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Voluntary Redundancy Proposals Confuse and Anger Civil Servants

by Bennette Roach

Dated 30^th April, 1998, a letter was sent to every civil servant repeating Chief Minister David Brandt's statements in his budget address with regards to public service and the Resource Allocation Review which took place last year.

The Permanent Secretary, Department of Administration, has admitted, "We have been getting lots of calls," with enquiries regarding the letter and expressing lack of understanding of the letter’s.

Many see the letter as a follow-up on the downsizing of the public service promised some time before the volcanic activity began. But the Chief Minister said in his budget address: "In the light of the changing circumstances since July 1995… many members left the island under a variety of conditions, including the Voluntary Relocation Overseas Scheme …many posts, and hence the status of many officers, have been uncertain for some months now."

The letter to the civil servants says: "Government is considering a process of selective voluntary redundancy in order to achieve the approved establishment. It is intended that the primary target for this process will be those officers currently on no-pay leave. Government is prepared to consider, on an exceptions basis, applications from those on no-pay leave who wish to return to their duties, and are prepared to do so by 1 August, 1998. Government is also prepared to consider, on an exceptions basis, applications from those officers currently in post on Montserrat who wish to be considered for redundancy."

The letter advises that successful applicants for redundancy will receive confirmation with details of terminal benefit entitlements. Those not accepted will be required to remain in their posts, or, if on no-pay leave, to return to Montserrat to resume their posts by August 1, 1998.

In addition to the requirement to submit no later than Friday, 22^nd May, 1998, the letter says that "failure to return if required may be treated as a vacation of post under General Orders and under the Public Service Commission Regulations 1980," and further, "specified consequences may occur."

Mrs. Claudia Roach, permanent secretary, Administration, explained that the letter is simply saying: "we are targeting mainly those persons who are overseas, because we are doing without their services. But the exceptions case is where somebody over there still wants to come back. Equally so, those of us who are already here may apply for it, and again it will be on an exceptions case."

She pointed out that it is mainly people overseas who are being targeted, since there is already a shortage of workers on island. "They’re already out there. There are those who stay and the work is going on. But there are those who might be out there that you might still wish to have, because part of the problem is right now, even though there is a recommendation for reduction, we do not have on island the number we need," she said.

Mrs. Roach said further that final decisions rest with management as to who goes or stays. She said, "Anybody now in the establishment could ask to go, but redundancy rests with management. So it will be government who decides."

Since specific numbers of the different categories of workers are required, the program is voluntary though limited, but government is the one who must decide because. "It wouldn’t happen to be practical if everybody could say yes," she said.

Civil servants will have a right to appeal any decision made by management in respect of going or staying, according to the permanent secretary. "Yes, as with every other case in government, you will have an opportunity to appeal if it goes against," she said.

Yet, civil servants on Montserrat responded with confusion and anger at times, trying to figure out where the people who are expected to return will be housed. They have questions as to the fairness to people who remained on island through the crisis being made redundant.

Mrs. Roach responded with reassurance: "Definitely, those persons who are here and want to stay, those are the ones you have to consider. That’s why they are targeting those who are overseas. That’s how we really feel. The indication we are getting back from responses seems to say that. Who are here want to stay."

Questionnaires were issued with the letters, but the civil servants were reminded that those who "indicated an option choice on their questionnaire, or whose employment will be varied in any way, will be sent a substantive decision as soon as possible." But, "it may not be possible to accommodate all in the preference indicated."

The letter ends by saying that "it is very important" that the civil servants await a decision from government, "before proceeding to act on the option request" they have made.

Five Charged with Theft In Cash Heist

at Barclays Bank's Former Site in the Unsafe Zone

by Bennette Roach

In circumstances that left many open-mouthed and staring with disbelief, the Royal Montserrat Police Force announced they have arrested and charged five persons allegedly for burglary and theft of a large quantity of East Caribbean currency from Barclays Bank building in Plymouth, still within the confines of the "unsafe zone."

Informed sources said the money was reported the money missing following an attempt by finance personnel from local banks, the local East Caribbean Central Bank agency and auditors to recover the money that had been in Plymouth since March last year.

The police have refused to name all the persons they held for questioning, saying that the investigation is ongoing. This morning, however, police sources confirmed that they have charged five people who were due to appear before the Magistrate’s Court later in the day.

The question that has many persons speculating is how so much money (reportedly almost $1 million) could have been left for so long in the unsafe zone. There is the further question whether items held in Safety Deposit boxes had been secured. Attempts to verify these questions have been unsuccessful, but again informed sources said that earlier attempts to remove the money from Barclays Bank were thwarted because of the requirements to effect the move. Government officials join the confused in wondering how such a large sum of money had been left in the "unsafe zone" for such a long time.

It is understood that to transfer any sums from the main vault that was located at Barclays involved the presence of several persons from different agencies, which made the co-ordination difficult, especially during those times when there was much skepticism and question about the safety of persons being in the unsafe zone.

Reports reaching us suggest that access to the bank’s vault where the money was held was made by tunneling through the building and torching the vault.

The police who claim positive identities of some of the allegedly stolen money, have been very vigilant in obtaining warrants to conduct their investigations, reaching areas and persons difficult to believe may have been involved in the alleged criminal activities. Police also said another man was assisting them with their investigation and in a statement said: "So far, almost a third of the money has been traced with some certainty and inquiries will be continuing with the help of a detective inspector from the British Virgin Islands’ Police Fraud Investigation Department."

The bail hearings took place at 10 o’clock today. Only the two females charged were allowed bail on five conditions, namely: the surrender of travel documents; no contact with witnesses; not to obstruct the investigations; no contact with any bank without the consent and knowledge of the police, and not to leave Montserrat.

In objecting to bail, the police cited the possibility of the accused absconding from the island and interfering with the investigations as their grounds for consideration. The defence tried, among other points, to convince the court that keeping the charged in custody will prejudice their chance of a fair trial. It suggested to the court that it has the power to set out the conditions to avoid any of the police concerns, as well as, that the presumption of innocence for the accused must be taken into consideration.

The magistrate’s refusing bail seems sound on the face of it, but poses the further problem of not having suitable detention accommodation for people held on criminal charges, a concern shared by the police themselves.

"Miss Universe 1998 And The Region"

By W SALAS HAMILTON

The entire Caribbean is presently sharing in the giddy euphoria permeating through Trinidad and Tobago since their participant Wendy Fitzwilliams captured the Miss Universe 1998 title earlier this week in Hawaii. Twenty five year old Wendy is a final year student at the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad, and her victory certainly shows that the Caribbean Community has the capability to excel on the international stage.

We Montserratians must congratulate Wendy for combining beauty and talent to grab center stage in a world which pays scant regard to us clusters of real estate in the Caribbean. Her plans to assist in the regional integration effort echoes the desires of CARICOM's architects and are timely since the CARICOM Single Market and Economy is expected to be in place by 1999. Wendy's emphasis on regional integration is even more interesting since so much has happened recently to leave young people disenchanted about the regional movement.

The dispute over the Basdeo Panday administration's refusal to renew the work permit of Barbardian media worker Julian Rogers is still in the air. When the dust finally settles and accusations of insularity are hurled along with threats of reciprocity by the Barbados government the question will still remain as to how committed our leaders are to regional integration. This has shaken the confidence of young University graduates who would like to exploit opportunities to travel and be employed without work permits.

Our leaders should be guided by the electorates and maybe our cries for becoming a united region are not heard. However the economic blocs being created all over the world have certainly forced us to position ourselves to face international challenges with one voice. Sadly we seem not to be moving quickly enough.

Montserratians have benefited from CARICOM and United Kingdom initiatives in being able to live and work in some regional territories. However, many have a desire to return home especially now that they may have spent the six month British monetary package and the pressures of surviving in a different island become real.

There are no easy answers but just as CARICOM is behind in a world dependent on information technology likewise we have missed opportunities for unity. Our leaders grasp their little fiefdoms and strut their platitudes at meetings while Julian Rogers returns home; Montserratians suffer; Suriname clashes with Guyana; and Cubans and Haitians knock on the doors.

Maybe 25 year old Wendy Fitzwilliams’ thrust for unity will add impetus for achieving such a goal. Hopefully we will be able to accommodate her either at the CARICOM village here in Montserrat or in one of the fifty units located at Look Out, if she visits. We have only twelve (12) months to be prepared.

It is Better to Play It Safe Than Sorry with Volcano

Dear Editor:

However frustrated we may become, however battle-weary, especially since the volcano seems to have declared a temporary cease-fire, we must not for a moment forget the unpredictability of the monster in our midst. Because, for a long time, nothing spectacular happened in the East (we had become so used to the smaller pyroclastic flows, rock falls and even ash fallout in the North), we thought nothing of venturing into 'no go' areas to do everyday things. The price we paid on June 25, 1997, was extremely high.

I had always believed that the main threat to St. Patrick's and areas south was that of being cut off in the event of heavy flows into Plymouth. I still shudder when I think of December 26, 1997. I thank God that even the most stubborn of the villagers had been persuaded to leave the area.

I am not at all happy that the construction of houses is moving so slowly. Sometimes I wonder too if there is indeed a conspiracy to keep Montserratians and other 'residents in exile' from moving back to stake a new claim. With hindsight, I see that we should have concentrated all rebuilding effort in the North from day one of the crisis. A lot of time and money has been spent to teach us hard lessons, which I hope we are all taking to heart, especially the loose cannons among us.

Still, I believe that the MVO scientists are right to favour caution and advise on the avoidance of certain areas. I will confess that I sometimes miss the daily report(s) on the status of the volcano, but that's as far as I go. Since every second person has a different opinion on what is really going on, I prefer not to second guess the official word only to be proved wrong.

Yes, it is frustrating to wait when there is so much we want to do. We want to get on with our lives, but at the end of the day we need to stay alive to do that.

Pat Ryan

Montserrat Youth Urged To Take Life More Seriously

Merlita Ryner, president of the Wesleyan Youth Association, called on young Montserratians this week to be more positive about life.

"Going to school does not seem as important to the youth as it ought to be," she said.

"They are so casual about their lifestyles. The things that are wrong for them they think are good. We try to tell that their lives should be of a higher standard."

She called on Christians everywhere to pray for the youth of the island, who have a lot problems, and said that Christ is the factor that will make a difference in their lives and the way they think.

High Commissioner Meets Canadian Residents Here

His Excellency Dwayne Vandeelafair, High Commissioner to the Eastern Caribbean, paid a courtesy call to Montserrat earlier this week.

The High Commissioner met with Canadian citizens here, reviewed Canadian projects and gained a first hand view of the crisis on the island.

There are about 20 Canadian full-time residents on the island.

DFID to Detail Spending on Island Since Beginning of Volcanic Crisis

In what could be a direct response to Chief Minister David Brandt’s request to learn how British aid money has been spent on the island, the Department For International Development has announced that a detailed account of its expenditures will be made available shortly.

This detailed breakdown of DFID's expenditure will be available at the Public Library and Aid Management Office at McChesney House in Olveston.

This announcement was made by Clare Short, Secretary of State for International Development, as she appeared before the House of Commons Select Committee For International Development.

She was answering questions about her department’s accountability of funds spent since the crisis began in July 1995.

CM Brandt, John Attend CDB Meeting in Grenada

Chief Minister David Brandt and Financial Secretary C.T. John, represented Montserrat this week to at the annual general meeting of the Caribbean Development Bank in Grenada.

The Montserrat representatives were involved in choosing the succeeding governor for the bank.

They also attended the annual meeting of the Special Development Fund and plenary meeting for the Board of Governors.

Hospital Refurbishment Underway at ‘Full Speed’

Work on the hospital is progressing on schedule, according to the Health Department.

A new delivery suite, toilets in each ward and improved working facilities are some of the benefits to be realized for the hospital.

Dr. Ronnie Cooper, Acting Director of Health Services, said the contractors are working "full speed" to convert the former St. Johns School into an updated and capable facility.

"People will have bathrooms along side the wards, so it will be much easier to handle patients inside the wards," he said. "There will also be treatment rooms and pantry rooms. We are going to have a modern delivery suite and quiet room. It is going to provide a much better environment for the staff to work in."

New MVO Tilt Meter Placed on Chances Peak

The Montserrat Volcano Observatory continues to upgrade its volcano surveillance equipment. Scientists set up a Tilt meter on Chances Peak to provide ample warning of increased activity within the volcano.

Similar equipment, which volcanologists said raised the level of alert last June, was destroyed in the fatal June 25 eruption.

"We were very keen to replace that instrument, because it was the most sensitive indicator of behavior on the dome itself," said Dr. Willie Aspinall, Chief Scientist at the MVO.

Ministers of Agriculture Hold OECS Meeting in Tortola

The Honorable Austin Bramble, Minister of Agriculture, represented Montserrat this week in Tortola, at the seventh meeting of Agriculture Ministers in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States.

The delegates discussed ways to keep agriculture as the major contributor to the economies of the OECS states.

Other issues discussed included agricultural diversification, global competition and diversification programs.

Ministry of Health Receives New Donation From OECS

The Honorable Adelina Tuitt, Minister of Health, praised the Organization of the Eastern Caribbean States this week for a gift of computer equipment to Montserrat.

"This is just another of what the OECS is doing for Montserrat, Mrs. Tuitt said. "They have donated a printer which is a continuation of the computers they donated last year for us to computerize the system."

Mrs. Tuitt said a task force is now in place to oversee the computerization of the department.

Mr. Paul Payne, former principal for the technical college, is head of the task force.

New Generator for MONLEC

MONLEC interrupted power supply to the island Sunday to install and set a new generator in Brades.

According to the organization the engine is running smoothly. Some scheduled blackouts may be announced, however, to allow engineers to work on high-tension lines to ensure a regular supply of power.

New Helicopter Arrangement Bypasses Minister Weekes

The Honorable Rupert Weekes, Minister of Communication and Works, told reporters Thursday that his department was not consulted in the process of recruiting the new helicopter operators.

He said he is looking forward to a cordial relationship with Bajan Helicopters of Barbados. Bajan Helicopters have been awarded the contract to fly passengers on and off Montserrat.

"The Ministry was informed but not involved," Mr. Weekes said. "I received a copy of the press release on May 13. When the tender process for the ferry was taking place, usually I would be fully informed and I would be asked to give my comments and change whatever I think was not practical for Montserrat situation.

"I was surprised that this Ministry was not given the same opportunity as regards to the tender specification and process of the helicopter service," he said.

Mr. Weekes said he will continue to seek ways of improve the helicopter service by addressing many of the concerns voiced by those using the helicopter.

"We will be also looking at an upgraded heliport facility," he said, "and we hope that we can reach some form of understanding. A British team is expected on island in this month to look into these matters."

CDB Reports Sharp Decline In Montserrat's Economy

The Caribbean Development Bank this week announced that there was a considerable decline in Montserrat’s traditional economy last year.

The bank's report showed that exports over the first couple of months for 1997 were valued at $9 million, 40 percent less than for the same period of 1996.

The report also showed a significant drop in tourist arrivals, 3,100 visitors came to Montserrat last year and 5,300 excursions.

According to the report the rate of inflation was 2 percent. Construction work led economic activity last year. Projects included the hospital, expanded school facilities, the emergency power plant, factory space and fuel storage. The bank is uncertain as to when there will be an economic turn around for the island.

CM Brandt Inspires Rotarians To New Pledges of Help to Island

Rotarians attending their District Conference on St. Thomas last week expressed deep concern for Montserrat and a willingness to help, following Chief Minister David Brandt's address.

In his speech, to about 300 participants from the Northern Caribbean, Mr. Brandt outlined many of the day-to-day difficulties Montserratians have faced since the Soufriere Hills volcano began acting up in 1995. As part of his presentation he showed a brief clip from David Lea's video, The Price of Paradise, Vol. IV.

"We lost more than two-thirds of the Island to the Soufrière Hills volcano but more than 90 percent of the real estate," Mr. Brandt told his audience. "We lost the capital Plymouth, the centre of commerce with its newly built port serving a just completed rice factory and a regenerated industrial estate that was exporting millions of dollars of computer parts annually. We lost the island's only hospital that was almost at the end of a multi-million-dollar refurbishment and modernization.

"We lost our only high school, our only technical school, most of our elementary schools, and our offshore medical school with over 600 doctors in training and an expanding program. We lost our airport, our three radio stations including two of the best known regional stations, Radio Antilles and Gem Radio.

"Families were ripped apart. Sometimes a wife took the children to England or America while the husband held on and kept the faith."

Rotarian District Governor Mulo Alwani said he was deeply moved by Mr. Brandt's presentation. "The Rotarians have always responded positively to the Montserrat situation," said Alwani. "But now that you have come here and we have seen for ourselves your courage and fortitude, it makes us want to help you even more."

He said Montserrat was not in the same district as St. Thomas, but he would make an appeal to Montserrat's district governor, to the international governing body of Rotary, to those Rotarians left on Montserrat, as well as to his district to all work together to assist Montserrat.

A three-man delegation from Haiti sought out Chief Minister Brandt and pledged support from the Rotary of Haiti.

Mr. Brandt thanked them all on behalf of Montserrat. He said Montserrat's historians would write about the help his island continues to receive and calypsonians will sing about it.

In his address, which was covered widely by the Virgin Islands media, Mr. Brandt said, "I speak to the United Nations later this month and this is the message I take: Slavery didn't do it, exploitation didn't do it and not even the Soufrière Hills volcano will do it. We will not die. Call us heroic, call us quixotic, we are who we are and we are proud of us."

Teresa Ponde-Moses, a Montserratian who is the manager of First Bank, St. Croix, told Mr. Brandt, "When I heard the things you said it brought tears to my eyes. I know the whole gathering was truly moved and want to help."

Mr. Brandt was asked to speak on: "How a leader of a country responds to a disaster." He said: "As Montserrat's third Chief Minister since the volcano began to act up, I can tell you the only way I'm able to cope, is by constantly seeking guidance from the Almighty, working harder than ever, accepting the advice and good wishes of my wife, family and friends, and ensuring that my sense of humor doesn't desert me. It helps of course that my countrymen and women are hard-working, resourceful and among the strongest people you can find anywhere."

Chris Braithwaite, president of C.E. Brathwaite & Associates, a St. Thomas company, is the Rotarian who suggested Mr. Brandt as a speaker at the district convention after hearing him on a radio interview. He told the Chief Minister, "I'm very glad you were able to come. You brought us a message of great inspiration."

In summing up, Mr. Brandt borrowed a verse from singer/songwriter Randy Greenaway. "A disaster is a test of the national will." The CM said. "We have been faced with the biggest test that any Caribbean people have ever had to face and we believe we are stronger for it.

As Randy Greenaway one of my countrymen wrote in a song: ‘We build resilience when we suffer, We gain our strength in the midst of disaster, Montserratians won't say die’ "

New Police Commissioner Burgess Describes His Role and Expectations

By Bennette Roach

"My name is Chris Burgess, (in fact it is 'Harris Christopher,' referring to his Christian name). I’m from Norfolk in England, 49 years old, married, one child, a girl of 15, going on 16. I’ve been in the police 26½ years; all my service was in Norfolk before I came out here."

That was the way the substantive Commissioner of Police introduced himself to me on Tuesday of this week.

The Commissioner said he was the successful one out of more than 40 applicants for this particular post, having taken up duties here on the 12^th of January of this year. He spent the next couple of weeks with "Commissioner Barry Young, sort of following him around, shadowing him, and then took over on the 28^th."

Mr. Burgess said the job is very interesting.

"I’m very lucky, because Barry (who held the office temporarily) introduced me to the force, he introduced me to a lot of people and gave me a tremendous start, albeit it was a very hard act to follow. But hopefully I’ll be competent," he said.

The Commissioner sat quietly in his hot, sunlit office, with a single overhead fan circulating the already warm air and with all windows fully open. He said his first difficulty was, "following on that he (Barry) started to correct things that had gone wrong with the force, especially in regard to pay and allowances. I’ve got to carry on that crusade."

Commissioner Burgess was confident that he will succeed since he had received an undertaking in a report saying "basically that the allowance plus the hazard allowance will stay for this financial year and probably next financial year." He said he is of the view that allowances of that sort "ought to be consolidated. It insures that those allowances are firm and are not removed on a whim."

Commenting on recent criminal activities which have been discovered in Plymouth, he said that from videos he had seen how it was – "the working conditions were incredibly bad." (This is in respect of police work.)

"I think the problem is one has to be pragmatic about it." and say that one could take the obvious actions which is to have patrols both day and night, which is to have vehicle patrols and to a certain extent, from those vehicle patrols, watching in the Exclusion Zones. But nobody’s going to pretend that one could police all the properties all of the time.

"It is fair to say that over the last two years there have been quite a large number of burglaries, I would suspect probably far larger than we give credit, because a lot of those properties may either have disappeared or some of the owners may never be back.

"Be that as it may, all one can do is to do one’s best, and I think there are two issues. One is that of keeping people out of the Exclusion Zone regardless. And you’re right, (about locked gates and check points), people walk in, they can get in, and they don’t have to go down roads, they don’t have to go obviously along the beach, they can get in because they know the paths and the byways, and it’s not too difficult to do. And those people you’re never going to stop. "What hopefully the checkpoint at Salem and the locked gate will stop – and I will say the locks are being broken all the time and we’re replacing them all the time – it does happen.

"On most of the gates now, there are chains as well as padlocks."

On the suggestion that the locks were broken for convenience and easy access as well as illegal activities: "The chances are that it’s a bit of both," he said. "I mean I think there are some people who do it for convenience, especially on the east side to get down to the airport and then across to Long Ground. There are very few people who ask the police to go on that side. "On this side, we haven’t got that problem to the same degree. There was that problem before, earlier in the year and late last year, I understand, but I haven’t come across that to the same extent, principally, I think, because the convoy system of going beyond the Belham has worked pretty well. Because that access is being allowed people have not felt the same."

Commissioner Burgess admitted vigilance and checks may not have been adhered to: "But it has happened, obviously, that certain people have used that convoy system to their own advantage, I’m sure," he said, admitting further. "Yes, book is kept of everyone who goes in, because obviously one wants to know who’s in, in case you have to get them out.

"But I can’t say too much about this case, (stolen goods from the Exclusion Zone) because it’s obviously prejudicial at the moment and inquiries are still being pursued. Whether, in fact, those burglaries were perpetrated at the time that access was allowed, or whether, in fact, they were perpetrated at another time, and then, if you like, the proceeds collected in a convoy is a different matter. I can’t go into all that. I do not want to prejudice the case."

The interview/discussion continued as the new Commissioner discussed the press, public and police relationships. He spoke about his new staff officer and how he expects the new checkpoint at Salem to operate, but this will be continued in our next issue.

It’s Time to Start Removing Rocks on Road to Recovery

by Ghautsider

Now that the volcano is in a very quiet period and may in fact be going back to sleep, it is a good time to pause and look at the plans that have been made to recover from this disaster. Unfortunately, little is apparent in the way of planning. Other than the usual platitudes about 'Support', there has been no statement of policy, let alone plans by the UK Government.

While it would be desirable to forget the stumbling efforts and errors of the past, that can only happen, if the UK Government recognizes and accepts that a great deal of money and effort will be required to recover from this disaster, which is the worst they have had to manage since World War II. The past few years have shown all too clearly that the policy to date has been to dribble out money as each problem escalated to a crisis stage.

There has often been a flush of pride, by a broad spectrum of British officials, about the money they have expended on Montserrat. In fact, in today's world it has been a pittance. To illustrate this, the Ex-Royal Yacht that was here just a few years ago was recently retired from service, stripped of its furnishings and machinery, then towed ignominiously to Leith in Scotland, where it is to be the centerpiece of a privately funded marine terminal at a cost of 40 million pounds. The Royal Opera House building in Covent Garden is currently being refurbished, not rebuilt, at a cost of over 60 million pounds. This for a single building.

Without vigorous protestation we may well end this crisis in the worst of situations, with a primitive capital in the north and a devastated but partially rebuildable capital in the south. There is a great danger here that the British Government will continue with their parsimonious financial policies and leave Montserrat in this miserable state for many years.

The total absence of Clare Short from the Montserratian scene is a cause for serious concern. Although a substantial part of her budget is being expended in one way or another at Montserrat, she still has not visited the island. Readers must form their own opinion whether this is due to incompetence or benign neglect by design.

It would be reassuring if the UK Government had clearly stated their position and intentions. Unfortunately there has been a stony silence about their participation and willingness to invest substantially in the post-eruption future of Montserrat. It may well be that with usual Government aplomb, they have not even thought about it. But decisions and plans must be made, otherwise the recovery will drag on for a lifetime.

Couple this with the inevitable long delay until the UK Government decides that the eruption is over and we have the makings of a situation that will be far more frustrating than the eruption itself.

Due to the budget cycles, a forthright commitment is required and advance planning must begin now. In the event that further eruptions occur, those plans may need modification, but to wait for say, two years from now, to even start planning the recovery, is unacceptable. Inevitably as the eruption is seen to subside Montserratians will return home in ever increasing numbers. Already the Government of Montserrat is warning civil servants that they must return before August to retain their positions.

Those people who have not found the opportunities overseas to be attractive will return looking for work. If the economy is not given a major boost with reconstruction activity, they will inevitably incur financial and social problems.

What are the obvious open items? Let’s look at a few specific items that beg answers..

A clear and unambiguous decision is required vis-a-vis the reconstruction of Plymouth. Many Montserratians have a substantial investment in personal and business properties; the port and tank farm facility will quickly recover and be a magnet back to Plymouth.

Will the British Government provide funds to dig out the roads north of Fort Ghaut and provide barge disposal at sea of the ash?

Will the British Government restore or replace the hospital and government buildings that were almost completed prior to the eruption?

Will the British Government provide direct financial assistance in the rebuilding of homes and businesses? While they have steadfastly refused to provide any direct financial assistance, there is a precedent for this. During World War II in England, teams of construction workers went to properties that were damaged in the air raids and made them habitable again at no cost. Was the situation in London , Coventry, or Liverpool any worse than it is in Plymouth today?

Will the British Government provide a higher level bridge at the Belham Valley if the current bridge is eventually overwhelmed by mudslides?

Consideration should be given to using an Army bridge installed by the Royal Engineers to expedite this process.

When will the British Government decide on a course of action for the airport, which is still in the survey/planning stage?

There have been several surveys conducted when it was obvious from the start that the only viable site for a new airport was across the northern tip of the island. This requires considerable digging and filling to level the terrain and is the most expensive approach. After wearing life jackets in the helicopter, being sick and subsidizing the ferry, even the British officials have stated that a fixed wing airport facility is required.

Realistically a new airport is just a pipe dream, the most timely and the lowest cost approach is to reopen Bramble. The runway is usable today, the winds are invariably on shore and keep it clear of ash. A temporary control tower could operate from a trailer and tents could be used initially for passengers, the Fire Department & Customs. As we have seen at Little Bay, elaborate facilities are not essential. A new road may be needed at the northern end if the cost of digging out and disposing of the ash on the road is too slow or expensive.

Will the British Government either dig out or provide new roads to those areas such as Long Ground Windy Hill, Molyneaux and Harris, where many houses and good farm land remain?

In the event that the British Government does not wish to invest in the rebirth of Plymouth, then they should push forward either with direct funding or at least loan guarantees to the private sector to allow the development of New Plymouth to proceed immediately.

They have a golden opportunity (not an elephant) to repair the grievous damage that has occurred to Montserratian society in this disaster. The question is, do they have the will, money and sufficient interest? At least, they owe the Montserratian people a declaration of their specific intentions, so that people at home and overseas can plan their future in a sensible manner.

A Question of Ethics, Morals, and Morality

by Abraham Marthason

A little while ago a comment was made which brought forth the following from a listener, "A little Education is Dangerous." Those few words have stayed with me for I have often wondered if I am seen as a dangerous person. What makes it even more interesting is when that statement is placed alongside the lyrics of the song about Educated Donkeys.

Now you may wonder according to the song what I am digging and the relationship of the opening lines to the topic, so let me explain.

While trying to acquire some additional education I took a course in Government and Business. The main book on the reading list was Rogene A. Buchholz's "Business Environment and Public Policy," Third Edition. The early chapters dealt primarily with the ethical, social and economic environments in which managers operate.

At the end of chapter three, which was mainly devoted to Ethics, the eight of us "aspiring executives" taking the course had this question to answer in a maximum of two pages. "Should managers be allowed to make use of Moral Sanctuaries in their decision making?"

It is a question that has stuck with me, and one I find most relevant to be asked of the movers and shakers who offer to shape the New Montserrat. Do they really care by what means we get where they want to take us? Are we going there by hook or by crook?

"The terms ethics and morality are often used interchangeably in discussions about ethics, and yet it may be useful to distinguish between them to reduce confusion in certain situations.

Ethics is concerned with the development and justification of principles that can be used to apply to specific situations where a decision has to be made about a particular action or practice.

Morality, on the other hand, generally refers to traditions of belief that have evolved over several years or even centuries in societies concerning right and wrong conduct." (Bus. Environ. p51-52)

From the definitions given, my dear reader, you are free to question whether my topic is relevant or not. I stand humbly to be corrected in my search for knowledge and meaning. (Hopefully, my critics will do so through this medium rather than in their "drawing rooms" and share their greater intellectual capacities with the rest of us.)

Therefore, taking our present situation in mind, "Should any of us be allowed to hide away in moral sanctuaries?"

Submitting my insurance claim in the amount of $175,000 when the damage is really only $25,000 is seeking to provide myself with a moral sanctuary. Despite the overall loss to be faced because of the volcanic destruction, bumping up the claim, and arguing vehemently as to its correctness is availing myself of a moral sanctuary.

I would have set aside my morals and sought refuge in my sanctuary when attempting to collect money from the company because I think it should pay, having paid premiums for years when nothing happened.

Likewise, when the insurance company terminated our policies with as much as eight months remaining on them in many instances, the managers/directors made use of moral sanctuaries in arriving at their decision. The continued holding of those premiums for an additional four months after saying that coverage no longer exists was an exercise in duplicity, most unethical, immoral, and has to be illegal!

When you would have taken the $10,000 Relocation Grant on the guise of moving to Antigua but, after one month, return home to work in the construction sector, that is to make use of a moral sanctuary. Each time you collect a portion of that $10,000 in Antigua you would have acted unethically and immorally. You would have acted contrary to a code of conduct by which you ought to have behaved.

Examination of the behavior of our "political masters" reveals that they wallowed in the insulation provided by their sanctuaries. Keeping us in the cramped and unhealthy conditions of the shelters for more than two years is a stark example of setting aside what they preach in regard to ethics and morals. What elephants?

By offering us "pit latrines" at standards below those to which they subscribe is taking refuge in their moral sanctuaries. They acted contrary to the way they ought to have behaved.

We must never forget that it took the events of June 1997 and the deaths of some Montserratian martyrs to penetrate the buffers with which our "masters" provided themselves in their sanctuaries, rather than doing what was right all along for those of us who did not wish to abandon this land of ours. Those conditions are recorded in living color for anyone who wishes to know. Ask around and the keeper of that information will share it with you.

Montserratians are facing financial ruin once again for having put their money into a "local institution". But there are some who would not have been in this position if the officers of that business had not chosen to make use of "moral sanctuaries" when they took those deposits on the Friday they knew they were going to close. At least the chief executive had to know the action was imminent! It was a foregone conclusion! The Sunday meeting was just a formality! It was both unethical and immoral to take money off those people on the Friday knowing what was up!

As the wheelers and dealers compete for a portion of the millions of pounds and form associations that are not above board, they are in conflict of interest, the public's, they are in breach of conduct expected of them. They should not be allowed to set aside, not even for a short time, the values we hope to uphold in the future. They must not be given any use whatsoever of "moral sanctuaries". Having set sound principle aside, would it be taken up again, or is the underhanded action to be the first choice when temptation comes?

The choices to survive are not easy ones and the temptations will be many, but we need people across all layers of society who will act with integrity, more so those in authority. We cannot allow ourselves to be corrupted by the unscrupulous for a few dollars. What is being rich or well off with a poor reputation and not being able to hold your head up, versus a clear conscience before man and God?

We cannot set aside ethics and morals and not expect those actions not to come back to haunt us. If we wish to build a society anchored on sound principles then no moral sanctuaries are to be allowed. It is then that the little education we each possess can be collectively used for the greater good of all.

What is CO.RE.CA.

CO.RE.CA. is a non-governmental association of people interested in the development of exchanges and a better understanding of Caribbean people. It is strictly non-political. The association was founded in 1990 and registered in 1991.

OBJECTIVES

Information through all means possible about the economic, social, political and cultural life of countries in the Caribbean. Fostering a better knowledge of the Caribbean Basin The establishment of an exchange programme to foster inter-Caribbean understanding. Participation in all enterprises aimed at fostering a better knowledge of the Caribbean region. The organisation of linguistic holidays and culture-based trips in the Caribbean and on the American continent. Organisation of and participation in action of solidarity to support people of the Caribbean Basin. At a recently held seminar on the theme of Humanitarian Aid and Solidarity in the Caribbean, CORECA examined its own attempts to provide assistance within the region, from Antigua and Montserrat to Haiti. A number of lessons had been learnt, not least the importance of establishing prior contact with prospective recipients of aid with a view to providing what is actually needed. It has been in this spirit that CORECA'S relationship with Montserrat has been established. So it is that in 1997, after mounting an awareness campaign, they were able to collect school supplies that were delivered personally to the Red Cross for distribution to the island 's school children. Bottled water and specific medical supplies also formed part of this delivery.

In December CORECA co-hosted the week long stay in Guadeloupe of 17 students and two teachers from the Montserrat Secondary School. This visit has been already reported on in this newspaper but we can never say Thank You sufficiently to the families who opened their hearts and their homes to us at what is essentially a time of family celebration. Even now CORECA is planning for further visits by our students during the summer vacation.

On January 3^rd, when most people were still recuperating from the Christmas and New Year celebrations, Julien Merion, president of CORECA, and Claire Corenthin, a committee member, took what turned out to be a long and perilous journey to ensure that the pupils of the Brades and St, Augustine Primary Schools would not be disappointed as they waited for a special delivery of toys and gifts.

As the people of Guadeloupe become increasingly aware of our situation, the desire to help has become more and more widespread. Encouraged by a teacher, Mme. Georgette Tabarin, pupils of the Alexandre Macal Junior Secondary School in St. Francois organised a week-long cake sale at break time. The money raised was handed over by Madame Tabarin during an interval at the CORECA Seminar on Saturday, April 25th.. While the students might have had Secondary counterparts in Montserrat on their minds). was agreed that all schools on the island would share in the gift of goodwill.

One could very well believe that CORECA had done more than enough for Montserrat, especially as their commitment is to the whole Caribbean region. This is by no means so.

More on this at a later date.

Volcano Limerick

Bank robbery’s a thing here quite rare,

And from Barclays! A puzzling affair.

But isn’t it funny

They left all that money, 

And that someone should guess it was there?

Chief Minister David Brandt’s Address To Rotarians Meeting in St. Thomas

Thank you for those very kind words. Don't let me leave St. Thomas without your card. Because whenever next we have elections on Montserrat I want you to come and talk on my behalf.

Let me start by congratulating our hosts on taking steps to ensure the survival of cricket in the USVI. These Virgin Islands have produced such world class athletes as Tim Duncan, Andre Wordsworth, Peter Homberg, Gregg Newton, Julian Jackson, Emile Griffith, and others, so no one can doubt that some day there will be a Virgin Islands Vivi Richards or Curtley Ambrose. We know too well that very often, extraordinary gems come out of tiny packages.

Neighbours, as Caribbean people, we share a common history and we have the common goal of bringing our societies to the highest level of spiritual and economic development. But our circumstances are very different.

Despite those differences, I confidently call you neighbours because I deeply feel that we also share a tradition of concern for one another.

Organisations like the Rotarians give caring people an opportunity to combine their efforts and so give more effective help where there is need. Hurricane Hugo devastated Montserrat and St. Croix in September of 1989.

Rotarians throughout the Caribbean neighbourhood, coming from their unique circumstances, were a key part of the heart-warming response from the region. This neighbourly regard that we have for one another is partly due to our Good Samaritan ethic and partly due to the fact that we are all family. No place is that more evident than right here in St Thomas, where there are first generation emigrants from all over the Caribbean.

So I am happy and honoured to be addressing you on this beautiful island.

Although St. Thomas is a very hospitable country I am sure that some of you would have preferred to have this meeting on Montserrat. But a Higher Authority overruled that, and besides I have to admit the beaches are better here.

I can feel at home in St. Thomas not only because, like Montserrat, it is a hilly country with roads that develop character and teach its people to deal with ups and downs, but also because I have very strong bonds in this society. I have nieces and nephews who were born here; one of my mentors, the distinguished Pastor E.R. White, has lived here for 30 years. Many of my schoolmates and friends are making outstanding contributions to the Virgin Islands community. Heroes like David Edgecombe, Wingrove Fenton, Doctor Eddie Donahue, Victor Sydney, Bernice Newton, Annie Meade and numerous others are integrated into the Virgin Island society.

To tell the truth, if Montserrat continues to experience disasters on ever more monumental scales, then more of us will be coming to the Virgin Islands. But let me hasten to reassure you right now that Montserrat will never die. Hugo, Marilyn and Luis did not destroy us; and the awesome, devastating Soufrière Hills Volcano will not destroy us. With the help of the Caribbean family from St. Thomas to Haiti and Jamaica, from St. Croix to Trinidad and Guyana, we will survive. We will survive and we will rebuild our country greater than it ever was.

The theme of this address is: "How a leader of a country responds to a disaster." Nobody in St. Thomas would suggest that it is up to the leader alone. The first responsibility of the leader is to organize and harness the human resources to deal with the crisis. For in the crunch it's not money or equipment or goods that matter the most, but the will of a people.

In a small country the leader has a big advantage -- he knows everyone and their skills. He knows whom to call, he knows what is happening in the lives of his people and what factors will affect the way they respond to the challenges of a crisis. Because disasters result in emotional damage as well as the physical damage they do to a country, great attention must be paid to the well-being of the people. Attention must be paid to doing the right things to keep spirits high and hopes alive. Of course, there is no magic formula for how to do this. Sometimes it depends on something as simple as what you wear and when you wear it.

In the Seventeenth Century there was a slave rebellion on Montserrat and a courageous group, led by a fierce and cunning warrior called Cudjoe, captured the island. Every time the British attacked to reclaim their colony the leader of the self-freed slaves would say to his young second in command, "Get me my red shirt." He then donned this red shirt and with machete in hand led the charge against the British fighting like 10 men. Attack after attack Cudjoe called for his red shirt and valiantly beat the British back.

One day his second in command asked him what was the secret of this red shirt? "Does it have some special magical power?" The leader said, "No my son, no special magic. If I'm wearing my red shirt and I am wounded in battle, the blood will not show and I will continue to inspire my followers by appearing to be strong and invincible. This helps to give them strength."

Some time after this, the English, supported by French and Spanish mercenaries, sent in a force of over 10,000 against the small group of freedom fighters. Seeing this huge force, the second in command said, "Captain Cudjoe, I'm going to get your red shirt!" The leader said, "No, no, my son. This time you better bring my brown pants instead."

But what is a leader to do when his country is torn apart by a volcano?

Words are inadequate to tell of the devastating changes that came to our world with the rebirth of the Soufrière Hills volcano. I will show you a brief extract from a video called "The Price of Paradise" that will help in a small way to give you an idea of the state of affairs in Montserrat since the volcano began to erupt in 1995.

[After the video]

You can see from the video that the physical damage is stupendous and none of us can fathom what the total damage will be to individuals and families and our community. As Montserrat's third Chief Minister since the volcano began to act up, I can tell you the only way I'm able to cope is by constantly seeking guidance from the Almighty, working harder than ever, accepting the advice and good wishes of my wife, family and friends and ensuring that my sense of humor doesn't desert me. It helps of course that my countrymen and women are hard-working, resourceful and among the strongest people you can find anywhere.

The strangest legal advice I have ever given was recently to one of my friends. Some people might say it was bad law but good psychology.

I do not have my friend's permission to use his name so I will call him Citizen A. He had migrated to England during the mid fifties. He was lucky and like most Montserratians he is a very hard worker, so he prospered. He married his childhood sweetheart and they raised two children. They eventually converted their substantial assets to cash and returned to Montserrat. They were very comfortable and their future seemed secure.

Then came the volcano, the most awesome destructive force in nature. It could kill with pyroclastic flows: avalanches of hell-hot poisonous gases that destroy every living thing in their path, that set fire to wood and melt steel. It could kill with lava flows: rivers of fire that bury and burn and burn and bury and could take years to cool. It could kill with mud flows: millions of tons of hot mud that choke up streams, that fill valleys, that completely cover two-story buildings. It could kill with terror as people panic and run as it roars, or, when its atomic eruptions fill the sky with ash that blocks out the sun and turns day into night. It can kill with stress as day by day it grabs more and more of your familiar streets and fertile farms and holds your land in its deadly grip, taking away services that are vital for the maintenance of health; taking away the means of producing the necessities for life.

But I was telling you about Citizen A and his wife. I was lost for a moment in tragic memories.

They lost their home after the insurance company had cancelled their policy.

Later they learned that their savings were almost wiped out: the Building Society was paying 35 cents on the dollar. They went to live with a family in the North in the remaining one third of the island that the scientists tell us is safe.

We met frequently. He complained about bad dreams. I understood. Everybody was having bad dreams. One day he persisted in telling me his dream in which he dies only to face a huge disagreement about whether he should go upstairs or downstairs. In the dream the matter was always left unresolved and he would wake feeling more stressed out than when he went to bed. I told him I was making headway in my negotiations with the insurance companies and I gave him some advice about his dream. When I saw him the next day he said: "David it was a miracle. I started to dream as usual. Again I dreamt that I died and went to a court where they were deciding whether they should send me to heaven or hell.

" 'Do you have anything to say for yourself before this court passes sentence?' St Peter asked me. Then I took your advice David. I said 'St. Peter if you send me to hell it will be double jeopardy. I am from Montserrat.'

" 'Upstairs!' St Peter told me and for the first time for months I had a good sleep."

My brothers can advise me whether I should charge my regular fees for this advice.

The tragic losses experienced by Citizen A were typical of what happened all over Montserrat. We lost more than two-thirds of the island to the Soufrière Hills volcano but more than 90 percent of the real estate. We lost the capital Plymouth, the centre of commerce with its newly built port serving a just completed rice factory and a regenerated industrial estate that was exporting millions of dollars of computer parts annually. We lost the island's only hospital that was almost at the end of a multi-million-dollar refurbishment and modernization.

We lost our only high school, our only technical school, most of our elementary schools, and our offshore medical school with over 600 doctors in training and an expanding program. We lost our airport, our three radio stations, including two of the best known regional stations, Radio Antilles and Gem Radio.

Families were ripped apart. Sometimes a wife took the children to England or America while the husband held on and kept the faith. Or part of one family went to Antigua or St. Kitts where every one was welcome, while the other part went to Toronto or to St. Croix where strict immigration criteria severely limited the number of people who would be accepted.

Children cried themselves to sleep in London and Montreal while fathers or mothers were growing corns on their feet walking the streets of Boston or Charlotte Amalie in a seemingly endless search for a job. Wives and husbands went to sleep hugging their pillows because their partners were out of reach hundreds of miles away trying to cope with a situation that was totally beyond their experience or imagination. And very few understood, though they wanted to help, that volcano aid is fundamentally different from hurricane help. Victims of a hurricane need help to get their life back together, victims of a volcano have to get their life back. One needs a hand up, the other needs a home and a family and emotional support and lots and lots of prayers.

We lost a lot but never our spirit. We will not die, we will survive; we will survive and we will not put our future on hold. With the help of Montserratians everywhere and our Caribbean brothers and sisters we will build a better country. We will prove to the world that twelve square miles can be bigger than forty.

I speak to the United Nations later this month and this is the message I take: Slavery didn't do it, exploitation didn't do it, and not even the Soufrière Hills volcano will do it. We will not die.

Call us heroic, call us quixotic, we are who we are and we are proud of us.

Since March the volcano has been quiet and we are hoping that this is the beginning of the end. But we are not sitting around, we are building a new Montserrat now -- even smaller in size, even bigger in spirit.

We have learned many lessons from our tribulations and I will share some of them with you.

1) Watch out for those insurance companies. There are good insurance companies, but when some companies sell you insurance against loss it is their own loss they are thinking about. Insurance payments are critical to recovery after a disaster. Millions of dollars were never paid after Hugo.

Many people could not rebuild their homes and we lost the world-famous Montserrat Air Studios. We can do something about insurance companies right now -- today. We can audit the companies to see if they can honour all of their local commitments should that become necessary. Companies should be either decertified or at least graded to let potential customers know what they are getting into. This may be hard, but we are talking about the survival of a community. All of us have friends in the insurance business, like Rotarian Chris Brathwaite, with great knowledge and experience of how these companies operate. Their expertise should be called on in arriving at policies which allow insurance companies to make a fair profit without exposing our communities to getting inadequate pay-outs or having no insurance at times when it is most needed.

And while we are on the subject of insurance, we should make sure that there are trained persons to make insurance claims after a disaster. Claimants should be encouraged to use them. This can mean the difference of millions of dollars to your economy.

2) A disaster committee is invaluable if it is functioning. It should be required to publish a report every six months, using radio, TV and newspaper.

3) Immediately before, during and after the event the organizing of the human resources should begin. Special attention should be given to the tremendous resources throughout the Caribbean. Often transplants from your country and other well-wishers are strategically placed to get assistance to you quickly.

4) There will be many health and safety emergencies. Attend to them as best possible.

5) Make a preliminary assessment of the scope of the disaster. This is very important.

6) Most important you must inform yourself about the conditions and you must appear perfectly calm. You must keep your head even if all about you are losing theirs. You must speak carefully, simply and confidently. Make sure that the press understands what you are saying. Track down any confusion in the media and clear it up. You are helping to set the national mood. Let me warn you, however, it is a big mistake to minimize the disaster or to make little of people's fears. That will always backfire. And when your leadership is under attack you won't have the ammunition to fire back.

7) Get that telephone system up and running. Everything else will be done faster and better if the phones are working. One thing should be done before the event: the cellular phone system should be made as secure as humanly possible. And get that radio station going if it is down.

8) Above all, we must come up with a meaningful, effective and quick way of responding to these disasters regionally.

9) Call Governor Schneider and Tony Blair, if you have his number.

A disaster is a test of the national will. We have been faced with the biggest test that any Caribbean people have ever had to face and we believe we are stronger for it. As Randy Greenaway, one of my countrymen, wrote in a song:

We build resilience when we suffer, We gain our strength in the midst of disaster, Montserratians won't say die.

Many of our people have been compelled to retreat and regroup. We are very grateful for the hands across the Caribbean and around the world that have extended help to us. We shall survive, we shall rebuild, and we shall never forget. I guarantee it. Our history books will record your individual and collective acts of kindness, our calypsonians will sing about them, our writers will write about them. I guarantee it.

I guarantee it, because the greatest message we can get from a disaster, a message we can hear above the roar of the hurricane, a message that will endure through the 2,000-degree heat of the volcano, is that "we are family."

I cannot begin to tell you how much comfort that brings.

Thank you all.

Tribute to Sydney Meade OBE

by Hon. David S. Brandt Chief Minister

It is with great sadness that all of Montserrat mourns the passing of Sydney Meade OBE. The late Sydney Meade served our island in many capacities and his involvement in cricket, the Red Cross Society, the Montserrat civil service and amateur radio communications is most noteworthy.

Mr. Meade gave 40 years of committed and dedicated voluntary service to Montserrat through the Red Cross, where he represented the island for many years on the Caribbean Council for the Blind, always promoting eye care and the prevention of blindness. On his retirement from active Red Cross duties, Mr. Meade was awarded, by the British Red Cross, The Red Cross Badge of Honour for Distinguished Services to the Red Cross and to the Montserrat Community.

Mr. Meade was a conscientious and dedicated civil servant who served as Administrative Secretary before retiring as head of the Audit Unit. After leaving the service, he served on the Public Service Commission for a number of years. He received the Order of the British Empire Award in 1969.

Sydney Meade’s involvement as a founding member of the Montserrat Amateur Radio Society stands out as we recall his assistance during disaster situations such as the PanAm aircraft crash in 1965 and in the aftermath of hurricanes. Many persons can also remember that Mr. Meade was responsible for early attempts at communicating cricket from Montserrat to the region, before the advent of radio Montserrat. The region’s Ham Operators will remember Victor Papa 2 Mike Charlie (VP2MC) for many years.

Sydney Meade’s name is also etched in the history of Montserrat as a cricketer who brought fame to the Emerald Isle in 1951 when he captained the national cricket team, which secured our first away Leeward Islands win. He was bolstered back then by other cricket stalwarts such as Theodore Bramble and George Edwards. This achievement was never repeated.

On behalf of the Government and people of Montserrat, I extend condolences to the family of the late Sydney Meade OBE.

Common Sense

by Man From Baker Hill

I used to see a very old man journeying to Royal Bank, to make withdrawals I supposed. At that time the Bank was relocated at the Cassell’s residence. Each time I saw him I felt pity, admiration and fear. Pity because he looked dirty, distressed and haggard. Admiration, because he must have saved his money when he was able to do so. Fear, because I wondered what would become of him if and when his money ran out.

I did not see the man for a very long while. However recently, I went to St. John’s and saw the old man sitting on his neighbor’s porch. He was clean, relaxed and smiling with his hands clasped behind his head, and feet raised to the porch railing. Needless to say, I was pleased to see the man. This time his countenance gladdened me. He was contented.

On my way home, I marveled at the "New look" of the man, and struggled to find reason s for the transformation. But Common sense came to the rescue. Common sense explained that the old man was getting the old age monthly allowance of $240; "£55 sterling".

"The £55 sterling" Allowance has done a lot for our unemployed, handicapped and old aged. Each day as I drive to and from work, I see looks of contentment on the faces of the over 60’s. And I am grateful.

So, Common sense is about gratitude. Many of us are helped and relieved by the '£55 sterling' - $240 monthly allowance given to our relatives. We are grateful.

Common sense says that we should repeat some of the stories of gladness we receive from England. Many of our older people, and young ones too, send back to say how good it is to be looked after; or how wonderful a life to receive pension and other aged benefits. Common sense shouts at me to write lines of gratitude on their behalf.

Common sense is also about helping oneself in simple tasks. Is it not common sense, and time enough, for Montserrat to put running water on the beach at Little Bay. The children who bathe there are not asking for much; only a stand pipe to get a drink of fresh water and to wash sand off their feet. It should not be too difficult to run an inch size pipe line over the hill.

Is it not Common sense to put one or two light bulbs at Little Bay; or even to put two or three lights bulbs on the main road between Brades and Carr's Bay. I know the excuse. It is not as simple as that, we have to write a project. Yet we can deck the villages with pretty lights to celebrate a "jump up day". So why not put a few pretty light bulbs on the telephone poles at Little Bay ; or on the road between Brades and Carr’s Bay. After all, Montserratians need to walk in safety and comfort every night, not only on "jump up nights".

But these tasks are too simple. We must develop elaborate projects that will cost one million dollars to put power and water at little bay. We must devise the most expensive way to get things done; so that we can blame somebody for not releasing funds quick enough. We must scheme to embarrass some aid manager for not helping us to put 3 light bulbs on the road to the Carr's Bay.

Common Sense is about the prudent use of money; and especially peoples money. Common Sense is creating and maintaining an environment in which you can absorb and make optimum use of the help that is given. Even if you have to ask your own to charge more realistically for their services.

Common Sense is therefore to question the cost of houses at "Look Out". Under no circumstances should a house 20 feet by 25 feet cost more than $100 per square foot. No, not in good or in bad times; not in sad times or glad times. If only by virtue of its size or a purpose, which says simplicity, the house should be designed for maximum use at minimal cost.

Common sense shows that the houses at Look Out - the facts that they are of the same design and of the same design - Oh boy shout your mouth! Just say it! Damn it, the houses are over designed; they are over built; they cost too much.

Where in the world would any person, using his own money build a 500 square feet house at a cost of $200 per square foot. Only on volcanic Montserrat, seeking help to rebuild... and squandering other people's money. Common sense commands me to say loud and clear, this is highway robbery with violence.

Yes, you are so vain, you properly think that this article is about you. Don’t you?.

Not really! It is about all of us, our attitudes. And of course my personal feelings that if we want to stay on Montserrat, we should organise ourselves so that we make sense to others.

Fear of Flunking

We all get that from time to time. That little worry, in the back of our minds, that we won't. But for some men, that worry moves to the front of the mind, takes over, and leads directly to failure. In these cases performance anxiety isn't just a small voice, it's a significant mental problem that can shut down a sex life.

Sex researchers William H. Masters, M.D., and Virginia E. Johnson, of the former Masters and Johnson Institute in St. Louis, coined a phrase to describe exactly what a man does when performance anxiety takes over. They called it the spectator role. In essence, you become a spectator to your own sexual event, evaluating and observing yourself rather than losing yourself in the experience. Fearful thoughts about your sexual performance literally crowd out the sensual pleasures of the moment, and without any sense of sexual pleasure getting through, you wilt. Which makes you even more fearful the next time and, well, you can see how it could beget a vicious cycle.

But listen. For one thing, just about every man experiences small bouts of performance anxiety throughout his life, without it becoming a big problem. And virtually every man over age 40 has experienced at least one no-go episode.

Masters and Johnson taught a form of therapy called sensate focus, which you can try with your partner as a first step. You should touch, explore, give, and receive pleasure -- but under no circumstances is either of you allowed to touch the pelvic area of the other. It is forbidden --until you gradually recapture the capacity for sexual pleasure and lose the habitual panic over whether or not you can "do it."

Why is it always up to me to make the first move?

Fear of Flying

For a woman, sexual desire--and good sex--happens only when she feels safe, secure, and sure of herself and her partner. If sex makes her anxious, she'll want it about as much as you want a tax audit. And of course you're not about to call up the nearest office and volunteer that you cheated on your tax forms last year, now are you?

We're not saying that for all women sex is like signing off on the consent line and then holding your breath till they catch you. But women who have suffered through hurtful relationships are often fearful that their partners will simply repeat history, and naturally they're afraid to trust. Some are self-conscious about their bodies. Other women are afraid of letting themselves be swept away by their own passion. Still others fret that they're not doing it right, as if each sexual encounter were a pop quiz that counted toward a final grade. Sex becomes an exercise in technique, with the big O--orgasm--as the passing grade. Many women are also afraid to discuss their sexual needs with their partners because they don't want to be turned down, humiliated, or ignored.

Your best bet to get past this stumbling block? Our experts advise talking it out. Tell your partner what you've been thinking, and then practice listening to what she needs--both in bed and out. Also, sometimes it starts with the little things, like her receiving love notes--before she'll think about reciprocating the gesture in the bedroom.

He does this, then you do that then he…

Stop right there! Try something new in bed and recharge your relationship.

--E. E. Cummings

There are three kinds of humdrum sexual routines: no sex, bad sex, and good sex-and all three are dangerous to the health of your relationship.

No sex, as we all know, is usually a sign of something amiss. It can be a form of punishment, it's often a form of withdrawal, and when there's real trouble, no sex may actually be the only way the two of you can sustain the relationship. Intimacy would bring you face-to-face, emotionally as well as physically, and what you would confront would scare you both. So, no couples' counseling, no openhearted conversation, and no sex. In the most manageable, least-scary form of no sex, your schedules have just gotten too hectic, obviously out-of-sync, and it's clear to you both that all you need is a little tinkering. And so, loving each other, valuing the relationship, you tinker. Or you don't.

Bad sex. Ugh. Like the recurring dream in which you are unprepared for your very important exams, bad sex combines the really dismal with the irresistibly familiar. Occasional bad sex is usually the product of sex with a stranger, or sex with a partner turned strange by anxiety, alcohol, or some other kind of (hopefully) passing misery. Usually it happens because someone should have said no, didn't, and gets to regret it until the other person is finished. Sex that is routinely bad reflects a communication failure of mammoth proportions. I know that people can have good sex in the context of a so-so relationship; I don't think you can have bad sex in a good relationship. In a nice, decent-people relationship, in a friendly, amicable, I-won't-tell-if-you-won't relationship, in an apparently harmonious relationship, yes. But not in a good one. People who believe that you can may also believe that if you don't tell your spouse some thing that you know will upset him/her (I totaled the car, I slept with the neighbor, I'm gay), you can still be genuinely intimate. They may also believe that bad sex can't hurt a strong relationship and that all you need for good sex is a positive attitude. I think they're wrong, every time. So, you recognize the damage done by bad sex, and loving each other, valuing the relationship, you commit yourself to fixing it. Or you don't.

To be continued.

Garlic

What it is:

A member of the onion family, it has been used as a medical herb since the time of the ancient Egyptians. What it does: Studies show how that in cultures where people eat lots of garlic, there are fewer incidences of gastric cancer, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Barbara Levine, at Cornell University Medical College in New York City, adds that garlic seems to "enhance the immune system by increasing the activity of immune cells." It also has antibacterial properties that come from a sulfur containing compound called allican, formed when garlic is crushed or sliced.

Cooking or processing eliminates allicin, but experts says that standardized garlic powders have the ability to form allicin when consumed. Over all, garlic has many beneficial compounds. That’s why dedorized garlic tablets and extracts seem to work as well as the raw herb in reducing cholesterol. Studies have found that garlic may also reduce blood pressure. Who should take it? Unless you’re allergic, you almost can’t go wrong by adding this herb in your diet. If you dislike the taste, garlic tablets will provide most of the health benefits without the flavor or odor.

Two Interviews with Lowell Lewis, Creator Of Keep Montserrat Alive Magazine, KMAM

An interview with Station Manager Rose Willock and Doctor Lowell Lewis – Wednesday, April 29, 1998, at Radio Montserrat in Nixons, Montserrat.

Rose Willock: I am talking with Mr Lowell Lewis visiting one more time his home country. One more time, because you come here periodically. You work in Barbados now, a consultant at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and Lecturer at the University of the West Indies, so naturally we realize that you can’t come as often as you would like to. It’s good to have you back just the same. I know that as soon as you came, you started making preparation for folks in Montserrat to see some aspects of Montserrat before it was affected by the volcano. What happened?

Lowell Lewis: I have to apologize to those people who went to see our film yesterday. The ash and dust has affected lots of equipment and we had equipment failure. I planned to show a one-hour documentary film called "Montserrat, our history, culture and trials," which I had prepared for the UWI Humanities week in Barbados. There was a film festival as part of the week’s activities. I showed the film at that festival. It was very well appreciated. I wanted to share it with Montserratians during this holiday of mine. Unfortunately, it’s not a film that I can put on the Cable TV network because I used bits and pieces of other people’s work and although they have not objected, I have not got formal permission to put their material on a television network. Those interested in seeing the film are invited to the Emerald Café. I’m going to try to get the equipment working, and if I do, we’ll put on a couple of showings on Thursday and Friday.

RW: Why do you keep coming to Montserrat so often?

LL: This is my home, the only place that I can identify with. This is the only place that my soul is at rest. When you see people like my father and the older folks in England are miserable, you know their souls are not at peace. They need to see the green mountains, they need to be able to walk along the streets and see the sea. That is what we have come from. I don’t have any immediate family in Montserrat now but we are all going to come back here, soon or later.

RW: But you’re getting all those things in Barbados because you’re still in the Caribbean.

LL: One has a sense of belonging, which is appreciated more if you spent a lot of time outside Montserrat. I have spent 17 years in Britain and more time elsewhere. Montserrat is a place where you matter. It is an important thing to be able to matter. Regardless of how much good work I do anywhere else, I know Montserrat is where I can make a difference. People recognize me as part of the place, recognize me as their own and are proud to say, "That’s my brother, that’s my cousin, we all went to school together. That is what keeps us Montserratians together. Montserrat people as a community, as a distinct entity, will not disappear because whether the world likes it or not, we are just like the Welsh people, the Irish people, Barbadians, and people from Tristan de Cuhna. People from Montserrat are not all born here. Some have chosen Montserrat as their home, come from America, Canada, Europe, set up homes and live here. They have become Montserratians as well and are Montserrat people, with it’s changing culture, but essentially our history is distinct and peculiar, what justifies us remaining a separate entity. Why I think we are going to continue with a ministerial system of Government. We want the community to be recognized at the same level as the other Caribbean countries that have developed in a similar way.

RW: Indeed. As you were talking, Mr. Lewis, I thought of the fact that no matter what part of the world they are or they go to, everyone recognizes Jamaica and Jamaicans. For the first time in our history this is beginning to happen for Montserrat and I find that a good thing.

LL: Oh yes! People ask, "What is this thing about Montserrat. It is just a piece of rock?" I say it is nothing to do with the rock, it’s the people. Montserrat is a people of which I am one. It was a tremendous experience, last year in England, going around to all the Montserratian communities, people who have been up there for 15 years or more. Meeting children of Montserratians who have never been here, but who still consider themselves to be Montserratians and their home to be Montserrat. They are depending on those who are hanging on, to keep this home of theirs alive. It’s going to be very difficult but we will manage.

RW: And important to keep Montserrat for Montserratians.

LL: We have to be open minded because we are all part of a world with multiple sovereignties. What is sovereignty, crown land, crown possessions and crown property?
A lot of people do not understand the concept. I like to think sovereignty actually refers to the community. The collective responsibilities, collective possessions, and collective wills of a people. I believe that Montserratians as such are sovereign, even though we are part of British sovereignty. That sovereignty, applied to us, implies that the crown land belongs to the people of Montserrat collectively. It means that the decisions we make about our lives and what we do collectively is Montserratian. If sovereignty implies ownership by the British Government or control by British officials who don’t live here or have an interest in the place, then instead of having collective possessions or a collective will, we are actually possessed by the sovereign and are still slaves.

RW: That is not so.

LL: That’s right, and since we all know that we are not slaves, it follows that we the people of Montserrat, as a collective group of people, are in fact the sovereign authority in Montserrat, through our elected Government.

RW: It’s interesting that you should make that point at this time. I understand that our Chief Minister has been invited to talk with the United Nations committee on decolonization sometime in May.

LL: Well those are my opinions on the subject, but I thought I was going to talking about the volcano, and the building society

RW: So we’re finished with the decolonization issue.

LL: This should not be dismissed too quickly. It is very important for us to know that the United Nations, in their wisdom, declared the 1990’s " Decade for the eradication of colonization." All the member states are obliged to have ‘no colonies’ by the end of this decade and as part of these activities, we have a choice of becoming a British overseas territory or becoming an independent state. We in Montserrat know what the obvious choice for us will be. The question is, how will it be organized. I have some views on what we should have on becoming an overseas territory. First of all, we should be the responsibility of the Home Office rather than the Foreign Office or ODA. There should be a junior minister in the Home Office responsible for the overseas territories. Every single Montserratian would then have a right to a pension when they retire, whether they be living in England or Montserrat. Then every Montserratian will have access to the social services and all the other privileges of being a British citizen. This will not happen if we remain the responsibility of the Foreign Office or the Overseas Development Administration. Secondly, with due respect to the Governors, the term Governor is part of the colonial vocabulary and has got to go. There will still have to be somebody responsible at that level, perhaps a senior permanent secretary or civil servant. The ceremonial and sovereignty duties should be through the people, with the blessing of Her Majesty, who is the sovereign of the whole British nation. A very radical change, but a common sense change. We already have a speaker who acts as governor every now and then, a precedent. Another change should be the ending of the major differentials in salaries and employment opportunities for Montserratians employed in Montserrat, compared with the conditions of service of personnel provided from Britain. A Montserratian magistrate, working in Montserrat, should have the same opportunities and package as an English magistrate working in Montserrat. That is my personal opinion.

RW: Would you consider reciprocity, that a British and English person can come to Montserrat and do all the things we do.

LL: Reciprocity already exists. If you are British and want to come to Montserrat for holiday, or you want to buy a property and live here, and to register on the electoral roll, it can happen already. Just as a Montserratian should be able to go to Birmingham, buy a house and register on the electoral roll. I am on the electoral roll in Barbados because I live there. Reciprocity already exists, but it does not mean that the British Government should have a say in the local administration of a community. In the international practice of democracy, a people select their representatives through the democratic process and a constitution allows them to make the critical decisions which determine how they live, how they raise their money, how they represent themselves overseas and so on. It’s all about equity in the practice of democracy in the British Empire.

RW: These are your opinions of course. You are fortunate to be able to travel back and forth and to make contact with as many Montserratians as possible to find out how they are doing. Your parents have relocated?

LL: Yes, to London. I come from a family that tries to do things and make things happen. Some people know of our magazine, which in May 1996 stated, "Based on our observations the volcanic situation should begin to fade away after February 1998." Not a prediction but just a statement made about observations that we made in a scientific way. Mind you, fading away could happen over two years or it can happen over night, and it could be followed by a restart of activity. The descriptions of what exist now coincide with some of what was published about two years ago. Not predictions but a working out of possible scenarios and picking the most likely options. My first volcanology lesson came from my Cousin George in Kinsale and an old lady in St. Patricks.

RW: George Perkins?

LL: Yes, I remember July 1995 when I was in London at the time the volcano erupted. I rang the Foreign Office and asked about Montserrat. "Everything is all right, 3,000 going to Guadeloupe and some going to Antigua; arrangements have been made." Then I came down to Montserrat and realized that the Foreign Office official in London didn’t know that we have a constitution that allows the government of Montserrat to make decisions for themselves. Then I went to the south to encourage people to move. They told me of 1935, when they were going to send all the children to Nevis and then follow them later, but Nevis started to shake as well, so everybody stayed in Montserrat. Cousin George taught me the three basic measures for taking action regarding volcanic activity. That if the mountain is shaking, puffing and growing, you got to move. Whether you like it or not, just move. Move to a point you consider to be safe. What shocked me was that our modern day people ignored these basic principles. We had people living in Long Ground and working at the airport and in Plymouth when the mountain was shaking, puffing and growing. Their simple rule was, "If the mountain is shaking, puffing and growing, don’t go near it, move out of the way. And when it stops shaking, puffing and growing, you can go back. If it starts shaking, puffing and growing again, move again." For me, that’s basic common sense and the sort of guidelines for how we should manage the crisis. Decisions have been made for the wrong reasons. The airport and the port were kept open, people were allowed to go back to Plymouth when the mountain was shaking, puffing and growing in front of our eyes. Now we have the reverse in that even though the mountain is not shaking, not puffing and not growing, the decision remains to stay away. I’m not saying people should rush back.

RW: People can’t rush back.

LL: No, because the mountain has not settled enough yet. It is very important to have consistent information. I was very concerned a couple of days ago when I heard that there were pyroclastic flows. Concerned because there are people living in and sleeping in Salem and if you report a pyroclastic flow some people assume that the pyroclastic flow is a continuation of major volcanic activity. My immediate worry was whether the people sleeping in Salem knew that the volcano was acting up again. Then I found out the flows were just rockfalls from unstable earth on the steep slopes and that there was not any major change in the shaking, puffing and growing. I found out that these pyroclastic flows were not associated with further dome growth or rising of magma.

RW: Okay. As you travel around and see all the work that’s taking place in the development in the north, how does this grab you?

LL: KMAM, my magazine, shouted for these things two years ago. It’s good to know the major projects are ongoing. The water project, the electricity project. However, there are some areas I am still unhappy with. The critical issue has been housing and how the replacement of the housing stock could have been used to keep the Montserrat economy alive. The blunders which we all now acknowledge included moving back while the mountain was growing, not having the schools open in time so that children did not have to go overseas for schooling. But right now, the critical issue is the possible liquidation of the Montserrat Building Society. It would have been saved if more money had been spent in such a way as to allow people to pay their mortgages or avoid additional rent. Most of the people overseas who got the EC$10,000 relocation grant spent it on rent. Some mortgages are taken out of salaries before they are paid. Some cannot find additional money for rent. The delay and reluctance to give free housing and free accommodation is unfair because the key to keeping the building society afloat was to enable people to pay their mortgages. Avoiding extra rent and having an income was every household’s need. The building society will be one of the hottest speculative real-estate businesses in the region. It presents the possibility of buying people’s money at a fraction of its value. For example, buying someone’s $150,000 savings for $50,000. With no chance of getting the balance in the future as things get better when the volcanic crisis settles and the building society’s revenue starts again. So if somebody comes up with a $10 million package to buy the building society, that $10 million potentially buys over $100 million worth of assets.

RW: Let me ask you a simple question. How do you think those people who stopped paying mortgage will react if their properties are taken away?

LL: They will be upset. A major mistake has been our failure to keep contact with Montserratians. When we formed the volcano group in London last year, a principle task was to circulate a newsletter to all Montserratians, keeping them informed of happenings in Montserrat. I know that offers have been made to buy properties in Amersham and Parsons for one quarter of their value. My response would be, "I want to keep it for the same reason that you want to buy it." Unless, of course, I was short of money or desperate for a brand new car and a nice house to live in. I have children who are likely to have children, who may not be able to buy land in London or Barbados or Antigua. Unless I need the bread and a roof over my head and money for school fees, I will not sell.

RW: Hypothetical. This can apply only to those persons who are still able to pay their mortgage or who have already paid off their mortgage?

LL: Some people are now living in London in flats that cost as little as $50 per month. They can do that for the next 20 years unless the British send them back to Montserrat, so they don’t have to sell .

RW: What about those who are here?

LL: They need to organize themselves. Perhaps a group of depositors should buy the Montserrat Building Society

RW: Thus becoming shareholders. It sounds as if you are ruling out liquidation for the Montserrat Building Society.

LL: No! I think liquidation may be inevitable in the present business climate, but I hope the British Government will take heart and come and help us. Not let a group of business sharks buy our savings for a fraction of what they are worth. I understand that about $25 million is needed, the cost of one Tornado fighter jet.

RW: I understand that there are 5,000 depositors in the Montserrat Building Society in addition to those who live outside Montserrat, practically 50 percent of the population as it was up to 1995.

LL: I can’t comment because I don’t have access to that kind of information. At least you have told the public what the problem is.

RW: It will be great if the Building Society is bailed out. That would assist more of the people of Montserrat to get on with their lives and to see a way out of this current situation, especially with housing .

LL: The justification comes from what money has been spent. Renting properties for government offices and visiting officials, the helicopter service, maintaining people overseas. They should spend a similar amount of money on something as important as the Building Society for Montserrat. Finally, I really think the people who lost their houses and got no insurance ought to be given free accommodation. I think the primary aim for government should be to try to get Montserrat out of Grant in Aid, then we can run the country again ourselves. Everything will be done to stop this Government from being able to return to a non-grant in aid status, but I think it is possible. When you do not have to ask somebody for money only then can you rightly exercise sovereignty.

RW: How can the majority of people help to make this happen?

LL: By making those who make decisions know the people’s opinions. For instance, on the issue of unclaimed land in the North. Right now, some people can’t afford to survey their land and are facing the possibility of losing their land. Another action would be to encourage those people who can find a place in Montserrat to live, to come back home and get involved. Those coming back should be given an employment package. The building contractors should try to identify the Montserratians who have gone overseas, and offer them work with a two-year project as well as help with accommodation if necessary. However, always remember that if the mountain begins to shake, puff or grow, just move out of the way until it stops.

Rose Willock: I am talking again to Mr. Lowell Lewis. A few days ago you shared your thoughts and since that time you also visited your parents residence in Kinsale. First of all, tell us about your impressions on going through Plymouth, seeing the devastation.

Lowell Lewis: Yes, I had the opportunity to go to Kinsale and Trials Road, my birthplace and home. It was a very emotional experience. I passed a group of tourists next to the Montserrat Technical College and realized we have the beginning of a good tourist attraction. I drove as far as the Post Office, but no further because the rain was beginning to cut the flows into strips. One needs a big truck or four wheel drive to go further.

RW: Explain it some more.

LL: Initially, the flows were like a flat beach, but the rain is cutting grooves into this flow, creating dips of up to three feet. The road below the Government House is okay. The Governor’s residence is still standing. So, too, is the Coconut Hill Hotel. Flows must have come down Forth Ghaut, but the heat and the hot stuff did not billow out far enough to take those buildings down. The house I was born in on Trials Road was gone completely. My parents’ house is also burned to a shell, my grandparent’s house the same. But standing among them are other houses that seemed to survive better. Those with asphalt shingle roofs were not as badly damaged. The heat inside the buildings must have been intense. The glass windows were melted and bent like glass bottles, metal cookers crumbled to dust.

RW: It is obvious that there was a lot of heat. What do you think caused this? There were no flows into Kinsale.

LL: Yes, I think there must have been a big pyroclastic flow with hot lava coming down Aymer’s Ghaut through to Richard Samuel’s house.

RW: So that must have been the Boxing Day activity that went through St. Patricks?

LL: I don’t know. It happened some time. I do think something came down Aymer’s Ghaut with hot gases and material billowing sideways, extending perhaps up to half a mile or so, taking out the buildings in Kinsale. I did not go any further south, but I understand that from Reed’s Hill southwards has disappeared. We anticipated this two years ago. The mountain was splitting and it was bound to go at sometime. We now hope that the mountain has gone to sleep. I saw the dome again today and like most people I feel it has stopped growing, even though it’s very hot and smoking. We all know that the beautiful peaks of the Caribbean are domes. Pitons in St. Lucia and now our Chances Peak.

Two things may happen. Either the dome starts growing again or it will not grow again and just become a mountain. A thought crossed my mind yesterday as I remembered the rows of fever grass that existed in the South. A helicopter filled with fever grass seeds or slips or another of the long grasses could spread over the flows. To stop the mud and the rain from washing all the new fertile volcanic soil into the sea. My brother says that if you were able to get a lot of cat mint slips or some cat mint seeds, we may be shipping bags full of tea bushes to the United States.

RW: Herbal Teas

LL: Things like that. We have to consider the utilization of lost land which is still valuable We need to look at farming methods, mass farming, mechanized reaping. A field full of fever grass or some kind of animal fodder might grow very quickly and may be harvested without labour-intensive means.

RW: I want to bring you back to the point you made about galvanize and sink roofs, which were the ones in Kinsale, compared with asphalt shingle-roofed houses, consideration for building in the future.

LL: Oh yes. Houses on the sides of the volcano have a better chance if they have shingle roofs. I note some of the new buildings in the north are on top stilts.

RW: Albeit concrete stilts.

LL: We should remember that we are in a hurricane area. I don’t think it’s a good idea to have a big gap under one’s house for the wind to pass through, there may be lift. Small footings and a few blocks can create storage space and a more secure place to shelter during a hurricane than the wooden part at the top.

RW: One assumes that the wooden houses on top are strapped down properly.

LL: Traditionally, the building is simply bolted on to the stilts. In addition, I see no reason why these concrete supports cannot be carried up to band or roof height. If the four corner pillars are extended, and tied around the roof edge, the house becomes much more secure for only an extra $1,000 or so. (A worthwhile investment at a time when house insurance is not available)

RW: One of the considerations is the cost involved. Many are short of funds and barely can find enough money to build that top part.

LL: There has to be some advice regarding hurricane-proofing of houses. I have always been concerned about the prefabricated buildings made of galvanize. Not the best for a volcanic country. If the mountain had carried on erupting and we got lots of hot ash, inside the buildings we’re going to be very uncomfortable. It was always going to be better to build concrete wall buildings, but if you don’t have the money and you’re not paying, you can’t choose.

RW: Galvanize or zinc is also more vulnerable than shingles in hurricanes.

LL: That’s right. In fact I think shingles on wood, the old traditional style, was not bad, but we know that concrete block walls are the best. They are heat resistant and they are hurricane resistant.

RW: Talking about hurricanes, the shape of the roof is also important.

LL: Oh yes, since Hugo most of the roofs are a little more steep and the overhangs shorter. We used to build long big overhangs for shelter and shade, sunlight, but after Hugo we just cut the overhangs off and the houses are more secure since.

RW: Mr. Lewis, just to sort of end where we started, how did you feel as you walked around your birthplace?

LL: I said it was an emotional experience, but not shocking. I expected it, not visions,we just imagined what would happen .

RW: What will you tell your parents?

LL: I told them already. I have photographs to send them.

RW: You know, we must say, though, that it is unsafe to go into the destroyed areas, we have a responsibility to say this.

LL: Yes, I only went there to complete an insurance claim. I had to do something to make it possible for my father and mother to come back to Montserrat as soon as possible. I tried to get their names on a list for housing, but people overseas are not priority. I think a man like my father, who has given all his life for this place, should have a safe place in Montserrat to live.

RW: They have a desire to come back to Montserrat"

LL: He’s miserable in England. He wants to come back to the Caribbean. My mother is having a ball, she gets on anywhere. She’s out every day, she runs three knitting, handiwork and craft classes a week, and she visits everybody. He will let her have a bit of fun for a while and then they will all head home.

RW: It was a good to touch base with you yet again to share your experiences. Right now in Montserrat there is a certain degree of excitement about the rebuilding process and many still can’t visualize the damaged areas, and just how they look. Some people have dreams that their own places remain intact.

LL: For me, the good news is that if this mountain doesn’t erupt again we’ll be able to use parts of Plymouth by Christmas or January.

RW: What are you going do with all that ash?

LL: First of all, the key thing about using Plymouth is that the jetty is too valuable an asset to ignore. Depending on how much it will cost to be dredged out, Plymouth can be used as a landing site for cargo and cruise ships.

RW: So you’re not talking about the rest of Plymouth?

LL: No, I’m just talking about access to that valuable asset. If nothing else happens from now on we only have to clear the roads straight down to the jetty. In time we can find a good use for all that ash and mud, perhaps ship it overseas or turn gullies into nice flat playing areas or agricultural land .

RW: We are out of tape and must stop now. Thank you so much.

LL: You are welcome. Thank you for talking to me.

Clarifications and Corrections

Referencing the May 8, 1998 issue and the story on page 2 under caption "Scores of People Join Massive Salem Cleanup" - top of second column of story, read: "...barrows cleaning up the place. The next thing I think we should do is clean up the park so that people could go down there and play, especially with the low level of Olveston, Old Road Beach and other places."

The highlighted portion should read: "especially with the low level of activity in Olveston, Old Road Beach and other places."

JUS' WONDERIN'

Jus wonderin if the current crop of criminal suspects hasn’t persuaded the authorities that a new prison should have been a bit higher on Montserrat’s list of priorities.

Jus wonderin whether anything else worth close to $1 million was left behind when Plymouth was abandoned.

Jus wonderin how many hours it takes to torch open a safe and how all that activity did go unnoticed.

Jus wonderin how long it will be before personal possessions stolen during break-ins in the Exclusion Zone will be restored to owners who have identified them.

Jus wonderin how the Royal Montserrat Police will enforce speed limits after resurfacing has eliminated all the potholes that demanded slow and careful driving.

Jus wonderin why the government’s warning that stray dogs would be "humanely put to sleep" has turned into shotgun blasts in the dark of night.

Jus wonderin, if Japanese are better able than Montserratians to co-exist with an active volcano, why the British Government won’t let Montserratians begin to learn to do the same.

Jus wonderin whether the planes carrying Clare Short to and from Guyana passed near enough to Montserrat to allow her to see the island for which she has such great compassion.

Jus wonderin what the dollar denomination the heist consisted of and whether there was foreign currency as well.

Jus wonderin why the cow did not want to relocate.

Jus wonderin why the cow preferred to die in Montserrat than go on the ship.

Jus wonderin why only the cattle in the eastern side of the exclusion zone were looked after and why not those on the western side.

ADVERTISEMENTS

CARICOM NOTICE

July 1998 will mark 25 years since the historic signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas, which gave birth to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

A special programme of activities is being planned to celebrate this historic achievement, during the 19^th conference of CARICOM Heads of Government, scheduled for 30 June to 4 July, 1998.

One of the activities planned, is the honouring of the 25 most outstanding Caribbean Sports Personalities, over the past 25 years.

The people of the Caribbean are invited to participate in a Caribbean-wide survey to choose these 25 Sports Personalities, who will be honoured by CARICOM Heads of Government during their Conference in St. Lucia.

You are asked to nominate the 25 persons whom in your opinion, qualify to be regarded as the 25 greatest Sports Personalities of the Caribbean during the last twenty-five years.

Nominations may be sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in any CARICOM Country, or directly to the following address:

The closing date for receipt of nominations is 31 May, 1998.

Liquidators' Notice

COLONY OF MONTSERRAT

IN THE MATTER of the Companies Act,

and IN THE MATTER of

CENTENNIAL BANK & TRUST COMPANY LIMITED

and

IN THE MATTER of a Members' Voluntary Winding up.

ADVERTISEMENT FOR CREDITORS TO PROVE CLAIMS

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the creditors of the abovenamed Company which is being wound up voluntarily are required on or before the 1st day of July, 1998 to send their names and addresses and the particulars of their claims and the names and addresses of their Legal Advisers (if any) to the undersigned GUSTAVO ORLANDO

CARABALLO, MARIA BELEN GARCIA, AND ROSALBA CACUCCIOLO or any of

them at A.V. FRANCISCO SOLANO L., EDIF. PASAJE CONCORDIA, PISO 9 OFIC.

9 - 3, SABANA GRANDE, CARACAS, VENEZUELA the Liquidators of the said Company and if so required by notice in writing from the said Liquidators are to come in and prove the said claim at such time and place as shall be specified in such notice or in default thereof they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such claims are proved.

Dated this 24th day of April, 1998.

Liquidators

MONLEC Vacancy

"Applications are invited to fill clerical positions in the Administration Department of Montserrat Electricity Services Ltd. (Monlec).

Only those persons who possses at least three O’Level or CXC passes, including Mathematics and English, will be considered. Interested persons are asked to apply in writing to the Managing Director, Montserrat Electricity Services Ltd. PO Box 16, Montserrat, to reach no later than Monday, May 25, 1998."

MSC Ltd. VACANCY ADVERTISEMENT

Applications are invited from persons - male or female- with technical aptitude, who are willing to be trained in the repair and maintenance of electrical and electronic office machines.

Applications should be addressed to:

to reach him not later than 23rd May, 1998. 

INLAND REVENUE DEPARTMENT NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNERS

Property Owners on Montserrat are hereby notified that 1998 Property Tax bills will be issued based on Executive Council decision No. 696 of 1997 which provides the following :

1. No Property Tax will be charged on properties located in the Exclusion Zone, but for those used commercially. The Exclusion Zone is defined as all properties south of the line which starts on the West Coast at the point where Nantes River reaches the sea and going easterly along the river to its source, then continuing easterly to Jack Boy Hill then due east into Pelican Ghaut, and easterly along Pelican Ghaut to the point where the river reaches the eastern coast.

2. Homeowners whose properties are situated in the Buffer Zone, that is, between Lawyers River and Nantes River will see a reduction of 25% on their Property Tax Bill for 1998 for those persons who heed Government's advise and relocate from the area.

3. All other properties located in the safe zone will be taxed normally as per current legislation.

Please note that where no tax is payable no bills will be issued.

THE CARIBBEAN EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL (CXC), the regional examining body, invites applications for the following posts located at the Council’s Headquarters in Barbados.

1. ASSISTANT REGISTRAR (BUSINESS) ANALYST

Applicants should have:

1. A good first degree in Computer Science or related discipline from a recognised university;
2. Formal training in Project Management, Systems Analysis and Design Methodologies;
3. Excellent organisational, management, administrative and supervisory skills;
4. Planning, analytical and research capabilities.

The successful candidate will perform the duties of Business Analyst and will be required to align the business and strategic objective of the Council with IS/IT projects identified for development and provide project management support to the application development teams in the development teams in the development of required information systems for the Council.

(b) ASSISTANT REGISTRAR (NETWORK ADMINISTRATION)

Applicants should have:

1. A good first degree in Computer Science or related discipline from a recognised university; AND/OR A post-graduate qualification in Information Systems;
2. Network Administration Certification (CAN, CNE) or similar training;
3. Experience in administering network and communication protocols (TCP/IP);
4. Familiarity with Windows NT would be an asset.

The successful candidate will perform the duties of Network Administrator and will be required to design, plan implement, monitor and manage network systems for the entire organisation; install and manage the Internet Service and train new users in network operations.

(c) ASSISTANT REGISTRAR (CUSTOMER SERVICES)

Applicants should have:

1. A good first degree from a recognised university or relevant professional qualification;
2. A post-graduate qualification in Marketing or Public Relations;
3. Experience in the field of marketing, public relations and customer service;
4. Experience in the use of Multimedia Applications;
5. Good oral and written communication skills;
6. Excellent interpersonal skills.

The successful candidate will be required to monitor customer satisfaction, plan for and provide customer services and public relations, and market syllabuses, specimen/past papers and other CXC materials and services.

COMPENSATION

Salary in the scale: - BDS$43,956 x 1,644 -57,108

(under review)

Allowances

Entertainment - BDS$270 per month

Travel - BDS$415 per month

Housing - 20% of basic salary

The Council also offers pension, group life and health insurance schemes. Relocation assistance is provided where necessary.

Applications, marked "Confidential" accompanied by a detailed curriculum vitae, documentary evidence of qualifications, and the names, addresses and telephone/fax numbers of three referees should be sent no later than May 19, 1998 to: The Registrar, Caribbean Examinations Council, The Garrison, St Michael, Barbados, West Indies. (Attention: Personnel Division). Fax: (246) 429-5421. Applicants resident in Jamaica should send applications to the Pro-Registrar, Caribbean Examinations Council, Western Zone Office, Caenwood Centre, 37 Arnold Road, Kingston 5, Jamaica, West Indies, for onward transmission to Barbados.

Forward all Questions, Comments and Suggestions to: roachb@candw.ag

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