Moontown

PENNSYLVANIA – A United States weather service is predicting a busy hurricane season this year, with the southern Caribbean under threat early in the season.

In its preseason outlook, released yesterday, AccuWeather projected 15 named storms from June 1 to November 30, eight of which will become hurricanes, with three major ones (category three or higher).

Last year, there were 19 named storms - 12 hurricanes and five major hurricanes. Accuweather had predicted 15 named storms, five hurricanes, and two or three major hurricanes.

“This year, the early season threat area will be the western Gulf of Mexico and the southern portion of the Caribbean. As for the mid-to-late season zones, the eastern Gulf and Caribbean will be the focus,” AccuWeather said in a statement. (CMC) (Nation News)

Now is a good time to ensure that you have all your onions.The Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation earlier today disclosed that a shipment of onions scheduled to arrive on March 17 has been delayed.

Chief executive officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society James Paul said today that it was still too early to tell what impact a delayed shipment of onions will have on the local market.

“That will largely depend on onion consumption at this point,” he said during a telephone interview with Barbados TODAY.

When contacted this afternoon, marketing officer Trevor Roberts said he was in contact with the shipping company, but could still give no final word on when the onions were likely to arrive on the island.

“There will be a limited supply, but some farmers do have local onions,” he said. (JRB) (Barbados Today)

swift solution to diplomatic dispute needed to end threats

by Latoya Burnham

Barbadian immigration officers have faced an increasing number of threats, both on and off the job, since a dispute erupted last week between Barbados and Jamaica.

And a top union officials today called for a speedy resolution to the issue, which stemmed from an accusation by Jamaican Shanique Myrie that she was assaulted by a Barbadian immigration officer at the Grantley Adams International Airport on March 14, before being denied entry to the country.

Assistant General Secretary of the National Union of Public Workers, Roslyn Smith, said earlier today that the union had received reports of threats to immigration officers via telephone, while on their jobs and some officers were now operating in an environment of fear that could not continue.

“We are calling on the relevant authorities involved to treat this as a very serious issue and come to an amicable solution in as quick a time as is possible because we cannot have our officers operating in an environment of fear,” said Smith.

Her comments were in response to reports to Barbados TODAY by sources within the Immigration Department that workers were being verbally threatened while on the job, and in at least one instance while walking the street.

A source said that officers, particularly on the night shift at the Grantley Adams International Airport, had received calls from persons “with accents” threatening to kill one of the officers.

The source said following the threat, a meeting was held among officers who were then instructed to walk in groups and not to wear their epaulets and belts on the street as a precautionary measure.

Another source reported that officers who park in the general access parking lot had also expressed concern about their safety and security, along with others who take public transportation, especially on the night shift.

Reports also surfaces yesterday of an officer leaving home with her daughter and being accosted by a non-national who shouted an obscenity at her as she passed by.

An officer stated: “The officers are upset because of the accusation, because immigration officers do not search people. Any luggage searches are done by customs and cavity searches are done at the QEH, not the airport.”

Smith said the union had been made aware of threats but the issue was that they could not verify whether the calls were made locally or overseas.

“We are concerned because if the officers are under unnecessary stress because they have to be fearful going to and coming from work then it stands that they will not perform properly,” said the union official.

Workers who were fearful to go to work, she maintained, held implications for the smooth operations at the airport as well.

“We need the agencies to come to a quick resolution so the workers can feel safe. If it drags on then the workers will ask us to intervene. No one wants to work in fearful conditions.

“In the meantime, we will continue monitoring and if needs be we will step in to ensure that the workers are safe,” Smith stressed. latoyaburnham@barbadostoday.bb

Trevor Clarke (FP)

By Yvette Best

CREATIVE INDUSTRIES contribute an average of 5.7 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to economies.Assistant director general, Culture and Creative Industries Sector, World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Trevor Clarke said the organisation did a survey in 30 member countries and the findings showed that the creative sector was “growing faster than major industries in the different countries”.

“So it is important that governments understand that it isn’t just calypso, it isn’t just reggae, it isn’t just music. It’s a business. The business has to be managed, managed in a way that the people who create the music can be properly paid . . .

“And, of course, there is employment. Government has to put money into culture, because culture is the breeding ground for these commercial activities, whether writing books, drawing or painting,” he said.

He added that it was also important for the relevant laws to work and be enforced.

Clarke noted that training was an important element if the laws were to work. Office personnel, police, magistrates and all those “involved in discussions at the expert level” are all included in that group.“

Intellectual property is a fairly new area for developing countries, and it is complex. It is therefore not surprising that the justice through the law courts is slow or non-existent,” he stated.

Given that reality, Clarke said some countries had gone the route of setting up separate courts to deal with copyright issues, which were staffed by people with the requisite training. Others had opted for what he called the Errol Barrow strategy.

“Keep out the law courts if you need justice – arbitration, alternative dispute resolution systems are being used increasingly – where these complex issues like intellectual property, these copyright issues could be taken,” he explained.

He said other countries in the region might need to follow Jamaica, where musicians and performers engaged the Press to bring issues to the attention of the public. (Nation News)

Antonio “Boo” Rudder (FP)

By Yvette Best

THE BARBADOS COPYRIGHT AGENCY INC. (B-Copy) continues to hold off bringing an injunction against the Ministry of Education.

Chairman of the agency, Antonio “Boo” Rudder, told the DAILY NATION yesterday that the ministry, which is the chief offender of the Copyright Act, had still not applied for the necessary licence which would legally give students in schools under its control permission to use protected works.

Rudder said B-Copy was still willing to work with the ministry and other defaulting institutions to get them to comply, rather than going the legal route.

“We can’t wait ad infinitum,” Rudder cautioned. “We can’t say that we are any further in terms of an agreement . . . We are looking to turn on all the pressure that we could,” he added.

The organization held a meeting at the Lester Vaughan School recently at which teachers from the various secondary schools were sensitized about intellectual property and the implications.

Another such meeting is on the cards.

In an effort to encourage compliance, Rudder said B-Copy had waived the individual fee for primary school students and had proposed a $10 fee for each secondary school student.

Acting deputy chief education officer Joy Gittens said the ministry was still in discussions and had not yet come to a definitive position on whether it would be applying for the licence and on the fee to be paid for each student.

Section 58, Subsection (2) of the Copyright Act, Chapter 300 makes provision for the use of five per cent of a body of work over a three-month period. A licence is required in territories where a reprographic rights organization is in operation. (Nation News)

Stephen Lashley (centre) perusing the draft National Youth Policy, along with Antonio Graham and Dr Ivan Henry. (Kenmore Bynoe)

By Kenmore Bynoe

MONEY SPENT to prevent young people from embarking on a career of crime and violence is more an investment than a cost.

Minister of Family, Culture, Sport and Youth Stephen Lashley said this as he accepted the draft National Youth Policy from  Dr Ivan Henry, consultant on the National Youth Policy Steering Committee at the Grande Salle, Tom Adams Financial Centre, yesterday.

Lashley said: “Even though we are still in a deep recession, the Government is committed to taking up the most important recommendations of this policy document and implementing them to stave off greater expenditure in the future.”

Lashley also said that the Government considered young people to be the main catalysts for many social, political and economic changes.

“We do so not only because this group of young people stand to suffer most from any prolonged economic downturn and concomitant loss of jobs, but also because this group of young people represent the highest educated generation since the attainment of  Independence,” the minister said.

“In noting this fact, we must recognize that if Barbados is to survive and prosper, young people have to be given the opportunity to make a significant contribution to national development,” he added.

“I am therefore expecting this draft National Youth Policy to send a clear message to young people to step up to the plate and take their rightful place at the table where crucial decisions are being made about the future of this nation – basically taking responsibility for their inheritance,” Lashley said.

Earlier some of the youth signalled their intentions in a presentation of You See Me by Arts in Motions’ Sabrina Ambrose, Joe Oswald and Tony Cutting expressing their desire to get on board and fully exploit the benefits of the youth policy.

Following the acceptance of the draft,  Lashley  passed copies to Ruth Parris, chief commissioner of the Girl Guides Association; Kelly Burke, an Anglican youth minister; Andrew Callender of Special Olympics; Jennifer Yarde of the National Library Service; and Rose Clarke of the Duke of Edingburgh Award Scheme.

Lashley disclosed that following one further public consultation on the draft policy at a town hall meeting, he expected that the document would be finalized and approved by Cabinet and tabled in Parliament within the next four months. (Nation News)

IGNORING the gathering storm of accusations about their poor treatment of visitors, Barbadian authorities have again allegedly beaten and kicked three more Jamaicans out of that eastern Caribbean island.

The three, Andre Davis, Jermaine Blake and Chevine Edwards — partners in the artiste management and music production company, Dajavu Records — said they were physically abused and threatened by Barbadian police and humiliated by that country’s immigration officers after being denied entry.

Edwards told the Observer yesterday that the trio arrived in Bridgetown on Sunday, March 20, 2011 on Caribbean Airlines flight BW55 minutes after 9:00 pm. He said they were removed from the immigration line and their passports and cellular phones were confiscated. They were interviewed individually and proved that they had met all the requirements, in terms of accommodation, business contact, cash and length of stay limits, said Edwards.

“There was a cop who asked us if is we supply Buju Banton with coke. He also asked us if we didn’t bring any Bob Marley. I asked what he was talking about as I thought he meant a CD (compact disc), but he said he was talking about ganja. And he asked us if we used drug money to fund our label,” he said.

And the Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association of Jamaica yesterday added its voice to the howls of condemnation of the alleged acts of discrimination against Jamaicans by Barbados.

In a release to the media, the association said its members faced less than acceptable treatment from Barbadian customs officials when they visited that country for a meeting of the Caribbean Customs Brokers Association in 2009.

The association complained that customs officers rummaged through the luggage of a female member of the delegation unnecessarily, and complained that staff at the hotel where the event was being held were less than satisfactory and ended in them complaining to the hotel’s management.

“A female member of our executive has also complained about the naughty and condescending behaviour of customs and immigration officials, to which she was subjected on a business visit to Barbados. The complaints by Jamaican nationals are not new and the apparent escalation demands action from the Jamaican Government to protect our nationals from the reported snobbishness and rudeness from our supposedly Caricom (Caribbean Community) neighbours, despite the expected denials,” the release said.

The claim of abuse by the music producers comes just days after Shanique Myrie, a Jamaican national, accused Barbadian officials of finger-raping her twice, spewing venom about Jamaicans and forcing her to endure humiliation. Myrie, along with another Jamaican national Rickrisha Rowe, were also locked up in a cold room before being booted out of the country on the next available flight.

Myrie has since employed the services of attorney Anthony Hylton who expressed confidence that he would secure justice for his client.

“We will prevail, our options are open. We haven’t decided on anything yet, but to bring justice to our client,” Hylton told the Observer.

Recounting the ordeal experienced by the trio, Edwards said they had gone to the eastern Caribbean island to promote Defranco, a fledging entertainer, and to seal a booking date for reggae artiste Junior Reid, who was negotiating to perform at the upcoming Reggae on the Hill concert to be held in that Caribbean island.

But Edwards said their plans to promote Jamaica’s popular culture were dashed by the callous treatment meted out to them by the Barbadians.

He said after sitting in the waiting area for some time, their luggage was brought to them by customs officials who searched and found only promotional CDs.

“They said they didn’t want our music in their country as they already have their own music,” Edwards added.

Some time later, he said, an immigration officer approached them with their passports and informed them that they were denied entry. He also claimed that their request for a telephone call was rejected and they were ordered into a small room by police officers, who had removed their identification cards.

One of the police officers, said Edwards, reached for his baton and slammed Blake into the wall, while another cop punched Davis “and threatened us with physical violence if we did not go into a cell. Blake was sitting on the ground and a cop grabbed him and punched and kicked him,” Edwards said.

The men were then placed into what they describe as filthy cells without an explanation as to why they were being treated like criminals.

Edwards said their ordeal did not end there as about six police officers returned and demanded that Davis, who had taken a picture of an offending immigration officer, delete the image or suffer further physical abuse and destruction of his camera.

He described the room in which he was placed as uninhabitable.

“The place was rank with urine and faeces, a bathroom in there was nasty and insects were crawling all over. You could see where people used the bathroom and stuck toilet paper on the walls and ceiling. It was a very horrible experience,” he said.

In addition, Edwards alleged that the Barbadian authorities deliberately lowered the temperature on the air conditioning unit that serviced the small room.

“We were locked up for about 12 hours in freezing cold. We got no food, no water and nobody came to check on us,” said Edwards who, along with his colleagues, was sent home the next morning.

According to Davis, he felt humiliated and dehumanised by the experience.

“We spent over US$5,000 to go to jail (Barbados). Up to now they have not given us a reason why we were denied entry,” said Davis, who complained that they were only given back their belongings as they were about to board an aircraft.

The men have since filed a formal complaint with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and have secured the services of attorneys Santia Bradshaw, who is based in Barbados and Jamaican attorney Aloun Assamba, former tourism minister.

The Jamaican Government is currently pursuing talks with Barbados aimed at finding a solution to the issue which has strained relations between Kingston and Bridgetown.

Yesterday, Barbadian Opposition leader, Mia Mottley, chided her countrymen for “burying their heads in the sand”.

“As Barbadians we can no longer bury our heads in the sand to the perception that others have of us that Barbados does not treat its Caribbean brothers and sisters and people of African descent fairly and with respect.

“I do not have all of the facts, but if this is the perception of us, we need to deal with it. If not, our social and economic well-being as a people will be affected, as we warned when government’s immigration policy was introduced two years ago. If we are being wrongly accused in the region, then we must correct that perception,” Mottley said in a statement to the media.

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Barbadians-tighten-the-screws—More-Jamaicans-beaten–locked-up–kicked-out_8607625#ixzz1IBEdRk00