Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09NASSAU133
2009-03-04 18:24:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Nassau
Cable title:
NASSAU MONTHLY - FEBRUARY 2009
how-toPaul I Jukic 05/08/2009 11:40:33 AM From DB/Inbox: Search Results Cable Text: UNCLAS NASSAU 00133 CXNASSAU: ACTION: AMB INFO: DCM POL ECON DISSEMINATION: AMB /1 CHARGE: PROG APPROVED: CDA:TZUNIGA-BROWN DRAFTED: ECON:KRABASSA CLEARED: POL/ECON:JDUBEL VZCZCBHI259 RR RUEHC RUCNCOM DE RUEHBH #0133/01 0631824 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 041824Z MAR 09 FM AMEMBASSY NASSAU TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6167 INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NASSAU 000133
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ETRD PGOV PREL BF
SUBJECT: NASSAU MONTHLY - FEBRUARY 2009
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NASSAU 000133
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ETRD PGOV PREL BF
SUBJECT: NASSAU MONTHLY - FEBRUARY 2009
1. This is a monthly report on a variety of topics of interest
which do not merit full reporting cables.
--------------
FOOTBALL AND PAGEANTRY = TOURISM
--------------
2. On March 2 Prime Minister Ingraham announced that the 2009 Miss
Universe Pageant will be held at the Atlantis Resort in August,
bringing in over 80 contestants and their entourages from around the
world. In addition, The Bahamas is set to host the 59th Congress of
the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) at the
Atlantis Resort in May/June. The GCOB is hoping the combination of
brawn and beauty will bring a much needed tourism boost to the
struggling island economy in coming months.
--------------
BLOGGING RESULTS IN IGUANA KILLERS ARRESTED
--------------
3. Two American citizens were arrested in Exuma on February 3 after
authorities discovered they had killed, grilled, and eaten
endangered iguanas. To make matters worse, the pair was also caught
with undersized conch on their vessel. Bahamian authorities got
wind of the story after the visitors posted photos of their barbecue
on Facebook. The photos upset many and quickly made their way from
Atlantis Resort employees to the Bahamas National Trust to the
Embassy and media in a matter of 24 hours. The two Americans have
since been released on bail and returned to the United States.
4. In a separate incident on March 1, American tourists posted
details of their stay at Hog Cay, including pictures of a plucked
duck in a roasting pan ready for the oven, to a blog. They are
suspected of trespassing on the private island, terrorizing a flock
of wild ducks and slaughtering a pet duck. Bahamian police are
currently investigating.
--------------
CLICO MELTDOWN
--------------
5. More than 100 agents stand to lose their jobs as CLICO (Bahamas)
Ltd, the country's largest insurance company, is liquidated.
Concerns in The Bahamas were raised when Trinidad-based parent
company, CL Financial, received a government bail out in January
after suffering major financial losses. As the liquidator - Baker,
Tilly, and Gomez - seeks a buyer, the Prime Minister encouraged all
policy holders to continue making payments, even as worried peopled
lined up out the door of the conglomerate to check on their policies
and, in some cases, cancel existing plans.
--------------
FULL HOUSE AT EMBASSY MLK ESSAY EVENT
--------------
6. On February 13 Embassy Nassau hosted a ceremony in honor of the
winners of this year's Martin Luther King, Jr. essay competition.
Post received 105 essay nominations from 19 different schools
throughout The Bahamas. Two grand prize winners (one representing
New Providence schools and one representing the Family Island
schools) each received a laptop computer and books. The three
additional winners and four honorable mentions received books on the
life of MLK and President Obama. All of the prizes were generously
donated by local businesses and organizations. The event was widely
attended by local media and the two grand prize essays were printed
in newspapers the following week.
--------------
NEWSPAPER DELIVERY TO MOST OUT ISLANDS ENDS
--------------
7. Outer island readers of the nation's largest circulation daily,
The Tribune, awoke on February 10 to a front-page story describing
the end of daily air deliveries of this newspaper to most outer
islands. Ironically, the beginning of online access began the same
day in a PDF version (http://access.tribune242.com) to the relief of
internet-savvy Bahamians and ex-pats. According to The Tribune
story and subsequent editorials, Bahamasair, the much-maligned air
carrier, suddenly and without previous discussion increased the
shipping rates to a prohibitive level effective January 1. Service
has since resumed to Freeport, the Bahamas' second-largest city,
under private arrangement.
--------------
RASH OF SUICIDES WORRIES BAHAMIANS
--------------
8. A spate of suicides and at least one very public attempted
suicide - by an unemployed woman desperate for work - have provided
grist to Bahamian media full of stories of economic hardship lately.
Everyone seems to be weighing in on the spike in such acts, which
are considered uncharacteristic for Bahamians - compared to murders
or traffic fatalities, that is, which are tallied daily in standard
radio news openers, dominating the headlines and airwaves on slow
news days. In the socially conservative Bahamas, religious leaders
too have been weighing in on what are regarded as un-Christian acts
of desperation, with a number of churches banding together to
provide family crisis counseling and discourage "raw materialism"
and promote Christian goodwill "at this time of economic scarcity."
ZUNIGA-BROWN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ETRD PGOV PREL BF
SUBJECT: NASSAU MONTHLY - FEBRUARY 2009
1. This is a monthly report on a variety of topics of interest
which do not merit full reporting cables.
--------------
FOOTBALL AND PAGEANTRY = TOURISM
--------------
2. On March 2 Prime Minister Ingraham announced that the 2009 Miss
Universe Pageant will be held at the Atlantis Resort in August,
bringing in over 80 contestants and their entourages from around the
world. In addition, The Bahamas is set to host the 59th Congress of
the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) at the
Atlantis Resort in May/June. The GCOB is hoping the combination of
brawn and beauty will bring a much needed tourism boost to the
struggling island economy in coming months.
--------------
BLOGGING RESULTS IN IGUANA KILLERS ARRESTED
--------------
3. Two American citizens were arrested in Exuma on February 3 after
authorities discovered they had killed, grilled, and eaten
endangered iguanas. To make matters worse, the pair was also caught
with undersized conch on their vessel. Bahamian authorities got
wind of the story after the visitors posted photos of their barbecue
on Facebook. The photos upset many and quickly made their way from
Atlantis Resort employees to the Bahamas National Trust to the
Embassy and media in a matter of 24 hours. The two Americans have
since been released on bail and returned to the United States.
4. In a separate incident on March 1, American tourists posted
details of their stay at Hog Cay, including pictures of a plucked
duck in a roasting pan ready for the oven, to a blog. They are
suspected of trespassing on the private island, terrorizing a flock
of wild ducks and slaughtering a pet duck. Bahamian police are
currently investigating.
--------------
CLICO MELTDOWN
--------------
5. More than 100 agents stand to lose their jobs as CLICO (Bahamas)
Ltd, the country's largest insurance company, is liquidated.
Concerns in The Bahamas were raised when Trinidad-based parent
company, CL Financial, received a government bail out in January
after suffering major financial losses. As the liquidator - Baker,
Tilly, and Gomez - seeks a buyer, the Prime Minister encouraged all
policy holders to continue making payments, even as worried peopled
lined up out the door of the conglomerate to check on their policies
and, in some cases, cancel existing plans.
--------------
FULL HOUSE AT EMBASSY MLK ESSAY EVENT
--------------
6. On February 13 Embassy Nassau hosted a ceremony in honor of the
winners of this year's Martin Luther King, Jr. essay competition.
Post received 105 essay nominations from 19 different schools
throughout The Bahamas. Two grand prize winners (one representing
New Providence schools and one representing the Family Island
schools) each received a laptop computer and books. The three
additional winners and four honorable mentions received books on the
life of MLK and President Obama. All of the prizes were generously
donated by local businesses and organizations. The event was widely
attended by local media and the two grand prize essays were printed
in newspapers the following week.
--------------
NEWSPAPER DELIVERY TO MOST OUT ISLANDS ENDS
--------------
7. Outer island readers of the nation's largest circulation daily,
The Tribune, awoke on February 10 to a front-page story describing
the end of daily air deliveries of this newspaper to most outer
islands. Ironically, the beginning of online access began the same
day in a PDF version (http://access.tribune242.com) to the relief of
internet-savvy Bahamians and ex-pats. According to The Tribune
story and subsequent editorials, Bahamasair, the much-maligned air
carrier, suddenly and without previous discussion increased the
shipping rates to a prohibitive level effective January 1. Service
has since resumed to Freeport, the Bahamas' second-largest city,
under private arrangement.
--------------
RASH OF SUICIDES WORRIES BAHAMIANS
--------------
8. A spate of suicides and at least one very public attempted
suicide - by an unemployed woman desperate for work - have provided
grist to Bahamian media full of stories of economic hardship lately.
Everyone seems to be weighing in on the spike in such acts, which
are considered uncharacteristic for Bahamians - compared to murders
or traffic fatalities, that is, which are tallied daily in standard
radio news openers, dominating the headlines and airwaves on slow
news days. In the socially conservative Bahamas, religious leaders
too have been weighing in on what are regarded as un-Christian acts
of desperation, with a number of churches banding together to
provide family crisis counseling and discourage "raw materialism"
and promote Christian goodwill "at this time of economic scarcity."
ZUNIGA-BROWN