The procedure

 I hate hospitals and all things medical. But I guess if you live long enough you have to learn to put up with a few.

 Old age sucks😡.)

Having developed a few Arrhythmias, (https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2026/01/reflections-on-biology.html?m=1) including AFib and SVT, the cardiologist thought it more prudent that I  have an ablation rather than add more  drugs to my growing list. 

When I heard the procedure was no worse that filling teeth, I said run with it, despite the $134, 000 price tag. (Thanks President Obama, for without Obamacare, people like me would just have to watch the heart deteriorating as the drugs became ineffective. In Canada a similar procedure is around $21,000  and maximum $15, 000 in Mexico I hear!)

So here am I doing a report on the procedure while waiting on my daughter in law to pick me up.

 She had to drive down from West Palm as my grandson was at work, so I took an Uber to Cleveland Clinic. For its their policy that while you can take Uber or whatever to get there, you must be picked up by a known and trusted person as you remain groggy afterwards.

When they prepped me at the hospital, I had an all Caribbean nursing team, one Jamaican, one Trini and one Haitian, all caring and pleasant professionals.

Another nurse who took me to the operation theatre was also Jamaican.

So I felt at home until I got into the theater (it was extra cold😶‍🌫️) where four or five nurses were inside waiting. But I never got the opportunity to delve into their ancestries as they immediately got to work strapping me down to the bed, even tying arms and legs and I was almost immediately out of it!

 My cardiologist Dr. Parishit Sharma, is a specialist Electrophysiology from India. He is reputed to be one of the best in the fields of  Atrial Fibrillation, PSVT, Arrhythmia and pacemaker implantation.

The fact that it all went smoothly and I feel on top of the world a few hours later, proves it.

In fact,  my only discomfort was having to lay totally still on my back for 3 hours in recovery.

My biggest problem will be staying reasonably inactive for around 10  days while the holes in my groin heals.

All's well that ends well🙏.

Link: https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2026/01/reflections-on-biology.html?m=1.

Note

Heart ablation (catheter ablation) is a generally safe, minimally invasive procedure to fix heart rhythm disorders, considered effective but carries low risks of complications like bleeding, infection, blood clots, or minor heart/vessel damage, with severe issues  experienced electrophysiology team significantly lowers these risks. 

In Summary: It's a serious procedure with potential risks, but often a very effective treatment with a favorable safety profile compared to the risks of living with afib.

Father Richard Holung

 Father Richard Holung is an amazing person. Not only because of his musical talents and humor but also because of how he has dedicated his life to helping people who many of us can't even look at, much less touch!

He performed in a humorous skit last night🤣.

I have been following his career for almost half century and though he is now 86 years old, he keeps going like the energizer bunny.

I had heard of his establishment of the Order, "Brothers of the Poor," decades ago in Jamaica, learning that they dedicated their lives to living with and helping the poor, unfortunate, indigent, physically and mentally challenged people, who mainly live on the streets.

However, it never took real meaning to me until I actually saw them in action.

This was when I was freelancing at the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) about four decades ago. Right beside our front gate at Half Way Tree, was a man living on the street without shelter and clearly, barely able to move. We called various agencies to try and get help for him, without success and one day I noticed that he had a cut on his forehead which had attracted maggots.

In desperation we contacted Brothers of the Poor and the very same day, two volunteers arrived, started to dress his wound then took him away.♥️

I have been an admirer of that organization from that day and had never missed their annual fund raising concerts until I migrated.

So when I heard they were performing nearby in Florida, I had to go.

The show was awesome, with singers and dancers as good as any you see on Broadway.

 And when you realize that these are all  volunteers who perform, most of their music is original, most are created by father Holung himself (who admits that he has never had musical training) and it's their main source of funding for the wonderful work they do, the amazing nature of the production sinks in.

(Father Holung is said to have written some 800 songs for the productions over the years!)

What is equally amazing too is not only has this dedicated religious Order established 8 homes in Jamaica for the poor, homeless, sick and indigent but unbelievably, they now have similar homes in 14 countries, from Haiti to the Philippines!

(My only disappointment was that flash photography was not allowed, for this story needs to be told in the clearest possible way!)

I learned last night that lead singer Wynton Williams has been with the group from 1983!

There was also another powerful singer with the group in the early years. His name was John Jones and he was the brother of famous singer/actress Grace Jones. I remember my shock and horror at hearing of his sudden death at a very young age. 

He was no doubt quite a loss to that troupe of very talented Jamaican performers!

Mary and Joseph 

I am by no means a religious person, but among the few persons who I know of and who I have nothing but admiration for are, the late Mother Theresa, Father Richard Holung/ Brother's of the Poor, and members of the Salvation Army, for they are there for the humans that the rest of us would prefer to ignore.

A fun afternoon

I had never heard of Island Space Caribbean Museum until less than two weeks ago, when I went to a storytelling session there. (https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2024/03/reflections.html?m=1). 

But as we say in Jamaica, "what nevva happen in a year happen in a day."

So here am I two weeks later, at a pleasant event where students who learned to make traditional musical instruments from scratch over a one week period, exhibited their skills. 

And I learned a lot. For example, I never knew the ubiquitous banjo was originally made from gourde (calabash) and dried goat skin. And I also learned about a similar West African musical instrument called Akonting.

Akonting in the middle. It has 3 strings. Banjo, 4.

Some instruments made by the students.

The leader of the workshop Professor Shawn Harris, formerly of Ashe, a well known Jamaican cultural group.

Two members of the audience 

          A fellow St. Elizabethian, Don Parchment, photographer.

Alex Luther, Toronto. One of the leaders at the workshop.

The largest gourde I have ever seen. It is from West Africa and used as a drum.

Students demonstrate their skills.

Learning a Haitian voodoo dance.

Some other exhibits at the museum.

Good old Air Jamaica on display

An enjoyable affair

 Dubbed Black History Month Fashion Show, the afternoon get together at Tamarac Senior Center was a hit with everyone.

M.C. Sam Munro and the volunteer organizers

We got a  rendition of the Black National Anthem "lift every voice and sing" from Holly Bowen, who has a wonderful voice and is described as a foundation member of the well known South Florida Caribbean Chorale. 

                  The songbird Holly Bowen.

Our art teacher Michelle (center) was there and posed with students Joan and Helena.

Michelle and Hellena

About half of those who attended wore some form of African dress and there were some really beautiful prints and styles.

It was from the participants that the  'models' were drawn.

Seniors in their colorful garb waiting in line for the door to open

Noor, another art student. She came in her Pakistani national dress. Very nice.

As I was one of those who thought I could model, I got no pics of that segment.😊

The Haitian drummer doing the cuckoo dance.

The food was delicious and I hear it was Sam the M.C who organized it all. 

It sure fuelled our bodies to get on the dance floor.

The drummers gave us solos before the proceedings officially started .

The drummers were Caribbean, African descendants of course. The lady was from Haiti and the gentleman from Clarendon, Jamaica.

It was a nice function from start to finish and all the seniors had a great time. 

According to the  M.C.  Sam, (who is also our Site Supervisor at the Tamarac Senior Center,)  the function was organized in record time by the volunteers above.

 He promised that it will become an annual affair during Black History Month. 

Great going guys.

P.S. 

Thanks to our wonderful art teacher Michelle, I finally got some pics of the 'models' in their African garb and a few other pics. 

I am sharing these memories of the wonderful day below.

Michelle with her students Helena and Jennifer 

At the table with top artist Diana

The models

Obeah

 Have I been living under a rock?

I had been under the impression that the more educated and enlightened people become, the less they are influenced by things such as obeah, guard rings and even some conspiracy theories. 

Clearly however I have been totally wrong.

For belatedly, as I follow American News, it is obvious that belief in dimwitted conspiracy theories are on the rise. 

In Jamaica, there are far more stories now about obeah related matters. 

You know, I have never gotten the impression that Obeah men/women were particularly wealthy, but I guess they must be very smart at hiding their fortunes. 

Or is it they are waiting patiently for their time to come?

I smile as I recall how many decades ago, as I was taking a taxi from the airport into Port of Prince, the capital city of Haiti, when during the journey, the driver enquired if I wished to visit a voodoo priest. I asked him why I should, and his immediate reply was. " So you can get rich."  When I asked him how come he wasn't rich, he explained patiently that his time hadn't yet come. 😂

Anyway, this resurgence of Obeah in Jamaica is no laughing matter and in fact it is really concerning.

Look at this news carried by Radio Jamaica on the 26th April 2022, under the banner headline;.

Medical staff at CRH halt work after being threatened by armed thugs

The story began; "Doctors and nurses at Cornwall Regional Hospital in St. James have stopped working after armed thugs this morning entered the institution and threatened them while trying to secure the release of a male patient who is said to be a don. Radio Jamaica News was informed that the gunmen demanded that the man be released into their custody but the medical staff resisted after stating that the patient was too ill and needed treatment. The men reportedly drew guns and threatened the hospital staff."

The report further stated; "Assistant Commissioner Clifford Chambers, head of the Area One Police, confirmed that there was a confrontation between doctors and persons who took the sick man for medical treatment. The information so far, which we're trying to confirm - let me make it clear - is that the persons who took that male there to be treated are of the view that is condition was not medical in the main but that he needs to go to a "obeah man" who can better help him," the policeman revealed. 

 

He said reports indicate that the doctors insisted the man needed proper medical treatment and this led to the confrontation. "

This incident follows closely on a report that a young school boy was killed over a "guard ring" last month and the exposure of the church run by Kevin Smith, where human sacrifices and obeah practices were taking place. 

Clearly therefore, instead of many young people realizing that obeah cannot affect them negatively or positively, they seem to be going in the opposite direction.

I wonder what they would have done if they got an anonymous letter in the post, containing a single brand-new razor blade with a long strand of hair wrapped around it, as I did some years ago? (Incidentally, as the razor blade was brand new, I put it into my own razor and shaved my legs😁)

Seriously though, I really don't know what next to expect in my beleaguered country.

 Obeah - YouTube

Obeah and all that

Despite the strides we have made in education and enlightenment over the decades, the belief in the powers of  obeah men/women (madda) to protect one from evil doers or the long arm of the law, to make one rich and even help obtain illusive visas, remains unshakable.

And it crosses class, eligious and political lines.

Many criminals, ordinary people and even parsons apparently, have always depended on these practitioners to help keep them safe. 

I am always amused when I hear how religious some brutal murderers really are. One even tried to convince me once that he structured his life after David in the bible, so he slays his enemies!

How can I ever forget the notorious much-feared Natty Morgan too? He roamed the streets of Kingston for months on end, terrifying all and sundry some years ago.  When he was killed, one newspaper highlighted how his bible was found safely tucked in his back pocket.

But back to obeah, guard rings and protection.

The guard ring recently came up in the trial of 33 alleged members of the feared Clansman Gang, now taking place in the Supreme Court in Kingston.

Among those alleged gangsters on trial, is a woman who is described as a pastor of a church!

For the benefit of the uninformed, this dreaded gang has been known to be the overlords of the extortion racket in the St. Catherine area for decades. Their success has been maintained through fear, as they have never been hesitant to murder of burn out anyone who resists their efforts to collect from them. Further, they have been politically aligned to the Peoples National Party, (PNP) which has been in power in Jamaica for decades.

While for years I thought Clansman concentrated their illicit activities at the bus park , market district and business places in Spanish Town, I was disabused when I had a run-in with a few of them in Caymanas Bay one Sunday.

Caymanas Bay has a nice river running through it, where my friends and I from our cycling club liked to ride to on a Sunday, swim, eat and have a wonderful time. 

A lot of churches also go there to conduct baptism.

This property is owned by the Government of Jamaica.

As we arrived there that day, we saw that a gate had been put up and there was a man there collecting “entrance fees”. I insisted that I was not paying as it was government property and pushed  past him.  (I heard later that our organizer gave him some money.)

I learnt afterwards too that the ‘gateman’ was a Clansman!

The next day, I called the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), the government agency which controls that property and reported the matter, but clearly nothing was done as shortly after I read in one newspaper that several persons in the gang had killed each other as they fought for control of that lucrative gate.

(I seriously wondered at the time what would happen if my friends and  I tried to capture a government property, say the UDC operated Dunn’s River Falls, and operated it as our own! But as dem ‘say ‘puss an dawg nuh hab di same luck.)

I have never returned to Caymanas Bay, but who knows, maybe the churches still patronize that lovely spot.

A baptism at Caymanas River

Anyway, through their poltical connections, the Clansmen remained untouchable for decades.

(The Jamaica Labour Party which now forms the government, has its politically-aligned extortion gang in St. Catherine too. That is the One Order Gang. Only time will tell if they will remain untouchable, now that their party is in power!)

Using the recently minted Anti-gang legislation, the police have finally gotten around to charging some of the alleged members and their so-called leader. Former members of the gang have been the star witnesses who have been testifying so far. I will therefore not comment on the ongoing trial, only to say it was the evidence being given by the first star witness, which reminded me of the dependence on obeah.

For in his evidence, the witness claimed to have been offered a guard ring (gyard) by the female parson who is also on trial.

I have not seen a gyard ring recently, but the testimony reminded me vividly of when I was introduced to it and the 'powers' it contains.

This was many decades ago when I had a close friend who made gold jewelry. He showed me a thick gold ring with a flat top one day and asked me if I knew what it was. Naturally, I replied that it was a ring.

That’s when he explained that it was not just any ring. He turned it over and pointed to a small hole in the back. This is the hole in which the obeah man/woman stuffs powerful, mysterious powder (could be salt or flour for all I know😆), which will provide the wearer with protection, he explained. Then the purchaser returns with the ring to have the hole sealed.

I must admit that at the time I was totally ignorant about obeah, for I hadn't left school too long before and in the neck of the woods in the country that I grew up in, I never heard much about the practice or even seen a red flag hoisted at anyone’s gate!

When I was educated about the ring and learnt of its utility, I took enough interest in obeah to actually borrow from my informant, the banned book called “The Master Key” written by one De Lawrence.

This I was told, was the bible of obeah men/women.

While it explained in detail how to cast a few obeah spells, when to beat graves, what powders to use to paralyze, poison people etc., I personally found it quite boring.

As they say, belief kills and belief cures, so if you do not believe in these workings and the various powders they use to carry on their trade, obeah is a waste of time and money.

Regardless, it remains ever so popular, not only in Jamaica but worldwide, especially in places where Voodoo and Santeria and other beliefs in the occult are popular.

I have been curious though, how so many supposedly sensible people can believe in the power of obeah to help them get rich, for many of the obeah men/women I have met or learnt about, appear to be only moderately wealthy at best.

The great exception would be the late “Dr.” Kevin Smith, who from all the reports coming out since his human sacrifice, dabbled in the trade. But he seemed to be involved in lots of other rackets, including convincing the gullible in his congregation to change their wills and make him the beneficiary of their insurance, pensions etc. so I would not classify him as a true obeah man.

Maybe the answer lies in the conversation I had with a Haitian taxi driver some years ago. As I boarded his taxi at the airport to go to Port of Prince, he asked if I wanted to make a stop at a voodoo ceremony. When I asked him why I would want to go there, he replied that “he can make you rich”. When I asked him why he was not rich, he replied confidently that “my time has not yet come.”

So dear readers, it’s all a matter of timing.

I guess he did not recognize from my accent that I was Jamaican, for I had often heard that Haitians respected us greatly in that particular art, as they say we eat susumba (gully beans) which their voodoo priests use as a powerful potent in their trade, and not for human consumption unless you plan to kill someone.

Oh yes, the world of the occult is really fascinating and I guess, rewarding, to them that truly believe.

Obeah - YouTube

Will they succeed this time? Yes, if they vote !

I have always heard that America was a dangerous place for non-whites, but thought that with the election of Barack Obama, the country was on its way to redemption.

Then along came Donald J Trump.

 When he said " Make America Great Again", Trump knew full well that it had never been great for non-white people, but that did not matter as that sector had never been important to him. 

You see,  racism is in his DNA. 

This, he made abundantly clear when his regime used brutal methods on even babies, coming from south of the border while ruing the fact that more people from Norway were not migrating to the USA! 

This was quickly followed by his charges that Haitians and Nigerians were from were shit house countries.

I suppose, even these types of racist remarks should not have been surprising since he had become the de facto leader of white supremacists from 2014, when he led the charge to try and discredit Obama through the "birther conspiracy."

 Oh no, I would never claim Trump is the father of white supremacy in the USA, but he certainly gave it legitimacy when he, as president, described Klan members, neo-nazis, and other white supremacists who demonstrated in Charlotteville in 2017,  as very good people.

 Despite all this and the number of cruel murders and lynchings of blacks by the white establishment, amazingly, those seeking justice remained very patient until May 2020. 

Derek Chauvin, the policeman who murdered George Floyd in slow motion. This act he nonchalantly carried out during an 8 minute period, as the victim, feeling the breath leaving his body, cried out in desperation for his long deceased mother

.

 It took a chilling video of Derek Chauvin, a white policeman in Minnesota,  murdering George Floyd in plain view and in slow motion,  with his hand nonchalantly in his pocket, for the bubble to burst. 

 And this was over a $20 bill which they claimed was fake, but which turned out to be real!

 This event followed closely on the heels on a series of blatant, racist events, also in full color, which would have aroused even the angels in heaven.

 Among the incidents which immediately preceded this horrific murder were; the video widely circulated on social media, in which a woman is heard questioning her baby daughter who is clearly just learning to speak, about where her snacks were. The child replied  "a black man stole them"  and the mother laughed in approval, for her child had certainly learned her lesson well;  the news of a Georgia pastor, claiming he had been robbed and abducted by black men to cover up the fact that he was spending the time he could not be found, in a hotel with a man he met in Craig List; the news of the mother in Florida claiming her son was abducted by black men when the truth was she had killed her own child by drowning him; the situation in Georgia, where the authorities had for 74 days, (from February to May) refused to arrest the father and son team of white supremacists,  Gregory and Travis McMichael, who had murdered an unarmed black jogger, Ahmaud Arbery, and the clear expectation by the lying Amy Cooper, that she could get a policeman to come to brutalize or kill an Afro American bird-watcher in Central Park for allegedly threatening her, when indeed all he had done was to tell her to obey the law and leash her dog.!

Amy Cooper. called the police on Christian  Cooper, an Afro American Harvard educated biomedical editor, who she no doubt expected to be killed or brutalized by white cops, on her say so!

The white supremacists Gregory and Travis McMichael ho lynched the black jogger Ahmaud Arbery.

The straw, however, was the brutal murder in slow motion, of George Floyd. 

While, thanks to cell phone users, there have been regular videos of the racist police and white supremacists murdering unarmed black people all over the USA,  they have been getting away with it. for only 1% of the police has ever been convicted for such murders. 

 Before this,  the white establishment always claimed such incidents were isolated events.

In May 2020 however, the truth about systemic, dangerous racism in the USA was exposed for the entire world to see, and millions said "No more".

While some of the peaceful demonstrations against the murders and injustice in the USA have been marred by criminals, white racists, and other agents provocateurs infiltrating the demonstrations to try and discredit them, they have failed.

It is now clear that some of the agent provocateurs had hoped their actions would provide their leader, the president, with a reason to bring soldiers into the streets to kill peaceful demonstrators. 

Happily, that too failed.

A white cop in the role of agent provocateur was outed by his own wife, who recognized him!

 What has been particularly inspiring over these last few days, is the vast number of white people, predominantly the young, who have joined in the cry for justice throughout the world. For they are consciously putting their lives in danger for the cause, knowing they face the possibility of becoming infected by the killer carnivorous.

With the extent of media coverage (even Fox news covered them impartially), it appears that for the first time, a large sector of white America now realizes how oppressive the system has been to black citizens, and that must change. 

As Al Sharpton said most appropriately, for centuries, the establishment has kept their knees on the necks of minorities, and the message finally seems to be getting through.

 This is borne out by the ABC poll of June 5th, which found that 74% of  Americans, now recognize that systemic racism as a problem.

 However, the bad news is, more than 25% refuse to accept this and this amounts to around 80 million people, many of whom are in influential positions.

 This is why those calling for people to make sure that real progress is made by voting,  are on target.

 Yes, it is clear that if equality is ever to be achieved, Trump has to go. But he is only the tip of the iceberg, for,  while some things can be corrected at the federal level, it is at local government, that real reform will be meaningful.

Take the case of police forces clearly having a significant number of recruits drawn from organizations such as the Ku  Klux  Klan and other racist groups, that can only be dealt with at the local level. At the local level too, many district attorneys are elected and that is also where you find influential political idiots like Cynthia Brehm, a GOP chairwoman in Texas, who said in a tweet, that George Floyd's murder was staged!

 The system at the local level is rife with powerful people like her.

Yes, peaceful demonstrations have their role, but until the systemic problems at the local level which have led to numerous injustices like: 50% of non-whites being unemployed while only 21% are;  outright bias in the sentencing of non-whites in the courts; unfair and murderous treatment by the police: chronic underfunding of schools in black areas and the poor health care for minorities which has led to the carnivorous wreaking havoc, George Floyd's's death and the death of so many other innocents, will have been in vain for very little will change for the minorities.

 And without real change at the legislative level in local government,  racist presidents like Trump will continue to stand in the way of progress.

 Question; Do you think the cry for justice would have received such overwhelming support worldwide if Donald Trump wasn't so despised for his overt racism and narcissism?

https://youtu.be/9nWaAEZi8SM

Suriname

If you are planning a trip to South America, forget Paramaribo!

Naturally that is my opinion and if someone had said that to me, I would have ignored the advice! You see, I have to learn everything for myself! 

Supposedly the largest wooden church in the world.

 Seriously though, unless one is interested in seeing some nice Dutch Colonial Architecture, poverty and underdevelopment, Paramaribo can easily be overlooked. Actually, it is not as poor as Haiti and come to think of it, I did not even see one beggar but while you can visit Haiti , check into an all inclusive and have a wonderful time on the white sand beaches  on a beautiful Caribbean coast and never know that poverty was the order of the day, Paramaribo is not like that. True they do have a small resort where you find Eco inn, Terrica etc. but in Caribbean terms, they are way behind.

I get the impression of poverty there because of the proliferation of derelict looking wooden houses. Granted some of them has expensive looking Japanese cars parked in front or even inside the yard but I still get the impression of poverty. Or maybe they are not really poor but just not into houses. I never went inside one so can't say for sure. But this is the first time in the 21st century that I have been to a city and seen so many derelict looking wood houses with dirt lawns and dirt sidewalks, not even a blade of grass anywhere.

Paramaribo is of course the capital of Suriname, the smallest sovereign state in south America. It is approximately 64,000 square metres with a population of just over half million. It is very much like its neighbor Guyana in terms of climate, religion, proliferation of rivers, population make up and terrain although much more of Suriname is virgin territory, 90% I am told. Also, like Guyana, no retailer takes the mighty US$ and Jamaican music, especially dancehall is king. I was totally amused to hear Vybes Kartel music being played at a store in Paramaribo which sells Hindu paraphernalia including religious material!)

A moslem temple in Paramaribo

To get there we travelled east on excellent roads for about 3 hours to the Berbice bridge. It was when we were in New Amsterdam that I realised for the first time that Guyana once had a motor vehicle industry, for all over the place we saw a vehicle shaped like a fully covered Land Rover being used as taxis. I learnt that when  Guyana had its socialist experiment like we did in Jamaica and there was a shortage of cars, the enterprising 'Guyanese made the Tapir and twenty years later a number of them are still in very active use in the Berbice county.  After crossing the Berbice bridge, we took a ferry at Molson creek to Suriname.(You know when you are in Guyana however by the proliferation of animals on the roads, something you don't see in Suriname.) One does not have to take the ferry however as there are speed boats which also take passengers from one side to the other as there is a great deal of traffic between the both countries, despite the fact that in Suriname most people speak a dialect called Tacky Tacky, a mixture of Dutch, African  dialects. English ....everything. Anyway, most people there speak English to some degree.

Ready to board the ferry at Molson Creek

Then we travelled about 3 hours, excellent roads, scenic country side but far less developed and populated than Guyana, to Paramaribo.
 Paramaribo like Georgetown is not into zoning, so houses and business places exist side by side all over. However while in Georgetown the wooden houses are being replaced at a rapid rate and are rarely seen in the commercial areas, the opposite is true in Paramaribo.

On a morning walk I saw smoke coming out of one of the wooden houses and people frantically kicking in the doors before realising that the place was on fire. I expected  the wooden house to go up in smoke as well as the other two other wooden structures on either side but I must say, their firefighting ability far exceeds ours. For withing 5 minutes 4 fire trucks and dozens of police were on the scene. Within minutes a truck with water was there too but it was not needed and a few minutes later another fire truck arrived.

I was absolutely amazed how quickly they got that fire under control and saved everything else. I guess when you have that many wooden structures you really have develop great fire fighting strategies. Another thing I found interesting was the  many sidewalks which were mainly cobblestone and very wide. It didn't take me long to realise however that they were not only for pedestrians but also bicycles and motor bikes and cars parked all over them too.

What I found most amazing about Paramaribo was the number of casinos, from Royal Princess hotel Casinos and Best Western to non- chain hotels. but they all seemed greatly under utilised!

I just could not come to terms with the underdevelopment of the place considering they export bauxite, agriculture (we saw thousands of acres of rice on the way) and oil. Of course it could be because of the politics as my short visit there gave me some serious insights into the place.

Board houses like these are all over commercial districts

I have long been curious about how Desi Bouterse could have become President after the 2010 elections and even more amazed that he could have been accepted as Chairman of Caricom, considering his credentials. But after hearing the serious allegations about his predecessor,  if these are true, I can see why he could be acceptable to the Surinamese people. (I still can't see how he could be acceptable to Caricom leaders however).

At this time, it seems the Chinese are having a serious influence on Suriname and hardly a corner you pass that does not have a retail outlet with Chinese writing on it. It is alleged that the Surinamese, even the Chinese born are resenting this invasion and they blame the former president who is reputed to have taken away unused land and given the foreign Chinese titles for those properties, making a lot of money for himself privately. When the native owners saw structures going up on their land and checked, they found that their titles were no longer any good! Now such a scenario could really make someone like Bouterse look good although in early 1980 he had led a military coup which overthrew the democratic government and declared a socialist republic.

In what is now recognised as an infamous period, on 8 December 1982, the military under his leadership, rounded up several prominent citizens who were accused of plotting against the government and executed them during the night.

Where the "enemies of the state" were executed.

You know, the late, great Motty Perkins used to say that if robbers could make the law, stealing would not be a crime. 

 Well, I understood the full implications of this in Suriname, for while Bouterse and other officials are currently standing trial for the December murders of 1982, (the trial started in 2007 but has been stalled for several reasons), on April 5th 2012, the government (headed by Bouterse) passed an Amnesty law giving immunity to persons who committed   Human Rights violations between April 1, 1980 and August 19, 1992. 

Naturally the United Nations Human Rights Commission has objected to the legislation, but this seems to have no effect in Suriname or with Caricom Leaders. 

Further, although Bouterse was convicted in absentia in the Netherlands for drug smuggling, this too has had no effect on the electorate or our brave Caribbean leaders.

The president's mansi

Interestingly, I was told by a supporter of his  that the only reason why the Netherlands Government came after him was because he had been acting as their agent in 1980 when he led the coup and he should have neutralized the country's independence status and put the Dutch back in control of the country. (they gained independence from the Dutch in 1975) but he double crossed them.

Boy from what I have seen and heard here about Surinamese politics, all things are possible!