PROFILE MILAIKA CAPELLA RAS
Milaika opens a new chapter Just the right person Incoming CSA General Manager Milaika Capella Ras has big shoes to fill, but the Association has found just the right person to replace long-serving Fernando Rivera. Milaika forms part of a fresh and younger CSA generation and brings to her new role extensive knowledge of the maritime sector as well as enviable numeracy and linguistic skills. 10 www.caribbean-maritime.com
Q. Where were you born and where did you grow up? A. I was born and raised in Curaรงao, a beautiful Island in the Caribbean. Q. What language did you speak at home as a child? A. At home I spoke Papiamentu. Papiamentu is my native language. My maternal grandparents came from Venezuela, so with them I spoke Spanish. The instruction language at school was Dutch, which is the other official language of Curaรงao, besides Papiamentu. Q. What did your parents do for a living and how big an influence were they on your life? A. My Dad was born in Aruba, but he left the Island at a young age to travel as a ship engineer. At the age of 27, he settled in Curaรงao, where he met and married my mother within a year of his arrival. In Curaรงao,
