What's Happening In Cayman?

Here are some lead stories from Cayman Marl Road media house.

Customs And Border Control Officer Charged

Customs and Border Control officer Shammar Gordon Cummings is facing allegations of misconduct after he was charged alongside four others with conspiring to import firearms, ammunition, and a controlled drug into the Cayman Islands.

The defendants appeared before the Grand Court on Friday, where the court heard that Cummings faces a single count of misconduct in a public office. He is jointly charged with four others—Zulecia Aurora Dilone Mambru, Douglas Omar Hurston, Jorge Escobar-Murillo, and Jeffrey Seymour Fernandez—on counts including conspiracy to import firearms, conspiracy to import ammunition, and conspiracy to import a controlled drug.

Indecent Exposure

Residents of the Cayman Islands are raising alarm after a man was spotted exposing himself and fondling his genitals at a popular public beach Monday morning, the latest in a string of reported incidents dating back to at least December of last year. Despite multiple police reports, a formal complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman, and the case being formally closed just weeks ago, the man remains unidentified and at large.

The most recent incident occurred around 7:20 a.m. Monday at the bottom of the stairs at Jack's Bar, where a woman encountered the man with his penis exposed. In a post to the Facebook group Women in Cayman, she described confronting him directly.

“I asked what he was doing and he said he didn't realise I was there,” she wrote. “He said he was picking sand off it when in fact he looked like he was admiring it. I said I don't care if I was or wasn't, this is wrong in every shape and form.”

Editor's Note

What can the state do? Lock him up permanently? This man has a mental problem.

Body Cameras For Cayman Police

The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) has announced that Body-Worn Cameras (BWC) for all frontline operational officers will be implemented by July 31st, 2026. The organization said this marks a significant step in its ongoing commitment to transparency, accountability, and the creation of a modern police service.

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Jamaica Heading To Join Haiti In The Trenches?

Our country is in a serious moral crisis, and this will continue to affect all aspects of national life. We are not sure who we are, and adults and children don't seem to know what they are working towards. We notice the Chinese and their culture of hard work, the Japanese and their efforts to have a cleaner environment, and the Americans who talk about the "American Dream." What is the vision of Jamaicans? What are we inculcating in our young people? 

Is Jamaica all about drinking, smoking cigarettes, smoking ganja, sex, having plenty of women, women looking for men to provide for them, and attending all the dancehall and carnival parties? Is that the Jamaica we are building?

You will notice that our leaders don't seem to think much of us either. Our leaders do not address these issues. It is all about removing one side because they are corrupt. But will things change when we change our leaders? Our leaders are more concerned about themselves than about the interests of the people.

The following are some areas I have identified where we are falling short.

• Disappearance of our moral compass.
• Lack of respect for authority.
• Support for evil things.
• Disappearance of our Jamaican culture.

Disappearance of Our Moral Compass

We now live in a society where there is not much concern for what is wrong and what is right. We push out figures about police killings and forget about the killings in society. Our women seem to have lost pride in themselves, and all a man has to say to her is, "Come ya gal." It seems that more men are also looking at other men to take care of them. Many women are no longer interested in family life, and their focus is on their career and making money.

Lack Of Respect For Authority

Generally, there is a lack of respect for authority. Management at the workplace cannot direct us. If they do, the response is, "Dem a fight dung di workers."

When I was a youngster, I could not disrespect a senior community member. Now, students have no respect for teachers and school principals. The system seems to have stripped teachers and principals of the authority they had before.

In the House of Parliament, we continue to disrespect and refuse to follow the directives of the Speaker of the House. We might not agree with some of the directives of our leaders, but being disruptive and playing to the gallery is not the way to go.

Support For Evil Things

At various levels in society, there is support for evil things and evil people. We seem to be more concerned about the rights of criminals than we are about the rights of victims and good citizens.

Whenever there is a confrontation between citizens and police officers, we jump to tear down the whole police force. I cannot recall there being any demonstrations for a policeman who was taken down by criminals. Yet, when a suspected criminal is killed, allegedly in a confrontation with the police, we hear how this man was a good, hardworking man and how he is innocent.

Preserving Our Culture

The talk these days is about preserving our culture. The emphasis is usually on dancehall and speaking patois. Whether we like it or not, some aspect of dancehall culture and mentality is bringing us to our knees.

We have selectively picked out a few things and called them part of our culture. Have we thought about the fact that many of our national foods and ways of cooking them have disappeared? Our diet is killing off our people and putting stress on the medical system.

Since we are so strong on culture these days, we should come up with a comprehensive policy on sustaining our great Jamaican culture.

Conclusion

As a people, we are more about hype and pure talk and very little action. Who will help us to change course? Who will ensure that there is prosperity? My final question is, "Are the people ready to build a great nation?

My concern is that if I had written a juicy piece of gossip discussing other people's business, blasting the politicians, and tearing down the police force, then I would get thousands of comments. Who cares? Mark my words, if we don't care, we will be joining Haiti in the trenches soon, and we could become another Sudan in the Caribbean.

I would love to hear what your solutions are if you believe there are challenges in our country. Add your comments below.

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Fake News About Transportation Lock Down In Jamaica!

There was no disruption caused by the transport operators' demonstration, and it is clear that the rumour was started by people who wanted to disrupt the system.

Bark Di Trute felt there would be no demonstration because the leadership of the transport sector was supposed to have a meeting at 10:00 am with some ministers of government.

My understanding is that the proposed fare increase will be taken to the cabinet in June for consideration. If the operators are not satisfied at that time, then there could be a disruption in the system.

The leadership of the transport sector met with Minister Vaz and Finance Minister Fayval Williams today. 

More senior police officers were invited to join the Emergency Alert System. This would allow the officers to be in touch with the media houses in real time, and they would keep the citizens informed of any challenges on our roads.

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Remember that Bark Di Trute could fail to bark one day without your support. Send your ideas, stories, and news by WhatsApp at (876) 816-5261.

You can view the blog with your computer at https://vderby.blogspot.com, and you will be able to see the various links. For example, there is a link that takes you to the calendar to see what is happening on the weekend. You can even search the site for articles. There is also a weather link, which you can use to track hurricanes.

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Relationship Between Police And Citizens

I just got a video that seems as if it is a recording of the incident where that female taxi driver was shot by the police in St. James. I have written about how police behave and how citizens respond to officers. I can only write, and I will write again. This video has motivated me to write this article. Thanks to my Bark Di Trute Supporters.

I am aware that with the dark blue outfits being worn by the police, it is difficult to identify officers, especially at nights, while they are working on the road.

Officers sometimes love to stay in some secluded areas at night and stop motorists. Motorists will not stop in certain areas when they are not certain that they are being stopped by officers. The aim of the police should not be to use a clandestine approach to deal with motorists so that they can issue tickets. This brings me to the idea of allowing officers to issue warning tickets and for drivers to be able to report other drivers for poor driving on the roads. We would need a computerized system that works very well.

Police officers involved in giving traffic directions used to wear white gloves. They had specific hand movements for you to stop or to make a turn, for example. These days, it seems that officers just make up hand directions while they are on the road, and this can be confusing to motorists.

I believe that a few officers still see themselves as the law; therefore, they do not greet citizens pleasantly, and they shout orders at citizens. Can you imagine how some of us feel to have an officer talking to us like wi a bwoy when you have taught officers who have retired from the force at a senior level?

How do we deal with this, Mr Commissioner? You need to have seminars and allow the officers to hear from ordinary citizens, and we can hear from the police officers. A cultural change is needed in the force. Cultural change does not mean speaking patois (LOL).

Citizens need to respect authority. When you are given an instruction by the police, you follow the instruction unless you are given an illegal instruction or you are incapable of carrying out the instruction. Fight it out in the courts with the police, do not fight it out on the streets. Remember that sometimes you can fight for your rights and end up being dead right. Don't follow some of your leaders in parliament who have absolutely no respect for the rules.

Citizens should not interfere with a scene of a crime nor try to crowd the police when they are working. You should not be inciting someone who has been accosted to resist arrest. You could end up being arrested for obstructing an officer. Those who are standing by will say, for example, "No mek di bwoy handcuff yu. Eee can' shoot yu because mi have it pan video". Really!

Let us take a look at this video, which was sent to me. My untrained eye tells me that the driver was being interrogated by the officers. Other people got involved in the excitement rather than looking for peace. An officer was standing in front of the vehicle when the driver attempted to move the car. The police took evasive action and shot the driver. I also noticed that the door of the car was still open when the car started to move off. That is my interpretation of what I saw in the video.

I will advise all political leaders to seek peace and not to make any comments to incite more tension in the area. Some of you were not there, so how are you giving reports? Some of you are probably just looking for popular support from the people, and that is a dangerous thing. Let INDECOM do its work. Stick to politics and not to politrics.

I know that people will say that this proves that the police should have body cameras. Yes, you are right, but cameras on the street and citizens having their phones to record things is also a good thing. When you are recording, stay at a distance so that it cannot be said you are interfering with police work.

Click to view the edited video below.

Note that I cannot ascertain if this is the video that was taken when the taxi lady was shot in St. James.

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Breaking News

Traffic on our streets could be disrupted on Monday, May 18, due to a possible protest for increased fares. Things could change depending on a meeting with Minister Vaz and transport operator leaders at 10:00 am.

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Please add your comments at the bottom of the blog. Share this blog with all your friends and relatives.

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Bark Di Trute requests that you click on the advertiser's link on the page and also donate to the work of Bark Di Trute. It takes cash to care!

_________________

 

_________________

Subscribe Now!

• Subscribe to my YouTube Channel.
• Subscribe to my Emergency News Advice Service.
• Make a financial donation now.

Remember that Bark Di Trute could fail to bark one day without your support. Send your ideas, stories, and news by WhatsApp at (876) 816-5261.

You can view the blog with your computer at https://vderby.blogspot.com, and you will be able to see the various links. For example, there is a link that takes you to the calendar to see what is happening on the weekend. You can even search the site for articles. There is also a weather link, which you can use to track hurricanes.

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Patois Hab Nuff Talk Dese Days!

On the UNESCO website, it defines culture as:

Culture is the shared way of life of a group of people. It encompasses the collective beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, arts, and knowledge that are passed down through generations. In short, it is the "personality" of a society, dictating how people interact, perceive the world, and solve problems

In Jamaica, if we should go by the behaviour and action of some leaders and many who have been blessed with tertiary level education, the culture in Jamaica is dancehall and patois.

Based on the UNESCO definition and my opinion as one who can think for myself, the sum total of our experience, which now forms part of our practices and our mores, societal norms, for example, have now become our culture. We have had forebears from Africa, India, Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world. Our post-independence leaders wisely have our motto as 'Out Of Many One People.'

Recently, we have been politically manoeuvred into believing that our dialect patois, being spoken in the Parliament, is a priority at this time. Practical and intelligent people would be pushing for us to learn languages such as Mandarin and Spanish, which would give us leverage in large markets. English is now our official language. Patois is not a language at this time. Leave patois alone and don't put the formality in and take away the beauty of our Jamaican dialect.

We can initiate change in our culture, but in a country where indiscipline is a major problem, going into the House of Parliament to break the rules to get attention so you can appear on radio and television programmes is a depraved form of leadership.

What Jamaica needs at this time is a comprehensive cultural policy framework for transforming this country into a nation of disciplined and productive people who are good at giving service. We are now just into he hype of speaking patois.

Our cultural practices as they relate to the food we now eat is hurting our health. The practice of bleaching and making changes to our bodies is an indication that we do not appreciate ourselves for who we are. Today you see a woman with a flat batty and the next time you see her, her batty bigger dan di biggest truck bumper. Today she has thin lips, and tomorrow the lips are broader dan any fan. Many are aspiring to be brownings and we therefore bleach their skins. Many regard hard work as slavery. These are some of the cultural issues that we need to deal with.

Our colonial past has been part of our experience. We cannot white it out nor black it out. When yu look pan some a wi, yu see, India, Europe, and Africa eena we. Wha wi a go do bout it? Those colonial things that are good for us let us keep them, and those that are bad, change them.

In the meantime, I will look out for a comprehensive cultural policy document from our political parties, which will be the road map to developing positive attitudes in our people, starting with those in parliament. Stop the hype about patois because the hype is taking us nowhere.

Mi luv mi patois. Tell dem people wey come up with patois dictionary, that language evolve, yu caan just put it eena book and tell di res a wi fi follow you. Who give yu dat authority? All when yu tun di bible eena patois, yu just a waste time. Don't rush things, patois will become a language one day when mi an yu dead and gone. Right now, bad eena patwah mean good and bad eena patois mean bad. Lef patois alone. We no need fi talk patois eena parliament fi get status. Patois hab status already. 

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Breaking News

Traffic on our streets could be disrupted on Monday, May 18, due to a possible protest for increased fares. Things could change depending on a meeting with Minister Vaz and transport operator leaders at 10:00 am.

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Please add your comments at the bottom of the blog. Share this blog with all your friends and relatives.

It is best to view the blog on a computer or in web view on your phone.

 ________________

Bark Di Trute requests that you click on the advertiser's link on the page and also donate to the work of Bark Di Trute. It takes cash to care!

_________________

 

_________________

Subscribe Now!

• Subscribe to my YouTube Channel.
• Subscribe to my Emergency News Advice Service.
• Make a financial donation now.

Remember that Bark Di Trute could fail to bark one day without your support. Send your ideas, stories, and news by WhatsApp at (876) 816-5261.

You can view the blog with your computer at https://vderby.blogspot.com, and you will be able to see the various links. For example, there is a link that takes you to the calendar to see what is happening on the weekend. You can even search the site for articles. There is also a weather link, which you can use to track hurricanes.

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NCB Do You Care For Your Customers?

Have a look at the video below.

A bank that allows its customers to be herded in a space like this, like animals, has no respect for those who help them earn major revenues.

The operations manager needs to take a look at this situation and come up with a solution. When we heard about ABM, we thought that the days of long lines in our banks had come to an end.

This is a disgrace. This video was captured at MegaMart in Kingston.

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Please add your comments at the bottom of the blog. Share this blog with all your friends and relatives.

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Bark Di Trute requests that you click on the advertiser's link on the page and also donate to the work of Bark Di Trute. It takes cash to care!

_________________

 

_________________

Subscribe Now!

• Subscribe to my YouTube Channel.
• Subscribe to my Emergency News Advice Service.
• Make a financial donation now.

Remember that Bark Di Trute could fail to bark one day without your support. Send your ideas, stories, and news by WhatsApp at (876) 816-5261.

You can view the blog with your computer at https://vderby.blogspot.com, and you will be able to see the various links. For example, there is a link that takes you to the calendar to see what is happening on the weekend. You can even search the site for articles. There is also a weather link, which you can use to track hurricanes.

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