DEPUTY CHAIRMAN of the National Assistance Board (NAB), Senator Reverend David Durant, wants an end to the abuse of the elderly and a show of greater love and respect.
He was speaking at the Grande Salle of the Barbados Central Bank during the launch of the Senior Citizens’ National Craft Exhibition under the recreational activities programme of the NAB last Friday.
Durant lamented that the elderly were not given the level of love, respect and compassion that was desirable for people who had made a significant contribution to the development of the society; and it was a cause for concern.
“Incidents of neglect, abandonment, sexual abuse, financial abuse as well as physical abuse, all suggest that the spectrum of elder abuse is at an unacceptable level in our island, and a collaborative effort is needed to confront and deal with this perfidy,” he said.
Durant said the recreational activities programme was one way of offering “social integration and interaction” among the elderly, while reducing any isolation and loneliness experienced by those lacking a supportive social network.
“Such activities serve to imbue elderly persons with a sense of belonging, which is critical if older persons are to be truly a part of a society for all ages.
“In a society where the care for the elderly is rapidly on the decline, it’s refreshing to see this level of activity being offered to our senior citizens,” he stated.
Durant said that while scarce resources may have presented some challenges for the programme, those challenges would present an opportunity to intensify efforts at networking and developing partnership with communities. This, he added, was necessary to ensure the programme’s viability and sustainability.The programme was established in 1990 and currently has 14 centres across the island, with the most recent one established this year in Gall Hill, St John. The scheme boasts more than 400 seniors who are actively involved in activities such as dance, needlework and baking. (MM)

THE INTENSITY of the battle for leadership within the Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) took an unprecedented twist yesterday with an emailed letter to membership stating that opponents of Opposition Leader Mia Mottley may not be fit to hold public or any office at all.
The email was circulated to the several hundred members on the BLP’s database by Henderson Bovell, personal assistant to the Opposition Leader.
Bovell confirmed he sent out the email and stressed it was his personal view.
Under the title How Can We Bring Change To Barbados Without First Bringing Change To The BLP? the letter stated in part: “Mia Mottley is on a mission to stamp out corruption at all level[s)].
“If she now fails to get everyone on board, then it would simply suggest that those who might oppose her may not be fit to hold public or any office at all. Take the first step to real change now.
“With your vote, and the votes of your friends, family, and neighbours, we won’t just win the upcoming election for chairman of the BLP, but together we will change this country by being serious about wanting to win the next general election.
“The challenges our party and this country face – and our responsibility to take action – [have] now become even more urgent. Take the first important step to winning the next general election by voting for the person who can bring change to the BLP and Barbados.”
The letter went on to say: “We can change Barbados by first bringing the necessary change to our party . . . . Let’s get serious!
“If there are two persons in a race for chairmanship of the Barbados Labour Party and one is Mia Mottley, as a patriotic Barbadian and someone who wants the very best for the Labour Party and Barbados, I cannot see how you could ever have a difficulty with knowing who is the right person to support in the national interest.”
The letter, clearly marked internal mail, concluded: “. . . I believe in a simple idea – that each and every one of us, working together, has the power to move this country forward. But we will not be able to do that without first fixing the challenges that our party has ignored for far too long.”
The letter follows yesterday’s SUNDAY SUN Front Page revelation about a plot to prevent Mottley from winning her bid to become chairman of the BLP.
In a telephone interview yesterday, Bovell emphasised that Mottley was in no way associated with the letter, neither did she have knowledge of it.

Some west coast residents are upset while counting clean-up costs, following last weekend’s flooding, and are wondering whether a wall separating them from a construction site in the area could have been responsible.
Homeowners at Limegove, a housing development near Holetown, told the DAILY NATION flood water had invaded their homes and surrounding areas on Sunday, October 3, leaving behind waterlogged rooms, high losses in household effects and in some cases parked motor vehicles so damaged by the water that they could no longer be used.
Canadian-born Barbadian citizen Donna Morgan, who has owned a house at Limegrove for 30 years, said: “We are used to flooding, but not like this.”Morgan said a wall built two years ago to separate the Limegrove housing development from a nearby construction site, may have contributed to the flooding. 
The homeowner stressed she was not complaining about the wall since she believed the project it enclosed would enhance nearby property values.
Other irate occupants blamed their extensive flood losses on the presence of the wall, though conceding their preference not to make a fuss about the issue was in the interest of good neighbourly relations.
However, Canadian resident and Limegrove homeowner Shirley Greenberg wrote in an email: “Several of the small villas built on the property in 1970 of which I am one owner have been severely damaged with water, mud and sewage entering the ground floor to the height of two to three feet”.
“The overflow also filled cars parked in the parking area.”
Developer of the $100 million Limegrove Lifestyle Centre, Paul Altman, said he had proposed to Limegrove residents to build “new houses on higher ground at no cost” when he started his project, but the offer had not been accepted.
He also said the wall in question had been built “with their blessings”.

THE increases in air passenger duty (APD) imposed by the British government have been denounced and derided “as a disgrace” by the head honcho of British Airways.
Yesterday, before a Hilton Barbados conference room packed with Caribbean cabinet ministers and tourism officials, British Airways’ chief executive officer Willie Walsh said that because of the unfair distance banding on which the tax was based, Caribbean destinations “suffer disproportionately”.
The Irish executive took centre stage with his forthright comments on the opening day of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) leadership strategy conference.
“A family of four flying economy class to Hawaii from London, involving a distance of more than 7 200 miles, would incur an APD charge of £240.
“Yet the same family travelling to Nassau in The Bahamas, which is not much more than half as far, pays £300 and double that if they sit in premium economy.“The tax from the UK to the Caribbean is so disproportionate that the APD revenue taken on a typical flight is nearly ten times the actual carbon cost of that flight,” he said.
Before an audience that included British High Commissioner Paul Brummell and members of the British media, Walsh said that since last November when APD to the Caribbean went up, arrivals from Britain had declined by 12 per cent.
“Our flight from London to Barbados yesterday [Saturday], the total CO2  generated by that flight, the total cost of offsetting it, was met by just 20 of our customers sitting in our World Traveller Plus.
“Twenty of the people travelling on that flight paid sufficient tax to offset the total CO2 produced by that trip. The other 200 passengers were paying for an environmental cost that did not exist. This tax is a disgrace,” he added.Walsh said some of the sudden drop in arrivals from Britain could be attributed to the economic recession, but it was clear the APD had played a major part because the majority of Caribbean countries had seen larger decreases from Britain than anywhere in Europe.
“Even if families find the extra money to pay the tax, they will have less to spend when they arrive here. So they may stay for shorter periods, eat out fewer times, take fewer excursions and spend less on local goods and services,” he said.
It is not just about APD: the British government expects revenue from its aviation tax to total £2.3 billion this year. In five years’ time, it expects receipts to be 65 per cent higher.
“I do not think passenger volumes will grow 65 per cent in five years, so further increases in tax rates must be on the horizon.”
Walsh said British Airways would start selling tickets today for San Juan, a new route, which he said demonstrated the benefit of BA’s new transatlantic joint business with American Airlines.

ACTING Prime Minister Freundel Stuart is concerned about the cost, reliability and connectivity of Caribbean airlift.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s (CTO) Leadership Strategy Conference at Hilton Barbados yesterday morning, Stuart was worried about limited routes, uncompetitive pricing, inefficient airline operations and, as a result, inconvenienced passengers.
“We may take as an example the fact that many places in the northern Caribbean are accessible primarily from the south only by way of Miami; and that the Eastern Caribbean is still largely cut off from the Western and Southern Caribbean and almost totally cut off from Latin America, our closest neighbours.
“It is quite clear from this that the Eastern Caribbean is in need of a more efficient and reliable regional feeder service that will not only connect it to the Western and Southern Caribbean and Latin America, but also provide equally efficient and reliable interconnection opportunities for our international airline partners,” he said.
Stuart was of the view that the feeder service needed to feature baggage policies, reservation systems and “a level of operational reliability that facilitates seamless interconnection between regional and international services”.
Before an audience that included tourism officials, the diplomatic corps, and British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh, Stuart noted that international transport was one of the main challenges faced by small island developing states in the development of their tourism sectors.
“How to move potential visitors from their home countries to the destination and back in a timely and efficient manner continues to challenge the ingenuity of our tourism planners.
“In today’s fast-paced world, a high premium is placed on time.
“The length of time taken to travel to and from the vacation spot can, conceivably, influence the choice of destination.
“Vacation time is today measured in hours and days and not in the weeks and months of a more leisurely period in days of yore,” he said.Stuart spoke about the attraction and maintenance of airlift.
“Experts in the field will all agree that securing airlift, while important, does not absolve actors in the industry of the obligation to use their best endeavours to ensure that that airlift is maintained.”
Stuart mentioned that Barbados had been responsive to developments in the air transport sector, adding that two of North America’s low-cost carriers, WestJet and JetBlue, currently offer year-round scheduled service into Barbados, with JetBlue offering daily service.
“If the current economic crisis has taught tourism practitioners anything, it is that no tourism source market is sacrosanct. Adverse economic conditions can affect any country and any client at any time.
“Destinations like ours must be prepared therefore, to extract the highest possible benefit from economies that remain strong or have become strong, wherever those economies may be,” he said.
Stuart said that Barbados was continuing to work to diversify its tourism source markets by exploring new markets in Europe, Latin America and even China, and at the same time was attempting to develop a new clientele within the traditional source markets – the United States, Canada and Britain.