Letters to the editor
MUCH EXPECTED OF MINISTER SHAMLAYE
Sir, I wish to refer to the article on the new Minister of Education by fellow classmate, Mr. Paul Chow (Sept. 08, 2006). It appears that the writer has confused the profile of Mr. Sham Laye with someone else, most likely me.
Coming form St. Andrew’s Parish School (Cascade), which was fully financed by the British colonial government and at no cost to the parents, I was amongst the first batch of pupils to be admitted to the special standard VI being introduced at Seychelles College, and nearly all of us got a scholarship for tuition and textbooks, and depending on individual needs, the assistance also included transport, lunch, clothing, as well as board and lodging for those from Praslin/La Digue.
It was then (1963) that I got to know Bernard Sham Laye, who was not in special Std. VI, but a pupil of the normal Std VI of Seychelles College Preparatory School. So Bernard never took the entrance exams twice as was claimed in the article. Most probably, his parents were paying for his tuition and textbooks at the College Prep. Then, like most f us in Form I (including Paul Chow and myself), we had a scholarship from our colonial government to facilitate our education at Seychelles College which was considered to be one of the best grammar school in the Western Indian Ocean.
The article has also missed a very important aspect on the profile of our new Minister of Education. Mr. Sham Laye spent most years of his secondary education as a ‘juvenist’ with the divine call to join the Brothers of the Christian Instruction. I am sure this must had have a very positive impact on his career. In his quest for the best education for our children, there is no one better placed to re-introduce Catholic schools in
If Minister Sham Laye wants to leave a positive legacy of his mandate, a return of catholic schools on our islands, would be a real contribution to our future generation. Maybe our children will not be able to take advantage, but our grandchildren will be grateful for that. I hope he will take up this challenge.
My best wishes to Mr. Sham Laye as the new Minister of Education. A lot is expected of him and let’s hope he’ll do a good job. Up and On. Pa les tombe.
L. Chang-ko
(Just another classmate of B. Sham Laye and P. Chow @
Sept. 12, 2006
BANS VERSUS THE RIGHTS OF THE INDIVIDUAL
Sir, I read with utter disgust the letter of Mr. Gustave DeComarmond in last week’s edition of your newspaper. I believe the gentleman has either lost his marbles or simply does not understand the basis of our Constitution let alone how a “FREE” society is supposed to function!
Let me put Mr. DeComarmond’s arguments into context. Firstly, he states that he “welcomed the news prohibiting the importation, sale and wearing of military designed clothes”, claiming that these clothes were being used for the wrong purposes. Secondly, he wants the authorities to pass another law banning the importation of “drug glorifying” clothes and accessories, claiming that clothes imprinted with marijuana pictures are “deadly” and lead to drug use.
Mr. Decomarmond, let me now put a few arguments to you and let us see how we can deal with your stereotyping:
1. I saw 2 gentlemen dressed in army gear this weekend, but driving a civilian car. Under this new law, the Police should have stopped their car and arrested them. Who cares if they were going to work? Surely they must be dangerous criminals!
2. Every Seychellois with a Rasta hairstyle must be a drug user!
3. All red-coloured cars in
4. Every green car in
5. All “Pti Men” wearing Nike shorts, NBA basketball sleeveless shirts and sporting a gold chain around their necks must surely be a gangster (or “Gangsta” belonging to some Gang)!
6. Anyone seen in a “Che Guevara” t-shirt must be a communist!
7. A girl wearing an “FCUK” (that’s “French Connection UK”) must be a pervert or maybe a nymphomaniac
8. A Seychellois muslim woman in a burqa must be a suicide bomber
9. A short skirt on one of our lovely Seychellois ladies must denote that she is a prostitute.
10. And the list could go on and on…..
I guess the argument could even go as far as the supposed law that prohibits an individual from having tinted windows in his car. This is not for privacy or to save his leather seats from the scorching rays of the sun, but instead is implied by this Government to assume that the owner of that car is a potential terrorist or gangster who might just pull up à-la-Al Capone and open up his machine gun on some unsuspected boss leader of an opposing mafia family.
Instead of banning the importation of clothes and burning clothes in public, may I suggest some alternative methods to controlling drugs and combating terror in our small country:
1. The Police should be given the proper training and budget to do their job
2. The Police should patrol ALL districts between 6:00pm and 6:00am. And that does not mean for them to stop by each corner shop to buy a stock of beers or stop by their concubines for some action! I mean REAL POLICE PATROLLING like in the rest of the world. Any suspicious looking character can then be stopped and properly questioned and even searches can then be done (accordingly to the law may I state).
3. Remove ALL guns from
4. Close down the Army, and redeploy some of the forces to the Coast Guards where they can really do a decent job patrolling our waters. The rest of the armed forces can join the Police Force or move on to civilian jobs. Imagine what the Police could do with an additional 70 million rupee budget currently allocated to the Army.
5. As for drugs, where is the Drug Squad? Why don’t they arrest the “Escobars” as the public have been asking for years? Surely they must know who these people are. We simply can’t keep hearing from the Police that “we destroyed x number of Cannabis plants today, but there was no arrest”! I rest my case!
6. Where is the proper Judiciary arm of our Government to back up the Police when they do catch these criminals? The President and the SPPF Government have failed us miserably in that domain.
7. Intensify searches at the airport and when people are caught, prosecute them regardless of their political affiliation.
In summary, this Government should be ashamed for imposing this ban. When a Government starts dictating what people should wear, it only means two things. That Government wants to CONTROL the people, and that Government is AFRAID of its own people that it pretends to be protecting. Remember the Taliban, Mr. Decomarmond? What next? A ban on Reggae or Rap music? Is it really so much to ask for proper law and order in our own country? Surely we are not going to fix
Let me end by quoting Mr. Stephen M. Schwart, the US Embassy Charge d’Affaires who published an opinion in the Nation of Monday September 11:
“Across all borders, we share a common humanity. While the colours of our skin, the language we speak, or the way we worship may be different, people everywhere aspire to speak their minds, participate in their society, worship freely, LIVE IN SECURITY, and pursue education, jobs and greater opportunities for their families.”
And that goes for what we wear! Unless of course Mr. Decomarmond would like us to return to the uniforms IMPOSED on our children at NYS. Anyone remember the khaki and red scarf “Cuban fashion”?
I urge Mr. Decomarmond to read our Constitution and those of other DEMOCRATIC countries, paying special attention to the text pertaining to “Freedom of Speech” and “Freedom of Expression” prior to making a donkey of himself again.
The writers “wish to remain anonymous as we are still living in fear of retaliation from “our” Government who is supposed to have a heart for all Seychellois”.
Editor’s note: I hope that whilst you are free to ‘believe that the gentleman (Mr. DeComarmond) has either lost his marbles or simply does not understand the basis of our Constitution let alone how a “FREE” society is supposed to function,’ and are free to say so accordingly, I also hope you understand that Mr. DeComarmond is entitled to his opinion!
MONEY WORRIES
Sir, The Seychellois has always been told lie after lie on the status of the economy just for the SPPF to get through the election and retain power. Unfortunately what the Radio and TV are spewing and the reality is totally different.
Michel’s administration is deeply under pressure to find money to pay the foreign debts, assist the banks to clear the pipeline and to pay for the current imports coming into the country. Lately, the Government has sought a line of credit from Lehman Merchant Banking Group for a loan of Pounds Sterling 500 million. Unfortunately Lehman Bros whose interest is to make money with the canning factory flatly told them that their shareholders are against lending to sovereign borrowers and furthermore the matter is becoming more complicated as the Government owes Heinz Company SR350 million which they cannot get back.
The funds are stuck with the Government and most of the time Ministry of Finance has no meaningful plan to repay this sum when times are equally hard for Heinz with US$70 million outstanding in their books of account. Diplomatically Lehman Bros are saying if you get a good rating from international auditors and then we can support you in the market as well.
A team of auditors was sent to
What is really obvious is that Jj spirit has already engulfed Victoria and its believers on the hard-rock café.
For those who do not believe the reality then standby as the economic problem becomes a money problem.