Pepperpot 2015 09 20

Melanie Albert, a 40-year Arecuna woman from Paruima in Region Seven was the first to score goal when the Indigenous Heritage Games began in Georgetown Friday. Paruima is the only Arecuna community in Guyana.

It is located in the Upper Mazaruni. (More Samuel Maughn photos of the Games inside)

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Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

Bullets and Blood A story of crime, abuse and lost dreams ER lips were bruised and hurting, yet she hummed softly, songs of love, verses that spoke of dreams and passion, that for her rode far above on the shifting clouds as her hands worked deftly preparing tasty delicacies for her food stall.

It was a small business she had inherited from her grandmother on a food court tarmac in a poor, depressed community where she was raised. It became her only livelihood, the poor girl whose hope and dreams had gotten lost in the rags and ruins of her life.

“Why this poor life with such bad luck?” she had often asked herself, as she grew from a little girl to a young woman.

A broken home, because of one parent’s alleged illicit affair, changed everything in Tanya’s life, her little heart breaking to pieces at her mother’s and father’s bitter separation. She had hugged her Barbie doll, feeling lost and lonely as she watched them walk away to begin new lives. She was left under her grandmother’s care and living in an old, cramped house with six other children, she had to work more than study. But not to be deterred, she read any books she could have gotten her hands on to educate herself.

In the nights she had cried silently, awaking each morning with the hope that her mother or father would return for her, but they never did, visiting only once per year on her birthday.

She was left on the wayside to bloom like a wild flower in the creeping shadows of poverty.

Shackled to a life she wanted so much to change for the better, she had often wished.

“Please Lord, cast away the dark clouds and paint for me, a rainbow in the sky.”

A beautiful young woman she had become, her natural beauty and a dimpled smile portraying a refreshing personality that seemed inborn.

But she held her own, waiting for someone special, who could take her hand and dance with her on the clouds to songs of love and passion.

“Yuh read too many of dem love story books.” Aunt Theresa, a food vendor next to her, had chided her, “Dat boy livin’ in Block C like you and he got ah nice car.”

“I know,” Tanya had said with a patient, little smile, “But he has been arrested three times for robbery.”

“Girl, it was jus’ suspi-

For how many prayers hadn’t she whispered, living with hopes of finding a dream for something good in her life.

She was a poor girl, a wild flower, but she was wooed by those with thick wallets and posh cars because of her innocence that was her richness.

cion,” the older woman said dismissively, “If yuh want something good, yuh cyan worry about those things.”

“Not my idea of a good life.” She had stated casually.

Aunt Theresa had looked at Tanya, liking the young woman for her quiet and simple disposition and

maureen.rampertab@gmail.com

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By Maureen Rampertab

► Continued on page III

Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015 ► From page II she had said, “I hope yuh find de man of your dreams.”

Tanya had thought she did when he had walked into her life, one night at a Christmas Eve dance. A promising young boxer, sauve and handsome with an impressive outlook.

He had danced with her all night and she had fallen for the sincerity in his words and the genuine attraction in his eyes.

“The fool I was.” She chided herself as she packed the food containers.

A beautiful friendship had developed and with him, she felt the comfort of happiness.

“One day,” he had told her, “When I achieve greater success, I’ll take you away from here, for a better life.”

“Answers to my prayers,” she had thought, giving thanks to the Lord.

But not long after they had been living together, cracks began to show underneath his façade of charm.

Deceit that demonized the soul.

At the beginning of the abuse, he had always expressed regrets after hitting her and she had forgiven him, trying her best to understand this disturbing change, but it had left a sense of fear and uncertainty in her heart, like dark clouds hovering.

She continued her food business on the tarmac until a plan they had formulated to expand into a small, classy restaurant in the city came into being; but Mark’s career seemed to be going nowhere in attaining the success he wanted, for he was losing his fights and somehow he seemed to blame it on her.

It was then, when she couldn’t take any more of his bad moods and the constant abuse he had stopped apologizing for, she told him she was leaving. But he would not let her, promising to change, that things would get better; but things got worse, when he came home one night with a gun.

“What’s going on?” she had asked him, with a deep feeling of dread.

“Nothing.” He had answered casually, kissing her lightly on the cheek, “It’s just for protection.”

She did not like it and she did not believe him, something was going wrong with Mark’s life, and he kept it hidden from her. Late in the nights, strange men in dark vehicles would come to meet him in his training room downstairs, something he had forbidden her to talk about.

She had grown up in a depressed community where crime was like lurking tentacles waiting to hold captive or devour the weak and innocent; but she had stayed strong in mind, not to become its victim. Now the one who had won her heart had opened that door to her home.

“I can’t allow this to happen.” She had cautioned herself and last night when she tried to talk to him about it, he had

gotten angry and hit her.

“And,” he had warned her, with the gun in his hand, “Don’t even think of leaving.”

“Just when I had thought I found happiness.” She grieved silently, as she attended to her customers, “How do I free myself from him?”

Songs gave her comfort and peace, beautiful songs and she sang softly to sooth the sadness in her heart.

Aunt Stephanie looked at her and sighed, sorry for the young woman.

“She’s such ah nice girl, how something like dis could happen to her?”

The other vendors shared her sentiments.

“He seem like such ah nice boy, de two of dem look good together.”

“He jus play a role to win her heart, he is not de right one for her.”

Tanya smiled at them, touched by their care and concern, like a real family.

It was midweek, not such a busy day for sales and during the lunch period, someone suddenly shouted hoarsely, “Police!”

A sudden flurry of activity saw the food court empty of young men in seconds and one vendor two stalls away from Tanya unleashed a string of expletives about the police disrupting their business.

“Ah wandah is who dey lookin’ fuh now.” She fumed.

Two police vehicles sped behind the youths in the community and Tanya shook her head, resignedly, because it was something common.

“The cat and mouse game continues.”

Not long after they came out with two young men and by that time, another vehicle pulled up with detectives.

“Look like somethin’ else happening,” Aunt Stephanie said in a hushed tone.

Three detectives went into the community with one police vehicle and two of them walked towards the food vendors.

“Oh no,” Tanya exclaimed, quietly, her heart racing, “I hope it’s nothing to do with Mark.”

A few high profile robberies had hit the business community with well executed plans and investigators were hunting some suspects who had been on the police radar for some time. The food vendors were shown photographs of the suspects and told in a stern voice, “You are all here from late morning until night so I’m sure you must have seen at least one of these men.”

No one did despite the repeated questions and one of the detectives who questioned Tanya said, “Think carefully miss, have you seen any of these men?”

She shook her head trying to mask her fear for though

III none of the photographs were Mark’s, she knew he was involved in something bad. The detective looked at her for a long moment then he said, “I have a strong feeling, you know something.”

The stern look in his eyes and the taunt muscles on his face sent a slight tremor in her body but she said calmly, “I told you, I don’t know.”

“The fear in your eyes and your bruised lip tells a story of its own. What happened?”

She didn’t answer and he shook his head slowly, “Your silence tells me you either love him or you fear him.”

He took a card from his pocket and handed her.

“Any time you want to talk, I will try to help you.”

She smiled, just a little and took the card, looking at it as he walked away, the name on the card was ‘Detective Raj Amit Dev’ “Interesting,” Aunt Theresa said over Tanya’s shoulder.

Tanya shook her head and put the card in her apron pocket, a worried look on her face.

“This is getting too close to home.”

Mark did not come home that night nor the other, and when she tried calling him, his phone went to voicemail.

She could not sleep, her mind tossed in troubled waters over her relationship with Mark, the constant abuse and now his suspect criminal life.

“What do I do?” she questioned herself as she sat at the kitchen table, drinking a glass of juice.

The phone rang, almost startling her. It was Mark, apologizing for his absence and explaining to her he was tied up with important business.

“The police are looking for suspects in some high profile robberies,” she informed him.

There was a long pause on the line then he said, “If they question you about me, be sure not to say anything.”

“Mark, are you involved in any of this?”

“I’ll talk to you later,” he said and hung up before she could say anything else.

She sat there, her mind almost numb, tears streaming down her face, scared of what could happen to her.

“Who do I ask for help?”

Her lips quivered as she tried to control her emotions, to keep her mind strong and it was then she remembered the detective who had given her his card. She looked at the card, uncertain what to do, fearful of Mark’s anger and she prayed.

“Please Lord, help me to find a way out of this.”

(To be continued)

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Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

opyright and you (Part 7a)

(Extract of an interview with Berkley Semple, August, 2015. Semple is a poet and librarian; he now lives in Queens, NY. Semple won the Guyana Prize in 2004 for best first book of poetry with ‘Lamplight Teller’. In 2006, his book, ‘The Solo Flyer’ and in 2010, his collection of poems, ‘The Central Station’ were shortlisted for The Guyana Prize.)

PP: Copyright affects different people in different ways; copyright affects different people differently in different places. How does copyright affect you as a writer/a published writer and as a librarian?

BS: Well, as a writer, you copyright your intellectual property, putting a claim on it, saying it is mine, and you could only use it if you go through my agent or an agency, whatever that agency might be. In the case of a library - a library uses a lot of material that is copyrighted but they use it under the fair use policy, at least in the US, and I suspect there is a fair use policy in all countries. I don’t know what is the fair use policy in Guyana but in the fair use policy, you could copy only a certain amount of pages from a book or document for distribution, but what you cannot do is to commercialize it.

The same thing happens at the university where you can copy I think ten copies of a document, or in the case of an essay/ lecture the entire document and it must be exclusively for the edification of the minds of the students because if you look at

it from a bread and butter issue of the writer, he/she still has to earn from it. But I suspect that from country to country, they are not bound to respect international agreements on copyright.

PP: So there are no copyright laws that bind one country to another. Why is this so, shouldn’t there be a standard set of copyright laws?

BS: There ought to be but I suspect it has a lot to do with enforcement. The further you are away from the thing you create, the less control you have over it. So you can copy an entire book and sell it here but the copyright is in the US and if the publisher does not follow up on that by bringing some type of legal action against that person who is copying without requisite permission then the publisher can do that but I don’t think they go out of their way to track down every little country that is infringing their right. Certainly in the US, they do.

PP: I am getting that there is no way you could complete-

Berkley Semple ly enforce a set of laws because as you said the further away you are from the creator of a product, enforcement becomes more difficult or distant!

BS: Exactly.

PP: In essence, it means a whole lot of malfeasance can take place.

BS: Let me give you an example, in the US, the cops go around and confiscate bags that are not the genuine trade mark bags but they never do such things for books for some reason or the other.

PP: It could be there is a lack of understanding of the book as a product.

BS: It could be that they think that kids should have access to any kind of book for free. Of course this is the case of the internet where you could conceivably download fifteen thousand books at one shot and I think this is the greatest danger to copyright - the internet and digital media as against someone taking my book and scanning it on ► Continued on page V

Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

opyright and you ► From page IV

a Xerox machine. On the internet you can get what you want in whatever format and you could use your kindle or nook or whatever and that’s where the real danger lies.

PP: What does the creator get out of this process?

BS: He/she certainly doesn’t get any money. It is a sort of thief. But here’s the thing – the digitalization of data allows us all access to that data; it’s not like we have to go to a place to get the first edition of say A. J. Seymour’s Miniature Poet Series and physically make a photocopy. But here again, you can scan this document and give it to every child in the world, one shot; you can put it on the internet and say here is the miniature poet series, download it.

The Caribbean Press is like that, you can go to that website and you could get all the books published by the press and download whatever you desire. In this case, the press is giving it to you; it is not that you are infringing

on the copyright. I gather they must have talked with the authors that this is what will happen. Most Guyanese should make use of this source of book – they are great stuff there, I have read things I never had the chance to before.

But getting back to copyright; copyright is not where the author have exclusive right forever. What it says is that s/he had the right to that product for his lifetime and fifty years after, then it in the public domain.

For instance, if we look at ‘Dracula’ by Bram Stoker who has been dead for over a hundred years and that book is in the public domain. This means that Guyana could publish a series of books that is in the public domain and it would sell because you own that book like anybody else.

PP: T h a t ’s w h a t i t means to be in the public domain?

BS: Yes, you can get and use it because there is no copyright on it.

PP: But you cannot re-

print a previous edition of that book.

BS: No, you will perhaps have to type it over.

You will have to do your own edition…and Guyana can have the Guyana Classics of the Classics….

PP: I have seen some of the classics in the local bookstore and they are cheap, very cheap…

BS: However, you can’t do that with Samuel Selvon or A. J. Seymour. Copyright is still vested – they have progeny, they have kids so the rights can be ceded to the kids. You certainly can’t do that with Martin Carter and you certainly can’t do that with Petamber Persaud because he is alive and well.

If you do that with Petamber Persaud, you are plain stealing.

PP: But I’ve seen my articles on websites all over the world, some with no acknowledgement.

BS: Here’s the thing – they have a right to use your work in so far as they can site you as the author. It’s

like any citation, when you do your research. If you do not use citation, that’s where the problem comes in – that

V would be plagiarism or thief.

Yes, they can use your work and you would want to follow up on those kinds of things, it is your property, you want to ensure that the right citation is given; after all you did put in the energy in creating the work PP: It takes a lot of time;

it takes a lot out of me to produce those articles.

BS: And you want to represent your creation as forcefully as you can. But you may not be able to do so in Indonesia because as I said before it is difficult to do anything in places far removed from the creator.

(Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com)

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Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

VII

Understanding …from a Teen’s Point of View

By Vishani Ragobeer

* Motivation

H

e y there.

H o w w a s your past week? Mine was busy with all the activities going on for sports. Well, some of you may have read my articles before; some of you may not have done so.

Whether you have or have not, I am asking you to feel free to join me right here in the Pepperpot section of this newspaper every Sunday because I write little articles about various social topics and issues in our Guyanese society with the hope that I would be able to spread a little awareness, a few ideas or even a little entertainment. This week,

my friends, I will be writing about Motivation.

Motivation is the reason or reasons for behaving a certain way to achieve something. Motivation is the drive that pushes us to accomplish goals and make dreams a reality. This term, being the first tem for the new school year, I believe it is important to set find out motivation and try as hard as possible to accomplish our goals. In addition, this term is also the term of sports and it is very important for you athletes to find your motivation to run those races and for my nonathletic friends to also find a motivation a show everyone you can defy the odds.

Many people suffer from a lack of motivation,

and this lack of motivation paves the way for them not being able to fully accomplish goals and fully achieve their highest potential.

Motivation to accomplish something, especially for us youths is very important.

If we were unmotivated to do things, we simply would not be able to do it as well or we would procrastinate or even not do these things as well. In addition, we can be motivated to partake in good, acceptable behaviour or those behaviours that are morally and socially wrong.

We have to be the judge and know the kind of life we intend on living; we need to decide whether we want to the person that fought to become that successful doctor

or the person that strived to do as much bad as possible.

So my friends, I hope you find your motivation to accomplish all good things and may we all be successful this new school year.

* Quote for the week (by: Thomas Edison) “Opportunity is missed by most because it’s dressed in overalls and looks like work”.

Well, that’s all for this week, see you again right here at your favourite and best newspaper!

Vishani Ragobeer

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Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

EMPRETEC Guyana Inc. A focus on capacity building for entrepreneurs and Companies

EMPRETEC Guyana Inc., with its mandate for producing well rounded entrepreneurs and through professional development courses is moving robustly to enhance the skills needed for business development and sustainability in Guyana.

Towards this end, the institution is rolling out, over the next quarter, a schedule of entrepreneurship capacity building training programmes as well as its internationally recognised professional development course in Supply Chain Management. These training programmes and the MLS-SCM professional development course is intended to benefit entrepreneurs at various levels of their sphere of operations and that person

or persons with the responsibility for conducting or deciding on procurements.

EMPRETEC has for the last twelve years been doing its bit for capacity development for local entrepreneurs and can boast of significant strides and successes for both companies and individual entrepreneurs. The recent call by the Granger Administration for improved business development and for improved customer service has resonated with EMPRETEC and it has thus has doubled its efforts to ensure that quality, not quantity, has its impact in the lives of entrepreneurs and companies trained.

Programmes include: • ployees • • • preneur • •

Customer Service for Public and Private Sector emBusiness Plan Writing; Business Networking and its challenges Internet and Computer-based Services for the entrePublishing and Printing for the entrepreneur Food Safety Certification ► Continued on page IX

Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015 ► From page VIII • International Certificate in Supply Chain Management Programme; to name a few CUSTOMER SERVICE WORKSHOP The training process kicks off with a customer service workshop which is intended to target frontline staff of Government Ministries. There are also programmes geared to satisfy the training needs of private sector and small entrepreneurs as well.

Small business owners are empowered to cultivate the attitudes of successful entrepreneurs and how to effectively manage their business operations. The training provides practical solutions to overcome challenges of business start-up and expansion; it also offers the tools necessary for business survival.

Having started more than 10 plus years ago, EMPRETEC has grown considerably, reaching and impacting on the lives of more than 1000 entrepreneurs through its capacity build-

ing programmes. The gist is that EMPRETEC is dedicated to helping promising entrepreneurs grow; helping them put their ideas into action, while seeing fledgling businesses to grow.

EMPRETEC’s mandate is to promote growth oriented enterprises and provide access to a comprehensive and integrated range of services in order to enhance their participation in national development in co-operation with other SME support programmes, simultaneously allowing those companies to seek out international markets for their businesses.

Excited about the prospects and how EMPRETEC can and will impact on this new era of the entrepreneur and entrepreneurship in Guyana, its Programme Assistant, Ms. Robyn Williams asserts: “We at EMPRETEC consider ourselves as the incubator repository for systems and best practices for other entrepreneurs.

“Fulfilling our mandate and providing that assurance to our customers, clients and partners is an everyday way of life.

Hence, what we want to see in the technical support areas that we provide that enhancement training is to keep it fresh with knowledge and up to date tools in the area of the business and entrepreneurship is what we want to share with that eager entrepreneur who has that foresight to see it through to the end.”

IX This sentiment is something that is shared throughout the organisation and its Business Development Officer, Ms. Rhonda Nelson posited that EMPRETEC has done well over the years but it is now at that juncture where we are seeking new and exciting business opportunities that can be game changers in the lives of entrepreneurs. We want to expand our range of services into new areas and we want to improve on the support that we provide to small businesses.

With an innovative approach, the EMPRETEC Model has been hailed as the most significant new development in entrepreneurship training in almost two decades.

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT The international Certificate in Supply Chain Management is scheduled for September 28. This modular learning system is ideal in assisting in the effective procurement practices in the workplace; be it private or public.

Interested persons can enlist for programmes at nominal fees where applicable. Contact EMPRETEC Guyana at: J Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park, Georgetown, or call Tel. Numbers: 225-1219 or 225-4330.

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Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

XI

Guyana Trail Marathon - A tourism potential with every step

The exotic Kamuni Creek is a big sell for travellers to Santa Mission.

By Faizool Deo Athletes should not be surprised if an exotic animal or two pops out during their 26-mile run this November. Running the trails of Santa Mission is divine and mysterious as it is beautiful. Crisp dead leaves blanket the ground, while green multi-shaped trees create a cover from the sun— maybe this is why US born Sevak Tsaturyan fell in love with the area earlier this year.

He wasted no time to pitch the idea of holding a marathon, and Toshao Aubrey Samuels saw the potential and readily agreed.

Santa Mission, which is located up the exotic Kamuni Creek off the Demerara River, has been promoting its own tourism over the years; it is a beautiful community, with friendly, proud indigenous people. Samuels feels that having the marathon there will be very beneficial for the inhabitants, since they

will be able to showcase their art, craft and exotic dishes to a completely different clientele.

For the organisers, the Guyana Trail Marathon (which also includes a half marathon and a 10K) is a way of giving back, since all proceeds will go toward the school in the mission.

Tsaturyan, who is now based in Guyana, decided, with the help of a group of friends, including national long distance runners Cleveland Forde and Alika Morgan, to create a facebook page and a website. The initial hope was to attract the attention of a few avid runners. The result was better than expected; information indicates that 100 persons have signed on to compete on race day.

At the official launch last Saturday in the Region 3 indigenous community, during the Heritage Village celebrations, the November 14th marathon was well received. So much so that both ministers in the Indigenous

Peoples’ Affairs Ministry, lead minister and Vice-president Sydney Allicock, and minister within the ministry, Valarie Garrido-Lowe, endorsed the event.

Fifty persons (mostly Guyanese) registered for the 10K race, while 15 signed up to compete in the half marathon (13 miles), including Forde. The full marathon (26 miles) has a total of 35 registered individuals—most are international runners.

Overseas participants, according to the organisers, will come from the US, Canada, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname.

Initially two Kenyans had indicated their interest to travel, but they are yet to register.

Leaving out the benefits of health and community development, Tsaturyan feels that the event can also have an impact at the national level and could become a key fixture on the tourism calendar.

Santa Mission residents will use the event to sell their local craft.

"This event is significant for Sports Tourism, as it will bring amateur runners from all over the world who would not otherwise visit for any other reason. It will help those athletes to experience the beauty of Guyana and especially the Amerindian village, and take a piece of

Organiser Sevak Tsaturyan displays the purple-heart participant medal, which will be given to all finishers on race day.

Guyana back with them."

To ensure that the athletes take more than just memories and photographs with them, the organisers have designed a participant medal

made from Guyana’s own purple-heart wood, which all runners will receive at the end of the race.

The race itself will start and end at the mission hub.

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Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

From eating out of the dump to stardom - The Jermaine McBean story

L

By Alex Wayne iving a life of poverty can sometimes blank any thought that there could be light at the end of the tunnel; fame is probably one of those things that may not come up in the mind.

That’s the story of Jermaine McBean, who is now making a name for himself in the local entertainment industry.

Coming from a broken home where there was never the much needed love and guidance of a father, Jermaine became his own breadwinner at the early age of 13. He was forced to leave school early, due to financial constraints, and took refuge in homes that offered temporary solace and comfort.

All this time, he dreamt of being a singer. The imagery in his mind was that of the cheers of massive audiences under glitzy floodlights. But that was a dream.

He slept in fields, braved the rain, and went hungry for days as he attempted to find food by doing odd jobs here and there.

“We were so horribly poor and suffering that many times I thought of taking my life.

“Going without regular meals had soon become a norm and bread and water, maybe with a little butter at times, was like feasting at an exotic resort for me.

“I can distinctly remember having a close friend who was employed at a chicken fast food outlet.

“He took the risk and informed me just where they would dump the chicken that was not sold and myself and other homeless kids would just wait to pounce on the fried chicken the moment it was dumped.

“Quite often we had to put up a fight against the numerous stray dogs that also targeted the dumpsite.

Many times I would try to save pieces of the chicken, but it all became tainted by the next afternoon or so.”

But those days were about to change.

Still in his early teens, the talented singer was spotted by musicians. At first, he had to settle for free gigs, performing here and there; at times, promoters looking to exploit him, would offer a meal, or some meagre performance fee.

However, McBean loved the performances. His yearning to be a performer was being fulfilled and that is what mattered to him the most.

Before long, McBean sensed that the abuse would continue, and he needed to do something about that. He decided to be patient and wait for the opportunity.

He moved to the county of Berbice, and there he met Troy, the son of the popular Guyanese musician “Teaspoon.” The two decided to perform together.

Soon, the duo was filling the various nightclubs in Berbice, much to the envy of other local performers.

But disappointment set in again. The fees were not being paid as promised.

Back in the city, McBean joined several celebrated bands.

In 2005, he first flew to Trinidad, where his talent had him soon performing alongside elite entertainers like Roy Cape on Trinidad’s Petra Chin Road Show. There was also a performance with Shirwin Winchester.

His big break came a few years ago when he landed a gig in China. He spent 18 months, covering ballads of Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and Mary J. Blige.

In 2007, while in China, he entertained the beauties that

Monarch Jermaine Mc Bean at a recent Carib Soca event contested the Miss World pageant that year. He arranged for Guyanese singers Nichola and Nancy Osborne to travel to China to join him.

Now, McBean has acquired his own band. He has already played at several locations in the city since being back in Guyana two years ago.

He was a finalist in this year’s Carib Soca Monarch Competition, and was also an impressive participant at the last leg of the GT&T Jingle and Song Competition.

McBean’s band is called ‘Reflections’ in honour of his childhood sufferings and goes by the stage name ‘Venom’, which he said was chosen since he is here to spit ‘musical fire.’

This dude likes to keep it cool and simple which is his customary style

Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

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Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015 A talisman of Vodou spirit Erzili Dantor (Credit: Tim Johnson)

How voodoo is rebuilding Haiti

By Tim Johnson

(BBC News) IN retrospect, I have a lot of explanations for the incident. The market was very busy, it was extremely hot, and I was a little confused by the swirling cacophony of sights and sounds and smells. And that portrait I bought from one of the hundreds of sellers? I really thought it was an icon from this island’s other official religion, Catholicism.

But no. Despite my best efforts – and in the face of all my many fears about it – I had, inadvertently, purchased a voodoo talisman at the Cap-Haïtien marché on the island’s north coast. What I took to be an image of the Virgin Mary was, in fact, that of Erzili Dantor, one of the religion’s loa, or spirits. After I pointed to the framed picture, an elderly merchant brought it down and sold it to me for just 100 gourde – less than two dollars. Proudly showing it to my group of fellow travellers, they quickly pointed out that this was not the Black Madonna. What I had taken to be a unique and easily packed souvenir quickly became a firm representation of all my nightmares. I immediately gave it to a friend – one with fewer hang-ups about voodoo – but I would soon learn that my angst was wholly unnecessary.

I was in Haiti, an island nation that claims voodoo –

or Vodou, as it’s spelled there – as one of its two official religions. Far from the spooky image crafted by Hollywood films, African-born Haitian Vodou is credited with empowering the successful slave rebellion that cast off Napoleon’s yoke and won Haiti its independence from France in 1804. Similarly, many Haitians see Vodou playing a key role in the rebuilding now, as the religion’s messages of joy and cooperation promote renewal among locals, and as its influence on the country’s cultural traditions brings tourism dollars to communities that were devastated by the earthquake just five years ago. The main industry in the southern city of Jacmel, for example, was once harvesting coffee. Today, it’s an artist colony, where people come from around the world to buy handcrafted items, such as paper mache masks.

And on a larger scale, tour operators such as Air Transat and G Adventures have recently started operating art and culture tours to Haiti.

“Vodou permeates every single aspect of Haitian art: whether it be painting, contemporary sculpture, music or dance. Vodou has helped define and style it, consciously or unconsciously,” said Jean Cyril Pressoir, part-owner of Tour Haiti, a Port-au-Prince tour and logistics company.

“If we as a country capitalize on our cultural traditions

we will owe a great deal to Vodou, which has brought them to us.”

One of Haiti’s most successful artists is Jean-Baptiste Jean Joseph, a houngan (priest), whose peristil (the Vodou equivalent of a church) doubles as an art studio – displaying beautiful, Vodou-inspired tapestries that sell for as much as $6,500.

Jean Joseph explained that he grew up a Christian, but that all changed one night in his sleep: “Erzili Dantor came to me in a dream, a spirit of love and sharing, and now I have that same spirit.”

Jean Joseph then led us into the rear of the building to perform a ceremony using the bottle of rum our group had brought as an offering.

Despite the thick humidity, a chill ran down my spine as we approached the poto mitan: a post in the middle of the room where Jean Joseph interfaces with the spirits.

“Is this where you make the sacrifice?” I asked, rather obtusely. My Haitian friend Kazoul Belizaire, a dedicated Vodou follower, answered by grabbing my arm. “There’s no sacrifice – it’s not like in the movies,” she laughed.

Settling down, we watched as Jean Joseph sprayed some of the rum near the poto mitan, and then did the same thing in two adjacent small chambers, each one filled with icons and small statuettes.

He explained that one is dedicated to “hotter” spirits, which can get things done quickly but are more volatile and can create unintended consequences. The other is dedicated to “cooler”, slower, steadier spirits. Just as you might ask a priest or monk to intercede for you, Jean Joseph does the same with the spirits – asking for healing, restoration or even good grades on an exam. In our case, he asked for a general blessing. He added that there are no pincushion dolls here, and Vodou should not be seen as an evil force. “Vodou helps you thrive, work, prosper,” he explained. “The goal is joy.”

The message was similarly uplifting at the series of open-air art studios and

co-operatives known collectively as Atis Rezistans in the heart of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s frenzied capital. Passing a number of buildings under reconstruction, we came across a Vodou-inspired work made of actual human skulls – an artwork that some might describe as creepy.

I was told that these seemingly dark icons were meant to serve as reminders to value life in all its beauty.

“When you think about death, you understand the meaning of life,” said a young artist, Jean-Pierre Romel. “These are a reminder to enjoy every minute you’re alive.”

The collective also celebrates the Vodou spirit of cooperation, which is seeded in the very fibre of Haitian

Le Nègre Marron, a statue of an unknown slave in Haiti (Credit: Tim Johnson)

society. Many Haitians come from the country, and there, Romel explained, everyone pools resources, skills and talents to eke out a living.

“We are a proud nation, and we have our own ways of doing things,” he said, beaming. “Ploughing a field, everyone contributes – although not everyone has their hand on the plow. One person beats a drum, and another brings the rum, and still others provide encouragement.”

Hearing his thoughts and reflecting on what I’d learned, I almost bought one of Romel’s grim-yet-inspiring creations – but I wasn’t quite ready for that. If he had been selling an icon of Erzili Dantor, however, I may have just taken it home.

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XVI

Cost Benefit Analysis S IX years ago I lived on the east coast and met a man at a mixer.

I'll call him east coast guy. Prior to meeting him, I had hoped to meet someone who shared my love of the arts. My wish was granted and we went everywhere together: concerts, museums, galleries and stage plays.

Although we never took the next big step, cohabitation, I was at his place a lot. It wasn't very big, only a studio apartment. He never asked me to move in and I never inquired if I could.

As time went on, our relationship became tumultuous. There was no physical abuse, but he threatened to break up with me several times. I was often in bad spirits because life after college was not exactly what I envisioned. Also, he could be dismissive and uncaring about my "emotionally unbalanced" state.

By 2011 it was over. He repeatedly told me, "I

Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

don't want to be held back by a woman." Right before the final breakup, we got into a horrible fight. It was nighttime and he threw me out of his apartment saying, "You are trying to manipulate me into staying another night."

Things got so bad I got sick to my stomach and vomited all over myself from stress. I had no money for a subway and he refused to drive me home. This happened outdoors and he would not let me back into his apartment to change clothes.

Eventually he gave me a pair of his pants, â–ş Continued on page XVII

Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

Cost Benefit Analysis â–ş From page XVI

but I was not allowed to change in his apartment. He demanded I change in the building stairwell while he spotted me from the door.

Afterwards he got a cab for me and I went home. At the end of the month I moved back home to another state.

I emailed him. I said I still loved him and couldn't get him out of my system. His response was crass and cruel and I ended contact.

A month and a half later, at home, I met a new man and we quickly became romantic. I'll call him west coast guy. Three months later I moved in with him. Our relationship was far from perfect, we had our fair share of blowouts, but he stuck with me.

We've done some great things together, including travel, but I longed to share my love of the arts with someone as enthused as I am. Six months

into our relationship, east coast man emailed asking me to come back. He admitted the breakup was a big loss on his end.

At first I seldom responded and was vague about my whereabouts. I thought if I ignored him he'd get the message. Four years have passed and he is still asking me to come back.

I have to admit at first it was an ego boost. But lately I've been second- guessing my decision.

In my current relationship we don't attend any artistic events, and I do miss sharing my utmost passions with someone.

To make matters stickier, west coast guy has made me his sole heir. I've not had the best job luck and I'm terrified of my future. I love west coast guy, and if I leave him, I will lose so much. But I am still carrying a torch for east coast guy.

XVII I keep thinking I'm cheating myself if I don't give him another chance. Help!

Melissa

M

elissa, your letter makes us feel like we are in school again solving equations. You want us to plot both men on a graph and find the sweet spot, the point of maximum benefit for yourself.

But your equation is easy to solve. Being torn between two lovers means neither is right. Love, genuine love, makes the choice for you.

You won't see that, however, until you stand on your own two feet.

Wayne & Tamara

Send letters to: DirectAnswers@WayneAndTamara.com The latest column and a recent archive can be found at: www.WayneAndTamara.com/press.htm.

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Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

ON CHOOSING A SECURITY SERVICE

W

ITHIN the last two decades or so, we’ve seen a multitude of Security Services and Agencies springing up as the need for greater protection and security of place and person grows more acute.

Citizens also recognize the need to supplement the role of the national Guyana Police Force.

The bona-fides of these agencies, the very “genuineness” of some of these security firms, must be open to sharp scrutiny. Some skeptics scoff that some of them merely dress up “glorified watchmen” in uniforms with batons and badges and call themselves “security firms.”

Here are hints to consider when about to choose and employ a security agency: 1. Consider carefully, just what service you need. For example, do you need any of the following: Baton Guards, Armed Guards, Canine Services (Dogs), Investigative Work, Armed (cash) Escorts, Personal Protection, Patrol Cars, Quick-Response Facility, Hi-Tech Electronic Alarms or Armoured Trucks? ► Continued on page XIX

Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015 ► From page page XVIII 2. You then assess the category of service or business you operate and need security for. Is it a Personal, Residential, Commercial, Industrial or Executive Management Need?

3. You then, naturally, investigate and evaluate the following characteristics of the various security firms you have in mind: Background, Experience, Reputation, Integrity, The Training and Monitoring Capacity of the Agency, The Management/Administrative Effectiveness.

Just what type of individuals do they recruit? How often are lapses by the service known or reported?

4. Do you need 24-hour, around-the-clock service, or less?

5. Do you need MALE OR FEMALE GUARDS? Where will you accommodate them?

6. What do your colleagues and other clients-past and present – have to say about the agency you are considering?

7. What does the Guyana Police Force think of the agency?

8. Don’t depend on the media advertisements the agencies place in the media. Assess the character and integrity of some of the agency’s guards on your own. (Even so called “Police Clearance” can be no real indicators.)

9. Is the security firm viable enough to compensate you or your business if their personnel are found guilty of negligence in their duty – as guaranteed in the agreement or contract?

10. For the types of service you desire, is the cost quoted by the security firm competitive enough for you?

XIX

The foregoing list is not exhaustive but it’s a good collection of guidelines for a start.

Our generosity allows for partial listing, without discrimination or recommendation, of just some of the existing security services around at this time: * BRANS SECURITY SERVICE * CORREIA’S SECURITY * GEB SECURITY SERVICES INC. * KALIBUR INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES * MMC SECURITY SOLUTIONS * PGS * RK’S NATIONAL SECURITY NETWORK * SECURITY ALLIANCE Since we’re not into free advertisements – and we are not even aware of all of the security firms around – we can only advise that you consult the Yellow Pages of the local telephone company’s Telephone Directory for an update. The security services should also have their modern websites.

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Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

George Tancredo

Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

XXI

- The Master Balata Craftsman

T A piece made to mimic ‘Kanima buck’

Master “Balata” craftsman George Tancredo

HE Master “Balata” craftsman George Tancredo and his assistant, Guy Fredericks, both from the Macushi village of Nappi in North Rupununi, describe their balata craft as a sustainable, non-timber pursuit.

In an exclusive interview, Tancredo allowed the Pepperpot to pry into the history of his work with balata, which turned out to be quite colourful. The Master Balata craftsman, as he is commonly referred to, explained that when he was 13, he started fashioning pieces from balata. He has been at it for 46 years.

At present he still lives in Nappi.

He said his craft takes patience, something that today’s youth lack.

It was in 1977 that he came to the city and his work was offered some exposure and he received from the relevant ministry a Certificate of Excellence in balata craft.

For three and a half years he was craft teacher at schools at Nappi, Parishara, Moco Moco and St. Ignatius schools.

“When I left school around the age of 16 I joined the persons in the bush and started bleeding balata.

“Seven years I did the job after I left school and slowly I got back into making craft from balata.”

He explained that as a young adult how easy it was for him to ‘bleed balata’ but his ss ce pro g craftin A display of part of the love for craft-making made him return to this trade.

Tancredo explained that during his earlier years only a few persons were interested and at that time a piece of craft was sold for some $5.

“In one month you might collect between $20 to $30.”

He crafted balata trees, animals and persons grating cassava.

He started crafting balata pieces in 1998.

In the beginning it took him two weeks to complete one piece of craft and he was paid just $200 for it.

These are the things, he stressed that can be very discouraging but “I looked at the long term benefits of this type of craft making.”

Marketing and sales presented a challenge.

“If we ship craft to the USA we would have to wait about three months for our money since there was no banking service available in Lethem at the time and there was and still is no internet access in Nappi Village.”

He further explained that in those days the only phone service was the landline service that was available in Lethem and he also noted that the group was not familiar with Georgetown.

“So all these issues presented a hindrance in getting our money.”

Fredericks said this type of craft making produces a sustainable non-timber products.

“We don’t destroy the environment to extract the raw material.”

Explaining the process, Fredericks noted, that balata milk is harvested once a year just after the rainy season in June. The Bullet Wood trees that was harvested will be given a few years before it is harvested again.

He is currently fulfilling an order by Sterling Products for 1200 pieces of craft. “This is a very huge order for me; it’s not a craft that we can mass produce we have to do each piece individually.”

Previously, he explained not much was done by the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples to assist the group in the marketing of their craft. “They (ministry) would bring us out when there is an expo and that was all.”

But he remains optimistic that things will get better because now he will be able to display his products as well as show how the products are created.

The Balata products are on display at the National Gallery of Art at the Castellani House until September 30.

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Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

Indigen Herita Gam Lenita Henry, 16, from Moruca in the North West District, completes a header

Melanie Albert fends off competitors from Region One during the first game of the women’s football competition in the Indigenous Heritage Games. Melanie has two sons; the oldest, at age 18, is a national swimmer

Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

XXIII

nous age mes Dalia Phillips, from Moruca in Region One, battles players from Region Seven.

Melanie Albert, left, a member of the Region Seven women’s football team competes for the ball during the first game last Friday. She has been playing football for the past 15 years, but admits that at age 40, she can’t go as fast as before. This is the third time she is competing in Georgetown.

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Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

Cancer patient receives 3D printed titanium sternum and ribs in world-first surgery A cancer patient in Spain has received the world’s first custom, 3D-printed titanium sternum and ribcage implant.

The 54-year-old man suffered from a chest wall sarcoma, a type of cancerous tumor that, in this case, had grown around his sternum and part of the ribcage. To rid him of the tumor completely, surgeons needed to remove the affected bones.

The complex geometry of a ribcage makes the area notoriously difficult to replace with prosthetics. Often a flat titanium plate is used in these cases to reinforce what is left of the area, but these can come loose and cause further complications. The team, from the Salamanca University Hospital in Spain, decided the best option would be to use a fully customized 3D-printed sternum and ribcage.

The implant was printed out on the $1 million Arcam printer which built up the sternum and ribcage layer-by-layer using an electron beam that melts metal powder into a 3D object. After creating the implant, it was couriered from Australia to Spain for the surgery.

The operation was very successful. Thanks to 3D printing technology and a unique resection template, humans were able to create a body part that was fully customized and fitted like a glove. To my knowledge this is the first 3D titanium printed sternum custom-made processes.

And, of course, for me the main important thing is the excellent functional and cosmetic results obtained.

A large number of 3D printed prosthetics and medical implants have been developed recently; last month, a UK man created a 3D printed robotic hand that can be made much cheaper and faster than current prosthetic limbs. Get ready Guyana…for the 3D world!

Apple’s iOS 9 iOS 9 is full of enhancements you’ll appreciate every day. Your apps become more essential. New multitasking features on iPad make you even more productive. Siri can do more than ever, and new proactive suggestions help you get things done before you ask. And improvements at the foundation of the operating system enhance performance, battery life, and security. The more you do with iOS 9, the more you’ll wonder how you ever did without it.

Apps that help you do more every day.

The powerful built-in apps on your iPhone and iPad are designed for the essential things you use them for every day-mail, messages, web browsing, maps, making notes, and so much more. iOS 9 brings key enhancements to your apps, and introduces a brand-new one that will change how you experience news.

A beautiful new way to stay informed. iOS 9 adds a new app to your Home screen. News puts all the stories you’re interested in, all in one place-so you don’t have to hunt through different apps and websites to make sure you’re not missing the next big story.

Commands at your fingertips.

Shape up your text in no time with an all-new Shortcut Bar, convenient editing tools, and a handy new way to select text with Multi-Touch gestures. And now when you use a wireless keyboard with your iPad, you can enjoy even more keyboard shortcuts.

Siri powers a more intelligent search.

You know Siri as a helpful assistant you can talk to, but Siri is also the technology that powers search on your iPhone and iPad. And now you can get even more answers when you type in the search field Engineered to perform-at every level.

Under-the-hood refinements bring you more responsive performance, easier updates, better battery life, and tighter security. So your device works that much better-for everything you do with it.

Facebook is “bringing” on a ‘dislike’ button Facebook’s ‘like’ button - which enables its 1 billion plus monthly active users to approve a post by someone else - has become one of the website’s signature features. Users will soon be able to vent their anger in a new way after the social network revealed it is working on a “dislike” button.

People have asked about the dislike button for many years, Facebook has finally heard them and is working on it to meet the needs of the larger community.

According to Facebook’s own figures, 4.5bn “likes” are generated every day. A “dislike” button has long been rumoured, so now, the company was considering installing such a feature.

A lot of times people share things on Facebook that are sad moments in their lives. Often people tell Facebook that they don’t feel comfortable pressing ‘like’ because ‘like’ isn’t the appropriate sentiment. However, the “like” button has drawn criticism over the way Facebook uses it to collect data on its users. A row over “fake likes”, which artificially boost the appeal of a post, has also marred the feature.

Facebook is expanding its features, such as video, as it seeks to solidify its position as the world’s most popular social network.

Last month it revealed that more than 1bn people used the site in a single day-the first time the company has hit the milestone. ► Continued on page XXV

Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015 ► From page XXIV

India’s PM Narendra Modi to visit Apple, Facebook and Google HQ’s during his USA visit The showstopper of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's US visit later this month may well be his meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook in San Francisco. This could have implications far beyond the headlines it will generate. Apple, it is believed, is looking to invest in building manufacturing capacities in India, which could come as a huge boost for Modi's 'Made in India' project.

It's believed that Apple may consider manufacture in India for third country markets. There is also talk that Apple might consider facilities in India to refurbish its products. Refurbishing is currently not allowed under India's industrial policy. There would be a demand from Apple to change that policy. It believes its refurbished products (phones, computers, tablets, laptops) have a big market in Asia. They draw a distinction between refurbished and second-hand products and believe that Apple products, if properly refurbished, have a much longer life than, say, Samsung, or other similar products.

The “smart city” PM will be also visiting the headquarters of the social media giant Facebook in Silicon Valley's Menlo Park for a town-hall Q&A. Mark said "I'm excited to announce that Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India will be visiting Facebook HQ later this month, I had the chance to visit Prime Minister Modi in India last year and it's an honour to have the chance to host him here at Facebook”.

Modi is also expected to visit Google-plex, to meet with Google’s new CEO-Indian born Sundar Pichai. The ‘digital’ PM’s visit is creating a big buzz universally as India prepares for another leap in Technology.

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Dr. BERTRAND R. STUART, DDS.

Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

Government’s responsibility in oral health

By Dr. Bertrand R. Stuart DDS

W

ITH a n e w government in place for just over four months, there is clearly the need for new strategies with regard to public health and

particularly oral health. At minimum, there should be a comprehensive evaluation of the present process and its effectiveness of such delivery to the populace, with long term vision and adequate planning.

The recognition of the importance of the environment and structural issues to health has led to the de-

velopment of health promotion programmes. Health promotion has been defined as the process of seeking to improve or protect health through a range of activities, including behavioral, socioeconomic and environâ–ş Continued

on page XXVII

Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

Government’s responsibility ...

► From page XXVI mental policy change. More specifically, the range of health promotion activities includes the following: 1. Oral Health education. This includes giving information about health, offering advice and trying to encourage the development of personal self-confidence.

Opportunities for this exist in group situations, such as schools, and dentist-patient contact. Radio, television or newspapers may also provide information and advice. The latter group is non-personal, however, and cannot be

focused on an individual’s specific needs.

2. Personal preventative health services, such as oral cancer screening, and positive health services, such as smoking cessation programmes. Special initiatives might be planned for those patients who are unable to access professional dental care, whether for reasons of anxiety or distance.

3. Environmental measures, such as making the physical environment more conducive to health. This

includes the optimal adjustments of the fluoride content of water to prevent dental caries. The adjustment of fluoride in public water supplies to the optimal level of one part per million has been shown to be an effective method of reducing dental decay.

4. Involving the community, either to develop local services or to form self-help or pressure groups. ► Continued

on page XXVIII

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Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

Government’s responsibility ...

5. Organizational development, involving the implementation of policies that promote the health of staff and their clients, such as providing no-smoking areas or healthy catering services.

6. Economic and regulatory activity. This might involve changing the taxation to make products either more or less expensive or the development of code of practice that may, for instance, control the advertising of health compromising products.

The fundamental issue is to make the healthy choices easier. Oral Health education is an important part of overall health

promotion activity. Interventions may not have long-term acceptability without public understanding of the reasoning behind them. On the other hand, knowing what a healthy diet should contain will not be very helpful to those people without the resources to purchase the diet, and will not affect the availability in shops of the products that constitute it.

Oral Health promotion activity provides several difficult challenges for the dentist, whose training has usually been limited to the teaching of small groups or individuals in the dental surgery. Communication skills are an important asset to build upon, but they would need to be developed for use in activities such as lobbying for regulatory change or promoting water fluoridation.

â–ş From page

XXVII

Additional skills would also be required, for example, in planning and implementing strategies and identifying organizations and groups with whom these strategies can be implemented. There are several recent examples of the development of this range of activity. Doctors and pharmacists have been successfully encouraged to prescribe and dispense sugar-free paediatric medicine. In addition, dental nurses have been involved in campaigns to improve dental registration for pre-school children. Increasingly, in many countries, dental public health services are being recognized as a social and economic asset through the involvement of community groups in collaboration with government.

Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

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Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

XXXI

Workplace bullying may increase risk of suicidal thoughts (Reuters Health) - Workers who are victims of bullying on the job may become more likely to contemplate suicide than people who don’t experience a hostile office environment, a Norwegian study suggests.

Researchers surveyed a nationally representative sample of roughly 1850 workers and followed them from 2005 to 2010.

While less than five percent of participants reported thoughts of suicide during the study period, they were about twice as likely to do so after being victims of workplace bullying.

“Our study adds to the understanding of how bullying is related to thoughts about suicide by showing that the perception of being bullied at work actually is a precursor of suicidal ideation and not a consequence,” said lead study author Morten Birkeland Nielsen of the National Institute of Occupational Health and the University of Bergen.

At least 800,000 people worldwide take their own lives each year, making suicide a leading cause of death, Nielsen and colleagues write in the American Journal of Public Health.

Although psychiatric disorders are involved in the majority of suicide attempts, most people with mental health disorders don’t take their own lives, the researchers note.

The relationship between bullying and suicidal thoughts is something of a “chicken and egg” problem, Nielsen told Reuters Health by email. It’s difficult to determine which comes first.

In an effort to solve this riddle, Nielsen and colleagues surveyed workers in 2005, 2007 and 2010, asking about their

work environment and mental health.

Researchers defined three main characteristics of workplace bullying: an employee must be the target of systematic unwanted social behavior; the exposure must occur over a prolonged period of time, often with increasing frequency and intensity; and targets feel they can’t escape the situation or stop unwanted treatment.

Over the course of the study, the average proportion of workers reporting bullying ranged from 4.2 percent to 4.6 percent, while the prevalence of suicidal thoughts varied from 3.9 percent to 4.9 percent.

There were no major differences in reports of bullying or suicidal thoughts based on workers’ gender or age.

While people who reported bullying early in the study were more likely to later report suicidal thoughts, the reverse didn’t prove true. Workers who said they had contemplated suicide at the beginning of the study were no more likely to later report bullying than participants who had never considered killing themselves.

One limitation of the study is its reliance on participants to accurately recall and report any exposure to bullying or thoughts of suicide, the authors acknowledge.

“There are probably some workers who are more likely to consider suicide due to specific predispositions, whereas others are more likely to consider suicide due to their recent exposure to bullying,” Nielsen said.

With prolonged exposure to bullying and other forms of distress, changes in the brain can occur, said Gary Namie, director of the Workplace Bullying Institute based outside Boise, Idaho. The brain can become flooded with glucocorticoids, commonly called stress hormones, which reduce capacity for clear, rational thinking, Namie, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.

For at least some people, workplace bullying might be a tipping point toward considering suicide that mental health professionals may overlook, focusing instead on family or financial problems, Namie added.

The study findings suggest that the office problems merit a more serious look.

“Being bullied is one cause of thinking about taking one’s life,” Namie said. “Being bullied led to suicidal ideation and not the opposite – this is important for that reason.”

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Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

Promoting safety and health at work

O

CCUPATIONAL safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS) or workplace health and safety (WHS) is an area concerned with the safety, health and welfare

of people engaged in work or employment. However, OSH or OHS can also apply to students in a classroom or at University, volunteers, customers of a business or even a visitor, since at any time the health of these individuals can be compromised by activities within a workplace.

Realising the importance of the health and safety of these groups, Guyana has enacted its Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1997 to protect these workers, with the responsible agency being the former Ministry of Labour, now the Ministry of Social Protection.

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the World Bank (2014), 317,000,000) accidents occur on the job annually. These occupational accidents and work-related diseases result in approximately 6,300 deaths per day and account for 4% of the GDP. For developing countries in the Caribbean and Latin America, this would have amounted to US $226.2 billion in 2013 alone. Additionally, since numerous work-related accidents go unreported in many countries, it is believed these figures may be higher.

In Guyana, the Ministry of Labour recorded 12 fatalities and 738 industrial accidents during the year of 2012 and 10 fatalities and 530 accidents in 2013 with the highest incidents being in mining, forestry and agriculture; all of which are the country’s main economic activities.

WORKPLACE HAZARDS While work provides us with a number of economic and other benefits, we are usually exposed to a number of physical, chemical and biological factors that can adversely affect our health, regardless of our jobs. Let’s assess a few of the risk workers in various fields might be vulnerable to.

AGRICULTURE This sector employs a larger amount of workers, whether in rice or sugar production or forestry and fisheries. Workers in this class are most likely to be exposed to physical risk factors from operating machinery like tractors and combines and also prolonged exposure to the sun. They are also exposed to biological factors like parasites and pests which can transmit disease and harmful infections. The use of fertilisers and pesticides is another heath risk factor which can result in skin cancers and birth defects.

CONSTRUCTION This sector is one of the most dangerous, causing more occupational fatalities than any other sector in both the United States and in the European Union. With a growing economy like Guyana, the country has seen a boom in the construction industry, which provides an ever changing landscape of the ► Continued on page XXXIII

Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015 ► From page XXXII country’s urban and rural areas. Workers see physical injuries occurring from falls and use of tools and chemical injuries as a result of inhaling gas, smoke and other fumes.

MINING In the extraction sector, workers are exposed to a number of risk factors which are detrimental to their health. Recently the number of fatalities seen in this sector is worrying. Miners are exposed to harmful chemicals such as mercury and can suffer numerous injuries resulting from the use of power equipment and a caved in pit. Miners are also exposed to disease vectors such as mosquitoes which transmit such diseases as malaria and dengue.

WHAT CAN BE DONE The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1997 emphasises the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) which can help protect against many of these hazards. It is recommended that agriculture workers use Knapsack sprayers when applying chemicals like fertilisers and pesticide. These should also be used in the correct ways. When applying chemicals,

workers must wear protective clothing, like goggles, to cover the eyes and overalls to protect the skin. Spraying should be done in the same direction of the wind and attention must be paid to the correct usage of every chemical. Long exposure in the sun should be avoided as much as possible or ,keep hydrated and apply sunscreen. Only operate machinery if fully trained or supervised under the recommended conditions.

For construction workers, it is advised that helmets should be worn at all times on the construction sites. Protective clothing and gears like gloves should be worn when handling specific equipment. Proper safety equipment such as harnesses and guardrails and procedures such as securing ladders and inspecting scaffolding can limit the risk of occupational injuries in the construction industry.

For miners, the use of rubber boots, gloves, and goggles are all recommended, since these can protect against cuts and punctures and prevent slips and falls. The use of a retort in small scale mining is also recommended, which will help to reduce mercury emission during the amalgam distillation process (burning of gold). Further, miners are now being encouraged to make use of mercury-free technologies that are becoming available.

Most important in preventing accidents in the workplace is education. Workers need to know how to use equipment, where to use it and under what conditions it should be used. It is also advised that gears and equipment are properly labelled, installed and serviced when required. Proper signage should be placed around the workplace or site indicating warning and other preventative measures.

While the goal of OSH programs is to foster a safe and healthy work environment for all, it is important to point out that promoting occupational health and safety in any work environment will also safeguard the quality of the environment, especially in operations where harmful chemicals have to be used.

We therefore encourage workers and managers alike to ensure that safety in the workplace is given priority to preserve their health and the environment.

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Share your ideas and questions by sending letters to: “Our Earth, Our Environment”, C/O EIT Division, Environmental Protection Agency, Ganges Street, Sophia, GEORGETOWN, or email us at: eit. epaguyana@gmail. com.

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Chronicle Pepperpot September 20, 2015

Alex Frieden (C), along with fellow audience members, flies a paper airplane at the 25th First Annual Ig Nobel Prizes awards ceremony at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts September 17, 2015. REUTERS/Gretchen Ertl

Wearing a toilet seat on his head, David Hu, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Biology at Georgia Institute of Technology, walks away with his team's Ig Nobel Prize in Physics for testing the biological principle that nearly all mammals empty their bladders in about 21 seconds (plus or minus 13 seconds) at the 25th First Annual Ig Nobel Prizes awards ceremony at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts September 17, 2015.

REUTERS/Gretchen Ertl

Studies on kissing, the word 'huh?' among Ig Nobel award winners

RESEARCHERS who studied the consequences of intense kissing, the global use of the word "huh?" and how badly bee stings hurt on different parts of the body were among the winners of this year's Ig Nobel prizes for comical scientific achievements.

The annual prizes, meant to entertain and encourage global research and innovation, are awarded by the Annals of Improbable Research as a whimsical counterpart to the Nobel Prizes, which will be announced next month.

Among the 10 awards, three went to teams of researchers that revealed that nearly all mammals regardless of size take about 21 seconds to pee, showed it is possible to partially unboil an egg with chemicals, and used math to determine how a North African emperor from the 17th century fathered 888 children in just 30 years.

Other teams earned prizes for attaching a weighted stick to a chicken's rear end to demonstrate how dinosaurs might have walked, and for showing that acute appendicitis can be diagnosed by how much pain a patient feels when driven over speed bumps.

Researcher Michael L. Smith shared the physiology and entomology prize for arranging honey bees to sting him repeatedly on 25 different locations on his body, revealing that one of the most painful locations was on his penis.

Former winners of real Nobels handed out the spoof awards at the ceremony at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, organized by Marc Abrahams, editor of the Annals. The ceremony included a three-act mini-opera about a competition between the world's millions of species to determine which one is the best.

The Ig Nobel medicine prize went to two teams of researchers who conducted experiments to study the biological effects of intense kissing, which include decreasing skin allergies, and the literature prize was given to researchers who showed that the word "huh?" appears to exist in every language.

Ig Nobel prizes this year also went to researchers who showed many business leaders developed a fondness for risk-taking after surviving natural disasters in childhood, and to the Bangkok Metropolitan Police for offering to pay policemen more money in exchange for not taking bribes.

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Singer Bobby Brown mourns daughter in first interview since her death (Reuters) R&B singer Bobby Brown, in his first interview since the death of his daughter with singer Whitney Houston, said the outcome could have been different if he had been with her shortly before an incident that left her with irreversible brain damage.

In an emotional interview set to air on Monday, Brown teared up talking about his 22-year-old daughter, , whose July death came six months after she was found face down and unresponsive in a bathtub in her suburban Atlanta home.

"If I could have been here two days before, it wouldn't have went down like that," her father said in clips released ahead of the broadcast. The interview is scheduled to run on the talk show "The Real" on FOX stations, as well as on the BET cable network.

Brown's death was eerily similar to that of her Grammy-winning mother, who drowned in a bathtub at a Beverly Hills hotel in 2012 at age 48.

Authorities have said cocaine abuse and heart disease contributed to the death of Houston, who had battled substance abuse. Bobbi Kristina was her only child.

In the interview, Brown said he had Bobbi Kristina Brown prayed for six months for a better outcome but that "when God calls you, he calls you."

"I'm pretty sure her mother had a part in this, like, come on, let's get her up here," he said, suggesting that the pair would be together in heaven.

Conflicts among Bobbi Kristina Brown's family and her close friends played out publicly during the months in which she was in a medically induced coma.

A court-appointed conservator for Brown, who inherited her mother's fortune, has filed a civil lawsuit accusing her boyfriend, Nick Gordon, of causing her death.

A representative for Gordon could not immediately be reached for comment. No one has been criminally charged in the case.

XLIII Bobby Brown leaves the funeral service of ex-wife pop singer Whitney Houston at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, in this file photo taken February 18, 2012.

It’s not just about Katrina Kaif’s looks in ‘Phantom’ (Reuters) Katrina Kaif routinely finds a place in lists ranking India’s most Googled celebrities. She says her looks got all the attention in her first few Bollywood films.

The 32-year-old actress has been trying to change the perception that she can’t act, and her meaty roles in upcoming Bollywood films “Phantom” and “Fitoor” seem to have been chosen with care.

“Fitoor“, an Indian adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations”, features Kaif in the pivotal role of Estella Havisham. And in Kabir Khan’s “Phantom“, Kaif plays an intelligence agent pursuing one of India’s most wanted men.

Kaif spoke to Reuters about “Phantom”, her roles in Bollywood and whether she is consciously choosing films. Edited excerpts from the interview.

Q: “Phantom” seems to be a film that doesn’t resort to songs and dance routines.

A: In the middle of a thriller, you cannot stop and have a song. But I think what really gave me the confidence to take up the film, regardless of the songs, was the fact that the story was so good. Sometimes, as you said, we depend on song and dance because maybe it’s not the world’s most interesting story. But I think “Phantom” had a unique story. There was so Katrina Kaif in a scene from Phantom song Afghan Jalebi much work that went into a concept like this. To weave a story from scratch and to have so many twists and turns and for all that to add up and to tie all the loose ends in the end is not be something that the people will come back to watch. That’s why they did not release it a easy thing to do. online and on TV. It still doesn’t play on TV. It was actually a strategy which Adi wanted Q: How much does it draw from real-life events? to implement in “Jab Tak Hai Jaan”. At that time I went on bended knee and begged and A: It’s based on facts. It’s set against the real backdrop, which of course is 26/11 (the 2008 pleaded with him not to do it. I believe that the film benefits more from the songs been Mumbai attack). I don‘t know if you have seen the movie “Munich“. For me that was a big shown on TV. I understand that many years before people would come in to see the song inspiration. When I saw the film and when I saw the script of “Phantom”, I was really proud because they wanted a cinematic experience. I could understand Adi’s approach. But I was of Kabir and everyone for coming up with something like this. If I have to draw comparisons like, can we not make me a guinea pig, at least not with this film. Adi agreed. The movie with a film, then it will have to be with “Munich”. had such romantic songs – I wanted people to come in and watch the movie. I told him, let’s Q: Is there anything you do differently when you are acting in such films? not gamble. But when “Dhoom 3″ was ready for release, Adi said I am doing this with this A: No. Whether it is based on fact or fiction, the work remains the same. You are still play- film and I don’t care what you guys say. ing a character you are creating. So whether it’s a true-life character, whether it’s a biography Q: So do you put a lot of thought into how the film is going to look? or it’s a completely made-up fictional character, you still have to discover it. You still have to A: As much as possible. Not in every film. There will be films where you don’t have to sit and work with the director to find her traits. Of course, one advantage I had was knowing contemplate the way you look. There will be films which have free, casual and easy-going the director very well, because I’ve worked with him in two other films (“New York” and characters and there are going to be films like “Dhoom 3″ where you have to make sure “Ek Tha Tiger“). every frame is looking like a picture, because that’s the requirement of the film. Then In a film like “Mere Brother Ki Dulhan” where Ali Abbas Zafar is directing, he knows you have films like “Phantom” where you have to look like a person who has not got up me. He’s my best friend, so he knows the real me. When he is writing the film, he wrote and designed her outfit. I think there is great beauty in all of that. the character of this girl as a little crazy. He knows me so he was able to see that. But someone who doesn’t know me, perhaps might have a few preconceived ideas or image and might think that Katrina is very calm and very proper and sober and they may not give me a character like “Mere Brother Ki Dulhan”. That’s the advantage of getting characters who somehow have traits that relate to you.

Q: So is that a motivation to work with people who know you?

A: Not really. Here the advantage is that once people see you do things like that, then people know what you can do. Someone like Zoya (filmmaker Zoya Akhtar) was another person who didn’t know me very well. But it was a character which went very naturally for me.

Q: Can you think of a character which was completely unlike you?

Raajneeti?

A: Not really. There were many character traits about her (in “Raajneeti“) that I can understand. I can’t think of one right now … Yeah, “Race” is not like me. But it was a film where we had great fun.

Q: Your last few films had a fair bit of action. Was that a conscious choice?

A: It’s not like I am keeping a chart at home which says three action movies, three romantic movies and one comedy. This genre is not even something that holds any interest for me per se. I probably wouldn’t watch an action movie in my free time. But I don’t think “Phantom” is an action movie. It’s a thriller-drama. That’s my favourite genre. One of the main reasons I did “Dhoom 3” is that I would never get a chance to do those kinds of songs and sequences at that scale. The skills I learned during the practice and shooting of “Malang” and “Kamli” are not something you get to learn every day. To be able to do that kind of song, you need a producer who is going to spare no expense. When a producer gives you that kind of luxury and respect, that means a lot.

Q: A popular belief about the success of “Dhoom 3″ was that people went for repeat viewings to see those songs.

Katrina Kaif and Saif Ali Khan in a scene from Phantom A: I know for a fact that what Adi (Aditya Chopra) and Victor, the director, wanted was very clear. They wanted “Kamli”, the girl’s song, to