A poor example

May 6, 2004

Dear Sir,

How can we expect the general state of lawlessness and disrespect so prevalent among our young black males be eradicated when we have old black males exhibiting the same type of behaviour?

The behaviour of our Transport Minister Ewart Brown is despicable and should be tolerated no more than the hooligan type behaviour that we have seen an increase of within the last three months. Minister Brown chose to disobey the law at the Airport when he refused Immigration inspection, specifically, he refused to take off his shoes to allow a complete inspection.

People of this Island, regardless of colour or stature, must abide by the rules of the land. No one is exempt. Minister Brown should be eager to demonstrate by example - he is in a position of influence. This is not the first time he has flagrantly ignored policy and then wants to demand respect simply because he is a Minister. I am disappointed but not surprised by Minister Brown's behaviour - his ego is far larger than the constituency he was elected to represent.

With the many issues facing our youth - this we can do without.

THE TEMPEST

Sandys Parish

End of the road

May 3, 2004

Dear Sir,

This year I participated in the End-to-End Walk for the second time. My first time doing the walk was in 2002. Each time, I've started in St. George's.

This year, the other women with whom I walked and I were disappointed by the organisation of the event. At the start in St. George's, those of us who had registered online to speed our way had to stand in long lines to hand in donations and signed forms. Those who registered in person in St. George's on walk day had many more people to help them and as a result a much shorter wait.

When we hit John Smith's Bay we were disappointed to see a lone port-a-loo with a long line outside it. We decided we would wait to use the facilities until we reached Spittal Pond, but when we got there, as far as we could see - and we were looking hard - there were no loos at all set up at this promised rest stop. We didn't find a loo until we were well into Paget along the Railway Trail. At other rest stops there was normally one loo and in some cases two. When I last walked in 2002, there were more loos along the route. This year, the port-a-loos were far too few.

We were concerned when we hit the stretch of South Road just past John Smith's Bay, the part that was destroyed by Fabian and has since been rebuilt as one lane. Walkers were directed to the outside of the barricade on the edge of the precipice. In a couple of spots our designated walkway were little more than a foot wide. Unquestionably, this would have been a planning problem for organisers and I trust no one was hurt at this point, but surely something better could have been worked out for the walkers.

Also, we encountered fewer refreshment stops than in the past. I understand that in 2003 End-to-End organisers started charging companies for the privilege of having a table and that this may have caused some to rethink participating. The companies already provide their own tables, pay for the refreshments and round up volunteers to work in shifts throughout the day. Why should they pay a fee?

That said, we were grateful to Lindo's, Bacardi, the UBP and the other organisations that did operate tables this year, as well as to those thoughtful individuals and families who provided much-appreciated refreshments (especially the family who offered the finger sandwiches).

At the end, after we had traversed 26 miles, organisers ran out of promised T-shirts and goodie bags. We didn't need the freebies, but having been given tokens at the start and told to pick up gifts at the end, we were expecting to do so.

The End-to-End is a wonderful fund-raising event that brings people from all parts of the community together to support worthwhile charities. It also gives participants a great opportunity to experience Bermuda in a unique way. The event organisers are to be commended for continuing to grow this fund-raiser in creative ways. My request is simple. Please do a better job with logistics next year, as you have done in the past.

A WALKER

Pembroke

Caring for our children

May 3, 2004

Dear Sir,

Please allow me some time to share my thoughts on the current situation regarding day care in Bermuda. It appears the innocent are being made to suffer for the guilty of late. We seem to be literally throwing the baby out with the bath water. As a devoted parent of a toddler my questions and concerns are as follows:

1. Who will now care for our infants when home nurseries close due to the insurmountable amount of rules, regulations and certification? Apparently 95 percent of local women are in the work force on the “Rich Man's Paradise of Bermuda”.

2. Is it really worth a child minder, retired, and settled to stay at home for less than $500 to care for three children? These same child minders are not even going to consider going back to school for certification.

3. Once certified and now being allowed to care for four children, does this excuse any abuse from ever taking place?

4. Have any of the Government dodies thought to consult with us the consumer and concerned, conscientious parents?

5. Who will care for our children? Let us not shoot ourselves in the foot. We do need dedicated, attentive and caring child minders to care for our children in a caring and clean environment called home. Let us remember this Island is full of these dedicated care minders. I was fortunate to have a child minder who went beyond the call of duty and the transition from home to a more structured nursery went extremely well.

As a concerned parent I would be happy to assist in joining a task force on any matters concerning our precious children. We seem to be inundated with all sorts of negative matters recently. Please do not get rid of one problem and create another. I urge all concerned and caring parents to get together on these matters for the sake and interest of our future - our children.

My question still remains who will care for our children?

ROXANNE KIPPS-JACKSON

Devonshire

Mothers deserve option

May 3, 2004

Dear Sir,

I just read the article in The Royal Gazette, “Nurseries want Government subsidy”. As a mother of two young children, I hope that the Bermuda Nursery Association and the Government, in its endeavours to improve childcare standards and increase the number of viable infant caregivers, does not make the mistake of considering one of the obvious and natural solutions. Provisions should be made for mothers who would love to stay at home and care for their own children. I would have loved to have had that option a few years ago. I hear horror stories from mothers who are forced to return to work after six weeks. Bermuda is not a poor country and we claim to put our children's well being first but they are ripped from our arms before we can even bond with them! If Government is going to step in on this issue, than they should not only subsidise nurseries, but individuals as well. I personally think that every mother should have this option.

If you are one of the people who are quick to give lip service about not having children if you can't afford them - were your parents truly able to afford you? Let's face it - very few of us fall in that category. And if we all waited for that moment most of our precious little ones would not be here! By the way, I am a person who is very responsible with my finances, I don't have all of the latest things on the market, my car is 12 years old and I don't have heavy credit card debt and I'm not in arrears with my bills. I'm an average happily married woman.

The point - consider mom's like me, who want to stay home but have to help with the family finances. While we are on the subject don't forget the dads who wouldn't mind doing the same thing.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

Tolerance vs. ignorance

May 4, 2004

Dear Sir,

I would like to respond to A. Medeiros' letter to the editor appearing in The Royal Gazette on May 4.

A. Medeiros says that the Bible is against gay marriages and that's why he/she is against them. I find A. Medeiros' blind faith gay bashing the height of irony considering the state of the Roman Catholic priesthood and its reputation for paedophilia.

Recently a book has been published about the deeds of the Roman Catholic priesthood, which cites stories of molestation in relation to sexual predators within its ranks and the lack of any action on the part of the Roman Catholic hierarchy to discipline their deviants. The Roman Catholic hierarchy handles these situations by shuffling these violators to unsuspecting parishes in other areas.

Fewer than two percent of the over 4,000 implicated Roman Catholic priests in Boston have been prosecuted for their unlawful behaviour. The book is called ‘The Silence We Keep: A Nun's View of the Catholic Priest Scandal', by Karol Jackowski, an ordained Roman Catholic nun since 1964. Back to the Bible and some of what it says:

Exodus 21:7-11 - A father can sell a daughter into slavery to pay a debt.

Deuteronomy 22:13-21 - A bride in whom “the tokens of virginity” are not found is to be put to death.

Leviticus 3:17 - We may never eat fat.

Matthew 23:9 - Do not call any man on earth “father”.

Mark 10:2-12 - Divorce is wrong and to remarry is to commit adultery.

Luke 14:26 - One cannot be a disciple unless he hates his mother, father, wife, children, brothers, sisters and even his own life.

Oh, by the way, I'm a Catholic too, and while A. Medeiros is entitled to their opinion, I believe in tolerance not ignorance.

JANE Q. CITIZEN

Rebel Catholic

Morgan's Point mess

May 4, 2004

Dear Sir,

I read in the Mid-Ocean a few days ago where the US forces left all kinds of pollution at Morgan's Point when they left. It sure seems that these days, every time you turn around, there's some ugly new thing coming out that makes you think Bermuda's no special place any more.

I always wondered why the plans to develop that property failed, but I talked to a man who definitely has the inside track on what the PLP are doing in the Government. He says Terry Lister was the cause of the first one being cancelled, because it was all set up by the UBP while they were in power and he didn't like that. Lister thought the plan had too many white foreigners mixed up in it, and was so nasty that the developers backed away from it they thought they were dealing with a bunch of communists. The second group got some black people involved like he said, but they could not get the money together.

What this man said about why the talks with the US forces fell through was that Terry Lister was the cause of that also, because him and Arthur Hodgson kept writing letters and getting nowhere so Jennifer Smith thought she could do better and took over. Can you see her negotiating? It was always her way or the highway, so that had to be one of the stupidest things the Government ever did. She got bored with it, and just gave up and told the British government it was their problem.

I want to hear how these PLP's think they're going to solve that problem. Nobody is going to buy property up there as long as they are afraid of getting sued if somebody gets sick. It does not matter how much they monitor the water, sooner or later somebody is going to suffer the consequences. Does the water go into the Government water system? If it does, its going to schools for the children to drink. By the time somebody goes out there and reads what the monitor says, the child has already drunk it and the poison is in his blood supply.

GLAD I LIVE IN ST. GEORGE'S