May 9, 2012Dear Sir,Upon reading The Royal Gazette article “After 41 years of guarding Bermuda’s borders, it’s time for a rest”, dated May 8, my mind started working overtime. Since Bermuda is considered a democratic society, I would appreciate the opportunity to comment on the above-mentioned article.The recently retired Collector of Customs, Winniefred Fostine-DeSilva, served the Customs Department for 41 years, after joining around 1970 when it was still predominantly white and, according to her, male-dominated. It took 19 years for her to become a Senior Customs Officer, which was around 1989. Within three years, in 1992, she was then promoted to Principal Customs Officer (PCO). It appears that her degree qualifications were obtained after she was promoted to the rank of PCO as she completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Management in August, 1993 by attending the evening programme at the Naval Air Station in Bermuda. She obtained her Master’s Degree in Finance from Webster University, also in Bermuda, in December, 1997. In early 1998, she became understudy to her predecessor William LeDrew, who was the Collector of Customs at that time. Ultimately, she became the first substantive female Collector of Customs in early 2001. In the latter position, she was even afforded the opportunity to act as the Deputy Governor on several occasions, one of which was even during a Human Rights case, whereby she was a named respondent. We must not forget that historic ‘FIAT’ which was issued by a former Government House representative. Although she waited 19 years for her initial promotion, she was afforded many timely opportunities thereafter.What I find interesting about the article about Mrs Fostine-DeSilva is this part: “One of the highlights of her career was training others to reach their goals and ensuring they had the necessary funding to do so.” I say this because my husband, who is a Senior Customs Officer (SCO) of 14 years and with almost 29 years Customs experience, recently applied for government funding to pursue a Boston University online Master of Criminal Justice Programme (ten courses; $3,000 per course). It involved Criminology; Victimology; Youth Crime Problems; White Collar Crime; Terrorism; Crime and Punishment: A Conceptual and Ethical Inquiry; Analytical Methods; Research Methods; Forensic Behavioural Analysis and Criminal Justice Administration. Unfortunately, he was told (in writing) that they would pay only $2,000.00 of the approximate $30,000 cost. Upon receipt of this disappointing letter, however, he opted not to proceed with the programme.Why was a Senior Customs Officer with close to 29 years Customs experience treated in this way, especially considering Mrs Fostine-DeSilva’s following comment about two junior officers? “We have two officers at the moment training in the United Kingdom to get their law degrees. We have one person who is still a Customs officer and studying for his law degree, sponsored by us.” Customs may be a “ … good career opportunity for young Bermudians”, but that depends on who you are.Regarding her statement that, “Once they pass their examinations there are opportunities to move right to the top”, I ask why that hasn’t applied to my husband, even though he has passed many internal and external exams/courses, including the one year Uniformed Services Development Programme by PACE, which he completed in May, 2011. He has been denied other specialised Customs training, and despite his numerous accomplishments, he hasn’t been promoted since January, 1998 when he assumed the post of SCO (prior to Mrs Fostine-DeSilva’s promotion to Collector of Customs).In fact, my husband attended the University of Maryland during the same period as Mrs Fostine-DeSilva and obtained the identical Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees, yet he has made absolutely no progress up the promotional ladder under her watch. What opportunity was afforded this individual … the one who used his own initiative, and funds, to further his education whilst working full-time as a Customs Officer during his late 20s to mid-30s? He is now in his early 50s and Mrs Fostine-DeSilva is speaking about opportunities for young Bermudians and she has now retired. He has watched many officers, junior to him and most with no educational qualifications, pass him in rank. I guess in her world, my husband doesn’t exist and, sadly, she has convinced so many others into believing same. I even wrote to Governor Sir Richard Gozney seeking answers; his response … “Your particular issue, about your husband’s prospects, should I suggest be pursued first with the Collector of Customs and, if necessary, with Maj Kenneth Dill himself.” (Maj Dill was the Head of the Civil Service at that time). Since Mrs Fostine-DeSilva thinks that she has travelled a long road with many obstacles, it would be interesting hearing her thoughts about my husband’s gruelling journey.I’ll close by saying that all those so-called union members and government officials, who claim to represent “labour”, who assisted the Collector of Customs in holding this black Bermudian male down, by allowing so many obstacles to be, deliberately, placed in his path, should be hanging their heads in shame after reading this letter.JENNIFER CAINESDevonshire