Ingrid Vos-Hagens
Black Immigrant Daily News
The content originally appeared on: De Ware Tijd Online
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Teen returns home after missing persons alert
Black Immigrant Daily News
The content originally appeared on: Antigua News Room
Xavier Ashton of Swetes who was earlier reported missing in now back at home among family.
The teen reportedly left home yesterday afternoon and was not heard from, which prompted a search into his whereabouts.
He returned home around 5pm Tuesday. The police are conducting further investigations into the matter.
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Three schools fall victims to thieves; electronic items, stationery and books among the loot
Black Immigrant Daily News
The content originally appeared on: Antigua News Room
After it was announced that police and army patrols at public schools across the island would be stepped up from last Friday (October 7) to quell the number of break-ins which have been happening at the nation’s schools, two schools were broken into around that same time into the weekend.
REAL News was told that three schools in total were broken into over the past four days – two government schools and a private educational institution.
Several electronic items, stationery and toiletries were stolen including fans, some of which were recent donations to the schools, and a freezer chest.
Reports are that the principal of the JT Ambrose Primary School located in All Saint made a report to the All Saints Police Station that the school had been broken into and a number of items stolen.
These included three lamps; electrical standing fans; a black 32-inch Samsung television set; a wall clock and a quantity of stationery.
Reportedly the items were stolen from the Grade Three classroom; and the point of entry into the building was through a northern wooden window of the same classroom, which was closed but not locked.
The police saw no signs of forced entry, according to reports, and exit was apparently made via the same point of entry.
This offence reportedly occurred sometime between 3:30pm on October 7 and 8:15am on October 10.
Meanwhile, a report was made to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) by Ashworth Azille of Coolidge, principal of the Clare Hall Secondary School of a break-in at his office.
Reports are that the building was examined and the police saw where the intruder(s) apparently used an implement to pry open two eastern single windows.
Having done so, the person(s) inserted a hand and threw several items off of the principal’s desk.
However, nothing was reported stolen.
This offence reportedly occurred sometime between 10:40am on October 8 and 7:15am on October 10.
In the meantime, a private educational institution had a similar fate.
The matter was reportedly reported to the police by the supervisor of the St. John’s Catholic Pre- School located on Nelson Mandela Drive.
It is alleged that the intruder(s) broke into the school and stole a deep freezer, a case of toilet paper, a box of water filters, eight fans, two bottles of hand sanitizer and a bottle of hand washing soap.
Reports are that the police saw no signs of forced entry at the pre-school; however, the items were somehow removed from an area in the storeroom and kitchen where they were left and later discovered stolen.
The point of entry and exit are still yet to be ascertained. A search was carried out in the immediate area for the stolen items, but without success.
This offence reportedly occurred sometime between 6:45pm on October 7 and 7:20am on October 8.
The police are probing all three incidents.
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Belmont church still needs $6m-plus for restoration
Black Immigrant Daily News
The content originally appeared on: Trinidad and Tobago Newsday
The 118-year-old St Francis RC Church in Belmont – Photo by Sureash Cholai
The St Francis of Assisi Building Committee hopes to raise more than $6 million for phase two of its restoration work on the St Francis of Assisi RC Church, Belmont Circular Road.
The church is 120 years old.
The committee is hoping to raise part of the funds through its Belmont Heritage Art Exhibition and auction from October 10-14. Bids close on October 14 at 8.30 pm. People can bid on the pieces at a link available on the St Francis RC Church’s Facebook page.
The media were invited to a viewing of the exhibition on Tuesday at Mille Fleurs, Queen’s Park West, Port of Spain, headquarters of the National Trust.
Committee member Jose Nivet said, “We are in the midst of phase one. We started in September last year and that is sort of coming to an end.”
He said it took the committee 12 years to raise the funds for phase one – approximately $5.7 million.
“We are within budget for phase one, and there are a few additional works being done within phase one, and it is not going to add to the cost of the original quotation we received.”
The committee decided it could not wait another 12 years to raise funds for the second phase, which would cost upwards of $6 million. It held a gala on April 10 at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), Port of Spain. That event raised approximately $640,000.
There are 91 pieces in ther auction, for which artists donated their works. Nivet said he hopes it will help the committee raise more than $250,000.
Some of the pieces come from artists Leo Glasgow, Jackie Hinkson, Harry Bryden, Karen Sylvester, Martin Superville, Karen Hale Jackson, Irenee Shaw, Beverley Fitzwilliam Harries, Larry Mosca, Michael Philips, Anil Bridgelal, Rudolph Bissessarsingh, Hayden Strasser, Gabby Tommy, Karen de Verteuil, Gail Pantin, Anthony Boos, Clayton De Freitas, Marcus Gooding, Chris Thomas and others, including students.
Nivet said the committee will continue its fundraising efforts until it reaches its goal, but also hopes to find donors to support it.
“We are not waiting on handouts, we are not expecting handouts. We are going to make the effort and have some benefactors who will be willing to quietly contribute.”
Nivet said some renovation was done about 20 years ago, but that was not restoration of the building.
“Some of the work that may have been done was not in keeping with restoration and preserving that heritage.”
In phase one , the church’s roof was replaced and about 75 per cent of the beams were reused which preserved over 100 years of architecture and material.
In phase two, largely internal work will be done with wheelchair ramps being put in.
National Trust chairman Margaret McDowall said the church was a listed building and that meant that this was a nationally recognised building.
All recognised buildings are protected under the National Trust Act 1991 against unauthorised change, alterations, and against any person who damages, injures or defaces any listed property.
She added that this was not just a story about the church, but also one of how Belmont was created. McDowall said the trust wants to have Belmont declared a heritage district for many reasons.
“This church would be a centrepiece in the heritage district,” she added.
The trust said it hopes to have people visit Belmont as part of its tours.
“We want all the buildings that are part of Belmont to be restored, as many as possible.”
At the moment, the trust is doing research toward having Belmont declared a heritage district.
The church is currently closed while it undergoes restoration. When Newsday visited there were workmen on site and its entrance was barred by galvanised sheets.
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Ex-AG insisted: Government will honour indemnity deal with Nelson
Black Immigrant Daily News
The content originally appeared on: Trinidad and Tobago Newsday
Former attorney general Faris Al-Rawi –
Former attorney general Faris Al-Rawi insisted the Government had, through him, “continuously confirmed that it will honour its obligations of the indemnity agreement” with former state witness King’s Counsel Vincent Nelson.
Al-Rawi told this to Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard, SC, so on December 18, 2020, when he referred to a letter from Nelson’s English solicitors, BCL Solicitors, who threatened to take the Government for any alleged breach of the indemnity agreement.
There were also threats that any breach of the alleged indemnity “would result in his refusal to give evidence.”
In repeated responses to the former AG, Gaspard declined to have his office involved in the purported indemnity agreement.
In fact, Al-Rawi spoke of the indemnity agreement from as early as April 9, 2019, a month before former attorney general Anand Ramlogan and ex-UNC senator Gerald Ramdeen were charged with conspiring with Nelson for Ramlogan, as AG, to misbehave in public office by accepting money from Nelson as a reward for giving him state briefs.
On Monday, Gaspard discontinued the State’s prosecution of the two attorneys, since Nelson said he was not willing to give evidence until his claim for breach of indemnity and damages was concluded.
Gaspard said Nelson was alleging that he was given indemnity in return for his providing a statement concerning “this case” against Ramlogan and Ramdeen.
In October 2021, Newsday reported exclusively on the alleged indemnity agreement between Nelson and Al-Rawi.
In May 2019, Nelson, 62, a tax attorney who lives in the UK, was indicted on three charges of conspiring to commit money laundering, misbehaviour in public office and conspiracy to commit an act of corruption. The misbehaviour charge was discontinued after he entered a plea deal with the Office of the DPP.
Justice Malcolm Holdip sentenced him in March 2020 and ordered him to pay a total of $2.25 million in fines. In his civil claim, Nelson is seeking £12,163,460 in damages for the alleged breach of indemnity and, according to AG Reginald Armour, SC, he also wants the State to pay his fines.
Al-Rawi did not respond to questions on Monday, but Armour said he would “consider every available avenue to protect the public’s interests, including (but not limited to) civil proceedings to recover any possible proceeds of the crimes allegedly committed by Messrs Ramlogan and Ramdeen and disciplinary proceedings before the disciplinary committee of the legal profession (Law Association of TT).”
According to documents obtained by Newsday, Al-Rawi, in a statement to police, dated April 9, 2019, said after receiving Nelson’s statement – which set out the alleged kickback conspiracy – “…I signed an agreement on behalf of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.”
He also pledged, “Further, the Government agreed to indemnify Mr Nelson against all actions, suits, proceedings, claims, demands, damages, costs, expenses and liabilities whatsoever which may be taken against him or be incurred or become payable or sustained by reason of the breach of any of the undertakings contained in the said agreement.”
The letters
In November 2020, BCL Solicitors wrote to Al-Wari informing him Nelson “is willing and prepared to give evidence” in Ramdeen and Ramlogan’s trial.
However, the letter said “in order for it to be possible to do so,” he would need the Government to “continue to honour its obligations under the indemnity agreement, particularly as it related to legal fees already incurred and those that would be incurred. The fees were quantified in the amount of 275,859.47 British pounds and outstanding legal fees to Nelson’s former attorney who represented him in the plea deal hearing, Roger Kawalsingh, in the sum of 450,000 British pounds.
The “indemnity” document was signed by both Al-Rawi and Nelson in November 2017 and subsequently initialled by both men in 2019.
On December 7, 2020, Al-Rawi wrote to Gaspard enclosing BCL’s letter, telling him Nelson was “willing and prepared to give evidence” at Ramlogan and Ramdeen’s trial but raised the question of fees and required that the Government “honour its obligations pursuant to the indemnity agreement.”
He told the DPP he was mindful of any allegations of undue influence and said he was bringing the letter to his “urgent attention” for Gaspard’s “consideration and advice.”
On December 16, 2020, Gaspard wrote to Al-Rawi declining to “proffer any advice” since “the handling of the same and its potential progenies falls entirely within your (Al-Rawi’s) pursue and that of your legal advisers.
Gaspard said, “Further, it is my considered opinion that it would be improper for my office to associate itself with this development.”
The next day, on December 17, 2020, BCL again wrote to Al-Rawi. They said Nelson remained willing to give evidence but “in order for him to do so, it is necessary for the GORTT to comply with its obligations under the indemnity,” for the payment of outstanding fees and new expenses arising from the plea deal.
For the first time, mention is made of a civil claim for breach of the agreement.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we are now in the position that unless we receive immediate payment of our fees, this firm and Mr Kawalsingh will have no option but to commence debt recovery proceedings against our client.”
The letter said, “it seems to us inevitable that a failure by the GORTT to meet the legal fees of Mr Nelson QC’s lawyers, would be regarded by him as a clear breach of the indemnity by the GORTT and would result in his refusal to give evidence.
“It would also result in the termination of our retainer with Mr Nelson QC which of itself would jeopardise the likelihood of his being prepared to assist the prosecution.”
The English lawyers said while they were not instructed on the civil claim for breach of the agreement, they were aware Nelson was seeking damages.
“The GORTT has already indicated in writing to Mr Kawalsingh, by way of letters dated April 23, 2019, and February 20, 2020, that it ‘shall fully and effectually honour its obligations arising out of and under the said written indemnity executed in favour of Mr Nelson QC.’
“…Mr Nelson QC requires the GORTT to agree for this claim to be addressed by way of arbitration…Provided these conditions can be met, Mr Nelson QC remains fully prepared to travel to Trinidad and be a witness for the prosecution at the trial of Messrs Ramdeen and Ramlogan.”
“We regret that unless this matter is settled as a matter of urgency, we will be left with no option but to pursue our fees via alternate means with the inevitable consequences that will follow.”
On December 18, 2020, the next day, Al-Rawi again wrote to Gaspard.
He provided him with BCL’s letter and said, “As you are aware, the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago did indeed enter into an indemnity agreement with Mr Vincent Nelson QC as settled by senior counsel by which GORTT is bound.”
He said the government, through him, “has continuously confirmed that it will honour its obligations under the said indemnity agreement.”
Al-Rawi, who was removed as AG in March, this year, said he was concerned to keep the DPP fully apprised of all issues relative to the criminal prosecution of Ramdeen and Ramlogan to protect the sanctity of the criminal proceedings and “in particular against any potential allegation of undue influence which may arise.”
He informed Gaspard that the settlement of the legal fees fell under the ambit of the indemnity agreement but “will not proceed to treat” that issue without ascertaining Gaspard’s position on the same.
He said as it related to Nelson’s claim for damages of alleged breaches to the said agreement “occasioned as a result of Minister Young’s actions in the matter,” he held the view there will be no damages recoverable.
Al-Rawi said he was not opposed to the ventilation of Nelson’s claim before an independent forum since he was confident the matter would be decided in the government’s favour.
But, he said, he was mindful of the “potential damage” that the publicity of any such proceedings would have in the criminal case.
The former AG said Nelson’s claim was unique in the context of his “landmark whistle blowing testimony” in the criminal matter and in relation to the use of plea discussions and the plea agreement facilitated by the recent passage of the law on the latter.
He again asked for Gaspard’s advice but on December 23, 2020, the DPP said Nelson was “indeed a potentially critical witness for the State” and reiterated that his office “is loath to involve itself in any manner or form with any ‘indemnity agreement’ and its corollaries.
“Respectfully, those matters fall outside my purview.”
Nelson’s civil claim for breach of the alleged indemnity (CV oo408 of 2022) was amended and sealed this year by the court.
Newsday understands an application was being contemplated to have the case unsealed.
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Saint Lucia Extends Condolences After Deadly Venezuela Flooding – St. Lucia Times News
Black Immigrant Daily News
The content originally appeared on: St. Lucia Times News
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The government and the people of Saint Lucia extend condolences to the government and the people of Venezuela in the wake of the devastating flooding that has unfortunately claimed many lives in Las Tejerías in the State of Aragua in Venezuela.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families who lost their loved ones and those who have lost their homes.
Saint Lucia remains grateful to President Nicolás Maduro Moros for the enduring relationship that Venezuela and Saint Lucia continue to share.
This friendship dictates that we stand ready to work with the government of Venezuela and the international community to accelerate the necessary interventions for climate resilience and adaptation.
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Saint Lucia stands in solidarity with the people of Venezuela, especially during this difficult time.
SOURCE: Office of the Prime Minister. Headline photo internet stock image.
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Onde tropicale : Retour au vert en Martinique
Black Immigrant Daily News
The content originally appeared on: Martinique FranceAntilles
Le niveau de vigilance repasse en vert en Martinique selon le dernier bilan de suivi de Météo-France paru ce mardi 11 octobre à 17 heures 08.
Les communes de Trinité et de Sainte-Marie ont particulièrement enduré les fortes pluies de ce mardi. Une onde tropicale a traversé la Martinique aujourd’hui, apportant une masse d’air humide circulant dans des conditions atmosphériques toujours favorables aux développements d’averses pluvio-orageuses. Ces pluies se sont déversées sur des sols déjà détrempés occasionnant une augmentation rapide du niveau des rivières.
Les plus fortes averses s’accompagnaient de rafales de vent pouvant atteindre 60 à 70 km/h. En fin d’après-midi, après le passage de l’onde, le temps devrait rapidement s’améliorer.
La nuit devrait être plus sèche.
Précipitations relevés en une heure à 11 heures locales: 52 mm à Fond saint Denis deux choux, 37 mm à Gros Morne.
Précipitations relevés sur durant l’onde tropicale : 154 mm à Fond Saint Denis 2 Choux, 150 mm au Gros morne, 112 mm à Morne Rouge, 109 mm à Ajoupa Bouillon, 100 mm au Lorrain, 89 mm à Basse Pointe, 79 mm au François, 78 mm à Saint Esprit.
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Angela Lansbury, ‘Murder She Wrote’ star, dies at 96 Loop Jamaica
Black Immigrant Daily News
The content originally appeared on: Jamaica News Loop News
Angela Lansbury, the scene-stealing British actor who kicked up her heels in the Broadway musicals “Mame” and “Gypsy” and solved endless murders as crime novelist Jessica Fletcher in the long-running TV series “Murder, She Wrote”, has died. She was 96.
Lansbury died Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles, according to a statement from her three children. She died five days shy of her 97th birthday.
Lansbury won five Tony Awards for her Broadway performances and a lifetime achievement award. She earned Academy Award nominations as supporting actress for two of her first three films, “Gaslight” (1945) and “The Picture of Dorian Gray” (1946), and was nominated again in 1962 for “The Manchurian Candidate” and her deadly portrayal of a Communist agent and the title character’s mother.
Her mature demeanour prompted producers to cast her much older than her actual age. In 1948, when she was 23, her hair was streaked with gray so she could play a fortyish newspaper publisher with a yen for Spencer Tracy in “State of the Union”.
Her stardom came in middle age when she became the hit of the New York theatre, winning Tony Awards for “Mame” (1966), “Dear World” (1969), “Gypsy” (1975), and “Sweeney Todd” (1979).
She was back on Broadway and got another Tony nomination in 2007 in Terrence McNally’s “Deuce”, playing a scrappy, brash former tennis star, reflecting with another ex-star as she watches a modern-day match from the stands.
In 2009 she collected her fifth Tony, for best featured actress in a revival of Noel Coward’s “Blithe Spirit” and in 2015 won an Olivier Award in the role.
Broadway royalty paid their respects. Audra McDonald tweeted: “She was an icon, a legend, a gem, and about the nicest lady you’d ever want to meet.”
Leslie Uggams on Twitter wrote: “Dame Angela was so sweet to me when I made my Broadway debut. She was a key person in welcoming me to the community. She truly lived, lived, lived!”
But Lansbury’s widest fame began in 1984 when she launched “Murder, She Wrote” on CBS. Based loosely on Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple stories, the series centered on Jessica Fletcher, a middle-aged widow and former substitute school teacher living in the seaside village of Cabot Cove, Maine. She had achieved notice as a mystery novelist and amateur sleuth.
The actor found the first series season exhausting.
“I was shocked when I learned that had to work 12-15 hours a day, relentlessly, day in, day out,” she recalled. “I had to lay down the law at one point and say ‘Look, I can’t do these shows in seven days; it will have to be eight days.’”
CBS and the production company, Universal Studio, agreed, especially since “Murder, She Wrote” had become a Sunday night hit. Despite the long days — she left her home at Brentwood in West Los Angeles at 6am and returned after dark — and reams of dialogue to memorise, Lansbury maintained a steady pace.
She was pleased that Jessica Fletcher served as an inspiration for older women.
“Women in motion pictures have always had a difficult time being role models for other women,” she observed. “They’ve always been considered glamorous in their jobs.”
In the series’ first season, Jessica wore clothes that were almost frumpy. Then she acquired smartness, Lansbury reasoning that, as a successful woman, Jessica should dress the part.
“Murder, She Wrote” stayed high in the ratings through its 11th year. Then CBS, seeking a younger audience for Sunday night, shifted the series to a less favorable midweek slot. Lansbury protested vigorously to no avail. As expected, the ratings plummeted and the show was canceled. For consolation, CBS contracted for two-hour movies of “Murder, She Wrote” and other specials starring Lansbury.
“Murder, She Wrote” and other television work brought her 18 Emmy nominations but she never won one.
She holds the record for the most Golden Globe nominations and wins for best actress in a television drama series and the most Emmy nominations for lead actress in a drama series.
In a 2008 Associated Press interview, Lansbury said she still welcomed the right script but did not want to play “old, decrepit women”, she said. “I want women my age to be represented the way they are, which is vital, productive members of society.”
“I’m astonished at the amount of stuff I managed to pack into the years that I have been in the business. And I’m still here!”
She was given the name Angela Brigid Lansbury when she was born in London on October 16, 1925. Her family was distinguished: a grandfather who was the fiery head of the Labour Party; her father the owner of a veneer factory; her mother a successful actor, Moyna MacGill.
“I was terribly shy, absolutely incapable of coming out of my shell,” Lansbury remembered of her youth. “It took me years to get over that.”
The Depression forced her father’s factory into bankruptcy, and for a few years the family lived on money her mother had saved from her theater career. Angela suffered a shattering blow when her beloved father died in 1935. The tragedy forced her to become self-reliant — “almost a surrogate husband to my mother.”
When England was threatened with German bombings in 1940, Moyna Lansbury struggled through red tape and won passage to America for her family. With the help of two sponsoring families, they settled in New York and lived on US$150 a month. To add to their income, Angela at 16 landed a nightclub job in Montreal doing impersonations and songs.
“The only thing I ever had confidence in is my ability to perform,” she said. “That has been the grace note in my sonata of life, the thing that has absolutely seen me through thick and thin.”
Moyna moved the family to Hollywood, hoping to find acting work. Failing that, she and Angela wrapped packages and sold clothing at a department store. An actor friend suggested Angela would be ideal for the role of Sybil Vane in “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” which was being prepared at MGM. She tested, and studio boss Louis B Mayer ordered: “Sign that girl!”
She was just 19 when her first film, “Gaslight”, earned her an Oscar nomination, but MGM didn’t know what to do with the new contract player. She appeared as Elizabeth Taylor’s older sister in “National Velvet”, Judy Garland’s nemesis in “The Harvey Girls”, Walter Pidgeon’s spiteful wife in “If Winter Comes”, Queen Anne in “The Three Musketeers”.
Tired of playing roles twice her own age, she left MGM to freelance but the results were much the same: the mother of Warren Beatty in “All Fall Down”, of Elvis Presley in “Blue Hawaii”, of Carroll Baker in “Harlow”, and of Laurence Harvey in “The Manchurian Candidate”, in which she unforgettably manipulates her son and helps set off a killing spree.
In the mid-1940s, Lansbury had a disastrous nine-month marriage to Richard Cromwell, a soulful young star of the 1930s. In 1949, she married Peter Shaw, a Briton who had been under an acting contract to MGM, then became a studio executive and agent. He assumed the role of Lansbury’s manager. They had two children, Peter and Deirdre; he had a son David by a previous marriage.
The 1950s were a troubled time for the Shaws. Angela’s career slowed down; her mother died after a battle with cancer; Peter underwent a hip operation; the children were on drugs; the family house in Malibu burned to the ground.
Lansbury later said of the fire: “It’s like cutting off a branch, a big, luscious branch of your life and sealing it off with a sealer so it doesn’t bleed, That’s what you do. That’s how the human mind deals with those things. You have to pick up the pieces and go on.”
Weary of 20 years of typecasting, Lansbury tried her luck on Broadway. Her first two shows — “Anyone Can Whistle” and “Hotel Paradiso” (with Bert Lahr) — flopped.
Then came “Mame”. Rosalind Russell declined to repeat her classic role as Patrick Dennis’s dizzy aunt in a musical version. So did Mary Martin and Ethel Merman. Others considered: Bette Davis, Lauren Bacall, Judy Garland, Beatrice Lillie, Judy Garland. Composer Jerry Herman chose Lansbury.
The opening on May 24, 1966, was a sensation. One critic wondered that “the movies’ worn, plump old harridan with a snakepit for a mouth” could turn out to be “the liveliest dame to kick up her heels since Carol Channing in ‘Hello, Dolly.’”
After her “Sweeney Todd” triumph, Lansbury returned to Hollywood to try television. She was offered a sitcom with Charles Durning or “Murder, She Wrote”. The producers had wanted Jean Stapleton, who declined. Lansbury accepted.
During the series’ long run, she managed to star in TV movies, to be host of Emmy and Tony shows and even to provide the voice for a Disney animated feature. She played Mrs Potts in “Beauty and the Beast” and sang the title song. “This was really a breakthrough for me,” she said of her young following. “It acquainted me with a generation that I possibly couldn’t have contacted.”
In 2000, Lansbury withdrew from a planned Broadway musical, “The Visit”, because she needed to help her husband recover from heart surgery.
“The kind of commitment required of an artist carrying a multimillion-dollar production has to be 100 per cent,” she said in a letter to the producers.
Her husband died in 2003.
She was back on Broadway in 2012 in a revival of “The Best Man,” sharing a stage with James Earl Jones, John Larroquette, Candice Bergen, Eric McCormack, Michael McKean, and Kerry Butler. She also recently co-starred in Emma Thompson’s “Nanny McPhee” and with Jim Carrey in “Mr Popper’s Penguins.”
At the 2022 Tony Awards, Len Cariou — her “Sweeney Todd” co-star — accepted the lifetime Tony given to Lansbury.
“There is no one with whom I’d rather run a cutthroat business with,” Cariou said.
In 1990, Lansbury philosophised: “I have sometimes drawn back from my career. To what? Home. Home is the counterweight to the work.”
In addition to her three children, Anthony, Deirdre and David, she is survived by three grandchildren, Peter, Katherine and Ian, plus five great-grandchildren and her brother, producer Edgar Lansbury.___By MARK KENNEDY
AP Entertainment Writer
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Santa Rosa First Peoples celebrate Heritage Week with river ritual
Black Immigrant Daily News
The content originally appeared on: Trinidad and Tobago Newsday
Tobacco leaves were smoked as part of the ritual during the First Peoples river ritual on October 11. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers
“Spirituality is a way of life.”
So said Santa Rosa First Peoples chief Ricardo Bharath Hernandez as he described the river ritual that was held by the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community at the Arima river, Blanchisseuse Road on Tuesday morning.
The river ritual is among the activities carded for Heritage Week, a week of festivities from October 10 – 15 to commemorate the first peoples annual day of recognition on October 14. This year’s theme is Acknowledging the Resilience and Creativity of Our First Peoples.
“We have been lobbying for quite a while for a day of recognition as the first people’s of Trinidad and Tobago. We had to choose a day of significance, so we chose the 14th of October.”
Bharath Hernandez said on October 14, 1637, Chieftain Hyarima of the Nepuyo people did his “most daring act” when he fought against Spanish oppression of his people by attacking the town of St Joseph – burning it to the ground.
“It is a day of resistance against the oppressors.”
Bharath Hernandez said his people revere water and as such pay homage at the river to honour its deep-rooted significance to their culture.
“Everything we do everyday is based on some aspect of our spirituality. The first peoples would have made their villages at the banks of rivers or near a watercourse because of the importance of water for life generally.”
“Water is sustaining, it is healing, it is cleansing, you cannot live without water and we respect the water. We sing praises to the water, we do offerings in the water with some of the traditional foods like the cassava bread and so on. And, through the flowers that we carry we make personal offerings.”
Bharath Hernandez said indigenous people contigents from Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, Belize, St Vincent and Dominica travelled to TT to take part in Heritage Week festivities.
This year’s Heritage Week programme will include:
October 10: Conference on Reparations, UWI St Augustine campus (10am – 12 noon)
October 11: River Ritual, Arima river (6.30am)
October 12: Remembering the Ancestors ritual, Red House (10am)
October 13: Youth Forum, University of Trinidad and Tobago, Point Lisas campus (9am – 11.30am)
October 14: Day of Recognition, gathering at Hyarima monument (6.30am)
October 15: Church service and procession to Santa Rosa First Peoples head quarters (6pm)
Parang festival (8pm)
Newsday’s chief photographer Jeff K Mayers captured these images from the Santa Rosa First Peoples river ritual.
The First People paid homage to water during the river ritual at the Arima river on October 11. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers
Drummer Sergio Bergmans of Suriname says a personal prayer while blowing smoke from the tobacco leaves at the First Peoples river ritual at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road on October 11. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers
Suriname Shaman Anesta Jagendorst adds the final cleansing by blowing smoke from tobacco leaves onto the special medicinal herb water at the First Peoples river ritual at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers
Suriname Shaman Anesta Jagendorst blows the smoke from the tobacco leaves on Santa Rosa First Peoples Chief Ricardo Barath Hernandez which is a symbolic cleansing from bad energy at the First Peoples River Ritual at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road on October 11. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers
Suriname Shaman Anesta Jagendorst smoking tobacco leaves at the First Peoples river ritual at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road on October 11. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers
Suriname drummer Sergio Bergmans cleanses himself before the start of the festival while paying respect to the water at the First Peoples river ritual at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers
Suriname Shaman Anesta Jagendorst, Santa Rosa First Peoples Chief Ricardo Bharath Hernandez and Queen Nona Lopez Calderon Galera Moreno Aquan make offerings after paying respects and saying a personal prayer during the First Peoples river ritual at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road on October 11. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers
Queen Nona Lopez Calderon Galera Moreno Aquan during the First Peoples river ritual at the Arima River. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers
Suriname drummer Sergio Bergmans from the Waiono Arowakaan group makes an offering after paying respects and saying a personal prayer during the First Peoples river ritual at the Arima River. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers
Suriname drummer Sergio Bergmans from the Waiono Arowakaan group, makes an offering after paying respects and saying a personal prayer during the First Peoples river ritual at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers
Chief Ricardo Bharath Hernandez and his granddaughter 6-year-old Amaya Bharath Hernandez during the First Peoples river ritual at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road on October 11. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers
Santa Rosa First Peoples chief Ricardo Bharath Hernandez performs a ritual during the First Peoples water ceremony at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road, Arima on October 11. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers
Santa Rosa First Peoples performed their river ritual at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road on October 1. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers
Santa Rosa First Peoples performed their river ritual at the Arima River, Blanchisseuse Road on October 1. The ritual was a part of Heritage Week festivities. – Photo by Jeff K Mayers
NewsAmericasNow.com
PTSC passengers want more than a cheaper service
Black Immigrant Daily News
The content originally appeared on: Trinidad and Tobago Newsday
Passengers enter a PTSC bus at City Gate in Port of Spain.
The Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) has been heavily promoting its low-cost services, but commuters say cheaper does not necessarily mean better. The PTSC bus service is less than half the cost of all maxi and taxi services out of Port of Spain. But some PTSC users at City Gate complain about long wait-times, services cancelled at short notice and buses in need of upkeep.
The PTSC has posted on its social media a list of bus fares for various routes.
A PTSC bus (all stops) from Port of Spain to Arima costs $2.50, meanwhile, maxi-taxis cost $10 to any location on the priority bus route. Taxis to Arima cost a bit more at $13. From Arima, PTSC’s Malabar and La Horquetta services cost $3 whereas taxis cost $6 and $7, respectively.
Buses between Port of Spain and Tunapuna cost $3, otherwise maxis charge $10.
Similarly, travellers to San Juan also pay $10 on the maxi while taxis cost $5 and will increase to $6 on Thursday. Maxis to San Juan cost four times as much as the PTSC bus and the taxi costs twice as much as the bus.
Taxis to Diego Martin cost $7, the maxi costs $6 and the PTSC bus charges $3. The taxi stand is located on South Quay, Port of Spain, in front of the Museum of the City of Port of Spain and the maxis are further west on South Quay.
On Broadway near KFC, there are taxis to Chaguanas from Port of Spain which cost $15. Comparatively, PTSC buses cost $4 and maxis at City Gate cost $9.
On October 3, at City Gate, commuter Shanice Edmund, 28, was waiting for a bus to Chaguanas, but “the bus does not run on time so it forces you to use private transport. Today I trying to see if it will run on time or if I would have to pay for maxi or taxi, like normal.”
Edmund said that the bus runs every hour, “but most times when I come here, it either now gone or half hour late. Last time I waited nearly three hours, and I still had to take a taxi.
“Even though gas increase, the PTSC is not reliable enough to say, I’d give up the maxis and taxis.”
Edmund said she usually has a better chance to catch the morning service from Chaguanas.
“But from town, that is where the problem is.”
Also on Broadway is the Port of Spain to San Fernando taxi stand. Taxis cost $22, whereas the bus to San Fernando costs $6.
Ariane Vialva Smith travelled to Port of Spain with her sister Ms Noel on the bus from San Fernando last week. They parked their car and took the coach in an effort to save fuel. This was their first time in many years using the PTSC service. Smith said the bus is always efficient – no complaints. Noel’s eyes opened wide.
“We came up on the coach and the bus is deplorable.”
Referring to Smith, Noel said, “The seat so bad, she nearly fall off. The seat rock back and she had to hold on to stay on the seat.
“The windows on the bus rattling and flapping in the wind. That was my experience. The time it took to arrive was good but they need to upkeep the bus.”
Heading further south, passengers commuting between Port of Spain and Point Fortin via taxi face a hefty cost at $42, one way. Commuters first pay $22 to San Fernando then $20 to Point Fortin. Buses to Point Fortin cost $12 in comparison.
Commuters to Princes Town pay $30 for a direct taxi or they travel to San Fernando then to Princes Town for a total of $34. The bus costs $8.
To Fyzabad, commuters pay a taxi fare to San Fernando then an additional $15, totalling $37, whereas buses routed Port of Spain to Fyzabad cost $10.
Oftentimes, those taking the south-bound journey use the water taxi which costs $10 to San Fernando and sails twice in the afternoon.
Heading east, the PTSC bus service between Port of Spain and Sangre Grande costs $6, direct taxis cost $20 and maxis cost $15.
The PTSC bus from Sangre Grande to Toco costs $6, whereas the taxi costs $18.
From Sangre Grande to Guayaguayare, PTSC charges $8, but taxis cost $20 to Mayaro and then an additional $10 to Guayaguayare.
These are among the 79 routes Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan boasted about at Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives on Monday.
Sinanan said the PTSC fleet has 385 buses, of these 244 were operational while 141 buses were in some stage of maintenance with 21 requiring disposal. He said there were 24 types of buses in service with many requiring different parts and problems sourcing some. He added that the PTSC will buy 300 more buses and electrical buses, as he aimed to bring the fleet to a total of 550 working buses.
Attempts to contact PTSC chairman Edwin Gooding to discuss the low fares and service were unsuccessful.
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