Here is NEWS that was mailed to my readers on June 7, 1998:-
June 3, 1998 (unable to send newsletter because software crashed and letter lost) June 7, 1998 BAJAN NEWS ---------- I was not going to repeat my news from last week... but it is still fresh... and raging on in the media: 1. Reggae Fest Jamaican artistes ANTHONY B, LUCIANO, CAPLETON, SIZZLA and COCOA TEA had the stadium rocking a week ago... but Cocoa Tea was hauled away and charged with possession of a "roach" (partially burnt spliff)... a riot ensued... part of the stadium wall came crashing down... and Police were pelted with stones and concrete by an angry mob... there were 13 arrests... including a 14 year old boy who was, so they claimed, "pushing" dope... and a "seasoned criminal" who was wanted by police on other charges.. What nobody has mentioned so far is that only a minority of persons (perhaps about 500,at the most, many of whom had NOT paid and had no intention of doing so) were involved in this deviant behaviour, what about all the countless thousands who enjoyed the show... right into the foreday morning ???? The press continues to discuss... what kind of hope could these artistes be bringing to "concious youths" ??? inciting them to violence and drugs ??? teaching them to defy the law by all means possible ??? The promoter is angry.. saying he paid thousands of dollars to the Police force... and expected better security than that !! So the debate continues.... 2. DODDS BOYS RECAPTURED A 16 year old boy who dug his way out of a maximum security "cell" with an iron stake... and then escaped with 2 other boys around bath time in the morning... has been recaptured and sentenced to Glendairy Prison by magistrate Pamela Beckles. He was on the loose for about 6 days... of the 3 that escaped, one was returned by his mother... the other has gone to Glendairy with him, pending another hearing.. 3. Viagra Madness Viagra (male potency drug) went on sale in Barbados on Friday... drugstores were inundated with calls all day.... it was shocking to hear how many Bajan men seem to have sexual dysfunction disorder !! However, the word is.... the drug will NOT be sold without a proper prescription... although it's high cost.. $40 per pill.. or $1,200 per bottle... does not seem to pose any problem for the potential buyers. 4. MODEL FOR REGION ( at long last... a piece of GOOD NEWS ! ) Barbados' tripartite arrangement, designed to promote dialogue and consensus on key economic development issues among government, labour and the private sector, is "a role model for industrial relations in the Region". So says a report by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to be presented at next week's World Bank sponsored meeting in Washington of the Caribbean Group for Co-operation in Economic Development (CGCED). Prime Minister Owen Arthur is scheduled to speak Monday morning at the opening session and will also take part in a news conference with World Bank and other officials. The report contains data showing Barbados among the Caribbean's most industially stable countries. 5. RACE RELATIONS The debate goes on.... in "letters to the editor"... the topic of race relations in Barbados... came into the spotlight when a few persons expressed their displeasure that no "white" person was among those chosen for National Heroes. Several people have expressed the view that it is a good thing that this topic is finally being publicly aired... and people are venting their feelings.... since for years the community at large ... has mostly denied the existence of the problem entirely. Certainly, there are a few bigots around... it is particularly hard for many white people to admit that their foreparents were responsible for atrocities against the black race... how many times have I heard the excuse, "their own African "brothers" sold them as slaves" coming from a white person... as if this somehow exonerates the white man... shift the blame elsewhere... it is just as popular today, as in the days of Adam and Eve... and is universal to all races... If done improperly, the compulsory teaching of "Black Studies" now advocated for the school system cannot tend towards racial harmony... a lot will depend on the attitudes and views of the teachers picked to teach this subject to impressionable young minds... but who is going to ensure that they are intellectually mature and sufficiently objective to teach it ????? In Barbados, where native white people are a minority, with declining influence... they may feel their existence threatened by this new awakening of Black conciousness... fearing that it could only be hostile towards them... this view has been expressed to me by white people. One thing I have observed, in persons of any color... "If you BELIEVE that you are at a disadvantage because of your color... then you most certainly are.." I venture to suggest that the above holds true... whether it is actually "true" in the wider society or not...
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