By Kathy Barrett
KINGSTON, Apr 18 2011 (IPS)

Although located over 9,500 kilometres from the North African country of Libya, the turmoil there has not left the leaders of some small Caribbean nations unscathed.

Member states of the sub-regional Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) have adopted their own lines of engagement with Libya, much to the concern of some opposition parties.

The main concern – what will become of Libyan investment projects in region?

“Whether we like it or not, we’re still very much dependent on oil from the Middle East and most of our economies are driven by that,” said Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer of Antigua and Barbuda. “To the extent that there is instability and war and so on, it has an impact.”

As leaders of the OECS member states anxiously await the outcome of several negotiated agreements with Libya – including the opening of a Libyan embassy in St. Lucia and a bank in St. Kitts – Spencer admitted that he is nervously watching developments in the North African country.

In the midst of the unrest in Libya, leaders in the region have found themselves caught between the proverbial ‘rock and a hard place’.

Many of St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ major development projects in recent years have benefited from Libyan funding. The opposition in St. Vincent and the Grenadines has criticised Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves’ government for accepting what opposition leader Arnhim Eustace describes as “blood money”.

Gonsalves defends his government’s receipt of the aid. According to the prime minister, the 250,000 dollars handed over to the Housing and Land Development Corporation (HLDC) by Libya’s ambassador to the OECS, Ammat Ali, in February are to aid with rebuilding the country after the damage wrought by Hurricane Tomas last year.

“You know, that is blood money! That is blood money!” declared Eustace during a rally held to whip up support for a protest march against two controversial bills that were being taken to parliament. “I want Ralph to tell the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines… what is his position now about [Libyan leader Muammar] Gaddafi,” said Eustace.

In nearby Dominica, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit reiterated his government’s position that Dominica will not break ties with Libya because of the ongoing political turmoil.

“Why should we terminate relations with Libya,” said Skerrit, who also questioned the opposition’s call for him to simply review his existing relationship with Tripoli.

The same stance has been taken by Prime Minister Stephenson King of St. Lucia, who said while his government is monitoring developments in Libya, they were not severing diplomatic relations.

St Lucia’s Foreign Minister Rufus Bousquet says the march to democracy in the Middle East and North Africa is likely to impact on investment projects in the OECS sub-region. “St. Lucia was right in the middle, among other countries in the OECS as a sub-regional grouping, and we were well on our way to establishing, certainly with Libya, an investment bank and investment fund both of which were funded to the tune of 100 million dollars from the Libyan Government,” Bousquet says.

Grenada has also found itself in a similar position – that of anxiously awaiting financial aid.

Last year, the government of Grenada announced that it was expecting a grant of 1.9 million dollars from Libya for public works projects, in addition to expecting Libya to forgive a 6 million dollar debt.

The ties with Libya and OECS member states have been the source of controversy for years.

In 2001 some Caribbean leaders visited Libya in search of technical and monetary aid to help modernise their agricultural sectors. That visit was arranged because of a dip in aid from the United States and Britain.

Then Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Basdeo Panday warned the trip might harm Caribbean relations with Washington and London. In the midst of the controversy surrounding the visit, the leaders of St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua pulled out.

According to journalist Jerry George, who is based in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Caribbean’s relationship with Libya could best be described as opportunistic.

“So far no one has said a word in support of the peoples whose monies we have so eagerly accepted in the past. These monies are treated as if they come from the personal coffers of leader Gaddafi, and not the people on whom he has turned his guns,” George stated.

Calvin G. Brown is a consultant on Caribbean Community (CARICOM) relations who notes that the position taken by the nations of the OECS in relation to Libya has very little, if any, to do with ideology.

“Rather, it has everything to do with economics. The United States of America as well as Britain are well aware that no amount of assistance from Libya can in any way harm the historically strong relations between the nations of the Caribbean and themselves,” Brown said.

“CARICOM, while taking a principled position, also has to be pragmatic and keep a still tongue,” Brown added.

As the unrest escalated in Libya, the CARICOM Heads of Government met in Grenada. However, the communiqué emanating from that meeting could not have been more non-committal – it called for peace in the Middle East and North Africa without mentioning Libya by name.

Excerpt:

By Kathy Barrett
KINGSTON, Sep 23 2010 (IPS)

For the last 50 years, Jamaica’s modern history has been shaped by two powerful parties – the Jamaica Labour Party and the People’s National Party. Although dozens of others have periodically emerged, the political graveyard has inevitably been their final resting place.

Betty Ann Blaine at home. Credit: Kathy Barrett/IPS

The daughter of a market woman from rural Jamaica and a well-to-do white father, Blaine grew up relatively poor in what is now one of the more depressed areas of the capital, Kingston.

“Because my father, who was a white-skinned Jamaican, decided to marry my mother, who was a black country woman, his family didn’t want to have much to do with us. We literally became the black sheep of the family. While his family lived very comfortably, we grew up relatively poor… his side of the family was really ashamed of us,” she told IPS.

Blaine received her early education in Jamaica and in 1971, she migrated to the United States where she attended Hunter College and then Columbia University for postgraduate studies and became active in the Afro/Caribbean movement.

On her return to Jamaica years later, Blaine focused on the rights of children, working mainly in the poorer neighbourhoods of Kingston. Best known as the founder of the lobby group Hear the Children’s Cry, Blaine eventually made her way onto the political scene in 2001 when she became a founding member and vice president of the now defunct United People’s Party (UPP).

Blaine, who recently quit her job as a talk show host, believes that the time is right for her to enter the political arena.

“It is my walk, the bumps and bruises along the way, the good and the bad, my life experiences that I think will allow me to be a good leader and this is how I’m presenting myself to the Jamaican people,” she said. “You can’t be a good leader without having made mistakes…. the hardest thing to do is to build a political party, the easiest thing to do is to do nothing.”

Blaine, who heads Jamaica’s 46th third party since independence in 1962, will obviously face an uphill battle. Lloyd B Smith, a political commentator, says the NNC will have to overcome major financial and sociological challenges.

“You have to begin to appeal to that Jamaican who has been turned off from the current system and it is going to be a difficult challenge because political parties depend a lot on funding and nobody likes to back a loser,” Smith told IPS. “Most of the big spenders in Jamaica do not want to back a new party so that will be a challenge as well.”

For her part, Blaine believes Jamaica is ripe for another party and divine guidance will give the NNC immunity from an early death. “We are saying who we are, we are not telling you who you are. Christianity is our brand, but our product is open to everyone,” she said.

One issue that helped Blaine in deciding to re-enter the political arena was the much publicised controversy surrounding the extradition of alleged drug lord Christopher “Dudus” Coke to the United States, with a siege on poor communities in Kingston that resulted in 73 civilians and three police officers dead.

“Jamaica’s image was badly tainted. We have to regain and recapture the image of who Jamaicans really are, we are not drug lords, we are not strongmen, we are not criminals and drug traffickers, there are criminal elements in our country, we know that. But the majority of Jamaicans are hard working, talented, gifted and God-fearing people and that is the message we are putting out there,” she said.

Blaine says women also bring a different kind of energy to politics – not just in Jamaica but the wider Caribbean.

“I think it’s going to be very important for the women who step into those kinds of leadership positions to really provide the kinds of models for other people to see. We see things differently,” she said. “We should come with that nurturing spirit that we have as women. I want to see more women coming into politics and serving.”

If her party won a majority, Blaine wouldn’t be the first female prime minister; that honour goes to Portia Simpson- Miller of the People’s National Party, who held office from March 2006 to September 2007. Simpson Miller is currently opposition leader, having been succeeded by Bruce Golding.

Still, Yvonne McCalla Sobers, an outspoken human rights activist and founder of Families Against State Terrorism (FAST), says the step taken by Blaine should be applauded.

“I think that there is a significant role for women in politics because first of all, the male approach has brought us to where we are,” she said. “I think that females can bring an approach which is more humanising.”

On the NNC’s future, Sobers has words of caution.

“You have to give me a reason to vote, not give you a default vote but to actually vote for you. Come to me with some clarity, tell me about your funding – if not, you can talk all you want but you will never take over from the two main parties,” she said.

Excerpt:

By Kathy Barrett
KINGSTON, Jun 13 2010 (IPS)

“I am very much afraid…I’m traumatised,” sobbed Marsha, as she recounted the violence that ripped through the constituency of West Kingston last month as police and soldiers searched for Christopher “Dudus” Coke, the reputed head of one of the most notorious criminal organisations in the Western hemisphere.

Women of Tivoli Gardens march in support of Christopher "Dudus" Coke on May 20, 2010. Credit: Kathy Barrett/IPS

She refused to disclose her real name and spoke in a hushed whisper. “I don’t want the soldiers or police to hear me,” Marsha said. “If they do, I could be in trouble.”

The events she spoke of began on the morning of May 24, when a joint police/military team stormed into West Kingston hoping to find Coke, and ended three days later with 73 civilians and three officers dead.

It was only a few days earlier that Marsha and hundreds of women from the area, all dressed in white, had paraded through the streets of the volatile constituency bearing handmade placards as they pleaded with authorities to leave their hero, Christopher “Dudus” Coke, alone.

For nine months, Coke was at the centre of a diplomatic row between Jamaica and the United States. Last year, a grand jury in the United States indicted him on conspiracy to distribute drugs and traffic weapons. The U.S. sought his extradition for trial, but Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding initially refused to comply.

Coke is revered in Tivoli Gardens in West Kingston – a constituency represented in Parliament by the prime minister. When Golding finally signed the extradition request, it sparked widespread fears – apparently justified – that mayhem would result when officers tried to locate and arrest him.

But women from Tivoli Gardens neighbourhood were staunch in their support, declaring that they were prepared to die for this man, also known as the “president”, who they said has been their provider and protector.

“The president educate them and make little girls to walk on the streets and people can walk freely,” they shouted. “Leave Dudus alone, he is a law abiding citizen, he is a peacemaker…”

Unknown to the marchers, things were about to take dramatic turn. Faced with calls for his resignation, Golding bowed to public pressure and announced that Coke would be extradited. Some angry residents of West Kingston armed themselves with high-powered weapons and stockpiled petrol, mounted massive roadblocks, and ripped down high tension wires and wove them into barricades as they prepared for a possible confrontation with the security forces.

Officers traded fire with gunmen, who in turn attacked police stations. For two days, the bullets tore through buildings and people. When the dust settled, 73 men were dead and the target, Coke, was nowhere to be found.

Marsha said she was forced to flee her tiny apartment, seeking refuge in a neighbour’s two-room flat.

“Nearly one hundred people were in the house and when they came, the entire building shook,” she said. “We prayed and prayed, only God kept us through. When the soldiers came …they started cursing us, they told us to come out or they would blow it (the building) up. I was forced to sit on the ground for eight and a half hours, I couldn’t leave to buy anything to eat, I could only drink water.”

Much of what she and others in Tivoli Gardens witnessed was not new. In most households, at least one person has been a victim of some kind of criminal violence. However, the magnitude of this latest chaos was extreme.

“I saw three persons murdered. They (the police) called two brothers out of a house, they were in there with their mother. Then they called another boy who lived next door. They put them outside in the yard and shot them two of them, 16 and 17, (they) died right away. The other didn’t die, he lived for another day, when he wouldn’t die they just killed him, just like that. He was still in high school, only 15. I saw that,” she said.

And what of their “protector”, Christopher “Dudus” Coke, who according to reports fled his stronghold and left his supporters to fend for themselves? While the search for him continues, the women of Tivoli Gardens continue to place their “president” on a pedestal.

“He is a good man,” Marsha insisted. “They are telling so much lies… I blame the prime minister, we blame him. He should have dealt with it (the extradition request) better than how it happened.”

Dr. Glenda Simms, a leading feminist and former executive director of the Bureau of Women’s Affairs, says that the women of Tivoli Gardens are on “the extreme end of the female dependency syndrome or the continuum of oppression under the patriarchal system that has formed the solid bedrock of the Jamaican social, political, economic and religious institution.”

According to Yvonne McCalla-Sobers, founder of the group Families Against State Terrorism (FAST), the incident should be a wake-up call to the women of Tivoli Gardens.

“They should have learnt lessons about vulnerability,” she said. “(Such as) ‘I cannot protect the males in my family, whether from those inside or outside of Tivoli Gardens, from gangs or from the security forces. The males in my family cannot protect me….Dudus ultimately protected himself and left me on my own with his mess to clear up’.”

Today, a one-month state of emergency remains in effect. Golding has announced that the safety of Jamaicans is his top priority and security personnel would be taking back troubled communities from criminals. Meanwhile, human rights groups are calling for an impartial investigation into what they say are credible reports of extrajudicial executions by the police during the operation.

But for the residents of Tivoli Gardens, the legacy of Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke will live on regardless of his reputation.

“Even if they say he deals in drugs, a lot of people are doing the same thing. For me, he still did a lot of good, if the Jamaican and U.S. people knew how good he is maybe they would leave him alone,” Marsha declared.

Excerpt:

By Kathy Barrett
KINGSTON, May 28 2010 (IPS)

This week’s ongoing standoff in Jamaica, in which 73 people have been killed as police search for a wanted gang leader in the Tivoli Gardens neighbourhood of Kingston, is focusing renewed international attention on the island’s seemingly intractable violent crime rate.

In total, more than 600 people have been murdered here since the start of the year – unrelated to the latest confrontations – making Jamaica one of the world’s homicide capitals.

The crime wave is one of the biggest problems facing the Bruce Golding-led administration. And it has led to conflicts with Jamaica’s development allies, such as the European Union, which recently threatened to withhold promised equipment for a school because violence had hampered the construction of four new classrooms.

“I made a pledge back in September that if everything was done within five months, we would have equipped that computer lab [at the Maverly Primary and Junior High School in Kingston],” the head of the EU delegation to Jamaica, Ambassador Marco Mazzocchi Alemanni, said earlier this month. “I know it is very necessary but a deal is a deal, my friends, and you did not do it in time.”

“I know why you didn’t do it in time, and it was not the contractor’s fault. There was violence, there were flare-ups, but I cannot equip the computer lab,” Alemanni said.

In a speech that was criticised by the Jamaican media as “harsh” and “less than subtle”, the head of the EU delegation told the children and teachers who had been waiting anxiously for the computer lab that a message must be sent to the criminals who have been plaguing Marverly.

“Tell the big men that you are depriving us, the European Union had promised us something if we had done it in time, but we couldn’t do it in time because you had to fight and some people even died….The big man is not helping you, the big man is hurting you,” Alemanni said.

He was referring to three fatal shootings that occurred during the construction phase. While the police have not officially linked the shootings to the school, some residents claim that conflicts related to the project led to the deaths of three young men.

In the end, the EU ambassador acknowledged that the contractors and the school community did make every effort to keep their end of the bargain, and in recognition of that, some of the computers were handed over to the students.

Speaking before the latest outbreak of violence in Kingston, Member of Parliament Derrick Smith said he had seen a “respite” in crime in recent months.

“The thing is, no one seems to be able to tell us what they are fighting about, what they are shooting about,” he added. “I think it is just too many guns in the hands of unemployed or unemployable youngsters. That is the problem island-wide, and Maverley has more than its fair share.”

Indeed, the treatment of youthful offenders is another area of concern, rights groups say, with many confined to jails that also house adult offenders.

Reform groups hope the juvenile correctional system will get a desperately needed overhaul with the recent announcement of about 800,000 dollars from the EU to renovate existing facilities and build new ones to prevent overcrowding and the incarceration of minors at adult institutions.

The EU is currently seeking input from local NGOs, like the human rights watchdog Jamaicans for Justice, on how the funds should be spent.

Calls for reform have grown since a tragic incident last May 22, when the Armadale Juvenile Correctional Centre went up in flames following a riot, with young girls locked inside the facility. When the smoke cleared, five wards were dead, and two more girls later succumbed to their injuries.

After the fire at Armadale, the government outlined a strategy to improve juvenile holding centres, but a shortage of funds has hampered the plan’s implementation.

Alemanni said the EU is also hoping to dispatch a special anti-mafia prosecutor from Italy, who had visited Jamaica last October, to provide help in dismantling organised crime syndicates.

“Italy may have something to contribute and other countries that have organised crime in Europe – I think we have to try everything because the monster is so monstrous that we have to try everything,” he said.

Excerpt:

By Kathy Barrett
KINGSTON, May 19 2010 (IPS)

Classrooms emptied and business owners pulled down their shutters this week as the word spread that the Jamaican government had finally signed an extradition request from the United States for alleged gang leader Christopher “Dudus” Coke.

Men with high-powered weapons are keeping watch in Coke’s neighbourhood of Tivoli Gardens. Coke, 41, is believed to be the leader of the Shower Posse, one of the most notorious criminal organisations in the western hemisphere.

Last year, a grand jury in the United States indicted him on conspiracy to distribute drugs and traffic weapons. The U.S. sought his extradition for trial, but Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding refused to comply, citing illegally obtained wiretap evidence and other irregularities.

While wanted by the authorities, Coke is revered in Tivoli Gardens in West Kingston – a constituency represented in Parliament by the prime minister.

Coke, popularly known as Dudus or “the president”, has been at the centre of a nine-month diplomatic row between Jamaica and the United States. The controversy surrounding his extradition almost led to the fall of the prime minister.

Things came to a head in March when Dr. Peter Phillips, a former national security minister and member of the opposition People’s National Party (PNP), revealed that the U.S.-based law firm Manatt, Phelps and Phillips had been hired to lobby the U.S .government on the extradition issue.

Golding categorically denied that there was any such contract. But months later, the prime minister, in a statement to Parliament, revealed that in his capacity as leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), he gave authorisation for the firm to be hired.

“I sanctioned the initiative, knowing that such interventions have, in the past, proven to be of considerable value in dealing with issues involving governments of both countries,” he said. “I made it clear, however, that this was an initiative to be undertaken by the party, not by or on behalf of the government.”

In a heated exchange, members of the opposition accused the prime minister of lying to the public.

A local political analyst, Kevin O’Brian Chang, predicted that Golding’s credibility would take a nosedive following his revelation, as serious questions were raised about transparency in the JLP administration.

“Well no doubt. The confidence that the people may have had in Golding will be severely shaken. We expect our prime minister to speak with one voice, not with the voice of a prime minister and the voice of a leader of the JLP,” said Chang.

Calls are now mounting for Golding to step down. From powerful private sector groups to the average Jamaican, concerns are spreading about the implications for the country, and possible violence surrounding Coke’s capture.

This is the power of the “don”. Rulers of the criminal underworld, they run major networks not only in Jamaica but in North America and Britain. They hold tremendous power in communities where they are role models, community leaders, the father figure as well as judge and jury, and hold unbelievable power over in these areas where their word is final.

In the case of Coke, many fear that if he is extradited, there could be mayhem across his stronghold of Tivoli Gardens and this could spread across the country.

With pressure mounting on Golding, he huddled in meetings with members of his Cabinet where he reportedly handed in his resignation but this was rejected. In an address to the nation on Monday night, Golding asked for forgiveness and announced that his government had finally agreed to extradite Coke.

“I regret the entire affair and it has been deeply painful for me, members of my family and you who have been hurt and disappointed, in hindsight, the party should never have been involved in the way that it did, and I should never have allowed it but I must express responsibility for it and express my remorse to the nation,” Golding said

Less than 24 hours after the announcement, word came that the attorney general had signed the extradition order giving “authority to proceed”, and this was quickly followed by the signing of the extradition warrant for the police to arrest Coke on sight.

As a result, the atmosphere in Coke’s domain has been extremely tense, with the anticipation of civil unrest.

“Leave Dudus alone – he is next to God. Because of him, we have food and send we children to school,” said a woman from the area who asked not to be named.

The police – who already have their hands full with over 600 murders committed since the start of the year – are on high alert and have been maintaining a constant presence in downtown Kingston. There have been some outbreaks of violence, with reports of death threats against members of the local human rights lobby group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ), an attempted attack on the office of a JLP Member of Parliament, and the firebombing of a car belonging to a PNP youth activist.

National Security Minister Dwight Nelson has sought to assure the country that the security forces have adequate resources to deal with criminals who are trying to destabilise the country.

While the situation is expected to remain tense until Coke’s pending extradition takes place, the U.S. State Department has greeted as “an important first step” the prime minister’s decision to get the extradition process underway.

“The evidence against Mr. Coke was gathered after a lengthy and credible series of investigations and so this is an important first step in resolving this protracted dispute,” said State Department spokesman Noel Clay.

Excerpt:

By Kathy Barrett
KINGSTON, Apr 13 2010 (IPS)

The shortage of nurses throughout the Caribbean has reached chronic proportions, in a region already struggling with an ailing health care system.

A World Bank report released on Mar. 2 revealed that between 2002 and 2006, more than 1,800 nurses left the Caribbean for higher paying jobs abroad, mostly in the United States, Canada and Britain.

The director of the World Bank’s Human Development Department in Latin American and the Caribbean, Dr. Evangeline Javier, predicted that the shortage of nurses will worsen in coming years, with increasing demand for nurses overseas and widespread dissatisfaction with their salary and working conditions.

According to World Bank estimates, 7,800 nurses are working in English-speaking Caribbean countries, or 1.25 nurses per 1,000 people. That is about one-tenth the concentration of nurses in some major advanced economies.

“These shortages have tangible impacts that may compromise the ability of English-speaking CARICOM (Caribbean Community) countries to meet their key health care service needs, especially in the areas of disease prevention and care. In addition, the shortage of highly trained nurses reduces the capacity of countries to offer quality health care at a time when Caribbean countries aim to attract businesses and retirees as an important pillar of growth,” the report stated.

In Jamaica, the largest English-speaking country in the region, about three out of every four nurses trained here have migrated to developed countries.

The migration of nurses from Jamaica is not a new phenomenon, says Dr. Hermi Hewitt, director of the School of Nursing at the University of the West Indies.

“The same reasons causing nurses migration in the 1960s continue to be the push and pull factors today,” she said. “The key push factors which have driven the migration wave have been identified as poor remuneration, lack of opportunities for education and training…violence and stressful working conditions.”

Hewitt lists the pull factors attracting nurses as better salary packages, working conditions and opportunities for professional development. In Jamaica, an experienced nurse earns an average of 600 dollars a month, far less than even a trainee would abroad.

In the face of this constant migration, there is some hope in regional collaboration. The single most significant achievement has been the Managed Migration Programme, launched in 2001 and built on a concept originally developed in Jamaica.

The programme has been defined as “a regional strategy for retaining an adequate number of competent nursing personnel to deliver health programmes and services to the Caribbean nationals”.

In Barbados, for example, the government has worked to increase the enrolment of nurses in training at the Barbados Community College on an annual basis.

In St. Vincent, the government had sought bilateral agreements to obtain compensation from health care provider institutions that recruit nurses away from the country.

Still, nursing migration from Jamaica – and other countries – has created severe shortages and major workforce challenges – compromising the quality of care, creating stressed working conditions and eroding some cultural norms, such as male and female patients being accommodated in the same hospital ward.

Edith Allwood-Anderson, the feisty president of the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ), believes there will be deliberate efforts by the United States in particular to lure almost one million nurses from Caribbean countries even as the global economic recession abates.

The NAJ represents registered nurses across Jamaica. Allwood-Anderson says there has been no meaningful effort on the part of the governments to retain local nurses other than lip service.

“It has had absolutely no impact, the dangling of the carrot is not evident anymore and as the World Bank report said, there is now a window period for Caribbean governments which ordered the study…. to try and dangle and implement retention strategies for nurses before the recovery of the American economy – which needs 800,000 nurses and it is the Caribbean that they are banking on,” she said.

“Most of the recommendations were not put in place… We continue to be underpaid and overworked, but our spirits are very high,” Allwood-Anderson said.

In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the government is training more nurses to cope with the drain. But the struggle is ongoing.

Jerry George is a regional journalist based in St. Vincent and the Grenadines who believes it’s too early to tell if any of the strategies implemented by the various governments would really work.

“Whereas in the past the nurses trained were automatically employed by the Health Ministry, the new system trains the nurses and they then have to apply for available positions in the health services,” he said.

“What is anticipated is that those who don’t make it would be available to take up job opportunities overseas. Where that strategy falls down is that the countries which are looking for nurses are looking for trained and experienced nurses so how well this works as a strategy is still in question,” he explained.

The World Bank report notes that in the coming years, demand for nurses in the English-speaking Caribbean will increase due to the health needs of the aging population.

Christoph Kurowski, the lead author of the report, has reiterated some aspects of the managed migration programme.

“English-speaking Caribbean countries need to examine their policy responses towards the migration of health workers,” he said. “Countries in the region should adopt a joined approach that balances the rights and interests of nurses and governments.”

Excerpt:

By Kathy Barrett
NEGRIL, Jamaica, Apr 9 2010 (IPS)

For centuries, Negril, a seven-mile stretch of white sand beach on the western tip of Jamaica, was cut off from the rest of the island by bad roads and a large swamp.

Mangroves on the Negril River. Credit: Kathy Barrett/IPS

The U.S. travellers arrived in ever-increasing numbers and, towards the end of the 1970s, Negril blossomed as a tourist destination. But with the growing population and improved infrastructure, the natural beauty of Jamaica’s third largest tourism centre has suffered visible deterioration.

“When I first visited Negril from Kingston in 1960, just after the first road to the coast was built, there were no buildings the entire length of the beach. The waters were crystal clear,” wrote Thomas J. Goreau, president of the non-governmental U.S.-based Global Coral Reef Alliance, in a paper published in 1992.

“Now that it is Jamaica’s fastest growing resort area, all the tall coconut trees are gone, the beaches are crowded with people and buildings,” states the text.

Eighteen years later, the demise of the Negril environment has again been brought into sharp focus, this time by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Division of Early Warning and Assessment.

Expert Pascal Peduzzi, who heads the Early Warning Unit, predicted in March that several beaches on the western end of Jamaica could be totally wiped out in the next five to 10 years if local authorities and residents do not act now.

His prediction is based on data coming out of a UNEP study on the role of the ecosystem in disaster risk reduction.

“The data has found that beaches in Negril are receding between half and one metre per year,” said Peduzzi.

The scientific evidence shows that over the past 40 years Negril’s beaches have undergone severe and irreversible shoreline erosion and retreat, according to the study entitled “Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Methodology Development Project (RiVAMP): The Case of Jamaica.”

“The highest erosion rates have occurred after 1991, when beach recovery after storms has been slower, and these trends are likely to continue,” Peduzzi said.

The UNEP report says bad environmental and building practices and illegal dumping of pollutants in the sea were killing sea grass and coral reefs, thus reducing their effectiveness in protecting the beaches from erosion.

In the opinion of Maxine Hamilton, executive director of the Negril Environmental Protection Trust, the UNEP study will help determine the way forward in finding solutions for an already fragile environment.

“It will help us to structure our programme to ensure that we conserve the environment and to increase the resilience of the vulnerable communities in our area to natural disasters… It gives us ammunition to move ahead to take the appropriate action,” she said.

In April 2000, the Negril Chamber of Commerce invited professor Edward Maltby, who headed the Commission on Ecosystem Management of the World Conservation Union, to visit Negril and assist in guiding the community on the way forward.

Maltby was adamant that the Negril Great Morass, a wetland covering 2,289 hectares, must be revitalised. The Great Morass constitutes one-fifth of Jamaica’s wetland area.

The Great Morass once completely surrounded the Negril beach, preventing access to the coast. The area has been subjected to extensive man-made changes that have influenced its hydrological function as well as its role as a wildlife habitat.

“Greed is what functions now. They have built hotels on the last forest swamp which had mangroves and was where the crabs and fish spawned,” ecologist and hotel owner Sylvie Grizzle told Tierramérica. She moved here from her native France in 1981.

The red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) in the area grows toward the sea, holding the sands in place. “That gave us a bit more land every year, so of course that’s gone, that’s finished,” she said.

“I was probably the only person who protested. I said, ‘please, you can have your hotel anywhere else, just not in that area because that is the last little bit of coastal forest that we have’.”

“One of these days we won’t even have a beach if nothing is done,” lamented Grizzle, who owns the Charela Inn and is a pioneer in the country’s environmental movement.

She says there has been no planning in Negril or in the rest of Jamaica. “We are destroying our coastlines everywhere. Jamaica is a small island and Jamaicans are being pushed out and that is terrible,” Grizzle said.

One of the problems, she says, is the violation of rules and regulations. “For those who put their hotels on the sea, let them pay a terrible tax for the rest of their days for breaking the law” or tear down their buildings.

(*This story was originally published by Latin American newspapers that are part of the Tierramérica network. Tierramérica is a specialised news service produced by IPS with the backing of the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme and the World Bank.)

Excerpt:

What was once a magical place in Jamaica is on the verge of losing its best trait: the beaches.

Mangrove on the Negril River. - Kathy Barrett/IPS

It remained relatively unknown to the world until the 1960s and 70s, when U.S. “hippies,” students and Vietnam veterans gravitated towards this laid-back village.

The U.S. travelers arrived in ever-increasing numbers and, towards the end of the 1970s, Negril blossomed as a tourist destination. With the growing population and improved infrastructure, the natural beauty of Jamaica's third largest tourism center has undergone visible deterioration.

“When I first visited Negril from Kingston in 1960, just after the first road to the coast was built, there were no buildings the entire length of the beach. The waters were crystal clear,” wrote Thomas J. Goreau, president of the non-governmental U.S.-based Global Coral Reef Alliance, in a paper published in 1992.

“Now that it is Jamaica's fastest growing resort area, all the tall coconut trees are gone, the beaches are crowded with people and buildings,” states the text.

Eighteen years later, the demise of the Negril environment has again been brought into sharp focus, this time by United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Division of Early Warning and Assessment.

Expert Pascal Peduzzi, who heads the Early Warning Unit, predicted in March that several beaches on the western end of Jamaica could be totally wiped out in the next five to 10 years if local authorities and residents do not act now.

His prediction is based on data coming out of a UNEP study on the role of the ecosystem in disaster risk reduction.

“The data has found that beaches in Negril are receding between half and one meter per year,” said Peduzzi. The scientific evidence shows that over the past 40 years Negril's beaches have undergone severe and irreversible shoreline erosion and retreat, according to the study entitled “Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Methodology Development Project (RiVAMP): The Case of Jamaica.”

“The highest erosion rates have occurred after 1991, when beach recovery after storms has been slower, and these trends are likely to continue,” Peduzzi said.

The UNEP report says bad environmental and building practices and illegal dumping of pollutants in the sea were killing sea grass and coral reefs, thus reducing their effectiveness in protecting the beaches from eroding.

In the opinion of Maxine Hamilton, executive director of the Negril Environmental Protection Trust, the UNEP study will help determine the way forward in finding solutions for an already fragile environment.

“It will help us to structure our program to ensure that we conserve the environment and to increase the resilience of the vulnerable communities in our area to natural disasters… It gives us ammunition to move ahead to take the appropriate action,” she said.

In April 2000, the Negril Chamber of Commerce invited professor Edward Maltby, who headed the Commission on Ecosystem Management of the World Conservation Union, to visit Negril and assist in guiding the community on the way forward.

Maltby was adamant that the Negril Great Morass, a wetland covering 2,289 hectares, must be revitalized. The Great Morass is constitutes one-fifth of Jamaica's wetland area.

The Great Morass once completely surrounded the Negril beach, preventing access. The area has been subjected to extensive man-made changes that have influenced its hydrological function as well as its role as a wildlife habitat.

“Greed is what functions now. They have built hotels on the last forest swamp which had mangroves and was where the crabs and fish spawned,” ecologist and hotel owner Sylvie Grizzle told Tierramérica. She moved here from her native France in 1981.

The red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) in the area grows toward the sea, holding the sands in place. “That gave us a bit more land every year, so of course that's gone, that's finished,” she said.

“I was probably the only person who protested. I said, 'please you can have your hotel anywhere else, just not in that area because that is the last little bit of coastal forest that we have'.”

“One of these days we won't even have a beach if nothing is done,” lamented Grizzle, who owns the Charela Inn and is a pioneer in the country's environmental movement.

She says there has been no planning in Negril or in the rest of Jamaica. “We are destroying our coastlines everywhere. Jamaica is a small island and Jamaicans are being pushed out and that is terrible,” Grizzle said.

One of the problems, she says, is the violation of rules and regulations. “For those who put their hotels on the sea, let them pay a terrible tax for the rest of their days for breaking the law” or tear down their buildings.

By Kathy Barrett
KINGSTON, Apr 1 2010 (IPS)

On the evening of Jan. 12 when Haiti was devastated by a massive earthquake, Jamaica, which lies just 160 kilometres to the west, sought to assure President René Préval that Jamaica was is in the process of organising a “practical response” to their plight.

Haitians arriving in Jamaica on Mar. 23. Credit: Kathy Barrett/IPS

As one of Haiti’s closest neighbours, Jamaica’s local officials were placed on high alert to prepare for the possible influx of refugees and declared that any Haitian who gets to Jamaica’s shores would not be turned away.

“While they may not fall within the U.N. Convention definition of refugees, they would constitute a humanitarian cause to which we are obliged to respond appropriately,” Golding declared.

This was underscored by Information Minister Daryl Vaz, who argued that despite financial constraints, Jamaica would help any Haitians who arrived.

“They will be processed, confined within designated facilities, required to undergo medical screening and treatment, where necessary, and given temporary accommodation and care until they can be returned to their homeland,” Vaz said

But the expected influx did not occur until the morning of Tuesday, Mar. 23, when a boatload of Haitians was spotted off the coast of the eastern parish of Portland.

There were 62 in all, arriving in a number of boats.

Fishermen and police from the parish capital of Port Antonio reported that they saw the first boatload of Haitians at about 3:00 a.m. off the coast of the tiny village of Manchioneal.

Five hours later, the police reported seeing Haitians in a 20-foot boat called the “Ebenezer #4 Anzdeno”. This group consisted of 24 men, two women and one child.

“We have been travelling on the sea seven days. We left Wednesday,” said one of the Haitians, who spoke very little English. When asked if they were heading for the United States, he said: “Wherever.”

The refugees were helped to shore by local fishermen.

“It was about three o’clock in the morning and it was dark as we were going fishing and we saw the boat in the sea so we called out to them…we threw a rope out to them to help them and we then called the police and they came, so we took them in,” said fisherman Errol Richards.

Although the refugees were welcomed warmly by many, some expressed concern about the safety of local residents when it was revealed that three of the refugees were prison escapees. They were taken into custody by the local police.

While the Jamaican government initially stated that no Haitians would be turned away, that tune changed only hours after news of their arrival when Vaz told reporters at a press briefing in the capital Kingston that due to financial constraints the Haitians would have to be immediately repatriated.

“Jamaica is facing its challenges like the rest of the world,” Vaz said, noting that it would cost about 100,000 dollars to host the Haitians for one week, as well as transportation to return them home.

“We are cognizant of all of the challenges people are facing in Haiti, but we have to be responsible in terms of our responsibility to our Jamaican people,” said Vaz. “(With) the times and the situation that we are facing, it is difficult for us to continue spending funds that we could be spending here on very essential services.”

One week later, on Mar. 29, the group of 62 Haitians, along with five who had previously arrived illegally, were repatriated.

Under the supervision of police and military, the 67 refugees were placed on a Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard vessel and sent home.

Meanwhile, the Haiti/Jamaica Association described the government’s action as harsh and insensitive.

President of the association Myrtha Delsume is upset that the Haitians were sent home even as Haiti is still struggling in the aftermath of the massive January earthquake.

“I was very heartbroken to hear that they were being repatriated into the rubble and the desperate situation that they were fleeing,” she said. “I understand that there were some economic constraints but it is very harsh to think that we have turned away the people who have collapsed on our doorsteps – literally. It’s a very sad, tragic situation.”

And with the likelihood of more desperate Haitians fleeing their country for Jamaica, the police are maintaining regular sea patrols, part of an effort to stem the drugs-for-guns network that local police have linked to a rising flow of deadly weapons to Jamaica’s shores.

Excerpt:

By Kathy Barrett
KINGSTON, Mar 27 2010 (IPS)

Better known for its hurricanes, the region that extends from the Cayman Islands in the west to the chain of Windward and Leeward Islands in the east is home to one of the earth’s principal seismic belts.

A street in Kingston following the 1907 quake. Credit: Courtesy National Library of Jamaica

“The Caribbean is very complicated… It’s small to start with, but you have everything in plate tectonics in this very small region,” says Jian Lin, a geophysicist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the United States.

The quake that rocked the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince is now listed as one of the most devastating to hit the region and has prompted Caribbean governments to mobilise for prevention.

According to Joan Latchman, seismologist at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Seismic Research Centre, powerful quakes are part of the Caribbean’s history.

“The hazard is real… what we have seen in the past will continue in the future because the plates continue to move,” she said.

Jamaica has had its fair share of tremors. In 1692, then-capital Port Royal, located east of Kingston, was destroyed by a massive earthquake. What is left is a tranquil fishing village.

In 1907 it was Kingston’s turn. The Jamaica Institution of Engineers says at least 70 percent of structures in the capital would be seriously damaged or destroyed if an 8.8 magnitude earthquake – like the Feb. 27 quake that hit Chile – were to strike.

The island nation’s construction code is 102 years old, crafted one year after the 1907 earthquake. In 1983 an effort was made to develop a revised building code, but ended up only as a policy document, engineer Noel DaCosta told Tierramérica.

He says the work on a new building code, which began in 2003, has been completed and is awaiting action. “Our thrust now is to get a pact that will enshrine the use of the building code… unless it is made mandatory we will be back to where we were in 1983.”

The 1908 standard means that steel is an integral component in construction, however DaCosta says that different building codes are being used in local construction, depending on the people doing the work.

The Jamaican building code is one issue to contend with, but according to veteran journalist and environmentalist John Maxwell, the real risk lies in the location of the buildings.

“Most of the Liguanea plain (where Kingston is situated) is a deposit of alluvial clay with a lot of water in it. Much of that substructure is very unstable,” Maxwell told Tierramérica.

“The problem in Jamaica is not the buildings collapsing, but sinking in the soil… they could be swallowed up,” Maxwell said.

Latchman’s diagnosis of the Caribbean is “a high density population in an area that experienced extremely strong quakes along with the poor construction.” She recommends looking at what Japan has done in terms of disaster prevention.

Japan has high-magnitude quakes more regularly than the Caribbean does, suffers less destruction because the people have learned from their experiences and has adapted its development plans to this danger, she said.

In the eastern Caribbean, all islands are within 200 kilometres of past earthquake sites that have suffered important damage.

Reality hit home in Dominica when on Nov. 21, 2004 the island was shaken by a temblor that triggered mudslides in a zone already sodden from heavy rains.

Now as Haiti mourns the deaths of more than 220,000 people, Dominica’s government is focusing on new, solid construction standards.

“We have a building code that is mostly directed at making our buildings hurricane-proof. We are paying more attention to making our buildings less prone to collapse from earthquakes, but making them earthquake-proof requires tremendous technology and is expensive,” said Interior Minister Charles Savarin.

In Trinidad and Tobago, when it comes to construction, the twin island state could be as vulnerable as Haiti.

“If we were hit by a magnitude 8 earthquake, at least three-quarters of Trinidad and Tobago’s buildings would be destroyed,” says Richard Clarke, lecturer in civil engineering at UWI.

The petrochemical industry, Trinidad’s main foreign exchange earner, could also be the country’s greatest downfall if and when an earthquake hits. George Robinson, head of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management, believes there would be huge explosions and raging fires from leaks of the many natural pipelines that crisscross the island.

Although there are no official estimates, according to Clarke, the death toll could be at least 30,000, with thousands more injured.

The Cayman Islands, despite the relatively low risk of earthquakes, have a network of four seismic monitoring stations.

Cayman authorities predict that their system will be linked to a Caribbean-wide earthquake monitoring and reporting network capable of providing immediate data.

Over the past 500 years, there have been 105 tsunami events reported in the Caribbean and neighbouring areas. Today, with nearly 20 million people living in this tourist destination and a major earthquake occurring on average every 50 years, scientists say it is not a question of if a major tsunami will happen, but when.

The fifth meeting in mid-March of the Inter-governmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions, resolved to organize a tsunami readiness drill in March 2011.

(*This story was originally published by Latin American newspapers that are part of the Tierramérica network. Tierramérica is a specialised news service produced by IPS with the backing of the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme and the World Bank.)

Excerpt:

The Haiti earthquake was a reminder that the beautiful Caribbean is one of the planet's most geologically active zones.

A street in Kingston following the 1907 quake. - National Library of Jamaica

With 7,000 islands, islets, reefs and cays, the Caribbean has deep sea trenches and fault zones between tectonic plates in which stresses lead to earthquakes like the one that struck Haiti on Jan. 12.

“The Caribbean is very complicated… It's small to start with, but you have everything in plate tectonics in this very small region,” says Jian Lin, a geophysicist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the United States.

The quake that rocked the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince is now listed as one of the most devastating to hit the region and has prompted Caribbean governments to mobilize for prevention.

According to Joan Latchman, seismologist at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Seismic Research Centre, powerful quakes are part of the Caribbean's history.

“The hazard is real… what we have seen in the past will continue in the future because the plates continue to move,” she said.

Jamaica has had its fair share of tremors. In 1692, then-capital Port Royal, located east of Kingston, was destroyed by a massive earthquake. What is left is a tranquil fishing village.

In 1907 it was Kingston's turn. The Jamaica Institution of Engineers says at least 70 percent of structures in the capital would be seriously damaged or destroyed if an 8.8 magnitude earthquake – like the Feb. 27 quake that hit Chile – were to strike.

The island nation's construction code is 102 years old, crafted one year after the 1907 earthquake. In 1983 an effort was made to develop a revised building code, but ended up only as a policy document, engineer Noel DaCosta told Tierramérica.

He says the work on a new building code, which began in 2003, has been completed and is awaiting action. “Our thrust now is to get a pact that will enshrine the use of the building code… unless it is made mandatory we will be back to where we were in 1983.”

The 1908 standard means that steel is an integral component in construction, however DaCosta says that different building codes are being used in local construction, depending on the people doing the work.

The Jamaican building code is one issue to contend with, but according to veteran journalist and environmentalist John Maxwell, the real risk lies in the location of the buildings.

“Most of the Liguanea plain (where Kingston is situated) is a deposit of alluvial clay with a lot of water in it. Much of that substructure is very unstable,” Maxwell told Tierramérica.

“The problem in Jamaica is not the buildings collapsing, but sinking in the soil…they could be swallowed up,” Maxwell said.

Latchman's diagnosis of the Caribbean is “a high density population in an area that experienced extremely strong quakes along with the poor construction.” She recommends looking at what Japan has done in terms of disaster prevention.

Japan has high-magnitude quakes more regularly than the Caribbean does, suffers less destruction because they have learned from their experiences and they have adapted their development to this danger, she said.

In the eastern Caribbean, all islands are within 200 kilometers of past earthquake sites that have suffered important damage.

Reality hit home in Dominica when on Nov. 21, 2004 the island was shaken by a temblor that triggered mudslides in a zone already hit by heavy rains.

Now as Haiti mourns the deaths of more than 220,000 people, Dominica's government is focusing on a new, solid building code.

“We have a building code that is mostly directed at making our buildings hurricane-proof. We are paying more attention to making our buildings less prone to collapse from earthquakes, but making them earthquake-proof requires tremendous technology and is expensive,” said Interior Minister Charles Savarin.

In Trinidad and Tobago, when it comes to construction, the twin island state could be as vulnerable as Haiti.

“If we were hit by a magnitude 8 earthquake, at least three-quarters of Trinidad and Tobago's buildings would be destroyed,” says Richard Clarke, lecturer in civil engineering at UWI.

The petrochemical industry, Trinidad's main foreign exchange earner, could also be the country's greatest downfall if and when an earthquake hits. George Robinson, head of the Office of Disaster Preparedness & Management (ODPM), believes there would be huge explosions and raging fires from leaks of the many natural pipelines that crisscross the island.

Although there are no official estimates, according to Clarke, the death toll could be at least 30,000, with thousands more injured.

The Cayman Islands, despite the relatively low risk of earthquakes, have a network of four seismic monitoring stations.

Cayman authorities predict that their system will be linked to a Caribbean-wide earthquake monitoring and reporting network capable of providing immediate data.

Over the past 500 years, there have been 105 tsunami events reported in the Caribbean and neighboring areas. Today, with nearly 20 million people living in this tourist destination and a major earthquake occurring on average every 50 years, scientists say it is not a question of if a major tsunami will happen, but when.

The fifth meeting in mid-March of the Inter-governmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions, resolved to organize a tsunami readiness drill in March 2011.

By Kathy Barrett
NEGRIL, Mar 16 2010 (IPS)

It’s just before midnight, and the music pulsates through the massive speakers perched under the ceiling, scantily clad girls in their five-inch heels moving closer to the iron poles.

"Shoeshine", a transvestite sex worker, says prostitution of underage girls is common is Negril. Credit: Kathy Barrett/IPS

This is the scene in “Scrub a Dub”, the exotic adult nightclub in the picturesque tourist resort town of Negril on Jamaica’s west coast.

Misty, 24, has been dancing for just over four years. She came to Negril from the capital Kingston, 222 kilometres to the east. Her story is one of hopelessness that drove her to the resort town in search of a better life.

“My life was hard, I needed to make more money. A friend told me to come to Negril where I could work in the tourist industry,” she said.

But she was disappointed to find the jobs in the luxurious all-inclusive hotels were hard to come by.

“My friend took me to this club and they wanted dancers. I was afraid at first, but now I make good money and I can take care of my two-year-old daughter, the men tip well. I hope to become the best dancer in here,” Misty said.

Misty is not alone. Hundreds of girls, many under the age of 18, flock to this tourist mecca and knowingly or unknowingly are drawn into the commercial sex trade. This is the other side of paradise, a hotbed of human trafficking, prostitution and drugs – a stark contrast to the Negril promoted around the world with its seven miles of white sand beaches.

Rev. Margaret Fowler is a minister of religion and social worker who came to Jamaica over 20 years ago from Scotland. She runs a foundation to aid women and girls who have been drawn into the commercial sex trade.

“It’s a modern-day slavery because the people have just been dragged into some kind of bondage,” she told IPS.

With the support of her church, Fowler pledged to make a difference, no matter how small. In 2005, she established the Theodora Foundation with funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development to conduct research on human trafficking in Jamaica and help affected women.

Perched on a hill in the western end of Negril, the foundation has a halfway house for girls who are at greatest risk. Under the watchful eye of house mother Yvonne Ramsay, Theodora House is home to up to four girls who stay there for a maximum of two years.

“Here at Theodora House we want to show them [the women] real alternatives to the life they knew and show them that there is a place where they can be loved without giving anyone anything in return,” Ramsay explained.

The foundation also works with youth in Negril who are susceptible to exploitation in their search for a way to survive. It offers classes in reading, math, business, computer science and life skills.

Most of the students, including a few young men, can read only at the fifth-grade level. The teachers work to get them to the point where they can take entrance exams to enroll at a national training institute.

“Our task is to give them information, so they can say ‘I don’t have to do this’,” Fowler said. “The temptation is there, when you are poor and have no money …if we can get them to the stage where they don’t have to go down that road, we have done a good job.”

There is one group of young women that Fowler still hopes to reach – young girls under the age of 16. This is one of the dark secrets of Negril, spoken about by very few.

The prevalence of girls, some as young as 13, was confirmed by “Shoeshine”, whose real name is George Coombs.

Shoeshine, 51, is a transvestite who moved to Negril from the eastern parish of St. Mary years ago.

Living in a crudely built one-room hut just on the outskirts of the hotel strip, he knows the ins and outs of all the underground establishments geared towards the commercial sex trade. He even opens up his house to those who wish to get involved with the young girls.

“You have young girls, it’s not legal, I can show you plenty of them… they come from all over, the older dancers bring their daughters into the business, the white people want the young girls,” he said.

Negril is especially impacted by sex tourism, which thrives in this popular tropical vacation destination. It is primarily poor women and girls, and increasingly boys, who are trafficked from rural to urban and tourist areas for commercial sexual exploitation.

The problem is growing across the island, prompting the government in 2007 to implement the Trafficking in Persons Act, which prescribes penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment.

A study that year carried out in Kingston, the tourist capital of Montego Bay and Negril found that “girls as young as 13 are full-fledged prostitutes.” It said some of them live on their own, while others are taken to holding areas in the communities and used as dancers in the more popular nightclubs.

But a renewed crackdown appears to be bearing fruit. In the last two years, eight suspected cases of human trafficking have been successfully investigated and brought before the Jamaican courts. In 2009, five raids were conducted, resulting in four arrests and three prosecutions.

The government has established a trafficking-in-persons unit that operates within the police force and has five detectives.

For the Theodora Foundation, a success story is already in the making. Camile, 28, dropped out of school at 16 and headed to Negril to work as a bartender, but in her words, things just didn’t work out.

“I even tried to commit suicide at one time, but now being at Theodora safe house, they have helped me to be more confident and have more self-control,” she said. “I know that I will reach there, this is where I see myself, working in a big business place, coming out in my heels and suit… I want a job to take care of my mother and my son.”

“Before living here, I would be on the street, the men would have to have sex with you before they give you anything,” she said. “But I now have hope… I will be okay.”

*The dancers used pseudonyms to protect their identities.

Excerpt:

By Kathy Barrett
KINGSTON, Feb 23 2010 (IPS)

For years, Jamaica’s correctional system has been under the glare of the international spotlight.

Concerns have been expressed time and again by rights groups here and abroad about conditions in the prisons and police station lockups, as well as juveniles who are being housed alongside adult offenders.

Last year, seven teenage girls died in a fire at a juvenile correctional centre, and just three weeks ago, 40 prisoners and nine warders were injured in an uprising at a maximum security prison that also held 33 juvenile offenders, both male and female.

Altogether, 80 juveniles – 71 boys and nine girls between the ages of 13 and 17 – are currently housed in detention centres across the island while they wait for their cases to be heard in court.

“This is illegal,” said children’s advocate Mary Clarke. “While the numbers fluctuate on a daily basis, too many by far are children being held for extended periods without a court hearing. Children on remand should be in remand centres and not lock-ups, and should be separated from children who have received correctional orders, since in our law we are innocent until proven guilty.”

The Child Care and Protection Law states that young offenders should not be held for more than 48 hours – 24 hours ideally – before receiving a court hearing and being transferred to an approved facility.

Clarke pointed to several factors that contribute to the lengthy stay behind bars – up to a year for some juvenile detainees.

“This should never be allowed, but the trial process, sometimes it’s very long. Many are remanded and they are sent back to the lock-ups until the case is finished. Ideally, they should be sent to a juvenile facility, but there is limited space and lack of capacity. So children are still being kept in lock-ups while they await their court outcomes,” Clarke said.

And cases concerning juveniles continue to increase.

Data from the Department of Correctional Services shows that in 2008, 226 children were admitted into juvenile institutions for a wide range of criminal offences. The majority – 218 – were males between ages 15 and 17 years old.

The alarming number of juvenile offences has prompted a full-scale investigation by the Office of the Children’s Advocate (OCA) into the infringement of their basic rights.

The situation in Jamaica is not unique. A 2003 World Bank report found that adolescents 13 to 19 years old were responsible for a quarter of major crimes worldwide, including armed robbery, assault, rape and murder, with males being the main perpetrators.

The alarming situation did not escape Manfred Nowak, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, who conclude a nine-day visit to the island Sunday.

Nowak and other officials came to investigate reports of cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment in correctional, juvenile facilities and remand centres. This notably included the St. Andrew Juvenile Centre for Boys on the outskirts of the capital, where Nowak cited a disturbing system of repression and regular corporal punishment.

“The boys in remand were never allowed to leave the buildings, depriving them of any recreational activities in the open air,” he said.

In general, police lock-ups across the island were “characterised by overcrowded and filthy cells infested with rats, cockroaches and lice, and an unbearable stench……many cells were in complete darkness, resembling caves and with poor ventilation …. the time detainees were allowed outside of their cells, including toilet use, was extremely limited,” Nowak said.

He said that while torture, in the classic sense of the word, is not rampant in Jamaica, the government needs to ratify the U.N. Convention Against Torture and other cruel, degrading treatment or punishment. He also said torture must be criminalised under domestic laws.

His visit came only weeks after the uprising at the Horizon Adult Remand centre. According to Nowak, the authorities at the institution got an early warning that an uprising was in the making.

“We spoke to persons who said we anticipated what would happen, we sent a letter to the Superintendent to tell him that the conditions had deteriorated to an extent that they might explode and it just exploded and the reaction of the prison administration and the police was to send in the military, police and prison warders. We concluded that they used excessive force in beating up the detainees,” Nowak said.

Dr. Derrick Pounder, the medical expert with the U.N. team, detailed the injuries of those who returned to the remand centre following the incident.

“They uniformly had head injuries from multiple blows to the head. Some had been knocked unconscious and didn’t recover consciousness until they got to the hospitals. But the most telling of the injuries were the pattern, what we would call defensive injuries, injuries inflicted when a person tried to protect themselves from harm,” Dr. Pounder said.

He added that the marks correspond with pipes that were ripped from the walls of the remand centre by prisoners during the incident. Pounder said the detainees allege that these pipes were used on them by the police and soldiers.

The Jamaican government has yet to respond to Nowak’s findings.

According to Clarke, the juvenile detainees witnessed the Feb. 9 riot, although they were in separate cell blocks from those housing hardened adult prisoners. She said social workers have been counseling the children to help them deal with the trauma of their experience.

During his visit, the U.N. Rapporteur reiterated the call from local human rights groups for children to be removed from adult correctional facilities, stating that international standards are being violated.

However, plans to transfer the youthful offenders have been delayed by the government’s financial woes. Children’s’ Advocate Clarke said that plans to relocate 250 juveniles to a new facility in the western parish of St. James are now on indefinite hold.

Clarke also complained that the system continues to fail the juveniles in state care and called for a half-way house to keep juveniles who have no family, until they are adults. Of primary concern, she said, is the case of a teen-aged girl who is still being held because there is nowhere else to place her.

Seven months after June Spencer Jarrett created history bybecoming the first woman appointed to head Jamaica’s correctional system, the local human rights lobby group, Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ), is calling for her removal.

Their call followed a report from the commission of enquiry into a fire last year that claimed the lives of seven teenage girls who were being held at the Armadale Juvenile Correctional Centre in the northern parish of St. Ann, which has since been closed by order of the prime minister.

The report strongly criticised the department of Correctional Services for failing to put adequate measures in place to prevent the fire, believed to have been started by some of the rebellious teens.

The JFJ says this amounts to dereliction of duty on the part of senior officials from the department of correctional services.

But despite all of the investigations and calls for action voiced over the years, human rights lawyer O. Hilare Sobers says the problem is unlikely to be seriously addressed anytime soon.

“Jamaica’s correctional/custodial system has never been a priority for successive governments, nor for that matter, the people of Jamaica,” he said. “(I) don’t think Jamaicans have ever had any collective shame over the state of the correctional/custodial system, and don’t think they are about to grow a conscience over it in a hurry.”

Excerpt: