Time for another election

July 29, 2003

Dear Sir,

Ewart Brown asserts that being deceitful is appropriate in order to achieve one's own goals. He extends this deceit to his own colleagues and PLP voters.

What about the 48 percent of voters who did not vote for the PLP? What deceit will he perpetrate against them in the coming year or two, or three, or four, or five?

What deceit surrounds everything else he has told the voters about himself? Clearly he has admitted that he is not a man to be trusted, and so have the other ten renegades who have associated with him.

The Bermuda voters deserve another election, not a half-baked government that is clearly not united or honest.

PHIL CRACKNELL

City of Hamilton

A wake up call

July 25, 2003

Dear Sir,

With the election results now in, and the PLP reconfirmed as the party that will govern our Island for the next five years, we Bermudians must think carefully about the direction in which our Island may go. Although the PLP has a majority of eight seats, they in fact only surpassed the UBP by 3.6 percent translating into only 1,080 more Bermudians voting for the PLP than the UBP. When you consider the Premier's eight vote majority in her own constituency and the eight vote majority of Renee Webb, arguably one of the Premier's most ardent supporters and important Cabinet Ministers, I see a party that must not only repair the cracks that will inevitably form within, but it must also try and unite an equally factitious populous.

Rather than concentrate on the politics of race, that reared its ugly head during the election campaign (the references to suntans and plantations), the PLP must now concentrate on ensuring that big business is not frightened away to Dublin and other jurisdictions due to increasingly stifling work permit policies and make every effort to redevelop properties like Club Med in an attempt to bolster the ever-flagging tourism industry.

Our Premier, in her various "sound bite" speeches impressed upon this writer that there is a lack of vision in the PLP, preferring to rely on lacklustre achievements over the past four and a half years and the heart tugging politicking of "liberation" and "emancipation". It is now time for the various reports that have been commissioned over the past four and a half years, including the Civil Service Review and the BHC report, to be published and scrutinised by the people. After all, as the Premier said, the Government is open to the "sunshine of public scrutiny" and is "for the people". Thus the people are entitled to the truth.

This writer does wish the PLP luck. Vast improvements must be made with the way in which our Island is governed. The Premier, Ms Webb and Colonel Burch did appallingly badly in their constituencies. It is time for the PLP to sweep away the past and concentrate on the people it is supposed to govern, rather than spending on lavish trips abroad and personal perks. I hope for the sake of Bermuda that this election has been, at the very least, a wake up call to our leaders.

The UBP must take credit for being an effective opposition. It is now hoped that the UBP will continue its sterling work in attempting to ensure the PLP is actually open to the sunshine of public scrutiny and forces the PLP to care about the other 48 percent of the Island that did not vote for them. As for a mandate for Independence, well, that is another debate altogether!

MICHAEL M. FAHY

London, England

Hoping for sanity

July 29, 2003

Dear Sir,

I write with much consternation as to the events that have unfolded in my beloved island over the past days... How can a country that calls itself a democracy accept these events is beyond me.

The party in power turns out to be powerless and yet still through arrogance and outright power hungry motivations keeps its mouths shut until after an election and then reveals its true and real views and admits to misleading the electorate to an unheard of level in order maintain a position.

I can not see how the Governor can or should do any less then declare this election a fraud and a sham.

I cannot understand how the populace is doing anything other than rioting in the streets. This is not anything other than banana republic politics that goes a long way to showing the few in the world that care that in no way in the world is Bermuda ready for any form of independence and cannot by its actions be seen to understand the ethics of democratic government, or for that matter understand the meaning of democratic governance.

I cannot understand how this can be allowed to happen. If the dissidents could not work with the leadership in place then they, in any moral society, should have declared their points of difference and resolved them or stood as a separate entity well before any election such is the nature of party politics.

But to campaign under the banner and then change the banner after a very close election in an attempt to maintain power is reprehensible and should in any valid society be deemed criminal as such a misleading of the populace could not be construed as anything else.

Any respect I had for the system in place in this my island is gone in the most blatant power grab I have ever seen, and as a student of history I am hard pressed to find anything as distasteful.Mr. Bush is bush league compared to these immoral politicians as at least his machinations in Florida were a the very least done with the blessings of a court .

I am most unimpressed at the disservice that the people of Bermuda and the institution of democracy has been given by the actions of the members of this group.

I will remain shocked and amazed (to paraphrase the aforementioned Mr. Bush) at the malodorous events of the past few days and live in the misguided hope that some form of sanity will yet prevail on this lovely island. How can you possibly manage to mess up this most simple basic tenet of party politics?

JAMES D. HARDIE

Toronto, Ontario

Support for Lefroy House

July 19, 2003

Dear Sir,

The lead story in yesterday's daily focused on complaints about Lefroy House by two British nurses. I wrote the following column for the BPSU's Feedback in December 2000, not in defence of the workers and management (the majority being Bermudians) at Lefroy House, but in praise. I think it's important that Bermudians are made aware of the other side of the story. By the way, I stand by this article in July, 2003.

Lefroy House Staff Year Round Angels!

At this time of the year our thoughts often turn to angels. Most of us grew up hearing the Christmas story, although some of us later in life religions. More than likely those celestial beings we call angels are included in the teachings of religions other than Christianity as well. It is not unusual to see people today with gold angels attached to some part of their clothing. And then there are those, like my sister Cheryl, who collect angels and display these replicas throughout their homes. In fact, my sister used to bring out her angel collection only at Christmastime, but at some point she decided to keep them on display year-round.

For the past year I have had the fortunate experience of encountering angels every Sunday and not through any supernatural occurrence. The angels I have encountered every Sunday since last year December are in the bodies, spirits and minds of the nurses and attendants at Lefroy House. At this residence for senior, and some not so senior, members of our community, our union brothers and sisters who work there perform angelic tasks. It is my firm belief that the God of my understanding has a special place reserved just for them.

It was in December, 1999 that my sisters and I placed our mother, who suffers with that dreaded Alzheimer's disease, at Lefroy House. Those of you who have had to make the decision to place your beloved parents, brother or sister in the care of strangers know the emotional upheaval that this causes. Certainly stories abound about elder abuse and I know first hand that many of those stores are not fictitious.

However, our fellow unionists at Lefroy House, from the matron, Mrs. Masters, to nurses, attendants, cooks, kitchen and housekeeping staff whose names are too numerous to mention, can only be accused of caring for my mother as if she in fact gave birth to them. Shortly after my mother became a resident there, the scripture verse "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" rang resoundingly in my head.

Each Sunday that I visit Lefroy House I marvel at these men and women as they loving and patiently care for the residents who are unable to any longer care for themselves. Those of us who have lived with an ageing family member who has suffered a stroke or has Alzheimer's know that this care is not unlike the care required for a newborn baby. Soiled diapers must be changed, food must be fed to them (sometimes by a spoon), and often you must take the person by the hand to prevent him or her from falling. But the employees at Lefroy House, whom I believe have been endowed with a special gift, perform all of the above tasks and so much more with grace and aplomb. I can truthfully say that no matter how difficult the patient is, I have never heard a word of complaint or witnessed anything that resembles impatience from the workers at Lefroy House.

Yes, I do believe in angels, but I don't believe that they are all supernatural beings flying around somewhere in the ethers. I believe without a shadow of a doubt that those men and women who work around the clock and year round at Lefroy House are angels in disguises.

LAVERNE FURBERT

Hamilton Parish

Thank you, Kardias Club

July 9, 2003

Dear Sir,

I hope that you will allow me space in your column to thank some very special people: The ladies of the Kardias Club.

These ladies work very hard to raise money to give to charities, and most recently they held a "United Nations Evening" at the Hamilton Princess with all proceeds going to the Bermuda Autism Support and Education Society (BASE).

When the Kardias Club first contacted me to enquire about BASE and informed me that they had chosen BASE as the recipient, I knew very little about the Kardias Club. Then, in the months prior to the dinner, doing publicity interviews, I learned so much more about this amazing group of women.

The group has been in existence for 40 years, and over those years has helped many charities achieve their dreams by holding large fundraising events for their benefit. It is not an easy job planning a huge fundraising event, but these ladies do a wonderful job and really put all their hearts and souls into their events.

The "United Nations Evening" was a huge success with performances by dancers from nine different countries doing native dances, and a choir of 48 children singing two songs. Flags hung all around the room representing all the different countries and nations around the world. A lot of work went into this evening, and BASE is extremely grateful for the generous donation we received from the Kardias Club.

So, everyone, if you know someone who is part of the Kardias Club, thank them for their hard work, they deserve it. Also, if you see advertisements for an event these ladies are putting on, please support them, as they work very hard to make every event a success.

Ladies, thank you very much!

TRICIA CROW

President BASE

Dangerous roadworks

July 30, 2003

Dear Sir,

This letter is also addressed to the person or persons in Works and Engineering who give permission to companies to dig up the public roads.

The patching job that has been done on the Middle Road in Paget from Ord Road to the St. Paul's Church is unacceptable. The digging was positioned so that it is hard for cars to avoid the lumpy patch and it is downright dangerous for bikers. The trenches that bisect the road are really unacceptable.

I also see that the same ragged work has been done outside of St. Mark's Church in Smith's Parish.

In cased the company who laid this patching thinks that good work cannot be done, they should look at the work that was done in front of Paget Church. It is neat and presents a smooth surface.

Please make these people come back and do a decent job. It can be done. Paget Middle Road has way too much traffic on it and it must be made to have a smooth and safe surface, and it is Government's job to see that good acceptable work is done.

COMMUTING TAXPAYER

Paget