Africa and have never come across such bigotry and resentment as I am now recently experiencing. This is no longer an Island for tourists as they will not be welcomed.

NOT A BLONDE RACIST

Warwick

Remember counsellors

February 6, 2008

Dear Sir,

As School Counselling Week comes to an end I just wanted to express my thanks to Bermuda's public school counsellors for committing to delivering a comprehensive, developmental school counselling programme. School counsellors continue to have experiences with people who do not fully understand the counsellor's role and who have an inaccurate view of the responsibilities school counsellors have. The public must understand that there are 37 public school counsellors who spend their days assisting with preparing our students for their futures. "Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did." (Newt Gingrich) Difficult things take a long time, impossible things a little longer. Counsellors persevere!

LEEAN SIMMONS

Education Officer

Ministry of Education

Do not denigrate Dr. Brown

February 6, 2008

Dear Sir,

No doubt you had two editorials written for today's edition (Wednesday, February 6), but I'm sure the closing paragraph for both editorials would have been the same. If the Premier had stood by the original decision to dismiss the ferry pilot, and as a result there would have been some industrial action on the part of the BIU, you would have written "Yesterday was not a good day for Government or for labour relations."

However, the Premier in his wisdom and after consultation with senior managers of Marine & Ports, the Minister of Immigration and Labour, Col. David Burch, the Bermuda Industrial Union, and others not named, as the Minister responsible for the Department of Marine & Ports, he overturned the original decision of the Department of Marine & Ports. Additionally, it is obvious to me that the Premier listened to the voice of the Bermudian people, who overwhelmingly supported the Union on this matter.

I must agree with my friend Raymond Russell, who said "If in 1981 the then-Premier, David Gibbons, would have made the same decision that Premier Brown made with regards to settling the conflict that arose, Bermuda would have avoided weeks of industrial strife." However in 1981, the premier at the time and his fellow parliamentarians refused to consult with labour leaders and others in the community and hence there was an islandwide strike and turmoil that lasted for several weeks.

You and others in Bermuda have suggested that Government (the Premier) "caved in" when it was agreed by all parties after much consultation, that Mr. Pearman should be given a second chance, albeit in another position. Does your opinion hold in the situation with another Marine & Ports worker (this time a supervisor who was represented by the Bermuda Public Services Union (BPSU)) who was recently dismissed for gross misconduct, but appealed to the Public Service Commission and was reinstated? Did the Government (Premier) cave in then, or was a wise decision made?

The difference between the two cases is that one came before the court of public opinion via your newspaper and talk radio, and the other remained privy to those involved. In fact, you should know that every union member has the right to appeal a dismissal and many have. Many have been reinstated at the end of the grievance process, and others have not been so fortunate.

If you were more familiar with labour legislation, you would know that the Minister can refer a matter to arbitration, however, unless both parties agree, the matter will not proceed. Also, by the Premier agreeing to settle the matter, he has saved the country thousands of dollars, as the arbitration process can be costly. Arbitrators must be paid and those employees (both management and union) who would be needed to be involved in the process would also have to be paid while participating in the process.

It is my opinion that the Premier has proven that he can listen and take advice in the interest of all concerned. For this I believe he must be highly commended, not denigrated as you have done.

LAVERNE FURBERT

Hamilton Parish

P.s. On Page 7 of the same paper, you ask the question "Labour and the PLP – an unhappy marriage?" Can you tell me of any marriages that you know of that are without occasional conflict? Also, can you tell me if it's possible for a couple to still love each and disagree at times?

A good read

February 7, 2008

Dear Sir,

The article by Cathy Stovell on January 29, 2008 brought back many happy memories of my involvement with the Bangladeshi Mental Health Association (aka BMHA) which was founded by a former student of mine, Mrs. Lily Ahmed of Handsworth, Birmingham, England.

She astounded her former tutors by making a number of trips to Bosnia in 1992 and 1993, when Muslims were being targeted by snipers, to give what help she could to women victims of that appalling conflict, many of them traumatised by rape and torture.

In 1993 I was invited to become secretary (temporary, unpaid) of a voluntary group she had formed to offer advice and support to women in her home area of Birmingham. From this developed the idea of spreading our efforts to the third world, specifically Bangladesh. BMHA held its inaugural meeting in 1995, working hard to gain credibility and – less easily – funding. She was effectively case worker, chairman and fundraiser although most of the time, Mrs. Ahmed was dipping into her own pocket to finance the organisation's work.

A consummate networker, Mrs. Ahmed capitalised on a chance meeting with Dr. Michael Radford at an international conference on mental health to get him involved. She relinquished the chairmanship of BMHA in his favour in 1997. Her connections in Bangladesh and his standing as a psychiatrist combined to gain support for the association at the highest levels in that country.

I finally resigned from the "temporary" secretaryship in 2003 following the death of my wife in 2001. It was good to read that BMHA is continuing its work despite severing its connections with founder Mrs. Lily Ahmed in 2005/6.

D. PRICE

United Kingdom

Secure local hotels

February 8, 2008

Dear Sir,

How many more people will have to be robbed before the "management" at the Southampton Princess realise they need to have better constant nighttime security on their grounds and certainly at their shuttle pick up?

The repeated attacks upon its guests are embarrassing for a resort of this calibre. This is no longer the Golden Age where tourists (or locals) can stroll around at night in their dinner jackets like characters out of The Great Gatsby.

A few years ago my husband and I visited a rain forest type resort in Panama. After a midnight white knuckle taxi ride (yes similar to the ones we offer locally) through the city and into the jungle we were greeted by a checkpoint at the entrance to the resort. The guard manning this check point did so with frightening thoroughness. He checked our ID, he checked the taxi drivers ID and he checked with the hotel reservation department before we could enter the grounds.

When he finally turned his back to us I noticed that he had the largest, scariest handgun I'd ever seen stuck down his pants. Now I am not suggesting we arm hotel security with guns. But I can assure you that no one on the grounds of this sprawling jungle resort was going to be a victim of any variety.

SUSAN THOMAS

Warwick

Enquiring minds...

February 6, 2008

Dear Sir,

So, now that the ferry pilot still has been given a job (and we all need a job), has his pay been downwardly adjusted to match the new position? Or has he been rewarded by keeping his pilot's salary, which comes from the public purse? Enquiring minds want to know.

CJH

Warwick

Stepping up to the plate

February 7, 2008

Dear Sir,

For the past several years The Royal Gazette has published letters from irate BTC customers complaining of poor service. I must say that I haven't seen one of these for quite some time. Maybe there's a reason for this. Recently my DSL line was down for several hours. I called BTC and was told they would check it out. I called my ISP who told me that they hadn't had any problems. BTC called me right back and said that everything was fine with the line and the problem was with the ISP. I called the ISP back and was told they would have to check at the "DSL box". Three hours later I got my service back. I received three other calls from BTC to find out if the problem had been fixed. Congrats to BTC it seems they are stepping up to the plate and meeting the competition.

PAUL MYRON

Southampton

In their own Orwellian way

February 12, 2008

Dear Sir,

"Although (political correctness) arises from the laudable desire to sweep away the debris of racism and sexism and hatred, it replaces old prejudices with new ones. It declares certain topics off limits, certain expressions off limits, even certain gestures off limits.

"What began as a crusade for civility has soured into a cause of conflict and even censorship. Disputants treat sheer force — getting their foes punished or expelled, for instance — as a substitute for the power of ideas.

"Throughout history, attempts to micromanage casual conversation have only incited distrust. They have invited people to look for insult in every word, gesture, action. And, in their own Orwellian way, crusades that demand correct behaviour crush diversity in the name of diversity."

WILLIAM LUSHER

Pembroke

BSoA says thank you

February 14, 2008

Dear Sir,

We are writing, on behalf of the Bermuda Society of the Arts (BSoA), to thank you and your readers for the generous support given to the BSoA since our notice of eviction from the Hamilton City Hall and Arts Centre became public knowledge.

All of us at the BSoA are grateful for the many, many pledges of support, particularly as they have come from people representing such a wide cross-section of our community. We are pleased that the Corporation of Hamilton has agreed to let us stay in our purpose-built gallery space until the end of the year.

However, our fate in 2009 and beyond is not guaranteed – and, until we receive a new, long-term lease on preferential terms from the Corporation we consider that the battle to stay at Hamilton City Hall and Arts Centre is still on. In that regard, we encourage your readers to continue writing to the Corporation to express their opposition to our eviction, making sure to copy the letters to The Royal Gazette. We are pleased that the community has been clear in its message that arts and culture play an important role in our community – and we thank everyone for their support.

The Governing Body of the Bermuda Society of Arts

Jean Gardner, Edwin Smith, Charles Anderson, Laura Bell, Duncan Hall, Christopher Grimes, Irving Minors, Joanna Shillington, Juliette O'Connor, Mike Kane, Victoria Evans-Cracknell

Education approaches

February 8, 2008

Dear Sir,

Now that education is to the fore – as it should have been long ago – it is of interest to know how the league tables in education stand. This is the purpose of the latest report of the Programme for International Student Assessment of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which puts (wait for it!) Finland first, followed by South Korea and Hong Kong, followed by Canada, Taiwan, Australia and Japan. Mexico is at the bottom of the tables. The United States is low, as is Britain.

An interesting result came in for Poland, which showed a dramatic leap upwards. Apparently this is due to carrying out the reform we instituted here when, under the guidance of Mr. Gerald Simons, we ended the eleven plus/twelve plus exam with the concomitant choice of secondary schools (in which two secondary schools creamed off the most successful exam takers).

The article about the educational standing of different countries appears in The Economist of December 8, 2007. Two comments are of particular interest. One, dealing with the Polish experience, quotes Barbara Ischinger, the OECD's Director of Education, as saying: "We have learnt that you can really make a change by bringing weaker performers into more demanding streams."

The Economist goes on to say:

"Letting schools run themselves seems to boost a country's position in this high-stakes international tournament: giving school principals the power to control budgets, set incentives and decide whom to hire and how much to pay them. Publishing school results helps, too. More important than either, though, are high-quality teachers: a common factor among all the best performers is that teachers are drawn from the top ranks of graduates."

W. S. ZUILL Sr.

Smith's Parish