National count launched
(CNS): After many months of preparation the national census 2010 gets underway today as the Economics and Statistics Office rolls out its almost 300 strong army of enumerators. Starting from this evening, which is census night, workers will be visiting each and every home across all three Cayman Islands until the end of November, when the count ends. Organisers are asking the community to welcome the census worker and ensure they can recognise the staff when they come to their homes. All residents in the Cayman Islands are legally obliged by law to take part in the count but the ESO hopes everyone will join in without coercion.
“We are ready, we are excited and we hope the entire country will support this important national exercise,” Economics and Statistics Director Maria Zingapan said. The project aims to count every single household and interview one member from each home to gain an accurate a picture as possible of the current number and position of the country’s population.
Cayman’s church leaders have also backed the exercise and Cayman Ministers Association Chairman Pastor Bob Thompson Jr and Secretary Rev. Nicholas Sykes joined with Seventh Day Adventist CI Conference President Pastor Eric Clarke to acknowledge the need for full participation.
“We understand how important this single biggest statistics-gathering exercise is for our country and all our people,” Pastor Thompson said. “Without accurate population and housing data and other current statistics to guide us, all our forward planning will be unbalanced. We need to base our decisions on sound facts.”
Rev. Sykes said he has participated in a number of censuses and said that, knowing how they work, he has no hesitation in confirming that all personal information is kept confidential in the census database. Pastor Clarke added that people mattered and for the sake of accuracy no one should be left out. “We therefore need to welcome census workers and provide truthful answers to the questions,” the church leader added.
Some local church leaders may be surprised by the results as a worldwide campaign, started in 2001, asking people to cite Jedi or Jedi knight as the religion in international censuses has gained momentum. In Austria 0.37% people claim Jedi as their faith, while 1.5% did so in the New Zealand census. In the UK 0.8% said they were Jedi in England and Wales, making it the fourth largest reported religion. After 21,000 Canadians put down their religion as Jedi Knight in that country’s census, government said it was a rationale for making the census form voluntary.
Although the campaign has been described as merely a global practical joke, it is also seen as a political protest about the inclusion of religious questions in a compulsory census. In the UK census it is the one question that those being interviewed are not obligated to answer under the law.
Census Manager Elizabeth Talbert warned members of the community to make sure they identify workers who visit homes: “They will wear a blue or yellow Census 2010 T-shirt, they must have a Census 2010 identification card, and they will most probably carry a clipboard and a black Census 2010 bag,” she said. “It is your right to ask them for proof of their identity before you invite them in.
Talbert added that all enumerators signed an oath of confidentiality, ensuring that Census 2010 information will be kept safe and secure and offices have been established in each district that will be open 12 hours per day. “Our enumerators have been trained well and they will help people with every question. People don’t need to figure the questionnaire out by themselves. We want everyone to feel comfortable with the census and we encourage them to ask questions,” Talbert said. “If at any time you have a problem or are hesitant, please give us a call,” Talbert added.
District offices will be open weekdays and Saturdays: 8:30am to 8pm and on Sundays between 1pm to 6pm. They are located at:
George Town: Paddington Place, 946-5107 (Daisylyn Chin or Selbourn Christian)
West Bay: Centennial Towers, 914-7864 (Nicole Emmanuel-Jones or Theodore Thompson) Eastern Districts: Countryside Shopping Village (Adolphus Laidlow or Michael Godfrey)
Cayman Brac and Little Cayman: 948-0940 (Chevala Burke).
For more information go to www.census2010.ky or www.eso.ky
Category: Headline News
I can’t believe that there is so much negativity / ignorance regarding the census exercise! Talk about making mountains out of mole hills!
Don’t people realize that responses to these absolutely normal questions are relevant to future policy makers and planners? People here are so paranoid, it’s gone way beyond pathetic.
So many just want to continue with the ‘same old, same old,’ including saying ‘i demand more’ or ‘provide for my children because I can’t afford to feed, clothe, educate or control them. I can’t be doing any of these things because I need time to look up my Jedi name and number and/or chase away the census worker!’
Why can’t we all see that civility costs us nothing and common courtesy is the way to go with the enumerators, whatever we decide to do–or not, re the census questionnaire?
We like to believe that we are part of a progressive, forward-thinking country, intelligent and able to take a rightful place on the world stage…maybe now, by taking part in the census, might be a good time to start acting like it. Being foolish is one thing–but do we really have to prove it to the world?
I was considering giving at least a few truthful answers until the church stuck it’s nose in where it doesn’t belong again.
I hear you can pick up the answer sheets from the UDP office anyway.
I would have participated if they had used a Caymanian artist for their jingle but they clearly don’t care about us so I will not be cooperating.
The census people are coming to the house at 9:30pm at night…I told them I was going to sleep!!!
Simple solution. Speak to the census worker. Tell them you are leaving the country in less than 6 months. That answers question 1.1 and ends the survey for you.
Reading trough the comments, I can not believe the amount of negative comments about this census.
Please people, get your facts and then comment, for all you Jedi knights, people who don want to let enumerator inside your homes or not disclosing information, how many of you go online and have a Facebook, Yahoo, Hotmail or Google account with MORE private information that you can provide on this Census.
Please realize that the enumerators are also law abiding citizens who went trough a police clearance checkup so you do not have to be afraid of them.
Please think that the enumerators also have thoughts on going to a stranger home and if they are going to be greeted with a door slam, or any rude comments, think that maybe one of your own relatives might be an enumerator on a different district.
Again, please think before you post any negative comment.
Just read the sample here http://www.eso.ky/pages.php?page=2010populationandhousingcensus
People it is a census, those questions are more like the Spanish Inqusition, I would tell to go straight to H E Double Toothpicks if they asked me.
They are digging way way to deep into your privacy.
Has anyone heard about a telephone or mail? Door to door, is this 1763? I sure as hell would not want to knock on some doors unless I was armed with a sub-machine gun, a taser and pepper spray. The US mails your form this years was simplified also. If you don’t respond by a certain date, they will contact you by phone, if that fails then they go to your house.
I cannot wait for these people to come to my door (and when they are done to get CI$30.00 per household as I heard today on the radio from theDirector of the Census)
It will be my pleasure to tell them that my husband and I are both UNEMPLOYED CAYMANIANS with Bachelor degrees from the USA and UK and over ten years of business experience, but still are not considered for white collar management jobs.
I’m sorry, but the latest job advert for xxxx is soooo tailored for a renewal it is not even funny! I even called a senior manager at this large company and they told me not to bother. WHAT?!? Come on! We both went abroad to gain our experience for a decade. I’m all for ex-pats, please…I know we need them….but the HR folks need to start playing by the rules (er, um laws!)
Until the big boy players actually start hiring their own qualified people, our unemployment problem will not go away.
Come to my door….and pay my mortgage too.
I’m sorry you’re desperate for a job yet still trying to cherry pick a nice management position.
I know many expats and caymanians with more experience and more qualifications and are not holding management postions.
I have a friend with a 1st from MIT who is working at BurgerKing during the day and as a barman at night because of the high demand of jobs
We are in a recession, unbelievable
And if your friend got a 1st from MIT in Massachusetts, then I’ve got another degree I can sell him.
Ok this is whet I do not get, you are unemployed Caymanian, with Bachelors degree, you know the enumeratos are going to make CI$30.00 per household, and you did not sign up for this job when you had the chance to and you want to blame the enumerators or the goverment? Come on!!!
There was plenty of advertisement all aver the media for people who wanted to enroll as an enumerator, so please explain this to me, why go to your door and pay your morgage??
I better get a free pen again this year. That’s the only good thing that could come of this.
Where are the sensible people in Cayman?
Studying the questions and preparing their Jedi answers
NOT on CNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rolled over and/or left the country.
For all Paranoid Citizens……………The ESO did not pick these Enumerators up off of the streets. They are Law abiding just like you, and probably more brave for doing this. As they will also be going into people homes which might be hiding the criminals and guns!! Just for therecord, they are doing this for MY COUNTRY!! So if you are such Good Citizens, you will participate!!
That’s it, participate just like good Germans. Cayman Uber Alles!
Participate for what????? Nothing will change you idiot. You think it is going to be confidential? How on earth is it going to be confidential if someone is there "assisting you" in the filling out of the form, he/she will know where the form came from…or did you not figure that one out yet??????
All countries governed by the rule of law are obliged by the United Nations to have a census after every ten years so irrespective of whether the government will change or not is not your business but to abide by the laws of the land.
We now know who is the idiot in this case
What the #$%^& are you referring to.
Please site the resolution of the UN General Assembly that as a matter of international law binds the Cayman Islands to conduct a census with the idiotic questions this one has – or any census at all for that matter. The UN bureaucrats may have recommended that bureaucrats everywhere ought to conduct census exercises for various nefarious reasons, but there is absolutely nothing that meets the conditions of the drivel that you submitted about countries governed by the rule of law being obliged to hold census exercises. Citing some non-existent UN requirement just destroys the last of the minimal credibility that Cayman’s monumental waste of money might have had.
How can anyone actually believe that the information collected will remain confidential? Anybody answering the census deserves the consequences of their actions.
If the consequences of my actions means I have to CI$1,000, then I shall send them to you to pay it.
Perhaps if they asked questions regarding the level of crime in our communities and the concerns of residents the census might be slightly relevant. As it is, all the census represents is an invasion of privacy. I have no intension of participating and if forced into it, I will only tell them my Jedi name, my Jedi rank, and my Jedi serial number.
Funny how the Gov’t wants people to answer their questions but when we make an FOI request it goes ignored..
The next census in England and Wales is due to take place in March of next year. They are looking to recruit census collectors "who will provide on-the-doorstep help". You are not obliged to let them into your home.
In the U.K. you can complete the form and send it by mail or by the online secure system.
Quote from a UK newspaper:
"Census questionnaires can be completed and returned by post or using a new secure online form. All census information is kept securely for 100 years, then opened up to the public."
I nah tellin Maceewa nuttin.
Joker @ 8:34 did you tell Kurt?
What about the people who share apt. 10 sleep in the days and 10 sleep in the night. Do you think i would disclose this, we will never get a true picture.
Great, now all you potential robbers know how to dress and get in our houses. Well I ain’t answering to nobody who knocks on my door, I havent for years unless I know them. It is too dangerous in these modern times to open your door to a stranger.
All those opposing and acting stupid towards the Census are just ignorant. You complain of there being no change in the country but when something is trying to be done, you refuse to cooperate. The Census is done every 10 years and whether you like it or not the information requested will be gathered. You must as well comply and make things easier. There is a fine for not complying and every day that goes by without your cooperation the fine is doubled. YOUR CHOICE!!
Those that oppose the census are the ones truly informed and those that go along like sheep are the ignorant. So there.
Ha, I can bet you do not have anything in your home worth of being robbed, people with more valuables at their houses have more common sense of not posting ignorant comments like yours about the census enumerators.
Q: What is your Religion?
A: Jedi
Fellow Jedis, come out of the closet!!
The questions that the government wants you to answer are a huge invasion of your privacy and are basically evil. There is no legitimate basis for government having most of the information they want. Here is the page where they can be found. Judge for yourself.
http://www.eso.ky/pages.php?page=2010populationandhousingcensus
Look for this heading in a list near the bottom of the page:
09/24/2010 – Census Sample Questions
I have noticed that Beloved Leader has refused/delayed/deferred/dodged the FOI questions that he has been asked about hisincome and where it comes from, and has also been unwilling to tell the Cayman people how he is spending our money. He just needs this information so he can squeeze us for more.
Fair is fair. It says on their website that they cannot insist on you giving your name but they will record exactly where you live and that plus your entry on the election lists or your driver license or any number of other lists and they have got you. Nevertheless, I am going to take advantage of the option to let them know that I am Darth Vader’s cousin Leroy and I am just passing through this galaxy – that is of course if they catch me at home and until this is over I am not answering my door for anybody.
My religion for the census is Jedi, I am 462 Tatuine years old. My occupation is unemployed llama wrangler (I only do accounting to make ends meet between llama wrangling gigs). My income last year was 365 Imperial Ducats after payments for the McKeeva Life Styles of the Rich and Famous Programme. My highest level of education is the 9th neverum of bachue.
I sincerely hope that every other person on these islands also does a little preparation in order to provide some truly spectacular answers if they corner you into answering the d**m census. After all this is one of the few ways that we get to protest the insane waste and destruction of our country’s future.
To those who no not participate, please remember to identify that fact when you complain in the coming years about some program that you feel the country should have started/improved/discontinued but did not do so because the data necessary to determine that fact was not available.
If we participate and provide the data needed to allow informed decisions, then, if the responsible persons do not utilise the data, we will have a legitimate gripe to bring against these persons. For example, if the data shows that the number of young children in a particular area will exceed the primary school capacity within a few years, and a primary school is not expanded/built in time, then the residents of that area have a legitimate complaint. Without the authorities having the data those residents lose some of their reasons to complain.
Oh please, save your breath. Doesn’t matter what we have to say, the plan is in motion already….haven’t you learned that yet here????
"All residents in the Cayman Islands are legally obliged by law to take part in the count but the ESO hopes everyone will join in without coercion."
What law is this? I never voted for it, and guess what…."To hell with the census collectors"
There is trickery afoot and I for one will not cooperate. McKeeva Bush and your UN handlers, this is one Caymanian who can see through your games.
No information forthcoming from me. What will you do…jail me?
Sir, you are a fool. The United Nations has ordered Cayman to comply with this and you are taking a great personal risk to act the idiot. Just be a good boy and obey the law.
You have no idea what will hapen to dissenters.
I hope they do.
Regulations: (the instructions to enumerators)
http://www.gazettes.gov.ky/gazette-supplements/2010/30/08/census-cayman-islands-regulations-2010-g18-s6
Order: (the questions they’re going to ask)
http://www.gazettes.gov.ky/gazette-supplements/2010/30/08/census-cayman-islands-order-2010-g18-s7
PEOPLE: Please read BOTH before commenting!
Personally I don’t got a problem with the Census, its the ability of the enumerators to maintain confidentiality (yeah right, so they swore an oath); their right to entry and the fine for refusal to give information ($1,000) that I got issues with. If they weren’t so damn intrusive we might be a lot more forthcoming with the information.
Haha….oh gotta love it.
According to the Gazette, one of the questions (question 1(1)(k)) they plan on asking is: Source of Sewage?
Correct answer would be my butt and those of my family.
Or perhaps the "source of sewage" eminates from the LA depending on your viewpoint?
Oops… got it – yellow t-shirt and card.
Even with a yellow T-shirt and an ID card that I wouldn’t recognise, they ain’t getting into my house. Let me see…I can print a T-shirt, and I can make an ID with a piece of card, an old photo, my computer and the office laminating machine.. Does that make me a genuine census worker ? No. So don’t care who you are or what your ID says, you not coming in.
I think you should let them in and answer their questions. It’s important to know how widespread your mental illness is so that health care can be provided.
Er – is anyone going to tell us how we recognise them? I don’t want to be inviting a stranger into my home without feeling confident that they are genuine census collectors! This might be a useful bit of information to print! Many thanks.
CNS Note: From paragraph eight above …… "Census Manager Elizabeth Talbert warned members of the community to make sure they identify workers who visit homes: “They will wear a blue or yellow Census 2010 T-shirt, they must have a Census 2010 identification card, and they will most probably carry a clipboard and a black Census 2010 bag,” she said. “It is your right to ask them for proof of their identity before you invite them in."
And forgery isn’t a hard thing to do, especially with all that is going on now…..police records are forged…ha no one is coming into my house that I don’t know, let alone at night!!!!
So speak to them outside.
Please read the information you are given. Please do not continue to IGNORE everything that is placed in front of you. When someone gives you important information, take it to heart – do not ignore it. Unbelievable simpleton.