Mahogany CoConut Blog

The Caribbean Is One Nation. Submitted by William Skinner The public debate, in Barbados, surrounding the refusal of a student to pick up paper, on the instruction of a teacher, is instructive of the changing norms the society is having in several areas. The days of the teacher being always right are no longer with us. We must come to terms with the simple fact that children do have rights and these rights include asking why they are being punished or being asked to do any particular task. We should be careful not to come down too hard on the teacher but bear in mind that in this case the child probably saw the request as punishment for something that she was not a party to. It is a fine line, in this case, between request and punishment. Of course there are those who will present many cases of teachers punishing children back in the “good old days”. They are suffering from severe nostalgia, hoping in vain for a Barbados that no longer exists. Hence, well intentioned citizens ...

The Caribbean Is One Nation. By The Mahogany Coconut Group Map of Barbados " Under the amended statute, a junior police officer may issue an emergency protection order if he or she has reason to believe that such an order is necessary to ensure the safety of a person at risk. Low-ranking officers may also issue emergency protection orders without the consent of the persons at risk. Among the other powers handed to the Royal Barbados Police Force is the authority to enter any premises without a warrant if an officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that an emergency protection order, an interim protection order or a final protection order is being breached. Officers will also be given the power to enter premises –– upon the invitation of a person resident there or independently –– if there is reasonable grounds to suspect that a person on the premises has suffered, or is in imminent danger of suffering, physical injury at the hands of some other person."  Barbado...

The Caribbean Is One Nation. Submitted by the Mahogany Coconut Group “In almost every sphere-the economy, education, agriculture, health, national security, and transportation-we are living the logical outcome of over 50 years of policy failure.” “As in the case of Dudus and Trenchtown in Jamaica, our communities have developed into hot spots because weak and ineffective politicians have entered into dangerous alliances with community criminals in order to control the vote.” Sunity Maharaj, Trinidad Express, Sunday, January 24 th . 2016 Last Thursday’s murder, assassination, slaughter or whatever horrific description we choose to give it, of two teenage school boys in Trinidad and Tobago, have we hope, brought home to our T and T brothers and sisters, the level to which their country has declined in the last two decades. Apparently, these two youngsters were dragged out of a mini bus and murdered in broad day light. The short lives of De-Nelson Smith and Mark Richards did ...

The Caribbean Is One Nation. Submitted by the Mahogany Coconut Group 2016 greets the region with low oil prices playing havoc with its strongest economy, Trinidad and Tobago. Suddenly, the Trini saying that “money is no problem” rings hallow. Money is a problem and already the recently elected Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley, has asked his countrymen to eat healthier foods because the administration has imposed value added tax (VAT) on a number of basic items. Shades of the late Guyanese President, Mr. Forbes Burnham, who under intense pressure in an economy that was in deep trouble back in the 80s encouraged, some would say forced, his citizens to eat local. They really had no choice because the country could not afford to import much of anything. But Guyana survived. The low oil prices are bringing little comfort to our island economies because they have been so poorly managed, that any savings from the reduction cannot be passed on to the consumer. Many governments are s...

The Caribbean Is One Nation. Chelsea Tuach The Mahogany Coconut Group joins all Barbadian and Caribbean people in congratulating outstanding surfer Chelsea Tuach, in being voted, the first female Surfer of the Year  by the prestigious Eastern Surf Magazine. Tuach who was voted Barbados National Sports Personality of the year in 2013, continues to demonstrate that hard work and commitment to goals will certainly gain local, regional and international rewards. She therefore joins a distinguished list of young Caribbean citizens, in various fields of endeavour, who are clearly showing that geographical  size is no handicap to achieving true excellence.We wish her continued success and hope that she continues to be a role model for all young people in the Caribbean, who are trying their utmost, to send a very strong message to our leaders, that they would not be held back  in their quest, to make their mark on the world stage, in whatever field they choose.