Black Immigrant Daily News

Be observant and be your brother’s keeper is the message from the six Jamaicans who received the Badge of Honour for Gallantry at the presentation of National Honours and Awards held on October 17, at King’s House.

It was the first in-person ceremony since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and was presided over by Governor-general, Sir Patrick Allen.

Heading the list was taxi operator Jeffery Bowen, who rescued a young boy, who is hearing impaired, from crocodile-infested waters on July 31, 2020.

Speaking with JIS News after receiving his award, Bowen said he was not expecting an award for his act of bravery.

“I didn’t expect [to receive] anything… I was just at the scene at the time, seeing this little boy in the water. It was night-time [and] other people were there [but] I realised that they were in fear of crocodiles in the water,” he recalled.

“[After] standing there and seeing him fight and struggle for so long… I decided I’m not going to let him die. He was a little child, so for me to leave him there like that… I couldn’t live with it,” Bowen said.

He shared that receiving the Badge of Gallantry gave him a “great feeling”, while he continues to live by the mantra, “Just have love for everybody”.

“Sometimes when things happen, instead of taking out your phone and recording, just try and give some assistance in any way you can. The person doesn’t have to be your family, but just love everybody and the whole of Jamaica will be better,” he added.

Another recipient, Winston Thorpe, found an injured policeman on February 15, 2022, who had a gunshot wound from the day before. He stayed with the injured officer until help arrived.

Governor-general Sir Patrick Allen (left) awards Winston Thorpe the Badge of Honour for Gallantry, for saving an injured policeman on February 15, 2022. (Photo: JIS)

Four co-workers who collectively aided in the rescue of a schoolgirl from being abducted on March 10, 2022, were also conferred with the award. They are Tanesha Brown, Junior Clark, Aselee Sutherland, and Cedesiha Williams.

While recalling the night of the abduction, Brown said her instinctive decision to help the victim came after noticing that the student was fighting with her abductor in the moving vehicle.

Governor-general Sir Patrick Allen (left) pins Aselee Sutherland with the Badge of Honour for Gallantry, at the presentation of National Honours and Awards, held at King’s House in Kingston, on October 17. (Photo: JIS)

“While she fought back, she opened the door and somehow, got her hands free, [and] I think both her feet were protruding out the door. Then [the car] made a sudden turn and the door closed, but we saw her feet just before it did. If she didn’t do that, it would’ve been a different outcome,” she told JIS News.

While noting their actions to help as the “right thing to do”, she said witnessing the abduction was close to home because she also has a daughter.

“Be your brother’s keeper. If you see something [suspicious], just act on it and if you don’t want to do anything, call the police, and they will,” she urged.

For her part, Williams said: “We’ve always [heard] along generations [that] it takes a village to raise a child, and I think we have to go back to that mantra”.

“We have to think about other people’s children, and if you see something happening, be your brother’s keeper. It does help,” she advised.

Meanwhile, Sutherland urged Jamaicans to “look out for the vulnerable, such as the elderly and children”.

“Too many predators are out there, so we have to keep our eyes open,” she encouraged.

Reflecting on her award, Sutherland said the recognition made her at a loss for words.

“I appreciated the fact that we [helped], and I must say that when we did, it had nothing to do with getting an award… after seeing that man [attacking] that child, the motherly instinct came up in me,” she noted.

During the ceremony, 221 outstanding Jamaicans were recognised for their service and significant impact on national life.

The ceremony was attended by dignitaries and officials, headed by Prime Minister Andrew Holness and President of the Crown Council of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie.

JIS News

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Leadership is needed to energize and encourage intra-regional travel, says Harold Lovell, the Political Leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP).

The absence of LIAT, the Caribbean Airline, for quite some time – starting at the beginning of the pandemic two years ago – has shown how significant it is to the region.

Since then, and in spite of its new operating structure and efforts by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, the airline is still struggling.

It is serving only a limited number of destinations since it resumed flights on Monday, November 30, 2020.

In the meantime, some leaders have hinted at plans to operate their own air services in order to ensure their people are able to travel the region.

Lovell says the Gaston Browne Administration seems unable to bring the respective stakeholders together and come up with an amicable resolution to the challenges.

But, he says, a UPP Administration would be able to get the ball rolling in this regard since a regional carrier is vital.

Meanwhile, Lovell is not forgetting that former LIAT workers are yet to receive their severance. He says his Administration would do whatever can be done to ensure that payment is made and the airline is returned to a sustainable footing.

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News

Police officers head to the Enterprise, Chaguanas home of murder victim Jamal Modeste on Sunday afternoon, hours after he was shot. Photo by Ayanna Kinsale

The day after a nine-year-old boy was shot dead in Enterprise, Chaguanas, two men were shot dead in the same area.

Police said they received reports of a shooting in Freedom Street, Enterprise, at around 5.06 pm on Monday and found the bodies of Marius Guevara, 25, in the back seat of a silver Nissan Cefiro, and Tevin Neptune Joseph, 29, lying in a nearby drain.

A district medical officer was called in and declared both men dead.

Police said they found and seized several spent shells.

Police said while motive for the murders was still unclear, they received information that they may have been related to the murder of nine-year-old Jamal Modeste.

Modeste was gunned down in a drive-by shooting at the Africa Recreation Grounds on Saturday night.

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Sports

West Indies captain Jason Holder

JASON Holder has urged his West Indies teammates to “hit the ground running” when they face Zimbabwe in their ICC T20 World Cup First Round Group B encounter at the Bellerive Oval, Hobart, Australia on Wednesday.

At the Bellerive Oval on Monday, the West Indies were soundly beaten by 42 runs against Scotland while Zimbabwe whipped Ireland by 31 runs.

Holder was one of the few shining lights for the West Indies on Monday. He took two wickets for 14 runs, off three overs, as Scotland posted 160 runs for the loss of five wickets. Holder then top-scored with 38, off 33 balls, as the West Indies were bowled out for 118 off 18.3 overs.

Holder touched on the attitude within the squad after the Scotland defeat.

“We had a tough start (on Monday),” he said, during a Zoom media conference on Tuesday (Monday evening TT time). “We’re all disappointed by the performance that we had, but I think the most important thing for us is to come together, even tighter now, and try to find solutions.

“We had a pretty good chat after the game and I’m sure guys went into their rooms and reflected on their performance (on Monday). No doubt I think we have what it takes to turn it around and it’s more-or-less hitting the ground running against Zimbabwe, starting that game well and beating them.”

The top two teams from this group will advance to the Super 12 phase of the T20 World Cup.

The West Indies lost five wickets to spin on Monday, with left-armer Mark Watt taking 3/12 and off-spinner Michael Leask 2/15.

Holder made it clear that “I’m not too worried about us playing against spin. For us, it’s about playing situations a little bit better, building a few more partnerships in the middle phases of the innings and setting it up nicely for the heavy hitters in the back.”

Asked what the West Indies team expect from Zimbabwe, Holder replied, “They seem to be on a nice winning streak (eight out of their last nine T20 Internationals) so we expect a highly competitive game and probably one of the toughest games we’ll have in this competition, and no doubt we know the magnitude of the game.”

The two-time T20 World Cup champions are known for their six-hitting ability, but Holder commented, “We’ve got to find solutions. We obviously didn’t bat well (on Monday) and we’ve probably let ourselves down with the bat in the recent past.

“We just need to understand what is required of us when we go out to bat and find ways to form partnerships, to make it easier as we go on in the tournament.”

About the pace-friendly conditions in Australia, the experienced fast-medium bowler said, “The conditions here are really good for bowling. You tend to get a little bit more bounce on these surfaces and a little bit more movement.

“Maybe we’ve got to be a little bit more clinical when we bowl and definitely improve on our batting.”

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