RICE AND PEAS; MACARONI PIE
GARLIC ROAST POTATOES; PUMPKIN FRITTERS
BAKED CHICKEN; BAKED PORK
BBQ SPARERIBS; SEA CAT
FRIED SNAPPER; LAMB STEW
FISH GRAVY; STEAMED VEGETABLES
TOSSED SALAD; COLE SLAW
It started with a scattered crowd on the National Park tarmac some time after 7 pm and wrapped up with the numbers it needed to record it as a success in terms of attendance; the local concert for Haiti on Friday night was simply good.
Under the banner, ‘Unite for Haiti’, performers came out, some out of retirement like Rupert Singh, to give to the people of the earthquake devastated country. Lighted candles and solidarity bands on the arms of a few captured the mood of locals eager to show support for those hurting in Haiti.
Human Services Minister Priya Manickchand appeared late in the night to say “Thank you for coming out” and referred to the tremendous response by Guyanese who felt compelled to assist. She reminded that though Guyana has little the country has been responding in a huge way. “It means a lot seeing all these faces as I look out into the crowd,” she said.
Manickchand stressed that the funds raised from the concert including proceeds from the bar would go to the Guyana Haiti Relief Committee, which she chairs. Her reassurance was needed as some people had aired concerns about whether this would be the case.
The artistes, all working for free, performed as if they were being paid. The cause though was certainly enough to persuade them to step things up.
The likes of Miriam Williams, Jessica Xavier and Teneisha DeFreitas used their strong vocals to bring messages of hope. DeFreitas powered her way through the song, “I Am Not Afraid”, an inspiring number by Jamaican songstress, Etana. Other strong performances came from singer Dallas Forte and Avalanche.
Former reporter and one-time beauty pageant contestant Jackie Handover triggered calls for “encore! encore!” after she belted out the song, “Stand Up For Love”.
Jory who has been creating a buzz within recent months delivered a sombre performance with his song which called on the people of Haiti to “keep the faith”. Jory sang about their pains and urged them to continue believing that things will get better.
Hits and Jams promotions collaborated with Visions to host the ‘Unite for Haiti’ Concert with sponsorship from a few local organizations. This newspaper was unable to get initial feedback as to the funds raised. (Stabroek News)
- commends Guyanese support to Haitians
The PNCR has launched a ‘Shoes for Haiti project’, while also commending Guyanese for the support given to the Haitian people so far.
The main opposition party is also encouraging Guyanese to continue making contributions in cash and kind to bring further relief to the people of the earthquake ravaged country.
The party said in a recent release, “We are asking the general public to donate good shoes for both children and adults – which can be immediately worn.”
According to the PNCR, the shoes could be sent to Congress Place between 10 am and 6 pm and at the PNCR Office in D’Urban Street between 10 am and 4 pm.
Meanwhile, the party under the aegis of the Women’s Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, the National Congress of Women, the women’s arm of the People’s National Congress Reform, joined with a number of other women’s organisations in organising a ‘Million Dollar Walk-a-ton’.
Under the banner of the ‘Mothers of Guyana for Mothers of Haiti’, the Guyanese women expected to raise $1M for their sisters in Haiti through the march which was scheduled to start from Parliament Buildings at 6 am yesterday. (Stabroek News)
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Royal Bank of Canada’s Blue Water Project will commit Can$1 million to support the efforts of ONE DROP and Oxfam to provide access to water and sanitation to the people of Haiti and rebuild small water and sanitation infrastructure in the country. ’The outpouring of support by citizens, governments and companies worldwide to help immediate relief efforts in Haiti has been overwhelming,’ said Gordon M. Nixon, president and CEO, RBC. ’But we know that the people of Haiti will need our support for years to come, as the need for emergency relief subsides, and the priorities for longer-term solutions become clearer in the months and years ahead. In anticipation of the massive work ahead, the RBC Blue Water Project will support the efforts of ONE DROP and its partner Oxfam-Québec in Haiti to fund programmes to mitigate the tremendous water and sanitation challenges faced by the country,’ Nixon said in a news release. As part of a project developed by Oxfam-Québec, ONE DROP’s Project Haiti will be carried out over a three-year period. Its objective will be to provide sustainable access to water and sanitation, restore small hydraulic and sanitation infrastructures and, through the arts, raise the awareness of thousands of Haitians on the importance of managing water soundly. ONE DROP and Oxfam-Québec are currently working out the details of the project. RBC is a founding corporate partner of ONE DROP, with a pledge of Can$10 million over 10 years to help fund on-the-ground water projects and awareness programmes as needed around the world. Funding for this Haitian project will come from that commitment. RBC has also funded a ONE DROP watershed protection and conservation project in Honduras totalling Can$1.5 million. (Trinidad Express) |
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A French official says a 23-year-old man has been found alive and in good condition beneath the rubble of a fruit and vegetable shop in Haiti, 11 days after the earthquake. French Civil Protection Lt Col Christophe Renou told The Associated Press that the man was still in the debris, but rescuers have tunnelled a hole to get him water. Renou says a doctor examined the man and reported he was in good health yesterday. Earlier yesterday, the United Nations announced an end to rescue operations. Still, dozens of teams continue to pick through the rubble. (Trinidad Express) |
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CCN senior journalist Andy Johnson spent five days last week in Haiti, embedded with a contingent of the members of the Jamaica Defence Force. This is the first part of a series on his journey into Haiti. Port-au-prince, Saturday VELDIA V Coleby, is the Second Secretary and Vice Consul at the Bahamas Embassy in Haiti. The Bahamas is one of a few of the Member States of Caricom with diplomatic missions resident in Haiti. Barbados is another one of those few. At dusk on Friday, Ms Coleby was not clear about what was the Caribbean Community’s effective response to the latest tragedy in Haiti caused by the earthquake on January 12, which registered 7.0 on the Richter scale. She was aware, however, that her embassy was supposed to have been used as the base for an official Caricom mission to Haiti, ostensibly to undertake its own assessment of the damage and to decide on a co-ordinated regionwide response. No meetings had taken place at the embassy thus far. Ms Coleby was aware, though, that executive director of the Barbados-based Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), Jeremy Collymore, was to arrive in Haiti yesterday. She also understood that the region had decided to undertake a project in Lougane, a town some considerable distance away from the capital. On what basis that decision had been taken, she was also not clear. The story of Caricom and its efforts to join in the international relief efforts in the wake of the earthquake disaster has itself been dismal thus far, mired in a deep, dark atmosphere of lack of co-ordination, and an embarrassing absence of independence. Whereas the Bahamian diplomat confessed to knowing Colin Granderson, she had not seen nor heard from him in the ten days since January 12. A crippling breakdown in most areas of telecommunications inside Haiti had made contact near impossible for most people operating in the middle of the earthquake-induced crisis. Granderson, a Trinidadian diplomat who is a deputy Secretary General of Caricom, had twice endeavoured to make it into Haiti in the wake of the crisis. The first time he was part of a mission which was frustrated by its inability to land. He had planned to make it in from the Dominican Republic after an emergency meeting there on January 18. In the wake of the current crisis, the government of Jamaica rushed a 150-member contingent of the Jamaica Defence Force, to establish what has been described as ’the Caricom footprint’ amid the jungle of international military, disciplined forces, aid workers, humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organisations scampering in. So swift was the action of the Jamaican Government that a portion of those troops was on the ground at Toussaint L’Ouverture International Airport when Jamaica’s Prime Minister Bruce Golding and Opposition Leader Portia Simpson-Miller arrived there in a joint mission on January 14. This was less than 48 hours after the devastating earthquake. The JDF barge had been ordered to sail overnight, the night before, leaving behind hundreds of pounds of vital cargo and equipment for the troops. In the days between January 14 and 22, the Jamaican contingent representing the Caribbean, has had to suffer, silently, the indignity, frustration and the embarrassment arising from its total dependence on a foreign ’partner’. The Canadian Defence Force has been the agency moving people, supplies and equipment between Kingston and Port-au-Prince. Those operations have been hampered by the decision of the Canadians to place their own needs and requirements entirely above those of the Caribbean’s. For three days last week, Major Jamie Ogilvie, the Commanding Officer of the JDF forces in Haiti, waited for definitive word from the Canadians on the availability of an aircraft, to transport personnel and equipment, as well as the tonnes of relief supplies transported to Kingston from other Caricom destinations, for distribution in Haiti. On Wednesday the aircraft was ’likely to come’. That advisory looked ’more likely’ for Thursday, only to have been called off by mid-morning that day. One of the ’problems’ given was that ’permission to land’ was not forthcoming, because of what was described as an absence of space at the airport tarmac. Resentment was developing over what was being reported as ’the American takeover’ of the operations at the airport. Quite possibly as a result of this, the Canadians decided to move the base of their own operations from Port-au-Prince to the town of Jacqmel, on the other side of Haiti. The Caricom initiative, or what presented itself as such, was suffering considerably. (Trinidad Express) |
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By midnight tonight, T&T will know whether United National Congress loyalists, who have stood steadfastly by their leader, Basdeo Panday, through his travails over decades, will finally turn their backs on him, ushering in a sea of change in the political landscape and forcing him to ride out into the political sunset. Panday’s is being challenged by Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj for the post of political leader. How the UNC electorate-which now numbers approximately 33,000-votes in today’s internal election will determine the party’s leadership and its future. Voting begins at 8 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. at the 32 polling stations around the country. Up to yesterday, however, the whole internal election process was still being questioned. At least one candidate, Jack Warner, says he is preparing a dossier as he reserves his right to go to court after the elections. Warner was charging yesterday that the decision to ban 1,400 ’COP (Congress of the People) members’, whose names are also on the UNC voters’ list, from voting constituted another attempt by the Panday faction to steal the election. Yesterday party officials warned they would be exercising extreme vigilance at the polling stations to ensure registered Congress of the People (COP) members do not vote. Vice-chairman Vasant Bharath said the party got an ’authentic’ COP list. ’It lists something in the order of 20,000 members, of which 1,400 are on both the COP and UNC list,’ he said. Bharath pointed out the UNC constitution states ’quite categorically that you cannot be a member of two parties at the same time. And, effectively…obviously, you are not going to be allowed to vote in the UNC election if you are a member of another party’. He added: ’I think all the other constitutions -both the PNM (People’s National Movement) and the COP-have the exact provision.’ ’So we have identified them. We have put out several press releases that these people would not be allowed to vote. In addition to giving a list to all presiding officers, we have cameras in each of the polling stations, and we would hope that none of the COP members would come out and attempt to vote and embarrass themselves,’ Bharath stated. Asked whether the UNC attempted to contact these 1,400 persons, Bharath said: ’No. But they must know that they are members of the COP’. Asked whether these persons belonged to any particular constituencies, he said: ’They were widespread (across many constituencies).’ On Warner’s allegation that this was an attempt to steal the elections, Bharath said: ’Quite the contrary. This is to ensure that the elections are fair and transparent and that democratic principles are observed in accordance with our constitution. Mr Warner knows that very well.’ Asked how the party got the COP list, he said: ’You would have to ask Mr Ramnath about that.’ Kelvin Ramnath, who is chairman of the UNC membership committee, had previously taken a decision not to process 16,000 new applications, made in a two-week period after the national assembly on November 29, 2009, in time to allow these persons to vote. Last night, Ramnath defended the integrity of the voters’ list, saying: ’I am not worried about voter-padding. The list is very transparent.’ He added, perhaps tongue-in-cheek, while COP members on the list would be debarred from voting, he left prominent COP names such as leader Winston Dookeran, Gerald Yetming and Manohar Ramsaran on the list because he had no evidence they were COP members (notwithstanding the fact they fought elections for that party). Warner, however, told the Sunday Express he could not understand how Ramnath could resign as chairman of the membership committee on Friday afternoon, speak on Panday’s platform on Friday night and announce he was not allowing 1,400 persons to vote. Noting Ramnath was at pains to tell the crowd they must ’back Basdeo Panday or die’, Warner said: ’Mr Ramnath has a lot to answer for at the end of this election. That is a further attempt to steal the election. Let him go ahead. I would deal with it afterwards. He can’t resign yesterday afternoon, go on Mr Panday’s platform last night and tell people (they can’t vote). Who gave him that authority? He doesn’t have the authority to add or take out names…And who tell him that the (COP) list he has is an authenticated list?’(Trinidad Express) |
Daraine Luton (from Haiti) ONE WEEK after arriving in earthquake-ravaged Haiti, Jamaican aid workers have vowed to go the full nine yards to help in the rebuilding of that country.
Major Jaimie Stuart Ogilvie, who is heading the contingent of Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) personnel on the ground in Haiti, told The Sunday Gleaner that they were examining the structure of their delegation to “make sure that we have the right persons here for the long haul to continue the relief as long as we can”.
The JDF has been at the centre of Jamaican involvement in the restoration of Haiti following the 7.0 magnitude quake. The Jamaica Fire Brigade, the Ministry of Health and the Jamaica Medical Doctor’s Association have also been key contributors to the relief effort.
“We felt the magnitude of the earthquake, we knew the devastation that it would have caused, and we are happy to be here helping,” Ogilvie told The Sunday Gleaner.
Hundreds of thousands of Haitians are feared dead and countless others injured as a result of the quake, which had its epicentre in the capital, Port-au-Prince. The Jamaica Fire Brigade, which participated in
Up to yesterday, the Jamaican contingent was delivering relief supplies to some of the hardest-hit areas while continuing to provide security and medical assistance.
The medical team has, even with limited resources, been leaving its mark on Haitian soil with its presence being welcome medicine for an ailing nation.
“We have been able to impact positively on people’s lives. No life has been lost in our care. Whatever we have been doing is being well done and is being done carefully. Were it not for us, more lives would have been lost,” head of the medical delegation, Dr Derrick McDowell, told The Sunday Gleaner.
The Jamaican medical team comprising orthopaedic surgeons, general surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses, emergency medical technicians and public-health workers, now operates two of eight hospitals in Port-au-Prince. The JDF also runs a clinic that offers medical treatment.
“The whole team worked together to lay a foundation and has built a strong system so when the next team comes in they will have something to work with,” McDowell said.
But while the Jamaican team carries on its tour of duties, it is being hamstrung by the absence of its own vehicle fleet and a shortage of fuel in the country. Language difference is a hurdle, but there is an abundance of goodwill from volunteers eager to ensure their countrymen get aid.
Rehabilitation phase
McDowell has said there is going to be another phase of medical intervention where there will be “public-health problems” as well as “direct repercussions from the amputation of the limbs”.
“We will now enter a phase of rehabilitation where these people will need crutches or some walking aid and ultimately, a prosthesis, and the impact this will have on the patients themselves will be tremendous,” McDowell said.
Meanwhile, Ogilvie said the Jamaican team was focused and committed to the job.
“Members of the teams are very energised. They have made great personal sacrifices in a lot of cases to be here at such short notice. That is the nature of the military, but there are other persons from outside of the military that are here,” Ogilvie said.
He added: “The gratitude and the many thanks of appreciation that we have got have been well worth the effort when we see the relief that we have been able to bring to them and how much they appreciate it.”
Many Haitians have lamen-ted the predicament of their nation and have expressed concerns about the ability of the country to bounce back.
One female doctor noted that a large portion of the country’s university popula-tion had been killed in the quake, which could retard the pace at which Haiti rebounds from this disaster.
daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com
Avia Collinder, Business Reporter
The commercial real-estate market is seeing a shift in demand by retailers who are giving up space in high-rent locations and seeking inexpensive display, storage and operating space in Montego Bay, usually in the centre of the town.
“There is a lot of retail space available, but people want to be downtown,” said Deborah Cumming, managing director of Century 21 Heave Ho properties.
“Most of those looking are Kingston business people
who want to open a second store in Montego Bay, and they are looking downtown where prices are between US$8 and US$12 per square foot,” said Cumming.
Listings in the city centre are priced from US$850 for a fixer-upper requiring tiling, to US$5,000 per month, according to a Coldwell Banker agent.
The US dollar currently trades at just under J$90 in Jamaica.
Plazas offering space closer to J$500,000
As a result of the flat demand for rentals in the upper bands, prices are, therefore, trending down, the realtor told Sunday Business.
Cumming, whose company maintains offices in Kingston and Montego Bay, has pointed to the Bogue City Centre, also known as the ATL Plaza, where, despite prices coming down from US$25 per square foot to
In 2008, the ATL Group invested approximately $600 million to purchase
The appliance retailer’s Montego Bay store is still one of only a handful of businesses at the location, where spaces range from 2,500 square feet to 25,000 square feet, and parking is available for 200 vehicles.
Andrew Baston, agent with Century 21 in Montego Bay, says the ATL Plaza has 20 per cent occupancy, while shops have been closing in nearby Fairview.
The newly built 12-shop plaza constructed in the MegaMart complex, located in the same zone, is yet to be occupied. The MegaMart wholesale supermarket, however, is a highly trafficked business, and could eventually serve as a draw for other stores.
In the meantime, Baston said the demand was high for downtown retail space easily reachable by pedestrians, which is available for between US$10 and US$14 per square foot.
Very low prices
“They even want to buy,” he said Friday.
“One individual called me today saying he wanted a building to buy which was already tenanted. He wanted it as an investment.”
But while retailers are scrambling to head into town, new commercial real-estate inventory is still being added in the more expensive Bogue and Ironshore suburbs.
The move to discount prices in those locales, has not, so far, stemmed the flow of business closer to the city centre.
Lachu Ramchandani said at his Blue Diamond Plaza, which was built at Ironshore in the early 1990s, that “prices are very low”.
Monthly charges for available stores at Blue Diamond
The stores range in size from 550 square feet to 800 square feet, with basic rental set at US$10
He will soon be competing for business with the more expansive, high-end Whitter Shopping Village that is just going on the market.
Coldwell Banker, which has been trying to find tenants for the ATL Plaza at the northwestern end of the city, insists that good deals abound there.
There is also an available single-level space of 1,650 square feet being rented for $120,000 per month, plus maintenance fees.
avia.collinder@gleanerjm.com
Daraine Luton, Staff ReporterPort-au-Prince, Haiti:
A Jamaican nurse practitioner was yesturday denied passage to the United States when she attempted to leave Haiti.
Melissa Marballie, who has been the holder of a US green card since 2005, was turned back by US immigration when she attempted to return to the States where she has lived since 2000.
She had been in Haiti since last Sunday, arriving with a group of medical volunteers in the aftermath of the disaster.
“I was trying to go back to the States with the group but the United States won’t allow me. They say that they have so many American citizens to evacuate and they don’t have space for me,” Marballie told The Sunday Gleaner.
She said that Haitians with US green cards were also turned back.
Over 110,000 persons have been confirmed to have died as a result of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake.
The United States and Jamaica were among the nations to respond to the crisis there. The US has since taken control of Haiti’s air and sea ports. Non-US citizens have been having difficulties accessing the facilities.
Forced out on the streets by US policy, Marballie found her way to the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) base where she was allowed to stay. She will journey from the base to Jamaica en route to the US. Although happy to use the opportunity to say hello to relatives in Jamaica, she is not amused.
“The way I feel about the United States’ actions cannot be put into words,” Marballie said.
She added: “They would have let me stay on the streets. I have always known that being a green-card holder means that you are a third-class citizen, but it is today that I found out!”
Meanwhile, the nurse practitioner said it was the scale of the disaster that forced her to come to the aid of Haitians.
“Haiti is right next door to Jamaica. It could have happened to anyone. It could have happened to us,” Marballie said.
She told The Sunday Gleaner that the experience was something that she would never forget.
“I saw grief, I saw desperation, I saw despair, I saw death … . It just won’t leave my mind,” Marballie said.
Efforts to speak with US authorities in Haiti proved futile. (Jamaica Gleaner)
