cayman compass Your most trusted news source Established 1965 $1 | Funding local journalism | Weekly, 26 February - 4 March 2021 Cayman placed on FATF grey list Page 3 Coalition campaign in the offi ng Page 3 Farm to fork in 20,000 miles The epic journeys behind a single Cayman meal. Page 22 100% hoppe r® 0% Beef 100% Whop per ® 0% Beef 100% Whop per ® 0% Beef Patty made from plants. TM & © 2020 Burger King Corporation. Impossible is a trademark of Impossible Foods Inc. Used under license. Hollywood coming to Cayman Page 17Matinees (matinee price before 6pm) • Seniors $8.00 (Mon-Fri before 6pm) Additional charges apply per 3D/VIP tickets 640-FILM (640-3456) Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 SATURDAY NIGHT: For your viewing pleasure, minors under the age of 18 will not be admitted to any film starting after 6pm, unless accompanied by their parent. 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FIND US ONLINE Caymancompass.com Facebook.com/Caycompass cayman_compass@cayCompassCayman Compass Premier: Vaccination rate could mean April/May border reopening Premier Alden McLaughlin says if Cayman’s COVID-19 vaccination rate continues at its current pace, the islands’ borders could reopen by late April or early May. Speaking at a press briefi ng, the premier said once 70% of the population has received a second dose of the vaccine, people would be able to enter Cayman without quarantining. He said that he believed the fi rst target of vaccinating 90% of the islands’ over-60 age bracket was likely to be reached “within another few weeks”, as more than 81% of that demographic have already received at least one shot. Once 90% have received both doses, Cayman’s quarantine period for visitors would likely be reduced from 14 days to 10 days. However, the premier said, “I’m even more excited at the prospect of us getting 70% of the overall population vaccinated, which would mean we can do away with quarantine periods altogether. Meanwhile, Cayman’s fourth shipment of Pfi zer-BioNTech vaccines will arrive on 11 March, Governor Martyn Roper has confi rmed. Rivers announces she won’t run in upcoming election Financial Services and Home Affairs Minister Tara Rivers, the representative of West Bay South, has announced that she does not intend to run for offi ce in the April general election. Rivers, who ran as an independent candidate, was fi rst elected as a representative of West Bay in the 2013 election, and she has served two terms. During the previous administration, she was the minister for education. Throughout her two terms, she remained as an independent member of Premier Alden McLaughlin’s successive coalition governments. Rivers announced her decision not to stand in the election at a press briefi ng on 24 Feb. She would not say what she planned to do next, stating that “there are lots of options” and that she hoped to “help the country in whatever capacity I can”. Deadly coral disease moves closer to Seven Mile Beach The Department of Environment is appealing to divers to help monitor stony coral tissue loss disease, which is spreading at about a mile a month towards Seven Mile Beach. The disease was found in stony corals on Grand Cayman’s North Wall last summer and, in October, the DoE shut down 43 dive sites in the area in an attempt to combat its spread. Tammi Warrender of the DoE told the Cayman Compass, “Unfortunately, SCTLD continues to spread along the reef and is getting closer to Seven Mile.” The DoE has trained 30 divers to identify and manage the disease and there are 10 individuals who are dedicated to helping the department’s staff in the fi eld every week, Wallander said, adding that new people are reaching out weekly to offer their assistance. Government mulls capping post-COVID cruise numbers Once Cayman’s borders reopen, the islands are unlikely to welcome back the large numbers of cruise tourists seen in recent years, and if cruise ships do return, numbers are likely to be capped, Premier Alden McLaughlin stated on 23 Feb. He said his government had decided not to proceed with the controversial cruise berthing facility proposed for George Town, and building such berths would not be part of the “coalition manifesto” for the upcoming election. He insisted that he was not suggesting that Cayman entirely abandon cruise tourism, “but we cap the numbers so that our current system can accommodate them in a better way and the experience for those who do visit can be better”. The premier added that Cayman had learned to survive without cruise tourism over the past year and it was time to look at diversifying the industry, such as embracing medical tourism. He was speaking at a briefi ng to announce the location of the new Aster Cayman Medcity hospital in West Bay. Last week, the premier also announced the expansion of Health City into Camana Bay, where it will build a $100 million, 70-bed hospital. Privy Council hears Cayman’s same-sex marriage case The third and fi nal legal battle over the issue of whether same- sex marriage should be legalised in the Cayman Islands began on 23 Feb., before the Privy Council in the UK. At the heart of the civil dispute are two questions. The fi rst is whether Cayman’s Bill of Rights, as set out in the Constitution, provides for the right for same-sex couples to be married. If so, the second question asks whether the Grand Court’s 2019 ruling, that changed the wording of the Marriage Law to legalise same- sex marriage, should be restored. The appellants, Chantelle Day and Vickie Bodden Bush, took their case to the UK’s highest court with the hopes that it would side with Cayman’s Grand Court and make same- sex marriage legal in Cayman. In doing so, the Privy Council would set aside the Court of Appeal’s ruling that has kept marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Premier Alden McLaughlin and Finance Minister Tara Rivers outside her West Bay South headquarters following her announcement that she will not be seeking re-election on 14 April. – Photo: Reshma Ragoonath news in brief For the full stories, visit www.caymancompass.com cayman compass 2 N news FRIDAY, 26 FEBRUARY 2021NORMA CONNOLLY nconnolly@compassmedia.ky With just days to go until 1 March, Nomination Day, negotiations were already under way to create a Progressives-led coalition campaign. After dropping hints about a “coalition manifesto” in comments during press conferences throughout the month, Premier Alden McLaughlin confirmed on 24 Feb. that he was talking to representatives from “almost every constituency” in the Cayman Islands, as “we are doing everything we can to form the next administration”. The current administration consists of a 12-member-strong coalition of Progressives, the Cayman Democratic Party (formerly the United Democratic Party) and independents. As of 25 Feb., East End hopeful Isaac Rankine was the only non- incumbent independent candidate to state that, if elected, he would opt to join the government benches. However, he issued a statement clarifying he was not joining the Progressives party. Rankine met with the premier on 24 Feb., “to explore the opportunity to enable the district of East End to emerge from the political wilderness that we have been languishing in for the past 20 years,” he said in the statement. Rankine will be taking on veteran MP and Leader of the Opposition Arden McLean, who has held the East End seat for 12 years, over three consecutive terms. Asked about his meeting with Rankine, McLaughlin stated, “Isaac and his committee are continuing to explore how best they can position him as a candidate to become a member of the next administration. Currently, his committee – and I think most of the country – views the Progressive-led coalition as really being the only organised entity there is contesting these elections and therefore the most likely to form the next administration. It’s just very sensible politics.” The premier was speaking at a briefing called by West Bay South MP Tara Rivers, who serves in McLaughlin’s Cabinet as financial services minister, where she announced that she did not intend to run for re-election this year. According to McLaughlin, her seat had been considered a “certain” one, so his party now would look to fielding a candidate in that constituency – which the premier said was unlikely – or forming an alliance with another party candidate or an independent. He told reporters he was not in a position to confirm he had an agreement with any specific candidate in West Bay South to become a part of the coalition, but said, “We are talking to a number of people. I believe most of the persons that we are aware of who will contest that seat will be prepared to work with the government.” As of 25 Feb., Raul Nicholson-Coe, an independent, was the only candidate to have officially announced he planned to run in West Bay South. McKeeva Bush, who had served as Speaker of the House between 2017 and the dissolution of parliament in early February, is running again in his constituency of West Bay West. His conviction for assaulting a female bar manager at Coral Beach bar last year led to calls for him to be removed as Speaker, and a push for a no-confidence motion and debate on the issue essentially led to the election being called earlier than the original 24 May date. He has been a member of the coalition National Unity Government since the 2017 election. On 26 Feb., Mario Ebanks, a former Progressives party member, announced his declaration to run against Bush. Asked if he would be willing to work with a coalition government, Ebanks said, “At this time, I can say that while it is possible I would join a coalition government, it would depend on who the people are that comprise it and what is their agenda or manifesto. I am however an independent candidate and no longer affiliated with the Progressives since I resigned from them in 2012.” Aspiring candidates are required to seek formal nomination on 1 March in order to contest the 14 April ballot. McLaughlin eyes coalition campaign A blank billboard on a Grand Cayman roadside awaits a poster to publicise a general election candidate. In the run-up to 1 March, Nomination Day, candidates were already beginning negotiations to determine if they would be willing to join a coalition campaign. MICHAEL KLEIN mklein@compassmedia.ky The Financial Action Task Force has added the Cayman Islands to its grey list of countries whose anti- money laundering (AML) practices are under increased monitoring. The global AML standard- setter blamed a lack of fines and enforcement actions by Cayman’s regulatory bodies for the move. It comes two years after its regional body, the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, released a critical mutual evaluation report that highlighted a range of shortcomings in Cayman’s AML regime. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, 25 Feb. FATF president Marcus Pleyer said Cayman must improve “in the area of sanctions on financial institutions for AML breaches” and its regulators “must show that they penalise those who do not provide accurate up-to-date beneficial ownership information”. “These are two crucial issues,” Pleyer said. Noting that the Cayman Islands is a major financial centre, he added, “From countries [that] have higher risks, we expect commensurate measures against this risk and that is the reason why the Caymans are now on the so- called grey list.” While it is not as severe as the FATF’s blacklist, which currently only includes the uncooperative countries Iran and North Korea, being placed on the grey list is still a reputational blow for the Cayman Islands. The FATF does not call for the application of enhanced due diligence with regard to grey- listed countries, but encourages its members to take the noted deficiencies into account in their risk analysis. Cayman will now have to work on implementing an agreed action plan within the next 15 months under the monitoring of the FATF and the CFATF. The FATF said Cayman has made a high-level political commitment in February 2021 to work with the two organisations to strengthen the effectiveness of its AML regime. The action plan focusses on applying effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions and taking administrative penalties and enforcement actions to ensure that breaches are quickly remediated. Those who do not file accurate and up-to-date beneficial ownership information should also face effective sanctions. In addition, Cayman, in line with its risk profile, must demonstrate that all types of money laundering are prosecuted and that such prosecutions result in proportionate penalties. As well as Cayman, the FATF added Morocco, Burkina Faso and Senegal to the list of countries under increased monitoring. Other countries already on the grey list are Albania, Barbados, Botswana, Cambodia, Jamaica, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zimbabwe. The FATF noted that since the completion of its mutual evaluation report in November 2018, the Cayman Islands had made progress on a number of the recommended actions. This included an update of the national AML strategy; conducting a terrorism financing risk assessment as well as a number of sectoral risk assessments; amendments to the AML regulations and Proceeds of Crime Law; designating an AML regulator for non-financial business and professions that are subject to AML rules; and creating a new Bureau of Financial Investigations for investigating money-laundering offences. In a press release, the government said Cayman had been “adjudged to have satisfactorily completed 60 of 63 recommended actions”. Premier Alden McLaughlin said, “The three remaining recommended actions are about the continuing effectiveness of our legal framework, in terms of compliance and enforcement in detecting and deterring financial crime, and recent work by our agencies substantiates our progress in these areas.” He said government and the private sector had worked together for years to address the evolving local and global risk of financial crime. “As a result, today’s FATF report recognises that overall, our AML/CFT/CPF framework is fairly robust in fighting these crimes.” Attorney General Samuel Bulgin, who is also chairman of the Cayman Islands Anti-Money Laundering Steering Group, described Cayman’s response to the recommended actions as robust. “Prior to the CFATF report in March 2019, our public and private sectors continued to address the FATF standard through updated legislative, regulatory and law enforcement measures,” Bulgin said. “Government’s commitment today reaffirms the priority that the Cayman Islands continues to place upon meeting global AML standards.” While the action plan for the Cayman Islands focusses on the effectiveness of its AML regime, the attorney general noted the jurisdiction’s “excellent outcome” with regards to technical compliance due to its modernised legislative framework, stating that the Cayman Islands was now compliant or largely compliant with 39 of the 40 FATF recommended standards. Cayman placed on FATF grey list FATF president Marcus Pleyer speaking online at a press conference on Thursday, 25 Feb. Check votecayman.com for all the latest election coverage. cayman compass 3 news N news FRIDAY, 26 FEBRUARY 20211234567 89 101112 13 1415 16 171819 20 212223 2425 1234567 89 101112 13 1415 16 171819 20 212223 2425 ACROSS 1 Obsequious (7) 5 Accumulate (5) 8 To backfire (9) 9 A cereal plant (3) 10 To utter (4) 12 Ineluctable natural event (3,2,3) 14 Groundless rumour (6) 15 Short sleep (6) 17 English light opera composer (8) 18 Smile radiantly (4) 21 Flee (3) 22 Suggest successful outcome (5,4) 24 Thorax (5) 25 Daring feat (7) DOWN 1 Tale conveying a moral (5) 2 To court (3) 3 Entry in an account (4) 4 Brief look (6) 5 Virtually (2,4,2) 6 Overweening conceit (9) 7 Accelerate (5,2) 11 Without speaking (2,7) 13 Watchful against danger (8) 14 Of the stomach (7) 16 Bargain contentiously (6) 19 Obtain by fraud (5) 20 To abandon (4) 23 Self-esteem (3) The Compass Crossword Puzzle The Compass universal kakuro Puzzle 16625 The numbers in the black cells are clues. Numbers above the slash are across clues. Number below the slash are down clues. The goal is to enter digits 1 - 9 in the white cells to add up to the number clues. You cannot enter any digit more than once when adding up to clue. TODAY'S SOLUTIONS Puzzle 16625 ACROSS: 1 Fawning, 5 Amass, 8 Boomerang, 9 Rye, 10 Emit, 12 Act of God, 14 Gossip, 15 Catnap, 17 Sullivan, 18 Beam, 21 Run, 22 Augur well, 24 Chest, 25 Exploit. DOWN: 1 Fable, 2 Woo, 3 Item, 4 Glance, 5 As good as, 6 Arrogance, 7 Speed up, 11 In silence, 13 Vigilant, 14 Gastric, 16 Haggle, 19 Mulct, 20 Drop, 23 Ego. Cayman fi lm-maker lands Netfl ix movie deal I really hope he films it here. He did for ‘Haven’, so very likely. Can’t wait to watch on Netflix. – Paul Tyler Awesome. Hope he uses Cayma- nians in as many scenes as he can put them in.... local fill-ins would be absolutely awesome. – Donna Richards Amazing news! I would visit your dad every day while he went for his swim. Waiting to come back to the island. – Sharon Emmerson Health City and Dart to build $100 million hospital in Camana Bay No doubt, another healthcare facility is a welcomed addition to the island. However, the proposed location is on a once vibrant man- grove swamp with all three spe- cies of mangroves (red, white, and black). This area is also home to many herons and Cayman parrots. Further, is it wise to place a healthcare facility (much less a school) next to a landfi ll? – Brandon Dale We need a better NICU on island other than Health Services Authority. This is great news for parents of multiples! – Tiffany Ann Rankin Premier: Vaccination rate could mean April/May border reopening I note the comment about some visitors over 60 getting the vaccine even though they are not legally resident here. If they are here at all, it should mean they are here for some time and own a home here. They are just as capable of getting sick, taking up a hospital bed and spreading that sickness to others as anyone else. – Norman Linton Hopefully the border reopen- ing will be more realistic for families than what is currently proposed to have to still do full quarantine for 15 days if travel- ling with children. Even vaccinat- ed adults would carry the same risk of transmission so the quar- antine period should be the same for both adults and children. – Jackie Myles Late April is two months away. It’s time to have a proper reopening plan so that the tour- ism industry can contribute to a successful reopening. – Troy Leacock Government mulls capping post- COVID cruise numbers I just want this COVID crap to be over so I can visit Cayman again soon; already cancelled our trip this year. We’ve made many local friends and I am thank- ful they’re all healthy. Looking forward to reconnecting as soon as possible. – Glenn Peters When the borders reopen, we are fl ying out to stay at our favourite island. – Elizabeth Husak You guys have done great down there. Keep up the good work. – Dave Lockhart I guarantee if cruise ships start coming back, so will your COVID cases. Cruise ships are a cesspool! – Michele Vanderford I wish Grand Cayman would go back to how it was in the ‘80s – very selective and limited to how many ships come in and for how many hours a day. – Valerie Nuyen Final landfi ll contract likely before election With no disrespect, hurry up, sign it. Long overdue now. Because, for years now, the elec- tion campaign talks were always about resolving the issue about the dump, ‘Mount Trashmore’. – Darlene Mckenzie So, can anyone tell me why this Dart company is getting a bigger foothold by the day if the government could make other more attractive deals to voters? – Jerry Young Do you know the energy we can get from the dump alone? We do not need to be abused by CUC! That is what government needs to look into. – Cici Rainford What they’re saying Online Will you be supporting an establishment candidate, or are you looking to vote in a fresh face? cayman compass Total: 421 Undecided New candidate Establishment/ incumbent candidate ONLINE POLL 56% 235 22% 92 22% 94 cartoon Mars - By Caymanman cayman compass 4 news N news FRIDAY, 26 FEBRUARY 2021RESHMA RAGOONATH rragoonath@compassmedia.ky About one in six students in Year 9 to Year 12 have seriously considered killing themselves, data from the latest National Drug Council Student Drug Use survey has shown. Dr. Erica Lam, clinical consultant at the Alex Panton Foundation, shared that sobering information as she addressed the foundation’s fourth annual Youth Mental Health Symposium, held 20 Feb. at the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman. “Some of the data is heartbreaking, but I want us to be able to take away one message… put in context with the power and accessibility of our services, we can change these numbers,” Lam said as she presented the statistics which were gathered before the COVID-19 lockdown. The mental health findings of the survey, in which 3,478 students between the ages of 12 and 17 participated, were released at the symposium. The results showed a 13% increase in students agreeing they understood issues surrounding mental health. Lam, who is also a clinical psychologist at Aspire Therapeutic Services, said the survey’s findings showed a decrease in some areas, demonstrating that programmes assisting students in dealing with their emotions were having an impact. However, self-harm remains a concern, Lam pointed out, as overall 27.4%, or 626, of students reported that they have engaged in self- harming behaviours such as: cutting (20.3%), scratching /pinching (13%), hitting or banging body parts (12.2%) and interfering with wounds (6.7%). More girls (41.8%), reported this behaviour than boys (12.1%), the survey showed. Significantly, a greater number of girls than boys engage in self-harm (40.8% vs. 13.7%), with cutting the most common method. “About 22.4% of students who were engaging in self-harm had attempted suicide,” the survey showed. With self-harm, Lam said, the risk of attempting suicide is seven times higher. “As clinical professionals, we must be mindful to follow through with risk-assessment protocols because the risk is high when it comes to self-harming and suicide attempts,” she stressed. Compared to 2018’s survey results, in 2020 there were fewer students reporting attempted suicides; however, 202 said they had attempted to take their own lives. “Globally speaking, suicide remains one of the top three leading causes of death among our young people in the low- to middle-income countries,” Lam said, adding it accounted for 8% of deaths among those aged 15 to 29, according to World Health Organization data. Half of those who had attempted suicide in Cayman, 101 students, or 4.4%, reported that they had to be treated by a doctor or nurse. Girls struggle more with self- image When it came to how students felt about themselves, twice as many girls, 34%, said they did not feel happy compared to 17.3% of boys expressing dissatisfaction with themselves. Girls also reported higher levels of anxiety and depression than boys on all subscales except for generalised anxiety disorder, the survey found. Lam pointed out that Cayman’s statistics under the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) were high compared to global data which show that overall 10% of students between 5 and 15 years old will have a mental health disorder, including 4% (of that 10%) with an emotional disorder and less than 1% suffering from depression. “However, in the Cayman Islands the data suggests that we have over 5% in each of these categories,” Lam said. Those categories were social phobia (5.6%,) panic disorder (5.3%,) generalised anxiety (5.1%) and depression (4.5%,), based on 2020 stats. RCADS is a 47-item youth self- report questionnaire, with subscales including: separation anxiety disorder and panic disorder, and is used as an assessment tool. Lam suggested that services should be more gender sensitive as, according to the survey, girls require more management of mental health issues. Boys, on the other hand, require professional help to deal with social and behavioural challenges connected to their aggression-related difficulties and delinquency. It recommended more community approaches to lower the risks of abuse and trauma, and increase services addressing unresolved trauma as a way to manage the risk of suicide. The survey recommended promoting increased awareness within the community to be able to flag young people in mental distress. Additionally, it suggested a clear referral pathway be made accessible to the public and young people. Addressing bullying at school and reducing exposure of violence at home and in the community were some of the other suggestions put forward to help students. Among the ways to provide that support, according to the survey, were “Community workshops and psychoeducation about management of suicide ideation, provided to family, peers, and school; [and] targeting the age group that report the higher rate of difficulties (Year 8 and above).” RESHMA RAGOONATH rragoonath@compassmedia.ky Health Minister Dwayne Seymour recently opened up about his childhood and the challenges he faced growing up with a father struggling with mental health issues. Speaking at the Alex Panton Foundation Youth Mental Health Symposium, he stressed the importance of breaking the stigma that surrounds seeking psychiatric help, one he experienced first-hand growing up. “Imagine at 10 years, after being teased that your father’s crazy. I sat down, I’m trying to work out when and what age I would go crazy… Also not fully understanding what was going on, that’s what I thought as a young man,” Seymour told participants at the symposium. He said his ministry supports creating an adolescent mental health hub at the Cayman Islands Hospital, in partnership with the Health Services Authority, which would provide much-needed specialised services for young people. That project, he said, was delayed by the pandemic, but he anticipated it would be launched by the fourth quarter of this year Lack of services a challenge The minister, in commending the work of the foundation, reflected on the lack of similar support when he was growing up, as he recounted the struggles he went through as a child who had a parent challenged by mental health issues. “I tried all my life… not to be seen as crazy because that’s what they call my father,” said an emotional Seymour. The symposium, themed ‘Youth Mental Wellness: Reflection, Recovery and Resilience’, focussed on the challenges COVID-19 presented in relation to mental health issues and programmes available to young people. Seymour told the audience that he struggled to understand what was happening with his father, who was a successful seaman and popular in the community. He said, back then, he made a commitment to not do drugs because someone said his father did that. “So after hearing that, I said, ‘Well, if my father did drugs maybe that’s what caused the mental health problem?’ I didn’t know. I was young … 9, 10 years old at the time,” he said, adding later on he would better understand what his father was going through. After receiving help, Seymour said, he realised that his father “wasn’t crazy”. He said his father was sent to a mental health ward in Jamaica and he visited him a couple of times during the 10 years he was there. Seymour said that after his father overcame his challenges, he opted to remain in Jamaica to work. “He didn’t want to come home, back to the same community around the same people because he thought he would go back to the same things,” Seymour said. He shared that his father was told by his doctor that his heart was weak and the elder Seymour agreed to come home to Cayman in 2011 because he wanted to die in his native country. He said his father wanted to celebrate his last birthday in Jamaica before coming home in February of that year. The ticket for the flight to Cayman had already been booked, but two days before his father’s birthday the elder Seymour died. “For me, coming to this symposium is a must,” he said, adding, “I know what it feels like never to have a father.” Seymour said it was that experience that helped him to see mental health issues differently and push for a mental health facility on island so families would not be separated. As it stands now, those needing long-term treatment are either sent to Jamaican facilities or, in some cases, to the United States. Last year, the Ministry of Health announced that work had resumed on the construction of the long-term residential mental health facility, which is planned for East End. Construction was expected to be completed by the end of this year. Students struggle with suicidal thoughts, self-harm Spotlight on mental health Health Minister opens up about painful childhood Health Minister Dwayne Seymour. – Photo: Reshma Ragoonath Self-harming behaviour Burning 5% Other 4% Hitting 21% Pinching 23% Cutting 35% Interferring with wounds 12% cayman compass 5 news N news FRIDAY, 26 FEBRUARY 2021Congratulations to Tiffany Clarke (nee Anderson) on her promotion on January 1, 2021 to Director, European Head of Private Credit Fund Finance, Barings London Office. Barings is a $345+ Billion Global Investment Manager with a global footprint in 16 countries across four continents. Tiffany is also the co-founder and co-chair of the Barings Black Talent Network (BBTN), the first of its kind being a community pillar scheme to mentor young people with career choices and training programmes for graduates. Additionally, in 2019 Tiffany was nominated to attend the British Talent Accelerator Programme for rising star managers. This is the only programme of its kind in the UK where she graduated with peers from other global firms and industries. This well-deserved promotion shows that you are a trailblazer and an inspiration for young Caymanians. I am extremely proud of your accomplishments – onwards and upwards. From your Dad Gregg V. Anderson ANDREL HARRIS aharris@compassmedia.ky Revellers from Cayman’s LGBTQ+ community are set to take to the streets on 31 July for a three-day weekend during the islands’ inaugural gay pride parade. The announcement of the street procession, which is set to take place in George Town, comes at a time when LGBTQ+ issues remain a divisive topic throughout Cayman. Cayman LGBTQ Foundation founder and president Noel Cayasso-Smith is encouraging voters to consider these topics when they head to the polls on 14 April and to question a candidate’s stance on rights for LGBTQ+ persons when they vote. His call follows a controversial debate which took place in the Legislative Assembly last July over domestic partnership legislation. On 23 and 24 Feb., the UK’s highest court, the Privy Council, heard the appeal case of same-sex couple Chantelle Day and Vickie Bodden Bush who are challenging Cayman’s Marriage Law, which restricts marriage to a union between a man and a woman. Despite the timing of the announcement, organisers of the parade said it is not a political or public statement. “This parade will be no different from other parades such as Batabano, CayMas or Pirates Week,” said Cayasso- Smith. “Every other country has one, so why can’t we?” He said the parade is expected to follow the route of the annual Pirates Week parade and will begin on South Church Street and then end by the George Town Post offi ce, followed by a street dance along Cardinal Avenue. Cayasso-Smith said the gay pride parade was born out of necessity, after they were turned away from entering their own fl oat in last year’s Batabano parade, which was eventually cancelled due to COVID-19 suppression restrictions. “Previously, we approached Batabano and asked to enter our own fl oat, but the organisers told us no because they feared it would be making a political statement,” said Cayasso- Smith. “We were told if we wanted to be in the parade, we should go start our own, so that’s what we did. “Although this is a gay pride parade, it’s open to the entire community, straight, gay, bi, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “We have always opened our events to people outside of the LGBTQ Foundation, all we ask is that when you come, you treat everyone with respect.” Cayasso-Smith said he anticipates there will be opposition to the parade and has requested that police be present during the events. Gay pride parade planned for July “Although this is a gay pride parade, it’s open to the entire community, straight, gay, bi, it doesn’t matter; you are welcome to attend.” Noel Cayasso-Smith, Cayman LGBTQ Foundation founder and president Noel Cayasso-Smith Catch up on the news Five minutes. All news. All Cayman. Log on to caymancompass.com or Cayman Compass social media pages for our weekly news recap. caymancompass.com Gay pride parades, like this one in Thessaloniki, Greece, are held annually in many countries worldwide. cayman compass 6 news N news FRIDAY, 26 FEBRUARY 2021NORMA CONNOLLY nconnolly@compassmedia.ky Anthony Cohen sits atop a $300,000 piece of heavy machinery in a field down a dusty lane in North Side. He switches on the tractor engine and slowly lowers a boxy, yellow piece of equipment with toothed, metal rotary blades onto the rocky ground. And then the grinding starts. In a few short minutes, he has transformed an area of solid rock and hard-packed earth into soil fine enough to drizzle through one’s fingers, as Cohen, Beacon Farms’ machinery supervisor, demonstrates. This equipment is among the state- of-the-art innovations at work at Beacon Farms, where the staff consists mostly of recovering drug and alcohol addicts being given a second chance at employment and life. On the farm, off Frank Sound Road, the workers grow tobacco, beets, coconuts, and other fruit and vegetables. There is also a modern composting facility where tons of green waste, dropped off by landscapers and gardeners, old cardboard boxes and wooden pallets delivered by Foster’s Countryside and Progressive, and other organic waste, is turned into fertiliser, in a super-heated process, for the various crops. And there is a processing plant where modern equipment is used to convert coconuts into pure coconut oil and flour. Inside the farm’s office building, sophisticated software, used in combination with aerial images of the land and detailed information on individual plots, for example, can pinpoint an exact tree and make a determination of the breakdown of the type of soil underneath it, when it was planted, its expected yield and when it should be harvested. But it’s not all high-tech equipment and cutting-edge technology. Ultimately, it’s a working farm, with crops and farmhands. For example, standing near a quarter-acre field of tobacco is a thatch-covered, A-frame, wooden shed, that would not have looked out of place centuries ago. This is the tobacco-drying building, where harvested tobacco leaves are draped over the rafters and other wooden slats, with burners placed on the floors to help reduce humidity. Granger Haugh, founder of the Beacon of Hope Foundation and its offshoot Beacon Farms, says the farm almost exclusively employs recovering addicts, several of whom live on site at a house that the workers themselves renovated. The staff come to Beacon Farms after spending months in recovery at the Bridge Foundation’s half-way house. Bud Volinsky, co-founder of both Beacon Farms and the Bridge Foundation, also lives on the farm. “We thought if we could furnish a housing area plus create a work environment, it would provide a second step from the Bridge Foundation… and help in the process of bringing people back into the normal world,” Haugh says. “The only rule we have is there is no alcohol or drugs on the premises.” Workers at the 34- acre farm, who receive a salary, pension and health insurance, undergo spot checks for alcohol and drugs. Those who lapse are asked to leave and will only be allowed to return if they have gone back into the recovery programme and spent more time at the half-way house. Retired executive Haugh was the founder of US-based Cliniqa Corporation, which designed and manufactured liquid stable controls and calibrators used worldwide in the medical diagnostic industry. Upon the sale of the family company, he created the Haugh Family Foundation, which is dedicated to supporting US veterans, creating inclusive learning opportunities for special needs children, and social entrepreneurship opportunities for people in recovery from drugs and alcohol. Haugh and his foundation bought the property, which used to belong to the family of the late Speaker of the House Edna Moyle, in spring 2017. The first crop they decided to begin processing was coconuts, but that hit a snag. “When we decided to get into the coconut business back in 2018, there were lots and lots of brown coconuts available. By the time we got the equipment in and started to go through the processing... there was a real dearth of coconuts on the island. When A beacon of modern agriculture “We’re waiting to have an appropriate leaf from the farm here in order to introduce a 100% Cayman-grown cigar. It could be 2022 or 2023 before we reach that goal.” Granger Haugh, founder, Beacon Farms cayman compass news N news FRIDAY, 26 FEBRUARY 2021 7 PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 14» Anthony Cohen drives the tractor and grinder that turns rocks and hard-packed earth into arable soil at Beacon Farm. Beacon Farms founder Granger Haugh stands among the latest crop of tobacco plants at the farm. - Photos: Taneos Ramsaycayman compass 8 FRIDAY, 26 FEBRUARY 2021cayman compass 9 FRIDAY, 26 FEBRUARY 2021Next >