To a hammer every problem is a nail

 To a hammer every problem is a nail

Battle between Palestine and Israel continues, not looking good for the guy with the sling shot

By Ricky Browne

Israel, not content with the relatively good PR it has been getting globally for its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, is now set on throwing that all away, as it sets about once again bombarding the people of Palestine.

True, the Palestinians are fighting back, throwing rocks and firing rockets at Tel Aviv – but to limited effect.

To a hammer, every problem is a nail.

Israelis were just returning to life without facemasks after Covid Photo: Reuters

The United Nations fears the two sides are  “escalating towards a full-scale war”.

Earlier this week a group of religious Jews marched through a Muslim area of Jerusalem – with the objective, no doubt, of provoking the residents there.

Is that a rock?

They were extremely successful, and the Israeli security forces did little to help prevent what clearly had the potential to become a major flare up.

Israel has sent hundreds of air strikes against Palestine, and Palestine has fired more than 1000 rockets at Israel, most of which were successfully destroyed by Israeli’s Iron Dome  air defence system.

Palestinian children – at least 14 -- have been among the more than 50 people killed so far by the Israeli forces, and a 13 story apartment building in Gaza was destroyed on Tuesday. Another residential tower block was destroyed again today.

A mosque was also attacked during prayer and as many as 600 people may have been injured. It didn’t help that this attack happened on one of the holiest days in the Muslim calendar, during the height of Ramadan.

The Palestinian rockets have so far killed at least six people in Israel, one of whom may have been an Indian citizen.

The dramatic return to warfare after several years of relative peace puts a new perspective on why Palestine is so far behind in its vaccination programme, especially when compared to Israel.

VACCINES AS A WEAPON OF WAR?

Could it be that in a move that is the opposite of vaccine diplomacy, Israel has been using vaccines as a weapon of war? Could the leadership of Israel be so determined to see the neutralisation of its Palestinian neighbours, that it has implemented a policy to not give a helping hand to the people it must live with?

A map of Israel and Palestine

The Israeli position has been that Palestine is in control of its own health policy, and that it has no right to interfere – that it has made the offer, but that the offer was refused.

Could it be that Palestine is so set on denying the legitimacy of Israel that it would not accept vaccines from its sworn enemy, even if it meant saving its own people?

POLITICAL TROUBLE FOR NETANYAHU

A cynic might think that this is all just a power play by long-time Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to keep his position, now that it looks like he may be forced from office. He may only have days left in the position, if another political party is able to cobble together a big enough alliance with smaller parties.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netaanyahu gestures as he delivers a speech to supporters following the announcement of exit polls in Israel's general election at his Likud party headquarters in Jerusalem March 24, 2021. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad

It doesn’t look like Netanyahu has any intention of backing down. He reportedly said that his government would use all its strength to protect Israel from enemies on the outside and rioters on the inside.

AMERICAN POLICY

Also look out for accusations that this is all Donald Trump’s fault – probably for recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and moving the American embassy there from Tel Aviv. That was a promise that was made by just about every presidential candidate since Israel got independence, but it was only Trump who followed through on that promise. And to the shock of many, the decision was not followed by an outpouring of violence from Palestinians or other Arab states.

Then US Vice President Joe Biden gestures upon his arrival at Israel's Ben Gurion International airport on 8 March 2016 (AFP)

President Joe Biden has been in office in the US for more than 100 days now, and it doesn’t look like Israel or Palestine has been much of a concern. Indeed, the new US administration has made no move to pull back from Trump’s decision over recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Biden’s Secretary of State is Antony Blinken -- who is Jewish, and who may therefore not be seen as an unbiased person by the Palestinian side. In a tweet earlier today Binken mentioned speaking to the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs and seemed to lay the blame primarily with Palestine.

“Spoke with  @Gabi_Ashkenazi today about the ongoing situation in Israel including rocket fire emanating from the Gaza Strip. Israelis and Palestinians need to be able to live in safety and security, as well as enjoy equal measures of freedom, security, prosperity, and democracy.”

So far Biden himself has said little about the situation, tweeting instead about the importance of clean water for all Americans, and the continuing success of its vaccination programme.

Donald Trump with Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem in 2017. Photo: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

Former US President Donald Trump is still banned from both Facebook and Twitter – but recently started his own site called From the Desk of Donald J Trump. From there he has commented on the situation – showing clear preference for Israel.

“When I was in office we were known as the Peace Presidency, because Israel’s adversaries knew that the United States stood strongly with Israel and there would be swift retribution if Israel was attacked. Under Biden, the world is getting more violent and more unstable because Biden’s weakness and lack of support for Israel is leading to new attacks on our allies. America must always stand with Israel and make clear that the Palestinians must end the violence, terror, and rocket attacks, and make clear that the U.S. will always strongly support Israel’s right to defend itself. Unbelievably, Democrats also continue to stand by crazed anti-American Rep. Ilhan Omar, and others, who savagely attack Israel while they are under terrorist assault,” Trump wrote.

Perhaps the Democrats would like to use the Trump position to find a policy that is completely opposed to his view point. Or perhaps it would like to retain its good relations with the State of Israel – especially when it considers nuclear negotiations with Iran – by supporting the Israel position.

Bernie Saunders, who is Jewish, and who represents the left of the Democrat Party and who ran against Joe Biden in the primaries last year, tweeted about the situation.

“I am extremely concerned by the growing conflict in Israel and Palestine. Once again we are seeing how the irresponsible actions of government-allied right-wing extremists in Jerusalem can escalate quickly into devastating war,” Saunders tweeted.

UK POLICY

Over in the UK, which –with the US -- helped to create the state of Israel and to dispossess Palestinians of their state after World War II, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson did come out with a statement.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on a visit to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem in 2019

“I am urging Israel and the Palestinians to step back from the brink and for both sides to show restraint. The UK is deeply concerned by the growing violence and civilian casualties and we want to see an urgent de-escalation of tensions,” Johnson tweeted earlier today.

The statement is likely to have nil effect on the escalation – but at least it shows that the UK is paying some attention to the developments.

RETURN TO NORMALCY

Israelis were among the first people to return to a level of 2019 normalcy, with the majority of their population vaccinated. Photos of Israelis socialising and walking down the street without masks made it into the international media.

Torah scrolls are removed from a damaged synagogue in Lod Photo: Reuters

Then, in a religious festival, many people were killed after a stampede in some narrow corridors. The country went into mourning. But the incident could not have happened if the strict protocols of other countries were still in place – so Israel was a victim of its own success.

Now, with Palestine firing off more than 1000 rockets, many Israelis must be living in fear once more. But this too seems to largely be a result of Israel’s own policy .

JAMAICA

In Jamaica, which is about as far from the Israeli Arab conflict as you can get, there are people of both Palestinian and Jewish descent who live side by side, go to the same watering holes, have real friendships and where there is none of the trouble between them that exists between their cousins 11,000 kilometres away.

The Al Mahdi Mosque near Old Harbour in Jamaica

Some of those people that I know in Jamaica of Palestinian descent still own the land titles to the land they are supposed to own in what is now Israel – but which was taken from them – presumably illegally, by Israel.

There is today in Kingston one synagogue and one mosque. The country has one of the highest murder rates around – but the small population of Muslims and the small population of Jewish people have no discernible animosity towards each other.

The Shaare Shalom Synagugue in Kingston

But many Jamaicans look at Israel as a kind of colonial aggressor when it comes to how it treats Palestine – though at the same time the country is admired for its technological abilities especially in areas like IT, agriculture and security.

ACCUSATIONS OF APARTHEID

Israel has been accused of continuing a South African-style system of apartheid, where Palestinians can never have the same rights as Israeli citizens. Much of the developing world feels for the Palestinians, and resents the Israeli strongman approach.

A 13 story apartment building in Palestine is destroyed by Israeli forces

Israel has done an amazing job of transforming the piece of land that it is on into a country that is very close to being considered developed – without the help of the oil that many of its neighbours have.

But in its effort to avoid the type of persecution and the Holocaust that Jews faced throughout Europe, it has appeared to persecute Arabs – many of whom never accepted that the Palestinian homeland could be taken from them and given to a group of people who had barely lived there for more than a thousand years.

PEACE BE WITH YOU

This mess was partially created by the UK and the US. A time of peace seemed to have been reached previously, but neither the Israelis under Netanyahu or the Palestinians under Hamas, seem to be interested in pursuing that route again.

A peaceful scene in Jerusalem

Meanwhile, the Arab states have moved on – no longer much bothered by the problems of the Palestinians, who have been left with unconnected bits of their former homeland, largely under the control of Israel.

Every time the Israeli security forces kill a Palestinian child and creates a martyr, it intensifies the desire of many Palestinians to reclaim their homeland and their honour.

The Israeli argument that Hamas is a terrorist organisation and that it uses women and children as human shields is not getting much international support. The Israelis only look like the primary aggressor, hitting every nail with a hammer.

WILL EXPORTS BE HIT?

Israel may now see that its consumer exports are hit, as many consumers in countries like the UK and US may stop buying Israeli products. But this will have little effect on Israel policy to its neighbours.

Israel is one of only a handful of countries that English people can currently visit as tourists. But its desirability may take a dive -- not only for those people who support the Palestinian cause, but also those people who don't want to have a bomb drop on their heads.

Meanwhile, as Palestinians rush into the street to protest the latest attacks, they will be spreading the Covid-19 disease at a faster rate, and may end up killing more of their unvaccinated fellow citizens than the Israelis are capable of doing.

David with the Head of Goliath (1607) by Caravaggio

There doesn’t seem to be any end to this problem – a never ending story of a non-Jewish David fighting a Jewish Goliath, and continually missing the giant’s head with his rocks. But the US will no doubt try to get involved once more to try and promote peace. With Netanyahu out of office that may seem to have a slightly better chance – and even better if the leadership in Palestine also changed.

Meanwhile, the globe can quit feeling slightly jealous of Israel and its return to normalcy, because the Israeli normalcy isn’t anything to aspire to.

Queen set to lose 300,000 of her subjects

Queen set to lose 300,000 of her subjects 

By Ricky Browne

The Queen is set to lose about 300,000 of her subjects— not to the dreaded coronavirus pandemic, but to the decision by the Caribbean island of Barbados to relinquish the crown and to become a republic next year.

Losing Barbados in terms of population, would be like losing Newcastle or perhaps Nottingham, which by some estimates are about the same size.

Queen Elizabeth II

Is this the beginning of the Queen losing more of her realms — city-sized states or not?

There are currently 16 members of the Commonwealth of Nations which are constitutional monarchies and have the Queen as their head of state — some are much larger than others. They include the former white dominions of Canada, Australia and New Zealand (though not South Africa) but also include several Caribbean countries.

The list of countries that have the Queen as head of state, apart from the United Kingdom are currently: Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts, St Lucia and St Vincent in the Caribbean; the former white dominions of Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and the Pacific island countries of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. That is a total of 15 Commonwealth realms, plus the United Kingdom makes 16.

But that could be down to a total of 15 if Barbados moves ahead with its intention of becoming a republic.

The Barbados flag

An independent country since 1966, Barbados is one of the earliest British colonies overseas, having been claimed by the English from the Portuguese in 1625. In fact the Queen was in Barbados for its independence ceremony and has visited a few times since, her last visit being in 1989.

The North Atlantic island, which identifies as being Caribbean, has always maintained close relations with the former motherland, so much so that it is often referred to as 'Little England'.

Barbados on the map

Barbados even has its own mini Trafalgar Square at the centre of its capital of Bridgetown, complete with a bronze statue of Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson, but in an effort to down play that history, it was renamed National Heroes Square in 1999.

In fact, the statue was erected about 27 years before the better known statue in London's version. But unfortunately for Horatio, he now looks set to go the way of the Queen, as the government appears to have approved its move to a less conspicuous location — in keeping with the fate that has fallen on many statues of heroes now deemed to be offensive.

The statue of Lord Nelson may not be around for much longer in this location

Historically, the country was a famous — infamous even — first stop on the atrocious Atlantic triangular trade, which saw slave ships offloading some of their human cargo on the island before heading off to other Caribbean colonies in the British West Indies such as Jamaica.

The island is small at 431 square kilometres (164 square miles) and can be crossed from one end to the other in about 30 minutes by car. It is smaller than Hanover, one of the smallest of Jamaica's 14 parishes, and it is also often claimed to be smaller than Hogg Island, an island of little other note at the mouth of Guyana's Essequibo river. In Barbados's defence, at 60 square kilometres, Hogg Island is really significantly smaller.

The Barbadian Coat of Arms

Barbados is also quite flat, and was ideal for the production of sugar cane — hence the need for African slaves. The importance of sugar cane to the economy and culture of the country is depicted on the nation's coat of arms, with the motto 'Pride and Industry' (no prejudice).

Moving away from sugar production, the island economy is now dominated by tourism, and attracts mainly British visitors, despite sitting on doorstep of what is still the world's largest market for tourists — the United States.

The island did start to tap into the US market more recently when Sandals Resorts International chain from Jamaica opened its first hotel there. A controversial move at the time, particularly as it is an all-inclusive, but it helped to diversify the tourism market.

Sandals Barbados

In the 1970s Barbados was one of only a few regular scheduled destinations for the British Airways Concorde flights — helping to ensure that the island was not only top of mind for British tourists, but particularly for well-heeled ones. Today it is home to one of the 20 Concordes that were in existence, tribute to the fact that it was one of only four regular destinations for the supersonic aircraft, the others being New York, London and Paris.

Due to the predominance of the slave trade up to 1807, Barbados is a majority black country. But originally the island was colonized by Irish and people from the British Isles, many of them convicts, with the idea of having an economy based on tobacco. When tobacco gave way to the far more profitable sugarcane African slaves were shipped in to farm the crop.

As small as it might be, the white population of Barbados is larger than in other former British islands — once amounting to about 10 percent of the population, but now estimated at about five percent — as opposed to Jamaica where white people may only represent about one percent.

The three main racial groups have traditionally lived in a kind of self-imposed apartheid where the black, brown and white populations each have their own clubs and socialize mainly with themselves and choose to distance themselves from each other.

A shot of the Barbados Yacht Club

Indeed it is said that the former Royal Barbados Yacht Club lost its royal charter more than 20 years ago to become the Barbados Yacht Club because it did not have, nor did it want to have, any black members. It is possible that such a move did not endear the wealthier members of the white population to the royal family. Meanwhile in Jamaica the Royal Yacht Club of Jamaica still has its royal warrant.

Outside of yachting, each of the three groups are said to have their own polo clubs. Going out on the town, black or brown people might tend to not go to nightclubs known to be predominantly white, either because they don't want to or because they may have trouble getting in. In fact, a nightclub by the name of Harbour Lights, where black people did not feel welcome, was known by many as Harbour Whites.

The island has a very well-educated population with practically 100 percent literacy. Its people are known to be less rebellious than Jamaicans, both historically and currently. This, Bajans say. is because they were the first stop for the slave trade so got to pick the best, and least volatile, slaves, whereas Jamaica as the last stop got what ever was left. Jamaican's too say this, but with pride that they were of hardier stock and are in fact more rebellious and were harder for the British to control.

TOPOGRAPHY

In fact topography also has a lot to do with the temperament of Bajans as opposed to Jamaicans. In Barbados there was not much option for slaves to run away from the plantations, as the island is small and flat. In Jamaica the mountainous terrain and larger size allowed some slaves to at least attempt to escape the plantations and find at least temporary safety in heavily forested areas.

Bathsheba Beach on the rugged east coast is considered one of Barbados's most beautiful beaches.

Given that difference in temperament between the two peoples, it is quite surprising on the surface that Barbados will cut its ties to the British crown before Jamaica. And in fact Jamaica has expressed a desire to become a republic from as early as the 1970s.

But when it comes to action rather than just talk, the Bajans have loosened their ties to the former motherland at a faster rate.

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) was set up in 2001 to act as a final appeal court for Caribbean countries that belong to the Caribbean Community (Caricom) to replace the UK Privy Council. Barbados joined the CCJ at its inception and eliminated the Privy Council as its final court in 2003. It is one of only a few English-speaking Caribbean countries to do so, even though all have contributed to setting up the court.

Meanwhile, its neighbour Trinidad and Tobago — a republic since 1976 — is the home of the court. But Trinidad still has London's Privy Council as its highest court, as does Jamaica.

In the case of Jamaica there is a reluctance by many to fully embrace the CCJ partially because any effort to force the country to be tied to its Caribbean neighbours is viewed with suspicion — reminding them of the failed Federation of the West Indies. Many believe that the Privy Council offers a high quality of jurisprudence that can not be easily replicated by a newer court from a much smaller region which can perhaps more easily be politically interfered with. The political machinations of the West Indies cricket club, an earlier effort to tie the region together, may not fill many Jamaicans with confidence.

But that action by Barbados to leave the Privy Council showed that it was more willing to loosen its ties to Britain than the more independent-minded Jamaica.

The Barbados Parliament in Bridgetown

Jamaica may yet become a republic, and it may decide to keep the proven and free-of-cost Privy Council. But the basic necessities of feeding its population while developing its struggling economy are taking precedence. In the minds of the people, it is already a republic, with few people seeming to understand that the Queen of England is also the Queen of Jamaica and is its Head of State.

This incorrect belief has been reinforced by the state since 2002, when the Prime Minister stopped swearing allegiance to the Queen when being inaugurated, but rather to the people of Jamaica. It has also been reinforced by the media, which consistently refers to Queen Elizabeth II as the British Queen, never as the Queen of Jamaica

LITTLE ENGLAND

Over in Little England, the current Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley has complete control of the Barbados parliament having won every seat in the house. The Barbados economy, usually seen as one of the strongest in the Caribbean, was and still is facing great difficulties, especially with its reliance on tourism during a time when virtually no one is going anywhere.

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley

She has stated that Barbados will become a republic before its 55th anniversary of independence on November 30, 2021.

However, having said all this, there is many a slip between the cup and the lip — as has been proven by Jamaica several times when its prime ministers have expressed an interest in becoming a republic. Time will tell if Barbados actually does become a republic within the timetable that it has set itself.

It must be noted, however, that this is not the first time Barbados has given a deadline to becoming a republic, as back in 2015 it said it would do so within a year.

But with this prime minister in full control of the house, it seems much more likely to become a reality this time.

If it does, it will be the first of Queen Elizabeth's constituional monarchies to become a republic since Mauritius in the Indian Ocean back in 1992.

WHO NEXT?

The question is, who will be next? Could it be Canada to become a republic like its neighbour to the south? Or will Australia or New Zealand decide to become a republic and find a flag that doesn't have the Union Jack in the top left corner?

A map of the Commonwealth Realms

Such a move by the larger countries might have a much bigger impact on the future of the British monarchy.

But many countries, Jamaica included, might not want to offend the Queen for whom there is still significant respect. It might be a different story when Prince Charles and his wife ascend to the throne. And in the case of Jamaica even more so when William and his wife accede to the throne.

Prince Charles

In the case of Jamaica, Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh have visited the country several times during her reign, as has Prince Charles and more recently his son the charismatic Harry.

But as for the heir, William has never had an official visit to either Barbados or Jamaica, though he has had several to other countries to which he is destined to become king — namely Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Its not for want of an invitation. After his marriage to Kate in 2011, his grandmother's representative to the island — Governor General Sir Patrick Allen — invited the Prince to visit Jamaica.

Prince William and his wife on their wedding day

"Jamaica? Oh, but its too hot!" said the man who is supposed to be destined to become the future King of Jamaica. He then promptly went off to the Seychelles for his honeymoon — not known for its cool climate. Like Jamaica the Seychelles is a part of the Commonwealth, but it is a republic and has no ties to the crown.

Almost 10 years after that invitation, the Prince has still not visited the island. With such a lack of interest, it really underlines the pointlessness of having an absentee Head of State who never visits your country, and it is unlikely that he will ever be King of Jamaica, or indeed most of the other 16 Commonwealth Realms.

WHO’s real poster child for handling Covid-19 should be Taiwan, not New Zealand

 

WHO’s real poster child for handling Covid-19 should be Taiwan, not New Zealand

Pitcairn Island (pop 50) listed in official statistics, but not the Republic of China

By Ricky Browne

There is much talk of vaccine diplomacy and vaccine apartheid these days – with the spotlight shining largely on developed countries which are said to be hoarding vaccines, and on three major developing countries which are giving away their vaccines – Russia, India and China.

But there is another country which is leading the world in terms of how it has managed the Covid-19 pandemic, and which is also assisting a handful of small countries in helping them to manage the disease.

Taiwan's flag

That country is Taiwan, formally the Republic of China, which is not recognised by most countries as being an independent country.

In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) doesn’t mention it at all in its list of more than 200 independent countries and dependent territories. It is as if Taiwan, an island with a population of about 23.5 million people, doesn’t exist at all.

The reason is that China -- formally the People’s Republic of China (PRC) – views Taiwan as a renegade province , and it frowns on any attempt for it to be recognised otherwise. With its population of 1.398 billion people and an economy to match, China has a big influence on many world events and organisations.

Taipei, the capital of Taiwan

Taiwan views itself as the real China. The Chiang-Kai-shek led Chinese government fled to Taiwan after the victory of the Chinese Communist Party in the revolution of 1949.

More recently there have been increased calls for Taiwan to declare independence from China – which has resulted in increased tension and threats of war.

The WHO logo doesn't appear to include Taiwan

And the WHO is supported by China and does not wish to upset it.

Go to the WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard (https://covid19.who.int/table) , and virtually every country, territory and area that you can think of is listed.

China, where the virus started in 2019, is listed by WHO as having a total of 101,778 cases with a total of 4,843 deaths – a remarkably low number given its population. On February 25th, WHO said that China, with a population of close to 1.4 billion people, had only had 28 new cases and only one death reported in the previous 24 hours.

The Pitcairn Islands flag

Other places listed in Asia by WHO include tiny states like Niue (a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand and a population of 1,591 people) and Palau (independent with a population of 20,600 people).

It also includes some dependencies like American Samoa (an unincorporated, unorganised territory of the US with a population of 46,366 people) and the Pitcairn Islands (an overseas dependency of the United Kingdom with a population of 50 people – yes, you read that right – 50 people).

The Pitcairn Islands have a population of 50 people

Each of those countries or territories have no coronavirus cases at all, but in an effort to be completely fulsome in its information, WHO has felt it important to tell us about virtually every country and territory on Earth.

All, except for one -- Taiwan, with its population of 23.5 million people.

Despite being purposefully overlooked, the fact is that Taiwan has done a much better job at handling this pandemic than any other country – including the WHO’s poster child of New Zealand.

Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand

New Zealand has a population of about 5.1 million people, who live in a much larger area than Taiwan, giving it a much lower population density. Yet New Zealand, which also has the advantage (at least in this situation) of being more isolated than Taiwan, has a rate of infection and death that is much higher than Taiwan’s.

New Zealand has had  26 Covid-19 deaths and 2,344 cases. But that compares to Taiwan which has a population almost five times bigger, and has recorded only nine deaths and 940 cases.

WHO RECOGNISES TAIWAN?

Only a handful of countries have stubbornly held onto recognising Taiwan as being China. That number has steadily decreased overtime, ever since US President Richard Nixon recognised the PRC over Taiwan in the early 1970s.

Several of those countries are tiny independent states such as St Lucia in the Caribbean.

A total of 15 countries recognise Taiwan – and therefore do not have relations with the PRC. They include: Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Nicaragua, Palau, Paraguay, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Swaziland and Tuvalu.

PRIME MINISTER CHASTANET... Taiwan is a country we could never do without

St Lucia, a former British colony, has a population of 182,000 people and an economy that depends heavily on tourism. In October 2019, St Lucia’s Prime Minister Allen Chastanet showed how seriously his country views its relationship with Taiwan, when he travelled to the country to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the ROC.

But Taiwan has been helping St Lucia in managing this pandemic by sending it donations of necessary equipment. As early as April last year the St Lucian government publicly thanked Taiwan for donating 40,000 face masks, six sets of thermal imaging body temperature detection systems and several forehead thermometers.

“We thank you Taiwan” the St Lucia Ministry of Health and Wellness posted on Facebook.

St Lucia Prime Minister Allen Chastanet (left) in a photo op with Taiwan Ambassador Peter Chen (C ) and Minister for Health and Wellness Mary Issac, receiving donations of rapid test kits. Photo: MENAFN

More recently, Taiwan donated 14,500 rapid test kits on January 27. At a handover of the tests, Prime Minister Chastanet  praised Taiwan and said it was a friend “we can never do without.”

So far the country has reported 34 deaths from Covid with 231 active cases out of 3,149 total cases.

Indian vaccine diplomacy is making waves in the Caribbean

But when it came to the actual vaccine, St Lucia received a donation of 3,000 AstraZeneca vaccines Dominica and Barbados – which in turn had been donated the vaccines from India.

China has not yet used its vaccine diplomacy in the Caribbean to any great extent – but India has been making strides, donating 100,000 vaccines to Barbados,70,000 to Dominica and plans to make donations to other Caribbean states.

St Lucia Prime Minister receives the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine on February 17

After getting its first set of vaccines, St Lucia started its rollout on February 17, with Prime Minister Chastanet and his wife receiving two of the first shots. The rest will go mainly to frontline health workers.

NO VACCINES YET

Like New Zealand, Taiwan actually hasn’t started its own vaccination programme yet, as it still hasn’t got a hold of any vaccines. But it is in line to get 200,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the COVAX global vaccine distribution scheme, and it expects to start vaccinating its population from March at the earliest, according to a recent report from the Taipei Times.

The New Zealand flag

Both New Zealand and Taiwan have done an excellent job so far in managing this crisis, and with no vaccines. There should be lessons from both countries.

But the WHO would prefer that the world doesn’t know about Taiwan at all, and therefore that nothing should be learned about from how it has manoeuvred through this. 'Move along, there's nothing to see here' seems to be the modus operandi.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen attends a welcome ceremony in St Lucia in July, 2019. Photo: AP

Meanwhile, Taiwan continues to share its expertise and equipment with some of the 15 states that still dare to recognize it over the Republic of China.

If it plays its cards right, its quiet coronavirus-related diplomacy is likely to assure Taiwan of holding onto the 15 states that recognise it for just a bit longer. And Taiwan will continue to show the world that it does not need to belong to the WHO to figure out how best to tackle this pandemic.

Butch Stewart takes off his Sandals one last time

 

Butch Stewart takes off his Sandals one last time

Jamaican titan who created the Sandals Resorts International empire dies

By Ricky Browne

A Jamaican lion died on Tuesday. He was Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, Jamaica’s greatest entrepreneur, a tourism mogul and a driving force for the country’s private sector.

Butch Stewart, who was 79 years old, was the founder and owner of Sandals Resorts International, the founder and head of Appliance Traders Ltd (ATL) and the chairman of the Jamaica Observer.

Stewart was awarded with the Order of Jamaica (OJ) and Order of Distinction (CD) in Jamaica’s honours system. The OJ is considered Jamaica’s equivalent of a knighthood in the British honours system.

Across his businesses he was said to employ some 10,000 people.

Butch Stewart Photo: Jamaica Observer

His empire included about 25 resorts around the Caribbean, including 15 Sandals hotels across Jamaica, St Lucia, Antigua, the Bahamas, Grenada and Barbados and others from the Beaches and Grand Pineapple brands.

His influence over Jamaica and its governments, of both political parties, was immense.

Butch Stewart greets Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness

“It is with deep sadness that I learnt of the passing of one of Jamaica’s most brilliant, innovative and transformative business minds, the Honourable Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart OJ, CD, Hon. LLD,” tweeted Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

"Sending deepest condolences to the family of Gordon “Butch” Stewart as well as his Sandals, Observer and ATL teams. Jamaica has lost one of its most innovative and successful business leaders, and a truly immense figure on the national and international stage. Walk Good “Butch", tweeted Jamaican Opposition leader Mark Golding.

His tourism empire had hotels across the Caribbean, and was just in the process of opening a new hotel in the Dutch island of Curacao.

Sandals in Curacao Photo: Sandals

A self-made man, Stewart started off as an air conditioner salesman and installer in Ocho Rios, then a little-known tourist resort town on Jamaica’s north coast.

It wasn’t the greatest of starts, but from there with great ambition and perseverance he came to own ATL and to make it into a leading electronics and appliances provider and retailer.

SANDALS

During the 1970s and Jamaica’s disastrous flirtation with socialism, Jamaica’s tourism took a nose dive. It took guts for Stewart to see the potential in the failed and abandoned Bay Roc Hotel at the foot of the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. He got a great deal on the hotel from the government, and created his first Sandals hotel.

The former Bay Roc hotel was the first Sandals hotel -- Sandals Montego Bay Photo: Sandals

People thought he was mad for going down that road. Jamaica had lost its lustre as a tourism hot spot. The position was so bad that for years the tourism resort of Negril had been selling itself on the international market without making reference to the fact that it was in Jamaica.

But even if there were some tourists who would want to come to Jamaica, why would they want to go to the old Bay Roc, which was dated and which was constantly assaulted by the low flying jet liners taking off or landing at the island’s busiest airport?

Stewart was not bothered by such concerns, and set about creating a Club Med-style hotel that was for couples only and was all-inclusive. He hired well-educated young Jamaicans just leaving school to work as playmakers, keeping the guests busy with games and activities and parties.

Sandals Barbados Photo: Sandals

And then he turned the problem of the noisy planes into an opportunity, with his playmakers waving excitedly to the planes bringing tourists or waving goodbye to those who were not fortunate enough to be staying.

Like the departing aircraft, the hotel took off, and from there he was able to expand his brand to other hotels, first in Jamaica and then across the Caribbean.

He built the brand so effectively that there would be very few people in his principal markets of North America and the United Kingdom that hadn’t heard of the chain of hotels.

The brand was often advertised on the front page of major newspapers in the US and UK, building an image that was much larger than the hotel itself.

When Spanish hotel chains started to invade his home market with lower prices, Stewart didn’t fight on price, but instead upped his game and increased the luxury offering of his hotels.

Butlers, 5 star restaurants and more took the Sandals brand to a higher level than the Spanish hotels could compete on.

But the upgrading of the hotel chain started even before the Spanish invasion. As a reporter at the Gleaner in Jamaica back in the 1990s, I was part of a team of reporters that Stewart invited to cover the first award ceremony of the World Travel Awards which took place at Universal Studios in Hollywood, California.

Sandals won several awards and bragging rights from the WTA

The journalists were treated like royalty, flown first on Air Jamaica (which he did not yet own) to Miami and then by American Airlines to Los Angeles. A chauffeur-driven limousine took us to the top-quality hotel near LA, with champagne on ice and the World Cup playing on live TV inside the limo.

The hotel had hair dryers in every room. Stewart was impressed, and said he wanted the same for his Sandals hotels. And shortly after they were introduced, an early step in the effort that Sandals would take in consistently improving its service.

Sandals won its first award for being the best all-inclusive chain that year, and continued to win many awards from the organisation over the years.

AIR JAMAICA

Later, in 1994, Stewart boldly acquired a majority stake in the national airline Air Jamaica from the Jamaican government. He rebranded the airline, building on its image as the ‘Love Bird’.  Navy blue and a bright pink were added to the previous livery colours of orange and yellow, so that the aircraft could never be missed in a crowd – with the airline even featuring in an episode of the popular US sitcom ‘Seinfeld’.

Air Jamaica

Like the limousine service for those journalists in LA, the airline offered champagne—or at least sparkling wine --  to all its guests on boarding. Its Seventh Heaven customer loyalty programme offered travellers a free trip after every seven flights.

The airline started to win awards as the best airline from the Caribbean, and maintained its high standards for both its service and its quality.

Air Jamaica before its make--over

And it gave great deals to tourists flying in for Sandals, helping to make the hotel chain more attractive as it could offer better combined-deals than many of its competitors.

Air Jamaica in its then new livery

But, the fastest way to become a millionaire is to be a billionaire and buy an airline, was a saying that was doing the rounds. Despite its great marketing, service and overall quality, the airline lost immense amounts of money. And in a controversial deal Stewart returned the airline to the government, which later got taken over by Trinidadian airline BWIA, becoming Caribbean Airlines.

The Love Bird has now been subsumed into Caribbean Airlines, but a version of its humming bird and some of its colours live on

But the airline had been successful in building the Sandals empire, and Stewart was able to now concentrate more on his hotels, as well as expanding his auto dealership businesses under the ATL umbrella.

JAMAICA OBSERVER

Never one to shrink away from a challenge in the 1990s Stewart also started up a second newspaper in Jamaica – the Jamaica Observer.

At that point there was only one Jamaican newspaper – the well-established Daily Gleaner, which had been around since 1834 and which had seen the demise of countless papers that tried to challenge its dominance.

Butch Stewart on the front page of the Jamaica Observer

Stewart went for a tabloid format and brought full colour to the paper at an early point, way before The Gleaner even attempted to do the same.

As chairman of the paper along with his son Adam Stewart as deputy chairman, Stewart hired me back in December 2015 to be the business editor. Very early in the interview he told me that I had a very impressive resume and that he wanted me to be the business editor – and to sweeten the deal he offered me a 20 percent increase in whatever salary I would negotiate with the Observer, after six months.

This was a measure of the man who could quickly identify business opportunities and go after them whole-heartedly.

One of my first assignments was to cover the opening of the new Sandals hotel in Barbados, and the opening of Butch's -- a five star steak house on the property. It was the first all-inclusive hotel in Barbados, and helped to open up the country to more US tourists instead of its main market of the UK.

Butch's Chophouse at Sandals Barbados

With the Jamaica Observer Stewart could put across his views on a national stage. Such was his power, that if he offered an invitation for the Prime Minister or Opposition Leader to join him for lunch in the Observer board room, they would each be there with many members of their teams to enjoy his hospitality.

So although the paper was a cost to his more profitable businesses, it was valuable to Stewart, as if the chips were down, he knew he could rely on at least one part of the Jamaican media scene to offer a point a view that was at least close to his own.

While he never tried to direct me in how I managed the business desk, the paper certainly pushed the power of entrepreneurism.

The Observer front page on Tuesday, January 5

The paper had an annual award for upcoming entrepreneurs called “Mogul in the Making” as well as a prestigious award for Business Leader of the Year. The paper continues to tell the stories of Jamaicans who are looking to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps by creating their own nascent business empires.

ADAM STEWART

Adam is likely to take over much of his father’s empire. Adam, who is Stewart’s third son, is already the Deputy Chairman of Sandals Resorts International, CEO of The ATL Group & Island Routes Caribbean Adventures and Deputy Chairman of the Jamaica Observer.

Butch Stewart poses with his son Adam. Photo: Jamaica Observer

In a statement, Adam Stewart spoke on his father and said:

“He was a marketing genius and talented showman, but those who knew him best recognised that he was a dreamer who could dream bigger and better than anyone. It was often said, 'The best thing for people around him to do is be dream catchers.' That's why he always credited his success to the incredible team around him, why he listened intently when it came to creating innovative things that would excite and delight our guests, and why it is so important that I remind you today, of all days, that we will all continue to be his dream catchers.”

Butch Stewart with Adam Stewart

“Together, we have all been part of something bigger than ourselves, led by a man who believed in us and who gave us opportunities to learn, grow, and the tools to make dreams real. For him, and because of him, we will continue to dream big and deliver on his certainty that true luxury is always best enjoyed by the sea.

“My Dad lived a big life – husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, entrepreneur, statesman, dreamer. A singular personality and an unstoppable force who revelled in defying the odds, exceeding expectations, and whose passion for his family was matched only by the people and possibility of the Caribbean, for whom he was a fierce champion.

“There will never be another quite like him and we will miss him forever.”