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cETo c jIkLo


c o v e r


y o u r w o r I d


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VOI. 17 No. 8


PRESORTED
STANDARD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
MIAMI, FL
PERMIT NO. 7315

I: (305) 238-2868
800-605-7516
aribtoday@earthlink.net
t ads@bellsouth.net


A gyrating red, white and
black Congoo line" near mid-
night in Dortmund, Germany
meant only one thing: The
Trinis were in the house and
in full force at World Cup
2006, page 7.


Some 25
years after
his death,
superstar
Bob Marley
is still
being
bestowed
with hon-
ors in lands
far off from
his own country. Brooklyn,
New York stepped up recently
to name one of its most popu-
lar streets after the reggae
icon, page 17.


W e


Haiti's
recently
elected
President
Rene Pr6val
was in South
Florida last
month offer-
ing hope to
Haitians in
the United States that the
troubled state would rise
again, although not overnight,
page 2.


INSIDE
News .......................... 2 Tourism/Travel ............ 11 Arts/Entertainment ..........17 Sport ..................................23
Feature ................................7 Food ..........................................12 FYI ......................................20 Region ....................... 24
Viewpoint...................... 9 Health............................. 13 Business ..........................21 Plus, Jamaica Supplement


1-ca
car


11-1 4 '7 A









-usw^caribbeantodj..c..


CARIBBEAN TODAY

N EWS


'Don't give up on Jamaica'

- Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller charms diaspora

in official South Florida debut visit


DAMIAN P. GREGORY
Looking and sounding
every bit like the sea-
soned politician that has
endeared her to many of her
homeland's poorest citizens,
Portia Simpson Miller -
Jamaica's first female prime
minister made a series of
stops in South Florida late last
month.
Her message: Don't give
up on Jamaica.
In speeches that were part
religious revival, part political
rally, Simpson Miller spoke
passionately, encouraging those
from the Jamaican diaspora to
be a part of the solution to the
island's woes.
"The construct of Jamaica
is not confined to the over 2.7
million people living within its
shores, it embraces and
includes another 2.7 million liv-
ing overseas," Simpson Miller
said.
"The fact that you (are)
physically located in Jamaica
does not make you any less
committed to your homeland
and its development," the
leader reminded the audience
of about 300 which gathered at
Nova Southeastern University
in Davie, Florida.
"There is nothing that we
set our minds to as Jamaicans
that we cannot achieve. I want
to assure you, I am going to
working very hard to ensure
when you want to return to
Jamaica, you can come home
and live in peace."


Simpson Miller makes her case to
Jamaicans in the U.S.
Though Simpson Miller's
message was delivered at what
was billed as a community
forum, the audience of mostly
Jamaicans was not given an
opportunity to ask questions of
their homeland's new leader in
her first official visit to Florida
since taking office in Mar. 2006.

WARM WELCOME
But Simpson Miller did
pose for pictures and shake
hands with many who came
from all over South Florida to
meet the woman who made
history in Feb. 2006 when
delegates from her ruling
People's National Party (PNP)
elected her leader of their
party. That decision meant she
would become the first woman
in the island's history to hold
the Jamaica's highest political
office.
Simpson Miller, 60, suc-
ceeded P.J. Patterson, who
served a record-breaking four


Haiti's new president

positive start in M


MIAMI Surrounded by
secret service agents and
police, Haiti's newly elected
leader Rene Pr6val entered a
Liberty City, Florida auditori-
um late last month to thunder-
ous applause.
This was his first visit to
South Florida since being cho-
sen president of Haiti in
March.
The soft-spoken, diminu-
tive agronomist, took 51 per-
cent of the popular vote in an
election which resulted in him
replacing the hugely popular
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who
left Haiti in 2004 and has been
exiled in South Africa ever
since.
Preval, in a speech
designed to encourage Haitian
Americans to remain dedicat-
ed to a country that has been
beset by economic and politi-
cal strife for decades, outlined
many of the challenges his


newly minted administration
faces as it works to forge a
course for the nation of over
eight million people.
"Everything cannot hap-
pen in one day," Preval told
the audience of primarily
Haitian nationals, in the coun-
try's native creole language.
"We need investments in
the country," he added.


terms as prime minister before
deciding to step down.
Since taking office,
Simpson Miller has seen a
decline in her popularity at
home in Jamaica, but polls
commissioned by the Jamaica
Gleaner, still show her leading
likely political challenger
Bruce Golding, leader of the
Jamaica Labour Party (JLP),
in a head-to-head match up.
Elections are expected to be
called by next year.

PROBLEMS
Simpson Miller's message
of unity, peppered with stories
of her rise from "the bowels of
the working class" from rural
Jamaica, resonated with many
in the audience. They were
won over by her homespun
charm demonstrated by going
into the audience to hug and
greet many of her countrymen
- down-to-earth delivery, the
emphatic way she hammered
home her points, while evoking
the IrL n ;ih of a woman"
mantra that was the hallmark
of her successful campaign for
president of the PNP.
While offering few
specifics about how she
would solve problems facing
Jamaica, which she readily
identified including the stag-
gering number of murders that
made the island stand out for
having the highest murder rate
per capital in the world in 2005 -
public corruption, political trib-
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 6)


makes

liami

He said that Haiti must
work to increase the number
of tourists who visit the
Caribbean nation. The leader
acknowledged that was not an
easy task given Haiti's history
of violence and kidnapping
that has captured internation-
al headlines.
For Haitian-born Miami
resident "Marie", who said
she misses her homeland daily,
Pr6val's speech was good, but
left her with more questions
than answers.
"It was good to see and
hear him," she told Caribbean
Today.
"He is talking about all of
these problems, but I know
that they are not going to be
as easy to solve as people
think, but it is a start."

- Damian P Gregory.
0


July 2006


U.K. Privy Council

orders T&T to grant

radio licence to Hindus


PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,
CMC The Privy Council in
London has ruled in favor of
the Sanatan Dharma Maha
Sabha (SDMS), a Hindu
umbrella organization which
had taken the Trinidad and
Tobago government to court
for failing to grant the organi-
zation a radio broadcast
licence.
Earlier this month the
Law Lords ordered the attor-
ney general (AG) to grant the
licence forthwith.
The decision by the Privy
Council has brought to an
end a four-year long battle
between the Maha Sabha and
the government over the grant-
ing of the licence. The Hindu
organization had claimed
that the People's National
Movement (PNM) government
had dJ, i rak ly discriminated
against it after it granted a sim-
ilar licence to a well-known
PNM supporter Louis Lee
Sing to start his radio station,
Citadel.
In a 19-page judgment, the
AG was ordered to immediate-
ly ensure the granting of a FM
radio broadcast licence on an
appropriate frequency to the
Central Broadcasting Services
Limited (CBSL), a company
formed by the SDMS. The AG

Gays oppo,

deejays I

in the Unit
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC -
Popular Jamaican reggae
artiste Mark Anthony Myrie,
also known as "Buju Banton"
has been prevented from per-
forming in the United
Kingdom following a petition
from members of the gay
community
there.
Buju
Banton was
scheduled to
perform
earlier this
month at the
"Concorde
Two" club in Buju Banton
the English
seaside resort of Brighton.
However, the police refused
permission for the event
because of pressures from the
gay community.
According to reports in
the U.K. press, the operators
of the club originally defended
the decision to have the con-
cert at the venue saying that


was also ordered to pay the
SDMS's legal costs in both the
local courts and the Privy
Council, an amount which will
easily cross the million-dollar
mark.
A release was promptly
dispatched from the AG's
office promising to "take
immediate steps to provide the
appellant" with a licence.

DISCRIMINATION
The appeal was heard
before Lord Hoffman, Lord
Hope, Lord Hutton, Lord
Brown and Lord Mance. They
commended the local courts
for the manner in which it had
handled the case and found it
"highly regrettable that the
Court of Appeal was allowed
to proceed under false premis-
es."
According to the judg-
ment, there was "unexplained
and unjustified discrimination"
in the refusal to grant the
CBSL a broadcast licence in
favour of the Citadel Limited
application, whose application
had been filed long after the
CBSL's.
The Maha Sabha and
CBSL had applied for broad-

(CONTINUED ON PAGE 6)


se Jamaican

performing

ed Kingdom
they had been promised that
Buju Banton would not per-
form his most notorious song
"Boom Bye Bye", written in
1992 when he was 18 years
old. The song advocates
killing gay men.
They, however, backed
down fearing that holding the
event would affect their
licence.
There were also reports
that a concert
scheduled for
July 29 in
Britain, fea-
turing Moses
Davis better
known as
"Beenie
Man" has
Beenie Man been can-
celled after
police raised concern over the
violent and homophobic
nature of his lyrics. Other
dancehall stars have also been
targeted by gay rights groups.
0





CARIBBEAN TODAY


N EWS


L ~crbbatoa.co


Hoteliers worried about crime effects on Caribbean tourism


MIAMI, CMC Newly elect-
ed President of the Caribbean
Hotel Association (CHA)
Peter Odle says he will use his
two-year term in office to ini-
tiate strategies to deal with
the crime situation that poses
a serious threat to the regional
tourism industry.
"We can no longer see
crime as a matter affecting
just an individual location, but
it has become a holistic matter
in the Caribbean. We are
discovering more and more,
especially with the advent
of the Internet, that if one
country is affected by crime
the entire industry suffers," he
___


cials, ending their weeklong
Caribbean Hotel Investment
Conference (CHIC) here, wel-
comed a decision by the New
York Times newspaper to
donate $1 million in advertis-
ing to reduce the impact of
the new policy by the United
States that its citizens require


passports to re-enter the
country from visits to the
Caribbean.
"It is the best example of
real friends," said CTO
Secretary General, Vincent
Vanderpool-Wallace. "They
recognized that the Caribbean
would experience difficulties


and came to us. It was their
initiative. Imagine what will
happen if other media follow
suit?"
The U.S.-based newspa-
per said that it would print the
advertisements on a "space-
available basis", to boost the
awareness among the U.S.


consumers that as of Jan. 1,
2007 they need a passport to
return into the U.S. after visit-
ing the Caribbean, Mexico or
Canada. The newspaper prints
close to 600,000 copies on
a weekday and 880,000 on
Sunday.
0


Sanguinetti
told the Caribbean Media
Corporation (CMC) late last
month.
CHA Secretary General
Alec Sanguinetti said his
organization would work
closely with the Barbados-
based Caribbean Tourism
Organisation (CTO) in the
fight against crime. He said
both organizations had recog-
nized the danger being posed
to the future of the industry
from rising crime and were
combining their resources to
deal with it. He also said that
for the past two years they
have been able to obtain
the co-operation of the
Association of the Caribbean
Commissioners of Police
(ACCP) on the issue.
"The theme of their annu-
al conference held in the
USVI last year and in Aruba
this year was protecting the
tourism industry product and
they were quoting statements
from the World Travel and
Tourism Council study com-
missioned by the CHA on
protecting the tourism prod-
uct. So they are very much
aware of the need to address
the problem," he said.
Sanguinetti said that
police commissioners were
members of the national hotel
associations in the region and
the CHA is holding discus-
sions with the ACCP on an
exchange of membership at
the level of directors.

TIMELY DONATION
Meanwhile, tourism offi-


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July 2006









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*


CARIBBEAN TODAY


N EWS


T&T RP.M. meets U.S. vice president


PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,
CMC Prime Minister Patrick
Manning last month held talks
with United States Vice
President Dick Cheney on
several issues, including
deportees and
drug traffick-
ing in the
Caribbean.
Manning
and the U.S.
vice president
met at the
White House
for about 35 Manning
minutes
according to a statement from
the prime minister's office.


During the talks, special
emphasis was
placed on
stemming the
drug traffick-
ing trade in
the Eastern
Caribbean
and the need
for the U.S.
to work more Cheney
closely with
Caribbean
countries on the issue of
deportation of criminals to
their shores.

COMPLAINTS
Caribbean countries have


long complained that the
deportation of criminals, who
would have spent most of
their lives in the U.S., has
been a major contributor to
growing crime in the region.
They also argue that the
demand for drugs in the U.S.
has fuelled the drug
trade in Caribbean islands and
therefore the U.S. needed to
provide greater assistance in
helping them with security.
Discussions also focused
on duty access to U.S.
markets for goods packaged
in Trinidad and Tobago.
0


N.Y. group welcomes extradition

of Guyana's most wanted man


NEW YORK, CMC A
Brooklyn-based Caribbean
group has welcomed the
extradition to the United
States of indicted Guyanese
businessman Roger Khan,
calling for wide criminal inves-
tigation into his activities.
The Caribbean-Guyana
Institute for Democracy
(CGID) said in a statement
earlier that Khan should be
"punished to the fullest
extent of the law possible, if
convicted.
"The long arms of U.S.
justice has inevitably and
finally reached out and
touched Roger Khan, who
has been a fugitive from U.S.
juitkL i it stated. "This gen-
tleman is, unquestionably, a
threat to U.S. national securi-
ty as well as a clear and pres-
ent danger to the Guyanese
society".


CGID commended
Surinamese law enforcement
and justice authorities for their
"excellent work" in capturing
"this dangerous fugiii\L and
extraditing him to the U.S.
On June 29 Khan was
deported to Trinidad by
Surinamese
officials,
where he was
picked up by
U.S. law
enforcement
officers on
trafficking
charges. He
had reported- Khan
ly entered
Suriname illegally from
Trinidad. Khan, listed as
Guyana's most wanted man,
was extradited two weeks
after he was held in
Paramaribo. On June 28 a
judge in Paramaribo dropped


drugs and weapons possession
charges him, and rdJL rid
him expelled from the coun-
try."
Khan, 35, was indicted by
a Brooklyn court in April on
alleged cocaine trafficking
charges to American destina-
tions between 2001 and 2006.
He became Guyana's most
wanted man in March after
the military reported the dis-
appearance of 30 Ak-47 rifles
from a depot at army head-
quarters.
Khan had fled to Suriname,
where he was arrested on June
15 with three ex-Guyanese
policemen bodyguards, and
held until his expulsion from
Suriname at daybreak on June
29.

More on page 26.
0


HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC
- A Bermudian accountant
accused of stealing almost $2
million from the Bermuda gov-
ernment had his guilty plea
dramatically revoked in New
York late last month and may
now stand trial instead, the
Royal Gazette newspaper
reported.
Harrison Isaac, Jr. admit-
ted in January that he stole
$1,899,888 from a Bank of
New York account, the
biL.l ever fraud against
the Bermuda government.
However, an 11th-hour court
battle on the day the 35-year-
old Bermudian was supposed
to be sentenced saw this plea
rejected instead.
Isaac had admitted a con-
spiracy to defraud the Bermuda
government after striking a plea
bargain with an agreement that
he would testify at the trial of
33-year-old U.S. national Taketa
Thomkins who maintains her
innocence and would therefore
not face further charges of
money laundering. However,
during a tense afternoon of
courtroom sparring on June 27,
the American government per-
suaded Federal district judge
Laura Taylor Swain to revoke
Isaac's guilty plea.
Lynn Neils, of the U.S.
Attorney's Office of Southern


MIAMI Anthony Bowen,
managing director of the
Windjammer Landing Villa
Beach Resort and Spa in Gros
Islet, St. Lucia, was honored
by his peers late last
month at the 2006
Caribbean Hotel
Industry Conference
(CHIC), with the
2006 Golden Conch
Award as "Caribbean
Hotelier of the Year".
The award recog-
nizes superior hotel
management, as well
as the ability to nur-
ture the intricate ele-
ments that lay the
foundation of success,
not only for a specific
property, but the
Caribbean hospitality
industry at large. The Bowen display
annual tribute is spon- the audience.
scored by Yesawich,
Pepperdine, Brown & Russell
and American Express.
A native of Barbados,
Bowen began his career as
food and beverage manager,
then assistant general manager,
of the Southern Palms Hotel in
Barbados. His next position
was as a partner in the Silver
Sands Beach Hotel. He then


July 2006


New York, argued that under
the plea bargain it was agreed
Isaac would specifically admit
conspiring with Thomkins.
However, Isaac actually plead-
ed in what his defense attorney
Alexander Eisemann called an
"artful crafting" of words to
conspiring with pl r,< ,ns" not
naming Thomkins.

INEFFECTIVE PLEA
Instead of sentencing him
as was planned, Judge Swain
ruled that the plea agreement
was unenforceable and his
plea was no longer effective.
Isaac worked as a management
accountant in the Bermuda
Accountant General's
Department. He had sole access
to the Bank of New York
account which was set up by the
Bermuda government to pay
vendors in U.S. dollars under
post-9/11 financial regulations.
According to the charges,
Isaac made unauthorized wire
transfers out of it to accounts
controlled by himself or a co-
conspirator in the U.S. and
Bermuda between May 2003
and Feb. 2004.
On the basis of his original
plea, Isaac had been said to
face a maximum sentence of 25
years in prison and a fine of up
to $250,000.
0


moved to the Sandy Lane
Hotel, as food and beverage
manager and later director of
operations for Pemberton
Resorts. By 1986 he was a
shareholder in
the Treasure
Beach Hotel.
In 1989
Bowen relocated
to Jamaica,
S having been
appointed vice
president of
development for
Ciboney Villa
Resorts, Jamaica;
then on to St.
Lucia as general
manager of the
Windjammer
Landing Villa
Beach Resort.
s his award for Bowen then ven-
tured to Antigua
to manage the
Pinapple Beach Resorts and
was later hired to develop and
open the Carlisle Bay Resort in
Antigua.
He later returned to St.
Lucia and the Windjammer
Landing Resort as the manag-
ing director.
0


N.Y. court revokes

Bermudian's plea


Windjammer's Anthony Bowen

is Caribbean Hotelier of the Year


BET IT'S SOMETHING INTERESTING
1


The BET J booth at the Caribbean Fair, part of "Cariibbean Week" celebrations in New York last month, was a hive of activity. BET J
used the opportunity to strengthen its partnership with Caribbean destinations and promote "Island Lime" to a market that BET J
executive Cybelle Brown, a St. Lucian, describes as both influential and underserved.
"We value the Caribbean community in the U.S., which is an influential and huge constituency," said Brown, vice president of
sales and marketing for BET Digital Networks. "Yet it has not had a place to go for nostalgic programming or to learn more about
what's happening the Caribbean, such as the latest music coming out of the region." She said that as the network evolves, "Island
Lime" will also be the venue for economic, political and other news features.
Based on the success of Caribbean programming on the former BET Jazz channel, BET J has embarked on an entire day of
programming dedicated to Caribbean music and culture, including island festival specials. "The Caribbean has been a successful
part of our programming and revenue model so it's important for us to give back to the Caribbean," said Brown, who pledged BET
Digital Networks' continuing commitment to helping various Caribbean organizations gain exposure on the network.




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CARIBBEAN TODAY


N EWS


Caribbean seeks new trade pact with U.S.


PETER RICHARDS

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC
- Caribbean community
(CARICOM) countries are
seeking to enter into a free
trade agreement with the
United States even as a leading
regional technocrat said the
Free Trade Area of the
Americas (FTAA) was no
longer a viable option for the
Caribbean trade and economic
development.
"FTAA has been on life
support for some time and the
prognosis is not good," said
Dr. Richard Bernal, head of
the Caribbean Regional
Negotiating Machinery (CRNM).
"While it was a viable
option in existence...it is no
point in putting your eggs in bas-
kets that are not likely to be pur-
sued by everybody else. If
nobody isn't, how are we going
to negotiate it," he added.
Speaking at the end of the
recent prime ministerial sub-
committee meeting on external
trade negotiations, Bernal said
there was need to move quickly
to develop a "long lasting"
trade relationship with
Washington.
"What we discussed is
whether to approach the United
States for a free trade agree-
ment. The U.S. has made clear
that any new trade agreement
would have to approximate a
free trade," he said adding, "we
are interested in making the
decision as soon as possible.
"We have to think of secur-
ing our interest in the United


States on a long term basis. In
addition, we want to expand the
coverage of the Caribbean
Basin Initiative (CBI) and the


Caribbean Basin Economic
Recovery Act (CBERA) which
is confined to trade in goods."

STALLED
Bernal said the FTAA
process had been stalled for
some years now and that out-
side of CARICOM, interest in
renewing that with the U.S. has
moved to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) and bilat-
eral negotiations and in addi-
tion some interest has waned
because the Dominican
Republic and Central America
have replaced their market
access with the Central
American Free Trade Area
(CAFTA) agreement.
Trinidad and Tobago has
been pushing for the FTAA to
be headquartered in Port of
Spain and Trade Minister
Kenneth Valley said that as far


as the Patrick Manning admin-
istration was concerned the
FTAA was on the back burner.
"I believe that we could see
some movement early next year,"
he said, noting that it had been
sidetracked because of elections
in Brazil and the U.S.
"Until they get past the elec-
tions, I don't think it is going to be
an issue they will consider," he
told the Caribbean Media
Corporation.
He said Port of Spain had


July 2006


Caribbean leaders to meet in

special summit on economy


PETER RICHARDS

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts,
CMC Caribbean community
(CARICOM) leaders will
meet in a special summit later
this year to discuss the frame-
work to further advance the
arrangements for the single
economy dimension of the
CARICOM Single Market
and Economy (CSME),
Barbados Prime Minister
Owen Arthur has said.
Arthur, briefing reporters
after making a presentation to
his regional colleagues attend-
ing the 27th annual CARI-
COM summit here, said no
date or venue had yet been
decided for the special meet-
ing. But he said that in order
to speed up the pace of the
framework, a symposium


would most likely be held in
Barbados prior to the special
summit to "advance the
framework establishing the
single market."
Arthur, who has lead
responsibility for the CSME
within CARICOM, said the
meeting would be sponsored
by the Barbados government,
the University of the West
Indies (UWI) and the CARI-
COM Secretariat.
"We recognize that now
there can be an acceleration
of the pace to have that
framework for the single
economy ready by 2008...with
the understanding that some
time after we have had that
additional symposium there
will be a special summit of
heads," he said.
0


Teacher on murder charge


not been pursing the FTAA
headquarters issue aggressively
for the last year and a half, "but
we are still watching it."
Jamaica's Prime Minister
Portia Simpson Miller, who
chaired the meeting, described
the deliberations as "a good
one," adding, "we discussed
several important issues affect-
ing our region."
0


ST. GEORGE'S Grenada,
CMC A 40-year-old school
teacher, Nigel Abraham, who
allegedly strangled his wife,
has made his first appearance
in court here.
Police said the body of 36-
year-old Bernadette Abraham
was discovered at her home last
month, but her husband was
only charged in connection with
her death earlier this month.
According to the police,


the accused was charged fol-
lowing investigations by mem-
bers of the Criminal
Investigations Department
(CID) and the findings of
forensic experts.
Abraham appeared
before Magistrate Patricia
Mark and was not asked to
enter a plea. He was remand-
ed to re-appear in court on
July 20.
0


U.K. Privy Council orders T&T...


DAWN A. DAVIS

More than 300 Jamaicans
squeezed into the grand ball-
room of Hollywood's Westin
Diplomat Resort last month
to welcome their new Prime
Minister Portia Simpson
Miller.
Representing the elite, the
influential and the moneyed
Jamaicans living in South
Florida, this invitation-only
crowd paid rapt attention to
the Simpson Miller's every
word as she delivered the
"gospel" of Portia, not unlike
a preacher on the pulpit.
Although her speech was
measured in the beginning,
the prime minister eventually
warmed up, sprinkling her
words with biblical verses as
she urged Jamaicans in the
diaspora to unite in the name
of nation building.
"I come to the kingdom at
a time such as this," she said.
"... My faith and my god is
strong."
Her plea, however, lacked


specifics, as
did her men-
tion of crime
and violence,
a topic at the
forefront of
Jamaicans'
minds at
home and
abroad. But, Simpson Miller
her efforts to
rally the
crowd seemed to work as she
urged Jamaicans not to "join
in badmouthing your country"
and to "never forget the blood
running through your veins."

CAMPAIGNING
The same speech was
used to motivate the 300-plus
audience the following
evening at a forum at Davie's
Nova Southeastern University.
This event, which was open to
the public, brought out
Jamaicans from all economic
levels. Simpson Miller again
used her "gospel" to her
advantage, moving her South
Florida constituents to the


kind of frenzy typical at a
campaigning event.
"Jamaica needs a change,
and I am that change," she
promised, as she pleaded with
Opposition Jamaica Labour
Party supporters to back her,
explaining "I am about the peo-
ple, Jamaica and Jamaicans."
As she did the night
before, Simpson Miller prom-
ised to balance the books and
balance the people's lives as
well. She announced an initia-
tive to advertise Jamaican jobs
in and outside Jamaica so that
Jamaicans in the diaspora
would also have access. Her
impassioned comments about
understanding the poor because
of her poor background also
resonated with the crowd.
With that, the audience
sprang to their feet, erupting
in long, thunderous applause,
in honor of Jamaica's first
female prime minister.

Dawn A. Davis is a freelance
writer for Caribbean Today.
0


(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2)
casting licences in Dec. 1999
and Sept. 2000 respectively. A
search of the Companies
Registry revealed that Citadel,
whose directors were Louis
Lee Sing and Anthony Lee
Aping, had only been incorpo-
rated on Aug. 28, 2001.
Citadel applied for a
licence on Mar. 13, 2001. The
SDMS found this out in Aug.
2002, prompting the organiza-
tion, whose application was
still pending, to take legal
action against the AG on the
grounds of discrimination.
The judgement said there

'Don't give up
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2)
alism, and problems with
Jamaica's struggling economy -
her connection with the people,
that saw her write a page in
Jamaica's history, was evident.
"That's what we needed all
along, a prime minister that
will stand up for rights, and for
unity, and (who is) non-politi-
cal," Jamaican-born Kirk
Harpaul told Caribbean Today,
after listening to Simpson
Miller speak. "We need a true,
genuine prime minister."
For Jamaican-born Sharon


was a "conspicuous" failure to
process the application over
three years by the director of the
telecommunications division.
The matter was first heard
before Justice Carlton Best on
Jan. 19, 2004 and judgement
was given on Feb. 4. The
judge held that there had been
unequal treatment against the
CBSL and the SDMS, but con-
sidered it unnecessary to grant
an order obliging the Cabinet
to give the organization a
licence. He ruled that only the
CBSL was entitled to relief.




on Jamaica'
T. rrdo iin, Simpson Miller's
leadership is an encouraging
sign that Jamaica has brighter
days ahead.
"We just want to work
with her and wish her all the
best," the Lauderhill, Florida
resident told Caribbean Today,
"and hope that Jamaica can be
a better place that we can go
home and be happy."
Story and main cover photo-
graph by Damian R Gregory,
Caribbean Today's deputy
managing editor.
0


New P.M. delivers rallying


cry to Jamaicans in Florida





CARIBBEAN TODAY


F EATU RE


r wwwcrbe-n Sod SySc


Trinis lead Caribbean celebration at soccer World Cup in Germany


GORDON WILLIAMS
Agyrating red, white
and black Congoo
line" near midnight in
Dortmund, Germany meant
only one thing: The Trinis
were in the house.
For nearly two weeks last
month, thousands of fans of
Trinidad and Tobago's Soca
Warriors soccer team made
their presence felt during
World Cup 2006.
They traveled from the
twin-island republic, parts of
North America and Europe,
and the rest of the Caribbean
to celebrate their team's par-
ticipation in soccer's bin_.- ,I


show. Along the way they
startled, engaged and
embraced the wide-eyed
German population not used
to the Caribbean carnival spir-
it. And even though the Soca
Warriors failed to find the net
on the field, their loyal fans -
face paint, flag waving and all
- scored big off it.
"We're sharing in a piece
of history," was how Riyad
Khan, a 28-year-old who lives
in San Fernando, Trinidad,
explained the experience to
Caribbean Today as he trav-
eled by train to T&T's first
game against Sweden in
Dortmund.
"We're here to explore


High Court steps in


as Guyana wiretap


controversy deepens


GEORGETOWN, Guyana -
Justice William Ramlall's gag
order last month prohibiting
all government ministers and
their functionaries from com-
menting or issuing statements
on the so-called "tape gate"


scandal has temporarily
cooled the political climate
here.
The scandal, which has
ensnared Police Commissioner
Winston Felix, had also
sparked a nasty public spat
between the top cop and
Home Affairs Minister Gail
Teixeira.
Felix, last month, applied
to the High Court to quash
Prime Minister Sam Hinds's
decision to write to him on
allegations arising from a
number of controversial wire-
tapped conversations. He also
sought and was granted an
order prohibiting the prime
minister from proceeding with
any investigation to determine
whether to advise President
Bharrat Jagdeo to appoint a
tribunal to probe possible
wrongdoing in the matter.


The controversy started in
February after a robust Joint
Services campaign to recover
38 weapons stolen from the
army's storage bond entangled
some prominent businessmen
and former police ranks. All
are now wanted for question-
ing here following the discov-
ery of the illegal weapons,
narcotics and other parapher-
nalia at their firms or homes.
Two wiretapped tapes,
allegedly containing the voice
of Felix discussing sensitive
national security issues with
an Opposition legislator mys-



p


leixeira


seriously surfaced at the
height of the campaign. Prime
Minister Sam Hinds wrote
Felix last month demanding
an "immediate rp, n,ii fol-
lowing repeated televised
broadcast of the two tapes.

STUNNED
Felix told Hinds in a letter
he would consult his attorneys
before responding fully to his
demands, but stunned the gov-
ernment with a sudden move
to the High Court. In his affi-

(CONTINUED ON PAGE 8)


A T&T fan proudly raises a banner that underscores his support for the Soca Warriors at the 2006 World Cup.


the culture of Germany and
have fun; that goes without
saying."

PRESENCE
Khan, who visited a few
other cities including Frankfurt,
Dusseldorf, Nuremburg and
Kaiserslautern, was absolutely
right. And judging from the
massive presence of ever jump-
ing and cheering fellow Trinis
at all three Soca Warriors'


match venues Nuremberg
and Kaiserslautern were the
other two he was never alone.
All harbored the dream that
T&T would somehow pull
through the first round or
group phase of the competi-
tion, especially after a promis-
ing start, but few had entered
Germany expecting the
Warriors to beat established
soccer powers like Sweden and
England.


"I'm not looking for them
to win a game," said former
national youth player Carlos
Lee before T&T's first game
against Sweden. "But if they
can tie a game that will be
good."
A 0-0 draw with Sweden
satisfied that appetite. It also
inspired the players and fans
to set their sights even higher
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 8)


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July 2006






CARIBBEAN TODAY


-usw^caribbeantodj..c..


F EATU RE


Trinis lead Caribbean celebration at soccer World Cup in Germany


(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7)
as the competition wore on.
Losses to England and then


FAMILY
"We're all one big family
in the Caribbean," said
Jamaican Alison Taffe as she


well. Many liked the spunk of
the underdog Warriors. T&T,
with its population of 1.3 mil-


countries. In large cities like
Frankfurt and small towns,
Trinbagonians were spotted


the streets and stations after
games, blew horns and whis-
tles, and hugged strangers as if
they were long lost friends. In
many instances, the locals
returned the favor as if it was
the most natural trade.
"We support the Trinidadians
over the Englanders," German
Rainer Schuhmann said after
T&T lost to England in his
hometown Nuremberg. "It's
Caribbean."
For two weeks in June the
Caribbean had indeed made
its mark in Germany.

Story and photographs by
Gordon Williams, Caribbean
Today's managing editor.
0


Trinidad and Tobago fans at the World Cup show off their true colors.


Paraguay ended those hopes,
but did not totally dampen the
Caribbean spirit. Many from
other countries in the region
showed up in Germany specif-
ically to cheer for T&T.


waited for the kickoff at
T&T's second match in
Nuremberg. "I have no prob-
lem supporting Trinidad."
It turned out that view
was shared by Europeans as


lion, is the smallest nation
ever to play in the World Cup
finals. And, of the 32 teams in
this year's event, the Trini fan
support and visible presence
did not fall far behind other


almost everywhere, in stores,
bars and train stations, even
on days when the Soca
Warriors were not scheduled
to take the field.
They sang and danced in


High Court steps in as Guyana

wiretap controversy deepens


(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7)
davit, Felix said "it appears to
me that the Government of
Guyana has...has purportedly
commenced invocation of the
constitutional provisions
to effect my removal from
office."
However, this was reject-
ed by Minister Teixeira who
said the government has never
called for the removal of the
police commissioner.
"In fact, it has not been
the administration but the
Georgetown Chamber (of
Commerce) and members
from the Private Sector
Commission (PSC) who have
been repeating calls for his
resignation," Teixeira said in a
television broadcast.
"I would like to disclose
to the commissioner of police
how erroneous his conclusions
are and the height of reckless-
ness he has publicly displayed
in making those unworthy
claims," she continued.
The minister said that if
the commissioner of police has


nothing to hide, tiur, I in the
face of mounting public con-
cern he would see merit in not
opposing an investigation as
laid out in the constitution."
Felix has consistently
denied the conversations on


the two tapes ever took place
and said in his affidavit that
they are clumsy simulations,
edited by "phantoms who
seem to have caught the ear of
the government."
Meanwhile, parliamentar-


ian Deryck Bernard, of the
main Opposition People's
National Congress Reform
(PNC/R), says he finds it
alarming the security minis-
ter's first worry is about the
contents of the tape and not
the perpetrators who made
the illegal recording.
Teixeira said since the two
tapes surfaced the government
had given the Joint Services
an additional G$20 million
($100,000) for intelligence
gathering; authorized the
deployment of the GDF from
their barracks; and enlisted
international assistance in the
criminal investigations. She
accused Felix of pursuing an
unprofessional course of
action by seeking to discredit
Hinds and the government by
"using the courts and other
technicalities to stave off an
investigation into his conduct.
"By inference and by
words, the commissioner of
police has unprofessionally
and precipitously gone to the
courts prejudging the actions
to be taken by the honorable


prime minister and His
Excellency the President
(Bharrat Jagdeo) on the basis
of unsubstantiated and base-
less claims against the govern-
ment," she said.

'RECKLESS'
Teixeira said the police
commissioner's move to the
High Court is reckless and has
undermined his professional-
ism.
But in his ruling, Justice
Ramlall said Teixeira's state-
ments were dJil,,i ul ',
reminding that the constitu-
tion gives every Guyanese the
right to legal redress.
The ruling is welcome
respite from the boiling con-
troversy which threatens to
further tear apart this racially
and politically fractured coun-
try. Guyanese now wait to see
what will be the next develop-
ment.

- CMC
0


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Vol. 17, Number 8 JULY. 2006

PETER A WEBLEY
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GORDON WILLIAMS
Managing Editor
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July 2006








Dads are the awesome-est Turning t


Dads are the awesome-est Turning t


We've reached an odd
place in Western his-
tory when a case has
to be made for fatherhood, but
here we are.
I'm a shameless "Daddy's
girl" even though I'm well past
the age of a "girl" and
"Daddy" is 10 years in the
grave. I'm even past grieving at
this point and struggle some-
times to bring his face into
focus.
What I have no trouble
recalling is the power of his
influence in my life and the
utter impossibility of imagining
a childhood without him. It's
not that he was perfect who
is? but he was mine. And
because my mother died
young, he was mostly mine for
much of my childhood.
This particular happen-
stance is probably what led me
to become a champion of
fathers. If my father had died
young instead of my mother,
maybe I'd be a champion of
motherhood, but I doubt
it for this simple reason:
Motherhood doesn't need a
champion.

UNCERTAINTY
The sanctity of mother-
hood is intact and manifest,
as irrefutable as the umbilical
bond between mother and
child. Fatherhood is something
less certain. Until the advent of
DNA to prove paternity,
fatherhood was a bond of faith
founded in trust.
She says, "The baby's
yours."
He says, "I will be his
father."
Unlike women, who know
with inescapable certainty that
they are the parent of their
own child, men have had to
place their faith in the integrity
of their sexual partner. Thus,
fatherhood was a voluntary
commitment, a quintessential
offering of self-sacrifice and
surrender to mother and child.
His selfish interest, of
course, was tied to his wish to
propagate and protect his own
bloodline. Even so, sticking
around requires a leap of faith
that borders on the mystical.
It's really rather sweet
when you think about it man
surrendering his less laudable
nature, tamping down his more
natural inclination to play
Johnny Appleseed in order to
mow grass on weekends and
patch skinned knees for the
added privilege of working
hard for little credit. Fathers,
in a word, are awesome.
Things have shifted a bit
in recent years, you may have
noticed, and LI, k" isn't
a word you hear much in
describing men, unless you've
got some little moon-faced twit
gaping at a guy'csp or the
angle of his jeans. More often


they're deadbeats, losers,
rapists, murderers and abusers.
Oh, and idiots. Name a TV.
dad who can tie his shoes with-
out assistance from his far-
smarter wife or kid.

EXPENDABLE
Fathers aren't only
morons, they're expendable.
Today's women armed
with degrees and checkbooks,
not to mention easy access to
sperm banks enjoy the social
freedom to have children with
or without
dear ol' dad
counting con-
tractions and
are increas-
ingly opting
\ y out of the
paperwork.
Gone is any
shame associ-
KATHLEEN ated with hav-
PARKER ing children
out of wed-
lock.
For a visual aid, picture
Angelina Jolie goddess/moth-
er toting her collection of glob-
al offspring with unwed Brad-
Dad in tow, shuffling along like
a bashful Sherpa. You get the
feeling he's a bit player in the
larger narrative, a cameo father
with a little "f". How long
before mother becomes bored
with the father she thus far has-
n't bothered to marry?
Obviously, l.,1briiIL, occu-
py a demographic all their own,
and celebs of Jolie-Pitt status
dwell in a niche apart. Who
else gets to shut down a coun-
try while they give birth? But
the broader celebration of
these faux-unions and love-
babies creates a new storyline
that trickles down to the street
and gets re-enacted by the un-
celebs and lesser actors among
us.
Advice to Jolie wannabes:
If you're going to have babies
outside of marriage, it's best to
have a few millions stashed in
el banco. Barring that, it's best
to have a father who cares that
his offspring are more than the
result of a random sprint
around the fallopian track.
To say that children want,
need and deserve to have a
father seems as unnecessary as
insisting that they want, need
and deserve oxygen. How did
we arrive at not knowing this?
That some marriages aren't
good enough to preserve is
understood and regrettable. But
why we would willingly fashion
a society in which men are deni-
grated and fathers minimized
like some useless icon is a mys-
tery that escapes me.
The even greater mystery
is that men continue to sign up
for the job, to sublimate them-
selves to the higher charge of

(CONTINUED ON PAGE 10)


W ell, I have
been saying
for years
that men cannot really
cheat on women, as it
is the very nature of
men to stray, and
deep down in their
subconscious, women
kind of expect it.
But when a
woman who is per-
ceived to be virtuous,
respectable, domesti-
cated and wifely, takes
unto herself a lover,
then men freak out.
It's like they were
blindsided, hit by a
left hook that they
never saw coming,
taken completely by
surprise, and that's
why it upsets and
hurts them so.
"I never thought
that my wife would go with
another man, never in my i. /..
dreams. All those evenings she
gone to prayer meeting, and she
was on her knees, but not
praying."
But it's because of this
foolish notion that men have,
that women do not, and will
not screw around, plus the fact
that wives are 'property' why it
mystifies them when they do.
Women have confided to
me that every few months they
have to go outside for a little
taste of something different,
even though it will not affect
their relationship with their
husbands.
"I wish men could under-
stand that women have the same
wanderlust that men have, but
just that many are afraid to act
on it. Well, I'm not."
What is interesting is that if
the man found out that his
woman was turning the screws
with another woman, he might
not be as upset as if she had it
with another man. That's
because a rival man has a
screwdriver, enters a woman,
penetrates her body, mind and
soul, and men can't handle that.

EYE OPENER
The eye opening findings
of a team of German


:he screws


researchers
reported that
53 percent of
women said
that they had
been unfaith-
ful to their
partners, com-
pared to 59
percent of TONY
men. ROBINSON
Still, the
reasons why
women are unfaithful are differ-
ent from men. Men are driven
by lust, while women usually
have more complex reasons and
in fact, infidelity can happen
even to good people in good
marriages, the research paper
says. The top three reasons they
say, are friendships at work,
child centered marriages and
intimate Internet conversations.
Now we all know how that
friendship at work scenario
pays out. The wife spends a
whole heap of time with her
boss or co-worker in the prime
hours of the day, with her at
her best. They are in constant
contact, sharing office stuff,
personal stuff and other stuff,
seeing each other constantly.
By the time she gets home to
hubby, she is tired, worn out
from the day and ready only
for housework and child duties.


But come tomorrow, she's fresh
again and ready to work with
and banter with the man in the
office. It's a time that she looks
forward to. Naturally some-
thing is going to happen, and in
no time it grows until it
explodes and she turns the
screws on her husband. She
didn't set out to do it, but it
happens.
What's even more reveal-
ing, the study unfolds, is that
half of all wives turn the screws
on their husbands at some
point in the marriage and 90
percent feel no guilt at all. In
fact they felt entitled, because
they had been so unhappy in
the marriage, so her turning
the screws was a liberating and
justifiable action.
That's another thing, this
term 'happily married'. I did an
informal survey, speaking indi-
vidually to both parties, and
many husbands professed that
they were happily married, and
many wives also told me that
they were happily married, but
to date, no husband and wife
from the same marriage told
me that they were both happily
married. So, one man's heaven
is one woman's hell and vice
versa.
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 10)


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July 2006


CARIBBEAN TODAY





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v


I E WP O I N T


World soccer stage displays T&T's crowning glory


GORDON WILLIAMS
I t is not often that small
nations, especially from the
C.,ril'hIiin make such a
positive impact on the world
stage that even those who once
sneered at that country eventu-
ally had to turn around, switch
their thinking, and salute the
"little engine that could".
"The little engine that
could" is precisely what
Trinidad and Tobago turned
out to be at this year's World
Cup soccer finals in Germany.
T&T struggled mightily to
get to the final round of 32
teams, having to survive a
playoff with Bahrain. And with
1.3 million people in the twin-
island republic, T&T became
the smallest nation ever to
qualify for the big show last
month.
But that was just the
beginning.
When the "Soca Warriors"
- the popular nickname for
T&T's team arrived in
Germany no one expected
them to do well in a group that
included European powers


England and Sweden, plus
Paraguay, a quality team from
soccer-mad South America. At
best, the critics said, T&T
should simply try to avoid total
embarrassment on the field.
Forget about winning or even
securing a point for a draw.
Many T&T fans, even the
staunchest among them, some-
how believed that as well. To
them, qualifying for the World
Cup was their "World Cup
finals already", as one fan said.
Everything else, they
explained, was mere gravy.
For many fans, the trip to
Germany would merely repre-
sent a chance to re-locate a
huge soca fete from the
Caribbean to Europe.

QUIET CONFIDENCE
Yet someone failed to con-
vince the Soca Warriors them-
selves. Inside the T&T camp
there was a quiet confidence.
T&T's crafty coach Leo
Beehakker did not have a mass
of high-priced soccer talent at
this disposal. What he did have
was a loyal group of hardwork-
ing players so passionate about
their sport and country that no


one could convince them that
they would not do well on the
field of play.
And that, indeed, they did.
The Warriors battled to a
gritty goalless draw against
Sweden, succumbed to two
late goals against mighty
England, before showing the
world that they could perform
with attractive grace and style
as well in a loss to Paraguay.
T&T scored no goals in
their three games and earned
only a point from Sweden.
The team earned respect on
the field, and the fans, that
spirited, colorful throng which
marched into Germany armed
mostly with a smile and unbri-
dled joy, grabbed a huge chunk
of it off the pitch as well. Many
non-Trini fans, not just from
the C(rilbb.iin, embraced the
march of the Soca Warriors.
They cheered for them, partied
with them, and cried with them
when they lost.
The Trini fans in turn were
on their best conduct. There
has been no report so far of
misbehavior by fans. If they
committed any "crime", it's
simply that they had way too


much fun. It was not an unusu-
al sight to see Trinis prancing
around the streets of Frankfurt,
Nuremberg, Kaiserslautern and
Dortmund late into the night.
They drank, they sang and they
danced.
Their spirit was so infec-
tious that the Trini colors of
red, white and black were
being paraded around by peo-
ple who could hardly tell
where the twin-island republic
was located, much more who
was on the team. They just
seemed to be having such a
good time and others wanted a
piece of it.
Yet when it all ended, at


the last match in Kaiserslautern,
it became clear that the little
nation that could had done
much more than become a road
party. Thousands in the packed
stadium rose to applaud the
valiant Soca Warriors as they
left the field for the last time in
the tournament. It was a salute
that would have made any Trini
- and anyone from the
Caribbean as well extremely
proud.

Gordon Williams is
Caribbean Today's managing
editor.
0


Dads are the awesome-est


(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9)
being a father even in the face
of a culture that belittles them.
That's what fathers do, of
course: take the grief and keep
on keeping on.
Which is why we love
them.


Kathleen Parker is a syndicat-
ed columnist for the Orlando
Sentinel.

2006 Tribune Media
Services, Inc
0


Turning the screws


(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9)
"Well, I'm glad that she's
happy, at least one of us is."
SEX SEARCH
What's interesting, is that
just like men, women also have
sex driven affairs, for as sure as


night follows day, sex eventual-
ly dies after marriage. But hear
this now, that death can be
resuscitated if a third party
enters the graveyard. That
same sexless frumpy wife can
become a raging inferno if
some young stud woos and


wins her, and as for the hus-
band, all he wants is a wink
from a young lass and the force
of a thousand dormant volca-
noes will erupt with a cata-
clysmic explosion that will rock
his world.
Believe it or not, low
self esteem, brought on by a
woman constantly doing
housework and caring for chil-
dren, will also drive her to turn
the screws. Her husband only
sees her as a wife, a mother of
his children, the keeper of the
house, no longer a lover. But
along comes John, Big John,
smooth talking lean and hand-
some John who reminds her
how sexy and desirable she is.
You'd be frightened to see how
fast she flings off the apron and
turns off the stove, for she's
desired again, a whole woman.
Remember, women thrive
on praise and admiration, just


like flowers.
This Internet thing has
changed the lives of so many
people and has also added
fuel to the fire of infidelity.
So many wives have intimate
relationships on the Internet
that eventually grow into the
real thing. I'm sure you've
heard the term cybersex, well,
it's true, and many women are
hooked on it. It's so easy to
expose yourself and bare your
soul over the Internet, espe-
cially if you're basically a shy
person. After a while it gets so
hot that only a consummation
can cool the ardour.
But hear this now, the
research says that women can
actually be guilty of emotional
infidelity. The therapist says
that if you're married and
share secrets with a close
friend of the opposite sex or go
out for drinks after work all
the time with the same person,
you are guilty of emotional
infidelity.
"You can't have an inti-
mate relationship at work and
still have a great relationship at
home. Even if there is no sex,
it's still adultery," he says.
Well, I have been saying so
for years, that women can do
this emotional no sex thing and
shut out the husbands in the
process. After a while she
won't even like her husband
any more and not know it. Oh,
she still loves him, because of
long service and devotion, but
doesn't like him very much and
finds everything he does
annoying and irritating. Some
even focus on their children so
much that they virtually cheat


on their husbands emotionally
with the children, without
knowing it.

BACK TO NORMAL
What's even more scary is
how women can carry on
affairs and act as if everything
is normal at home.
Usually when men have
affairs the world knows, the
cliche coming home late, scent
of perfume and so on. But it's
different for a woman. The
research paper says that there
are signs that men should look
for.
Men, be concerned, be
very concerned if your wife
suddenly demands more sex,
seems unusually attentive to
you, and wears her wedding
ring more often than she did
before.
Even so, most women who
turn the screws stick to their
old routine, leave for work
same time, return home same
time and none's the wiser. But
it's what happens in between
that's important. Let us not for-
get revenge as a motive, as
many women turn the screws
to get back at them. Revenge
they say is a meal best eaten
cold, but in this case it's hot,
hot, hot.
I have been saying it for
years, that men screw around
and women screw around too,
but the women are better at
turning the screws, plus screw-
drivers are everywhere.
Take care now.

seidol@hotmail.com
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Barbados calls for regional campaign


Barbados calls for regional campaign


NEW YORK, CMC -
Barbados Foreign Affairs and
Foreign Trade Minister Dame
Billie Miller has reiterated her
appeal for a regional cam-
paign in the promotion of
Caribbean tourism.
"I want to appeal, as I
did during the years when I
presided over the CTO...
10 years later, I still want to
appeal to you. A regional
advertising or promotional...
campaign is critical," she told a
huge gala ceremony at the
Governments of the Caribbean
State Ball held last month at
the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in
midtown Manhattan.
The ball was organized by


the Caribbean Tourism
Organisation (CTO) as part
of celebra-
tions for
"Caribbean
Week" in
New York.
The
region's
tourism has
to become
more com-
petitive if it is Miller
going to be
world class, Dame Billie said
during her acceptance speech
after receiving the CTO's
highest honor, the Lifetime
Achievement Award.
The former CTO chair-


man, one of only two females
to ever head the regional
tourism organization, said
many years ago a pilot cam-
paign was instituted, with con-
tributions from the public and
private sectors, in which the
Caribbean was successfully
"profiled to the world.
"We abandoned it, but I
think we need to go back,
where all the governments -
and it is going to require polit-
ical will all the stakeholders
put their money into the
regional campaign to profile
the Caribbean," she said.
0


Bajan Odle is new CHA president


MIAMI, CMC Barbadian
hotelier Peter Odle has
assumed the presidency of
Caribbean Hotel Association
(CHA) for the 2006-2008
term.
During the closing cere-
mony of the 2006 Caribbean
Hotel Industry Conference
(CHIC), held late last month
at the Hyatt Regency here,
outgoing president Berthia
Parle officially passed the
baton to Odle.
In his inaugural address
Odle said the essence of his
platform would be based on
"unity through consultation
and communication." He said
the CHA needed to become a
more effective leader in


regional tourism while
strengthening its relationship
with other tourism partners.
"Of equal importance we
must also become more
responsive to the needs of our
members, underscoring the
importance of upholding and
advancing the diversity and
representation that is the core
of the association," he said.
The new CHA president
also noted his intention to
tackle the issues of liberaliza-
tion, regional collaboration,
the cruise industry, intra-
regional travel and advocacy
with a unified approach.
"What is at stake is the
viability of an industry that
continues to attract so many


people from
all over the
world," he
said.
Odle, the
owner and
managing
director of
the 76 room
Odle Mango Bay
hotel in
Barbados, is joined by a group
of officers elected by the
membership which includes
Allen Chastanet of St. Lucia,
first vice president; and
Jeremy MacVean of The
Bahamas, second vice presi-
dent.
0


Caribbean sees rise in tourist arrivals


CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC -
A number of Caribbean coun-
tries have seen an increase in
their tourist arrivals for the
first quarter of this year
compared to 2005.
Figures released by
the Caribbean Tourism
Organization last month
revealed arrivals up in Antigua,
four percent; Barbados, 4.5
percent; Grenada, 13 percent;
Jamaica, 15 percent; and
Guyana, 19 percent.


St. Lucia, however, has
experienced a 10 percent
decline in arrivals for the
January to March period. The
decline comes despite the fact
that the island has registered a
significant increase in hotel
rooms and airline seats.
The CTO figures also
point to a 1.5 percent decline
in arrivals for May 2006,
despite the fact that tourism
officials have been reporting
an increase in arrivals for the


St. Lucia Jazz Festival, which
took place in May.
There was an overall
decline of eight percent for
arrivals in St. Lucia during the
January to May 2006 period,
the CTO report indicated.
Tourism officials here
told the Caribbean Media
Corporation that they were
still assessing reasons for the
decline.
0


Ritz Carlton looks to set up hotel in St. Lucia


CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC -
The international hotel chain
Ritz Carlton is making plans
to set up a hotel in the south
of St. Lucia.
This was confirmed late
last month by Tourism Minister
Phillip J. Pierre and President
of the St. Lucia Hotel and
Tourism Association (SLHTA)
Allen Chastanet.
Pierre told CMC on June
30 that a letter of intent had
been signed between the
developers, an Irish-based
group and officials of Ritz


Carlton in the presence of sev-
eral industry officials.
"The contract is now
being finalized to break
ground on a property in the
southern town of Vieux Fort
which will be branded to Ritz
Carlton," Pierre said.

GOLF
Chastanet disclosed that
discussions were also being
held on the designing of a
championship 18-hole golf
course by a leading interna-
tional group of developers.


"This is excellent news for
the destination because any-
time you can attract a brand as
prestigious as Ritz Carlton, it
is a great acclaim for the desti-
nation and would bring a lot to
the table," Chastanet said.
He said the Ritz Carlton
was one of several hotel oper-
ators and developers currently
setting up shop in St. Lucia,
most of which will be opening
in time for next year's Cricket
World Cup.
0


AVEL ce.com


Caribbean seeks delay

of U.S. passport plan


NEW YORK, CMC -
Caribbean tourism officials are
pushing for a further delay to
the United States plan to
implement passport require-
ments for American
citizens.
The plan, which is due to
take effect on Jan. 1 next year,
will make it mandatory for all
Americans returning home
from the Caribbean and other
countries in the Western
Hemisphere to have a passport
to enter their country.
But Vincent Vanderpool-
Wallace, secretary general
of the Caribbean Tourism
Organisation (CTO), said that
the region would be at a disad-
vantage if the passport
law were enforced next year.
Vanderpool-Wallace said
regional tourism officials have
been meeting with senior U.S.
officials in the Caribbean who
have agreed to press the
Caribbrn's case in
Washington.
"The reason for a further
postponement must be that the
pick up of new passports by
U.S. citizens has been nowhere
near the numbers that we
would like to see," he told
journalists gathered here for
the closing of "Caribbean

Caribbean na

free moveme
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts,
CMC Caribbean nationals, as
well as visitors to the region,
will be able to move freely
throughout the countries
between January and May next
year as the region is converted
to a single domestic space for
the 2007 Cricket World Cup
(CWC).
This move is part of a $13
million security plan agreed on
recent by Caribbean communi-
ty (CARICOM) leaders during
their summit here. The plan will
include the nine countries host-
ing cricket matches in addition
to Dominica.
Barbados's Deputy Prime
Minister Mia Mottley said per-
sons who would be traveling
intra-regionally would not have


Week 2006" last month.
Regional tourism officials,
working through the Caribbean
Community Council for Foreign
and Community Relations
(COFCOR) and Caribbean
ambassadors in Washington, suc-
cessfully argued against the origi-
nal implementation date of
Jan. 1, 2006, saying it put the


region at a disadvantage since
Americans returning from
Mexico and Canada by air
would not need a passport
before Jan. 1, 2007.
Those returning from the
two U.S. border states by land
have been given an additional
year, and will require a pass-
port by Jan. 1, 2008.



tionals allowed

nt during CWC
their passports stamped upon
entry even though they would
still be required to submit an
immigration form "largely
because there is other informa-
tion on it." She said there
would also be a common
CARICOM visa and the 10
countries (nine host countries
and Dominica) have agreed
that for the period Jan. 15 to
May 15, the common CARI-
COM visa will be the visa they
will adhere to. The visa
requirement is for 46 countries
and will be issued from Aug.
15 this year. Britain will issue
those visas to countries where
there is no diplomatic repre-
sentation by CARICOM.
0


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July 2006


CARIBBEAN TODAY








14
~00 C,


CARIBBEAN TODAY

FOOD


July 2006


OA ./


I www .caibeatoa.comI


Escoveitched fish fit for a Caribbean king


Fish is a Caribbean
favorite, and not just
because the islands are
surrounded by the sea. It's all


in the preparation, which can
turn simple seafood into a
culinary delight.
This month we feature a


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longtime favorite in the region
- escoveitched fish, that tangy,
spicy delight that makes your
mouth water just thinking
about it. And
now that the
summer is here,


maybe
Caribbean
households will
find the time to
get this tasty dish
going for family
and friends.
The recom-
mended fish for
this delicious
feast are snap-
per, jack, king,
cutlass, sprat and
goat.

INGREDIENTS
* 3 lbs. fish sliced
in 1/2 thick
slices
* 4 teaspoons
black pepper
and 4 tea-
spoons of salt
combined


* 2 or 3 limes or lemons
* 1/2 scotch bonnet pepper cut
in strips or 1/2 teaspoon
dried tabasco pepper
* 2 cups cane or malt vinegar
(white or brown)
* 1/2 cup oil for frying
* 1 teaspoon pimento seeds or
whole allspice
* 2 large onions sliced
* 1/2 teaspoon whole black
pepper grains


METHOD
Wash fish thoroughly
in water to which juice of
the limes or lemons has
been added. Dry thor-
oughly.
When absolutely dry,
coat the fish both sides
with the combined salt
and black pepper and set
aside on paper towels.
Heat oil in frying pan
to boiling point and fry
fish on both sides until
nice and crisp. Set fish
aside in a deep Pyrex
dish or other bowl.
In a saucepan combine
vinegar, sliced onions,
peppers, pimento seeds,
whole black pepper grains,
and bring to a boil. Simmer
until onions are tender and
remove from fire and cool.
Pour over fish and leave
steeping overnight.
Note: If sprats or goat fish
are used, do not slice.

Edited from Nevisl.com
0


FEASTING AT 'FOOTBALL'


Gordon Williams photograph


A hard-working journalist covering soccer's World Cup 2006 in Germany took time out at the stadium's
media center in Dortmund last month to sample the day's special menu offering, the "Tobago style rice
dish". Later that day, June 10, Trinidad and Tobago played Sweden in the Soca Warriors' opening match.
The result was a 0-0 draw, but for this scribe the Caribbean meal was definitely a winner.





CARIBBEAN TODAY


H E A LT H


r6ww -arbbentda.com


Government rejects calls for condoms in Jamaica's prisons


w


KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC -
A call by the Ministry of
Health here for the distribu-
tion of condoms in prisons has
been turned down by the
Ministry of National Security,
which has responsibility for
prisons.
The decision was made
during a meeting that was
held late last month involving
officials of the ministries of
National Security and Health
and the Department of
Correctional Services.
Security Minister Dr.


Pet
ing
rep
wet
tha
Da
con


of Corrections Colonel John
Prescod made the proposal,
which led to riots at the St.
Catherine and Tower Street
adult correctional centres,
resulting in 16 inmates being
killed and 40 others being
injured.
In 2001 the Health
Ministry said it had no immedi-
ate plan to issue condoms to
prison inmates to reduce the
spread of HIV/AIDS. Then
acting Chief Medical Officer
Deanna Ashley said the min-
istry and prisons service offi-


ter Phillips called the meet- Phillips cials were developing a pro-
after prison authorities owners, gram of education, training
ported that prison inmates The idea of condoms better care for both inmates
re restive following reports being distributed to prisoners and warders in response to a
t Health Minister Horace has been put on the table and rise in HIV/AIDS cases in tl
lley had endorsed a call for rejected several times. Nine prisons.
idoms to be given to pris- years ago, then Commissioner

Tips for childproofing your home


Home may be where the
heart is, but it's also
where steep stairs,
fragile glass, sharp objects,
scalding water and dangerous
toxins lurk.
An adult knows how to
avoid such hazards. A baby or
small child, however, is oblivi-
ous to them.
Author Vicky Lansky,
author of "Practical Parenting
Tips", offers some helpful
hints on how to make your
house a safe environment for
your children.
The Kitchen Your
kitchen is rife with hot liquids,
poisonous substances and
jagged utensils. Children tend
to be curious, so take precau-
tions. "Lock up everything
you can," Lansky says. "You
can use safety locks, a yard-
stick, bungee cords or even a
dog collar. Just clamp down
cabinets and doors so only
adults can open them."
Turn all saucepan han-
dles to the rear of the stove,
and remove the stove knobs
or use knob covers. While
you're at it, move all cleaning
supplies out from under the
sink.
When you're cooking,


aind

[he


Children need parents to protect them in the home.


use a kitchen timer. A child
can easily distract you, and if
you don't have a reminder, a
fire can result.
In addition, have your
child use paper cups instead of
breakable mugs. If a glass still
breaks, clean the mess up at
once, and use a damp paper
towel to pick up small shards.
The Bathroom The
bathroom has even more dan-
gers than the kitchen does.
Again, make sure that all cab-
inets and drawers are locked.


Never leave medicine or
cleaning supplies out.
Remember that mesh baskets
in the shower are good for
keeping shampoo, razors and
other hazardous items out of
kids' hands.
When bathing your
infant, do not leave her alone
for a second. You may even
want to take the phone off the
hook so you will not be dis-
tracted.
Keep a key or tool just
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 16)


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Notice
MORALITY
Meanwhile, Dr. Raymoth
Notice, who worked for years
as the doctor at the St.
Catherine Adult Correctional
Centre, hit out at the Security
Ministry for what he said was
its backward thinking on the


issue. He said the Security
Ministry should allow the
Health Ministry to make the
decision on what is a major
medical problem in the pris-
ons.
"Is it immoral to save
lives? It is more immoral to
watch men die? I think what
needs to happen is that the
entire health care in the pris-
ons needs to be managed by a
responsible Ministry of
Health," he said
According to Dr. Notice,
the distribution of condoms in
prisons would not be an
endorsement of homosexuali-
ty, instead it would be dealing
with the reality of what takes
place in correctional institu-
tions around the world.
0


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July 2006





CARIBBEAN TODAY


AIDS committee upset o

army's position on HIV/A


BELMOPAN, Belize,
CMC The National AIDS
Commission (NAC) says it is dis-
appointed at the position adopt-
ed by the Belize Defence Force
(BDF) regarding the mandatory
HIV/AIDS testing of recruits.
Late last month BDF med-
ical officer Dr. Irvin Gabourel
defended the practice, but NAC
Chairman Dolores Balderamos-
Garcia said the National AIDS
policy specifies that mandatory
testing should not be used as a
basis for excluding persons
from working and that includes
employment in the BDE
"This is actually the


policy of the land, both the
workplace and the National
HIV/AIDS policies," he said.
He said while the policy
has not "been passed into law,
but a policy leads to the next
steps of making the amend-
ments and adjustments to the
legislation.
"We have to start with the
policy framework and if as a
country we have a policy of not
forcing testing or not having
mandatory testing, then we
have to call on all partners to
abide. And this is why we felt it
necessary, not to be quarrel-
some or argumentative or any-


H HEALTH


river Belize

IDS testing
thing, but we felt that if there is
one policy in the country, we
have to promote that policy
without exception.
"Because if the BDF can
say, well you know because our
soldiers have to be fit and they
have to do rigorous exercise we
don't want anybody with HIV
within in the Force, and so you
screen people out.
"Then the Coast Guard
might come up and say we can do
that or some other agency or non-
governmental organization might
jump up and say, if the BDF can
do it, so can we," he said.
Balderamos-Garcia said he
was not against organizations
that require high physical activity
not having the responsibility to
carry out medical tests. But he
insisted it would be "irresponsi-
ble of the National AIDS
Commission to ever suggest that.
"Naturally there has to be
proper medical tests for various
kinds of employment. I mean
everybody, women have to do
our pap smear, we have to do
our breast exam, and men have
to do their P.S.A. test for
prostate cancer.
"Screening does need to
take place to maintain people's
good health, but the point we
want to make, focussing specifi-
cally on HIV and AIDS, is that
in and of itself, the HIV status
in and of itself should not be
the reason to screen somebody
out of an employment," the
NAC chairman said.
0


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Hospital ship to provide heart


surgery for T&T's children


PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,
CMC Minister of Health
John Rahael has announced
that a hospital ship, visiting
Trinidad and Tobago soon,
could provide heart surgery to
as many as 80 children with
heart problems.
Rahael said the ship will
visit in late July and stay for
six to eight weeks. He said
Cabinet agreed to the visit of
the DSS Anaesthesis II, a hos-
pital ship owned and operated
by a European relief agency
because of the benefits it
offers to the country.
Noting that some heart
surgery required by children
cannot be done in Trinidad,
he said: "Now with the advent
of this vessel and a team from
Sweden that will be coming
down, that is paediatric sur-
geons, we are hoping to elimi-
nate that waiting list."
While the ship operates as
a charity and would not be
charging for the costs of its


hanael
personnel and surgical opera-
tions, Rahael said the visit
involved "other budgetary
costs" to the tune of
TT$400,000 which would be
paid by the government.
The ship has 150 surgeons
who cover 200 different med-
ical specialties. It has 18 oper-
ating theaters and 250 patient
beds.
0


Tips for childproofing

your home


Citizens' Independent
Transportation Trust (CITT)
Applications for volunteers are now being accepted by the CITT
Nominating Committee. Currently, there are three vacancies in
Commission District 6, 7 and 8. Applications will be accepted
countywide for all Commission Districts and will remain on file for two-
years should an additional vacancy become available. The CITT is a
15 member board that monitors, oversees, reviews, audits and
investigates the implementation of the transportation and transit
projects listed in the People's Transportation Plan and all other
projects funded in whole or in part with the surtax proceeds.
Members serve without compensation for a four-year term. The
Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners, upon recommendation
of the Nominating Committee, will make their appointment to the
CITT. Applications may be obtained online at www.miamidade.gov/citt
or by calling 305-375-3481. All applications must be received by the
Clerk of the Board, at 111 NW 1st Street, Suite 17-202, Miami, FL
33128, no later than Monday, July 31, 2006, by 4 p.m,


the knob, but small children
will not be able to.
A swinging gate at the
top of the stairs has become a
common sight in houses with
newborns. A second gate at
the bottom of the stairs is
even better.
"If you have any doubt
about how safe your house is,
just get down on the floor and
crawl around," Lansky says.
"You'll be amazed to discover
objects that your baby can
choke on, sharp edges on fur-
niture and many things that
can easily snap off or tip over.
You can never do too much to
make your home safe for your
child."

Edited from Meadowbrook
Press
0


(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13)
outside the bathroom in case a
child locks herself inside. It's
not a bad idea to remove the
doorknob altogether until
your child is old enough to
handle the lock.
Doors, windows and stairs
- You can buy devices that will
childproof windows or allow
them to slide open only a few
inches. It's a good plan to put
decals at eye level on glass
doors and windows to remind
children that they are solid
objects.
Attach a bell to a win-
dow or door. This will notify
you if your child has succeed-
ed in opening them.
You can also place an
old sock over door handles.
Adults will be able to exert
enough hand strength to twist


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Physician
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(305) 655-0702
Graduate of UWI. Previously practiced in Mandeville,
Residency at JMH.
NEW LOCATION
250 NW 183rd Street, Miami. Florida 33169
DIPLOMATE OF THE AMERICAN BOARD OF FAMILY PHYSICIANS


July 2006





CARIBBEAN TODAY


& ENTERTAINME NT "


New York street renamed after Bob Marley


NEW YORK, CMC The "I think this will be histor-
legend of Bob Marley now ically significant," said
has a permanent home in Jamaican Michael Russell,
Brooklyn, New York. chairman of Community
The bustling stretch of Board 17 in Brooklyn, who
Church Avenue, between worked with other board
Remsen Avenue and members to push the initia-
East 98th Street, has been tive.
co-named Bob Marley "This is a significant
Boulevard. development for the

Vincentian artistes protest

against music piracy
KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, one radio station and the police
CMC International record- picked up that person and sub-
ing artiste Kevin Lyttle was sequently let (him/her) go."
among a number of local
singers and producers who CHEAP
staged a demonstration Bailey said pirates could
against the piracy of their afford to sell bootlegged
music late last month. music cheaper because of a
The demonstration lower cost of production.
came two days ahead of the "Like everything else, the
carnival celebrations in St. brand name stuff is more
Vincent and the Grenadines. expensive than the knock off
"The issue is that we are stuff," he said. "They (pirates)
not collecting any revenue at didn't have any cost to start
all because the pirates are col- with. All they had to do was
lecting the stuff and selling buy some CDs and get the
them even before we could stolen stuff from the radio
get the chance to put them on station or wherever and put
the street," producer Adrian it on CD.
Bailey said.
He said the
protest was the
first in a series of
public awareness
exercises intended
to curb the prac-
tice even as he
accused employees
of some radio sta-
tions leaking pro-
motional copies of
artistes' music to
pirates.
"We put them
on the radio for
promotional pur-
poses and some-
how they get out
of the radio station
and go straight to 'f
the person selling
on the street,"
Bailey said, Lyttle
adding: "That's not
right. That is ille-
gal." "It is illegal to sell stolen


He said artistes had, over
the years, complained and
provided evidence to the
police but the perpetrators
were released without being
charged.
"At this point in time we
are seeing a number of ven-
dors and it seems to be legiti-
mate and persons coming into
St. Vincent think this is legiti-
mate stuff so they can buy."
Bailey said it was impor-
tant for the authorities to take
ilih_, people off the street
because it is illegal.
"We have identified from
particular radio stations per-
sons, who have been doing it. I
even found evidence against


property. If they want to
sell legitimate stuff please
approach the producers. We
will definitely want to assist
you and support you."
Culture Minister Ren
Baptiste last month warned
pirates to stop the practice,
adding that her ministry was
prepared to help artistes in
seeking redress.
"I am making my final
appeal to individuals to
remove those CDs from
your shelves wherever you
conduct your trade," the
minister said.
0


"In the Third World, his
impact goes much further and
resonates not just among
Caribbean natives, but natives


Bob Marley's son Rohan, center, displays the Brooklyn street sign in honor of his father,
alongside Jamaica's Consul General to New York Basil K. Bryan, right, and New York
City Councilman Charles Barron.
Caribbean community. They Known worldwide,
will relate to it quite easily." Marley's music embodies
Renaming Church political repression, artistic
Avenue would pay a "fitting insight and political aware-
tribute to this musical genius, ness.
this humanitarian, this giant in "His music proves inspira-
this part of New York City tional and life-changing," said
that is known for a preponder- Russell, an administrator with
ance of Caribbean nationals," New York City's Human
Russell added. Resources Administration.


Marley


of Africa, Asia, Europe, and
North and South America."
Russell said to rename
Church Avenue would help to
revitalize businesses in and
around the avenue's arteries.
0


CARIBBEAN TODAY





C aribbean culture has influenced the world
in many Ways over the years, from the erotic
beauty of the islands and people, to the
pulsating rhythms of their music -
reggae, soca, salsa and merengue. -
Now, Caribbean food is beginning to
play a new and Vibrant role in how the
world views this region, from jerk "
pork to curry chicken, fried plan-. :
tains, fried yuca, cracked conch to V
flying fish, from mango
chutney to guaa jetty.
Caribbean beers, rum and liquors
are seen all over the world. Come with
Caribbean Today as We take you from the tip
of the Yucatan to the jungles of Guyana, as we explore the tastes of the Caribbean.
We will tell you where you can find those hard-to-get products and foods.

CALL NOW TO ADVERTISE!
1-800-605-7516 305-238-2868
Fax 305-252-7843
e-mai: sates@caribbeantoday.com
Articles for Editorial Consideration: October 19th, 2006
ADVERTISING DEADLINE: OCTOBER 27TH, 2006


July 2006





CARIBBEAN TODAY


S ARTS


& ENTERTAINMENT


Florida art center designated a Major Cultural Institution


HOLLYWOOD, Florida -
The Broward County Board
of County Commissioners, as
recommended by the Broward
Cultural Council, last month
designated the Art and
Culture Center of Hollywood
as a Major Cultural Institution
(MCI).
The Art and Culture
Center of Hollywood is one of
five MCIs in Broward County.
Other Broward MCIs are the
Fort Lauderdale International
Film Festival, Museum of Art,
Museum of Discovery and
Science, and the Opera Guild
of Fort Lauderdale.
"This is a landmark day in
the history of the Art and
Culture Center of Hollywood
and is the culmination of an
effort over many years involv-
ing many dedicated people
who deserve many thanks,"
said the center's Executive
Director Joy Satterlee in a
press release. "I also want to
thank the Broward County
Commission for supporting
the arts in Broward County
and for recognizing those
institutions that strive every-
day to deliver high-quality,
interesting and informative
visual and performing arts
programs to the widest possi-
ble audience."


The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood, which is housed in the historic Kagey mansion, was recently named a Major Cultural
Institution in Broward County, Florida.


ASSET
"The Art and Culture
Center of Hollywood has long
been an asset to the City of
Hollywood as well as Broward
County, and it's no wonder
that it has become the
city's first designated Major
Cultural Institution," said
Hollywood Mayor Mara
Giulianti.
"This distinction further


illustrates how Hollywood has
truly become a 'City of the
Arts.'"
Founded in 1975, the
Art and Culture Center of
Hollywood has a free annual
Ocean Dance event annually
on Hollywood Beach that
has featured such notable
performers as Mikhail
Baryshnikov and his White
Oak Dance Project. It played


a key role in Hollywood being
awarded a $5 million grant
from Broward County for
construction of the city's
ArtsPark, co-sponsors of
music and drama programs


"Reggae Sumfest", the annual
summer jam held in Jamaica,
will kick off on July 16 in
Montego Bay.
The 14th edition of the
musical event, which runs
through July 22 this year, is
scheduled to feature a combi-
nation of reggae and hip hop.
Among the artistes down to
perform are Damian "Junior
Gong" Marley, Rihanna, Lady


The best of dancehall will be
on tap July 19 at the "Top
Ranking" show, featuring the
likes of Yellowman, who will
receive an award for his con-
tribution to the music. Beenie
Man and Bounty Killer take
the stage the following night
during "Stormfront". The
"Ignition" concert is sched-
uled for July 20.
The summer festival will
climax with "The Summit" on
July 22. Rihanna and Jr. Gong
will help bring an end to the
event, which is being spon-


Hinanna


Saw, Beres Hammond, Buju
Banton and Mr. Vegas. Top
hip hop artistes like 50 Cents
and G-Unit have also been
listed for the week-long show.
The opening night will feature
the new free Vibe Island
Beach Party and the fashion
treat "Reggae on the
Runway".
The following day is
"Mad Mondays Mobay"
which promises an art and
craft street fair, food and
music.


'Jr. Gong' Marley


scored by Red Stripe, the
Jamaica Tourist Board, Air
Jamaica, Digicel and Ocean
Spray, as well as media part-
ners, the Jamaica Observer,
CVM TV and Fame FM.
For more information, log on
to www.reggaesumfest.com
0


Reggae Sumfest set for


Montego Bay, July 16-22


along with the City of
Hollywood's Parks and
Recreation Department at a
number of community centers,
and co-presents along with
the Broward Education
Communications Network a
distance learning visual and
performing arts series for all
Broward County students. It
also oversees programming
at the Hollywood Central
Performing Arts Center and
offers complimentary admis-
sion to its galleries on the
third Sunday of most months.
On the same day, the center
hosts "Family Day", where
children and their caregivers
may participate in a fun,
hands-on visual arts activity at
no charge.
MCI designation requires
achieving a high level of artis-
tic or cultural endeavor in the
community and institutional
support.
For more information,
visit www.artandculturecen-
ter.org
0


July 2006


-L- i .






CARIBBEAN TODAY


LO CAL


Now www .caibeatoa.comI


If you must go, then you should know


...Rules for U.S. aliens thinking about emergency travel


Often aliens from the
Caribbean living in the
United States are sum-
moned to return to the region
on short notice. It may be to
attend to a death in the family
or other emergency situations.
For those aliens who are
not sure of their status in the
U.S. and wish to complete
emergency travel to the
Caribbean, it is important to
know what U.S. law allows,
especially regarding re-entry
into the U.S.
The following is informa-
tion obtained from the U.S.
Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) to assist aliens
who may be faced with the
possibility of making emer-
gency travel:
Before leaving the U.S. on
an emergency, aliens should
determine if they require a
travel document to re-enter
the country. There are several
types of travel documents that
aliens (including legal perma-
nent residents) must obtain if
they wish to re-enter the coun-
try after travel outside of the
U.S. The following examines
re-entry permits, advance
parole and refugee travel doc-
uments. To apply for any of
these benefits, use Form 1-131.
A summary is provided below.
For further information on the
purpose of these documents
and eligibility requirements,
please refer to 8CFR.223.1.

CAUTION
Due to recent changes to
U.S. immigration law, travel
outside of the U.S. may have
severe consequences for aliens
who are in the process of
adjusting their status, extend-
ing their nonimmigrant stay, or
changing their nonimmigrant
status. Upon return, these
aliens may be found inadmissi-
ble, their applications may be
denied, or both. It is important
that the alien obtain the prop-
er documentation before leav-
ing the U.S.
Admission into the U.S. is
not guaranteed. In all cases,
the alien is still subject to
immigration inspection at a
port of entry to determine
whether the alien is admissible
into the country.
Under the Illegal
Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility
Act of 1996, aliens who depart
the U.S. after being unlawfully
present in the U.S. for certain
periods may be barred from
admission, even if they have
obtained Advance Parole.
Those aliens unlawfully pres-
ent in the U.S. for more than
180 days, but less than one
year, and depart voluntarily
before the start of removal
proceedings are inadmissible


for three years; those who are
unlawfully present for one year
or more are inadmissible for 10
years.
Aliens who have concerns
about admissibility should con-
tact an immigration attorney


of entry. It is also important to
note that travel outside of the
U.S. for more than one year
will under most circumstances
break the continuous residence
requirement for later natural-
ization purposes. Travel for


grant status and have or obtain
a valid K-3/4 nonimmigrant
visa before applying for read-
mission to the U.S.
Refugees and asylees who
have applied to adjust to per-
manent resident status under


If you enter the United States illegally, like these people seen crossing the Mexican/U.S. border, you are unlikely to be granted a re-
entry permit if you must leave the U.S. for an emergency outside the country in the future.


or an immigrant assistance
organization accredited by the
Board of Immigration Appeals
before making foreign travel
plans.

RE-ENTRY PERMIT
Lawful permanent resi-
dents (LPR or green card
holders) use re-entry permits
to re-enter the U.S. after travel
of one year or more. For
LPRs' returning to the U.S.,
re-entry permits are generally
valid for two years from the
date of issuance of the re-entry
permit. The LPR should apply
for this benefit before leaving
the U.S.
Conditional residents use
re-entry permits to re-enter the
U.S. after travel of one year or
more. For conditional resi-
dents returning to the U.S., re-
entry permits are generally
valid for two years from the
date of issuance of the re-entry
permit or until the date the
conditional resident must
apply for the removal of condi-
tions, whichever comes first.
The conditional resident
should apply for this benefit
before leaving the U.S.
The bureau does not extend
re-entry permits. See Section
223 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act.
A re-entry permit does not
guarantee admission into the
U.S. Aliens with re-entry per-
mits are still subject to the
inspection process at the port


over six months may break the
continuous residence require-
ment. See Section 316 (b) of
the Immigration and
Nationality Act.

ADVANCE PAROLE
Most aliens who have
pending applications for immi-
gration benefits or for changes
in nonimmigrant status need
advance parole to re-enter the
U.S. after traveling abroad.
Aliens applying for advance
parole on the basis of a pend-
ing application for adjustment
of status must be approved for
advance parole prior to leaving
the U.S. in order to avoid the
termination of their pending
application for adjustment.
This does not apply to aliens
who have applied to adjust to
permanent resident status and
who maintain H-1B (specialty
worker) or L-1 (intracompany
transferee) status, or their
dependents, who have applied
to adjust to permanent resi-
dent status and who have valid
H-1B or L status and valid
visas, V nonimmigrants who
have a valid V nonimmigrant
visa, are in valid V nonimmi-
grant status and have or obtain
a valid V nonimmigrant visa
before applying for readmis-
sion to the U.S., and K-3/4
nonimmigrants who have
applied to adjust to permanent
resident status and who have a
valid K-3/4 nonimmigrant visa,
are in valid K-3/4 nonimmi-


section 209 of the Immigration
and Nationality Act may travel
outside the U.S. on a valid
Refugee Travel Document and
do not need to apply for
advance parole.
Aliens in the U.S. should,
prior to departure, obtain
advance parole in order to re-
enter the U.S. after travel
abroad if they have:
Filed an application for
adjustment of status, but have
not received a decision from
the USCIS;
Hold refugee or asylee
status and intend to depart
temporarily to apply for a U.S.
immigrant visa in Canada;
and/or
An emergent personal or
bona fide reason to travel tem-
porarily abroad.
Applicants who are the
beneficiary of a private bill and
applicants who are under
deportation proceedings must
file to the Department of
Homeland Security, 425 I
Street, NW, ATTN: Parole and
Humanitarian Assistance
Branch, Washington, D.C. 20536
Aliens in the U.S. are not
eligible for advance parole if
they are:
In the U.S. illegally;
An exchange alien sub-
ject to the foreign residence
requirement;

REFUGEE TRAVEL
A refugee travel document
allows people who are or once


were refugees or asylees to
return to the U.S. after travel
abroad. The refugee or asylee
should apply for this benefit
before leaving the U.S.
In some cases, immigration
officials may issue travel docu-
ments to refugees or asylees
who are physically outside of
the U.S. See 8CFR 223.2(b)(ii)
The Secretary of Homeland
Security may allow any alien
applying for admission to the
U.S. temporary parole into the
U.S. for urgent humanitarian
reasons or significant public
benefit. This benefit is granted
sparingly, on a case-by-case
basis.
The alien must file Form
1-131, Application for a Travel
Document, complete with sup-
porting documentation, photos
and applicable fees. This form
can be downloaded from the
DHS's "Forms and Fees" page.
See the application for specific
filing instructions.

FILING FOR RE-ENTRY
If the alien is a permanent
resident or conditional resi-
dent, he or she must attach:
A copy of the alien reg-
istration receipt card; or
If he has not yet received
his alien registration receipt
card, a copy of the biographic
page of his passport and the
page of his passport indicating
initial admission as a perma-
nent resident, or other evi-
dence that the alien is a per-
manent resident; or
A copy of the approval
notice of a separate application
for replacement of the alien
registration receipt card or
temporary evidence of perma-
nent resident status.

FILING FOR ADVANCE
PAROLE
An alien in the U.S. and
applying for an Advance
Parole document for him or
herself must attach:
A copy of any document
issued to the alien by U.S.
immigration officials showing
present status in the U.S.;
An explanation or other
evidence demonstrating the
circumstances that warrant
issuance of advance parole.
If the alien is basing his
or her eligibility for advance
parole on a separate applica-
tion for adjustment of status or
asylum, he or she must also
attach a copy of the filing
receipt for that application.
If the alien is traveling to
Canada to apply for an immi-
grant visa, he or she must also
attach a copy of the consular
appointment.
0


July 2006





CARIBBEAN TODAY


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or call: (305) 238-2868


Caribbean Qay
I -_ - -


PASSPORTS
The National Passport
Information Center (NPIC),
the United States Department
of State's single, centralized
public contact center for U.S.
passport information, is offer-
ing a toll free service and has
expanded its service availabili-
ty/options.
Persons with questions or
need status checks on pending
passport applications can call
1-877-487-2778. Customer
service representatives are
available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Monday through Friday,
excluding Federal holidays.
Automated information is
available 24 hours a day, seven
days a week.
For e-mail access, visit:
npic@state.gov Website of
passport and other interna-
tional travel information is
available at travel.state.gov

'GREEN CARD' FILING
The United States
Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) has
announced that aliens must
mail applications to renew
or replace permanent resident
cards, commonly known as
"Green Cards", directly to the


Los Angeles Lockbox.
The Lockbox is a process-
ing facility used by USCIS to
accelerate the collection of
applications and petitions.
The announced change allows
the agency to improve the
processing of Form 1-90
(Application to Replace
Permanent Resident Card) by
electronically capturing data
and images and by performing
fee receipting and depositing
from one central location,
rather than at the local district
office, service center, or appli-
cation support center (ASC).
Aliens filing a Form 1-90,
regardless of their state of res-
idence, must mail those appli-
cations with an application fee
of $185 and a biometrics fee
of $70 to one of the following
addresses:
For U.S. Postal Service
(USPS) deliveries:
U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services, P.O.
Box 54870 Los Angeles, CA
90054-0870;
Or for non-USPS deliver-
ies (e.g. private couriers):
U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services,
Attention: 1-90, 16420 Valley
View Ave., La Mirada, CA


90638
Applicants should not
include initial evidence and
supporting documentation
when submitting the Form I-
90 to the Los Angeles
Lockbox.
Applicants will receive a
notice for a biometrics pro-
cessing appointment at an
ASC and will submit their
initial evidence during that
appointment.
Applicants will receive
their biometrics appointment
in the mail.

CRISIS HOTLINE
Multi-lingual counselors
are available to respond per-
sons suffering from stress or
needing help with housing,
food, child care, caring for
teens or other similar prob-
lems.
Call 211 from a regular
telephone or 954-537-0211
from a cellular.
The free service is being
offered as part of Broward
County's helplines.
0


Miami Dade College donates supplies to Caribbean schools

n 1995, Miami Dade College (MDC) history
professor Dr. Morris Johnson, right, traveled
to South Africa for eight weeks to work on a
doctoral dissertation. He encountered an edu-
cational system in deplorable condition. Some ,
schools were burned while others had windows
missing and a few were riddled with bullet ....
holes. ......
Upon his return to the United States, Dr.
Johnson decided that something should be
done. Thanks to the generosity of Miami Dade
College North Campus students, Dr. Johnson
donated basic school supplies such as back-
packs, paper, pencils, books and dictionaries to
needy children in countries such as South
Africa, Brazil, Tonga, Fiji and Trinidad.
This year, he is donating book bags filled
with scissors, paper, pencils, calculators and
books to students in The Bahamas, the
Dominican Republic and Haiti. The first set of
donations were shipped to The Bahamas late
last month and is to be followed by donations
to the Dominican Republic in July and Haiti in
September.
"It may not seem to be much, but when
you go into a school where there is barely any
equipment at all and you drop off three suitcas-
es full of supplies, everyone is grateful," said
Dr. Johnson, who has been teaching at MDC's
North Campus for 30 years. "We really make an
impact. It is truly rewarding to provide the sup-
plies."
Donations this year came from MDC
North Campus students in history and social
environment classes. Anthropology professor
Robert Moorman also asked his students to
donate. The students' donations filled two
rooms. One of Moorman's students, Maritza
Marquez, collected 80 book bags full of school
supplies and eight world globes.
"It was a lot of work," said Marquez, a
30-year-old nursing student at the North
Campus. "The garage in my house was full."
Anyone interested in making donations
may contact Dr. Johnson at 305-237-8111.'


July 2006





CARIBBEAN TODAY


Caribbean enjoys success attracting


foreign investment ~ IMF


Choppy seas ahead for


CARICOM single market


WASHINGTON, CMC -
Countries in the Caribbean
community (CARICOM)
have enjoyed relative success
in attracting foreign invest-
ment, says an International
Monetary Fund (IMF) work-
ing paper.
According to the paper,
released late last month,
investment as a share of gross
domestic product (GDP) is
relatively high from a global
perspective in many countries
in the region. It said the
region has experienced a sig-
nificant amount of public sec-
tor investment and foreign
direct investment (FDI), par-
ticularly in the tourism sector,
over many years. Despite this,
it said growth in GDP had
been "disappointingly low"
for many Caribbean countries.
The paper u--_-,1Ld that this
has resulted from greater
emphasis on public investment
than on private investment.


OSCAR I. ALFONSO &
MICHAEL ROSENBERG

In general, the income tax
rules of the United States
provide that a citizen or
resident of the U.S. be subject
to tax on his or her world-
wide income.
In order to promote for-
eign trade and to place U.S.


"For example, there may
be few linkages between the
foreign-owned capital stock,
such as resort hotels, and the
domestic economy," the paper
said. "Alternatively, there may
be crowding out of domestic
private investors."

GROWTH
The study, conducted on
seven CARICOM member
states Antigua and Barbuda,
Barbados, Jamaica, St. Lucia,
St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent
and the Grenadines, and
Trinidad and Tobago said that
private domestic investment
(PDI) could prove to be an
important factor in unlocking
growth.
"If PDI were to increase,
then the returns to capital
spending by public agencies
may also increase," it said.
"PDI could also improve the
linkages between the domestic
economy and foreign-owned


citizens residing and working
abroad on equal footing with
their foreign counterparts, the
U.S. Congress enacted a tax
law which allows, in general,
certain U.S. citizens employed
in foreign countries to elect to
exclude from gross income for
U.S. tax purposes up to a spe-
cific amount of their I1 rL Ign
earned income" and to


capital."
The working paper said
public policy should focus on
the cost of capital as a means
of raising PDI, stating that
across the Eastern Caribbean
Currency Union (ECCU),
corporate tax policy may be
regarded as "opaque and
highly discretionary".
It said it likely penalizes
domestic investors at the
expense of foreign investors
through the distribution of
"inefficient tax concessions".
The paper said invest-
ment-to-GDP ratios in the
larger CARICOM countries -
Barbados, Jamaica, and
Trinidad and Tobago are
close to the middle-income
average of 20-25 percent. But
for the smaller ECCU coun-
tries, the ratio is much higher,
it said.
0


Barbados on drive to increase


foreign business, investment


NEW YORK, CMC -
Barbados is seeking to
increase foreign business
development and cultivate
additional investment, says
Barbados Investment and
Development Corporation
(BIDC) Chief Executive
Officer Anthony Sobers.
Sobers said while tourism
continued to be the primary
economic driver, Barbados
hoped to become the premier
international business center
in the region. He said the
country, already home to more
than 7,600 transnational com-
panies, offered a \\ J I-devel-
oped" financial services sector,
comprised of banking, insur-
ance and trusts businesses.
As part of its thrust in the
United States, the BIDC last
month hosted a major business
symposium at the Grand
Hyatt Hotel in midtown


Manhattan here. Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister
of Economic Affairs Mia
Mottley outlined Barbados's
policy towards foreign invest-
ment at the
event.
"Barbados
offers many
competitive
advantages to
companies
looking for
practical, effi-
cient expan-
Mottley sion solu-
tions, and the
symposium gives us a dynamic
format to share this with
potential investors," Sobers
said. "The government pro-
vides several tax incentives,
training grants and subsidized
industrial space to help offset
start-up costs for foreign busi-
nesses.


"Close geographic prox-
imity and cultural similarities
also are advantages for U.S.
companies, which are better
able to manage time zone dif-
ferences and establish well-
managed command centers
close to home," he added.
Additionally, Sobers said
Barbados boasts one of the
Caribbean's most technologi-
cally advanced infrastructures
and a highly skilled work-
force.
The conference, entitled
"Managing Global Expansion
- Utilizing Near-shore
Strategies and Tax Treaty
Networks", featured presenta-
tions on selected topics,
including global sourcing solu-
tions, leveraging tax treaties
and maximizing returns on
investment.
0


exclude certain amounts relat-
ed to h1 r ign housing cost."
This law has been blessed
in the past by many U.S.
employees working abroad
because of the positive impact
such law had on their U.S.
income tax obligations. This
blessing might be about to
change, since on May 17,
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 22)


BRIDGETOWN, Barbados,
CMC While the Caribbean
Single Market (CSM) ship sets
sails with all booked passen-
gers on board, an early fore-
cast tN1._L"I" choppy seas
ahead.
The six remaining states
which agreed to be part of the
CSM, which signed on earlier
this month, and representa-
tives from government, the
private sector, academia and
civil society left three days of
discussion on the regional ini-
tiative in Barbados recently
satisfied that they were
singing from the same hymn
sheet, but are acutely aware
that the real work of dealing
with some residual issues
remains.
The main bone of con-
tention appears to surround
the classification of countries
as More Developed and Less
Developed, a classification
which is
largely
expected to
determine
access to the
Regional
Development
Fund (RDF),
which has
been devised
to assist dis- Arthur
advantaged
countries make adjustments to
effectively participate in the
CARICOM Single Market
and Economy (CSME).
The early indication that
it will not be smooth sailing
came from Barbados Prime
Minister Owen Arthur, the
man with lead prime ministe-
rial responsibility for the
CSME, who, following the dis-
cussions in Barbados, said the


present categorization of
countries into MDCs and
LDCs could not work.
According to that classifi-
cation, Suriname, Trinidad and
Tobago, Guyana, Jamaica,
Belize and Barbados, which
signed on to the CSM in
January, are designated as
MDCs, while Organization of
Eastern Caribbean States
(OECS) Antigua and
Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada,
St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia,
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- which were scheduled to sign
on this month are classified as
LDCs.

CONTRADICTION
This classification, howev-
er, does not bear any rele-
vance to the countries' per
capital income which places
Antigua near the top with a
per capital income in 2004 at
$10,213 being designated as a
LDC, while Guyana, with a
per capital of $1,042 and
Belize, with $3,727 are desig-
nated as MDCs.
"So," says Arthur the
country with one of the high-
est per capital incomes is locat-
ed in the OECS and is desig-
nated as an LDC, not based
on any economic criteria, but
based purely on issues of geo-
graphical location and we
have a situation where two
countries with the lowest per
capital are designated as
MDCs.
"Antigua has one of the
highest per capitas, so its citi-
zens are among the richest,
but they are also the lowest
taxed, so we are going to have
a very important difficulty in
CARICOM, in my judgement,
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 22)


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Changes to foreign earned income


and housing exclusions rules


July 2006





CARIBBEAN TODAY


-usw^caribbeantodj..c..


BUSINESS


St. Vincent reports improved economic performance


KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent,
CMC The Dr. Ralph
Gonsalves-led government is
reporting "improved" eco-

formance dur-
ing the first
five months of
this year
notwithstand-
ing concerns
raised by the
International
Monetary Gonsalves
Fund (IMF)
about the
high wage bill, high poverty
rate and the almost EC$1 bil-
lion ($370 million) national
debt.


HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC
- British Airways (BA), the
only airline currently offering
direct service between
Bermuda and the United
Kingdom, is
to step up
its winter
service on
that route "* L--
up to five ."'"',:
flights a
week.
The air-
line has
announced a
25 percent
increase in
the number of seats available
on the route, which comes fol-
lowing its now daily service
during the summer months,
which began at the end of
March.
"This increased winter
schedule, which is a commit-
ment of more than 2,200 seats
a week between Bermuda and
London, underscores the


Gonsalves, who is also
minister of finance and eco-
nomic development, told jour-
nalists late last month that
total revenue and grants had
increased from EC$132.4 mil-
lion ($49.03 million) in 2005 to
EC$156.6 million ($58 mil-
lion) this year. Revenue dur-
ing the five-month period
this year amounted to
EC$150 million ($55 million),
an improvement over the
EC$129.8 million ($48.07
million) reported in 2005.
At the same time, total
expenditure was $EC$166.4
million ($61.63 million) this
year compared to EC$153.7
million ($57 million) last year.


importance of the route for
British Airways," said Robin
Hayes, B.A.'s executive vice-
president for the Americas.
He was visiting the island


recently to offer his congratu-
lations to district Manager
Philip Troake, who retired
from the company on Friday
after 41 years service.
The expanded winter
schedule is the largest since
the dedicated route started 16
years ago, and will offer all
four classes of service onboard
a Boeing 777 aircraft.
0


There was also an improve-
ment in the current account
balance with figures of
EC$13.1 million ($4.9 million)
this year moving from a deficit
of EC$3.1 million ($1.15 mil-
lion) last year.
"So that you see there is
an improvement in the finan-
cial position of the central
government. I should point


out that in relation to borrow-
ings we haven't really gone on
the market to borrow yet," he
said.
While acknowledging con-
cerns raised by the IMF, the
prime minister told journalists
that the country was not
beholden to the international
financial institution.
"I want to make the point


clear. The IMF does not run
this country," he said. "We lis-
ten to the IMF; where their
ideas are ideas which we con-
sider reasonable to adopt we
adopt them and call them our
own. If we disagree we say we
disagree."
0


Changes to foreign earned income...


(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21)
2006, the U.S. president
signed a tax bill, which will
increase the tax burden of
these foreign-based U.S.
employees.
The purpose of this arti-
cle is to summarize the gen-
eral provisions of this law
and alert the reader of the
effect the new changes in the
law might have on these
employees.

REQUIREMENTS
There are certain require-
ments a U.S. citizen has to
satisfy in order to be able to
avail the provisions of this
law. First, the citizen must be
considered to have a "tax
home" in a foreign country.
Generally, the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) has
considered that a taxpayer's
"tax home" is the location of
the taxpayer's principal place
of employment. Once it is
established that the individual
has a "tax home" in a foreign
country, the individual must
also satisfy either the "bona
fide residence test" or the
"physical residence test".
Whether a citizen of the
U.S. is a "bona fide rLILdL LuI
of a foreign country or coun-
tries requires an analysis of all
the relevant facts and circum-
stances, since such term is not
defined by statute. Some of
the factors that courts have
considered to make such a


determination are the taxpay-
er's intention, the establish-
ment of a home temporarily
in the foreign country for an
indefinite period, the assump-
tion of economic burdens and
payment of taxes to a foreign
country, and the treatment of
the taxpayer's income tax sta-
tus by his employer. This list
is not an exhaustive list, and
while some factors may carry
a heavier weight than others,
all must be viewed collectively
in the determination of
whether the taxpayer satisfies
the "bona fide residence test".
On the other hand, under
the "physical presence test", a
U.S. citizen would be consid-
ered a "qualified individual" if
such individual is present in a
foreign country or countries
during at least 330 full days
during any consecutive 12
month period.
This test is more subjec-
tive than the "bona fide resi-
dence test", since the statute
only requires physical pres-
ence in a foreign country for
the requisite period of time,
rather than the need of the
individual to objectively
establish residency. For pur-
poses of the "physical pres-
ence test," the 12 month peri-
od may begin with any day,
the 330 days need not to be
consecutive and a full day is a
continuous period of 24
hours.


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(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21)
if the citizens of Barbados, the
second highest taxed country
in the region, are supposed to
take their tax resources and
send them to a country in the
region that is among the high-
est per capital income with its
citizens being the lowest
taxed."
Arthur says it is because
of issues such as these that
regional heads, once the CSM
is fully in place, will have to sit
down and devise a new classi-
fication based on the reality in
the islands.
"It can't be that you want
to exclude Antigua from
being able to access the


resources of the fund, but it
has to be addressed in terms
of our getting a new perspec-
tive on the designation of
countries as disadvantaged
countries and not as LDCs for
the purpose of accessing the
RDE
"Because how else would
you justify a situation where
the richest country with the
lowest rate of tax gets grant
financing from the poorest
country with the highest rate
of tax?" the prime minister
said.

NEW FORMULA
He says the new formula
will also have to take into


consideration the circum-
stances of countries, for
example St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, which lost its tra-
ditional preferential markets
and also stands to lose gov-
ernment revenue as a conse-
quence of signing on to the
CSM.
Notwithstanding the
difficulty, Arthur is, however,
confident that all states,
including those in the OECS,
can sit down and work out a
formula that is acceptable to
everyone.
0


DEDUCTIONS
Once it is determined that
the individual is a "qualified
individual" by satisfying the
hlr iign tax home" require-
ment and by satisfying either
the "bona fide residence test"
or the "physical presence
test", such individual may
elect to exclude, up to a cer-
tain amount, the sum of his
foreign earned income and his
foreign housing costs from
such individual's gross income.
Here is where the new law
kicks in. Even though the new
law increases the maximum
amount a qualified individual
may exclude by increasing the
former $80,000 annual limit to
$82,400 for the year 2006, it
also provides new guidance
for the computation of the
U.S. tax liability on the non-
excluded amount that will
usually subject such non-
excluded amounts to higher
U.S. income tax rates.
In addition, the new law
places a cap of $11,536 on the
amount such individuals are
going to be able to deduct as
foreign housing expense,
which deduction under the
former law was not limited.
These changes in the law
could translate to thousands
of dollars in additional taxes
to many U.S. employees
working in foreign countries.
In the future, these
changes in the law are
expected to have not only a
detrimental effect on U.S.
employees working abroad,
but also on the U.S. employ-
er. Thus, it is extremely
important that U.S. employ-
ees and employers that may
be affected by this new law
consult with competent U.S.
tax counsel to determine the
effect such change in the law
might have in their future
U.S. tax obligations.

Michael Rosenberg is a
shareholder and Oscar I.
Alfonso is an associate with
the Coral Gables law firm of
Packman, Neuwahl &
Rosenberg and can be
reached at 305-665?3311
0


British Airways to increase


winter flights to Bermuda


July 2006


. ......





CARIBBEAN TODAY


Soca Warriors shine at soccer's World Cup


GORDON WILLIAMS
Trinidad and Tobago, the
Caribbean's lone repre-
sentative at the 2006
World Cup finals, made an
early exit from soccer's bi_-,L ,I
event last month, but not
before leaving a memorable
mark, displaying true regional
grit and spirit to earn respect
and even admiration from all
who flocked to the competi-
tion in Germany.
Rallying against the
gloomy predictions by odds
makers, who figured the Soca
Warriors would be easy pick-
ings for the game's elite, and
playing in front of thousands
of colorful supporters who
made the trip to the tourna-
ment, T&T opened with a sur-
prising 0-0 draw against
Sweden in Dortmund on June
10, then followed with another
courageous performance in a
0-2 loss to England in
Nuremberg five days later.
T&T ended its Group B
schedule with a 2-0 loss to
Paraguay on June 20 in
Kaiserslautern to finish the
competition with one point,
not enough to advance to the
second round as one of the
top two teams from the group.

HEARTS WON
But the Soca Warriors
won in so many other ways.
Against Sweden, they defend-
ed stoutly for 90 minutes to
keep a clean scoring sheet;
and although the European
powerhouse missed several


scoring chances, T&T was by
no means outclassed.
"We had our eyes wide
open," T&T's coach Leo
Beenhakker said cheekily
after the Sweden game.
"Don't blame us if they didn't
score a goal."
Beenhakker, however,
conceded that T&T did not


YorKe


match up well against their
Group B rivals, which, in addi-
tion to the two European
teams, also included Paraguay
from South America.
"We recognize that we
don't have the talent and qual-
ity of the opponents," he
explained.

RESPECT
But that did not scare
T&T leading up its next match
against England. The Soca
Warriors battled gamely until
England scored two late goals
to win the match and avoid
the embarrassment of being
held by a nation of merely 1.3
million. The result left many
convinced of the vastly


.Team gets grant from T&T gov't


PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,
CMC The government has
delivered on its promise to
grant TT$1 million to each
member of the Soca Warriors
squad following the perform-
ance of the team in the
Football World Cup in
Germany.
Sports Minister Roger
Boynes made the presentation
at the VIP Lounge at the
Hasely Crawford Stadium in
Port of Spain on June 30.
Pledging government's
commitment to assist the team
for the 2010 World Cup in
South Africa, Boynes said it
was necessary to set aside
funds early enough to facili-
tate necessary training ses-
sions, both locally and abroad,
as well as friendly matches
with other nations.

CHALLENGE
Meanwhile, Trinidad and
Tobago Football Federation
Senior Vice-president
Raymond Tim Kee expressed
surprise that the cheques had
been prepared so quickly


given that Prime Minister
Patrick Manning only made
the promise on June 24. Tim
Kee appealed to the players
to seek professional financial
advice as "$1 million could
evaporate in a quick time"
and he warned them to
beware of "fancy cars as
they depreciate every day."
He also issued a challenge
to the corporate sector to
invest in sporting events
beforehand and not after the
fact, as money was needed to
ensure the comfort of players,
coaches and assistants before
major events.
Each of the 24 members
of the Soca Warriors squad
received TT$1 million,
comprised of $750,000 in
units from the Unit Trust
Corporation and $250,000 in
cash. Captain Dwight Yorke,
who came out of retirement
to lead the team, was reward-
ed with $1.25 million, made
up of $1 million in units and
$250,000 in cash.
0


improved quality of soccer
coming out of the Caribbean.
"They have gained respect
because people don't expect to
bash them," said England
reserve goalkeeper David
James, whose father lives in
Jamaica. "(T&T) have drawn
against Sweden, which is a
tremendously talented side;
they've pushed England to the
last 10 minutes."
Captain Dwight Yorke,
who played professional soc-
cer for years at top clubs in
England, was elated by the
positive impact made by the
Soca Warriors from the begin-
ning of the competition.
"It's a very proud
moment," he said after the
Sweden match, "for me, my
family and country."
In the final group game
T&T stumbled again, this time
to South American team
Paraguay. A goal in each half
sunk the Soca Warriors' slim
hopes of advancing to the
tournament's Round of 16.
However, that did not dampen
the euphoria felt by Trini fans,
which had been ignited by
the twin island republic's
qualifying playoff win against
Bahrain long before the
first ball was kicked off in
Germany.
"It's great to be the small-
est nation to qualify (for the
World Cup)," said Riyad
Khan, a Trini who made the
trip. "It's a dream opportunity
to travel to Europe and partic-
ipate in the bi,_,L-.I sporting
event in the world."
And in the process the
Soca Warriors captured the
hearts of millions of soccer
fans worldwide as well.


Gordon Williams is
Caribbean Today's managing
editor.
0


The Bahamas rescues

Caribbean Volleyball

Champs set for Aug. 20-27


NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC -
The Bahamas Volleyball
Federation (BVF) is stepping
in to host the 11th Caribbean
Volleyball Championship
(CVC) this summer after
Barbados was forced to decline
staging the competition.
The unavailability of the
international venue Wildey
Gymnasium foiled the
Barbados bid effort to stage
CVC 2006, and the event set
for Aug. 20-27 has now been
shifted to New
Providence, "Usually ther
The Bahamas. "Usually there
It is hoped bidding proce
that 12 coun- (late) stage o1
tries will field a matter of ur
men's and that we need
women's championship
teams, includ- the qualificati
ing The all of the tean
Bahamas and Don Cornis
defending Bahamas Vo
champions
Barbados.
Other invited countries
are Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad
and Tobago, the Cayman
Islands, St. Lucia, Martinique,
the United States Virgin
Islands, Guadeloupe, Aruba
and the Netherlands Antilles.
At a press conference late
last month to announce the
country's hosting of the cham-
pionship, the BVF President
Don Cornish said it was cru-
cial to step in as hosts of the
CVC held every two years -
in order to maintain the
integrity of the sport in the
Caribbean.
"Usually there would be a
bidding process but at this
(late) stage of the game it is a
matter of understanding that


e wo
,ss b
f the
inder
to h
is to
ion p
is in
sh, pr
illeyt


we need to have the champi-
onships to continue the quali-
fication process for all of the
teams in this zone," Cornish
said.

PAN AM QUALIFIER
This CVC is a qualifying
series for the North, Central
and Caribbean Volleyball
Confederation (NORCECA)
Championships that lead to
the Pan American Games.
There are also efforts to
ensure the par-
ould be a ticipation of
)uld be a Haiti and
but at this Jamaica, which
D game it is had announced
standing their withdrawal
lave the because of
o continue financial prob-
process for lems.
n this zone" The
resident of The Bahamas Sports
ball Federation. Minister Neville
Wisdom urged
government
agencies and the private sec-
tor to support the champi-
onship, which will cost
approximately $200,000 to
stage.
"The funds that we are
going to be able to give are
limited and we will need
cooperation from the govern-
ment agencies and the private
sector. I communicated with
the chairman of Caribbean
Volleyball body to ensure the
participation of Haiti and
Jamaica. These countries' par-
ticipation will bode well for
the success of these events,"
said Wisdom.
0


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to the highest State office of Governor, all will be decided in November. I is time to become
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Advertising deadline: September 29th, 2006




We Cover Your World!


July 2006





CARIBBEAN TODAY


Health concerns in


to Cricket World Cu


BRIDGETOWN, Barbados,
CMC Health management
systems in some Caribbean
countries are not yet up to the
task of managing the influx of
cricket fans and officials
expected for next year's ICC
Cricket World Cup, according
to the man leading a key
Caribbean community (CARI-
COM) health committee.
Barbados Minister of
Health Dr. Jerome Walcott,
chairman of the region's com-
mittee of ministers of health
and other health officials, told
journalists that while prepara-
tions in some areas were on
track, other areas needed
urgent attention.
He said while countries
such as Jamaica, Trinidad and
Tobago, Guyana and Barbados
were generally on track and
seemed to be moving ahead
with their plans to host the
increased number of visitors
expected for the tournament,
deficiencies in the health sector
in the Organisation of Eastern
Caribbean (OECS) were evi-
dent.

UNSOLVED
The minister identified the
surveillance for infectious dis-


Formei

single IT
CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC -
Former St. Lucia Prime
Minister Dr. Vaughan Lewis
has called for the revival of
an initiative to create a single
maritime space within the
Organisation of Eastern
Caribbean States (OECS).
He said this would make
the sub-region more attractive
to investors and visitors and
would give the tourism industry
a major boost by simplifying
immigration procedures within
the sub-region.
The Trinidad-based
University of the West Indies
professor, who currently
heads a Caribbean community
(CARICOM) technical work-
ing group on governance, said
the move is vital for the sub-
region now that most of the
OECS countries had turned
to tourism as the mainstay of
their economies following the
demise of the banana and
sugar sectors.
Dr. Lewis said the sub-
region should now move
towards the creation of a larger
tourism space with the devel-
opment of a single maritime
zone stretching from St. Lucia
to Grenada. This, he said,
would facilitate the movement
of persons in the area by hav-
ing them clear immigration in
one territory rather than in all
member states.


eases, adequate emergency
facilities, the training of para-
medics and provision of ambu-
lances, port health, liquid
and solid waste disposal, and


walcott


preparing for possible threats
such as avian flu as some of the
unresolved problems.
"There is a need for prop-
er and upgraded emergency
facilities in the host countries.
A number of countries had
said this initially, but we
thought this was not happen-
ing quickly enough," he said,
noting that this was the
message he delivered to
CARICOM's Cricket Prime
Ministerial Sub Committee


r St. Lucia P.M

maritime space
"When a yacht for instance
arrives in St. Lucia it will be
cleared by the local immigra-
tion and then be free to move
through the other territories
both by sea and land without
having to go through
customs/immigration in the rest













Lewis
of the area," he explained.
He said within such a zone
people would have freedom of
movement allowing investors
greater latitude in developing
new products.

VARIETY
He added that the pro-
posed single maritime zone
tourism could give the region's
tourism greater variety.
"What small size does in
some respects is that it reduces
the diversity and the variety
that people look for in tourism


REGION


lead-up

ip 2007
recently.
"For example, in St. Lucia
and St. Kitts, which are quite
advanced in terms of their sta-
dia, now you realize that in
terms of the provision of emer-
gency health care, that they
now need to have an overlay
and incorporate health facili-
ties in some of the completed
stands that they've overlooked
in terms of emergency centers
for spectators," Walcott
explained.

DISEASE
In terms of monitoring
infectious diseases, Walcott said
there was a possibility of dis-
eases which were not endemic
to the region being brought in.
"CAREC (Caribbean
Epidemiology Centre) has
been working with some of the
countries to develop a program
in terms of strengthening the
laboratories to be able to iden-
tify infections diseases," he
said, noting that member coun-
tries would be required to con-
tribute up to $100,000 towards
building capacity in this regard.

Caribbean not ready, says
tourism expert, page 25.



wants

in OECS
and so the wider space will cre-
ate that variety and so working
towards making a maritime or
sea space for tourism would be
an important objective," he
said.
The idea of a single mar-
itime zone for the OECS was
first mooted prior to the Sept.
11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the
United States. The initiative
was then placed on the back
burner as the sub-region sought
to address its own security con-
cerns.
Dr. Lewis said it was time
to revive the initiative, noting
that the same way the OECS
created a single economic
space for banana production in
the Windward Islands, the
same needed to be done for
tourism.
"This is the way to go if we
are going to be in a position to
take advantage of the revenue
tourism can bring from the
scale of the operation," he said.
The OECS earlier this year
announced that it will pursue
the branding of the sub-region
as a joint yachting destination
and create a company to collec-
tively negotiate with cruise
lines. The plan was approved
by OECS tourism ministers
when they met for their annual
general meeting in March.
0


BRIDGETOWN, Barbados,
CMC Leeward Islands Air
Transport's (LIAT) newly
appointed Chief Executive
Officer Mark Darby has
unveiled an ambitious plan to
take the financially strapped
regional air carrier out of the
red by the end of 2007.
Darby, an Englishman
with more than two decades
of experience in the airline
industry who has taken up
office at LIAT's Antigua
headquarter, told the
Caribbean Media Corporation
that his first order of business
would be to reshape the carri-
er's network in an effort to
reverse its financial fortunes.
"For the rest of the year
we will be having a very good
look at the route network,
where we operate, when we
operate," he said. "I am not
sure we are offering flights to
people at the times they want
to travel to destinations where
they really want to go.
"Quite often we've got a
flight at say six o'clock in the
morning, our competition is
flying five minutes later to
exactly the same destination
and both of us are flying half
full. That just doesn't make
any sense, so we need to be
more selective about when we
fly and bring some sense to
the market," Darby added.

NO CUTS
Darby, who helped to
manage the creation of Air
Arabia, a low cost carrier in


the Middle East, said he had
no immediate plans to cut
staff but would be strengthen-
ing LIAT's marketing thrust,
as the carrier was previously
too reactive, rather than
proactive in the areas of sales
and marketing.
"The concentration will
be very much on the revenue
generating side rather than
looking at ways of cutting
staff. I think there is plenty to
do in terms of getting the sales
and marketing efforts of the
airline together much more
effectively," the new CEO
added.

SETTLEMENT
He said prolonged negoti-
ations with the airline's pilots
would continue with the hope
of reaching an amicable settle-
ment as soon as practicable.
"We are in actual discus-
sions with the pilots," Darby
explained. "We already had a
number of discussions and
those will continue until we
reach a satisfactory conclusion
for both parties. Clearly the
airline is struggling financially,
it has been for many years.
We want to work with them to
see how we can improve the
airline and pay them the rates
of pay they aspire to.
"I am not saying we are
going to give them a blank
check. We haven't got the
money to do that so we have
to look at creative ways of
reaching an amicable settle-
ment," he added.


Nigerian barred from


practicing law in St. Lucia


CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC -
An African immigrant who
falsely claimed to be an attor-
ney-at-law has been barred
from practicing law here.
A court ruled that Leonard
Ogilvie who practiced law here
for three years until apprehend-
ed by police in March while try-
ing to leave the island, is not a
legitimate member of the legal
profession.
Several civil cases involv-
ing the controversial Nigerian
were heard during the case
and while he won one, Ogilvie
lost all the others.
In a case he brought
against the state for detaining
him illegally for too long, gov-
ernment lawyers conceded
that he had been held for 14
1/2 hours more than the 72
hours legally allowable. For
this Justice Albert Redheaed


ordered that Ogilvie be paid
EC$7,500 for the distress he
suffered.

UNFIT
In yet another case
brought by the attorney gen-
eral and the Bar Association,
seeking his removal from the
roll, the judge agreed that
Ogilvie was unfit to be regis-
tered as a lawyer in the state.
The judge noted that in all
his years on the bench he
never came across "as brave a
defendant who sought to
become a lawyer by lies, deceit
and false documentation."
He noted that not only is
Ogilvie not a lawyer, but he
also failed his exams as
proven by documentation sub-
mitted to the court.
0


Liat's new boss unveils

plan for troubled carrier


July 2006





CARIBBEAN TODAY


Jagdeo outlines security plans


for upcoming Guyana elections


GEORGETOWN, Guyana,
CMC The Guyana govern-
ment has outlined its pre and
post-elections security strategy
designed to prevent violence
which marred the last three
polls here.
President
Bharrat Jagdeo said
the security forces
will be fully mobi-
lized to deal with .,in
situation which
threatens the polls,
set to be held this
year.
"We will ensure
that training is done
urgently to rehearse
all the scenarios
likely to be encoun-
tered during the Jagdeo
elections period,"
Jagdeo said while addressing
the annual conference of army
officers late last month.

VIOLENCE
Urban violence rocked
the 1992, 1997 and 2001 polls
which were also characterized
by Opposition party allega-
tions of massive voter irregu-
larities resulting in rejection of


the results and the filing of an
elections petition in the courts
in 1997.
"To regain and inspire the
confidence of the public we
would never rest satisfied until


we have eradicated from our
midst the criminal gangs and
successfully confronted organ-
ized crime in all of its manifes-
tations in Guyana," Jagdeo
told the officers.
The 2006 general and
regional polls have been re-
scheduled from May to
September following a consti-
tutional amendment by the


governing People's Progressive
Party (PPP) government. The
main Opposition People's
National Congress Reform
(PNC/R) is challenging the
amendment in the courts.
Touching on the disap-
pearance of 33 Russian-manu-
factured AK-47 automatic
assault rifles and five pistols
from the army's Camp
Ayanganna headquarters in
the capital in February, Jagdeo
said "the failure to recover
them have also added to uncer-
tainty about public safety."
Said Jagdeo: "Crime
exerts an unacceptable price
on national development,
particularly in the context of
the newer manifestations of
crime, such as internationally
organized narco-trafficking,
alien and small weapons
trafficking, kidnapping and
terrorism.
"Additionally, the
increased resources needed
for fighting crime calls for
more attention to developing
strong alliances to confront
the challenge."
0


Caribbean not ready to host

Cricket World Cup ~ Parle


CASTRIES, St.
Lucia, CMC -
Former President of
the Caribbean Hotel
Association (CHA)
Berthia Parle says
with only eight
months to go before
the start of Cricket
World Cup the
region is still far
from prepared to
host the event.
She added, how-
ever, that she is
expecting the region
to rise to the chal-
lenge to pull off the
tournament.
"On the issue of
whether we are ready,
I don't think so. Will we be
ready? We better be, other-
wise we will have some seri-
ous problems," said Parle who
recently completed a two-year
term at the helm of the
regional tourism body.
Speaking here on her
return from the recently con-
cluded Caribbean Hotel
Industry (CHIC) conference
held in Miami, Parle said that
there was still a lot of work to
be done if the region is to
accommodate the hundreds of
visitors expected in the region
for the event. She said that the


issue of additional accommo-
dation was still to be resolved
as most of the hotels were
already booked outside of
reservations for the games. In
addition, travel within the
region still has to be worked
out both in the context of
availability of transport and
arrangements by the immigra-
tion departments to handle
the influx of visitors.

RETURNS
Parle added that the
perception among people in
the region was that once an
investment was made in


preparation for the
World Cup then
returns would be
guaranteed, and there
was generally a feeling
among Caribbean
people that the event
would generally pro-
vide huge returns.
"We need to contin-
ue to educate our peo-
ple because the feeling
on the ground is that a
lot of people are going
to get rich overnight
and make millions of
dollars and it ain't
going to happen,"she
said.
"So I am firmly of
the view that there are
going to be many disappoint-
ed locals and governments as
well," she added.
Scores of locals and
business interests have been
renovating their houses and
establishments to be in a posi-
tion to host the many visitors
seeking accommodation for
the six-week event.
Cricket World Cop begins
in Mar. 2007 with an opening
ceremony planned for
Jamaica.
0


Opposition M.R to give

pay rise to charity


HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC
- Opposition Member of
Parliament Michael Dunkley
said he would donate any
increase in his salary to charity
as controversy continues to
rage over rises approved by the
House of Assembly.
Dunkley, the United
Bermuda Party's (UBP)
deputy leader, said he felt
"extremely uncomfortable"
about the pay increases and
that it was ~i ur.i;co ,u" that
the Bermuda government was
now attempting to "ram the
legislation through."
The pay increases, which
will see Premier Alex Scott's
pay package leap a massive 80
percent to $200,000 a year,
were passed by the House in
June with support from all gov-
ernment M.Ps. The UBP voted
against the bill which will also
see full-time ministers getting
$150,000 a year and part-time
ministers $100,000.

SURPRISE
But in a surprise move on
June 27, government Senate


leader Larry Mussenden, who
is also the island's attorney
general, again deferred any
debate by the 11 senators on
the hikes which will now go
before the
Upper House
in two weeks'
time.
Dunkley said
he believed
the increases
would even-
tually be
rejected by
Scott the Senate,
but added: "I
will tell you that I will not
accept it.
"If it goes through my
increase will go to a charity
and at that time I will let peo-
ple know what charity just so
people can see that I really did
donate," he told the Mid-
Ocean News.
Dunkley told the weekly
newspaper that he believed some
of his party colleagues were also
willing to hand over any increase
in income to charity.
0


PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,
CMC Ganace Ramdial, a for-
mer president of the Senate has
died of a massive heart attack.
He was 72.
Ramdial died earlier this
month after being admitted to a
nursing home on June 28 when
he complained of feeling sick.
He was treated but returned to
the facility on June 30, after
which his condition worsened.
He died on July 1 in the
presence of his wife Gloria, sons
Garvin, Gary and other mem-
bers of his family. Ramdial was
being treated for inflammation
of the pancreas, but doctors told
his relatives that he suffered a
massive heart which was the
cause of death.


KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC -
The Jamaican government is
working along with the
Association of Caribbean States
(ACS) on a plan to measure the
progress of the region's tourism
industry in achieving sustainable
development.
Tourism, Entertainment and
Culture Minister Aloun
Ndombet-Assamba made the
disclosure while speaking in the
House of Representatives late
last month.
"This involves the develop-
ment of a methodology with
common goals for measuring


Ramdial was a close friend
of former Opposition Leader
Basdeo Panday, who was
instrumental in his appointment
as Senate president on Nov. 27,
1995. Ramdial was re-elected to
the position on Jan. 12, 2001.
Ramdial, an attorney-at-
law, was called to the bar at
Inner Temple in the United
Kingdom in 1963. He was also a
fellow of the Chartered
Institute of Bankers in the
United Kingston and served on
the boards of several public and
private sector companies during
his long and distinguished
career in this country's financial
sector.
0


the impact of sustainable devel-
opment. The indicators will
allow public/private sector
agencies to gauge and monitor
the tourism sector's progress,"
Ndombet-Assamba said.
She indicated that the proj-
ect, which is funded by the
Foreign Commonwealth
Office of the United Kingdom,
seeks to identify, prioritize and
assess pilot destinations in ACS
member states that will become
part of the Sustainable Tourism
Zone of the Caribbean (STZC).
0


Former T&T Senate

president dies at 72


Jamaica, ACS collaborate

on tourism development plan


July 2006





CARIBBEAN TODAY


- u scrbes..


REGION


Dome of volcano collapses


BRADES, Montserrat,
CMC The dome of
the Soufriere Hills
Volcano collapsed late
last month sending
pyroclastic flows down
eastern side of the
island and ash clouds to
just over 12,000 in the
air.
Scientists at the
Montserrat Volcano
Observatory (MVO)
said the ash plume was
blown north-west by
prevailing winds with
most of the ash falling
into the sea. However, Souf
some ash fell in the
Salem and Woodlands areas
and residents were asked to
wear ash masks.


for citizen security
WASHINGTON, CMC will be the establishment of a
The Inter-American "crime observatory" to moni-
Development Bank (IDB) tor trends in crime and vio-
says it has approved a $19.8 lence and collect data and
million loan to Guyana to sup- information the Ministry of
port a citizen security program Home Affairs (MoHA) and
that will engage police and the GPF need to plan, imple-
local residents in preventing ment and evaluate citizen
crime and violence in the security policies, strategies
country's most populated and programs. It will finance
regions, technical assistance, training
The program, which seeks and computer hardware and
to help Guyana arrest the rise software to create the infor-
in violent crime and insecurity mation system and to support
it has suffered in recent years, the development of staff of
will strengthen the Ministry of MoHA's policy and research
Home Affairs and modernize unit. It will also promote
the Guyanese Police Force improvements to the min-
(GPF), the IDB said in a istry's overall administration
statement. It said it would also and performance.
promote social development The GPF will receive sup-
in disadvantaged communities port for training in crime
in Regions IV and VI of the investigation and detection,
country. information management,
The IDB has financed cit- case management, recruit
izen security programs in training, neighborhood polic-
Colombia, Chile, Honduras, ing, and human rights.
Nicaragua and Uruguay. Resources will be provided to
A key part of the program build and equip a crime labo-


increased the alert level
from level three to level
four when, the earth-
quake swarm which
had died off previously,
returned (June 29)
afternoon".
The statement said
that various parts of the
island had to be closed.
The Soufriere Hills
Volcano roared to life
in 1995 after years of
being dormant. In May,
the lava dome of the
volcano collapsed caus-
ing mud flows and
surges along the north-
east flank of the island.


program
ratory and training facilities,
remodel police stations and
develop a new urban traffic
management plan.
IDB said the program
would also help the GPF
improve its internal organiza-
tion and administration,
including planning, budgeting,
accounting, auditing, human
resource management and
procurement. It will also assist
the police in developing part-
nerships with communities.
Participant neighborhoods
will receive support for vio-
lence and crime prevention
services they will choose from
a menu of alternatives on the
basis of their assessment of
their own community's needs,
the IDB added.
The IDB loan is for 40
years, with a 10-year grace
period. Interest rates will be
one per cent a year during the
first decade and two percent a
year thereafter.
0


PARAMARIBO, Suriname,
CMC Fugitive Guyanese
businessman Roger Khan was
late last month deported to
Trinidad and Tobago where he
was reportedly arrested and
transported to Miami to stand
trial on drug trafficking
charges.
This has, however, sparked
a fuss by his lawyers who claim
that his legal rights have been
violated as he was "kidnapped"
and sent off to the United
States.
Local law enforcement
authorities reportedly made
the decision to expel Guyana's
most wanted man because he
had entered Suriname illegally
from T&T. Around 6 a.m. he
was escorted by three heavily


An official statement
issued on June 30 said that
"the authorities had earlier


armed policemen and put on a
flight to Trinidad where he was
met by U.S. law enforcement
officers.
In April he was indicted
by the Eastern District Court
in Brooklyn for cocaine traf-
ficking between 20(11 2 n in

MAJOR STRIKE
Tom Walsh, spokesman
for the U.S. Embassy in
Suriname said: "I can only
confirm that the U.S. submit-
ted a formal request on June
19 for his provisional arrest on
charges for cocaine trafficking
to the United States."
He further noted that
Khan's arrest by Suriname
police was a "major strike
against narco-trafficking."


Khan's Surinamese lawyers,
however, are stunned by the
dramatic turn in events.
"We are investigating what
actually has happened. Only
the prosecutor general could
give us the answers. That is
why we sent him two letters
asking him to explain to us
what has occurred," said
Gerold Sewcharan one of
Khan's two lawyers.
Depending on the
response of the prosecutor the
lawyers said they will decide
what their next steps will be.
"My client was kidnapped
since he was taken away with-
out any legal procedure to jus-
tify that," Sewcharan added.
0


Dominica seeking to end

dispute with Venezuela

over Bird Island


ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC -
The Dominica government
has announced that it is look-
ing to bring an end to the
issue of the ownership of Bird
Island.
Dominica and Venezuela
have agreed to set up a com-
mission which will look at the
boundaries of the island to
determine its ownership,
Prime Minister Roosevelt
Skerrit announced at a press
conference late last month.
He, however, did not give
details about who would make
up the commission and its
terms of reference.
For many years Venezuela
and Dominica have battled
over ownership of the small
island located 70 miles west of
Dominica and 340 miles north
of the Venezuela mainland.
Said Skerrit: "The inter-
national community recog-
nizes Venezuela's sovereignty
over Bird Island. This is a
fact and this is enshrined in
treaties and everything.
"The United States, Great


Britain, Canada, U.K., France
all these countries recognize
Venezuela's sovereignty."
The Dominica leader said


Skerrit


his country will not get
involved in a debate with
Venezuela, noting that his
government has engaged the
government of the South
American country to look at
ways to bring the matter to a
close in the best interest of
affected states.
0


ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada,
CMC A government minis-
ter in Grenada is not satisfied
that there has been enough
public education here on the
Caribbean Single Market and
Economy (CSME).
Minister for Foreign
Affairs and International
Trade Elvin Nimrod said
while some efforts have been
made to educate Grenadians
on the regional economic
initiative, much still needs to
be done.
"I must agree that we in
CARICOM (Caribbean com-
munity), including Grenada,
could have done much more
at this point to educate the
population on the implications
of the CSME. But we still
have done a great deal,"
Nimrod said.
He said the Division of
Trade has so far conducted 51
education sessions with vari-
ous non-governmental organi-
zations and other entities,
including the Opposition, on
the pact which will allow for
the free movement of goods,
services, capital and labor
throughout member states.

UNCONVINCED
However, Opposition
Member of Parliament Peter
David said that the man-on-
the-street is still not convinced


about the reality of the single
market and the impact it will
have on his life.
"I must say that the vast
majority of the Grenadians in
my view, though, are aware
that there is something called
CSME that is about to come
into our lives, they are not


Nimrod
sure about the impact it's
going to have," said David.
The six members of the
Organization of Eastern
Caribbean States (OECS)
were expected to sign the
instruments of accession to
become members of the
single market component of
the CSME during the CARI-
COM Heads of Government
Summit in St Kitts, scheduled
for earlier this month.
0


IDB provides loan to Guyana


Grenada minister wants

more CSME education


Suriname expels Guyana's most wanted man


July 2006





CARIBBEAN TODAY


CARICOM official calls for full


labor movement across region


IDB and CDB to fund Caribbean


disaster prevention initiative


BRIDGETOWN, Barbados,
CMC The Caribbean com-
munity's (CARICOM) main
advisor on free movement
says regional states should
push towards full movement
of labor within the region as
soon as possible.
Steven McAndrew, the
free movement specialist at
the CARICOM Single Market
and Economy (CSME) Unit,
told the Caribbean Media
Corporation it was time to
remove restrictions which pre-
vented any worker in a
regional state from seeking
employment in another state.
"We need to understand
that we have implemented a
regional market of which a
regional labor market is an
integral part, so we cannot
continue to distort the market
by only granting free move-
ment to a limited category of
persons," he said late last
month.
McAndrew said after
observing the workings of the
regional free movement initia-
tive, which was introduced in
some states in advance of the


official implementation of the
single market aspect of the
CSME in January this year, he
was convinced that fully open-
ing up the regional labor mar-
ket would not result in per-
sons flooding any of the terri-
tories.
He said 3,500 skilled
national certificates have been
issued so far, with Barbados
absorbing the majority of per-
sons, followed closely by
Trinidad and Tobago and
Jamaica. Over 97 percent of
the certificates issued were to
university graduates, he
added.
"If you look at the 3,500
certificates which were issued
up to (June 28), you cannot
say there has been a flooding
of skilled nationals because
the numbers are very, very
low if you take into account
that it has been in operation
for a number of years.
"I think these numbers
are proof that there would be
no flooding because one of
the major fears people have
about free movement is that
certain member states will be


flooded but the evidence so
far is not supporting this at
all," McAndrew added.

PROBLEMS
The CARICOM official
said while there were a few
problems in some states, the
free movement aspect was
operating without any major
hiccups.
"There have been some
teething problems in some
member states, but we are
working with those member
states in order to solve the
problems which have arisen
but generally the free move-
ment has operated very well,"
he said.
Currently artistes, musi-
cians, university graduates,
media workers and sports
persons are eligible for free
movement but the CARI-
COM Council for Trade and
Economic Development
recently submitted a proposal
for nurses, domestics and
teachers be added to the cate-
gory of persons moving freely.
0


Divided Opposition party fires two legislators


PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,
CMC The executive of the
embattled main Opposition
United National Congress
(UNC) has replaced two sena-
tors and had also adopted a
motion aimed at removing its
political leader Winston


Persad-Bissessar


Dookeran from his post.
But in an immediate reac-
tion to the decision late last
month, Dookeran, a former
central bank governor, said
that he had no intention of
allowing the "cabal" within
the divided executive to stop
his plans of wanting to "build
a better country for all."
Dookeran was not present
when the faction of the execu-
tive, including Opposition
Leader Kamla Persad-
Bissessar and FIFA Vice
President Jack Warner, adopt-


ed the motion at a meeting on
June 28. That faction, which is
known to be supportive of for-
mer chairman and party
leader Basdeo Panday, has
been accusing Dookeran of
not attending meetings and
carrying out parallel activities.
Dookeran, speaking at a pub-
lic meeting of his group, said
that when he took on the
responsibility of political
leader "I received a number
of calls urging me to go for-
ward.
"And when I heard.. .of
the sad deliberations on the
part of the executive, and the
attempts and decision to deal
with me, and to deal with me
by moving a vote of no confi-
dence in me, I know that the
hearts of the people are with
me and you are the only ones
that can provide that confi-
dence.
"People have already lost
confidence in the executive.
How can we.. .allow a group
like that to move such a
motion," he asked, insisting "I
will continue..."
The executive had also
announced that it had decided
to replace Caroline
Seepersad-Bachan and Sadiq
Baksh, the party's organizer.
Dr. Shastri Moonan and
Raziah Ahmed have since
been named to replace them.
Both Baksh and
Seepersad-Bachan have


appeared on the platforms of
Dookeran, and Baksh sarcasti-
cally told reporters that the
executive had committed
political suicide and "may
their souls rest in peace." But
Persad-Bissessar, a UNC
deputy leader, told reporters
that she had turned down an
invitation by Dookeran to join
his faction within the execu-
tive.
Persad-Bissessar said
despite the motion of no con-
fidence against Dookeran, the
executive was not booting him
out of the party.


warner


She said the executive will
move to convene a series of
meetings islandwide to discuss
the issue with the final meet-
ing taking place on Aug. 13.
0


WASHINGTON, CMC The
Inter-American Development
Bank (IDB) has announced
the launch of a disaster pre-
vention initiative in partner-
ship with the Caribbean
Development Bank (CDB)
to help mitigate the effects of
disasters in the Caribbean
region.
An IDB statement said
President Luis Alberto
Moreno and CDB President
Compton Bourne met in
Barbados late last month with
national disaster coordinators
from 18 Caribbean states to
review and discuss approaches
on financing in anticipation of
disaster events.
International partners,
including the United Nations
Development Program
(UNDP), the Pan-American
Health Organization (PAHO),
and the World Bank, which
are active in promoting disas-
ter risk management, also


ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada,
CMC The Grenada Senate has
approved legislation clearing the
way for the island to join the
regional single market.
However, an Opposition
senator says a huge gap still
exists between the leadership of
the country and the population
on the regional economic pact,
which will allow for the free
movement of goods, services,
capital and labor across partici-
pating states.
The single
market is the
first phase of
the CARI-
COM Single
Market and
Economy
(CSME).
Passage of
the Revised
Treaty of Gill
Chaguaramas
Bill came ahead of the
Caribbean community (CARI-
COM) summit in St. Kitts and
Nevis earlier this month. The six
members of the Organization of
Eastern Caribbean States
(OECS), including Grenada,
were expected to join the pact
then.
In January the single mar-
ket came into operation with
Barbados, Belize, Guyana,
Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad
and Tobago the first to join.
However, OECS leaders held
out, pending the creation of a
regional development fund,
which would cushion smaller
states within the 15-member
CARICOM bloc, as they


attended the meeting and "sig-
nalled their renewed commit-
ment to helping the region
reduce its vulnerability to nat-
ural di ,,IL r, the IDB stated.
MNrl Ino and Bourne
highlighted the importance of
protecting peo-
ple's liveli-
hoods from
the economic
and financial
disruptions
associated with
natural disas-
i~ r, the
Statement
Bourne added.
In his first
official visit to the Caribbean,
Moreno also formalized the
IDB's partnership with the
Caribbean Disaster Emergency
Response Agency (CDERA)
in support of disaster risk man-
agement in the tourism sector.
0


opened their borders. The fund
has since been established and
government leaders were
expected to approve its terms
at their summit.

AWARENESS GAP
Meanwhile, Senator Arley
Gill said that while the National
Democratic Congress supports
the single market there are con-
cerns about the
lack of involve-
ment of the .
local popula-
tion.
,I am say-
ing that in
Grenada I see
a gap between
the leadership
of the country Hood
and the mass of
the Grenadian people, in terms
of the CSME, in terms of the
integration process," Gill told
the Senate on June 30 during
debate on the bill.
"I am saying that if we're
going to have a successful
implementation of this process
there is need for a deepening in
the relationship between the
political leadership in the region
and the people."
Tourism Minister Senator
Brenda Hood said despite prob-
lems the single market offered
many opportunities, especially
for lesser-developed countries.
"I think sometime we feel
that changes can be very nega-
tive, but I think we have to use
it to our advantage," Hood said.


Grenada approves CARICOM


legislation on single market


July 2006





CARIBBEAN TODAY


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PAGE 1

PRESOR TED ST ANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID MIAMI, FL PERMIT NO. 7315 Vol.17 No.8 JULY 2006 Tel: (305 1-800-605-7516caribtoday@earthlink.net ct_ads@bellsouth.net We cover your world INSIDEHaiti’ s recently electedPresidentRene Prvalwas in SouthFlorida last month offer-ing hope toHaitians in the United States that thetroubled state would riseagain, although not overnight,page 2. A gyrating red, white and black “congo line” near midnight in Dortmund, Germany meant only one thing: The Trinis were in the house – and in full force at World Cup 2006, page 7. Some 25 years afterhis death,superstarBob Marleyis still being bestowedwith hon ors in landsfar off from his own country . Brooklyn, New York stepped up recentlyto name one of its most popu lar streets after the reggaeicon, page 17. News .................................. 2 Feature................................7 Viewpoint..........................9 T ourism/T ravel ................ 11 Food..................................12 Health................................13 Arts/Entertainment .......... 17 FYI......................................20 Business..........................21 Sport .................................. 23 Region..............................24 Plus, Jamaica Supplement ~ Prime Minister Portia SimpsonMiller pleads with the Jamaican diaspora in the U.S. torally around their homeland, page 2. july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 1

PAGE 2

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC The Privy Council in London has r uled in favor of the Sanatan Dhar ma Maha Sabha (SDMSumbr ella organization which had taken the Trinidad and Tobago government to court for failing to grant the organization a radio br oadcast licence. Earlier this month the Law Lords ordered the attorney general (AG licence forthwith. The decision by the Privy Council has brought to an end a four-year long battlebetween the Maha Sabha and the government over the grant-ing of the licence. The Hindu organization had claimed that the People’ s National Movement (PNM nment had deliberately discriminated against it after it granted a sim ilar licence to a well-known PNM suppor ter Louis Lee Sing to star t his radio station, Citadel. In a 19-page judgment, the AG was ordered to immediately ensur e the granting of a FM radio br oadcast licence on an appropriate frequency to the Central Broadcasting ServicesLimited (CBSL for med by the SDMS. The AG was also ordered to pay the SDMS’s legal costs in both the local cour ts and the Privy Council, an amount which will easily cr oss the million-dollar mark. A release was promptly dispatched from the AG’s office promising to “take immediate steps to pr ovide the appellant” with a licence. DISCRIMINATION The appeal was heard before Lord Hoffman, LordHope, Lor d Hutton, Lord Brown and Lord Mance. They commended the local courtsfor the manner in which it hadhandled the case and found it“highly r egrettable that the Court of Appeal was allowed to pr oceed under false premises.” According to the judgment, ther e was “unexplained and unjustified discrimination” in the r efusal to grant the CBSL a br oadcast licence in favour of the Citadel Limited application, whose application had been filed long after the CBSL s. The Maha Sabha and CBSL had applied for broad-KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC Popular Jamaican r eggae artiste Mark Anthony Myrie,also known as “Buju Banton” has been prevented from per-for ming in the United Kingdom following a petition from members of the gaycommunityther e. Buju Banton wasscheduled to perform earlier thismonth at the “Concorde Two” club inthe English seaside resort of Brighton. However, the police refusedper mission for the event because of pressures from thegay community . According to reports in the U.K. pr ess, the operators of the club originally defended the decision to have the concert at the venue saying that they had been pr omised that Buju Banton would not per form his most notorious song“Boom Bye Bye”, written in1992 when he was 18 yearsold. The song advocateskilling gay men. They, however, backed down fearing that holding theevent would af fect their licence. There were also reports that a concer t scheduled for July 29 inBritain, fea turing Moses Davis betterknown as“Beenie Man” hasbeen can celled after police raised concer n over the violent and homophobic natur e of his lyrics. Other dancehall stars have also been targeted by gay rights groups. DAMIAN P . GREGORY Looking and sounding every bit like the seasoned politician that has endeared her to many of herhomeland’ s poorest citizens, Portia Simpson Miller Jamaica’s first female primeminister made a series ofstops in South Florida late last month. Her message: Don’ t give up on Jamaica. In speeches that were part religious revival, part political rally, Simpson Miller spokepassionately , encouraging those from the Jamaican diaspora to be a par t of the solution to the island’s woes. “The construct of Jamaica is not confined to the over 2.7 million people living within its shores, it embraces and includes another 2.7 million living overseas,” Simpson Millersaid. “The fact that you (are physically located in Jamaicadoes not make you any lesscommitted to your homelandand its development,” the leader reminded the audience of about 300 which gathered at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida. “There is nothing that we set our minds to as Jamaicansthat we cannot achieve. I want to assure you, I am going to working very hard to ensure when you want to return toJamaica, you can come home and live in peace.” Though Simpson Miller’s message was delivered at what was billed as a community for um, the audience of mostly Jamaicans was not given an oppor tunity to ask questions of their homeland’ s new leader in her first official visit to Florida since taking of fice in Mar. 2006. WARM WELCOME But Simpson Miller did pose for pictures and shakehands with many who came from all over South Florida to meet the woman who made history in Feb. 2006 when delegates from her ruling People’ s National Par ty (PNP elected her leader of their party. That decision meant she would become the first woman in the island’s history to hold the Jamaica’s highest political office. Simpson Miller, 60, succeeded P.J. Patterson, who served a record-breaking four terms as prime minister before deciding to step down. Since taking office, Simpson Miller has seen adecline in her popularity athome in Jamaica, but pollscommissioned by the Jamaica Gleaner , still show her leading likely political challenger Bruce Golding, leader of theJamaica Labour Par ty (JLP in a head-to-head match up. Elections are expected to be called by next year. PROBLEMS Simpson Miller s message of unity, peppered with stories of her rise from “the bowels of the working class” from rural Jamaica, resonated with manyin the audience. They wer e won over by her homespun char m demonstrated by going into the audience to hug and greet many of her countrymen down-to-earth delivery, the emphatic way she hammered home her points, while evoking the “strength of a woman”mantra that was the hallmark of her successful campaign for president of the PNP. While offering few specifics about how she would solve pr oblems facing Jamaica, which she r eadily identified including the staggering number of murders that made the island stand out for having the highest mur der rate per capita in the world in 2005 public corruption, political tribU.K.Privy Council orders T&T to grant radio licence to HindusGays oppose Jamaican deejays performing in the United Kingdom MIAMI Surrounded by secr et service agents and police, Haiti’ s newly elected leader Rene Prval enter ed a Liberty City, Florida auditori-um late last month to thunder ous applause. This was his first visit to South Florida since being cho sen president of Haiti in March. The soft-spoken, diminu tive agr onomist, took 51 percent of the popular vote in anelection which r esulted in him r eplacing the hugely popular Jean-Ber trand Aristide, who left Haiti in 2004 and has beenexiled in South Africa eversince. Prval, in a speech designed to encourage Haitian Americans to r emain dedicat ed to a countr y that has been beset by economic and politi cal strife for decades, outlinedmany of the challenges his newly minted administration faces as it works to for ge a course for the nation of over eight million people. “Everything cannot happen in one day,” Prval told the audience of primarily Haitian nationals, in the countr s native cr eole language. e need investments in the countr y’ he added. He said that Haiti must work to incr ease the number of tourists who visit theCaribbean nation. The leaderacknowledged that was not aneasy task given Haiti’ s histor y of violence and kidnappings that has captur ed inter nation al headlines. For Haitian-born Miami resident “Marie”, who saidshe misses her homeland daily , Prval’ s speech was good, but left her with more questionsthan answers. “It was good to see and hear him,” she told Caribbean Today . “He is talking about all of these problems, but I know that they are not going to be as easy to solve as people think, but it is a star t.” Damian P .Gregory. ‘Don’t give up on Jamaica’ ~ Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller charmsdiaspora in official South Florida debut visit NEWS NEWS 2 CARIBBEAN TODAYJuly 2006 www.caribbeantoday.com Simpson Miller makes her case to Jamaicans in the U.S. Prval (CONTINUED ON P AGE 6) (CONTINUED ON PAGE 6) Buju Banton Beenie Man Haiti’ s new president makes positive start in Miami july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 2

PAGE 3

MIAMI, CMC Newly elect ed Pr esident of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHAPeter Odle says he will use his two-year term in office to ini-tiate strategies to deal withthe crime situation that posesa serious thr eat to the regional tourism industr y. e can no longer see crime as a matter affecting just an individual location, but it has become a holistic matterin the Caribbean. W e are discovering more and more,especially with the advent of the Inter net, that if one countr y is affected by crime the entire industry suffers,” he told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC late last month. CHA Secretary General Alec Sanguinetti said his organization would workclosely with the Barbadosbased Caribbean TourismOr ganisation (CTO fight against crime. He said both organizations had recog-nized the danger being posedto the futur e of the industr y fr om rising crime and were combining their resources todeal with it. He also said thatfor the past two years theyhave been able to obtain the co-operation of theAssociation of the CaribbeanCommissioners of Police(ACCP “The theme of their annual conference held in theUSVI last year and in Ar uba this year was protecting the tourism industr y pr oduct and they wer e quoting statements from the World Travel and Tourism Council study com-missioned by the CHA on protecting the tourism product. So they are very much aware of the need to address the problem,” he said. Sanguinetti said that police commissioners weremembers of the national hotelassociations in the r egion and the CHA is holding discus-sions with the ACCP on an exchange of membership at the level of dir ectors. TIMELY DONATION Meanwhile, tourism officials, ending their weeklong Caribbean Hotel Investment Conference (CHICcomed a decision by the New York Times newspaper to donate $1 million in advertising to reduce the impact ofthe new policy by the UnitedStates that its citizens r equire passpor ts to re-enter the countr y from visits to the Caribbean. “It is the best example of real friends,” said CTO Secretary General, Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace. “Theyr ecognized that the Caribbean would experience dif ficulties and came to us. It was their initiative. Imagine what willhappen if other media followsuit?” The U.S.-based newspaper said that it would print the advertisements on a “space-available basis”, to boost theawar eness among the U.S. consumers that as of Jan. 1, 2007 they need a passpor t to return into the U.S. after visit-ing the Caribbean, Mexico orCanada. The newspaper printsclose to 600,000 copies on a weekday and 880,000 onSundays. Hoteliers worried about crime effects on Caribbean tourism NEWS NEWS July 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 3 www .caribbeantoday.com Sanguinetti july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 3

PAGE 4

MIAMI – Anthony Bowen, managing director of the Windjammer Landing VillaBeach Resor t and Spa in Gros Islet, St. Lucia, was honored by his peers late last month at the 2006Caribbean Hotel Industry Conference(CHIC2006 Golden ConchA war d as “Caribbean Hotelier of the Year”. The award recognizes superior hotelmanagement, as wellas the ability to nur tur e the intricate ele ments that lay the foundation of success,not only for a specific property, but theCaribbean hospitalityindustr y at large. The annual tribute is sponsored by Yesawich,Pepper dine, Brown & Russell and American Expr ess. A native of Barbados, Bowen began his career as food and beverage manager, then assistant general manager , of the Southern Palms Hotel in Barbados. His next position was as a partner in the SilverSands Beach Hotel. He then moved to the Sandy Lane Hotel, as food and beverage manager and later director ofoperations for Pember ton Resorts. By 1986 he was a shareholder in the TreasureBeach Hotel. In 1989 Bowen relocatedto Jamaica, having beenappointed vice president ofdevelopment for Ciboney VillaResor ts, Jamaica; then on to St.Lucia as generalmanager of theW indjammer Landing Villa Beach Resor t. Bowen then ven tured to Antigua to manage the Pinapple Beach Resor ts and was later hir ed to develop and open the Carlisle Bay Resort inAntigua. He later returned to St. Lucia and the W indjammer Landing Resort as the managing dir ector . NEW YORK, CMC – A Brooklyn-based Caribbeangr oup has welcomed the extradition to the UnitedStates of indicted Guyanesebusinessman Roger Khan, calling for wide criminal investigation into his activities. The Caribbean-Guyana Institute for Democracy(CGIDearlier that Khan should be“punished to the fullestextent of the law possible, ifconvicted. “The long arms of U.S. justice has inevitably andfinally r eached out and touched Roger Khan, who has been a fugitive from U.S.justice”, it stated. “This gen tleman is, unquestionably, a threat to U.S. national securi-ty as well as a clear and pr esent danger to the Guyanese society”. CGID commended Surinamese law enforcementand justice authorities for their“excellent work” in capturing “this dangerous fugitive” andextraditing him to the U.S. On June 29 Khan was depor ted to Trinidad by Surinamese officials, where he was picked up by U.S. law enforcement officers on traffickingchar ges. He had r epor tedly entered Suriname illegally fromT rinidad. Khan, listed as Guyana’s most wanted man, was extradited two weeksafter he was held inParamaribo. On June 28 ajudge in Paramaribo dr opped dr ugs and weapons possession charges him, and “ordered him expelled fr om the coun try Khan, 35, was indicted by a Brooklyn court in April on alleged cocaine trafficking char ges to American destinations between 2001 and 2006. He became Guyana’s most wanted man in March after the military reported the disappearance of 30 Ak-47 rifles from a depot at army headquarters. Khan had fled to Suriname, wher e he was ar r ested on June 15 with thr ee ex-Guyanese policemen bodyguards, and held until his expulsion fromSuriname at daybr eak on June 29. More on pag e 26. Windjammer’s Anthony Bowen is Caribbean Hotelier of the Y ear HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC A Ber mudian accountant accused of stealing almost $2 million from the Bermuda government had his guilty plea dramatically revoked in New York late last month and maynow stand trial instead, the Ro yal Gazette newspaper r eported. Har rison Isaac, Jr. admitted in January that he stole $1,899,888 from a Bank of New York account, the biggest ever fraud against the Bermuda government. However, an 11th-hour courtbattle on the day the 35-year old Ber mudian was supposed to be sentenced saw this plea rejected instead. Isaac had admitted a conspiracy to defraud the Bermuda government after striking a plea bargain with an agreement thathe would testify at the trial of33-year -old U.S. national Taketa Thomkins who maintains her innocence and would therefore not face further charges of money laundering. However , during a tense afternoon of courtroom sparring on June 27,the American gover nment persuaded Federal district judge Laura T aylor Swain to r evoke Isaac’ s guilty plea. Lynn Neils, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Southern New York, argued that under the plea bar gain it was agreed Isaac would specifically admit conspiring with Thomkins. However, Isaac actually pleaded in what his defense attorneyAlexander Eisemann called an “artful crafting” of words toconspiring with “persons” notnaming Thomkins. INEFFECTIVE PLEA Instead of sentencing him as was planned, Judge Swain ruled that the plea agreement was unenforceable and his plea was no longer effective.Isaac worked as a managementaccountant in the Ber muda Accountant General’ s Department. He had sole access to the Bank of New Yorkaccount which was set up by the Bermuda government to payvendors in U.S. dollars under post-9/11 financial regulations. Accor ding to the charges, Isaac made unauthorized wiretransfers out of it to accounts controlled by himself or a co-conspirator in the U.S. and Bermuda between May 2003and Feb. 2004. On the basis of his original plea, Isaac had been said toface a maximum sentence of 25years in prison and a fine of upto $250,000. N.Y.court revokes Bermudian’s pleaN.Y.group welcomes extradition of Guyana’s most wanted man POR T OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC Prime Minister Patrick Manning last month held talks with United States Vice President Dick Cheney onseveral issues, including deportees anddr ug trafficking in theCaribbean. Manning and the U.S. vice presidentmet at theWhite Housefor about 35minutesaccor ding to a statement from the prime minister’s office. During the talks, special emphasis wasplaced onstemming the drug traffick-ing trade in the EasternCaribbeanand the needfor the U.S. to work moreclosely withCaribbeancountries on the issue of deportation of criminals to their shores. COMPLAINTS Caribbean countries have long complained that the deportation of criminals, whowould have spent most oftheir lives in the U.S., hasbeen a major contributor to growing crime in the region. They also argue that the demand for dr ugs in the U.S. has fuelled the dr ug trade in Caribbean islands and therefore the U.S. needed to provide greater assistance in helping them with security. Discussions also focused on duty access to U.S. markets for goods packaged in T rinidad and Tobago. T&T P.M.meets U.S.vice president NEWS NEWS 4 CARIBBEAN TODAYJuly 2006 www.caribbeantoday.com Bowen displays his award for the audience. Manning Khan Cheney The BET J booth at the Caribbean Fair,part of “Cariibbean Week”celebrations in New York last month,was a hive of activity.BET J used the opportunity to strengthen its partnership with Caribbean destinations and promote “Island Lime”to a market that BET J executive Cybelle Brown,a St.Lucian,describes as both influential and underserved. e value the Caribbean community in the U.S.,which is an influential and huge constituency,said Brown,vice president of sales and marketing for BET Digital Networks.etit has not had a place to go for nostalgic programming or to learn more about wha s ha ppening the Caribbean, such as the latest music coming out of the region.”She said that as the network evolves,“Island Lime”will also be thevenue for economic,political and other news features. Based on the success of Caribbean programming on the former BET Jazz channel, BET J has embarked on an entire day of programming dedicated to Caribbean music and culture,including island festival specials.“The Caribbean has been a successful part of our programming and revenue model so it’s important for us to give back to the Caribbean,said Brown,who pledged BET Digital Networks’continuing commitmentto helping various Caribbean organizations gain exposure on the network. BET IT’S SOMETHING INTERESTING july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 4

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Caribbean seeks new trade pact with U.S. NEWS NEWS 6 CARIBBEAN TODAYJuly 2006 New P.M.delivers rallying cr y to Jamaicans in Florida DAWN A. DAVIS Mor e than 300 Jamaicans squeezed into the grand ball room of Hollywood’s Westin Diplomat Resor t last month to welcome their new Prime Minister Por tia Simpson Miller. Representing the elite, the influential and the moneyedJamaicans living in South Florida, this invitation-only crowd paid rapt attention to the Simpson Miller’s every wor d as she deliver ed the “gospel” of Por tia, not unlike a preacher on the pulpit. Although her speech was measur ed in the beginning, the prime minister eventually warmed up, sprinkling her words with biblical verses asshe ur ged Jamaicans in the diaspora to unite in the name of nation building. “I come to the kingdom at a time such as this,” she said. “ My faith and my god is strong.” Her plea, however , lacked specifics, as did her men-tion of crimeand violence,a topic at the forefront ofJamaicans’ minds athome and abroad. But, her efforts to rally the cr owd seemed to work as she ur ged Jamaicans not to “join in badmouthing your country” and to “never forget the blood running through your veins.” CAMPAIGNING The same speech was used to motivate the 300-plusaudience the following evening at a for um at Davie’s Nova Southeastern University. This event, which was open to the public, br ought out Jamaicans from all economiclevels. Simpson Miller again used her “gospel” to her advantage, moving her South Florida constituents to the kind of frenzy typical at a campaigning event. “Jamaica needs a change, and I am that change,” shepr omised, as she pleaded with Opposition Jamaica Labour Party supporters to back her, explaining “I am about the people, Jamaica and Jamaicans.” As she did the night before, Simpson Miller promised to balance the books and balance the people’ s lives as well. She announced an initia tive to advertise Jamaican jobs in and outside Jamaica so thatJamaicans in the diaspora would also have access. Her impassioned comments about understanding the poor because of her poor background also resonated with the crowd. W ith that, the audience sprang to their feet, erupting in long, thunder ous applause, in honor of Jamaica’ s first female prime minister. Dawn A.Davis is a freelance writer for Caribbean T oday . PETER RICHARDS BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC – Caribbean community (CARICOM seeking to enter into a free trade agreement with theUnited States even as a leading regional technocrat said theFr ee Trade Area of the Americas (FT AA) was no longer a viable option for the Caribbean trade and economicdevelopment. “FT AA has been on life support for some time and the prognosis is not good,” said Dr. Richard Bernal, head of the Caribbean RegionalNegotiating Machiner y (CRNM “While it was a viable option in existenceit is no point in putting your eggs in baskets that are not likely to be pursued by everybody else. If nobody isn’t, how are we goingto negotiate it,” he added. Speaking at the end of the r ecent prime ministerial subcommittee meeting on external trade negotiations, Bernal said there was need to move quickly to develop a “long lasting” trade relationship with Washington. “What we discussed is whether to appr oach the United States for a fr ee trade agr eement. The U.S. has made clear that any new trade agreement would have to approximate afr ee trade,” he said adding, “we are interested in making thedecision as soon as possible. e have to think of securing our inter est in the United States on a long term basis. In addition, we want to expand thecoverage of the CaribbeanBasin Initiative (CBI Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERAis confined to trade in goods.” ST ALLED Bernal said the FTAA pr ocess had been stalled for some years now and that outside of CARICOM, interest in renewing that with the U.S. has moved to the W orld Trade Organization (WTO eral negotiations and in addition some interest has waned because the DominicanRepublic and Central America have replaced their marketaccess with the Central American Free Trade Area (CAFTA) agreement. Trinidad and Tobago has been pushing for the FTAA to be headquartered in Port of Spain and Trade Minister Kenneth Valley said that as far as the Patrick Manning administration was concerned the FTAA was on the back burner. “I believe that we could see some movement early next yearhe said, noting that it had beensidetracked because of elections in Brazil and the U.S. “Until they get past the elec tions, I don’t think it is going to be an issue they will consider,” hetold the Caribbean Media Corporation. He said Port of Spain had not been pursing the FTAA headquarters issue aggressively for the last year and a half, “but we are still watching it.” Jamaica’s Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, who chaired the meeting, described the deliberations as “a good one,” adding, “we discussed several important issues affecting our region.” ‘Don’t give up on Jamaica’U.K.Privy Council orders T&T... alism, and problems with Jamaica’s struggling economy her connection with the people,that saw her write a page in Jamaica’s history, was evident. “That’ s what we needed all along, a prime minister thatwill stand up for rights, and for unity, and (who iscal,” Jamaican-born KirkHarpaul told Caribbean Today , after listening to Simpson Miller speak. “We need a true, genuine prime minister.” For Jamaican-bor n Sharon Terrelong, Simpson Miller’s leadership is an encouraging sign that Jamaica has brighter days ahead. e just want to work with her and wish her all the best,” the Lauder hill, Florida r esident told Caribbean Today , “and hope that Jamaica can bea better place that we can gohome and be happy Story and main cover photograph by Damian P.Gregory, Caribbean Today’s deputy managing editor. www.caribbeantoday.com casting licences in Dec. 1999 and Sept. 2000 respectively. Asear ch of the Companies Registr y revealed that Citadel, whose directors were Louis Lee Sing and Anthony Lee Aping, had only been incorpo rated on Aug. 28, 2001. Citadel applied for a licence on Mar. 13, 2001. TheSDMS found this out in Aug. 2002, pr ompting the or ganiza tion, whose application was still pending, to take legal action against the AG on the grounds of discrimination. The judgement said ther e was a “conspicuous” failur e to process the application over three years by the director of the telecommunications division. The matter was first hear d before Justice Carlton Best on Jan. 19, 2004 and judgementwas given on Feb. 4. The judge held that ther e had been unequal treatment against the CBSL and the SDMS, but considered it unnecessary to grant an order obliging the Cabinet to give the or ganization a licence. He ruled that only the CBSL was entitled to relief. Caribbean leaders to meet in special summit on economy PETER RICHARDS BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC – Caribbean community(CARICOMmeet in a special summit later this year to discuss the framework to fur ther advance the arrangements for the single economy dimension of theCARICOM Single Marketand Economy (CSMEBarbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur has said. Arthur, briefing reporters after making a presentation to his regional colleagues attend-ing the 27th annual CARI COM summit here, said no date or venue had yet been decided for the special meeting. But he said that in orderto speed up the pace of theframework, a symposium would most likely be held in Barbados prior to the specialsummit to “advance the framework establishing the single market.” Arthur, who has lead responsibility for the CSME within CARICOM, said the meeting would be sponsor ed by the Barbados gover nment, the University of the West Indies (UWI COM Secretariat. e recognize that now there can be an accelerationof the pace to have thatframework for the single economy ready by 2008...withthe understanding that some time after we have had that additional symposium therewill be a special summit ofheads,” he said. (CONTINUED FROM P AGE 2) (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2) Simpson Miller Bernal Valley Teacher on murder charge ST . GEORGE’S , Grenada, CMC – A 40-year-old school teacher, Nigel Abraham, whoallegedly strangled his wife,has made his first appearance in court here. Police said the body of 36year-old Bernadette Abrahamwas discover ed at her home last month, but her husband was only charged in connection withher death earlier this month. Accor ding to the police, the accused was char ged following investigations by members of the CriminalInvestigations Depar tment (CID forensic experts. Abraham appear ed before Magistrate Patricia Mark and was not asked to enter a plea. He was remanded to re-appear in court onJuly 20. july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 6

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GORDON WILLIAMS Agyrating r ed, white and black “congoline” near midnight in Dor tmund, Germany meant only one thing: The T rinis wer e in the house. For nearly two weeks last month, thousands of fans ofT rinidad and Tobago’s Soca Warriors soccer team made their pr esence felt during W orld Cup 2006. They traveled from the twin-island r epublic, parts of Nor th America and Eur ope, and the rest of the Caribbean to celebrate their team’ s participation in soccer’s biggest show . Along the way they startled, engaged and embraced the wide-eyedGer man population not used to the Caribbean carnival spirit. And even though the Soca Warriors failed to find the neton the field, their loyal fans –face paint, flag waving and all scored big off it. e’r e sharing in a piece of history,” was how Riyad Khan, a 28-year-old who livesin San Fer nando, T rinidad, explained the experience to Caribbean Today as he traveled by train to T&T’s first game against Sweden in Dortmund. e’re here to explore the cultur e of Ger many and have fun; that goes without saying.” PRESENCE Khan, who visited a few other cities including Frankfur t, Dusseldor f, Nur embur g and Kaiserslautern, was absolutely right. And judging fr om the massive presence of ever jumping and cheering fellow Trinis at all three Soca Warriors’ match venues – Nur ember g and Kaiserslautern were theother two – he was never alone. All harbored the dream thatT&T would somehow pull through the first round orgr oup phase of the competi tion, especially after a pr omis ing start, but few had entered Ger many expecting the Warriors to beat establishedsoccer powers like Sweden and England. “I’m not looking for them to win a game,” said former national youth player Carlos Lee before T&T’s first gameagainst Sweden. “But if theycan tie a game that will begood.” A 0-0 draw with Sweden satisfied that appetite. It alsoinspir ed the players and fans to set their sights even higher Trinis lead Caribbean celebration at soccer World Cup in Germany FEA FEA TURE TURE July 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 7 www .caribbeantoday.com High Court steps in as Guyana wiretap controversy deepens GEORGETOWN, Guyana Justice William Ramlall’s gag order last month prohibiting all government ministers and their functionaries from commenting or issuing statementson the so-called “tape gate” scandal has temporarily cooled the political climate her e. The scandal, which has ensnared Police CommissionerW inston Felix, had also sparked a nasty public spat between the top cop and Home Af fairs Minister Gail Teixeira. Felix, last month, applied to the High Court to quashPrime Minister Sam Hinds’ s decision to write to him on allegations arising fr om a number of controversial wiretapped conversations. He alsosought and was granted an order prohibiting the primeminister fr om proceeding with any investigation to determine whether to advise President Bhar rat Jagdeo to appoint a tribunal to probe possible wrongdoing in the matter. The controversy started in February after a robust Joint Services campaign to recover 38 weapons stolen from the army’s storage bond entangled some prominent businessmen and former police ranks. All are now wanted for questioning her e following the discov ery of the illegal weapons,nar cotics and other parapher nalia at their fir ms or homes. Two wiretapped tapes, allegedly containing the voiceof Felix discussing sensitive national security issues with an Opposition legislator mysteriously sur faced at the height of the campaign. Prime Minister Sam Hinds wrote Felix last month demandingan “immediate r esponse” fol lowing repeated televised br oadcast of the two tapes. STUNNED Felix told Hinds in a letter he would consult his attorneysbefor e responding fully to his demands, but stunned the government with a sudden move to the High Cour t. In his affi(CONTINUED ON PAGE 8) (CONTINUED ON PAGE 8) A T&T fan proudly raises a banner that underscores his support for the Soca Warriors at the 2006 World Cup. Felix T eixeira july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 7

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davit, Felix said “it appears to me that the Government ofGuyana hashas purpor tedly commenced invocation of the constitutional pr ovisions to ef fect my r emoval fr om office.” However , this was r ejected by Minister T eixeira who said the gover nment has never called for the removal of the police commissioner. “In fact, it has not been the administration but the Geor getown Chamber (of Commerce) and members fr om the Private Sector Commission (PSC been repeating calls for his r esignation,” Teixeira said in a television broadcast. “I would like to disclose to the commissioner of police how erroneous his conclusions are and the height of reckless-ness he has publicly displayed in making those unworthyclaims,” she continued. The minister said that if the commissioner of police has nothing to hide, “surely in the face of mounting public concern he would see merit in notopposing an investigation aslaid out in the constitution.” Felix has consistently denied the conversations on the two tapes ever took place and said in his affidavit that they are clumsy simulations, edited by “phantoms who seem to have caught the ear of the government.” Meanwhile, parliamentarian Deryck Bernard, of the main Opposition People’s National Congress Reform(PNC/R alarming the security minister’s first worry is about thecontents of the tape and notthe perpetrators who madethe illegal r ecor ding. T eixeira said since the two tapes surfaced the government had given the Joint Ser vices an additional G$20 million ($100,000 gathering; authorized thedeployment of the GDF fr om their barracks; and enlisted international assistance in the criminal investigations. She accused Felix of pursuing anunpr ofessional course of action by seeking to discr edit Hinds and the government by “using the cour ts and other technicalities to stave of f an investigation into his conduct. “By inference and by words, the commissioner of police has unprofessionally and precipitously gone to the courts prejudging the actions to be taken by the honorable prime minister and His Excellency the President (Bharrat Jagdeoof unsubstantiated and base less claims against the government,” she said. RECKLESS T eixeira said the police commissioner s move to the High Court is reckless and has under mined his professionalism. But in his ruling, Justice Ramlall said Teixeira’s state-ments wer e “distasteful”, reminding that the constitution gives every Guyanese the right to legal r edr ess. The r uling is welcome r espite fr om the boiling con tr oversy which threatens to further tear apart this racially and politically fractur ed countr y. Guyanese now wait to see what will be the next development. CMC as the competition wore on. Losses to England and then Paraguay ended those hopes, but did not totally dampen theCaribbean spirit. Many fr om other countries in the region showed up in Ger many specifically to cheer for T&T. FAMILY e’re all one big family in the Caribbean,” said Jamaican Alison Taffe as she waited for the kickof f at T&T’s second match in Nuremberg. “I have no problem supporting Trinidad.” It turned out that view was shared by Europeans as well. Many liked the spunk of the underdog Warriors. T&T, with its population of 1.3 million, is the smallest nation ever to play in the World Cupfinals. And, of the 32 teams in this year’s event, the Trini fan support and visible presencedid not fall far behind other countries. In large cities – like Frankfurt – and small towns, Trinbagonians were spotted almost ever ywher e, in stor es, bars and train stations, even on days when the Soca Warriors were not scheduledto take the field. They sang and danced in the streets and stations after games, blew horns and whis-tles, and hugged strangers as if they were long lost friends. Inmany instances, the locals returned the favor as if it wasthe most natural trade. e support the Trinidadians over the Englanders,” German Rainer Schuhmann said afterT&T lost to England in his hometown Nuremberg. “It’sCaribbean.” For two weeks in June the Caribbean had indeed made its mark in Germany. Story and photographs by Gordon Williams, Caribbean Today’s managing editor. High Court steps in as Guy ana wiretap controversy deepensTrinis lead Caribbean celebration at soccer World Cup in Germany FEA FEA TURE TURE 8 CARIBBEAN TODAYJuly 2006 www.caribbeantoday.com Street Address: 9020 SW 152nd Street, Miami, FL33157 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 6010 Miami, FL 331 16-6010. T elephone: (305 (305305 1-800-605-7516 E-mail: caribtoday@earthlink.net Send ads to: ct_ads@bellsouth.net V ol.17,Number 8 JULY.2006 PETER AWEBLEY Publisher GORDON WILLIAMS Managing Editor DAMIAN P. GREGORY Deputy Managing Editor SABRINAFENNELL Graphic Artist DOROTHYCHIN Account Executive SUNDAYSELLERS Account Executive AMANDA ECHEVERRI Accounting ManagerCaribbean Media Source Media Representatives T OM JONAS 353 St. Nicolas Street, Suite 200 Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2Y 2P1 Tel: (514514 E-mail: tom@cmsworldmedia.com Jamaica Bureau MARIE GREGORY (876 P .O. Box 127, Constant Spring Kingston 8, JamaicaOpinions expressed by editors and writers are not necessarily those of the publisher. Caribbean Today , an independent news magazine, is published every month by Caribbean Publishing Services, Inc. Subscription rates are: US$20 per year (Bulk . Caribbean T oday is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or photos. To guarantee return, please include a self-addressed stamped envelope. Articles appearing in Caribbean Today may not be reproduced without written permission of the editor . Trinidad and Tobago fans at the World Cup show off their true colors. (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7) (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7) Hinds july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 8

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We’ve reached an odd place in W estern histor y when a case has to be made for father hood, but here we are. I’m a shameless “Daddy’s girl” even though I’m well pastthe age of a “girl” and“Daddy” is 10 years in thegrave. I’m even past grieving atthis point and str uggle sometimes to bring his face intofocus. What I have no trouble recalling is the power of his influence in my life and theutter impossibility of imagining a childhood without him. It’s not that he was perfect whois? but he was mine. And because my mother died young, he was mostly mine formuch of my childhood. This particular happenstance is probably what led meto become a champion of fathers. If my father had died young instead of my mother , maybe I’d be a champion ofmother hood, but I doubt it for this simple reason: Motherhood doesn’t need a champion. UNCERTAINTY The sanctity of motherhood is intact and manifest, as irrefutable as the umbilicalbond between mother and child. Fatherhood is somethingless cer tain. Until the advent of DNA to pr ove pater nity , fatherhood was a bond of faith founded in trust. She says, “The baby’ s yours.” He says, “I will be his father Unlike women, who know with inescapable cer tainty that they ar e the par ent of their own child, men have had to place their faith in the integrityof their sexual par tner . Thus, fatherhood was a voluntary commitment, a quintessential offering of self-sacrifice and surrender to mother and child. His selfish interest, of course, was tied to his wish to propagate and protect his ownbloodline. Even so, stickingar ound r equires a leap of faith that borders on the mystical. It’ s r eally rather sweet when you think about it man surrendering his less laudable nature, tamping down his morenatural inclination to play Johnny Appleseed in order tomow grass on weekends andpatch skinned knees for theadded privilege of working hard for little credit. Fathers, in a wor d, are awesome. Things have shifted a bit in r ecent years, you may have noticed, and “awesome” isn’t a word you hear much indescribing men, unless you’vegot some little moon-faced twit gaping at a guy’ s pecs or the angle of his jeans. More often they’re deadbeats, losers, rapists, murderers and abusers. Oh, and idiots. Name a T.V. dad who can tie his shoes without assistance from his far-smar ter wife or kid. EXPENDABLE Fathers aren’t only morons, they’re expendable. Today’s women armed with degrees and checkbooks,not to mention easy access tosper m banks enjoy the social freedom to have children with or withoutdear ol’ dad counting con-tractions and are increas-ingly optingout of thepaper work. Gone is any shame associated with having children out of wed-lock. For a visual aid, pictur e Angelina Jolie goddess/moth er toting her collection of glob al offspring with unwed BradDad in tow, shuffling along like a bashful Sherpa. You get the feeling he’ s a bit player in the lar ger nar rative, a cameo father with a little “f”. How long before mother becomes boredwith the father she thus far has t bothered to marry? Obviously, celebrities occupy a demographic all their own,and celebs of Jolie-Pitt status dwell in a niche apart. Whoelse gets to shut down a coun try while they give birth? But the broader celebration ofthese faux-unions and lovebabies creates a new storylinethat trickles down to the str eet and gets re-enacted by the un-celebs and lesser actors amongus. Advice to Jolie wannabes: If you’re going to have babies outside of marriage, it’s best tohave a few millions stashed in el banco. Barring that, it’s bestto have a father who car es that his offspring are more than the result of a random sprint around the fallopian track. T o say that childr en want, need and deser ve to have a father seems as unnecessary as insisting that they want, needand deser ve oxygen. How did we ar rive at not knowing this? That some marriages aren’tgood enough to pr eser ve is understood and regrettable. But why we would willingly fashiona society in which men ar e denigrated and fathers minimized like some useless icon is a mystery that escapes me. The even greater mystery is that men continue to sign upfor the job, to sublimate them selves to the higher char ge ofWell, I have been sayingfor years that men cannot reallycheat on women, as it is the very nature of men to stray, anddeep down in their subconscious, women kind of expect it. But when a woman who is per ceived to be virtuous, respectable, domesti-cated and wifely , takes unto herself a lover, then men fr eak out. It’s like they were blindsided, hit by a left hook that theynever saw coming, taken completely by surprise, and that’swhy it upsets and hurts them so. “I never thought that my wife would go withanother man, never in my wildest dreams.All those evenings she gone to prayer meeting,and she was on her knees,but not praying. But it’s because of this foolish notion that men have, that women do not, and will not screw around, plus the fact that wives are ‘property’ why itmystifies them when they do. W omen have confided to me that every few months they have to go outside for a little taste of something different, even though it will not affect their relationship with their husbands. “I wish men could under stand that women have the samewanderlust that men have ,but just that many are afraid to act on it.Well,I’m not. What is interesting is that if the man found out that his woman was turning the screwswith another woman, he mightnot be as upset as if she had itwith another man. That’ s because a rival man has ascr ewdriver , enters a woman, penetrates her body, mind and soul, and men can’t handle that. EYE OPENER The eye opening findings of a team of Ger man r esearchers reported that 53 per cent of women saidthat they had been unfaith-ful to theirpar tners, com par ed to 59 percent of men. Still, the reasons why women are unfaithful are different fr om men. Men ar e driven by lust, while women usually have more complex reasons andin fact, infidelity can happeneven to good people in good marriages, the research paper says. The top three reasons they say, are friendships at work, child centered marriages andintimate Inter net conversations. Now we all know how that friendship at work scenariopays out. The wife spends awhole heap of time with herboss or co-worker in the prime hours of the day, with her at her best. They are in constant contact, sharing of fice stuf f, personal stuf f and other stuff, seeing each other constantly . By the time she gets home to hubby, she is tired, worn out from the day and ready only for housework and child duties. But come tomor row, she’s fresh again and ready to work with and banter with the man in theof fice. It’s a time that she looks forward to. Naturally something is going to happen, and in no time it gr ows until it explodes and she tur ns the scr ews on her husband. She didn’t set out to do it, but it happens. What’s even more revealing, the study unfolds, is that half of all wives turn the screws on their husbands at some point in the mar riage and 90 percent feel no guilt at all. Infact they felt entitled, becausethey had been so unhappy in the marriage, so her turning the screws was a liberating and justifiable action. That’s another thing, this ter m ‘happily mar ried’. I did an informal survey, speaking individually to both par ties, and many husbands professed thatthey wer e happily married, and many wives also told me that they were happily married, butto date, no husband and wife fr om the same mar riage told me that they wer e both happily mar ried. So, one man’ s heaven is one woman’s hell and vice versa. Dads are the awesome-estTurning the screws VIEWPOINT VIEWPOINT July 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 9 www .caribbeantoday.com (CONTINUED ON P AGE 10) (CONTINUED ON PAGE 10) TONY ROBINSON KA THLEEN PARKER july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 9

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GORDON WILLIAMS It is not often that small nations, especially from theCaribbean, make such a positive impact on the world stage that even those who once sneer ed at that country eventually had to turn around, switch their thinking, and salute the“little engine that could”. “The little engine that could” is pr ecisely what Trinidad and Tobago turned out to be at this year s World Cup soccer finals in Germany. T&T str uggled mightily to get to the final r ound of 32 teams, having to survive a playof f with Bahrain. And with 1.3 million people in the twinisland r epublic, T&T became the smallest nation ever toqualify for the big show lastmonth. But that was just the beginning. When the “Soca Warriors” – the popular nickname for T&T’s team – arrived in Germany no one expectedthem to do well in a gr oup that included Eur opean powers England and Sweden, plus Paraguay, a quality team from soccer-mad South America. At best, the critics said, T&T should simply try to avoid totalembar rassment on the field. For get about winning or even securing a point for a draw. Many T&T fans, even the staunchest among them, somehow believed that as well. To them, qualifying for the World Cup was their “W orld Cup finals already”, as one fan said. Everything else, they explained, was mer e gravy. For many fans, the trip to Germany would merely represent a chance to r e-locate a huge soca fete from the Caribbean to Europe. QUIET CONFIDENCE Y et someone failed to convince the Soca Warriors themselves. Inside the T&T campther e was a quiet confidence. T&T’ s crafty coach Leo Beehakker did not have a mass of high-priced soccer talent at this disposal. What he did have was a loyal gr oup of hardworking players so passionate about their sport and country that no one could convince them that they would not do well on the field of play. And that, indeed, they did. The Warriors battled to a gritty goalless draw againstSweden, succumbed to twolate goals against mighty England, before showing the world that they could perform with attractive grace and style as well in a loss to Paraguay. T&T scor ed no goals in their three games and earned only a point from Sweden. The team ear ned respect on the field, and the fans, that spirited, colorful throng which mar ched into Germany armed mostly with a smile and unbridled joy, grabbed a huge chunk of it off the pitch as well. Manynon-T rini fans, not just from the Caribbean, embraced the march of the Soca Warriors. They cheered for them, partiedwith them, and cried with them when they lost. The T rini fans in turn were on their best conduct. There has been no r eport so far of misbehavior by fans. If they committed any “crime”, it’ssimply that they had way too much fun. It was not an unusual sight to see Trinis prancing around the streets of Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Kaiserslautern and Dortmund late into the night.They drank, they sang and theydanced. Their spirit was so infectious that the Trini colors of red, white and black were being paraded around by people who could hardly tell wher e the twin-island republic was located, much more who was on the team. They just seemed to be having such a good time and others wanted a piece of it. Y et when it all ended, at the last match in Kaiserslautern, it became clear that the little nation that could had done much more than become a road party. Thousands in the packedstadium r ose to applaud the valiant Soca W arriors as they left the field for the last time in the tournament. It was a salute that would have made any Trini – and anyone from the Caribbean as well – extremely pr oud. Gordon Williams is Caribbean Today’s managing editor . ell, I’m glad that she’ s happy, at least one of us is.” SEX SEARCH What’ s interesting, is that just like men, women also have sex driven affairs, for as sure as night follows day, sex eventually dies after marriage. But hear this now , that death can be resuscitated if a third party enters the graveyard. That same sexless frumpy wife can become a raging inferno ifsome young stud woos and wins her, and as for the husband, all he wants is a wink fr om a young lass and the for ce of a thousand dormant volcanoes will erupt with a cataclysmic explosion that will rockhis world. Believe it or not, low self esteem, brought on by a woman constantly doinghousework and caring for chil dren, will also drive her to turn the scr ews. Her husband only sees her as a wife, a mother ofhis childr en, the keeper of the house, no longer a lover. Butalong comes John, Big John,smooth talking lean and hand some John who r eminds her how sexy and desirable she is. Y ou’d be frightened to see how fast she flings off the apron and tur ns of f the stove, for she’ s desired again, a whole woman. Remember, women thrive on praise and admiration, just like flowers. This Internet thing has changed the lives of so manypeople and has also added fuel to the fire of infidelity. So many wives have intimate relationships on the Internet that eventually grow into the real thing. I’m sure you’ve heard the term cybersex, well,it’ s tr ue, and many women ar e hooked on it. It’s so easy to expose yourself and bar e your soul over the Internet, espe-cially if you’r e basically a shy person. After a while it gets sohot that only a consummationcan cool the ar dour . But hear this now , the r esearch says that women can actually be guilty of emotional infidelity. The therapist saysthat if you’r e mar ried and share secrets with a close friend of the opposite sex or go out for drinks after work all the time with the same person,you ar e guilty of emotional infidelity. ou can’ t have an intimate relationship at work and still have a great relationship at home. Even if there is no sex, it’s still adultery,” he says. W ell, I have been saying so for years, that women can dothis emotional no sex thing andshut out the husbands in thepr ocess. After a while she won’ t even like her husband any mor e and not know it. Oh, she still loves him, because of long service and devotion, but doesn’t like him very much and finds everything he does annoying and irritating. Some even focus on their children so much that they vir tually cheat on their husbands emotionally with the children, withoutknowing it. BACK TO NORMAL What’s even more scary is how women can carry on affairs and act as if everything is normal at home. Usually when men have af fairs the world knows, the clich coming home late, scent of per fume and so on. But it’ s different for a woman. The r esearch paper says that there are signs that men should look for. Men, be concer ned, be ver y concer ned if your wife suddenly demands mor e sex, seems unusually attentive toyou, and wears her weddingring mor e often than she did before. Even so, most women who turn the screws stick to their old routine, leave for worksame time, r etur n home same time and none’s the wiser. But it’ s what happens in between that’s important. Let us not forget revenge as a motive, as many women turn the screwsto get back at them. Revengethey say is a meal best eaten cold, but in this case it’ s hot, hot, hot. I have been saying it for years, that men scr ew around and women scr ew ar ound too, but the women ar e better at turning the screws, plus screwdrivers are everywhere. Take care now. seido1@hotmail.com Turning the screwsWorld soccer stage displays T&T’s crowning glory VIEWPOINT VIEWPOINT 10 CARIBBEAN TODAYJuly 2006 (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9) Dads are the awesome-est being a father even in the face of a culture that belittles them. That’s what fathers do, ofcourse: take the grief and keep on keeping on. Which is why we love them. Kathleen P arker is a syndicated columnist for the OrlandoSentinel. Tribune Media Services,Inc. www.caribbeantoday.com (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9) july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 10

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CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC The inter national hotel chain Ritz Carlton is making plansto set up a hotel in the southof St. Lucia. This was confirmed late last month by Tourism Minister Phillip J. Pier re and President of the St. Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA) Allen Chastanet. Pierre told CMC on June 30 that a letter of intent had been signed between thedevelopers, an Irish-based gr oup and of ficials of Ritz Carlton in the presence of several industr y of ficials. “The contract is now being finalized to breakgr ound on a property in the southern town of Vieux Fort which will be branded to Ritz Carlton,” Pier re said. GOLF Chastanet disclosed that discussions were also being held on the designing of a championship 18-hole golf course by a leading international gr oup of developers. “This is excellent news for the destination because any time you can attract a brand as prestigious as Ritz Carlton, itis a gr eat acclaim for the destination and would bring a lot tothe table,” Chastanet said. He said the Ritz Carlton was one of several hotel oper ators and developers currentlysetting up shop in St. Lucia,most of which will be opening in time for next year’s Cricket World Cup. NEW YORK, CMC Caribbean tourism officials arepushing for a fur ther delay to the United States plan to implement passport requirements for American citizens. The plan, which is due to take ef fect on Jan. 1 next year, will make it mandator y for all Americans returning home from the Caribbean and other countries in the Western Hemisphere to have a passportto enter their countr y. But Vincent VanderpoolWallace, secretary general of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTOthe r egion would be at a disadvantage if the passport law wer e enforced next year. Vanderpool-Wallace said regional tourism officials havebeen meeting with senior U.S.of ficials in the Caribbean who have agreed to press the Caribbean’s case in Washington. “The reason for a further postponement must be that the pick up of new passports by U.S. citizens has been nowherenear the numbers that wewould like to see,” he told journalists gathered here for the closing of “Caribbean Week 2006” last month. Regional tourism officials, working thr ough the Caribbean Community Council for For eign and Community Relations (COFCOR ambassadors in Washington, successfully argued against the original implementation date of Jan. 1, 2006, saying it put the r egion at a disadvantage since Americans returning from Mexico and Canada by air would not need a passport before Jan. 1, 2007. Those returning from the two U.S. border states by land have been given an additional year, and will require a passport by Jan. 1, 2008. Ritz Carlton looks to set up hotel in St. Lucia CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC A number of Caribbean countries have seen an increase in their tourist arrivals for the first quarter of this year compared to 2005. Figur es r eleased by the Caribbean Tourism Organization last monthr evealed arrivals up in Antigua, four per cent; Barbados, 4.5 per cent; Gr enada, 13 percent; Jamaica, 15 percent; and Guyana, 19 per cent. St. Lucia, however , has experienced a 10 percent decline in arrivals for the January to March period. The decline comes despite the fact that the island has registered asignificant incr ease in hotel rooms and airline seats. The CTO figures also point to a 1.5 per cent decline in ar rivals for May 2006, despite the fact that tourism officials have been reportingan incr ease in ar rivals for the St. Lucia Jazz Festival, which took place in May. There was an overall decline of eight percent for arrivals in St. Lucia during the January to May 2006 period,the CTO r epor t indicated. Tourism officials here told the Caribbean Media Cor poration that they wer e still assessing r easons for the decline. Caribbean sees rise in tourist arriv als MIAMI, CMC Barbadian hotelier Peter Odle has assumed the presidency ofCaribbean Hotel Association(CHAter m. During the closing ceremony of the 2006 Caribbean Hotel Industry Conference(CHIC at the Hyatt Regency here, outgoing president Berthia Parle officially passed thebaton to Odle. In his inaugural addr ess Odle said the essence of his platform would be based on “unity through consultation and communication.” He saidthe CHA needed to become amor e ef fective leader in regional tourism while strengthening its relationship with other tourism partners. “Of equal impor tance we must also become mor e r esponsive to the needs of our members, underscoring the importance of upholding andadvancing the diversity and representation that is the coreof the association,” he said. The new CHA president also noted his intention totackle the issues of liberaliza tion, r egional collaboration, the cruise industry, intraregional travel and advocacy with a unified approach. “What is at stake is the viability of an industry thatcontinues to attract so many people from all over theworld,” hesaid. Odle, the owner andmanaging director of the 76 roomMango Bay hotel in Barbados, is joined by a group of officers elected by themembership which includesAllen Chastanet of St. Lucia, first vice president; and Jeremy MacVean of The Bahamas, second vice president. Bajan Odle is new CHA president NEW YORK, CMC – Barbados For eign Affairs and For eign Trade Minister Dame Billie Miller has r eiterated her appeal for a regional campaign in the promotion ofCaribbean tourism. “I want to appeal, as I did during the years when I presided over the CTO10 years later , I still want to appeal to you. A r egional adver tising or promotional campaign is critical,” she told a huge gala cer emony at the Governments of the CaribbeanState Ball held last month at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel inmidtown Manhattan. The ball was or ganized by the Caribbean Tourism Or ganisation (CTO of celebra tions for“Caribbean Week” in New York. The region’stourism hasto becomemor e competitive if it isgoing to beworld class, Dame Billie saidduring her acceptance speech after receiving the CTO’s highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award. The for mer CTO chairman, one of only two females to ever head the r egional tourism or ganization, said many years ago a pilot cam paign was instituted, with contributions from the public andprivate sectors, in which theCaribbean was successfully “profiled to the world. e abandoned it, but I think we need to go back,wher e all the governments – and it is going to r equire political will – all the stakeholders put their money into the regional campaign to profilethe Caribbean,” she said. Barbados calls for regional campaignCaribbean seeks delay of U.S.passport plan T T OURISM OURISM / / TR TR A A VEL VEL July 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 11 www .caribbeantoday.com Miller Odle V anderpool-W allace Caribbean nationals allowed free movement during CWC BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC – Caribbean nationals, as well as visitors to the r egion, will be able to move freely thr oughout the countries between January and May next year as the r egion is conver ted to a single domestic space for the 2007 Cricket World Cup (CWC This move is par t of a $13 million security plan agr eed on r ecent by Caribbean communi ty (CARICOM their summit her e. The plan will include the nine countries hosting cricket matches in addition to Dominica. Barbados’s Deputy Prime Minister Mia Mottley said per sons who would be traveling intra-r egionally would not have their passports stamped upon entry even though they would still be r equir ed to submit an immigration form “largely because ther e is other infor ma tion on it.” She said there would also be a commonCARICOM visa and the 10countries (nine host countries and Dominica) have agreed that for the period Jan. 15 to May 15, the common CARI COM visa will be the visa they will adhere to. The visar equir ement is for 46 countries and will be issued from Aug. 15 this year . Britain will issue those visas to countries where there is no diplomatic representation by CARICOM. july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 11

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Gordon Williams photographA hard-working journalist covering soccer’ s World Cup 2006 in Germany took time out at the stadium’s media center in Dortmund last month to sample the day’s special menu offering,the obago style rice dish”. La ter that day,June 10,Trinidad and Tobago played Sweden in the Soca Warriors’ opening match. The result was a 0-0 dra w,but for this scribe the Caribbean meal was definitely a winner. Fish is a Caribbean favorite, and not just because the islands are surrounded by the sea. It’s all in the preparation, which can turn simple seafood into a culinary delight. This month we feature a longtime favorite in the region – escoveitched fish, that tangy,spicy delight that makes yourmouth water just thinking about it. And now that thesummer is her e, maybeCaribbeanhouseholds willfind the time toget this tasty dish going for family and friends. The recommended fish forthis delicious feast are snapper, jack, king,cutlass, sprat and goat. INGREDIENTS 3 lbs. fish sliced in 1/2 thickslices 4 teaspoons black pepper and 4 teaspoons of salt combined 2 or 3 limes or lemons 1/2 scotch bonnet pepper cut in strips or 1/2 teaspoondried tabasco pepper 2 cups cane or malt vinegar (white or br own) 1/2 cup oil for frying 1 teaspoon pimento seeds or whole allspice 2 large onions sliced 1/2 teaspoon whole black pepper grains METHOD Wash fish thoroughly in water to which juice ofthe limes or lemons has been added. Dr y thoroughly. When absolutely dr y, coat the fish both sideswith the combined saltand black pepper and setaside on paper towels. Heat oil in fr ying pan to boiling point and fry fish on both sides untilnice and crisp. Set fish aside in a deep Pyrexdish or other bowl. In a saucepan combine vinegar, sliced onions,peppers, pimento seeds, whole black pepper grains,and bring to a boil. Simmer until onions are tender andr emove fr om fire and cool. Pour over fish and leave steeping overnight. Note:If sprats or goat fish are used,do not slice. Edited from Nevis1.com FEASTING AT ‘FOOTBALL 12 CARIBBEAN TODAYJuly 2006 FOOD FOOD www.caribbeantoday.com Escoveitched fish fit for a Caribbean king july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 12

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Home may be where the hear t is, but it’s also wher e steep stairs, fragile glass, sharp objects, scalding water and dangeroustoxins lurk. An adult knows how to avoid such hazards. A baby or small child, however, is oblivi-ous to them. Author V icky Lansky, author of “Practical Parenting Tips”, offers some helpful hints on how to make your house a safe envir onment for your children. The Kitchen Your kitchen is rife with hot liquids,poisonous substances and jagged utensils. Children tend to be curious, so take precautions. “Lock up everything you can,” Lansky says. “You can use safety locks, a yardstick, bungee cords or even adog collar . Just clamp down cabinets and doors so only adults can open them.” T ur n all saucepan han dles to the rear of the stove, and remove the stove knobsor use knob covers. While you’re at it, move all cleaningsupplies out fr om under the sink. When you’re cooking, use a kitchen timer. A child can easily distract you, and ifyou don’ t have a r eminder , a fire can result. In addition, have your child use paper cups instead of breakable mugs. If a glass still breaks, clean the mess up atonce, and use a damp paper towel to pick up small shards. The Bathroom The bathr oom has even mor e dan gers than the kitchen does. Again, make sure that all cab-inets and drawers ar e locked. Never leave medicine or cleaning supplies out.Remember that mesh baskets in the shower are good forkeeping shampoo, razors andother hazar dous items out of kids’ hands. When bathing your infant, do not leave her alone for a second. You may evenwant to take the phone of f the hook so you will not be dis tracted. Keep a key or tool just KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC A call by the Ministr y of Health here for the distribu-tion of condoms in prisons has been turned down by the Ministry of National Security, which has responsibility forprisions. The decision was made during a meeting that washeld late last month involving officials of the ministries ofNational Security and Healthand the Depar tment of Correctional Services. Security Minister Dr . Peter Phillips called the meet ing after prison authorities reported that prison inmateswer e r estive following reports that Health Minister Horace Dalley had endorsed a call for condoms to be given to prisoners. The idea of condoms being distributed to prisonershas been put on the table and rejected several times. Nineyears ago, then Commissioner of Cor rections Colonel John Pr escod made the proposal, which led to riots at the St. Catherine and Tower Street adult correctional centres, resulting in 16 inmates beingkilled and 40 others being injured. In 2001 the Health Ministry said it had no immedi-ate plan to issue condoms to prison inmates to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS. Thenacting Chief Medical Of ficer Deanna Ashley said the min-istr y and prisons service officials wer e developing a program of education, training and better care for both inmatesand war ders in r esponse to a rise in HIV/AIDS cases in the prisons. MORALITY Meanwhile, Dr . Raymoth Notice, who worked for yearsas the doctor at the St. Catherine Adult Correctional Centre, hit out at the Security Ministry for what he said was its backward thinking on the issue. He said the Security Ministr y should allow the Health Ministry to make thedecision on what is a major medical problem in the pris-ons. “Is it immoral to save lives? It is more immoral towatch men die? I think whatneeds to happen is that the entire health care in the pris-ons needs to be managed by a responsible Ministry ofHealth,” he said According to Dr. Notice, the distribution of condoms inprisons would not be anendorsement of homosexuali ty, instead it would be dealing with the r eality of what takes place in correctional institutions around the world. Tips for childproofing your homeGovernment rejects calls for condoms in Jamaica’s prisons HEAL HEAL TH TH July 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 13 www .caribbeantoday.com Notice Children need parents to protect them in the home. Phillips (CONTINUED ON P AGE 16) july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 13

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outside the bathroom in case a child locks herself inside. It’ s not a bad idea to remove the doorknob altogether untilyour child is old enough tohandle the lock. Doors,windows and stairs You can buy devices that will childpr oof windows or allow them to slide open only a few inches. It’ s a good plan to put decals at eye level on glass doors and windows to remind children that they are solidobjects. Attach a bell to a window or door . This will notify you if your child has succeed-ed in opening them. Y ou can also place an old sock over door handles. Adults will be able to exert enough hand strength to twist the knob, but small children will not be able to. A swinging gate at the top of the stairs has become acommon sight in houses with newborns. A second gate atthe bottom of the stairs is even better. “If you have any doubt about how safe your house is,just get down on the floor andcrawl ar ound,” Lansky says. ou’ll be amazed to discover objects that your baby canchoke on, sharp edges on fur niture and many things that can easily snap off or tip over.Y ou can never do too much to make your home safe for your child.” Edited from Meadowbrook Press Tips for childproofing your home PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC Minister of HealthJohn Rahael has announcedthat a hospital ship, visitingT rinidad and Tobago soon, could provide heart surgery to as many as 80 childr en with heart problems. Rahael said the ship will visit in late July and stay forsix to eight weeks. He saidCabinet agr eed to the visit of the DSS Anaesthesis II, a hos pital ship owned and operated by a European relief agencybecause of the benefits it offers to the country. Noting that some heart surgery required by childrencannot be done in T rinidad, he said: “Now with the advent of this vessel and a team fromSweden that will be coming down, that is paediatric sur-geons, we ar e hoping to eliminate that waiting list.” While the ship operates as a charity and would not be charging for the costs of its personnel and surgical operations, Rahael said the visit involved “other budgetary costs” to the tune ofTT$400,000 which would be paid by the government. The ship has 150 surgeons who cover 200 different medical specialties. It has 18 operating theaters and 250 patientbeds. BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC The National AIDS Commission (NAC appointed at the position adopted by the Belize Defence Force (BDF egarding the mandatory HIV/AIDS testing of recruits. Late last month BDF medical of ficer Dr. Irvin Gabourel defended the practice, but NAC Chairman Dolores BalderamosGarcia said the National AIDS policy specifies that mandator y testing should not be used as a basis for excluding persons from working and that includes employment in the BDF. “This is actually the policy of the land, both the workplace and the National HIV/AIDS policies,” he said. He said while the policy has not “been passed into law, but a policy leads to the next steps of making the amend-ments and adjustments to the legislation. e have to start with the policy framework and if as a country we have a policy of not for cing testing or not having mandatory testing, then we have to call on all partners to abide. And this is why we felt it necessary, not to be quarrelsome or argumentative or anything, but we felt that if there is one policy in the country, we have to pr omote that policy without exception. “Because if the BDF can say , well you know because our soldiers have to be fit and they have to do rigorous exercise we don’ t want anybody with HIV within in the Force, and so you screen people out. “Then the Coast Guard might come up and say we can dothat or some other agency or nongovernmental organization might jump up and say, if the BDF can do it, so can we,” he said. Balderamos-Garcia said he was not against or ganizations that require high physical activity not having the responsibility to carry out medical tests. But he insisted it would be “irresponsible of the National AIDSCommission to ever suggest that. “Naturally there has to be proper medical tests for various kinds of employment. I mean everybody, women have to do our pap smear, we have to do our breast exam, and men have to do their P .S.A. test for prostate cancer. “Screening does need to take place to maintain people’s good health, but the point we want to make, focussing specifically on HIV and AIDS, is that in and of itself, the HIV status in and of itself should not be the reason to screen somebody out of an employment,” the NAC chairman said. Hospital ship to provide heart surgery for T&T’s childrenAIDS committee upset over Belize army’s position on HIV/AIDS testing HEAL HEAL TH TH 16 CARIBBEAN TODAYJuly 2006 (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13) Rahael www.caribbeantoday.com july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 16

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NEW YORK, CMC – The legend of Bob Marley now has a permanent home in Brooklyn, New York. The bustling stretch of Chur ch Avenue, between Remsen A venue and East 98th Str eet, has been co-named Bob Marley Boulevar d. “I think this will be historically significant,” saidJamaican Michael Russell, chairman of Community Board 17 in Brooklyn, whoworked with other boar d members to push the initia tive. “This is a significant development for the Caribbean community. They will r elate to it quite easily Renaming Chur ch Avenue would pay a “fitting tribute to this musical genius,this humanitarian, this giant in this part of New York City that is known for a preponder-ance of Caribbean nationals,”Russell added. Known worldwide, Marley’ s music embodies political r epression, artistic insight and political awareness. “His music pr oves inspira tional and life-changing,” said Russell, an administrator withNew Y ork City’ s Human Resources Administration. “In the Third World, his impact goes much further and resonates not just amongCaribbean natives, but natives of Africa, Asia, Europe, and Nor th and South America.” Russell said to rename Chur ch Avenue would help to revitalize businesses in and around the avenue’s arteries. Vincentian artistes protest against music piracyNew York street renamed after Bob Marley AR AR T T S S & & ENTER ENTER T T AINMENT AINMENT July 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 17 Bob Marley’s son Rohan,center,displays the Brooklyn street sign in honor of his father, alongside Jamaica’s Consul General to New York Basil K.Bryan,right,and New YorkCity Councilman Charles Barron. Marley KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC International recording artiste Kevin Lyttle wasamong a number of localsingers and pr oducers who staged a demonstrationagainst the piracy of theirmusic late last month. The demonstration came two days ahead of the carnival celebrations in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. “The issue is that we are not collecting any r evenue at all because the pirates are collecting the stuff and sellingthem even befor e we could get the chance to put them on the street,” producer AdrianBailey said. He said the protest was thefirst in a series of public awareness exercises intendedto curb the prac tice even as he accused employees of some radio stations leaking pro-motional copies ofar tistes’ music to pirates. e put them on the radio for promotional pur-poses and some how they get outof the radio stationand go straight tothe person selling on the street,”Bailey said,adding: “That’ s not right. That is ille gal.” He said artistes had, over the years, complained and provided evidence to thepolice but the perpetratorswer e r eleased without being charged. “At this point in time we ar e seeing a number of ven dors and it seems to be legiti mate and persons coming intoSt. V incent think this is legiti mate stuf f so they can buy Bailey said it was impor tant for the authorities to take “these people off the streetbecause it is illegal. e have identified from particular radio stations persons, who have been doing it. I even found evidence against one radio station and the police picked up that person and sub-sequently let (him/her CHEAP Bailey said pirates could af ford to sell bootlegged music cheaper because of a lower cost of production. “Like everything else, the brand name stuff is more expensive than the knock off stuff,” he said. “They (piratesdidn’ t have any cost to start with. All they had to do wasbuy some CDs and get thestolen stuf f fr om the radio station or wherever and put it on CD. “It is illegal to sell stolen property. If they want to sell legitimate stuf f please approach the producers. We will definitely want to assistyou and suppor t you.” Culture Minister Ren Baptiste last month warnedpirates to stop the practice,adding that her ministr y was prepared to help artistes inseeking r edr ess. “I am making my final appeal to individuals to remove those CDs from your shelves whereever youconduct your trade,” the minister said. www .caribbeantoday.com Lyttle july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 17

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HOLLYWOOD, Florida – The Broward County Boardof County Commissioners, as recommended by the BrowardCultural Council, last month designated the Art andCultur e Center of Hollywood as a Major Cultural Institution(MCI The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood is one of five MCIs in Broward County. Other Broward MCIs are the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, Museum of Art,Museum of Discover y and Science, and the Opera Guild of Fort Lauderdale. “This is a landmark day in the history of the Art and Culture Center of Hollywoodand is the culmination of an effort over many years involv-ing many dedicated people who deserve many thanks,” said the center’s Executive Director Joy Satterlee in a press release. “I also want to thank the Broward County Commission for supporting the arts in Broward County and for recognizing those institutions that strive every-day to deliver high-quality , interesting and informative visual and performing artspr ograms to the widest possi ble audience.” ASSET “The Ar t and Cultur e Center of Hollywood has long been an asset to the City of Hollywood as well as Broward County, and it’s no wonder that it has become the city’s first designated MajorCultural Institution,” saidHollywood Mayor MaraGiulianti. “This distinction further illustrates how Hollywood has tr uly become a ‘City of the Arts.’” Founded in 1975, the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood has a free annual Ocean Dance event annually on Hollywood Beach that has featured such notable performers as Mikhail Baryshnikov and his White Oak Dance Project. It played a key role in Hollywood being awar ded a $5 million grant from Broward County for construction of the city’s ArtsPark, co-sponsors of music and drama programs along with the City of Hollywood’s Parks and Recreation Department at anumber of community centers, and co-presents along with the Broward EducationCommunications Network adistance lear ning visual and per forming arts series for all Broward County students. It also oversees programming at the Hollywood Central Performing Arts Center and offers complimentary admis-sion to its galleries on thethir d Sunday of most months. On the same day , the center hosts “Family Day”, where children and their caregivers may participate in a fun, hands-on visual arts activity at no charge. MCI designation requires achieving a high level of ar tistic or cultural endeavor in the community and institutional support. For more information, visit www.artandculturecenter.org Florida art center designated a Major Cultural Institution AR AR T T S S & & ENTER ENTER T T AINMENT AINMENT 18 CARIBBEAN TODAYJuly 2006 The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood,which is housed in the historic Kagey mansion,was recently named a Major Cultural Institution in Broward County,Florida. “Reggae Sumfest”, the annual summer jam held in Jamaica, will kick off on July 16 in Montego Bay. The 14th edition of the musical event, which runs through July 22 this year, isscheduled to featur e a combination of reggae and hip hop. Among the ar tistes down to perform are Damian “Junior Gong” Marley, Rihanna, Lady Saw, Beres Hammond, Buju Banton and Mr . V egas. Top hip hop artistes like 50 Cents and G-Unit have also been listed for the week-long show. The opening night will featurethe new fr ee Vibe Island Beach Party and the fashion treat “Reggae on the Runway”. The following day is “Mad Mondays Mobay” which promises an art and craft street fair, food and music. The best of dancehall will be on tap July 19 at the “Top Ranking” show, featuring the likes of Yellowman, who willr eceive an awar d for his con tribution to the music. Beenie Man and Bounty Killer takethe stage the following night during “Stormfront”. The“Ignition” concer t is sched uled for July 20. The summer festival will climax with “The Summit” onJuly 22. Rihanna and Jr . Gong will help bring an end to the event, which is being sponsored by Red Stripe, the Jamaica T ourist Board, Air Jamaica, Digicel and Ocean Spray, as well as media partners, the Jamaica Observer,CVM TV and Fame FM. For mor e information, log on to www.reggaesumfest.com Reggae Sumfest set for Montego Bay,July 16-22 www.caribbeantoday.com Rihanna ‘Jr.Gong’ Marley july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 18

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Often aliens fr om the Caribbean living in the United States are summoned to r eturn to the region on shor t notice. It may be to attend to a death in the family or other emergency situations. For those aliens who are not sur e of their status in the U.S. and wish to complete emergency travel to theCaribbean, it is impor tant to know what U.S. law allows, especially r egarding re-entry into the U.S. The following is information obtained from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHSwho may be faced with the possibility of making emer gency travel: Before leaving the U.S. on an emergency, aliens should deter mine if they require a travel document to re-enter the country. There are several types of travel documents that aliens (including legal per manent r esidents) must obtain if they wish to re-enter the countr y after travel outside of the U.S. The following examines r e-entry permits, advance parole and refugee travel documents. To apply for any of these benefits, use For m I-131. A summar y is provided below. For further information on the purpose of these documents and eligibility requirements, please r efer to 8CFR.223.1. CAUTION Due to recent changes to U.S. immigration law , travel outside of the U.S. may have severe consequences for aliens who are in the process of adjusting their status, extending their nonimmigrant stay , or changing their nonimmigrant status. Upon return, these aliens may be found inadmissible, their applications may be denied, or both. It is important that the alien obtain the proper documentation before leav-ing the U.S. Admission into the U.S. is not guaranteed. In all cases,the alien is still subject to immigration inspection at a port of entry to determinewhether the alien is admissible into the country. Under the Illegal Immigration Reform andImmigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, aliens who depart the U.S. after being unlawfullypr esent in the U.S. for certain periods may be bar red from admission, even if they have obtained Advance Parole. Those aliens unlawfully pres-ent in the U.S. for mor e than 180 days, but less than one year, and depart voluntarily before the start of removal pr oceedings ar e inadmissible for thr ee years; those who are unlawfully present for one year or mor e are inadmissible for 10 years. Aliens who have concerns about admissibility should contact an immigration attorney or an immigrant assistance organization accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals before making foreign travelplans. RE-ENTRY PERMIT Lawful permanent residents (LPR or green card holders) use re-entry permits to re-enter the U.S. after travel of one year or more. For LPRs’ returning to the U.S., r e-entr y per mits ar e generally valid for two years fr om the date of issuance of the r e-entr y per mit. The LPR should apply for this benefit before leaving the U.S. Conditional r esidents use r e-entr y permits to re-enter the U.S. after travel of one year or more. For conditional residents r etur ning to the U.S., r eentr y per mits ar e generally valid for two years fr om the date of issuance of the re-entry per mit or until the date the conditional r esident must apply for the r emoval of condi tions, whichever comes first. The conditional resident should apply for this benefit before leaving the U.S. The bureau does not extend re-entry permits. See Section 223 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. A re-entry permit does not guarantee admission into the U.S. Aliens with re-entry permits are still subject to the inspection pr ocess at the por t of entr y. It is also important to note that travel outside of the U.S. for mor e than one year will under most cir cumstances break the continuous residence requirement for later naturalization purposes. Travel for over six months may break the continuous residence require-ment. See Section 316 (b the Immigration and Nationality Act. ADVANCE PAROLE Most aliens who have pending applications for immigration benefits or for changes in nonimmigrant status need advance parole to re-enter the U.S. after traveling abroad. Aliens applying for advance par ole on the basis of a pend ing application for adjustment of status must be appr oved for advance parole prior to leaving the U.S. in or der to avoid the ter mination of their pending application for adjustment. This does not apply to aliens who have applied to adjust to per manent r esident status and who maintain H-1B (specialty worker) or L-1 (intracompany transferee) status, or their dependents, who have applied to adjust to per manent r esi dent status and who have valid H-1B or L status and valid visas, V nonimmigrants who have a valid V nonimmigrant visa, are in valid V nonimmigrant status and have or obtain a valid V nonimmigrant visa before applying for readmission to the U.S., and K-3/4 nonimmigrants who have applied to adjust to permanent resident status and who have a valid K-3/4 nonimmigrant visa, ar e in valid K-3/4 nonimmi grant status and have or obtain a valid K-3/4 nonimmigrantvisa befor e applying for readmission to the U.S. Refugees and asylees who have applied to adjust to permanent resident status under section 209 of the Immigration and Nationality Act may travel outside the U.S. on a valid Refugee Travel Document and do not need to apply for advance parole. Aliens in the U.S. should, prior to departure, obtain advance parole in order to reenter the U.S. after travel abroad if they have: Filed an application for adjustment of status, but have not r eceived a decision fr om the USCIS; Hold r efugee or asylee status and intend to depar t temporarily to apply for a U.S. immigrant visa in Canada; and/or An emer gent personal or bona fide reason to travel temporarily abroad. Applicants who ar e the beneficiar y of a private bill and applicants who ar e under deportation proceedings must file to the Depar tment of Homeland Security , 425 I Str eet, NW , ATTN: Parole and Humanitarian Assistance Branch, Washington, D.C. 20536 Aliens in the U.S. are not eligible for advance parole if they are: In the U.S. illegally; An exchange alien subject to the foreign residence requirement; REFUGEE TRAVEL A refugee travel document allows people who ar e or once wer e refugees or asylees to return to the U.S. after travel abr oad. The refugee or asylee should apply for this benefit before leaving the U.S.In some cases, immigration officials may issue travel documents to r efugees or asylees who are physically outside of the U.S. See 8CFR 223.2(bii The Secr etary of Homeland Security may allow any alien applying for admission to the U.S. temporary parole into theU.S. for ur gent humanitarian r easons or significant public benefit. This benefit is granted sparingly, on a case-by-casebasis. The alien must file Form I-131, Application for a T ravel Document, complete with sup por ting documentation, photos and applicable fees. This formcan be downloaded fr om the DHS’s “Forms and Fees” page.See the application for specific filing instructions. FILING FOR RE-ENTRY If the alien is a permanent resident or conditional resi-dent, he or she must attach: A copy of the alien registration receipt card; or If he has not yet received his alien registration receipt card, a copy of the biographic page of his passport and the page of his passport indicating initial admission as a permanent resident, or other evidence that the alien is a permanent resident; or A copy of the approval notice of a separate application for replacement of the alien registration receipt card or temporary evidence of permanent resident status. FILING FOR AD V ANCE P AROLE An alien in the U.S. and applying for an Advance Parole document for him orherself must attach: A copy of any document issued to the alien by U.S. immigration officials showing present status in the U.S.; An explanation or other evidence demonstrating the cir cumstances that warrant issuance of advance parole. If the alien is basing his or her eligibility for advancepar ole on a separate applica tion for adjustment of status or asylum, he or she must also attach a copy of the filing receipt for that application. If the alien is traveling to Canada to apply for an immigrant visa, he or she must also attach a copy of the consular appointment. If you must go,then you should know Rules for U.S.aliens thinking about emergency travel L L OC OC AL AL July 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 19 If you enter the United Sta tes illegally , like these people seen crossing the Mexican/U.S. border,you are unlikely to be granted a reentr y permit if you must leave the U.S.for an emergency outside the country in the future. www .caribbeantoday.com july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 19

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PASSPORTS The National Passport Infor mation Center (NPIC the United States Department of State’s single, centralizedpublic contact center for U.S. passport information, is offering a toll free service and hasexpanded its ser vice availabili ty/options. Persons with questions or need status checks on pendingpasspor t applications can call 1-877-487-2778 . Customer service representatives areavailable fr om 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays.Automated infor mation is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For e-mail access, visit: npic@state.gov W ebsite of passport and other interna-tional travel infor mation is available at tra vel.state.gov ‘GREEN CARD’FILING The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS announced that aliens must mail applications to r enew or r eplace per manent r esident car ds, commonly known as “Green Cards”, directly to the Los Angeles Lockbox. The Lockbox is a processing facility used by USCIS to accelerate the collection ofapplications and petitions.The announced change allows the agency to improve thepr ocessing of Form I-90 (Application to Replace Per manent Resident Car d) by electronically capturing data and images and by per for ming fee receipting and depositing fr om one central location, rather than at the local district office, service center, or application support center (ASC Aliens filing a For m I-90, r egardless of their state of residence, must mail those applications with an application feeof $185 and a biometrics feeof $70 to one of the followingaddr esses: For U.S. Postal Service (USPS U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, P.O.Box 54870 Los Angeles, CA90054-0870; Or for non-USPS deliveries (e.g. private couriers U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Ser vices, Attention: I-90, 16420 V alley V iew Ave., La Mirada, CA 90638 Applicants should not include initial evidence and supporting documentationwhen submitting the For m I90 to the Los Angeles Lockbox. Applicants will r eceive a notice for a biometrics processing appointment at anASC and will submit their initial evidence during thatappointment. Applicants will r eceive their biometrics appointmentin the mail. CRISIS HOTLINE Multi-lingual counselors are available to respond per-sons suf fering fr om stress or needing help with housing, food, child car e, caring for teens or other similar pr ob lems. Call 211 fr om a regular telephone or 954-537-021 1 from a cellular. The free service is being offered as part of Broward County’s helplines. FYI FYI 20 CARIBBEAN TODAYJuly 2006 In 1995,Miami Dade College (MDCy professor Dr.Morris Johnson,right,traveled to South Africa for eight weeks to work on a doctoral disserta tion.He encountered an educa tional system in deplorable condition.Some schools were burned while others had windo ws missing and a few were riddled with bullet holes. Upon his return to the United States,Dr. Johnson decided tha t something should be done.Thanks to the generosity of Miami Dade College North Campus students,Dr.Johnsondona ted basic school supplies such as backpacks, paper,pencils,books and dictionaries to need y children in countries such as South Africa, Brazil, Tonga,Fiji and Trinidad. This year,he is donating book bags filled with scissors,paper,pencils,calculators andbooks to students in The Bahamas,the Dominican Republic and Haiti.The first set of donations were shipped to The Bahamas late last month and is to be followed by donationsto the Dominican Republic in July and Haiti inSeptember . “It may not seem to be much, but when you go into a school where there is barely any equipment at all and you drop off three suitcas-es full of supplies, everyone is grateful,said Dr.Johnson,who has been teaching at MDC’s North Campus for 30 years.e really make an impact.It is truly rewarding to provide the sup-plies.” Dona tions this year came from MDC North Campus students in history and social environment classes.Anthropology professorRobert Moorman also asked his students todona te. The students’ dona tions filled two rooms.One of Moorman’s students,Maritza Marquez,collected 80 book bags full of school supplies and eight world globes. “It was a lot of work,said Marquez,a 30-year -old nursing student at the North Campus.“The garage in my house was full.” Anyone interested in making donations may contact Dr . Johnson a t 305-237-8111 . www.caribbeantoday.com Miami Dade College donates supplies to Caribbean schools july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 20

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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – While the CaribbeanSingle Market (CSM sails with all booked passen-gers on boar d, an early forecast suggests choppy seas ahead. The six remaining states which agreed to be part of theCSM, which signed on earlier this month, and representa-tives fr om government, the private sector , academia and civil society left thr ee days of discussion on the regional initiative in Barbados recently satisfied that they were singing from the same hymn sheet, but are acutely aware that the real work of dealingwith some r esidual issues r emains. The main bone of con tention appears to surround the classification of countries as More Developed and LessDeveloped, a classificationwhich is largelyexpected to determineaccess to theRegionalDevelopmentFund (RDFwhich hasbeen devised to assist dis-advantagedcountries make adjustments to effectively participate in theCARICOM Single Marketand Economy (CSME The early indication that it will not be smooth sailing came from Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur, theman with lead prime ministe rial responsibility for the CSME, who, following the dis-cussions in Barbados, said the present categorization of countries into MDCs andLDCs could not work. According to that classification, Suriname, T rinidad and T obago, Guyana, Jamaica, Belize and Barbados, whichsigned on to the CSM in January, are designated as MDCs, while Organization of Eastern Caribbean States(OECSBarbuda, Dominica, Gr enada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines – which were scheduled to sign on this month are classified asLDCs. CONTRADICTION This classification, howev er , does not bear any relevance to the countries’ percapita income which placesAntigua near the top with aper capita income in 2004 at$10,213 being designated as aLDC, while Guyana, with aper capita of $1,042 andBelize, with $3,727 ar e desig nated as MDCs. “So,” says Arthur “ the countr y with one of the high est per capita incomes is located in the OECS and is desig-nated as an LDC, not basedon any economic criteria, but based purely on issues of geo-graphical location and we have a situation where twocountries with the lowest percapita ar e designated as MDCs. “Antigua has one of the highest per capitas, so its citizens are among the richest, but they are also the lowesttaxed, so we ar e going to have a very important difficulty in CARICOM, in my judgement, Choppy seas ahead for CARICOM single market NEW YORK, CMC Barbados is seeking to increase foreign businessdevelopment and cultivateadditional investment, saysBarbados Investment andDevelopment Corporation(BIDC Officer Anthony Sobers. Sobers said while tourism continued to be the primary economic driver, Barbados hoped to become the premierinter national business center in the region. He said the country, already home to morethan 7,600 transnational com panies, of fer ed a “well-devel oped” financial ser vices sector , comprised of banking, insurance and tr usts businesses. As part of its thrust in the United States, the BIDC lastmonth hosted a major businesssymposium at the GrandHyatt Hotel in midtown Manhattan here. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs Mia Mottley outlined Barbados’spolicy towar ds for eign invest ment at the event. “Barbados offers manycompetitiveadvantages tocompanieslooking forpractical, ef fi cient expansion solutions, and the symposium gives us a dynamicfor mat to shar e this with potential investors,” Sobers said. “The gover nment pr o vides several tax incentives, training grants and subsidizedindustrial space to help of fset start-up costs for foreign businesses. “Close geographic proximity and cultural similarities also are advantages for U.S. companies, which are betterable to manage time zone dif ferences and establish wellmanaged command centersclose to home,” he added. Additionally, Sobers said Barbados boasts one of the Caribbean’s most technologically advanced infrastructures and a highly skilled work-for ce. The conference, entitled “Managing Global Expansion– Utilizing Near -shore Strategies and T ax T r eaty Networks”, featur ed pr esentations on selected topics, including global sour cing solu tions, leveraging tax treaties and maximizing r etur ns on investment. Barbados on drive to increase foreign business,investment OSCAR I. ALFONSO & MICHAELROSENBERG In general, the income tax r ules of the United States provide that a citizen or r esident of the U .S . be subject to tax on his or her world-wide income. In order to promote foreign trade and to place U.S. citizens residing and working abroad on equal footing withtheir for eign counterparts, the U.S. Congress enacted a tax law which allows, in general, certain U.S. citizens employed in foreign countries to elect to exclude fr om gross income for U.S. tax purposes up to a specific amount of their “foreign earned income” and to exclude certain amounts related to “foreign housing cost.” This law has been blessed in the past by many U.S. employees working abroad because of the positive impact such law had on their U.S. income tax obligations. This blessing might be about to change, since on May 17, WASHINGTON, CMC Countries in the Caribbeancommunity (CARICOMhave enjoyed r elative success in attracting foreign investment, says an International Monetary Fund (IMF ing paper. Accor ding to the paper, released late last month,investment as a shar e of gross domestic pr oduct (GDP r elatively high from a global perspective in many countries in the region. It said the region has experienced a significant amount of public sector investment and foreign direct investment (FDIticularly in the tourism sector , over many years. Despite this, it said growth in GDP hadbeen “disappointingly low”for many Caribbean countries.The paper suggested that this has resulted from greateremphasis on public investmentthan on private investment. “For example, there may be few linkages between thefor eign-owned capital stock, such as r esort hotels, and the domestic economy,” the paper said. “Alternatively, there may be crowding out of domesticprivate investors.” GROWTH The study , conducted on seven CARICOM memberstates Antigua and Barbuda,Barbados, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago said thatprivate domestic investment (PDIimpor tant factor in unlocking gr owth. “If PDI were to increase, then the returns to capitalspending by public agencies may also increase,” it said. “PDI could also improve thelinkages between the domestic economy and foreign-owned capital.” The working paper said public policy should focus onthe cost of capital as a meansof raising PDI, stating that across the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCUcorporate tax policy may ber egarded as “opaque and highly discretionary”. It said it likely penalizes domestic investors at theexpense of for eign investors through the distribution of “inefficient tax concessions”. The paper said investment-to-GDP ratios in the larger CARICOM countries -Barbados, Jamaica, andT rinidad and Tobago are close to the middle-income average of 20-25 percent. But for the smaller ECCU countries, the ratio is much higher,it said. Changes to foreign earned income and housing e xc lusions rulesCaribbean enjoys success attracting foreign investment ~ IMF BUSINESS BUSINESS July 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 21 www .caribbeantoday.com (CONTINUED ON PAGE 22) (CONTINUED ON PAGE 22) Arthur Mottley july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 21

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KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC The Dr. Ralph Gonsalves-led government isr eporting “improved” economic per for mance during the first five months ofthis yearnotwithstand ing concernsraised by theInter national MonetaryFund (IMFabout the high wage bill, high poverty rate and the almost EC$1 bil-lion ($370 milliondebt. Gonsalves, who is also minister of finance and economic development, told jour-nalists late last month thattotal r evenue and grants had incr eased from EC$132.4 million ($49.03 million EC$156.6 million ($58 million) this year. Revenue dur-ing the five-month period this year amounted to EC$150 million ($55 millionan impr ovement over the EC$129.8 million ($48.07 million) r eported in 2005. At the same time, total expenditure was $EC$166.4million ($61.63 millionyear compar ed to EC$153.7 million ($57 million. There was also an improvement in the current account balance with figures ofEC$13.1 million ($4.9 millionthis year moving fr om a deficit of EC$3.1 million ($1.15 mil lion) last year. “So that you see there is an improvement in the finan-cial position of the central government. I should point out that in relation to borrowings we haven’t really gone on the market to borrow yet,” hesaid. While acknowledging con cer ns raised by the IMF, the prime minister told journalists that the country was not beholden to the internationalfinancial institution. “I want to make the point clear. The IMF does not run this country,” he said. “We listen to the IMF; where theirideas ar e ideas which we consider r easonable to adopt we adopt them and call them our own. If we disagree we say we disagree.” HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC British Airways (BAonly airline cur rently offering dir ect ser vice between Bermuda and the United Kingdom, is to step upits winter service on that routeup to fiveflights aweek. The airline hasannounced a25 per cent incr ease in the number of seats available on the route, which comes fol-lowing its now daily ser vice during the summer months, which began at the end of March. “This increased winter schedule, which is a commit ment of mor e than 2,200 seats a week between Bermuda and London, underscores the importance of the route for British Airways,” said RobinHayes, B.A.’ s executive vicepr esident for the Americas. He was visiting the island recently to offer his congratulations to district ManagerPhilip T r oake, who r etir ed from the company on Friday after 41 years service. The expanded winter schedule is the largest sincethe dedicated r oute started 16 years ago, and will of fer all four classes of service onboard a Boeing 777 aircraft. British Airways to increase winter flights to Bermuda 2006, the U.S. president signed a tax bill, which willincr ease the tax burden of these for eign-based U.S. employees. The purpose of this article is to summarize the general provisions of this law and alert the reader of theef fect the new changes in the law might have on theseemployees. REQUIREMENTS There are certain requirements a U.S. citizen has to satisfy in order to be able toavail the pr ovisions of this law.First, the citizen must be considered to have a “tax home” in a foreign country.Generally , the Inter nal Revenue Ser vice (IRS considered that a taxpayer’s “tax home” is the location of the taxpayer’s principal placeof employment. Once it is established that the individual has a “tax home” in a foreign country, the individual mustalso satisfy either the “bona fide residence test” or the “physical residence test”. Whether a citizen of the U.S. is a “bona fide r esident” of a foreign country or countries requires an analysis of allthe r elevant facts and circumstances, since such term is not defined by statute. Some of the factors that cour ts have considered to make such a determination are the taxpayer’s intention, the establish-ment of a home temporarilyin the for eign country for an indefinite period, the assumption of economic burdens and payment of taxes to a foreign country, and the treatment ofthe taxpayer s income tax status by his employer.This listis not an exhaustive list, andwhile some factors may car ry a heavier weight than others,all must be viewed collectively in the determination ofwhether the taxpayer satisfies the “bona fide residence test”. On the other hand, under the “physical presence test”, a U.S. citizen would be consid-er ed a “qualified individual” if such individual is present in a foreign country or countriesduring at least 330 full daysduring any consecutive 12month period. This test is mor e subjec tive than the “bona fide residence test”, since the statuteonly r equir es physical pr es ence in a foreign country for the requisite period of time,rather than the need of theindividual to objectivelyestablish r esidency.For purposes of the “physical pr es ence test,” the 12 month period may begin with any day,the 330 days need not to beconsecutive and a full day is acontinuous period of 24hours. DEDUCTIONS Once it is determined that the individual is a “qualifiedindividual” by satisfying the “foreign tax home” require-ment and by satisfying either the “bona fide residence test” or the “physical presencetest”, such individual may elect to exclude, up to a cer-tain amount, the sum of hisfor eign earned income and his for eign housing costs from such individual’s gross income. Here is where the new lawkicks in. Even though the new law increases the maximum amount a qualified individual may exclude by increasing the former $80,000 annual limit to$82,400 for the year 2006, it also provides new guidancefor the computation of theU.S. tax liability on the non-excluded amount that willusually subject such non-excluded amounts to higherU.S. income tax rates. In addition, the new law places a cap of $11,536 on the amount such individuals aregoing to be able to deduct as foreign housing expense, which deduction under the for mer law was not limited. These changes in the lawcould translate to thousandsof dollars in additional taxesto many U.S. employees working in foreign countries. In the future, these changes in the law areexpected to have not only a detrimental effect on U.S.employees working abr oad, but also on the U.S. employer.Thus, it is extremelyimpor tant that U.S. employ ees and employers that may be af fected by this new law consult with competent U.S. tax counsel to determine the effect such change in the lawmight have in their futur e U.S. tax obligations. Mic hael Rosenberg is a shareholder and Oscar I. Alfonso is an associate with the Coral Gables law firm of Packman,Neuwahl& Rosenberg and can be reached at 305-665?3311 if the citizens of Barbados, the second highest taxed countryin the r egion, ar e supposed to take their tax resources and send them to a countr y in the region that is among the high-est per capita income with itscitizens being the lowesttaxed.” Arthur says it is because of issues such as these thatr egional heads, once the CSM is fully in place, will have to sit down and devise a new classi fication based on the reality in the islands. “It can’ t be that you want to exclude Antigua from being able to access the r esources of the fund, but it has to be addressed in terms of our getting a new perspec tive on the designation ofcountries as disadvantagedcountries and not as LDCs forthe purpose of accessing the RDF. “Because how else would you justify a situation where the richest country with thelowest rate of tax gets grantfinancing fr om the poorest countr y with the highest rate of tax?” the prime ministersaid. NEW FORMULA He says the new formula will also have to take into consideration the cir cumstances of countries, for example St. V incent and the Gr enadines, which lost its tra ditional preferential markets and also stands to lose gov-er nment r evenue as a conse quence of signing on to the CSM. Notwithstanding the difficulty, Arthur is, however,confident that all states,including those in the OECS,can sit down and work out a for mula that is acceptable to ever yone. Changes to foreign earned income...St.Vincent reports improved economic performance BUSINESS BUSINESS 22 CARIBBEAN TODAYJuly 2006 Gonsalves www.caribbeantoday.com (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21) (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21) Choppy seas ahead for CARICOM single market july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 22

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July 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 23 Soca Warriors shine at soccer’s World Cup SPOR SPOR T T GORDON WILLIAMS Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean’s lone repre-sentative at the 2006 World Cup finals, made anearly exit fr om soccer’s biggest event last month, but notbefor e leaving a memorable mark, displaying true regional grit and spirit to earn respect and even admiration from all who flocked to the competition in Germany. Rallying against the gloomy pr edictions by odds makers, who figur ed the Soca Warriors would be easy pickings for the game’s elite, and playing in front of thousands of colorful supporters who made the trip to the tournament, T&T opened with a surprising 0-0 draw againstSweden in Dor tmund on June 10, then followed with another courageous performance in a0-2 loss to England in Nuremberg five days later. T&T ended its Group B schedule with a 2-0 loss toParaguay on June 20 inKaiserslauter n to finish the competition with one point,not enough to advance to the second round as one of the top two teams from the group. HEAR TS W ON But the Soca Warriors won in so many other ways.Against Sweden, they defend ed stoutly for 90 minutes to keep a clean scoring sheet; and although the European powerhouse missed several scoring chances, T&T was by no means outclassed. e had our eyes wide open,” T&T’s coach LeoBeenhakker said cheekilyafter the Sweden game. t blame us if they didn’t score a goal.” Beenhakker, however, conceded that T&T did not match up well against their Group B rivals, which, in addition to the two Europeanteams, also included Paraguay from South America. e recognize that we don’t have the talent and quality of the opponents,” he explained. RESPECT But that did not scare T&T leading up its next matchagainst England. The Soca Warriors battled gamely untilEngland scor ed two late goals to win the match and avoid the embarrassment of being held by a nation of merely 1.3 million. The result left many convinced of the vastly improved quality of soccer coming out of the Caribbean. “They have gained respect because people don’t expect tobash them,” said Englandr eserve goalkeeper David James, whose father lives in Jamaica. “(T&Tagainst Sweden, which is a tremendously talented side;they’ve pushed England to thelast 10 minutes.” Captain Dwight Y orke, who played pr ofessional soccer for years at top clubs inEngland, was elated by thepositive impact made by the Soca Warriors from the begin-ning of the competition. s a very proud moment,” he said after theSweden match, “for me, myfamily and countr y. In the final group game T&T stumbled again, this timeto South American team Paraguay. A goal in each half sunk the Soca Warriors’ slimhopes of advancing to the tournament’s Round of 16. However, that did not dampen the euphoria felt by Trini fans,which had been ignited by the twin island republic’s qualifying playoff win against Bahrain long before the first ball was kicked off in Germany. s gr eat to be the small est nation to qualify (for the World Cup),” said RiyadKhan, a T rini who made the trip. “It’s a dream opportunity to travel to Europe and participate in the biggest sporting event in the world.” And in the process the Soca W ar riors captur ed the hearts of millions of soccer fans worldwide as well. . Gordon W illiams is Caribbean Today’s managing editor. PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The government hasdeliver ed on its pr omise to grant TT$1 million to each member of the Soca W ar riors squad following the perform-ance of the team in the Football W orld Cup in Ger many . Sports Minister Roger Boynes made the presentationat the VIP Lounge at the Hasely Crawford Stadium inPor t of Spain on June 30. Pledging government’s commitment to assist the team for the 2010 World Cup inSouth Africa, Boynes said it was necessary to set aside funds early enough to facili-tate necessar y training ses sions, both locally and abroad, as well as friendly matcheswith other nations. CHALLENGE Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation Senior V ice-pr esident Raymond T im Kee expr essed surprise that the cheques had been prepared so quickly given that Prime Minister Patrick Manning only madethe pr omise on June 24. T im Kee appealed to the players to seek pr ofessional financial advice as “$1 million couldevaporate in a quick time”and he war ned them to bewar e of “fancy cars as they depreciate every day He also issued a challenge to the corporate sector to invest in sporting eventsbefor ehand and not after the fact, as money was needed to ensure the comfort of players, coaches and assistants beforemajor events. Each of the 24 members of the Soca Warriors squadr eceived TT$1 million, comprised of $750,000 in units from the Unit TrustCorporation and $250,000 incash. Captain Dwight Y orke, who came out of retirement to lead the team, was rewarded with $1.25 million, made up of $1 million in units and$250,000 in cash. NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC The Bahamas VolleyballFederation (BVFin to host the 11th CaribbeanV olleyball Championship (CVC Barbados was forced to declinestaging the competition. The unavailability of the inter national venue Wildey Gymnasium foiled theBarbados bid ef fort to stage CVC 2006, and the event set for Aug. 20-27 has now beenshifted to New Providence,The Bahamas. It is hoped that 12 coun-tries will field men’s and women’steams, includ ing TheBahamas anddefendingchampionsBarbados. Other invited countries are Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the Cayman Islands, St. Lucia, Martinique,the United States V ir gin Islands, Guadeloupe, Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles. At a press conference late last month to announce the country’s hosting of the cham-pionship, the BVF Pr esident Don Cornish said it was crucial to step in as hosts of theCVC held ever y two years in order to maintain the integrity of the sport in theCaribbean. “Usually ther e would be a bidding process but at this (latematter of understanding that we need to have the champi onships to continue the qualification process for all of the teams in this zone,” Cornishsaid. PAN AM QUALIFIER This CVC is a qualifying series for the North, Centraland Caribbean V olleyball Confederation (NORCECAChampionships that lead tothe Pan American Games. Ther e are also efforts to ensure the par-ticipation ofHaiti andJamaica, whichhad announcedtheir withdrawalbecause of financial prob-lems. The Bahamas SportsMinister Neville Wisdom urged government agencies and the private sec tor to support the championship, which will cost approximately $200,000 tostage. “The funds that we are going to be able to give arelimited and we will need cooperation from the govern-ment agencies and the privatesector . I communicated with the chairman of Caribbean Volleyball body to ensure thepar ticipation of Haiti and Jamaica. These countries’ participation will bode well forthe success of these events,”said W isdom. The Bahamas rescues Caribbean Volleyball Champs set for Aug.20-27 “Usually there would be a bidding process but at this(latea matter of understandingthat we need to have thechampionships to continuethe qualification process forall of the teams in this zone” Don Cornish,president of The Bahamas V olleyball F ederation. eam gets grant from T&T go v’t Yorke www .caribbeantoday.com july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 23

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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC Leeward Islands Air Transport’s (LIAT) newlyappointed Chief ExecutiveOf ficer Mark Darby has unveiled an ambitious plan totake the financially strappedr egional air carrier out of the r ed by the end of 2007. Darby, an Englishman with more than two decadesof experience in the airline industry who has taken up office at LIAs Antiguaheadquar ter, told the Caribbean Media Corporation that his first or der of business would be to reshape the carrier’s network in an effort to reverse its financial fortunes. “For the rest of the year we will be having a ver y good look at the route network,wher e we operate, when we operate,” he said. “I am not sur e we are offering flights to people at the times they want to travel to destinations where they really want to go. “Quite often we’ve got a flight at say six o’clock in the morning, our competition isflying five minutes later toexactly the same destination and both of us are flying halffull. That just doesn’ t make any sense, so we need to be mor e selective about when we fly and bring some sense tothe market,” Darby added. NO CUTS Darby, who helped to manage the creation of AirArabia, a low cost car rier in the Middle East, said he had no immediate plans to cut staff but would be strengthening LIAs marketing thrust,as the car rier was previously too reactive, rather thanpr oactive in the areas of sales and marketing. “The concentration will be very much on the revenuegenerating side rather thanlooking at ways of cutting staff. I think there is plenty to do in terms of getting the salesand marketing ef forts of the airline together much more ef fectively,” the new CEO added. SETTLEMENT He said prolonged negotiations with the airline’ s pilots would continue with the hopeof r eaching an amicable settlement as soon as practicable. e are in actual discussions with the pilots,” Darby explained. “We already had anumber of discussions andthose will continue until we reach a satisfactory conclusion for both parties. Clearly theairline is str uggling financially , it has been for many years. We want to work with them tosee how we can impr ove the airline and pay them the rates of pay they aspir e to. “I am not saying we ar e going to give them a blank check. We haven’t got themoney to do that so we have to look at creative ways of reaching an amicable settle-ment,” he added.BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC Health managementsystems in some Caribbean countries are not yet up to thetask of managing the influx ofcricket fans and of ficials expected for next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup, accordingto the man leading a key Caribbean community (CARI-COM) health committee. Barbados Minister of Health Dr . Jerome Walcott, chair man of the region’s committee of ministers of health and other health officials, told journalists that while preparations in some areas were on track, other areas needed urgent attention. He said while countries such as Jamaica, T rinidad and T obago, Guyana and Barbados wer e generally on track and seemed to be moving ahead with their plans to host the increased number of visitors expected for the tournament,deficiencies in the health sector in the Organisation of EasternCaribbean (OECS e evi dent. UNSOLVED The minister identified the surveillance for infectious diseases, adequate emergency facilities, the training of paramedics and provision of ambulances, port health, liquid and solid waste disposal, and pr eparing for possible threats such as avian flu as some of the unresolved problems. “There is a need for proper and upgraded emergencyfacilities in the host countries.A number of countries had said this initially, but wethought this was not happen ing quickly enough,” he said,noting that this was the message he delivered toCARICOM’ s Cricket Prime Ministerial Sub Committee recently. “For example, in St. Lucia and St. Kitts, which are quite advanced in terms of their stadia, now you realize that inter ms of the provision of emergency health care, that they now need to have an overlay and incorporate health facili-ties in some of the completedstands that they’ve overlooked in terms of emergency centersfor spectators,” W alcott explained. DISEASE In terms of monitoring infectious diseases, Walcott said there was a possibility of diseases which were not endemic to the region being brought in. “CAREC (Caribbean Epidemiology Centr e) has been working with some of the countries to develop a program in terms of strengthening the laboratories to be able to iden-tify infections diseases,” he said, noting that member countries would be required to con-tribute up to $100,000 towar ds building capacity in this r egar d. Caribbean not ready,says tourism e xpert,page 25. Liat’s new boss unveils plan for troubled carrier CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC An African immigrant whofalsely claimed to be an attor ney-at-law has been barredfr om practicing law her e. A court ruled that Leonard Ogilvie who practiced law her e for three years until apprehended by police in March while try-ing to leave the island, is not alegitimate member of the legalpr ofession. Several civil cases involving the contr oversial Nigerian wer e heard during the case and while he won one, Ogilvie lost all the others. In a case he brought against the state for detaining him illegally for too long, government lawyers concededthat he had been held for 14 1/2 hours more than the 72hours legally allowable. For this Justice Alber t Redheaed or dered that Ogilvie be paid EC$7,500 for the distr ess he suf fer ed. UNFIT In yet another case br ought by the attor ney gen eral and the Bar Association, seeking his removal from the roll, the judge agreed thatOgilvie was unfit to be r egis ter ed as a lawyer in the state. The judge noted that in all his years on the bench henever came acr oss “as brave a defendant who sought to become a lawyer by lies, deceitand false documentation.” He noted that not only is Ogilvie not a lawyer, but he also failed his exams as proven by documentation submitted to the court. Nigerian barred from practicing la w in St. LuciaHealth concerns in lead-up to Cricket World Cup 2007 CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC Former St. Lucia Prime Minister Dr . V aughan Lewis has called for the revival of an initiative to cr eate a single maritime space within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS He said this would make the sub-r egion mor e attractive to investors and visitors and would give the tourism industrya major boost by simplifying immigration procedures within the sub-region. The Trinidad-based University of the West Indies pr ofessor , who cur rently heads a Caribbean community (CARICOM ing group on governance, said the move is vital for the subregion now that most of the OECS countries had turned to tourism as the mainstay of their economies following the demise of the banana and sugar sectors. Dr. Lewis said the subr egion should now move towar ds the creation of a larger tourism space with the devel opment of a single maritime zone stretching from St. Lucia to Grenada. This, he said, would facilitate the movement of persons in the area by hav-ing them clear immigration in one territory rather than in allmember states. “When a yacht for instance arrives in St. Lucia it will be clear ed by the local immigra tion and then be free to move thr ough the other territories both by sea and land without having to go through customs/immigration in the rest of the ar ea,” he explained. He said within such a zone people would have fr eedom of movement allowing investors greater latitude in developing new pr oducts. V ARIETY He added that the pr o posed single maritime zone tourism could give the region’s tourism greater variety. “What small size does in some r espects is that it reduces the diversity and the variety that people look for in tourism and so the wider space will cr e ate that variety and so working towar ds making a maritime or sea space for tourism would be an impor tant objective,” he said. The idea of a single maritime zone for the OECS was first mooted prior to the Sept. 11, 2001 ter r orist attacks in the United States. The initiativewas then placed on the back burner as the sub-region sought to address its own security concerns. Dr. Lewis said it was time to revive the initiative, noting that the same way the OECS created a single economic space for banana pr oduction in the Windward Islands, the same needed to be done fortourism. “This is the way to go if we ar e going to be in a position to take advantage of the r evenue tourism can bring fr om the scale of the operation,” he said. The OECS earlier this year announced that it will pursue the branding of the sub-r egion as a joint yachting destination and cr eate a company to collec tively negotiate with cruise lines. The plan was approved by OECS tourism ministers when they met for their annualgeneral meeting in Mar ch. Former St.Lucia P.M.wants single maritime space in OECS REGION REGION 24 CARIBBEAN TODAYJuly 2006 www.caribbeantoday.com Walcott Lewis july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 24

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PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC Ganace Ramdial, a former president of the Senate has died of a massive hear t attack. He was 72. Ramdial died earlier this month after being admitted to anursing home on June 28 when he complained of feeling sick. He was treated but returned to the facility on June 30, after which his condition worsened. He died on July 1 in the pr esence of his wife Gloria, sons Garvin, Gary and other members of his family. Ramdial was being treated for inflammation of the pancr eas, but doctors told his relatives that he suffered a massive heart which was thecause of death. Ramdial was a close friend of former Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday, who was instr umental in his appointment as Senate pr esident on Nov . 27, 1995. Ramdial was re-elected to the position on Jan. 12, 2001. Ramdial, an attor ney-atlaw , was called to the bar at Inner Temple in the UnitedKingdom in 1963. He was also a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in the United Kingston and ser ved on the boards of several public and private sector companies during his long and distinguished car eer in this country’s financial sector. KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC The Jamaican government is working along with theAssociation of Caribbean States (ACS pr ogress of the region’s tourism industry in achieving sustainabledevelopment. Tourism, Entertainment and Culture Minister Aloun Ndombet-Assamba made the disclosur e while speaking in the House of Representatives late last month. “This involves the development of a methodology withcommon goals for measuring the impact of sustainable development. The indicators will allow public/private sectoragencies to gauge and monitor the tourism sector’s progress,” Ndombet-Assamba said. She indicated that the project, which is funded by the Foreign Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom, seeks to identify, prioritize and assess pilot destinations in ACS member states that will become par t of the Sustainable T ourism Zone of the Caribbean (STZC Former T&T Senate president dies at 72Jamaica,ACS collaborate on tourism development plan CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC Former President ofthe Caribbean HotelAssociation (CHA Berthia Parle sayswith only eight months to go beforethe star t of Cricket W orld Cup the region is still far from prepared tohost the event. She added, however , that she is expecting the region to rise to the challenge to pull off thetour nament. “On the issue of whether we are ready,I don’ t think so. W ill we be ready? We better be, otherwise we will have some seri ous problems,” said Parle who recently completed a two-year term at the helm of the regional tourism body. Speaking here on her r eturn from the recently concluded Caribbean Hotel Industry (CHIC held in Miami, Parle said that there was still a lot of work to be done if the region is to accommodate the hundreds of visitors expected in the region for the event. She said that the issue of additional accommo dation was still to be r esolved as most of the hotels werealr eady booked outside of reservations for the games. In addition, travel within the region still has to be worked out both in the context of availability of transport and arrangements by the immigration departments to handle the influx of visitors. RETURNS Parle added that the perception among people in the r egion was that once an investment was made in pr eparation for the World Cup then returns would beguaranteed, and ther e was generally a feeling among Caribbean people that the event would generally pro-vide huge r eturns. e need to contin ue to educate our people because the feelingon the gr ound is that a lot of people are going to get rich over night and make millions of dollars and it ain’tgoing to happen,”shesaid. “So I am firmly of the view that there are going to be many disappoint ed locals and governments as well,” she added. Scores of locals and business interests have been renovating their houses and establishments to be in a posi-tion to host the many visitorsseeking accommodation forthe six-week event. Cricket World Cop begins in Mar. 2007 with an opening ceremony planned for Jamaica. Caribbean not ready to host Cricket W orld Cup ~ P arle HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC Opposition Member ofParliament Michael Dunkleysaid he would donate any increase in his salary to charityas contr oversy continues to rage over rises approved by the House of Assembly. Dunkley, the United Ber muda Party’s (UBP deputy leader, said he felt “extremely uncomfortable”about the pay incr eases and that it was “outrageous” that the Bermuda government was now attempting to “ram the legislation through.” The pay increases, which will see Pr emier Alex Scott’s pay package leap a massive 80 percent to $200,000 a year, were passed by the House inJune with suppor t from all government M.Ps. The UBP voted against the bill which will alsosee full-time ministers getting $150,000 a year and part-timeministers $100,000. SURPRISE But in a surprise move on June 27, gover nment Senate leader Larry Mussenden, who is also the island’s attorneygeneral, again defer red any debate by the 11 senators on the hikes which will now go befor e the Upper House in two weeks’time.Dunkley saidhe believed the increaseswould even tually be rejected by the Senate, but added: “I will tell you that I will notaccept it. “If it goes thr ough my increase will go to a charity and at that time I will let peo-ple know what charity just so people can see that I really diddonate,” he told the MidOcean Ne ws. Dunkley told the weekly newspaper that he believed someof his par ty colleagues were also willing to hand over any increase in income to charity. GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC The Guyana government has outlined its pre andpost-elections security strategy designed to prevent violencewhich mar red the last three polls her e. Pr esident Bharrat Jagdeo said the security forces will be fully mobi-lized to deal with anysituation which threatens the polls,set to be held thisyear . e will ensure that training is done urgently to rehearseall the scenarios likely to be encountered during theelections period,” Jagdeo said while addressing the annual conference of army officers late last month. VIOLENCE Urban violence rocked the 1992, 1997 and 2001 polls which were also characterized by Opposition party allegations of massive voter irregu-larities r esulting in r ejection of the results and the filing of an elections petition in the courtsin 1997. o regain and inspire the confidence of the public wewould never r est satisfied until we have eradicated from our midst the criminal gangs and successfully confronted organized crime in all of its manifes-tations in Guyana,” Jagdeo told the officers. The 2006 general and regional polls have been rescheduled from May to September following a consti-tutional amendment by the governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP main Opposition People’s National Congress Reform(PNC/Ramendment in the cour ts. T ouching on the disappearance of 33 Russian-manu factured AK-47 automatic assault rifles and five pistols from the army’s Camp Ayanganna headquarters in the capital in February, Jagdeo said “the failure to recoverthem have also added to uncer tainty about public safety Said Jagdeo: “Crime exerts an unacceptable priceon national development, particularly in the context ofthe newer manifestations of crime, such as internationally organized narco-trafficking,alien and small weapons trafficking, kidnapping and terrorism. “Additionally, the increased resources neededfor fighting crime calls for more attention to developing strong alliances to confront the challenge.” Opposition M.P.to give pay rise to charityJagdeo outlines security plans for upcoming Guyana elections REGION REGION July 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 25 www .caribbeantoday.com Jagdeo Parle Scott july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 25

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ROSEAU , Dominica, CMC The Dominica gover nment has announced that it is look ing to bring an end to the issue of the ownership of BirdIsland. Dominica and Venezuela have agreed to set up a com-mission which will look at theboundaries of the island todeter mine its ownership, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit announced at a pressconfer ence late last month. He, however, did not givedetails about who would makeup the commission and its terms of reference. For many years V enezuela and Dominica have battledover ownership of the smallisland located 70 miles west ofDominica and 340 miles nor th of the Venezuela mainland. Said Skerrit: “The international community r ecog nizes V enezuela’ s sover eignty over Bird Island. This is a fact and this is enshrined intr eaties and ever ything. “The United States, Great Britain, Canada, U.K., France all these countries r ecognize V enezuela’s sovereignty The Dominica leader said his countr y will not get involved in a debate with V enezuela, noting that his government has engaged the government of the SouthAmerican countr y to look at ways to bring the matter to a close in the best interest of affected states. BRADES, Montserrat, CMC The dome of the Soufriere HillsV olcano collapsed late last month sendingpyr oclastic flows down eastern side of the island and ash clouds tojust over 12,000 in the air. Scientists at the Montserrat VolcanoObser vatory (MVO said the ash plume was blown north-west by prevailing winds withmost of the ash falling into the sea. However,some ash fell in the Salem and Woodlands areasand r esidents were asked to wear ash masks. An official statement issued on June 30 said that “the authorities had earlier increased the alert level from level three to level four when, the earth-quake swar m which had died of f previously, r eturned (June 29 afternoon”. The statement said that various parts of theisland had to be closed. The Soufriere Hills Volcano roared to lifein 1995 after years ofbeing dor mant. In May, the lava dome of the volcano collapsed caus-ing mud flows and surges along the north-east flank of the island. Dominica seeking to end dispute with Venezuela over Bird Island ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC A government minister in Grenada is not satisfiedthat ther e has been enough public education here on the Caribbean Single Market andEconomy (CSME Minister for Foreign Affairs and InternationalT rade Elvin Nimr od said while some efforts have been made to educate Grenadians on the regional economicinitiative, much still needs to be done. “I must agr ee that we in CARICOM (Caribbean com munity), including Gr enada, could have done much mor e at this point to educate the population on the implicationsof the CSME. But we still have done a great deal,” Nimrod said. He said the Division of Trade has so far conducted 51 education sessions with vari-ous non-gover nmental organizations and other entities,including the Opposition, on the pact which will allow for the free movement of goods, services, capital and labor throughout member states. UNCONVINCED However, Opposition Member of Parliament Peter David said that the man-onthe-street is still not convinced about the reality of the single market and the impact it willhave on his life. “I must say that the vast majority of the Grenadians in my view, though, are aware that there is something calledCSME that is about to come into our lives, they are not sure about the impact it’s going to have,” said David. The six members of the Or ganization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS were expected to sign the instruments of accession to become members of thesingle market component of the CSME during the CARICOM Heads of Government Summit in St Kitts, scheduled for earlier this month. Grenada minister wants more CSME education Dome of volcano collapses W ASHINGTON, CMC The Inter-AmericanDevelopment Bank (IDBsays it has appr oved a $19.8 million loan to Guyana to sup port a citizen security program that will engage police andlocal r esidents in pr eventing crime and violence in the country’s most populated regions. The program, which seeks to help Guyana arrest the risein violent crime and insecurity it has suffered in recent years, will strengthen the Ministry ofHome Af fairs and moder nize the Guyanese Police Force (GPFstatement. It said it would also promote social developmentin disadvantaged communitiesin Regions IV and VI of the country. The IDB has financed citizen security pr ograms in Colombia, Chile, Honduras, Nicaragua and Ur uguay . A key part of the program will be the establishment of a “crime observatory” to monitor trends in crime and vio-lence and collect data andinfor mation the Ministr y of Home Affairs (MoHA the GPF need to plan, imple-ment and evaluate citizensecurity policies, strategies and programs. It will financetechnical assistance, training and computer hardware and software to create the infor-mation system and to suppor t the development of staff of MoHAs policy and researchunit. It will also pr omote improvements to the ministr s overall administration and performance. The GPF will receive support for training in crimeinvestigation and detection, information management, case management, recruittraining, neighbor hood policing, and human rights. Resour ces will be pr ovided to build and equip a crime laborator y and training facilities, remodel police stations and develop a new urban trafficmanagement plan. IDB said the pr ogram would also help the GPF improve its internal organiza-tion and administration,including planning, budgeting,accounting, auditing, human resource management and procurement. It will also assist the police in developing part-nerships with communities. Participant neighborhoods will receive support for vio-lence and crime pr evention services they will choose from a menu of alter natives on the basis of their assessment of their own community’s needs,the IDB added. The IDB loan is for 40 years, with a 10-year grace period. Interest rates will beone per cent a year during the first decade and two percent ayear ther eafter . PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC Fugitive Guyanesebusinessman Roger Khan waslate last month depor ted to Trinidad and Tobago where he was r epor tedly arrested and transported to Miami to stand trial on drug trafficking charges. This has, however , sparked a fuss by his lawyers who claim that his legal rights have beenviolated as he was “kidnapped” and sent off to the UnitedStates. Local law enforcement authorities reportedly made the decision to expel Guyana’s most wanted man because he had entered Suriname illegally from T&T. Around 6 a.m. he was escorted by three heavily armed policemen and put on a flight to T rinidad wher e he was met by U.S. law enforcement of ficers. In April he was indicted by the Easter n District Cour t in Brooklyn for cocaine trafficking between 2001/2006. MAJOR STRIKE T om Walsh, spokesman for the U.S. Embassy inSuriname said: “I can only confirm that the U.S. submit-ted a for mal r equest on June 19 for his provisional arrest on charges for cocaine trafficking to the United States.” He further noted that Khan’s arrest by Suriname police was a “major strike against narco-trafficking.” Khan’s Surinamese lawyers, however , ar e stunned by the dramatic turn in events. e ar e investigating what actually has happened. Only the pr osecutor general could give us the answers. That is why we sent him two letters asking him to explain to uswhat has occur r ed,” said Ger old Sewcharan one of Khan’ s two lawyers. Depending on the response of the prosecutor thelawyers said they will decidewhat their next steps will be. “My client was kidnapped since he was taken away without any legal procedure to justify that,” Sewcharan added. IDB pro vides loan to Guyana for citizen security programSuriname e xpels Guy ana’ s most wanted man REGION REGION 26 CARIBBEAN TODAYJuly 2006 Soufriere Hills Volcano www.caribbeantoday.com Skerrit Nimrod july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 26

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ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – The Grenada Senate has approved legislation clearing the way for the island to join the r egional single market. However , an Opposition senator says a huge gap still exists between the leadership of the countr y and the population on the r egional economic pact, which will allow for the fr ee movement of goods, ser vices, capital and labor across participating states. The single market is thefirst phase of the CARI-COM SingleMarket andEconomy(CSME Passage of the RevisedT r eaty of Chaguaramas Bill came ahead of theCaribbean community (CARI COM) summit in St. Kitts and Nevis earlier this month. The six members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States(OECS enada, wer e expected to join the pact then. In January the single market came into operation withBarbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago the first to join. However, OECS leaders held out, pending the creation of a regional development fund,which would cushion smallerstates within the 15-memberCARICOM bloc, as they opened their borders. The fund has since been established and government leaders were expected to appr ove its terms at their summit. AWARENESS GAP Meanwhile, Senator Arley Gill said that while the National Democratic Congr ess suppor ts the single market ther e ar e con cer ns about the lack of involvement of the local popula tion. “I am say ing that inGr enada I see a gap between the leadership of the country and the mass of the Gr enadian people, in ter ms of the CSME, in ter ms of the integration process,” Gill toldthe Senate on June 30 duringdebate on the bill. “I am saying that if we’r e going to have a successful implementation of this process there is need for a deepening inthe r elationship between the political leadership in the r egion and the people.” Tourism Minister Senator Br enda Hood said despite pr ob lems the single market of fer ed many opportunities, especially for lesser-developed countries. “I think sometime we feel that changes can be very negative, but I think we have to useit to our advantage,” Hood said. Grenada appro ves C ARICOM legislation on single market PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC The executive of theembattled main Opposition United National Congress (UNC tors and had also adopted a motion aimed at removing itspolitical leader W inston Dookeran from his post. But in an immediate reaction to the decision late lastmonth, Dookeran, a for mer central bank gover nor, said that he had no intention of allowing the “cabal” withinthe divided executive to stophis plans of wanting to “build a better country for all.” Dookeran was not pr esent when the faction of the executive, including Opposition Leader Kamla PersadBissessar and FIFA Vice President Jack Warner, adopted the motion at a meeting on June 28. That faction, which is known to be supportive of former chairman and party leader Basdeo Panday, has been accusing Dookeran of not attending meetings andcar r ying out parallel activities. Dookeran, speaking at a public meeting of his group, saidthat when he took on the responsibility of politicalleader “I r eceived a number of calls urging me to go forward. “And when I heardof the sad deliberations on the part of the executive, and theattempts and decision to dealwith me, and to deal with me by moving a vote of no confi-dence in me, I know that the hearts of the people are with me and you are the only ones that can provide that confi-dence. “People have already lost confidence in the executive. How can weallow a grouplike that to move such amotion,” he asked, insisting “Iwill continue...” The executive had also announced that it had decidedto r eplace Caroline Seepersad-Bachan and Sadiq Baksh, the par ty’ s organizer. Dr. Shastri Moonan and Raziah Ahmed have since been named to replace them. Both Baksh and Seepersad-Bachan have appeared on the platforms of Dookeran, and Baksh sar casti cally told reporters that the executive had committedpolitical suicide and “may their souls rest in peace.” But Persad-Bissessar, a UNCdeputy leader , told r epor ters that she had turned down an invitation by Dookeran to joinhis faction within the execu tive. Persad-Bissessar said despite the motion of no con-fidence against Dookeran, theexecutive was not booting himout of the par ty . She said the executive will move to convene a series of meetings islandwide to discuss the issue with the final meeting taking place on Aug. 13. Divided Opposition party fires two legislators WASHINGTON, CMC – The Inter -American Development Bank (IDB the launch of a disaster prevention initiative in partner-ship with the CaribbeanDevelopment Bank (CDB to help mitigate the effects ofdisasters in the Caribbeanr egion. An IDB statement said President Luis Alberto Moreno and CDB President Compton Bourne met inBarbados late last month withnational disaster coor dinators from 18 Caribbean states tor eview and discuss approaches on financing in anticipation ofdisaster events. International partners, including the United Nations Development Program(UNDP Health Organization (PAHO), and the World Bank, whichar e active in pr omoting disaster risk management, also attended the meeting and “signalled their r enewed commitment to helping the region reduce its vulnerability to nat-ural disasters”, the IDB stated. “Moreno and Bourne highlighted the impor tance of protecting peo-ple’ s livelihoods fr om the economicand financial disruptionsassociated with natural disas-ters”, thestatement added. In his first of ficial visit to the Caribbean, Moreno also formalized the IDB’s partnership with the Caribbean Disaster EmergencyResponse Agency (CDERA in support of disaster risk management in the tourism sector. BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC The Caribbean community’s (CARICOM advisor on free movementsays r egional states should push towar ds full movement of labor within the r egion as soon as possible. Steven McAndr ew, the free movement specialist atthe CARICOM Single Marketand Economy (CSMEtold the Caribbean Media Cor poration it was time to r emove r estrictions which prevented any worker in a regional state from seekingemployment in another state. e need to understand that we have implemented a regional market of which ar egional labor market is an integral part, so we cannot continue to distort the market by only granting free movement to a limited category ofpersons,” he said late lastmonth. McAndr ew said after observing the workings of the regional free movement initia-tive, which was intr oduced in some states in advance of the official implementation of the single market aspect of the CSME in January this year, he was convinced that fully open-ing up the r egional labor market would not r esult in persons flooding any of the ter ritories. He said 3,500 skilled national certificates have been issued so far, with Barbados absorbing the majority of per-sons, followed closely byT rinidad and Tobago and Jamaica. Over 97 per cent of the certificates issued were touniversity graduates, headded. “If you look at the 3,500 certificates which were issuedup to (June 28say ther e has been a flooding of skilled nationals because the numbers are very, verylow if you take into accountthat it has been in operationfor a number of years. “I think these numbers ar e pr oof that ther e would be no flooding because one of the major fears people haveabout fr ee movement is that certain member states will be flooded but the evidence so far is not supporting this at all,” McAndrew added. PROBLEMS The CARICOM of ficial said while ther e were a few problems in some states, the fr ee movement aspect was operating without any majorhiccups. “There have been some teething problems in somemember states, but we ar e working with those member states in order to solve the problems which have arisenbut generally the fr ee movement has operated very well,”he said. Currently artistes, musicians, university graduates, media workers and sports persons are eligible for free movement but the CARICOM Council for Trade andEconomic Development recently submitted a proposal for nurses, domestics and teachers be added to the category of persons moving freely. IDB and CDB to fund Caribbean disaster prevention initiativeCARICOM official calls for full labor movement across region REGION REGION July 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 27 www .caribbeantoday.com Bourne P ersad-Bissessar Warner Gill Hood july2006.qxd 7/7/06 2:33 PM Page 27

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