Caribbean News

Jamaica gets support to eradicate Zika-carrying mosquitoes

Published

8 years ago

September 30, 2017

#Jamaica, September 30, 2017 – Kingston – Jamaica’s programme to eradicate the aedes egypti mosquito, which is the primary vector for the Zika virus, has been given a boost through a US$250,000 provision under the Caribbean Zika Response and Preparedness Project. The 16-month undertaking is being implemented by the Jamaica Red Cross through funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Under the initiative, communities in seven parishes have been identified for targeted intervention, which include clean-up activities and public education. The parishes are Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Catherine, St. Mary, Portland, Westmoreland, and St. James. Teams of Red Cross volunteers, along with the organisation’s field officers are already in the targeted areas visiting homes and staging community sensitisation sessions to empower residents to take action to eradicate breeding areas in and around their homes.

Project Manager, Jamaica Red Cross, Kalesha Henlon, says a big part of the programme is the cleaning of communities, which has already started. She informs that old tyres and containers that collect water, providing a breeding ground for the pests, are being removed.

Miss Henlon, who was speaking to JIS News at a recent meeting at the Red Cross headquarters in Central Village, St. Catherine, says drum covers are also being distributed to householders. She notes that the covers have been working successfully, and the Red Cross is seeking additional support to widen distribution both inside and outside of the project areas.

“We are doing something great for the nation, and that is one reason why we ask for collaboration with stakeholders,” she says.

Meanwhile, Miss Henlon tells JIS News that coming out of a survey, which revealed that only one per cent of those polled in the targeted communities is aware that Zika can be transmitted through sexual contact, focus will be placed in this area. She says that advertisements will be placed on buses, among other measures.

“We are promoting the use of condoms or dual contraception methods to ensure that persons, especially pregnant mothers, don’t get infected, as this can severely affect children,” Miss Henlon says.

Zika has been linked to microcephaly, a rare condition in which infants are born with smaller or shrunken brains and heads.

“We are targeting maternity stores, to reach pregnant women,” Miss Henlon adds.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Winston De La Haye, in endorsing the project, is appealing for persons in the communities to cooperate fully. While cases of Zika have significantly declined, and the disease is not the threat that it was a year ago, Dr. De La Haye notes that the virus is endemic to the country “so we don’t want the public to relax”.

In addition, he says, there are still instances of dengue fever and chikungunya Virus (CHIKV) around, which are transmitted by the same mosquito that spreads Zika. “In the long run, it is you the individual that we are helping,” he adds.

Dr. De La Haye is calling on householders to take personal responsibility for their surroundings and devote at least 10 minutes each week to inspecting their homes to ensure that they are not providing breeding ground for the mosquito. He notes that under the Mosquito Control and Research Unit, initiated by Minister of Health, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, and housed at the University of the West Indies’ (UWI), Mona Campus, a number of agencies, including the Red Cross, are collaborating in the eradication of mosquitoes.

“The work of those agencies… is all aimed at reducing the number of breeding sites and the possibility of persons being infected by the Zika virus,” he points out.

Persons wishing to collaborate with the Red Cross Zika team can contact the organisation at 984-7860-2, or email jrcs@jamaicaredcross.org.

The most common symptoms of the Zika virus are fever, rash, joint pain, and red eye. The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting from several days to a week. Severe illness requiring hospitalization is uncommon. There is no vaccine to prevent or medicine to treat the virus.

Aedes egypti mosquitoes typically lay eggs in and near standing water, in things like buckets, bowls, animal dishes, flower pots and vases. All kinds of garbage, including old fridges, hub caps, tyres that can collect rain water, can be home to mosquitoes.

BY: Garfield L. Angus (JIS)

Caribbean News

Guyanese Scholar and Olympian Arrested in Iowa ICE Crackdown

Published

1 week ago

September 27, 2025

Deandrea Hamilton

Deandrea Hamilton | Editor

September 27, 2025 – In a shocking breach of public trust and institutional oversight, Ian Andre Roberts, superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, who is a citizen of Guyana, was arrested on September 26 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under a string of serious offenses that raise troubling questions about hiring practices, accountability, and public safety.

Roberts, born in Georgetown, Guyana, is a former Olympian and accomplished scholar. According to online reports, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Coppin State University after transferring from St. Francis College in Brooklyn, where he played soccer. He holds two master’s degrees—from St. John’s University and Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business—attended an Executive MBA program at MIT Sloan School of Management and earned a doctorate in education with a focus on urban educational leadership from Trident University.

Despite these accomplishments, Roberts was living and working without legal authorization. ICE reported that he fled a traffic stop and abandoned his school-issued vehicle. At the time of his arrest, he was reportedly in possession of a loaded handgun, a fixed-blade hunting knife, and $3,000 in cash. He also has a prior weapons-related charge.

ICE officials questioned how Roberts could hold such a prominent role while subject to a final deportation order issued in May 2024. The school district said they were unaware of his immigration status, noting that he had undergone background checks and completed an I-9 form confirming work authorization. Roberts was placed on administrative leave pending further investigation.

This case highlights vulnerabilities in systems meant to safeguard public institutions and underscores the challenges ICE faces in identifying individuals operating outside U.S. immigration laws while in positions of authority.

For many, Roberts has become a near-literal poster child for these enforcement gaps.

Caribbean News

Bermuda Shaken by Targeted Murder as Crime Returns After a Decade of Calm

Published

2 weeks ago

September 21, 2025

Deandrea Hamilton

Deandrea Hamilton | Editor

Bermuda is reeling after the brazen murder of 37-year-old Janae Minors, a mother of two, who was gunned down in her own beauty supply store on Court Street, Pembroke. The attack, which police describe as “targeted,” has rattled the island, not only for its brutality but for what it says about the state of law and order in a country that less than a decade ago was celebrating a dramatic fall in violent crime.

The Attack on Court Street

According to police, at approximately 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday, September 16, a lone gunman pulled up on a stolen black motorcycle, walked into the Beauty Monster shop Minors owned, and shot her multiple times. Despite the rapid response of emergency services, she succumbed to her injuries shortly after being transported to hospital.

Detectives say the killer was thin, tall, dressed in dark clothing with a full-face helmet, and wearing bright gloves. CCTV shows him fleeing north on Court Street, down Tills Hill toward TCD, before turning onto Marsh Folly Road. Investigators are pursuing all leads, with a focus on recovering evidence from nearby cameras and eyewitness accounts.

Police Commissioner Darrin Simons confirmed the attack bore the hallmarks of gang-related violence, a chilling indicator that Bermuda’s gang rivalries — long simmering beneath the surface — may once again be spilling into broad daylight.

A Vibrant Life Cut Short

Minors, remembered as a hardworking entrepreneur with “a vibrant, beautiful personality,” leaves behind two children, ages 16 and 18. Her murder has ignited outrage across Bermuda, not just for its senselessness but for its timing: the island had once prided itself on virtually stamping out gun violence.

Then: Near-Zero Murders

Back in 2014, Bermuda made international headlines for reporting zero firearm murders — a remarkable achievement given the small island had endured a spate of gang-related shootings in the early 2010s. Police credited intelligence-led operations, tighter firearms interdictions, and aggressive prosecutions of gang leaders. Community programs and mentoring initiatives also played a role, giving at-risk youth alternatives to gang life.

By 2015 and 2016, gun crime was at historic lows. That period was hailed as proof Bermuda could beat back the tide of violence with coordinated policing, social investment, and political will.

Now: Alarming Resurgence

Fast forward nine years, and the picture looks starkly different. In 2024 and 2025, Bermuda has recorded a rise in gun-related deaths. Rival gangs such as Parkside and 42 have resurged, fueled by a new generation of recruits. Economic pressures, high youth unemployment, and the easy flow of smuggled firearms through maritime routes have undermined earlier gains.

Community trust in the police has also eroded, making investigations harder and retaliations more likely. Opposition MPs and neighborhood leaders warn that without sustained focus, Bermuda risks sliding back into the violent cycles of the early 2010s.

Public Alarm and Political Pressure

Premier David Burt condemned Minors’ killing as “an escalation of community violence that cannot be tolerated,” promising stronger enforcement and deeper engagement with residents. The Bermuda Police Service has appealed for CCTV, dashcam, and doorbell footage from the area, urging residents that even the smallest detail could break the case.

Yet among the public, frustration is growing. People remember the calm of 2014 — when zero murders were recorded — and cannot understand how the island has returned to headlines dominated by gun violence. The contrast is stark: from celebrating the elimination of gun murders to confronting the targeted execution of a businesswoman in broad daylight.

A Test for Bermuda’s Future

The murder of Janae Minors has become more than a single case; it is now a symbol of Bermuda’s struggle to hold on to the progress it once made. The question facing the island is whether the successes of a decade ago can be replicated and sustained in today’s harsher climate of economic pressure and gang rivalries.

For Minors’ family, nothing can erase the tragedy of losing a mother and daughter so violently. But for Bermuda at large, her death is a wake-up call — that the island cannot afford complacency when it comes to crime.

As one community leader put it: “Nine years ago, we had beaten this. Now, we’re back to fearing what happens when the sun goes down. That is not the Bermuda we want to live in.”

Caribbean News

CARICOM-Africa Summit Yields Draft Pact on Trade, Travel and Reparations

Published

3 weeks ago

September 19, 2025

Deandrea Hamilton

Imagine an Atlantic Bridge connecting the Caribbean Region to the African Continent

Deandrea Hamilton | Editor

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — When CARICOM leaders convened with African counterparts and Afreximbank officials in Ethiopia, the outcomes were savory and exactly what many Caribbean people want to see materialise as the islands become uniquely reconnected to the African continent.

At the Second CARICOM-Africa Summit, held at the African Union headquarters, leaders moved beyond symbolic language to agree on a draft communiqué that, if finalized, would anchor this partnership in practical action. While not yet officially published by the AU or CARICOM, the document points to an agenda that blends history with urgent twenty-first century priorities.

The draft outlines commitments to improve air and sea transport links, including the pursuit of a multilateral air services agreement to break down the barriers that still keep the Caribbean and Africa physically apart. It also calls for visa facilitation and simplified entry regimes, making it easier for citizens of both regions to travel, study, and work across the Atlantic.

Equally significant are pledges to advance double taxation treaties that could remove one of the most stubborn obstacles to investment. With Afreximbank’s Caribbean headquarters already established in Barbados and the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) gaining momentum, leaders now want to lock in the financial and legal frameworks that will drive new business.

Reparatory justice also featured prominently, with the draft communiqué sharpening a joint call for coordinated advocacy. CARICOM’s long-standing Reparations Commission is expected to work more closely with African institutions to demand global recognition and redress for the shared traumas of slavery and colonial exploitation.

CARICOM’s incoming chair, Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew of St. Kitts and Nevis, captured the spirit of the gathering when he urged that the Atlantic Slave Trade be reimagined as an “Atlantic Bridge — a bridge of hope, a bridge of advancement, a bridge that will ensure our people take their rightful place in this world.”

For Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett, the meeting was a “homecoming,” but also a reminder that concrete steps like the Health Development Partnership for Africa and the Caribbean (HeDPAC) and improved transportation links are needed to transform rhetoric into results.

For citizens back home, wrestling with inflation and economic uncertainty, the Addis outcomes — transport, visas, investment, health, and reparations — are precisely the kinds of measures that can validate leaders’ journeys and rekindle faith in South-South cooperation. What was once only rhetoric now hints at the beams of an Atlantic Bridge, connecting the Caribbean and Africa in ways that could finally turn history’s tragedy into tomorrow’s advantage.