The iPINIONS Journal

By all accounts, Hurricane Ike was “the worst natural disaster to hit the Turks and Caicos Islands in living memory”. Therefore, it is a testament to our people’s resolve (and God’s grace) that we weathered its fury with little or no loss of life.

Preliminary reports indicate, however, that Ike’s 135 mph winds did considerable damage to property throughout the islands - with many homes being completely destroyed on Grand Turk and South Caicos. And it only compounded the widespread flooding that Tropical Storm Hanna left in its wake.

Consequently, many TCIslanders will be looking to the government for assistance as we begin the long and expensive process of recovery and rebuilding.  This, notwithstanding complaints which made the Misick Administration seem even less prepared to deal with Hanna last week than the Bush Administration was to deal with Katrina three years ago.

All the same, I commend Premier Dr. Michael Misick for ordering the airlift of all intensive care and special needs patients to Miami well in advance of Ike’s landfall.  Because chances are very good that many parts of the country, still waiting for electricity to be restored in the aftermath of Hanna, will now be without power for an extended period.  Which makes me wonder why the Premier was pictured delivering raw eggs as emergency relief supplies to some residents…?

Frankly, given that our government was teetering on the precipice of bankruptcy even before Hanna, it might simply be unable to render any meaningful assistance to our people in distress.

Therefore, we should be exceedingly grateful that the British have deployed ships to the TCI with more appropriate supplies, including canned food, water, medical supplies, shelter-building equipment, a helicopter and, hopefully, a few marines to help enforce law and order.  This, notwithstanding the fatuous and irresponsible claims our Premier made recently about the British fomenting an indigenous conspiracy to destabilize our country and keep us mired in the “shackles of colonialism.”

We should also appreciate that regional leaders, including Bahamian PM Hubert Ingraham and Jamaican PM Bruce Golding, have pledged significant support to help in our relief efforts. (I urge Premier Misick to request crews to help repair downed power lines and restore power ASAP.)

Meanwhile, I’m especially grateful to the tens of thousands of people from around the world who have (and will) honour the request I made here and at The TCI Journal to make donations to the British Red Cross - specifically ear-marked for the TCI.

That said, I agree with Premier Misick that:

We will recover in a way that will make us all proud.

Accordingly, my thoughts and prayers go out to all TCIslanders as we embark on this very challenging phase in our history.  

But let us also pray for our brothers and sisters in Haiti who have suffered far more catastrophic losses in the wake of Hanna and Ike (as this picture clearly shows). 

NOTE:  Please make donations for the TCI (and Haiti) through the British Red Cross: www.redcross.org.uk

Related articles:
Tropical Storm Hann lashes TCI
Premier blames me for bankrupting the TCI

Talk about anxiety, I’m dreading reports later this afternoon on what property damage they’ve sustained.

But I commend Premier Dr. Michael Misick for ordering the airlift of all intensive care and special needs patients to Miami a few days ago. 

Because chances are very good that many parts of the country will be without power for an extended period - after Ike (now a category 4 hurricane with winds of 135 and gusts of 160 mph) blows by.  Which makes me wonder why the Premier was pictured delivering raw eggs to those left behind as part of their emergency supplies…?

Thankfully, I am reliably informed that the British have ships on standby in the Caribbean Sea with more appropriate supplies,  including food, water, medical supplies, shelter-building equipment, as well as a helicopter (and, hopefully, a few marines to help enforce law and order).

NOTE:  The British Red Cross has launched an appeal for funds to assist hurricane victims.  Therefore, I beg you to contact them at the address below, and please request that your donation be ear-marked for the Turks and Caicos Islands. Thank you.

www.redcross.org.uk

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Tropical storm Hanna lashes the TCI, and Ike’s on the way

My family and friends in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) can be forgiven for thinking that God has decided to punish them for the sins of our leader, the (dis)Honourable Dr. Michael Misick.  Because Tropical Storm Hanna has remained centered over the TCI for far longer than forecasters predicted and has been lashing them with a torrent of rain and winds the likes of which they’ve never seen before.

And, as if that wasn’t punishment enough, God has sent Tropical Storm Ike on a bee-line for the TCI to give them a second lashing this weekend. 

All this, after they had already sustained glancing blows from the outer bands of Hurricane Gustav. (Incidentally, Gustav left a trail of death and destruction in Haiti, Cuba, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.  Alas, the worst hit was Haiti, the poorest country in the region, where 20-30 people were killed, thousands displaced and millions of dollars were lost in property damage.)

But as Hanna finally makes her way up through The Bahamas today, we should be thankful that all property damage in the TCI will probably be offset by minimal loss of life.   

All the same, my thoughts and prayers go out to all TCIslanders whose stormy days and nights were compounded by the fact that the Misick Administration proved even less prepared to deal with Tropical Storm Hanna this week than the Bush Administration was to deal with Hurricane Katrina three years ago.

Specifically, it is mind-boggling that it did not occur to government officials to ensure that there were enough shingles, sand bags, plywood and other supplies necessary for TCIanders to prepare their homes for the hurricane season. Not to mention their failure to issue adequate warnings before Hanna made landfall or public service announcements during it. Frankly, even with Ike looming, it seems they haven’t a clue what emergency management is all about.

Now is not the time, however, to bemoan this government’s incompetence and salutary neglect.  Instead, I pray that God will have mercy on all of the longsuffering people of the TCI.

But, just to be safe, I urge everyone to take every possible step to prepare to weather Ike, which is threatening to be the mother of all hurricanes and is on track to make landfall early Sunday morning. 

Click here for latest pictures courtesy of Caribbean Net News.

NOTE:  The British Red Cross has launched an appeal for funds to assist hurricane victims.  Therefore, I beg you to contact them at the address below, and please request that your donation be ear-marked for the Turks and Caicos Islands. Thank you.

www.redcross.org.uk

Hon. Dr. Michael Misick, Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), might be guilty of many crimes, but, according to a credible witness statement, rape is not one of them.

No doubt you recall the sensational allegation of rape an American woman filed against Premier Misick last March.  And, no doubt, few people believed him when he issued the following denial:

I strongly and categorically deny these false and outrageous allegations…  I am confident that I will be completely and fully exonerated.

However, the signed statement of another woman - whom I shall refer to only by her first name, Vanessa - tends to corroborate the Premier’s denial.  Not least because she claims to have not only witnessed but also participated in the sexual acts that gave rise to the allegations.

Specifically, Vanessa states that she and the Premier began a sexual relationship in Paris sometime in February.   Further, that she was a houseguest at his residence in TCI on March 28 when the alleged rape occurred.  She confirms that the Premier’s wife, First Lady LisaRaye, was traveling at the time. 

Vanessa states that the Premier threw a party at which “everyone was having a good time drinking and singing and going into the pool.”  And that at some point, just she and the Premier’s accuser - whom I shall refer to only by her first name, Cynthia - ended up in the pool together.

Vanessa states that after a little girl talk, Cynthia suggested they get naked.   She notes here that fellow partiers “Mike Pernod and Andrew Ashcroft walked by the pool at one point and saw them but left after saying hello.” 

Vanessa states that Cynthia then “surprised” her with a kiss on the lips. And that they then proceeded to engage in lesbian sex acts that “went on for a long time.”

Vanessa states that at some point the Premier arrived and saw them in flagrante delicto.  Further, that she invited him to join in the fun and that he took off his clothes and jumped right in. At this point, she claims that their ménage-a-trois involved her having “sexual contact even while Cynthia was having sexual intercourse with the Premier.” 

Vanessa states, more to the point, that:

…at no time during their sexual encounter did she hear any complaints from Cynthia….

Vanessa then states that after a while, they “all agreed to continue inside the guesthouse,” but soon they all fell asleep.

Vanessa states that she heard the Premier get up and leave the next morning.  And that when Cynthia finally got up Vanessa “asked how she was feeling and started to talk about all the sex with her and the Premier.” 

Vanessa states that she was “very hurt” when Cynthia became “uptight and agitated“; especially when Cynthia insisted that:

…she didn’t remember anything about that and she has a boyfriend and…she doesn’t do that kind of shit.

Vanessa ends her statement by noting that “the Premier along with Ashcroft came to the guesthouse” later that morning. And that after pleasantries, during which “Cynthia didn’t say anything” to the Premier about being raped, Ashcroft drove her to her hotel at Nikki Beach.

And that’s the material thrust of her statement!  (Incidentally, I have omitted the more pornographic parts of her statement in the interest of public decency.)

Of course, acquaintance rape (or date rape) is notoriously difficult to prosecute - as the prosecutor in the William Kennedy Smith case can readily attest.  But this is because such “she said, he said” cases rarely have eyewitness testimony that can corroborate either the allegation of the accuser or the denial of the accused.

In this case, I can’t imagine any prosecutor filing charges, let alone winning a conviction, against the Premier given Vanessa’s statement.  Moreover, it renders waiting for FBI forensic evidence a complete waste of time since any finding would be entirely consistent with consensual sex.

Which brings me to TCI Attorney General Kurt Defreitas; because TCIanders have been waiting anxiously for over five months for AG Defreitas to either charge the Premier or announce that there is insufficient evidence to do so.  Moreover, I believe there is not only compelling public interest in putting this matter to rest, but also a categorical imperative to remove the cloud of suspicion from our Premier if prosecuting him has virtually no prospect of success.

That said, I am acutely mindful of widespread suspicion that the Premier paid off Cynthia (with either millions of US dollars or acres of Crown land) to recant her allegations. And I appreciate that many will immediately suspect that he paid Vanessa to provide this exculpatory statement as well.

However, the problem with these suspicions is that, even if true, the alleged payoffs would expose the Premier only to charges for witness tampering and obstruction of justice. Because they would also fatally compromise any indictment against him for rape since Cynthia’s credibility as a victim, having accepted the payoff, would be irremediably impeached.

Accordingly, I urge AG Defeitas to quell the fury of speculation over this rape case by issuing an immediate statement either assuring the public that there is just cause to continue the investigation, or conceding that there is not.  In addition, it behooves him to indicate if Vanessa’s statement has already been factored into the investigation, or if it constitutes newly discovered evidence which might finally compel him to drop the allegations against the Premier - as I believe justice now demands. 

That said, I also feel obliged to urge AG Defreitas to re-examine his decision not to prosecute the Premier on assault and obstruction of justice charges stemming from his alleged assault of Mr. Arthur Robinson MP last year. Because I believe there is (was?) sufficient (direct and circumstantial) evidence in that case to convict him. 

Not to mention that, arguably, there is more compelling public interest in holding the Premier to account for his alleged assault of Robinson than for his alleged rape of Cynthia.

NOTE:  I am reliably informed that members of the Commission of Inquiry into government corruption in the TCI are currently conducting extensive forensic investigations into the business and banking activities of government officials and other suspect individuals. Furthermore, that this phase of the Inquiry will continue for several more weeks - at which time select individuals will be invited to give oral testimony.

But bear in mind that this Commission will have access to all of the evidence TCIslanders submitted to the UK Foreign Affairs Committee a few months ago.

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No public interest in prosecuting TCI Premier for assault…?