We are all BermudiansNovember 2, 2006

Dear Sir,I’m confused. No, I’m really confused. Frances Eddy, in a letter to the Editor published Nov. 1 states that “We all know it has long been a practice of white Bermudians to define “Bermudians” as black Bermudians..”. What? This is the first I, any of my Bermudian friends or my family, have ever heard of this practice. OK, so I may have grown up, Bermudian and here in Bermuda, drawing a rather big distinction between “Bermudians” (being absolutely any colour whatsoever but most importantly being Bermudian as in holding Bermudian status) and “expats” (being everyone else). But the first I ever heard of “Bermudian” referring to only a portion of Bermudians was when that portion of Bermudians used it to identify themselves and seemingly leave out all the other Bermudians. Which I found insulting and quite frankly hurtful to all of us Bermudians. Being a very proud — and I mean very<$> proud Bermudian. By which I mean Bermudian. Whatever colour I am.A VERY CONFUSED BERMUDIAN

SmithsPrepare for avian fluOctober 31, 2006

Dear Sir,What is the government doing about the advent of H5N1, the dreaded Avian Flu, which is mutating into ever more dangerous forms? Is anyone in government going to do anything about this?MOSTLY SEEKING ANSWERS

City of HamiltonKudos to the GazetteNovember 9, 2006

Dear Sir,This is a thank-you note for you and those Gazette Staff involved in the number of good articles on health that have been printed. I’ve started paying more attention to their importance. The informative articles have covered up to date subjects, like the health of younger — and older — people, articles on the effects of diabetes, obesity, walking, and how those ailments can worsen or get better through exercise. I really like the “Females on Marathons” articles also in the November 6, 2006 paper, plus to see their buying power.ROGER LAMBERT

SouthamptonA clarificationNovember 10, 2006

Dear Sir,If you will allow me a few words in regard to Charles Zuill’s art review in today’s Royal Gazette on page 15. I have no wish to belabour Mr. Zuill’s critic of the Emmerson Family Exhibition at the City Hall Gallery, since it is the nature of other’s opinions that they might not agree with your own — and because I believe Charles was complimentary to my family’s art in his judgments. I wish though to correct a few facts in his article which have the misfortune to be wrong. Opinions can vary, but facts are what they are.

For one, Mr. Zuill states that I have ‘appropriated a selection of black and white photographs from old negatives presently stored in the Archives’. Then Mr. Zuill goes on to state that ‘some may question the ethics of appropriation —..’ Point one; None of these restored photographs are from the Archives. None. The Archives hold their wealth of old prints and negatives like a miser grasps his gold. At least 95 percent of the prints of old images of Bermuda that I present in our show are from my personal collection of glass negatives and original photo albums also in my collection. The very few prints that do not fall into this category are from original prints in my possession, but are not the only original prints in existence.

More to the point, I have not appropriated these images. I only claim to have restored them in order to allow fellow Bermudians the opportunity to posses and enjoy the wonder and fascination of them as much as I do. For anyone who is interested in ‘Old Bermuda’, the Emmerson Family Exhibition will be on show until the 22nd of this month. Again, please let me state that these images are not from the Archives, but in my collection. And I am not appropriating them, but sharing them. I claim the art of restoring them, not of having made the exposures.MARK EMMERSONDon’t lock up drug mulesNovember 2, 2006

Dear Sir,I wish to raise several concerns with the poor handling of Ms Teteeta Iereria, and that of others like hers. Ms Iereria is not a drug trafficker in the traditional sense. Coming from an island with a GDP per capital of $800, and working as a cruise ship cleaner, I doubt that Ms Iereria had the means or money to purchase $311,000 worth of illegal drugs. While I am not privy to the details of the case, Ms Iereria would appear to be a drug mule. A mule is somebody who is given a relatively small amount of money to transport drugs from one trafficker to another. The mule usually does not know the identity of the people with whom they are dealing.

Most often, drug mules are poor women with children, and are often single. They are faced with the difficult choice of survival and providing for their children, and look to make money in the black market economy, as the free market has failed them. What does Bermuda gain by imprisoning Ms Iereria for five years in prison? The Bermudian taxpayer is supporting Ms Iereria’s upkeep, including room and board, medical expenses, and staff required to supervise yet another inmate at our prisons. The real criminal, the drug trafficker is not deterred or punished. There will be no shortage of drugs in Bermuda as a result of this sentence, so long as there are other poor, desperate mothers in the world.

I would be interested to know about the employment practices the cruise ship operator Ms Iereria works for. Has the government ever investigated this or any other cruise line? It is well documented that cruise ship workers can make as little as $50 a month, before deductions for uniform rental, meals, and other incidental costs. Are we allowing cruise ship operators who employ indentured labourers to turn Bermuda into a 21st century plantation? This is despicable. I challenge the new Premier and Minister of Tourism to aggressively take action with the same enthusiasm that he brings to attracting golf tournaments and jazz singers to the island. I have some suggestions to get him started.

I recommend that all cruise ship operators docking off our shores be subject to a thorough and independent investigation of their employment practices. Any operators not paying a living wage to their staff should be turned away. I also recommend that while in Bermudian waters, a local minimum wage be paid to staff of at least $15 US per hour. Any operators not complying will be subject to fines and not allowed to use Bermuda as a port of call.

Finally, I recommend that Bermuda take these ideas to Caricom and lead the way in having them adopted across the Caribbean as well. In that way, Bermuda will not be disadvantaged in its bid to increase tourism. The end result will be that people like Ms Iereria will not be in the position of making desperate decisions, and drug trafficking will lessen. At the same time, we can enjoy the rewards of living on a tourist destination with a free conscience. In the meantime, Ms Iereria sits in our prison, at the cost of the Bermudian taxpayer, being punished for nothing other than being poor.BINGO BOB

Spanish Point<$>A simple solutionNovember 6, 2006

Dear Sir,Having read the article in today’s Royal Gazette concerning the large volume of outstanding warrants that need to be executed, I have a suggestion which might be a simple solution to the existing problem. Separate and apart from making it mandatory for drivers of vehicles on Bermuda’s roads to have a valid drivers’ licence in their possession at all times while operating a vehicle (legislation which I believe would be a very wise move on the part of government), it is my opinion that the court system and TCD should have a close working relationship, which would see outstanding fines (particularly those associated with traffic offences) being linked to the offending vehicle’s registration information at TCD.

At the expiration of that vehicle’s license, the owner would not be able to renew said license until all fines have been paid. One might contend that if such a measure, as that described above, is introduced/implemented, individuals might try to ‘beat the system’ by not renewing their vehicles’ registration at all. This can be counteracted by making the penalty for operating an unlicenced motor vehicle on the roads so severe, that it would be sufficient to deter any such potential offender.E. DONALD

Warwick<$>Gazette taken to taskNovember 6, 2006

Dear Sir,On Page 5 of the November 4, 2006 edition of The Royal Gazette there is a photograph of Bishop Robert Kurtz and me chatting with “an unidentified woman”. The woman in question is my wife of 34 years, Jennifer Ratteray. One would think that the photographer who took the picture would have taken the trouble to identify her. That she was described as “an unidentified woman” cause my wife much amusement, thought some folk were rather upset over this somewhat trivial incident. My I respectfully suggest that The Royal Gazette take a little more care in its reporting in the future.

RT. REVD. EWEN RATTERAY

Bishop of BermudaA dangerous precedentOctober 23, 2006

Dear Sir,I have to say I was more than a little surprised at a rather vindictive letter about the Curtis family in your “Letters to the Editor” on Oct 21st. Whatever the wrongs and rights of this situation (and I know not). I would have thought that this letter, left the reader with a guilty conclusion without knowing all the facts. A dangerous precedent I would have thought.DIANA WILLIAMS

Pembroke