THE EDITOR: It is now public knowledge that a CDN$2 million contract was awarded to the universities of McGill and Montreal to design and deliver a Master’s Level Modular Leadership Training programme for 50 members of TT Ministry of Education’s senior, middle and school administration management teams. This award exposes as empty rhetoric all of the glowing tributes paid to the research capacity of UWI at the recent opening of ‘research days’. Here we have a local university whose scholars are respected internationally, yet UWI is often ignored when consultancy services are required in education and other areas.

We boast of our own Institute of Business, our MBA programmes and our highly respected Department of Management Studies at UWI. The School of Education has an impressive record in research focussed on many areas of education, including leadership, management and administration. Yet we go abroad for consultants, what a shame! All this talk about Vision 2020 must be regarded as mere ‘grand charge’ when we continue to genuflect at the feet of foreigners of dubious competence. It is well known that these imported programmes cannot address the unique cultural environment of TT as programmes based on local research. Furthermore, the imported programmes often foster beliefs that are in contradiction to our own value system.

For example, a contract to train secondary school teachers in technology education was recently awarded to Mt St Vincent University, in preference to UWI. The training started last year, and on page 109 of their student handbook, I found a section which venerates Samuel Colt and lauds his “significant invention”: the Colt revolver, exalting its ingenious revolving cylinder design and other attributes of the gun. Although I recall that the right to bear arms is cherished in the North, I do not think that we need to glorify the gun at this point in time. I should add that this programme, which deals with technology, is silent in respect of our own steelpan and the development of sealants from asphalt by our own Dolly Nicholas. Apparently these achievements were not good enough.

I believe that very soon Independence Day will be a day of invocation for an independence that was never realised. The sad thing is that it is our own leaders who show preference for the foreign consultants. This is done so blatantly that I sometimes wonder what influenced these decisions. Some may cite lending agency stipulations for these decision. If such were the case, we will be better off financing these programmes ourselves. In so doing we will be building capacity that will make Vision 2020 a reality.

DAVID SUBRAN
Chaguanas

THE EDITOR: I believe the operators of what is now called Inspirational Radio 730, formerly Radio Trinidad 730 on the AM band, should seriously consider taking back that station and programming to what was Radio Trinidad. Inspirational Radio with its gospel programming can go on another FM frequency, possibly 105.1 and some of the programming on 105.1 go on to a new revitalised Radio Trinidad.

I believe the name Radio Trinidad should be preserved and its history dating back to 1947. A new and invigorated Radio Trinidad will incorporate programming to cover news and current affairs, sports, music, call-in programmes, like “Doctor on Call”, “Lawyer on Call,” general discussion programmes, outside broadcasts, educational programmes, documentaries, etc. I honestly believe this is the right approach for Radio Trinidad 730 am.

DAVID EDWARDS
Port-of-Spain

THE EDITOR: M Suite of Belle Garden, Tobago, claims that “most women in our country have at least one abortion by their 45th birthday.” Such a sweeping statement is, of course, without any supporting evidence.

Let us look at the statements made by M Suite. First, “most women.” What do we mean by that? At the very least, it means that more than one in every two women – let’s say, at least six out of every ten women, have at least one abortion between the ages of, say 15 and 45. Can anyone really believe this? Given the fact that abortion is illegal in this country, and therefore, there are no reports, no records, of how many abortions are performed in any year, let alone the past 30 years, how can we know how many women have had abortions? This statement is simply self-serving.

Secondly, let us look at the statement “even with modern contraceptives, a period of at least 30 years of sexual activity is likely to result in at least one unplanned pregnancy.” Now, this statement, also, makes conclusions that are unsupported. It presupposes that our women are all sexually active from age 15. Further it presupposes that “unplanned” pregnancies will be ended by abortion. There are many, many people — both men and women — alive today in Trinidad who were the result of “unplanned” pregnancies. I prefer to refer to such pregnancies as “surprise pregnancies”. Many surprise babies are, after the initial shock, welcomed — as they should be. Anyone, of course, can claim anything they feel like. But, we must remember that pro-abortion people in other countries have made similar statements for one reason and one reason only — to deceive the general public into thinking that making abortion legal would be a good thing.

Thirdly, there is the claim that “the current restrictive law is demonstrably harmful to poor women”. This, of course is totally untrue. While women may, indeed, suffer harm from illegal abortions, it is not the law that is causing this — it is the abortionists. If we are to believe claims made by ASPIRE, most, if not all, abortionists in Trinidad and Tobago are doctors. ASPIRE claims that an estimated 60 percent of the medical profession perform abortions. If this is true — again, we have no clear evidence supporting this claim, it follows that should abortion be legalised, it would be these same members of the medical profession that would be performing legal abortions. What does that say about how “safe” legal abortions would be? To me it is clear that, if what ASPIRE claims is true, then our medical profession is totally inept! After all, they are responsible for the claimed high rate of mortality and morbidity caused by the so-called “unsafe” illegal abortions!

The problem of illegal abortions is the fact that the law is not being enforced. If a few of the abortionists were prosecuted, found guilty, and sentenced to prison, I am sure that the number of abortionists active in this country would be decimated. I am in favour of reviewing the law but, what I propose is that the sentence for being found guilty of performing, or assisting in the performance of an abortion should be a minimum of 10 years hard labour for a first offence, and double that for any subsequent offence. In addition, there should be a fine of $50,000 in the case of a first offence, and $100,000 for any subsequent offence with the money being used to provide the necessary support services for crisis pregnancy centres. Of course, any doctor found guilty of performing an abortion should be disbarred for practising medicine ever again.

Fourthly, is the claim that “in reality an abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy is several times safer than delivery at term, under comparable medical conditions.” This is standard pro-abortion devil-speak (this is not a typo!). The unceremonious ripping to pieces of a tiny child in his mother’s womb results in the total destruction of the baby, and can result in many complications for the mother. These complications include infertility, an increased danger of ectopic pregnancy in the future, possible damage to the uterus, to say nothing of the psychological dangers of this evil act. Let us make no mistake, abortion is an evil act.

There is absolutely no acceptable reason for any woman to have an abortion, and no acceptable reason for any doctor to perform one. Fifthly, the claim by M Suite and others who are urging that we legalise abortion, that “nobody seeks to promote abortion” is deceitful in the extreme. They claim that if we legalise abortion the number of abortions will decrease! What arrant nonsense! If such a thing was possible, then we should legalise rape, kidnapping, murder, and any other crime we want to decrease!

JOAN MOORE
Carenage

THE EDITOR: “Caroni’s New World Order”, an article by Allison Ali in Newsday’s Business Day, March 27, dealt exclusively with redundant sugar workers.

I sincerely hope all the job replacement plans, as outlined, work out as promised. What, however, are the plans for the thousands of acres of cane land. Will they be put into productive use to make us more self-sufficient in our domestic food requirements and, as I have suggested many, many times specifically in our meat and dairy products?

GEOFF HUDSON
Port-of-Spain

THE EDITOR: Mr Colm Imbert what is really going on? Doctors and nurses from Cuba will be employed in a month’s time. Charity is supposed to begin at home and end abroad. Nursing students who were successful at the Nursing Council Examination on December 4, 2002 are reporting for duty every day without any assurance as to when they will be employed. Since January 9, 2003 these students received their licence to practise nursing and have been functioning in the capacity of RN and RMN and some of them are even working shift. When enquires are made the authorities remain mum about this situation. Imagine Cuban nurses are given preferences for employment over our locally trained nurses. Come on Mr Colm Imbert, please look into this matter with utter urgency. Treat your local nurses with respect and they will surely serve TT.

PAULINE BROWN
Nursing Student

THE EDITOR: Unless we find bowlers to dismiss the Aussies twice it’s a matter of how soon the games will be over in their forum. We do not have any match-winners or anyone to take wickets constantly. The Aussies (without Warne and McGrath) are a mighty and far superior team, man for man, it’s that plain and simple. Let’s face it, West Indian supporters for the 2nd Test, I suggest leaving Hinds as the wicket keeper, bring in Gayle and Sarwan to replace Jacobs and Samuel and we must try a real spinner (to replace Collins) in Benn, Ramnarine, or the young one from the Windward Islands (can’t recall his name). On the umpiring, fans the world over are being turned off by bad (incorrect) decisions. I suggest that every Test arena must have two large screens. The batting team and bowling team will be allowed a max of five appeals each per innings (a few minutes in a five-day game, given the technology available can’t hurt in the interest of the game.)

If your appeal is wrong there is a minus of runs to the team score. That can’t be too hard for Duckworth to incorporate. Think of the spectator interest this would gather, all in the interest of fair play.

N KHAN
Port-of-Spain

THE EDITOR: No weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq when the inspectors were there for all those weeks, and if they find any now, well who could tell, maybe they put it there to show the world what they find, who knows what they are carrying in there under all those trucks that are covered up.

They went to Afghanistan and mashed up the people’s country saying they are looking for Osama bin Laden as if he told them he was responsible for September 11, and when Bush made a promise on tv to the world that he would smoke him and his terrorists out he failed. He never built back the people’s country as promised — they are still waiting on that. Now he gone to Iraq to mash up their country, saying how many billions he would spend to build it back, but whose money do you think would do that, not his, because when he put out Saddam he would now play boss by saying who to put. When that happens he would now turn around and sell the oil, take the money and build the country back, if he feels to.

Did the people of Iraq tell Bush to come and put out Saddam by doing all that damage to the country? There might be people there who don’t like Saddam, just as some people in the USA, who don’t like Bush, but you don’t see them sending any soldiers or tanks to destroy him or the USA. You watch and see. He said he is not after the oil, but the rest of the Muslim countries better watch themselves because they would be next — one by one. Look what they did to the native Americans. They beat them up, burned them out, fought them. Pushed them in a corner and took over the land. America is bold face, so who could stop them from doing so with other countries? They want to control the world’s oil and when that happens, then oil would be cheap and they would not have to pay much, after all they already control part of Kuwait, which really belongs to Iraq, and all the Muslim countries that are allowing the USA to use their space because of money would be sorry, but too late.

I would like to know now who is the one that has weapons of mass destruction, and who is doing all the destruction now — the mighty USA. They think they are the god of the world, and what they say must go, and you know they so bold face, they put their flag on the man’s land and also put up no fly zone in the man’s country. If all the outsiders did not go there and work and build up the country it would not have been what it is today (the great America). Lots of people don’t know the man Saddam, but every one is against him because of the propaganda America is feeding the world. They right to kick out some of the news media because many people don’t tell the real thing, and who so bold as to say, well crapaud smoke they pipe. Bush should take all the billions he is going to spend on this war and give it to some of the poorer countries if he wants to help, and give some to all the suffering Americans right there in America. Any suffering of people or things in any country because of this war, Bush is to blame.

N MOHAMMED
St Joseph

THE EDITOR: Now that the US as a superpower and its allies have broken the back of Iraqi resistance the result of which is as expected a fait accompli, the world is watching eagerly as to what type of peace arrangement and rebuilding programme will be put into operation for the Iraqi people and the Middle East generally.

It must be remembered that Mr Bush and his allies have flouted the UN and declared war on Iraq for hiding weapons of mass destruction. It is expected that at the cessation of hostility, the continuation of the search for weapons of mass destruction will be continued by UN personnel. What if no weapons of mass destruction are discovered? If no weapons of mass destruction are discovered, it could be seen then that the intention of Mr Bush and his allies has been to remove Saddam Hussein from office whether or not weapons of mass destruction are discovered.

Mr Bush stated that the war on Iraq is for the liberation of the people of that country. It is now left to be seen under what condition Iraq will be governed whether by the UN or by American dictation. History has shown that the conquest of one nation by another has to do with military occupation, and military occupation does not let up until the will of the conqueror is established. Power corrupts and absolute military power over another nation could corrupt absolutely. It is imperative therefore, that the Americans and their allies hand over the governance of Iraq to the UN in order to restore some measure of respect to that organisation for the present and in any future operation. If the Americans and their allies are the champions of freedom, then let it be demonstrated in the structural governance of Iraq after the cessation of hostility.

DA COSTA MC DONALD
Pt Fortin