Black Immigrant Daily News

La Corée du Nord a lancé jeudi trois nouveaux missiles, déclenchant une alerte dans une île au large de la péninsule coréenne ainsi qu’au Japon, au lendemain d’une salve inédite de tirs qui a porté…

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Upstairs of a motorbike showroom in Manuel Reef, one of the artists at Steven Nguyen’s body art shop searched the internet for “best cancer tattoos for men.”

The tattoo he was planning was a commemoration for his client’s mother.

“I have about four of them,” said the client, who asked not to be named, while pointing at other ribbons on his arm. “This is going to be my 22nd tattoo altogether.”

The tattoo — which featured his mother’s middle name, Dolores — was to be inked on his neck.

To design it, Mr. Nguyen and the tattoo artist sat in front of a computer, tweaking it to perfection.

Ten years ago, tattoo shops offered booklets of designs that customers could browse, but today the process is typically digitised, Mr. Nguyen said.

A customer can look up any design online, and the artist can draw the concept with an illustration programme and print it out onto adhesive paper that sticks to the skin.

After that, the artist can trace the design before ever bringing the needle to the body, ensuring accuracy, which is particularly important when words are involved in the design.

But while tattooing has changed rapidly in recent years, the Virgin Islands has not kept pace with related legislation. In fact, there is currently no legislation in the territory that regulates the practice.

Gov’t inspection

There are at least two body art studios in the territory that offer tattoos. The newest is Mr. Nguyen’s shop, Esme Body Art Studio, which opened in August.

Before opening, Mr. Nguyen acquired a trade licence and underwent an inspection from the Environmental Health Division. And in the absence of tattoo-specific VI legislation, he carefully follows standard safety and health protocols that would be required in other countries, he said.

Stacy Mather said he did the same after he and his brother opened Lion Ink Studio in 2015. But he has also been pushing for regulations for years.

Long before opening his studio, which was destroyed in Hurricane Irma, he proposed a draft tattoo-and-piercing safety legislation to the government for consideration in 2008.

He was later told it had been “lost,” he said.

Like Mr. Nguyen, Mr. Mather said his studio secured a trade licence and was cleared to practise after passing an inspection by the Environmental Health Division.

It also followed the standards of the American Piercing Association and other accreditation bodies, he said.

Unregulated operations

But in the absence of regulations, Mr. Mather said, people in the territory have inked tattoos without trade licences or health permits for years.

“People would migrate from other Caribbean countries, and they would come here and they would practice,” Mr. Mather said. “Back then, their sterilisation process for tattooing was pressure cookers with Clorox water and that kind of stuff. Some of them, in their countries [tattooing is] regulated, and in the [VI] it wasn’t regulated.”

Now, he said, many at-home tattoo artists have professional equipment including single-use needles.

But regulation, he added, is still needed.

“If we don’t regulate it, we’re going to have more young people getting tattoos in homes, in corners, and they’re going to have bad experiences,” he said.

In regulated tattoos shops, he explained, set rules can discourage bad decisions.

“Any shop in the world has parameters,” Mr. Mather said. “For example, in St. Thomas, it’s illegal to tattoo below the wrist. It’s illegal to tattoo below Mr. Mather said that VI leaders are being “irresponsible” by not addressing the lack of regulations here.

“They don’t think it’s necessary right now, because they think if you go and you do something to your body, it’s your own risk,” he said.

The Ministry of Health and Social Development didn’t respond to requests for comment.

All walks of life

Reasons for getting tattoos differ from person to person. Mr. Nguyen’s client described tattooing as “stress relief.”

For Mr. Mather, tattooing is a way of telling his life story. “Part of body art for me is showing a part of myself that I don’t normally show,” he said. “For some of us, it’s a ritual.”

Mr. Mather noted that he and his brother have tattooed people from all walks of life, including lawyers, doctors and preachers.

“The derogatory connotation of a person who had tattoos was a drunken sailor. We’ve passed that. I think sometimes we live in a bubble and we don’t realise it in the [VI],” Mr. Mather said. “In the [VI] we believe that if you have tattoos you won’t get a job. The rest of the world doesn’t believe that anymore.”

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Black Immigrant Daily News

A high-level manhunt is under way by the police for Simeon Sutherland, the man charged in connection with the murder of then People’s National Party (PNP) Member of Parliament (MP) for East Portland, Dr Lynvale Bloomfield.

Sutherland absconded bail on Wednesday.

He was to stand trial in the Home Circuit Court in Kingston for the politician’s 2019 stabbing death at his home in Portland, this after several months of delay.

However, when his name was called at least three times to come inside the courtroom in downtown Kingston on Wednesday, Sutherland was nowhere to be found.

The court was informed that before the start of court, the accused and his parents were at the office of his lawyer, Peter Champagnie.

Sutherland’s mother reportedly claimed that her son was dropped off at the entrance to the Supreme Court building, but said she noticed that he did not go towards the building.

Instead, the accused man man reportedly walked away and did not stop, even while his parents attempted to drive him down.

Sutherland’s mother was ordered by High Court Judge, Justice Leighton Pusey, to be taken into custody to pay her son’s bail bond of $800,000.

A bench warrant was also issued by the judge for Sutherland’s arrest.

Champagnie has also asked the judge to release him from the matter.

Speaking to reporters after the court proceedings, Champagnie expressed surprised at the actions of his client.

“What took place in court today is absolutely surprising, that’s the first thing, and barring any… reasonable excuse for the absence of Mr Sutherland, I would not want the message to be received that it is okay for you to have access to legal representation in the form of myself…, to take leave of the process and re-engage at a subsequent occasion time… and believe that you can have access to representation.

“It doesn’t work like that. We are a part of the justice system and it ought to be respected,” declared Champagnie.

When asked if Sutherland was set to plead guilty ahead of the scheduled start to his trial, the attorney said he would not want to say “yes or no” to that question.

He said if Sutherland is brought back to court, he would not want to prejudice the matter, resulting in members of the public being “sensitised” relative to “a course of action”.

Bloomfield was found dead with multiple stab wounds at his home in Passley Gardens, Portland on the morning of February 2, 2019.

Sutherland was arrested by investigators assigned to the Major Investigative Division (MID) days later, but after denying knowledge of the murder, was initially released by the police.

He was re-arrested shortly after evidence reportedly linked him to the scene of the crime.

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November 30, Barbados’ Independence Day, will now be observed as Barbados National Day.

Minister of Home Affairs, Wilfred Abrahams announced the major change today during a press conference at Ilaro Court on celebrations for November.

“The Cabinet of Barbados took the decision to henceforth observe November 30 as Barbados National Day commemorating our independence from Britain in 1966 and our transition to parliamentary republic in 2021,” said Minister Abrahams.

Throughout the month, the island will be a hive of activity with a myriad of events including sports, culture and heritage activities.

The Home Affairs Minister stated that the National Events Calendar will be released later this week, however, he noted that the National Independence Festival for Creative Arts (NIFCA) and Spirit of the Nation will be back in full swing.

Abrahams also disclosed that for the first time, a Toast to the Nation Reception, hosted by President Dame the Most Honourable Sandra Mason at State House will be held to honour new national awardees.

The inaugural Barbados National Day Ceremonial Parade will take place on November 30 at 8 am at Kensington Oval. Uniformed groups will march from the Oval to the National Heroes Square where they will salute the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.

The festivities will culminate with the first Barbados National Day Concert to be held in the capital, Bridgetown.

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The University of the West Indies (UWI) Blackbirds flew into the finals of the Barbados Football Association (BFA) Women’s Super League Cup competition last Saturday evening at the BFA Wildey Turf.

UWI outplayed and outscored the youthful RF Prime 4-1, to earn a place in the November 12 final.

The Blackbirds’ opponents in the final will be Fitts Village Football Club (FVFC) Femini, who overcame a nervous penalty shootout to defeat Kickstart Rush Genesis 4-3.

On Saturday evening, the Cave Hill ladies displayed their experience and technical superiority on their way to a comfortable victory.

Rianna Cyrus sent UWI into the lead in the 25th minute, but that lead was short lived as Kerisha Catlyn leveled the score a minute later.

Cyrus restored UWI’s lead in the 28th minute and it would remain this way until the interval.

Shanice Stevenson came to the party in the second half and scored twice to seal the victory for the UWI ladies.

Stevenson’s first goal came with a bit of fortune, as RF Prime goalkeeper Christina Wharton mishandled a timid free kick from the national midfielder, and the ball trickled over the line in the 45th minute.

UWI’s fourth goal came with the final kick of the game, when Stevenson was granted too much time and space to unleash a powerful right footed shot from 35 yards.

Regular time nor extra time could not separate FVFC Femini and Kickstart Rush Genesis, so the dreaded penalty shootout was the decision-maker.

FVFC players were more clinical and were rewarded with a place in the final, after scoring four of their five spot kicks, while Kickstart Rush Genesis converted three.

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