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Bramble Tight-Lipped About Why Full Sand Consultations Now

Foxes Bay; showing recent sand mining

Montserrat’s Environmental and Agriculture Minister Mr. Percival Bramble, is tight-lipped about why he is only now moving to convene a meeting with environmentalists and other interest groups, about the mining of sand in a designated wildlife refuge and bird sanctuary, during the nesting season of turtles.
Bramble’s announcement one month ago that Foxes Bay beach was opened for mining sand for building construction, has come in for sharp criticism from the Montserrat National Trust (MNT) at a time when the June 1 to September 30 turtle nesting season is on.
Senior officials at the Agriculture and Environment Ministry have deemed the decision by Bramble to open Foxes Bay for sand-mining a "political" one, because none of the technical experts, they said, was consulted about the adverse impact such activity could have on the turtles.
The Agriculture and Environment Minister said that arrangements are now in their "embryonic" stage for the holding of a meeting with environmentalists, builders, contractors and people who need homes now "to see if we can find a point of accommodation."
Asked about why no consultation like the one being planned now was not held before announcing the opening of Foxes Bay, he said "there was a lot of pressure" and admitted that all the relevant authorities were not consulted.
"There is great need, pressing need among people who are building houses, so we decided…but there were some discussions. It did not involve everybody," Bramble told the Montserrat Reporter.
The decision to approve the mining of sand at Foxes Bay, the Minister said, was made after considering the volume of sand there.
Until the meeting is held, Bramble declined to comment about why no consideration was given about the negative impact the removal of the sand could have on the Hawks Bill and Green Turtle, now in their June 1 to September 30 nesting period.
Under existing laws, anyone caught removing sand from any beach with a vehicle without the necessary permission could face a three-month jail term and fined EC$2,000.
It is against the Beach Protection Ordinance to disturb the breeding grounds, handle, sell or interfere with any turtle during the period closed to turtle harvesting.
The MNT has already warned that "digging sand even one foot away is as dangerous as hitting the turtles," an activity that could lead to a tourist boycott.
Environmentalists also caution against the removal of the sand from the beaches especially during the hurricane season because it could lead to increased coastal erosion and the dirtying of the sea water with loose soil and volcanic debris, and the destruction of mangroves which serve as a natural sea defence mechanism.
A recent visit to Foxes Bay revealed that old vehicle tires and plywood were left there while some sand was piled up for eventual removal.
The National Environmental Action Plan of 1994 states that in 1993, the Montserrat government imposed a ban on beach mining throughout the entire island, excepting the very degraded coastal beach at Trants.

The island’s estimated 400 civil servants are expected to get their 5-percent back-pay next week as officers of the Treasury work late into the night to complete the paper-work, according to Accountant General Mrs. Geraldine Cabey.

She attributed the delay in making the pay-out for the January to April period to the need to verify records and do background work on temporary workers and pensioners so that they and other persons on the fixed payroll could be paid all at once.

"It would have been discriminatory to pay some and have some wait," she said.

Officers of the Treasury, she said, have been working as late as 10 p.m. each night after doing their routine work during the day. "Most of the processing had to be done after hours," Mrs. Cabey added.

Vice-President of the Civil Service Association (CSA) Easton Farrel said that his organisation understood the problem of short-staff at the Treasury’s office, so "we have not contemplated any pressure."

The back-pay is retroactive to January 1 this year but state-paid employees have received their new salary during each of the last three months

The CSA Executive, he said, was not ruling out discussing the matter and possibly "tying" down the authorities to a payment deadline.

Just about six hours after the Principal of the Montserrat Secondary School (MSS) Ms. Kathleen Greenaway identified the problem of discipline at the MSS, Auddius Thomas,16, who only last Tuesday graduated from that institution, allegedly inflicted grievous bodily harm to Nathaniel Dubbery,16, in a fight following an after-graduation party.

Auddius and his brother Jonathan, 15, have since been charged in connection with the incident

Senior Magistrate Mr. Brian Cottle today granted the duo 10,000 bail each and so two sureties would have to be provided to guarantee the payment of the money if the two escape.

Their passports have been also ordered surrendered to the police, they are to report to Police Headquarters daily and remain in the custody of their parents.

They are to appear in court again next Friday, giving more time for the police to complete investigations into the incident which resulted in Duberry having to be air-dashed in an unconscious condition to Guadeloupe for emergency treatment.

Duberry is sustaining wounds to his left temple and over the left eye, the police said.

Police Superintendent John Douglas said that if they are found guilty on the indictable charge, the Thomas brothers could face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment..

Auddius claimed that Duberry cuffed him on his mouth but the police are yet to establish that and possibly lay a charge of simple assault on him until he recovers, the Police officer added.

He said that the incident occurred shortly after 10:00PM Tuesday night after-graduation party ended.

Duberry allegedly threatened to stone those not belonging to Cudjoe Head village and while the Thomas brothers were leaving the area he followed and stoned them with bottles, the police officer said.

The trio, he reported , eventually met on a nearby play-field where a fight ensued during which time the alleged wounding took place.

The alleged involvement of Auddius in the fracas occurred just hours after the MSS Principal outlined the major areas of indiscipline at the school in her report at the graduation and speech day exercise.

These included, violence, stealing, disrespect for each other and school property, absenteeism and involvement of students in sexual activities.

"The School Board met several times for the year in an effort to resolve difficult disciplinary problems," Greenaway told the gathering that included Police Commissioner Mr. Chris Burgess and Education Minister Mrs. Adelina Tuitt.

During the 1998-1999 Academic Year, one female student left because of pregnancy and four were expelled, the Principal stated.

She emphasized the need for a Guidance Counselor/School Psychologist to be employed by the MSS to assist in dealing with children in difficult social circumstances.

Thirty-two students graduated from the MSS with the Best Graduating Student Ms. Carla Fergus presenting the Valedictorian’s Remarks

MSS Valedictorian 1999, Ms. Carla Fergus 

The Feature Address was delivered by the Education Minister.

Montserrat's Soufriere Hills began another phase of eruption on July 18, 1995, just a week less than four years ago. When it began, the scientists eventually said, just like they say today -- never with 100-percent guarantee, because volcanology is not an exact science -- that the eruption could last up to a minimum of five years.

At the beginning, and certainly up to mid 1997, many of those most concerned did not take this seriously. Therefore mistakes were made, some of them serious. But here we are today and we seem still not to have awakened from the shock of the destruction and loss we have all suffered. And who are the ones who should be most concerned, us or the ones who must foot the bill?

It is often said that not everyone lost, and it is even pretended so. But it really does not require deep study to learn the truth of the matter, even though those whose responsibility it is to look after the sufferers will continue to find every means to malinger.

It must be most rare for any nation to be faced with the indomitable task of rebuilding an island, no matter how small. The world is familiar with the destruction of war and other natural disasters, but none can compare with the destruction that Montserrat has faced. It is unlike that faced by the Kosovars, the latest casualties of war, where their lands, buildings, homes and bridges and infrastructure have been bombed into shambles.

At the very least they can return and do the repairs, even though comparatively the numbers are much greater. Montserratians, on the other hand, cannot return and must do without, what in many cases, required many years and generations of hard work, building and acquiring. These areas are simply not accessible.

But this leaves us with the task of beginning life, as it were, all over again. That is not easy, of course, but as we listen to many death announcements of Montserratians today, we hear that many had lived to their mid-80s and 90s. This suggests that those who are aged at least 60, to be generous, should expect to be able to say in less than 10 years that the experience was worth it.

Montserrat is a small place. Those of us who remember the destruction of Hurricane Hugo marveled at the speed of recovery. But we were just about to begin the upturn of the graph when volcanic disaster struck that made Hurricane Hugo's devastation seem like destructive child’s play. How many of us believe, however, that in a little while we should be looking forward to a life that was better than the one experienced prior to volcanic eruption? How many of us are prepared to do what is necessary to achieve the conditions that will bring us to a state of self-worth (in every sense of the word)?

Our biggest danger is that we will be the architects of our own future ruin, that we will be guilty of the sin of omission, among others.

We will be guilty of allowing ourselves to be enslaved; guilty of not knowing the truth of what the right honourable Clare Short really meant when she said there must be no profiteering for Montserratians; guilty of allowing £75 million to be allocated to Montserrat to "sustain our development" but winding up with no development. Are we listening seriously to Governor Abbott?

Among the chief agents in this disaster will be those who took upon themselves the task of building the economy, the entrepreneurs and businessmen. They are the ones who more than anyone else should seek to understand and keep the government on their toes in keeping its promise to be "the catalyst of the economy of Montserrat."

Do they and the people of Montserrat know what this statement means or should mean? Do they even know this was said; whether the Government and its employees know what this means; whether the architects of the statement believe what they designed?

Whose duty is it to ensure that responsibilities are honestly carried out? It is not just a single one of us, and, yes, we have to check on each other in carrying out these responsibilities.

Are we prepared for the slump already taking place now that the British "emergency houses" are completed? Are we noticing where a high percentage of the £75 million goes? Did Governor Abbott really explain why we must have "highly paid British consultants and managers? Did he really explain why, despite the fact that our disaster is so different, aid must be delivered so slowly? Will he explain how things are different from when the Select Parliamentary Committee accused his Government of mismanaging the crisis?

The underlying task for agents of the Kingdom and a number of those in the corridors of local governance and decision making must be the immediate recognition of the media as an agent of democracy, change and development rather than a channel to shove dictates down our throats and so waste time and money.

Dear Mr. Editor,

They were the backbone of the crisis management. They were guards, peacekeepers and work mules. No job was too hard or too dangerous for them. Many of them spent many nights away from family to give their undying duty to country. And this is the thanks they get? Is this how we hail heroes?

I am talking about the hard-working men and women of the Royal Montserrat Defence Force (RMDF). Some ROYALTY they have received, after they have time and time again risked life and limb for country, only now to receive the shaft for their efforts. This is appalling and very disgraceful.

I fondly remember the nights when I drove from Gerald's to Monlec's Salem Generation Site with the relief Power Station operators. I had the RMDF as company on many of those nights. Like clockwork, I always met them on the road, taking in the midnight relief. At times when many of us were in bed sleeping, these men were up doing their duty.

And now, because of actions taken by the RMDF members to bring their disgruntlement to light, they are bent over and kicked in the rear.

Is this how we thank them? Is this how we show gratitude? Do we expect them to toe the line again when another crisis hits? Are we forgetting that we are in the hurricane season? Are not we burning our bridges here? Where is the public outcry?

I do not have to sit here and list all the things the RMDF has done. They were some of the first ones to accompany the scientists to the mountain when the volcano started up. Whenever there was dirty work to be done, the RMDF was requested. They built many shelters while for a long time they lived in tents, before building shelters for themselves. Many of them were traumatized when they had to remove dead bodies from the danger zone on that ill-fated day. I heard for myself many of the nightmares that these men had. Some of them still have them to this day. Yet, they never received even one weekend break, all expenses paid in plush Antiguan hotels. Where is the public outcry?

The RMDF gets kicked in the rear while certain other privileged few are afforded fortnightly, all-expenses-paid sabbaticals that come out of the £75 million. Is this justice? Is this fair? Is this right? Is this how we will reward all those who chose to stay behind to help rebuild our country? Where is the public outcry?

Have we forgotten when that young lad drowned in the pond at Geralds? Was not it members of the RMDF who, without hesitation, and with no regard for the possible health hazards, dived into that muck to fish his body out while many stood idly by? Ask them how much antibiotics they were pumped with after that? What short memories we all have! Where is the public outcry?

The RMDF are our "WAR HEROES". They stood up to the mighty volcano and survived. They did what many of us were and still are afraid to do. WE WILL NEED THEM AGAIN! And if they do not turn up, could anyone blame them after the treatment they have received? Let all the critics say what they may, at the end of the day WE MONTSERRATIANS MUST STAND UP FOR OUR HEROES! Today it is our RMDF. May it be the rest of us tomorrow?

Where are all of the praises for them now? Now that they are not perceived needed, are the members of our RMDF to be dishonourably and indiscriminately discharged and denied their just reward? Are not we being very hypocritical here, praising them in time of need, and crapping on them when they are no longer in our good graces?

Where is the public outcry?

Darren Roache

via e-mail: darren.roache@diamond.co.uk

I woke up the other day feeling not very joyful. Instead of seeking joy, I frowned on the day. Could I have approached the day differently? Later in the week, a friend answered my question through his actions. He was doing anything remarkable; rather, he was simply singing a joyful song unto the Lord. I asked him, "Hey , David, what are you so happy about today? He replied, "Oh, nothing special. I just sing when I am feeling down."

"Felling down?" I pondered his words. I would never have thought that my friend was unhappy. I saw him only in a state of joy. David taught me that I can show joy regardless of how I feel when I wake up. And, by reflecting joy, I can become joyful.

My friend David’s lesson reminds me of Job, who, in spite of his circumstances expressed faith in God. Through years of anguish, Job held on to his faith and saw his life restored. As his friend Bildad told him, Go would fill Job’s "mouth with laughter and (his) lips with shouts of joy" (Job 8:21, NIV).

Prayer: Dear Lord, may we seek your joy in all we say and do. Help us be an example of joy that others want to emulate. Amen.

NEWS BRIEFS

Careen Edgecombe and Samuel Joseph

Preliminary examination results show that two Montserratians have completed their degree programmes this June with outstanding performances, according to Resident Tutor of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Dr. Howard Fergus.

One of them is Ms. Careen Edgecombe, the daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Denzil Edgecombe of Manjack, who gained a First Class Degree in English (Literature).

The other is Mr. Samuel Joseph, son of Mr. & Mrs. John Joseph of Drummonds, also with a First Class Degree in Science and Technology, majoring in Physics and Mathematics.

"First Class degrees at the University of the West Indies denote exceptional and even uncommon achievement, and these students have done themselves and the island great credit. They deserve the highest accolades," Fergus said in a statement.

Graduates with First Class degrees are normally expected to go on to graduate studies and research leading to Ph.D. degrees. "We look forward to exciting careers" from the island’s two latest top university achievers, Fergus said.

While Mr. Samuel Joseph is off-island and could not be reached, speaking with Montserrat Reporter, Ms. Edgecombe was elated at her academic achievement.

"I feel gratified. I’ve worked hard to achieve what I have achieved."

"It is not luck, it is quite hard work, she said.

While encouraging others to continue working towards academic excellence, she did not want to say what is her next endeavour. "Right now, we are going to take it one step at a time," Edgecombe added.

She attributed her success to the support of her room-mate Ms. Chelsia Thomas because "we worked quite hard, she has been at my side all the way."

"I congratulate my friend Vanesta Lewis for her like achievement."

Her Montserratian friends in Barbados and the Montserrat Tourist Board, she said, also contributed to her success.

Dr. Glenford Howe of the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies is one of our recent earners of First Class honours. His research and publication work at the UWI is outstanding.

Cattle on the loose in Olde Towne

Efforts are being made to ship off island remaining unwanted animals that are languishing in the unsafe volcanic area of Montserrat, Director of Agriculture Claude Gerald said Tuesday.

"One of the things we are trying to do is to get these animals off island but that is fraught with some difficulty," he told the Reporter.

Among the bottlenecks yet to be resolved before the cattle, sheep and goats are shipped, possibly to the Windwards, are the payment and arrangement of freight, market availability and logistics for collecting the animals from the unsafe area.

Mr. Gerald said he expects a shipment to be made to the Leeward Islands by this yearend, "once we can get enough of the bits of the puzzle together."

Consignments of animals have already been sent to Dominica, St. Kitts Nevis and Antigua.

Many of the animals have been left to roam by owners how fled the island or moved to the safe north as a result of activity at the Soufriere Hills volcano.

"The safe area really and truly cannot take any more animals than it has. There is just no room for these animals," the Director of Agriculture said.

Calves, goats and sheep have been the targets of stray dogs.

Authorities are also moving to catch, export or possibly poison the dogs, most of which have been left behind by their owners who fled the now four-year-old volcanic crisis.

Montserrat's Chief Minister David Brandt is appealing to the rest of the Caribbean to assist with providing skilled and qualified experts to fill the gaps left by those who fled the island as a result of the now four-year old volcanic crisis, according to a statement from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat.

"We are seeking assistance from some of our Caribbean colleagues, and others for technical assistance. Most of our persons who are trained in the various areas have left the island and, although there is the money, we do not have the experts to give us the right kind of service," Mr. Brandt was quoted as saying at the opening of the just concluded 20th meeting of CARICOM leaders held in Trinidad.

The Chief Minister's appeal was made at a time when the island is pursuing a three-pronged approach to its redevelopment away from the Soufriere Hills volcano that continues to belch ash, steam, gas and hot rock as unstable parts of the dome continue to fall off.

The three development plans for Montserrat, prepared in conjunction with the British government, are the Sustainable Development Plan, a Country Policy Plan and a Physical Development Plan.

The Chief Minister of this British dependent territory seized the opportunity of the meeting of regional heads of government to thank the region for assistance given in, among other areas, the construction of houses for those seeking refuge in the safe north of the island.

Montserratians, he said, scattered in other countries want to return home, but the major constraint is getting housing in the safe-north away from the volcano, which claimed 19 lives two years ago.

The Chief Minister praised Barbados for assistance provided in grappling with the housing crisis that still leaves 330 Montserratians living in temporary housing.

The Barbados government recently deployed a team of workers to continue construction on a number of houses, expected to be completed by the end of August.

Montserrat is currently lobbying executives of FIFA -- world football governing body -- for US$1 million to buy Olveston House for the creation of a football complex, according to Lionel Nanton, one of the island’s representatives to FIFA’s Extraordinary Congress.

Mr. Nanton said he was expecting to seize the opportunity of the Congress scheduled for today in Los Angeles to talk privately with executives in an effort to persuade the organization to release the funds in one tranche instead of over a four-year period.

"They hold the purse strings so we have to talk with them to release the funds so that we would be able to purchase the property," he told the Reporter.

FIFA, he said, has promised each member territory US$1million over a four-year period, but "we are trying to get all of it up front."

Originally the cost of the property was US$1.3 million but Nanton said that local sporting authorities were able to negotiate for a slight reduction in the cost.

If the property is acquired, it is envisaged that the facility would be used as a multi-disciplinary sporting facility to be called a "Centre of Excellence" for children to swim and play netball, basketball, cricket, and tennis.

"What we are trying to do is to get the kids away from the streets and do meaningful sports so later on in life, when we have moved on, they would be able to take over the mantle in the sports arena," he said.

Areas around the Belham River and the W.H. Bramble Airport could again be affected by mudslides if very heavy rains accompany hurricanes to the island, according to a senior official of the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO).

"The mudflows will be enhanced if there is a lot of rainfall, so we could expect some small collapses from the dome and very vigorous mudflows during the passage of any hurricane, but nothing worse than that is to be expected," Chief Scientist at the MVO Dr. Simon Young told the Reporter.

Among the areas expected to be affected again by mudflows are the area around the Belham River and the abandoned W.H. Bramble Airport.

The once deep Belham River has been filled up with mud and huge rocks that flowed down from the volcano during previous spells of heavy rain.

Tall trees in the Belham area now appear quite short as the land level has risen as a result of the mudflows around the area now uninhabited.

Dr. Young’s prediction that the airport area could be affected came not long after the British had expressed a willingness to fund the rehabilitation of the airport instead of financing construction of a brand new one at Thatch Valley.

Senior aviation officials here have voiced opposition to the reopening of W.H. Bramble, fearing that volcanic activity can again force its closure and result in a waste of money.

A more permanent and aviation-worthy heliport is being constructed at Gerald’s in the hope that it would receive international certification.

The MVO Chief Scientist, who said that lessons were learnt about the volcano-hurricane relationship from last year’s effect of Hurricane George on the island, predicted that even if there are ash-falls the impact over the safe-north of the island would be minimal because the moisture would keep down the particles.

Montserratians are already preparing for this year’s hurricane season as authorities continue to strengthen shelters, according to spokesman for the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Richard Aspin.

The EOC has already distributed about 4,000 advisory pamphlets on hurricane dos and don’ts to householders and business owners.

Residents are, nevertheless, taking cue from previous experiences with hurricanes and have already begun preparing for the 1999 Tropical Storm season.

"What we have been seeing since June 1 are lots of people preparing properties for what we call our pre-season activities, making sure that all of the loose stuff is taken out of the gardens and the yard and making sure that gas-bottles and plant-pots are secured," Mr. Aspin told the Reporter.

Describing preparations as "advanced" and "on stream," the EOC spokesman said that already five hurricane shelters have been inspected and are being refurbished to accommodate about 40-percent of the island’s population of 4,500 persons.

The refurbishing of the shelters cost about EC$120,000.

Other preparations currently underway are the reinforcement of the sea-side, hill-top government headquarters, which many persons believe cannot withstand a hurricane.

The new government offices were set up at Brades after they were forced to move from the original building in the volcano-devastated capital of Plymouth.

Authorities at the Little Bay Port, the EOC spokesman said, have also activated a hurricane emergency preparation plan that includes the re-distribution of the shipping container system and ensuring that importers remove their consignments from the warehouse.

In the area of local and international telecommunications, Mr. Aspin stated that the now four-year-old volcanic crisis has provided the island with the opportunity of laying underground lines between the EOC and Cable and Wireless (Montserrat) so that they would not be affected by high winds.

Mobile satellite phone units that are battery-powered have been also provided to the phone company, the EOC and the office of Britain’s Governor to Montserrat, Mr. Anthony Abbott, so that "we can make contact with the outside world almost immediately."

Montserrat’s latest addition to the Queen’s Honours List, Elliot Lionel Beresford Nanton, has singled out the advancement of football on the island as one of his major achievements.

"The thing that pleases me most is football. My family and I are quite happy to have accepted the honour the Queen has bestowed," he said in an interview with the Montserrat Reporter at Little Bay.

Mr. Nanton is on the Queen’s Birthday Honours for 1999 and so has been awarded the Member of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of his "lifelong contribution to the Montserrat Community particularly in the area of sport and through his involvement with voluntary organisations."

Shortly before his departure for Los Angeles, where FIFA’s Extraordinary Congress is scheduled to be held today, he recalled that "at one time there was no football league" on this British dependency.

Now, Montserrat can boast that it has passed through the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), CONCACAF and eventually a "full member" of FIFA.

Mr. Nanton, a member of Jaycees and Lions International, recalled receiving a number of other awards but said the MBE "just tops it off."

"I don’t take any stock of what I have done because I do them as they come. I really wasn’t looking for anything…I am asked to do something, I just go ahead and do it," he added.

He has been for many years the Chairman of the Disaster Preparedness Committee for the Plymouth Constituency and has also been involved in a range of other sporting disciplines.

A feature first published in Bermuda’s Royal Gazzette about the performance of Anique, a daughter of Dr. Sonia Meade- Swanston.

Anique won the subject prizes for Science and Foreign Language and copped the Hollis Trophy for the highest academic achievement at the Whitney Institute.

In addition to the excellent academic achievement of Anique, the eldest sister Dekha graduated from the Berkeley Institute, a Bermudan high school, with double honours. With an average of 80 percent and a Grade Point Average of 3.8 , Dekha was the recipient of subject prizes in Biology and Physics as wells as an awardee of the Science Cup, Dr. Swanston-Meade said.

"This performance by all three girls attests to the excellent start which they received in Montserrat and we were justly proud of them for doing so well despite all the adversity they have faced," Dr. Meade-Swanston said in a letter to this newspaper.

She expressed her thanks to her daughters’ past teachers and well-wishers here on Montserrat, adding that "we as Montserratians can hold our heads up and be proud."

In the summer months Young Observer is profiling top students from throughout the island in recognition of their exemplary performance during the school year.

A new Journey begins: Whitney Middle School’s top student Anique Swanston has plenty to smile about.

Anique Swanston is this year’s top student from the Whitney Middle School.

Thirteen-year old Anique moved to Bermuda from the island of Montserrat two years ago with her family.

She arrived at the time when traditional school system was beginning its transition into the new comprehensive system.

While the school system was new, there were some changes from the way she was taught back home in Montserrat. Anique said the most prominent was the "different ways of teaching."

"One class knows each other," she said referring to schools in Montserrat.

She added that here the transition for herself was hard because he did not know the students personally.

As for the level of schooling, Anique acknowledged: "Students are up to my standards. There are more people competing, getting higher grades."

Although she is not sure about what she plans to do later in life, she is toying with idea of working in the field of dermatology.

She did admit that at times she has to "remember to study."

"If you don’t study, grades will suffer," she said.

Basing her routine on the method of studying one subject then focussing on the more difficult subject has led to a sound plan.

Anique added: "You won’t get anywhere without study."

In addition to academics she said she enjoys playing sports, particularly softball and netball.

However, she admitted she preferred to do a "different variety of activities."

One of her role models was her second grade teacher Mrs. Patsy Ryan who she credits as being a "great teacher."

"And off course my mother ," Anique quickly added.

She is planning to attend either the Berkeley Institute of Mount Saint Agnes Academy this coming September.

And with a bright future ahead she pointed to the poem by Government Senator Patrice Parris as a source of inspiration. It is entitled "The me I am aiming to be."

Countries are being urged not to "impose" rules that could affect the climate of financial services, according to Deputy Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) Mr. Errol Allen.

"To find a balance between the twin objectives of efficiency and safety has always been a challenge for governments when they examine proposals to change the regulatory framework for the financial system.

"One should have sufficient regulations to meet international standards but not impose rules that they dampen business enthusiasm," he said.

Allen’s advice was contained in his feature address at the opening of the Third Annual Off-shore Collective Investment Scheme Supervisors (OGCISS) Meeting being hosted by the ECCB in neighbouring St. Kitts.

He pointed out that while consumers of financial services are best served when there is effective comeptition among institutions and providers, tensions could arise between the goals of fostering greater competition within the financial sector and preserving safety and stability.

The two day meeting was attended by supervisors of off-shore financial services from international off-shore centres including Malaysia, the Channel Islands, British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Barbados and the ECCB member states.

Discussions were expected to focus on licensing standards, membership rules, training and regulatory developments, in keeping with the group's objectives to encourage the application of high standards of supervision and regulation, based on international principles, and to facilitate co-operation and the sharing of knowledge between off-shore regulators and supervisors of collective investment schemes.

Presentations were also slated to be made on the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and European Union (EU) initiatives aimed at so-called "harmful" tax treatment by off-shore jurisdictions and the Edwards Review of regulation in UK overseas territories.

The OGCISS was formed in 1997.

The inaugural meeting was held in the Cayman Islands in 1997, and the second in Bermuda in 1998.

A 53-member contingent of Antigua Girl Guides who last weekend visited the island of Montserrat have expressed "sympathy" for the devastation caused by the Soufriere Hills volcano over the last four years.

Leader of the Antigua delegation Ms. Susan Sharpe, however, said they had an "enjoyable" stay on the island during their one-day visit on Saturday for which they thanked the Montserrat Guides.

The Antigua Girl Guides, who were hosted by their Montserratian counterparts, were taken on a guided tour of some of areas in the designated Exclusion Zone.

A recent visit by the Montserrat Reporter to areas as far as Plymouth revealed that many government and privately-owned buildings are buried by the volcanic debris of ash, rock and mud.

Only the roofs of a few of the very tall buildings are barely peeping out of the tonnes of the greyish material.

I welcome this opportunity to make some brief remarks on this historic and memorable occasion, and to extend best wishes to the residents of Lookout for continued happiness and success.

I am also delighted to express these sentiments to the friends and well wishers of the Lookout Community.

This community was established as a response to providing a suitable housing stock for the people who were displaced from their homes by volcanic activity. Lookout was born out of many communities. It represents a community of persons drawn from different parts of the island. Residents hail from Long Ground to Plymouth to St. Patrick’s to Cork Hill. There are teachers, civil servants, bank clerks, social workers, nurses, and skilled workmen.

They bring a variety of skills, knowledge, experiences and attitudes which will be useful ingredients for the shaping of a dynamic and progressive community. With the talent, resources and resourcefulness of the residents, the excellent panoramic views, location to the cooling trades, the future of this community is assured.

However, these would not be enough for the vibrancy to be maintained. Additional conditions must be met and you, the residents, the shareholders, must continue to make your contribution to the further development of the Community.

In the past, many community groups have been assembled, and with similar fanfare, as we are participating in today. However, when the honeymoon period was over, many of these groups fizzled out mainly because of the lack of commitment, discipline and loyalty. I trust and hope that this does not happen here and that residents will continue to work together as a unit for the common good of a community so aptly named, and indeed of the entire country. I would now borrow the motto of the Trojan Social and Cultural Club from the 70’s and 80’s – "working together you can make it last."

Each person must pledge to do all in his/her power to ensure the longevity of Lookout.

For success to be achieved there are several critical ingredients, a few of which I will now highlight.

First, have a vision. Establish shared goals, and the community must agree these.

When everyone becomes involved in charting the course for the development of a dynamic community, commitment is increased. This step is critical and must involve all shareholders, for ownership is a most essential element in the life of any organization.

This has the effect of pulling people together, and provides them with an opportunity for seeing where they fit into the community structure and the contribution they are making.

Having been part of a team to plan and establish a vision, everyone will want to see their plans come to fruition and so will bring a high level of determination to the activities and the life in the community. Problems will emerge, but these must be translated to opportunities.

Secondly, it must be recognized that community building should not -- in fact must not -- be seen as the domain of any one person or small group of persons to exercise power and control. It must be a community effort shared by all persons living in the community. In addition, the development of Lookout cannot merely take place in a reactionary way. Rather, the Community Group could serve as the engine to promote a development plan for the community. Residents could then be assigned to teams, based on their interest, to implement different aspects of the plan.

Remember, people would be more willing to work, in fact they work better, when they feel they are part of a team and so the achievements would be greater.

A vital element of the vision must seek the pursuit of a strong Christian Community in which it is recognized that God is the centre of each resident’s life and the life of the community. It must be further recognized that a community built on Christian principles would be like a house anchored on an unshakable foundation. When the social storms of life threaten, individuals would be firm and resolute and a thriving community will survive.

For some time, it was the belief that the spirit of community was mauled by the uncontrolled growth of individualism. Many people became egotistic and self-centred. Today, you have demonstrated to the world that this spirit of WE, of US of Community, is still alive here in Lookout. (Three Cheers).

Thirdly, residents must be willing to ‘look out’ for each other. For instance, when your neighbour’s vegetable patch is under the attack of animals, get busy. Don’t allow another person’s labour and toil of weeks/maybe months to be chewed up in a day. You could be the beneficiaries, for an abundance of produce could result in some personal savings.

‘Look out’ for the youth. Take an active interest in their education, in their wellbeing. Accept the corporate responsibility for the upbringing and force them to be more accountable for their behaviours. Your group could become an important institution which could provide support and guidance to the children living in the area. They are an integral part of the resource base of the community, the future both of this community and this country. Ensure that they become strong and robust, that they have positive attitudes and a sound values system.

‘Look out’ for the elderly residents living in the community. They are important persons and must be treated with love and respect. It is not unusual these days to find many of the younger persons among us who show utter disregard for the aged.

Life is cyclical, and those who treat the elderly in inhumane ways could find themselves as the recipients of similar treatment in the future.

You must also ‘look out’ for yourself. Seize opportunities for growth and further professional development. Pay particular concern to your health, for healthy individuals produce a healthy community. Let me emphasize that health represents the wealth of the community and indeed the entire country.

‘Look out’ for further opportunities for further growth and advancement of the community. Whether they are in the area of infrastructural works or for the proper storage and disposal of the garbage you produce, or for beautifying the community or protecting the environment. As a shareholder, you have a vested interest.

Therefore, you must participate. Make your contribution.

The spirit of community will be evident when you look out for each other.

In conclusion, I would like to salute you on this occasion. I trust that God will send his guardian angels to protect your community from the effects of hurricanes and other natural disasters throughout this hurricane season and at all times.

Continue to work together for the further development of your community and your country.

I thank you.

A cheque for £500 was presented to the President of the Golden Years Home for the Elderly earlier this week.

Montserratian Mary Tuitt, who lived in England for many years, requested the donation of the Montserrat Association of Kent.

Mrs. Tuitt is a strong supporter of the Golden Years Home and has, herself, made several donations to the Home.

The donation from the Association of Kent is one of several such gifts from the said organisation to Montserrat over the years.

The association has already donated wheelchairs to the St. John’s hospital, and books to the Ministry of Education.

Montserratian William "Will" Cabey is the president of the Montserrat Association of Kent.

With the lifting of the travel advisory against Montserrat, short- and long-term visits to the island are expected to increase significantly in coming months.

This past weekend saw at least three groups from neighbouring islands spending several days on island.

These groups included 53 members of several Girl Guide packs out of Antigua, members and supporters of the Montserrat Association of Dominica and a group of Guyanese now living in Antigua.

Members from the various groups have expressed their gratitude for being able to see the Montserrat experience after the devastation caused by the deadly Soufriere Hills volcano.

The groups were taken on tours to several locations, including the abandoned capital, Plymouth, Richmond Hill, St. George’s Hill and the W.H Bramble Airport.

The Montserrat Branch of the Communications giant, Cable and Wireless, has made some amendments to its 1999 telephone directory.

The company says the amendments include new telephone listings of residents and businesses for the period January 1 to May 13 this year.

Cable and Wireless only made the 1999 telephone directory available to residents several months ago.

The new directory takes into account the many changes that have been made since the start of the volcanic crisis which started four years ago.

Copies of the amendments are available at Cable and Wireless’ Office in Sweeney’s.

The amended sheet should be attached to each personal copy of the 1999 telephone directory.

Mr. President, Members of the Executive of the Lookout Community Action Group and Guests - Good Afternoon - and thank you for your welcome.

Your welcome is the more kind because I cannot be joined by the Honourable Minister P. Austin Bramble, who is representing Montserrat at the United Nations.

Also, Montserrat’s first Director of Housing, Mrs. Sarita Francis, is representing us at an Environmental Conference in London. I bring their greetings to you. I know you will forgive and understand their absence today.

There is much to be done to help reconstruct our island. It is important that we press our cause in New York and London. But, also, I am sure you will agree, we must look to what can be done here on island and in the community.

Your own hard work in organising this Lookout Day is just such an example of what can be achieved by a Community. I congratulate your Committee and the many helpers for playing your part too.

Honourable Minister Austin Bramble, in an interview earlier this week, paid tribute to all involved in working on the housing project in Lookout. He rightly mentioned our overseas partners, and singled out Montserratians for their help.

He was right to do so.

When the Government acquired this site at Lookout for the construction of 50 homes, we were breaking new ground. Building homes on virgin land is hard enough, but to turn this land and empty homes into a community calls for something else - something more special.

History tells us this too. In 1624, a devout Christian, John Donne, wrote about communities. He said:

"No man is an island, entire of itself."

Your Community Group has shown this, and is, in the words of a current ZJB advertisement, "a role model to the community." But despite your achievements and patience, I must ask more of you.

Lookout now houses over 200 people. But with the completion of a further 165 homes, another 400 Montserratians will join you at Lookout. It is important that you welcome them. May I tell you why?

There are two reasons:

Earlier this week, the Executive Council agreed allocation criteria for 165 new homes at Lookout.

The Housing Unit will shortly invite the Allocations Committee to consider applications from those people who were evacuated in 1995/6. The Committee will be asked to give priority to:

1. Evacuated households with children or with three or more persons.
1. Elderly persons who have been evacuated.
2. Evacuated families whose members have special needs, such as long-term illness (such as physical or mental disability).

You will see that for the large part, the people joining you in Lookout are those that have lost everything - their homes and their land. Many will have lost the companionship of their families. Many will come from the shelters, others from equally intolerable conditions. Yet, despite these losses and discomforts, all those joining you will be Montserratians planning to make a new start – the start that can only come with the dignity of a home.

I know you will welcome them.

My second reason for seeking the support of your Community Action Group is our recognition of the need for greater collaboration between residents and Government in future housing provision.

Her Majesty’s Government concede, and Honourable Minister Austin Bramble and I both recognise, that much of the housing that was planned during the volcano crisis was conceived against a backdrop of uncertainty. We must put that uncertainty behind us.

To this end, the Government Architect is preparing a specification to provide shutters for all Government-owned houses in Davy Hill, Shinnlands and Lookout.

Local contractors will be invited to tender on Wednesday next week. A contract will be awarded shortly after.

We have sought quotations from local and regional insurers for insurance of all Government-owned houses in Lookout, Shinnlands and Davy Hill. I am satisfied that premiums proposed represent value for money and that cover will be provided for all types of weather damage, as well as normal household risks.

The Honourable Minister with responsibility for Housing will make an announcement on this shortly.

I am pleased to learn that work on the play areas, such as a basketball court at Lookout, is planned to start in late August and early September. There will be a public meeting with residents to discuss this shortly.

I would like to touch on concerns raised about Force 10 housing. Firstly, their wind resistance. Force 10 guarantee their housing is resistant to wind speeds of up to 165 mph. That is, I am told, in excess of most requirements imposed elsewhere in the region.

Regardless of this, and in addition to insurance cover, I recognize that in such an exposed site, there is the potential for damage from exposure to rain and salt corrosion. A preventative treatment is being applied to structural fixings. Also, I can confirm that there will be annual inspections of the Force 10 houses to assess performance of fixings.

I am pleased that progress on roadworks is accelerating. Two slip roads have been completed this week. Work has started on the main loop road. Work starts next week on a further two slip roads.

But, I expect to see more progress. An extra contractor has been appointed to join the work team. A permanent Supervisor, Mr. Basil Morgan, has also been appointed to oversee and co-ordinate this important work.

To the future, your Government recognizes that our housing construction has entered a new phase. With the reduction of volcanic activity, we are now able to plan more confidently. That means we must collaborate even more with both private enterprise and NGO’s

We must harness the experience and views of residents and community groups to ensure that future housing is more user friendly.

The Ministry of Housing, the development Unit, PWD and LDA meet next week with NGO’s, local builders and local architects to plan the next stage of housing provision at Lookout Stage 3. This land, now in possession of Government, is 102 acres. This will be the largest housing scheme my Government has undertaken.

With more careful use of land, and with Montserratian enterprise driving this project forward, I am absolutely certain that more than 250 homes will be provided.

Homes for another 1,000 Montserratians.

In planning what will be this Government’s largest housing project, we must learn from you, the residents of Lookout 1. The Ministry of Housing will extend an invitation to your group, Mr. President, to join the inaugural meeting of the Project Team.

I know that our Housing Unit will be anxious to listen to your views and ideas on what form that our future housing should take.

I began by quoting "No man is an island, entire of itself."

It is with great pleasure that the Government recognizes both the achievements of the Lookout Community Action Group and your commitment to sharing with us your plans and ideas for our future housing development.

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Executive Group, Guests

Thank you.

The Montserrat disaster is no longer headline news, but the havoc caused by the volcano and its tragic consequence on thousands of lives continues.

The work of the Montserrat Volcano Fund throughout 1998 succeeded in maintaining public awareness of the continuing problems. But funds still need to be raised and it was hoped that the Montserrat European Cultural Exposition 1999 use of culture, devised by Statecraft Consulting, would be an effective means of fundraising in the marketplace, while regenerating community spirit and encouraging self-help enterprise.

The Expo was launched recently at Brent Town Hall to showcase Montserratian cultural talent and to promote community development at Stoke Newington Mid-Summer Festival, North West London Festival and Kingsbury Multicultural Festival.

Performing at the North West London Festival on July 10^th will be the steel band from Leopold Primary School in Willesden. They have already received a visit from the Honourable Minister for Education, Health and Community Services Mrs. Adelina Tuitt in June, during her recent trip.

The children have been learning about what is happening in Montserrat and their presentation was to inform Minister Tuitt about their plans to establish the E-Pal scheme, a system which will link children in Montserrat to children from Britain via the E-mail.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Tuitt gave the audience of 400 children and their parents of the Leopold Primary School an update on the rebuilding of the island.

Minister Tuitt also thanked the staff and children for all their artistic efforts and interest and hopes to be able to bring the children of Montserrat and the UK closer together through educational and cultural exchanges.

The school was also presented with copies of "Little Island Live Volcano," an exciting educational book with CD and cassette explaining the impact of the volcanic eruption on the lives of the inhabitants.

The book was written by Dr. Carol Tuitt and songwriter Randy Greenaway.

Also supporting the function were the Montserrat Information Officer in London Mrs. Janice Panton.

The organizers of the inaugural Lookout Day celebrations are hailing the event as a major success.

President of the Lookout Action Group Kenneth Lee said the activities planned to commemorate the occasion were well supported by a wide cross-section of the Montserrat community at large.

He says based on the support received, the Committee is already planning for the first Lookout Day of the millennium.

Mr. Lee says a meeting is being planned for next week to carry out a post mortem on last Friday’s activities.

The Lookout Action Group president is also expressing his thanks, on behalf of the entire committee, to the various individuals, organizations and businesses who contributed to making the day a success.

The Government of Montserrat is planning to provide wooden shutters for its permanent housing in Davy Hill, Lookout and Shinnlands.

The Ministry of Housing has already invited contractors with relevant experience to tender for the work.

Under the programme, contractors will be required to initially erect wooden shutters to the 105 occupied houses in these areas.

The programme will eventually expand to include the 150 houses under construction at Lookout.

Contractors have been invited to submit pre-qualification information including name, address, telephone and fax numbers, and a brief summary of recently completed work to the Ministry of Housing.

The search continues to find a new siting for the public cemetery.

A delegation from the Montserrat Christian Council, the Environment Department, the Physical Planning Unit, the Montserrat Allied Workers Union, and the National Youth Council have been looking at three possible sites.

Chief Physical Planner Alan Gunne-Jones says the group has been looking at sites in Jack Boy Hill, Blakes and Sweeney’s.

He says the representatives have been given the opportunity to go back to their various organisations to discuss the options and submit written views and responses.

A July 7 deadline was given for the receipt of responses and views on the new cemetery site.

Mr. Gunne-Jones says there have been responses from the National Youth Council, the Montserrat Christian Council and the Montserrat Allied Workers Union.

He says based on the responses, the committee will compile a summary for the Minister of Agriculture to present to Executive Council.

The island’s only public cemetery in Carr’s Bay has limited capacity and already the church cemeteries are being extensively used.

The Chief Physical Planner says the urgency in finding a cemetery site is a top priority.

FEATURES

Under the heading "It's Time to Stop the Supply of Golden Elephants" appeared these portions of Darcus Howe’s portrait of Montserrat:
"(A) previous editor of the New Statesman . . . could not then understand why I was going on about an insignificant island overwhelmed by an equally insignificant volcano. But Montserrat, a UK colony, was and still is our responsibility.
The question arose: Who would take care of these islanders when they were suddenly unable to inhabit two-thirds of their land?
"I suggested that the entire island be evacuated and the population settled elsewhere. . . .

"Now, from a population of 8,000, only 2,500 to 3,000 are left. Any other figure ought to be treated with grave suspicion. . . .

"The politicos on the island have been attempting to extort, from the Treasury, huge sums. Clare Short warned that they would be demanding golden elephants next. In the midst of the uproar caused by her remarks, I wrote that she was absolutely right. . . .
"(After Hugo’s devastation) I suggested that Montserrat and other colonies should be cut loose, and independence forced upon them. That did not happen, and we have drifted into the current situation.
"Now David Brandt, the chief minister of the island, has been to London. So far he has received £75 million in aid and the promise of full citizenship rights for his people. Then, for those already settled here, the British government will pay the air passage home and the taxi fare to the airport for any Montserratian.
"Brandt, however, thinks £75 million for 2,500 people is not enough. He wants more golden elephants. Not only that. The Foreign Office requires countries, on receipt of aid, to subscribe to a human-rights declaration. Brandt does not wish to obey such rules. He has a propensity, as do so many Caribbean rulers, for hanging those convicted of murder. He
also hates homosexuals. He gathered 450 of his people at Hackney Town Hall in east London a few days ago and said in no uncertain terms: "Who wants homosexuals in Montserrat?" . . .

"Only a third of the island can be occupied; the other two-thirds, including the capital, is covered in a layer of poisonous ash. In the occupied areas, people live in squalor; there is no proper housing, no productive activity of any kind. . . .

"The islanders should be told that it can't go on. Britain will finance a final evacuation - not to be supervised by Brandt and his chums -and that is all."

Montserrat ‘is Well-defined;

 Nationally, Ethnically, Legally and Historically’

"A columnist who writes provocatively is a good read, but when he writes in an influential journal on a situation concerning the Montserratian people who have suffered great hardship, it would be helpful if Darcus Howe could go easy on the inaccuracy and irrelevancy of his diagnosis, not to say the inhumanity of his prescribed remedy.

"First the irrelevancies: The present Chief Minister's alleged views on gay rights or capital punishment for murderers. Montserrat is not a foreign state in respect of which the British Government can . . . bargain aid in exchange for adherence to British Establishment views on one or other issue.

Britain has a duty to do the right thing by Montserrat, a duty deriving from its imperial past and the present legacy from that past. What constitutes 'the right thing' reasonable persons may differ about but Chief Minister Brandt's personal views should be no part of the argument. Montserrat is far from being a one-party state and in any case, by law, there is no capital punishment available to the Montserratian courts. . . .

"Montserrat's present situation:

"Montserrat has been tormented by the natural catastrophe of volcanic eruption which began in mid 1995 and which was at its most destructive in 1997. From the start the eruption has been monitored and studied by volcanologists of the highest world standing: the consensus opinion of these scientists is that the present phase of eruption ceased in March 1998, since which date no new magma has been extruded. In consequence of their understandably extremely cautious prognosis, the central area of the island, known as Salem, was permitted by the Governor to be reoccupied officially in September 1998. [In practice some people had already made their way back to live in that area.]

"In other words, from the natural catastrophe aspect, things are looking considerably better than they did two years or 18 months ago. Whilst forced expulsion of the whole population might have been a logically tenable proposition in 1997 (and was indeed strongly rumoured to be DFID’s preferred option) it would now face even stronger objections on grounds of illegality, inhumanity and - not least - cost.

"The people of Montserrat constitute a society which is well defined nationally, ethnically, legally and historically. The Chief Minister of Montserrat has been heard in the counsels of the United Nations and of the European Union. The United Kingdom's present responsibility for the islanders' welfare may be an historical legacy rather than a present source of profit, but it is none the less real and binding both morally and legally. For the British Government now to use physical force to evict and disperse the remaining (probably now over 4,000) Montserratians could see the British Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary as amongst the first batch of defendants in the dock of the forthcoming permanent International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague. . . . Even if the defence of 'our intentions were good' proved ultimately successful . . . the moral obloquy would be intense.

"Then there is the financial cost of such a proposal. The 4,000 or so Montserratians currently living on-island are very varied in terms of financial prosperity. A number own land, or houses, or commercial premises, which to replicate on other islands or in the UK or the US would be very expensive. A number are elderly and infirm and would require care which would cost a great deal more in the UK than in Montserrat. But for the sake of argument let us estimate that the cost of compensation and resettlement, averaged out, would be a modest £10,000 per person per year for each of the next 10 years. That would be a minimum of £400million, assuming that islanders' claims for punitive damages did not succeed. Yet the island would still be the UK's legal responsibility and would need to be garrisoned by troops at British (no longer Montserratian) rates of pay. So the financial savings to be derived from forced eviction are certainly illusory.

"As regards the famous £75 million which Darcus thinks has already been received, this sum has been allocated by the Department for International Development to cover a three-year period. When it is considered that the southern one third of the island -- which has indeed been destroyed -- contained by far the greater part of Montserrat's housing, agricultural land, light industry, seaport, schools, hotels, hospital, government offices etc. etc., all of which have to be replicated either as they were or on a scaled-down basis in the safe northern one third of the island, a yearly allocation of £25million is far from generous. By far the greater percentage of these sums is already either spent or pre-allocated on capital projects such as the northern seaport, the helicopter and ferryboat services to Antigua, and the temporary Government offices -- items which cost the same whether they serve 4,000 or 8,000 people.

"It is not true that 'there is no proper housing' -- though there is certainly an inadequate supply of same. Neither is there 'no productive activity of any kind' -- a number of commercial enterprises have re-started in the last year. Also, Government offices have re-assembled on a unified site and schools (with higher academic standards than in England ) have relocated and have increasing rolls. It is hoped soon to re-open the airport for fixed-wing planes.

"There are many good people on Montserrat -- politicians, administrators, businessmen, clergy, teachers, farmers, building labourers and so on -- who have worked desperately hard [a Montserrat tradition] these last four years to keep the place going, and they have succeeded. What is needed now is a bit more help from Britain -- emphatically not a bottomless bucket of cash! -- to enable Montserrat to recover more rapidly and thrive again rather than just survive. Thus failing to facilitate the return of the exiles is bad economics. . . .

"Many Montserratians currently living in straightened circumstances in other Caribbean islands or in the UK wish to return. A small number have already managed to do so. The irony is that if a sufficient additional sum were allocated over and above the straight-jacketed £75 million, specifically to pay for land purchase and necessary infrastructure work in the undeveloped north of the island, perhaps some 2,000 or more Montserratians could relocate back to Montserrat to assist in the physical and societal reconstruction. Greater numbers would thus enable a more permanently viable economy to develop with a view to economic self-sufficiency being achieved in the future as it has been in the past.

"My understanding is that the local Government have calculated the additional cost involved as being in the order of £25 million. Even adding on the cost of other improved provisions, which they would wish to see made on various projects, they are seeking a total of some £50 million beyond that which DFID is presently prepared to make available. Of course DFID has many other calls on its limited budget, and will now have more consequent upon the events in the former Yugoslavia. This is why the International Development Select Committee as long ago as 1997 advocated inter alia that financial aid (to Montserrat) should be channeled from a different source of Government funding.

"The benefits need not be all one way. The French make much greater investment, and take much greater interest in their Caribbean islands than does Britain, and there is a stronger French tradition of taking vacations in such as Guadeloupe and Martinique. Montserrat also could be a useful place for Britons in search of eco- and niche-tourism. From experience of both, I would argue that the legal system on Montserrat, both civil and criminal, works considerably more effectively and cheaply than does that in England. If Jack Straw (Home Secretary) could emulate some of Montserrat's robust simplicity, the savings would be considerably greater than £125 million."

EAT from the LAND not from the CAN

It is the closed season for Turtle harvesting. During the closed season one aspect of the Fisheries unit work program is to survey and tag turtles as they come onto the beaches to nest.

Tagging of turtles will start on Monday 12^th July, 1999. This process is to track the individual preference of turtles to use a particular nesting area on more than one occasion; this will, of course, have certain environmental implications.

The Ministry of Agriculture is negotiating a contract for the capture of feral Donkeys at Lookout. Construction of the corral is due to start early next week. The plan is to hold the donkeys for two weeks and then dispose of them by any of the following options:

• Distribution to farmers
• Shipment overseas
• Humane destruction

An integral part of Forestry unit’s work program is the monitoring of selected wildlife species and their habitats in light of volcanic activity. For the past several days the Forestry staff along with Mr. Andrew Owen of Durrell Conservation Trust have been roaming the forest trapping some of these species.

Overseas consultants and local Government officials will engage in a feasibility study from 12^th July to 16^th July, 1999, addressing the need to improve facilities for slaughtering livestock on island. Local butchers and livestock producers are being invited to participate in the process.

Remember to send in your entries early. Be a part of Ministry of Agriculture’s AGRI QUIZ and be a winner.

Every little bit helps. That's what you always hear in every situation where there is need for a solution. But every single negative deed, no matter how seemingly insignificant, currently being perpetrated upon Montserrat residents will help to make our situation worse in the immediate and distant future.

And do not for one minute think that it is only Brown & Root, the Governor and DFID who are visiting tiny or huge nuggets of misfortunes and misdeeds upon our heads.

Oh no. It is Royal Bank, it is our own senior civil servants, it is our Customs, it is our Financial Secretary, it is our own newly recruited police officers, it is our own erstwhile Ministers of Government, it is our Comptroller of Revenue, it is our Development Unit. Indeed it seems to be that we ourselves are our greatest detractors. We are the ones who seem to have a penchant for shooting ourselves in the foot, consistently and persistently.

We understand that we cannot rebuild our country by ourselves. We do not have the resources. We understand that the British Government has some level of commitment to aiding us in the process. We fully understand that we must work with the British to allow them to fulfill their commitment.

But we must say to the Governor that at no time did we labor under the misguided and downright silly notion that there was " a big pot hoarded in the basement of Her Majesty's Treasury and guarded by British officials."

This statement is a downright insult to our intelligence. And we ought not to silently sit back and let the Governor heap this kind of "horse pucky" on our heads. We must call him up on this. We may live in a so-called "banana republic" but we are not just out of the jungle. People from the Caribbean have an even better understanding of these issues than his very own people in the "first world."

We must also chide and reproach our so-called Technicians in the Civil Service who seem to forget that they too are people and residents of Montserrat. They must approach our problems with Christian charity and basic humanity. So when recommendations are made about easing the tax burdens being visited on the handful of resident businessmen and homeowners on island, we would expect our Financial Secretary, our Comptroller of Inland Revenue and the rest of their minions to come up with equitable and socially responsible resolutions. We do not expect them lie prostrate at the feet of DFID representatives and say, "Why ofcourse, shaft the silly buggers who were foolish enough to remain in Montserrat!"

And just in case His Excellency the Governor misconstrues this, let us hasten to assure him that we do understand that all "projects are subject to thorough appraisal and have to satisfy a number of tests -- economic viability, etc and be in accord with the British Government's published development aims."

And it must be one of the British Government aims to move us out of a state of grant-in-aid in as short a time as is humanly possible. So we would expect both our senior civil servants and our DFID overseers to understand that residents do understand that "there is no British money tree." But we would expect them to find solutions that do not seem to be ones that penalize the residents who did not take up the Voluntary Evacuation Package.

At the same time we would expect our chief negotiators and project writers in the Development Unit to at least let us contribute to the development of ideas and packages. Enter the Sustainable Development Plans or that Country Policy Plan. Those documents will define our future over the next three years but they have absolutely nothing to do with our hopes and aspirations and the changing set of circumstances we face with each passing day.

And if that is not frightening enough, imagine that our own erstwhile government Minister's neither understand nor appreciate their contents. Because when residents jump and scream that Britain is not doing this or doing that, be sure they will tell you: "But your Government asked for us to do this and do that, and it is all clearly stated in YOUR development or country plan. Your Government approved and accepted them."

No Minister knows what is in the SDP nor the CCP. But there are two highly paid technical senior civil servants who do know. These same civil servants are the ones who wrote the plans. See, these are the same civil servants who want us to pay tax arrears and would not waive duty and who want to stop our food vouchers and chase us out of the shelters and make us pay more property taxes. These are the same civil servants who have nothing to lose because they are getting their big British funded salaries every month.

What do they care if the private sector can never pay tax arrears in this century? Why would the Comptroller of Inland Revenue care? See, soon enough he is going to be able to tell business people that they travel because they….well because he can!

It is the same with the Royal Bank. The Bank has begun to charge $5.00 a month on savings. And no, it is not just because they can. In fact, they hope that you will move your money from their bank. Why should they pay you interest when they have no loans in Montserrat from which to earn interest?

All the other banks are locally owned and struggling to give natives loans. The Bank of Montserrat, the Credit Union, the Government Savings Bank and, yes, even the Building Society are all locally owned. So no one needs to tell you what to do next.

But someone needs to tell the police what to do. We know that there is little crime in Montserrat, so maybe that is why the Commissioner of Police is keeping his force gainfully employed by sending them around to harass and stop people and ask them for insurance and permit. Who cares where else it is done, just tell me who in Montserrat drives around with these two things in their cars? Not even the same Commissioner.

And these are just a few of the things every Montserratian is terrified of. Can you imagine what is to come next?

Mention the word "hog" and all sorts of memories and emotions are brought back to mind. To people of my age group, the hog meant different things to many people. To some it was a reason for hard work; to others it was a source of foul smell and hard feelings between neighbours, Yet to most, the the hog was kept as a source of income, meat and manure for organic gardening.

Apart from my childhood days, as an adult I raised hogs for many years. And I have some wonderful memories of the hog. How about you? Could you recall a neighbour’s hog getting out of it's pen, and everybody chasing the darn thing all over the place to catch it? Yet when you have that hog in pen, if you only scratch its back the hog would fall at your feet. I was always amazed at the way a gentle scratch could cause a hog to lie down, and stay down.

Although the keeping of a hog meant hard work looking grass to keep the pen dry, that never bothered me. Looking grass to thrash hog pen was my game. You see, my initiation into du'uming came about because of having to look grass to thrash hog pen. Looking grass was always one occasion for my cousins and I to play dolly house, and to play little mummy and little daddy, before coming back with the dry grass. And you know where the most dry grass was? Always in the sweet grass. '

I once had a neighbour with whom everybody was vexed. She had a hog pen that "smell up the place" for about half a mile in any direction the wind blew. We used to dread mango season - mangoes and hogs make a bad combination. You would go to sleep smelling hog pen. You would wake up smelling hog pen. And in spite of the agony, nobody wanted to report her to the Agricultural Department.

As I mentioned earlier, the hog was a source of income and meat; well it was on occasions to achieve these benefits that the hog was most interesting. There was something mystical about the hog. It seemed as if back then hogs were only slaughtered at nights and children were almost forbidden to witness the Occasion. The older heads would explain away the need for the restriction by saying that if someone present was sorry for the hog, it would take too long to die.

One night we slaughtered a hog, It was pronounced to be dead -- I said dead -- so we began to remove the hair from one side, (hairing was done one side at a time). After we had completed one side we tried to turn the hog over; and you know, the hog got up on all four legs and started to run away.

Imagine seeing a "dead hog," one side black and one side white, get up and run. Everybody got frightened; some of us screamed and ran into the kitchen to hide.

Another night we slaughtered a big, big hog. This time there was no doubt that the hog was dead; dead! Dead! The esophagus, the swallow pipe, was taken out of the throat of the hog and roasted on the fire - used for boiling water to de-hair the hog.

You know, while we were eating the butcher bit -- the roasted swallow pipe -- the dead hog got up and ran away. Man, words cannot be found to tell you how we took off swearing, screaming and running from the scene.

There was yet another occasion when a supposed-to-be-dead hog got up and ran; but this time an old man held on to its back legs and would not let go. It was a sight to see him and the hog going down the hillside.

Our methods of slaughtering the hog would now appear crude. However, it was the way we used to do it. And most times it was effective, but because of the huge fatty neck of the hog, one was never certain that all the arteries were properly severed. And as a result, some dead hogs got up.

I have reflected on some experiences gained with the keeping of the hog; but on the whole, the hog is really a fine, intelligent animal. It is very faithful and can be a very clean animal, You will notice that on American television, the hog is displayed as a wonderful pet capable of leaning tricks.

I will always love the hog, it is my favourite animal. Give me two hogs, and I will be a happy man, ready to retire in peace and comfort, Hogs are truly wonderful animals.

Unfortunately, especially during the mango season, we associate foul smell with them; but they are much more than foul smell and meat -- they are capable of being a source for laughter, reflection and learning.

Roughly one woman in 13 will develop breast cancer at some time in her life. It is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women between the ages of 40 and 44.

The high risk group includes:

1. Women over 50
2. Women who never had children or who had a child for the first time after the age of 30
3. Women who began menstruation early and experienced later menopause.

Breast cancer also occurs more frequently in women with a family history of the disease and women who already had breast cancer.

Self-examination of the breast can often lead to early detection of cancer. All women should perform a self-examination at the end of the menstrual period. About 90 percent of all breast tumors are discovered by self-examination and if a lump is discovered in a breast the doctor will probably order an X-ray examination of the breast, known as a mammogram. The doctor may also take a biopsy specimen from the lump to test for the presence of cancer.

If cancer is identified surgery will probably be performed.

Women with breast cancer often dread surgery because of the disfigurement that can result. However, surgery for a breast tumor is often less extensive today than in the past. At one time all breast cancer received a radical mastectomy (that is removal of the breast, underlying chest muscles, and lymph nodes in the armpits).

Now it is known that in many cases the removal of the breast or even the tumor alone, together with the removal of the lymph nodes, may be equally effective.

In addition there are techniques for reconstruction of the breast after surgery, and for rehabilitation of muscle tone in an arm that has been weakened by surgery. In many cases radiotherapy (that is the treatment of a penetrating X-ray to the diseased breast from a distance) and chemotherapy) (treatment using drugs) will be used after surgery, to destroy any remaining cancer cells.

Recently, it has been demonstrated that the use of chemo-hormonal therapy will actually prolong survival of certain groups; it also appears to delay recurrence of the disease in most individuals.

Remember breast cancer is preventable. Learn what is normal about your breast and do a self-examination monthly and, when in doubt, consult a Doctor, Nurse or Family Nurse Practitioner. However, breast self-examination can be done by women of any age.

1. In the shower examine each breast with the opposite hand while keeping the other over head, having wet soapy skin may make it easier to feel lumps.
2. Lie in bed with a pillow under one shoulder to elevate and flatten the breast, examine each breast with the opposite hand.
3. Stand in front of a mirror with hands resting on hips examine breast for swelling dimpling, bulges and any change in skin colour.
4. Standing in front of a mirror with arms extended overhead examine breasts for changes, this position highlights bulges and indentations which may indicate a lump.
5. Make rotary motions with the flat pads not the tips of the fingers, moving in concentric circles inwards towards the nipples, feel for knots, lumps or indentations, be sure to include the armpit areas.
6. Squeeze nipples gently to inspect for any form of discharge. Report any suspicious findings to your doctor.

Mrs Yvonne Allen joined the nursing profession in 1966 and did most of her training in England. In 1969, she completed the three year Registered General Nursing Course and went on to acquire post basic training in Orthopaedic Nursing, Care of the Elderly, and Community Nursing.

She however, does not believe in complacency and likes to keep abreast of changes and new trends in nursing. To do this she enrolled and successfully completed several short courses including sexual and reproductive health, counseling and teaching, CPR and Phlebotomy.

Mrs Allen further enhanced her nursing when she enrolled at the Buckinghamshire College in 1992 and successfully completed her Dipolma in Nursing and Management in 1994.

Her vast experience equipped her to work in all areas of Nursing. For several years she worked as a Staff Nurse at the West Middlesex Hospital in areas such as Orthopaedics, Geriatrics, Paediatrics, Gynecology, Surgery, Medicine, Psychiatry and the Out patients Department.

Having lived and worked in England for 37 years. Mrs Allen longed for a change and so in 1995 she moved to Montserrat with her husband.

She immediately obtained employment with Family Life Services as a Clinic Nurse. Her responsibilities there were to manage the clinical programme which involved counseling, performing breast and pelvic examinations, taking paps smear and advising on Family Planning methods, to name a few.

In 1997 when Family Life Services suspended their operations, Mrs Allen joined the Ministry of Health as a District Nurse and is based at the Cudjoe Head Clinic.

As District Nurse, she is responsible for the delivery of Health Care Services to individuals, families and the community on a daily basis, utilizing the Primary Health Care approach.

Day 1

August 5^th - Flight from Heathrow to Dublin 5^th E1155: 0955/1110.

Lunch and sight seeing tour of Dublin - Evening reception. Accommodation: Green Isle Hotel, Dublin.

Day 2

August 6^th - Depart to Galway - sightseeing - evening reception. Accommodation: The Galway Bay Golf & Country Club Hotel, Galway.

Day 3

August 7^th - Visit Feakle International traditional music festival - evening reception.

Accommodation: The Galway Bay Golf & Country Hotel, Galway.

Day 4

August 8^th - Depart Galway for Limerick sightseeing - Accommodation: Morrisons Island Hotel, Limerick.

Day 5

August 9^th - Return flight from Cork to Heathrow 9^th August Flight E1182: 1855/2010

Inclusive fares include:

• Four nights hotel accommodation with full Irish breakfast daily.

• Driver guide for the duration of the tour.

• Admissions to - Trinity College, St. Patricks Cathedral, Dvblinia, Guinness Hopstore, Kylemore Abbey, Blarney Castle, University College Galway and St Marys Cathedral in Limerick

………………………………...….TEAR AND RETURN……………………………………

All inclusive cost: £345.00 per person, double occupancy (single room supplement: £70.00)

Please enclose deposit of £75.00 per person.

Final Balance £270.00

The U.S. now wishes to say,

Without any further delay,

It’s no longer too hot

On that isle, Montserrat,

To visit. So why stay away?

Adaptability

To CARICOM, democracy’s

A cornerstone, but yet it sees

Its Cuba and Haiti embrace

As not very far out of place;

So no talk of hypocrisies.

Jus’ wonderin’ why the minister did not show up for the kindergarten sports day programe.

Jus’ wonderin’ why the Reporter does not congratulate the Minister for the wonderful road program now under-way.

Jus’ wonderin’ what will happen if they try to start the expensive generator at the temporary-permanent GHQ.

Jus’ wonderin’how come Belham did not wash away with all that rain on Thursday.

Jus wonderin why the opposition leader was not invited to be part of the delegation to the Honourable Vere Bird’s funeral.

Jus wonderin which one of the lawmen called overseas to say that they shoot the Birdie.

Jus wonderin who is the rightful owner of the vehicle on its side at the bottom of Weekes.

Jus wonderin if people could take off parts as they like.

Jus wonderin why the newly appointed C-o-S got such a sleek fire-red car as soon as he got the job permanently.

Jus wonderin why graduating means enrolling in imprisonment with a blank certificate.

Jus wonderin when Radio Montserrat will stop the hissing and missing.

Jus wonderin why Government Headquarters looks like a pirate ship.

Jus wonderin why the Lady Minister wants to spoil the landscape at Lookout with tents thus replacing the permanent business structures due to be built there.

Jus wonderin is there is a penalty for employee lateness.

Jus wonderin if the C-o-S almost blew weakened bladders at the facilities of the breezy sea-side GHQ.

Jus wonderin of the Civil Servants are afraid of Ministers.

Jus wonderin how the discipline at the MSS has fallen to such an all time low.

Jus wonderin if the ministry has been ignoring request to deal with the cancer that has been growing.