March 23, 2007

RECENTLY, many people have written Letters to the Editor to express their concerns about the deterioration of human rights under the current Government. Several have noted that if rights against foreigners are eroded, the rights of Bermudians will surely be next. It is ironic then that this question should so quickly be answered by our elected officials.I bring to your attention the proposed Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment Act 2007. This Bill is due for its second reading in the next Parliamentary session. The laudable goal of this proposed legislation is to prevent fronting by non-Bermudians and the protection of Bermuda land.

However, as a result, this Act also discriminates against Bermudians who are married to non-Bermudians.

I am a Bermudian woman married to a non-Bermudian. My husband and I purchased a condo shortly after our marriage in 2001. As a non- Bermudian, my husband obtained a license from the government to hold a property in his name. We are currently in the midst of closing the purchase of a second home to accommodate our growing family.

Legal counsel at CD&P informed me of the implications of the attached Act, namely, that even if a Bermudian purchases a home in her sole name, and was able to obtain financing in her sole name, the transaction would still run afoul of this Act.

This is because if the property being acquired is used as a family home, I would then be deemed to be holding it as a trustee as defined in section 72(1). My husband would then be required to obtain a license, which would be acceptable if not for the fact that a non-Bermudian can only hold one license. In this case, the non-Bermudian would have twelve months to dispose of one of the properties.

We have received written confirmation from Dr. Brewer, the Chief Immigration Officer, that should this become law, under no circumstances will a Bermudian married to a non-Bermudian be allowed to own more than one property, until and unless the non-Bermudian obtains status.

Since any other Bermudian, unmarried or married to a Bermudian can hold as many properties as he/she is capable and willing to own, this clearly discriminates against those Bermudians who chose to marry a non-Bermudian. Not only are our non-Bermudian spouses expected to be neither seen nor heard on the political front, they are also now expected to be satisfied that they can have any home at all, and dare not try to purchase a family home and earn some rental income to pay for the exorbitant housing costs.

This clearly discriminates against those Bermudians married to non- Bermudians, a fact of which this Government was made aware but does not concern them in the slightest. An amendment to allow non- Bermudian spouses of Bermudians to hold more than one license would alleviate this unfair law.

I implore you to share with your readers the possibility of this legislation becoming law, and to contact their MP representatives to voice their concerns over this blatantly discriminatory legislation.

LORRAINE & RYAN LIPSCHUTZ

Southampton

>April 2, 2007

<*I HAVE just completed I>Mid Ocean News<$> article (March 30, 2007) regarding Dr. Grant Gibbons concerns about Technical Education in Bermuda. Please note for the record that there are several remarks in this article that have been attributed to me that are inaccurate or otherwise out of context. The following are of particular concern and require correction:

At no time did I state that I was the head of technical education at Bermuda College. I identified Mr. Llewellyn Trott as the Associate Vice President of Technical Education at Bermuda College.

At no time did I defend a Bermuda College policy of sending students overseas for training nor did I state that the College has a policy of sending students overseas for training. There is no such policy at Bermuda College.

At no time did I state that the Bermuda College cuts technical courses (or any course for that matter) due to lack of demand. I stated that the range of programmes offered at Bermuda College are based on the community’s demand for these offerings.

At no time did I imply that we (the College) need to place equal demand on technical training. My response was given in the context of your question regarding the Community’s perceived value of technical trades vs. white collar work.

At no time did I imply that we (the College) did not get it right 20 years ago or ten years ago. I stated that over the past ten to 20 years our community has been experiencing the negative effects of flawed education policy from 30 and 40 years ago.

I also stated that even if education policy makers could institute the necessary educational reforms immediately, the workforce would not experience any significant benefit from these changes for at least another ten years due to the slow process of education reform.

I would be most grateful if you would publish the necessary corrections for the record. Thank you and kind regards

DR. EUGENIE M SIMMONS

San<$>

April 1, 2007

WHILE I support the constitutional principles of freedom of speech, association and religion, it seems an unreasonable extension of these principals to allow a church organisation to attack our very livelihood. If these ignorant “faith” groups are determined to hate other people, let them pray for their “salvation” in their churches, but do not allow them to take their hate into the streets to disrupt what remains of our tourist trade.

André Curtis and some shadowy organisation known as United by Faith has suggested that should Rosie O’Donnel’s cruise come here that his collection of bigots should meet the ship with buses, kidnap the passengers, and take them to their churches to pray over them.

Apart from the fact that it would do not one whit of good (and a vast amount of evil), André Curtis is advocating the commission of a serious crime. The Attorney General’s Office should prosecute him for.

FIAT JUSTITIA

City of Hamilton<$>

April 2, 2007

THE AME church’s spokesperson, Lorne Bean of the Bright Temple AME church in Warwick, has suggested more than once that homosexuality makes God “angry”. Where I come from the other side of the “angry” coin is impotence. You only get angry when you are unable to do anything about what angers you. Some God, this Lorne Bean God!

There are any number of inconsistencies in the hatred preached by the likes of Lorne Green and André Curtis.

The most obvious is that their hatred depends on the principle that homosexuality is a choice. It is now conclusively proven that it isn’t a choice, but such is the determined ignorance and unwillingness to see beyond their own frustrations and prejudice that these vicious purveyors of hate battle on regardless.

If they weren’t jeopardising the livelihood of a great many Bermudians one might feel sorry for them, but their wild, irrational behaviour is likely to hurt us all.

If these Pharisees were Christian, they would try to love their neighbours.

Unfortunately they aren’

THEIR NEIGHBOUR

Paget

April 1007<$>

THERE are plenty of Christian churches in Bermuda that preach the love of God and of one’s neighbour. The AME churches are clearly not amongst them.Any AME church-goer who values the Christian faith and our tourist industry should try some other church and stop supporting an unchristian institution that seems determined to destroy the livelihood of many Bermudians.VOTE WITH YOUR FEET

ProkeThe Mid-Ocean News welcomes letters from its readers. They can be emailed to thodgson@midoceannews.bm, transmitted by fax to 295-9650 or posted to The Editor, Mid-Ocean News, PO Box 1025, Hamilton HMDX