Black Immigrant Daily News
door Wilfred Leeuwin PARAMARIBO — Het herstelprogramma dat de regering heeft afgesproken met het Internationale Monetaire Fonds (IMF), zal hoe
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Black Immigrant Daily News
La Corée du Nord a lancé jeudi deux nouveaux missiles balistiques et fait voler en formation 12 avions de combat, affirmant que les essais d’armes sont de “justes mesures de rétorsion” contre Washington et Séoul et leurs exercices militaires dans la région.
Les nouveaux tirs sont intervenus au moment où, à New York, le Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU se réunissait pour évoquer le lancement d’un autre missile nord-coréen qui avait survolé le Japon deux jours plus tôt.
Selon l’armée sud-coréenne, deux missiles à courte portée ont été lancés jeudi matin depuis les environs de Pyongyang en direction de la mer du Japon. Les garde-côtes japonais ont confirmé avoir détecté ces projectiles.
Le premier missile a parcouru 350 kilomètres à une altitude maximale d’environ 80 kilomètres, selon l’analyse de l’armée sud-coréenne. Le deuxième a volé sur une distance de 800 kilomètres à une altitude de 60 kilomètres.
Le même jour, 12 avions de combat nord-coréens –huit avions de chasse et quatre bombardiers– “ont effectué un vol en formation au nord de la frontière aérienne intercoréenne (et) sont estimés avoir effectué des exercices de tir air-sol”, a annoncé jeudi soir l’état-major interarmées de Séoul.
Le sixième lancement de missiles en moins de deux semaines est “absolument inacceptable”, a réagi le Premier ministre japonais Fumio Kishida.
Mardi, un missile de type Hwasong-12 avait survolé le Japon et parcouru environ 4.600 km, soit probablement la distance la plus longue jamais atteinte par Pyongyang dans le cadre de ses essais, selon Séoul et Washington.
C’était la première fois en cinq ans qu’un projectile nord-coréen passait au-dessus du territoire japonais.
La Corée du Nord, qui a adopté en septembre une nouvelle doctrine rendant “irréversible” son statut de puissance nucléaire, a intensifié cette année ses tirs et lancé un missile balistique intercontinental (ICBM) pour la première fois depuis 2017.
– “Justes mesures de rétorsion” –
Ces tirs constituent “les justes mesures de rétorsion de l’Armée populaire coréenne contre les manoeuvres militaires conjointes entre la Corée du Sud et les Etats-Unis qui provoquent une escalade des tensions militaires dans la Péninsule coréenne”, a déclaré jeudi le ministère nord-coréen dans un communiqué.
A la suite du lancement de mardi, Washington avait appelé à une réunion d’urgence du Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies. Mais la Chine, alliée et partenaire économique de la Corée du Nord, y a blâmé elle aussi les Etats-Unis.
Les essais de missiles par Pyongyang sont “étroitement liés” aux exercices militaires américano-sud-coréens, a déclaré devant le Conseil l’ambassadeur chinois adjoint auprès des Nations unies, Geng Shuang.
Il a accusé Washington d’”empoisonner l’environnement de sécurité régional”.
Séoul, Tokyo et Washington ont multiplié les manoeuvres militaires conjointes ces dernières semaines, notamment des exercices de lutte anti-sous-marine et des manoeuvres navales à grande échelle.
Les alliés ont effectué jeudi un exercice conjoint de “défense antimissile” dans les eaux situées au large de la péninsule, auquel a participé un destroyer de la marine américaine appartenant au groupe d’attaque du porte-avions USS Ronald Reagan, selon l’armée sud-coréenne.
Séoul a affirmé que cet exercice vise à “renforcer les capacités opérationnelles et à en position pour répondre aux provocations de la Corée du Nord (via l’envoi) de missiles”.
Washington a redéployé le porte-avions à propulsion nucléaire USS Ronald Reagan dans les eaux situées à l’est de la Corée après le tir nord-coréen de mardi. Il avait effectué en septembre des exercices avec la marine sud-coréenne.
– “Cycle de provocation armée” –
Le ministère nord-coréen des Affaires étrangères a déclaré que cela constitue “une menace sérieuse pour la stabilité de la situation dans la péninsule coréenne”.
Mercredi, la Corée du Sud et les Etats-Unis avaient tiré cinq missiles balistiques -dont un s’est écrasé après son lancement- vers des cibles fictives en mer du Japon. Et la veille, les aviations des deux pays avaient mené des exercices de tir en mer Jaune.
La réunion du Conseil de sécurité a été soutenue par la France, le Royaume-Uni, l’Albanie, la Norvège et l’Irlande.
L’ambassadrice américaine auprès de l’ONU Linda Thomas-Greenfield y a dénoncé “un effort clair de la Chine et la Russie pour récompenser (la Corée du Nord) pour ses mauvaises actions”, et appelé à un renforcement des sanctions contre Pyongyang.
En mai, Pékin et Moscou avaient opposé leur veto à une résolution du Conseil de sécurité imposant de nouvelles sanctions à la Corée du Nord, alors que l’instance avait adopté à l’unanimité de lourdes sanctions en 2017.
Selon les analystes, le régime du dirigeant nord-coréen Kim Jong Un saisit l’occasion de l’impasse à l’ONU pour pousser toujours plus loin ses essais d’armes.
Séoul et Washington s’attendent à ce que la Corée du Nord reprenne ses essais nucléaires, interrompus depuis 2017, probablement après le congrès du Parti communiste chinois qui débute le 16 octobre.
“A ce stade, pour Kim, faire marche arrière et arrêter les provocations paraîtrait contre-productif pour ses intérêts. Sans parler de la quantité de ressources gaspillées pour mener ces essais d’armes”, a expliqué à l’AFP Soo Kim, analyste à la RAND Corporation.
“Nous sommes assurément dans un cycle de provocation armée”, a-t-elle estimé.
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Black Immigrant Daily News
Nearly six months after then-Premier Andrew Fahie was arrested in Miami, new questions are arising about whether United Kingdom officials knew of the sting operation here that led to his arrest.
In a recent audio clip that the Governor’s Office apparently shared by accident with a UK media house, Governor John Rankin appears to say he is responsible for authorising United States Drug Enforcement Administration operations in the Virgin Islands, according to a podcast published by UK-based Tortoise Media on Sept. 26.
This would mean that Mr. Rankin should have been aware of the DEA-led sting operation conducted here in the months before Mr. Fahie’s arrest, during which a DEA source allegedly recorded meetings with Mr. Fahie in early April. However, in an interview with Tortoise Media shortly before his office sent the audio clip, Mr. Rankin stuck by his longstanding story that he had no prior knowledge of the arrest — a position he repeated on Oct. 5 to the Beacon.
The Tortoise Media report made much of the potential contradiction. “The islands [Mr. Fahie] left behind are bewildered,” Tortoise Media Deputy Editor Giles Whittell states in the podcast. “The government in London that still claims them in 2022 as a British overseas territory says it knew nothing at all about the American operation to arrest their leader until after it happened. Almost no one in the BVI believes that. They see, instead, a long-running experiment in post-colonial government — an experiment that went belly-up under the arm’s-length supervision of Britain’s last foreign secretary: its new prime minister, Liz Truss. Either she knew what was going on, or she didn’t. Neither scenario is what you might call a good look.”
Despite the UK’s denials, UK officials have acknowledged hearing allegations of VI leaders’ involvement in the drug trade long before Mr. Fahie’s arrest.
Last year in the Commission of Inquiry hearings, former governor Gus Jaspert said he decided to launch the COI in January 2021 in part because of allegations linking some of the “highest holders of office” to cocaine trafficking and other organised crime in the territory.
The Tortoise Media podcast also raised questions about how many United States officials were in the loop on the sting involving Mr. Fahie, and what responsibility they had to inform UK higher-ups.
Dick Gregory, a former lead prosecutor with the US Department of Justice in Miami, told the reporters that by current department rules a head of state cannot be prosecuted without the approval of the US attorney general. Mr. Gregory compared the VI case to the arrests of former Turks and Caicos Islands Chief Minister Norman Saunders in the 1980s and former military leader of Panama Manuel Noriega in the 1990s.
At that time, he said, he had a “certain amount of independence that I don’t think they’ll ever allow again” when it came to getting clearance from leaders in Washington DC to arrest political leaders.
However, the situation becomes more complicated when considering whether an OT leader is regarded as a “head of state” or whether that title falls to the UK monarch, he said.
Nevertheless, Mr. Gregory said current US Attorney General Merrick Garland is “very much a man of the rules” who would expect to be made aware of the pending arrest of a prime minister “of even a small country.” He added that he assumes the US did alert senior UK officials, “unless this happened on very short notice.”
Here, official confirmation of Mr. Fahie’s arrest came in the form of a press release from the Governor’s Office on April 28, which detailed the charges put to Mr. Fahie earlier that morning in Miami.
“As this concerns the arrest of a British citizen, the [United States] government has informed the [United Kingdom] government of this arrest, as part of the usual process followed when a British citizen is arrested abroad,” Mr. Rankin said at the time. “The UK government has subsequently informed me as governor.”
He also described the arrest as a “US operation” led by the US DEA, which he said was unrelated to the UK-led COI report which he released the following day instead of in June as initially planned.
In an April 29 press conference, Mr. Rankin reiterated that he was made aware of Mr. Fahie’s arrest the day it happened.
“Let me assure you that the first I heard of the arrest that took place yesterday was yesterday,” he said in response to a question about the timeline of calling the press conference and releasing the report. “I had no prior information on it whatsoever. This was a US-led operation in which neither my office nor the UK had any involvement. … This was in no way pre-planned. I had no knowledge of this arrest which was due to take place, and I was as shocked as anybody else.”
Mr. Rankin reiterated these claims on the podcast, saying he was not made aware of the pending events. He described calling then-Acting Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley to his office the morning of April 28 to inform him of the arrest immediately after finding out himself.
The governor subsequently made the information public, he explained.
“It was London who informed me, because they had been informed by the US authorities that morning of the arrest of Premier Fahie,” the governor said on the podcast. “This was not a joint UK-US operation.”
Mr. Whittell, however, said he received additional information shortly after interviewing the governor.
“A short piece of audio sent to us inadvertently by the Governor’s Office, recorded in the moments following our interview, suggests that the governor does usually sign off on DEA investigations on the islands and that he did know investigations were under way,” he claimed.
Though the audio is muffled, the governor can be heard saying, “I do give the authorisations for DEA operations here. I was aware of the investigations [inaudible].”
Mr. Whittell said he asked the Governor’s Office about the audio clip, but Mr. Rankin maintained that he had no foreknowledge of the arrest and said the clip supported his stance.
Asked on Oct. 5 if the governor typically authorises DEA operations in the VI and if he authorised the sting that led to Mr. Fahie’s arrest, the Governor’s Office reiterated that position: “As the governor has previously made clear, he had no prior knowledge of the operation to arrest former Premier Fahie on serious charges of drug trafficking and money laundering. It was a US operation on US soil.”
The office declined to provide further information.
“We cannot comment further on operational security issues or ongoing legal proceedings,” the office noted.
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Black Immigrant Daily News
Governor John Rankin on Oct. 4 published his first quarterly report on the ongoing reforms recommended by the Commission of Inquiry, guardedly praising the overall progress while also noting a “number of areas of concern” with the pace of the reforms since June.
“There has been good progress in some areas to date, and I am pleased with the overall constructive engagement and partnership I have had with the premier and Cabinet,” Mr. Rankin wrote in a on Oct. 4 statement.
He added that most reform deadlines have been met so far, and that legitimate reasons have been offered for any delays. However, he also expressed disappointment with other areas.
“In the quarterly review I note a number of areas of concern where there has been less progress than expected, and where I have been disappointed with the level of commitment to reform,” he stated.
The governor’s quarterly reviews are a key yardstick measuring progress with the 48 COI recommendations that the National Unity Government committed to carry out in the reform framework agreed with the United Kingdom in June.
If the NUG completes the reforms as promised, the UK has stated that it will forgo a COI recommendation to suspend the legislature and implement direct rule for at least two years. But if progress stalls, the UK may move ahead with direct rule instead.
“This review has been sent to ministers in the UK for consideration and I will hold a press conference once I have received their response to it,” Mr. Rankin said on Oct. 4.
In the review, the governor noted three main concerns about the reform progress so far.
One involves tender waivers, a historically common Cabinet practice that auditors have said for decades prevents government from getting good value for taxpayers’ money.
The reform framework commits Cabinet to ensuring that the waivers “are only agreed in exceptional, unavoidable cases, and which must be explained publicly.”
However, the governor found that this commitment and related reforms including a new Public Procurement Act have not produced the promised results.
“Such a new approach should have included an end to proposals for tender waivers apart from in the most exceptional of cases,” Mr. Rankin wrote. “Unfortunately, this has not been the case. Proposals for tender waivers are still being presented for consideration by Cabinet, often with insufficient and poorly presented justification.”
He added that he has referred several such contracts for further audit investigation.
The governor also noted House of Assembly members’ delayed progress towards their promise to make the Register of Interests public.
A version of the Register of Interests Act, 2022 introduced in the HOA in July would have published the register as promised. However, before passing the bill, HOA members went into a closed-door committee session and made changes that the governor said “severely restrict public access” to the register by requiring written applications and fees.
“In my view, these amendments are contrary to the principle of transparency,” he wrote, adding that the move is also contrary to the framework’s intent to make the register public.
The final version of the bill passed by the HOA has not been made public.
Thirdly, the governor also complained about pushback over nominations for the Constitutional Review Commission, which he said “ran contrary to the importance of the commission being representative of the BVI as a whole.”
“The overarching aim of the COI and this reform programme is to improve governance, accountability and transparency for the benefit of all of the people in the British Virgin Islands,” Mr. Rankin said. “It is essential that the areas of concern I have outlined are addressed and that new governance issues do not arise.”
Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley said in a July 1 press conference that CRC candidates traditionally have been chosen only by elected officials, but the governor provided three nominees this year as part of the COI reform plan. However, critics took issue with the governor’s involvement and raised personal issues with two of his nominees.
In his report this week, Mr. Rankin also acknowledged the challenging scale and demanding deadlines of the reform process so far.
“Early progress in key areas is important for establishing the pace and direction of change,” he wrote. “Reform must be deep-rooted and sustained to ensure improvements in governance in the interests of the people of the BVI.”
He noted progress on legislative items and said leaders have so far initiated all but two COI-recommended reviews.
He added, however, that some deadlines have been missed, including a June 30 deadline to start a wholesale review of assistance grants; a July 1 deadline to publish a protocol for the appointment and removal of statutory board members; various deadlines for the appointments of certain reviewers; and a July 31 deadline to start a review of the law enforcement and justice systems and powers for prosecution. He acknowledged that the last item falls under his purview.
The House of Assembly also has yet to approve additional resources to publish the territory’s laws in full, he said.
Another COI recommendation was to vet all serving customs and immigration officers, and potentially members of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force and the Prison Service. Security is a constitutional responsibility of the Governor’s Office. Mr. Rankin said a UK National Police Vetting Team was appointed before the July 31 deadline included in the framework and has since made two trips to the VI.
Until the VI government establishes a permanent vetting system, the UK has agreed to pay the work costs, he said.
His office, however, missed the deadline to review how law enforcement and the judicial system detect crime and prepare for prosecution, Mr. Rankin acknowledged.
“This was due to the complexity of the review and the need to secure a panel with the expertise to ensure a professional, independent review,” he said. “However, I am pleased that His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services has agreed to lead the review, which the UK government has agreed to fund.”
He also expressed his appreciation for a recent UNICEF pledge to assist with a review of assistance grants.
“These are examples of where the delay in starting the reviews was justified to ensure we found the right reviewers through the right processes,” he said.
Recent improvements have also been made at the prison to address security concerns, he said.
Though he said delays in appointing some reviewers have delayed important work, the governor expressed hope that the recent formation of the COI Implementation Unit will speed progress in this regard.
“I trust that with the establishment of the Implementation Unit, and full cooperation from ministers and the public service, the reviewers will from now on receive the support necessary to complete their work,” he wrote, promising to closely monitor their progress.
The Implementation Unit, which is headed by Hadassah Ward and reports to the Premier’s Office permanent secretary, was established to help coordinate the ongoing reforms.
Under the reform framework, the unit should have been established by July 15, but Mr. Rankin said issues with securing staff meant that Ms. Ward wasn’t appointed until September.
However, he added, the unit is now functioning and should help with supporting key reviews and making sure ministries submit monthly reports on time.
Without going into detail about open investigations, the governor said early reports to him show a generally satisfactory level of cooperation with officials.
“However, I note with concern that several reviewers and investigators have reported difficulty accessing relevant documents from the public service,” he wrote. “I have asked the deputy governor to remind public servants of the need to prioritise cooperation with COI implementation. If there is evidence that access is being deliberately blocked, action will be taken in respect of the relevant officers. I trust that this will no longer be a concern by the time of my next quarterly review.”
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Black Immigrant Daily News
Clement Carty- a true hero in so many ways to so many of us. How can you distil a life of 74 years into a 20 minute Eulogy? Mr. Carty was born on February 21st 1948 to Winifred Carty and Austin Carty in Antigua and was the first of four children.
Carty was always known and thought of as protector and the strength of his family. His intelligent mind flourished throughout his childhood, excelling academically even to obtain the island scholarship while attending primary school. He told many stories of when he was young and the many adversities and tribulations he had to endure but nevertheless, he followed his path, simply when it came to his academics. He was very studious which helped form his future towards his accounting profession.
Clem, as known to most, was a master at anything he set his mind to, even so, that he obtained his Masters’ Degree in Accounting at Cambridge University and Oxford University in the United Kingdom. He was a disciplined man of God first and foremost but family came immediately thereafter.
For the better part of his life, Clem was married to Grace Francis-Carty who nicknamed him “Boss Cat” and together they raised six children – Merlyn, Herbert, Pearl, Clement ,Atlee and Austen. He never missed a birthday or special event nor ever forgetting to assure his family that he will always give his best including summer vacations – a true father indeed.
Clem was also an excellent grandfather to his grandchildren and they loved him dearly. He will always be remembered for the hugs that he gave and especially the snacks that he would always buy including the famous Shirley biscuit. (chuckle).
Mr. Carty was employed with the Government of Dominica from 1966 where he started off as a clerk at the Portsmouth Sub-treasury where he worked for 4 years before transfer to the Treasury in Roseau where he continued up till 1979 at which point he got a scholarship from the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Corporation to pursue the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT). He returned home in 1981 and continued at the Treasury Department for 3 years, was seconded to the AID Bank from 1985 where he held positions of senior accountant and acting general manager occasionally until retirement from full time employment in 2008.
A staunch Methodist, Clement Carty believed in and followed the principles and disciplines that governs the Methodist faith and was not afraid to challenge anyone when he had to on the matters. He served the church very faithfully in the giving of his time, talents and treasures/ monetary as God had blessed him. At Dominica circuit level he served as circuit steward, he attended several Synods, now district council. Here in Bethesda, he served as congregational steward, class leader and participated in other general activities in the life of the church. At the district level he served as district auditor. He was regular at worship as far as his health permitted.
He was humble but stern and would embrace any and everyone but would never allow someone’s wrong to be accepted as right. The strength he possessed was never flashy, maybe boastful (chuckle); however, he was a quiet, unassuming man who lived his life with principles and determination.
It is hard for his family to ever imagine life without the great Clement Montgomery Carty- a true father, grand-father and an unforgettable friend! To all who truly knew him.
Rest in perfect peace, my dear friend.
By Reginald Robin
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Black Immigrant Daily News
Guyanese Marcus Tudor announced himself to Jamaica with a three-timer as St Jago High whipped Holy Trinity High 5-2 in Group B of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup competition and moved into third spot with nine points, after both teams started the day on six points.
Tudor netted in the 16th, 28th and 49th minutes while Jaden Jones, in the 17th minute, and Jaedee Mitchell, in the 22nd, also got on the scoresheet for St Jago.
Billroy Medwinter and Jamar Rowe replied for Holy Trinity in the 21st and 63rd minutes.
After six games, St Jago moved into third spot on nine points behind second place St Catherine High, who are on 13 points from five games, and group leaders Jamaica College, which blanked Cedar Grove High 4-0 to be on 16 points.
St Catherine High will be in action Friday against St Mary’s College and are expected to secure three points. Holy Trinity remained in fourth spot on six points.
St Jago’s coach Garnett Lawrence was pleased with Tudor’s performance and his team’s display but wants more in order to advance from the group.
“I am somewhat pleased and still need some more from them. This is his second game and four goals from two games are not bad for him,” Lawrence told Loop Sport.
“But, after about 60 minutes, we were dead flat and that’s not a good sign if we want to come out of the zone and go to a different league of the Manning Cup. But we getting wins under our belt no matter how it may come,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Manning Cup favourites Mona High continued their winning form in Zone E, defeating Camperdown High 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller at Excelsior High.
It was their seventh consecutive win and they move to 21 points, five points clear of second place Wolmer’s Boys, who whipped Papine High 5-1. Hydel High are third on 13 points, following their 2-1 win over Kingston High. Camperdown High are fourth on eight points.
Kshaine Gordon opened the scoring for Mona High in the 21st minute with a beautiful curling effort from just outside the box. But, before the celebrations were over, Camperdown High drew level courtesy of Devante McCrea with a powerful header in the 22nd minute.
Mona went ahead once more as Zhaine Pinnock side-footed home in the 31st minute for his ninth goal of the season.
But once again, McCrea popped up pulling Camperdown level once more in the 34th minute for his fourth goal of the season before Sheldon Ricketts gave Camperdown the lead in the 47th minute.
The see-saw game continued, and Pinnock equalised for Mona in the 75th minute for his 10th goal of the season before the competition’s leading goalscorer Donhue Mitchell scored in the 88th minute.
However, the winning goal brought the game into disrepute as the Camperdown team felt the ball had gone out of play before Mitchell’s strike. In the heated debate, Camperdown’s coach Donovan Lofters was red-carded.
Meanwhile, in Zone F, Excelsior High and Campion College played to a 0-0 draw in a game that was called off last week because of heavy rain and resumed at the 70-minute mark. In essence, the teams only played for some 20 minutes Thursday and the deadlock remained the same.
Excelsior inched to 17 points and remained atop of the group, while Campion College are second with 13 points, two ahead of Jose Marti High sitting in third spot with 11 points after beating Clan Carthy High 2-0.
In Zone D, Jonathan Grant High moved to within a point of leader St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) following their 1-0 win over Spanish Town High at the Spanish Town Prison Oval.
STATHS lead the group with 17 points from seven games while Jonathan Grant moved to 16 points from six games. Norman Manley High sit third with 10 points, also from six games.
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Black Immigrant Daily News
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The Ministry of Education, Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology andVocational Training wishes to thank everyone who made the extra effort to participate inits PRESENT (Proudly Representing Each School Exalting our Nation’s Teachers) initiative,paying homage to our nation’s teachers and the incredible role they play in shaping livesand careers on the island.
Ministry officials were heartened by the outpouring support within the Ministry itself andthe wider education sector, the Cabinet of Ministers, various sections of government andwithin the private sector.
The many who turned out to work in the school uniform of their alma mater show great appreciation during this year’s Teacher’s Week.
The Ministry reminds all that there still is another opportunity on Friday October 7th, 2022to take part in PRESENT and show appreciation to your former teachers by “putting onyour school clothes – Mètè had lekòl ou” to represent your former school and teachers tosay thanks in a special way.
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SOURCE: Ministry of Education, Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology and Vocational Training. Headline photo: Government MPs wearing uniforms of their alma maters.
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Black Immigrant Daily News
Josephine Robinson remembers a time when she worried whether her new business, Gentle Rest Funeral Services, would ever become sustainable.
In fact, the business proprietor recalls that when started back on September 3, 2002, the company only sold one coffin within their first year and had to shut down four times before re-establishing it in 2007 at its present location in St Joseph.
Twenty years later, life now paints a rather different picture for the company which will next year open a first-of-its-kind funeral home and crematorium in Jimmit.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, following the groundbreaking and contract signing of the 2700 square feet building, Robinson highlighted that despite the many challenges, her drive to make this dream a reality is what kept her going throughout the years.
“It’s about the joy, the gratification that comes from all the hard work, the nervousness, the support and love that drove me even on my low days,” she said. “There were many days when I thought that it wouldn’t work, but what I did was take a step back, breathe and redirect.”
She went on to declare that notwithstanding the hurdles Gentle Rest has been a “model for change”, and has changed the face of the funeral industry in Dominica, as well as earning the respect and support of their colleagues in the region and beyond.
“While there are challenges, we see them as opportunities for continued growth and development. If you were to ask me, then, what was my greatest challenge, I would have echoed financial, which today still is and will remain throughout. But with a quiet result, I will alter human resources,” Mrs. Robinson said.
Among their new services which will be offered is cremation, which Mrs. Robinson revealed many people have expressed interest in. However, she notes that to deal with the current space issues which Dominica is presently facing at the burial ground, a lot more public knowledge will be required on cremation, which she and her team stands ready to do.
In providing an overview of the construction, project advisor Mr. Eddison Henry said that the first floor of the two-storey structure will house sections such as the crematorium, the preparation room, the refrigeration room, as well as quarters for the staff who may be on call from time to time to meet the demands of the Gentle Rest service.
Also included on this floor will be a display room where families will be allowed to see the products that will envelop their loved ones, a chapel which will double as a conference facility, the general offices as well as provision for the general manager’s office.
The top floor, he revealed, will serve for other activities both in a “celebratory and sombre mood.”
He stressed that this will be an ideal location “symbolic for sunsets,” as the building will be picturesquely placed on the west coast of the island nestled on a small hilltop which is typical for Dominica and architecture.
“It also encompasses elements of classical, mediaeval and modern architecture, in the sense that if you look at the building, you will see the dominance of Roman columns. And that is also symbolic of the imagery that we get when we hope to move to the last place after leaving this life,” Henry said.
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Two years after being evicted special needs students return to in-person learning
Come September month end, special needs students of the Achievement Learning Centre (ALC) will resume face-to-face education at its new facility in Canefield.
Many people will remember the ALC had closed its doors in early 2020 due to the inability to pay rent for the property where it was being housed on Elliot Avenue in Pottersville. This closure displaced scores of special needs children and their teachers.
That was coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, which made a difficult situation worse by introducing online learning which was truly trying for some special-needs students and their parents.
Fortunately, the 2022 academic year will welcome ALC staff and students to a new compound. Executive Director of the ALC, Beverly LeBlanc, says students will return to the classroom in two phases.
“We are doing the final renovations to have the place ready for school,” LeBlanc said. “We will bring the younger ones – Eagles One and Eagles Two – by the last week in September. The older ones will continue online and will join us in the physical space in October.”
Staff of the ALC spent the two years searching for a building to relocate their operations but were met with no success. This time, however, was different as a parent came on board to champion the cause.
“We were helping an autistic child who was not able to fit into the school environment. While doing assessments for the child, the parent organised a room in a facility. We offered programmes for the child, used that facility, and brought in two other students who could not function online. In further discussions we secured three rooms to have as classrooms,” LeBlanc said.
Money was a problem for the previous location in Pottersville, and while things are not optimal, financially, the centre found a way to work around it.
“Not having the best of finances we did a task analysis and broke down to small tasks what we need to do and approached corporate sponsors who have really come on board with providing some material we need to do the work and to pay for the labour,” LeBlanc said.
The students range in age from four years in the lower levels, to thirteen into their twenties in the upper levels. The centre will take on a multigrade approach teaching both special education and vocational skills to target the different disabilities of each child.
LeBlanc reports that during the ALC’s down time, staff worked diligently behind the scenes and will be welcoming more students this academic year.
“During our two-year break we worked on our structures. We developed a child profile form so when parents reach out to us, we send that form to get background information on children. We also have students who go to other schools but parents recognize they have challenges,” she said.
The facility will boast not only of having a space for its staff and students but also offering new services which can help members of the disability community.
“One student was already assessed by a speech therapist; the child will be getting therapy at the centre,” LeBlanc said. “What that will do is strengthen the capacity of our teachers because the therapist will train the teachers who will be working with the child to ensure the child gets the right therapy.”
The ALC is always looking for ways to grow its scope and reach teachers across the country. To this end the centre is networking with teachers across the board to be coached on how to assist special needs children.
“I am working with teachers in other schools to provide training and strengthen capacity. There are children in classrooms but they need that support. We are looking at expanding our services where we go to the school which may have special needs children and don’t know how to work with them,” LeBlanc said.
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Black Immigrant Daily News
Two young ladies from the Kalinago Territory have made it their mission to walk in their grandfather’s footsteps while adding a touch of modernity to the traditional.
Arnique Valmond and Valary Antoine, both from Salybia, co-own Eezee Side Cassava Delicacies, an agro-processing company that transforms cassava (manioc) into a wide array of by-products.
As Valary told The Sun, the idea stemmed from youth and the close relationship with their grandfather, Alphonse Francis.
“He was known as the ‘Cassava Man’ by his customers. During our school days we would see him making the product, which he wanted us to continue,” Valary said. “Before his death he said ‘do not let it go.’ So, it’s a legacy from our grandfather.”
The company, registered seven years ago, now has pizzas, pastries, and a drink to its name. According to Arnique, the sisters built on the recipe left behind by their grandfather.
“We added value to the product,”Arnique said. “My grandfather started with plain cassava bread and added coconut and ginger. When we came in, we added saltfish, smoked herring, cheese, raisins etc. Then we started making pastries; we do composite bread, which is loaf oven-baked; we do pizza, lasagna and a cassava drink.”
The sisters, respectful of their grandfather and the knowledge he passed down, chose to move with the times and this is how they came to own a place in Roseau to share their heritage.
When our grandfather could no longer go to Roseau and sell, we decided we are not going to do it that way and walk around town asking people to buy,” Valary explained.
We now have a place at the Roseau Market, on DEXIA’s compound, where we sell cassava products Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays,” Arnique added.
Valary says there are a multitude of benefits in carrying on her grandfather’s legacy and promoting her Kalinago culture.
“It is very important because I see it as a unique business that has a lot of benefits and it can make you independent and create jobs for people,” Valary said.
Eezee Side Cassava Delicacies currently employs five people to ensure the smooth running of its Roseau branch and its flagship establishment in Salybia. Arnique, a hard-working multi-tasker with a positive mindset, says while pleased with an outlet in the city, the company has been met with its challenges.
“One is the supply chain of raw material,” Arnique said. “So right now, we are making contracts with farmers so we can always be supplied.”
Both ladies agree that marketing is a major hurdle to overcome, and Valary cites financial support as a troublesome factor.
“The most challenging part is not getting much assistance, and the marketing part. When we started, we started from scratch. So that is a challenge,” Valary said.
Valary, who describes herself as a brave, strong, independent Kalinago woman, says feedback on the new products has been phenomenal and the future looks very promising for the company.
“Future plans are for our products to be on shelves in supermarkets around Dominica, and to be in demand in other countries,” Valary stated.
Arnique agrees that wider circulation of the product is key, particularly as people are now more health conscious.
“The business has a lot of potential, seeing we have a very unique product and it is gluten free,” Arnique added. “Many people are speaking about cassava now and they are interested, it looks like a lot of market will come from it.”
Valary pointed out there has been more competition over the years with other people selling similar products, but she and Arnique are determined to uphold their grandfather’s bequest through Eezee Side Cassava Delicacies.
“When we started, we were the first ones, but as time continued there were a lot of competitors because they are seeing it is a product that can bring in money,” Valary said. “So, there are many competitors now.”
The sisters encourage the wider public, especially youth, to support local, support the heritage, and eat healthy.
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