Save Cayman presses on
(CNS): With close to 1,000 signatures on the petition against the dredging of the North Sound, Captain Bryan Ebanks says he is not giving up the campaign any time soon and is also lending his support to the campaign in East End to stop the commercial sea port. The man spearheading the initiative to stop the proposed dredging for a channel to facilitate mega yachts said that all scientific reports over the years had pointed to a serious risk of losing the Sandbar if the reef protecting the sound was breached. Speaking to the people of Bodden Town on Tuesday evening at a meeting hosted by MLA Anthony Eden, the captain said the issue was not confined to West Bay boat captains as he asked for their support. (Photo Dennie WarrenJr)
He said that there already was an economy in the North Sound which fed into Grand Cayman’s wider economy, feeding the tourism product, giving work to drivers, money to gas stations and more. Above all, Ebanks said, the goal was to protect Stingray City as he told the Bodden Towners the awe with which visitors held the Sandbar. Guests, he said, constantly told him how lucky Caymanians are to have such a place and always asked what the country was doing to protect and preserve it.
“If you took that out of the tourism equation I have no idea what could happen but we know many people would be out of work,” he said. “If we breach that reef we may lose our national treasure. Would you want to gamble with that when it’s so precious?”
Despite claims by the premier that making the North Sound deeper with dredging would improve the quality of the water, Ebanks pointed to the scientific research that says otherwise, indicating the damage previous dredging has done.
The sea captain also wondered why the islands’ leader would want to impose the channel idea on the people when so many have made it clear they don’t want it. “Caymanians need to stop this. It’s time we wake up. If you leave it to just a few opposition politicians, it’s not going to stop because somebody is benefiting and it’s not us,” he warned.
Pledging his support to the campaign to stop the East End port, he asked the people of Bodden Town to also sign the petition to stop the dredging in the North Sound and for the districts to join forces against those proposed projects that would undermine the natural resources of the islands.
Ebanks recently did battle on TV with Premier McKeeva Bush, who was a guest on Cayman27’s Let’s Talk to the Experts. When the boat captain called in to ask the leader some questions about the dredging proposals, the premier accused Ebanks of approaching the government with a dredging proposal for the North Sound back in 2000, which Ebanks has categorically denied.
He told CNS that he has never been involved in a dredging exercise of any kind or any business relatedto construction or anything of that nature. “I have always made my living from the sea and from the restaurant business,” the captain said.
Ebanks said the fact that the premier had blatantly made up the story in order to try and discredit him simply because he did not agree with his point of view was unbelievable. Ebanks said he understood now why he had encountered so much fear in the community about the premier frompeople who said they wanted to sign the petition but were genuinely afraid to do so.
Category: Science and Nature
I am so proud that someone in Cayman is standing up for its people. Everyone should be signing that petition.
http://www.gopetition.com/petition/43603/signatures.html
That is the link to sign the petition.
Well I be dam . People in Cayman are going nuts . Did everyone of you all forget that most of all the Sea Captains that are real Caymanian"( masters of the sea)" That means licensed to operate large ships not snorkel and fishing boats. They agreed that the north sound was the best place that was a natural harbour for large ships?? What did you all think was going to happen ?? You can’t bring in ships drawing 26 feet of water in less then 40 feet . Ships like the Oasis of the Seas will need more water then that , about 60 feet.. So of course they going to have to dredge.
Can anyone tell me where is the online petition? Where must I go to sign it??
You would have more signatures if someone were out there to make it easily accessible. Satuday at the grocery stores is a perfect spot. I would be curious how many would sign at the Foster’s in WB.
Who can I contact to volunteer to get signatures?
Lets hope these people who signing these petitions are buck-toe, flour dumpling, fish /run-down, smoke pan/coxen groupers Caymanins, . In other words – the real Caymanians
My understanding is that there are two petitions that can be signed.
One by registered voters.
The other one by non registered votes.
I do not believe they did one for "buck-toe, flour dumpling, fish /run-down, smoke pan/coxen groupers Caymanins"!
I am not even sure that is a legally recognized group. You might ask them to make a third one.
Check out the Save Cayman page on Facebook…log on to your Facebook account and in the search tab put in the name Save Cayman. Or email savecayman@gmail.com for movement details and how you can get involved. Check out: http://www.gopetition.com/petition/43603.html
Once again,
Can Mr. Ebanks or CNS or anyone please provide a schedule of where and when the petition is available for signing??
I will be happy to sign the petition but unfortunately I remember all too well when we all signed petitions to stop the dolphin parks, and look what happened.
Yes, but petitions and the public speaking up helped stop Emerald Sound in South Sound and also the Ironwood Forest and the floating bar at Stingray City.
Please everyone sign the petition. It will help.
You have not heard the last of Emerald sound. The private citizens ( an architect and lawyer) that crafted behind closed doors the new planning law (that was so hastily passed) did so in a way that makes it possible to bring it up again.
There’s constitutional backing to the petition
Please sign the petition. Eventually WE, and not our employees, WILL have the final say in this country.
Ask yourself, will you be able to sleep atnight if you know that one more signature was all that was needed and you didn’t sign? There’s nothing wrong with trying and failing but there is definitely something wrong with never trying.
That is true my friend but it is better to have fought and lost than to never have fought at all. These are, however, two different and much more far ranging topics from the captive dolphin programs. It remains to be seen whether or not the infiltration of greed and intimidation will be successful on these two proposals but I think that the groundswell of opposition to this idiocy has found a lot more fertile ground than the drive to stop the dolphinariums from being here. I think what we are witnessing here is an awakening of sorts and it is worthy to fight the good fight because you can lose a battle but win the war. The consequences of allowing these these things to happen are ultimately destructive and in no way whatsoever worth the cost and I think that a majority of people here are against this in it’s entirety whether or not they feel safe to express their position. The implications of what is going on here goes farther than the proposals themselves in all of their ludicrous and deleterious absurdity and it is the concept of democracy, good governance and stewardship and the worthiness of one to hold the title of premier which these topics have propelled into the forefront. All in all I think we have reached a point where it is time to fish or cut bait.
Way to go Capt. Bryan, if not for yourself, then for your country, children, grandchildren.
Right, and for McKeeva’s too, in spite of him.
You have to love the poster known as "UDP Supporter". I am beginning to hope that they are a wonderful master of sarcasm. No-one could really be that stupid. No, I take that back, I would like to believe that no-one is that stupid, but I have met people that stupid. In my minds-eye I picture a Young UDP starlet with hopes of a UDP political career, with all the wonderful government side contracts that means for their businesses, typing away as a UDP-Bot on Mac’s instructions.
Ahhh come on man, dey really do need the support ya na. I mean da betta din anodda status grant, right?
All the best Capt Bryan,we are so proud of you!
Anyone who is fearful of signing their name and standing up against the greed induced lunacy of this particular "proposal" should understand that the spirit of fear is not of God and those who would spread fear among their own people for following their real concienceXXXX are not of God either. We are a country of people whose majority of ancestors grew up where the luxuries of life where few and far between. As I speak to my grandmother and listen to the stories of her childhood it moves me to temper my anger, disgust, rage and hatred for what is happening to our country with love, real love. We are faced in this country with the manifestation of greed on a scale which has global implications and local consequences. As a student of history I constantly see the similarities in what happened to other places when compared to what is going on here and as I am aware of the results it fills me with dread and a burning desire to change the direction which our country is headed before it is too late.
The Cayman Islands have been given a gift which many of the countries in our region did not have and that is to look in retrospection at the experiences of our neighbours in the region and worldwide to help guide us . These islands which time forgot are not that anymore and as such we must move ahead as if we are traversing a frozen pond in the onset of the season of spring. There are dangerous disturbances which are being perpetrated here and there are those who do not have the best interests of this country at heart and who would destroy this country and her future for their own gain. The vast majority of people in Cayman believe in the democratic system of governance wholeheartedly and what is happening here today is not that. There are those who would intentionally excacerbate the troubles of a people to the point of explosion and implosion so that they may come and reap the spoils as children gathering candy from the busted up pinata. There are those within our own ranks who have made a concious decision to get as much out of this place that they can with no care of the consequences of their actions nor the future which our children’s children will inherit. There are those who would use the belief in Christ as a political tool for the purpose of social benefit. God will judge them, as well as all of us, for these things. It is up to us all however to have the intestinal fortitude to stand against that which threatens us no matter what.
The belief in Christ is not an excuse for cowardice and it was never intended to be. If one knows the difference then one is duty bound to stick by their guns and let it be known to all where one stands, come what may. The story here is of the abuse of a country at the hands of people drunken with power who have lost their way, if they ever had it, and this world is rife with the horror stories of what happens when people are made to fear speaking their mind and succumb to that fear in the hopes of self preservation. Evil can only succeed when good men/women say and/or do nothing. The political arena in Cayman seems to be an incubator and breeding ground for a complete lack of accountability, self serving profiteering and despotism. What we see going on here is the birth of a dictatorship mindset which is most certainly threatening all of us collectively and it needs to be challenged at every possible chance. There is dire need here for this to change forthwith. We are a country of humble background but we have lost our way.
This sense of elitism ad nauseum seems to have infected the very fabric of our society to the point of ultimate destruction and the love which we used to have amongst us is no longer there. It is what truly made us famous and it is the real reason tourism became the success story of our country and in essence the natural beauty we used to have so plentifully was but a backdrop. To those who say we have no culture or heritage here I say you are completely wrong and you know not of which you speak. The very existence of democracy is at stake here and whether or not you are yay or nay on this or any other topic you have the God given right to speak your mind and anyone or anything which would try to put the spirit of fear within you for doing just this is not your friend, not your leader and not of God.
Come on electors lets get out and support this petition we only need 25% registered voters for it to go to cabinet and then we’ll be under the one man government’s skin…..
With all due respect christianity has nothing to do with Cayman’s plight. People are questioning the premier because he is failing the people. Don’t just blindly follow someone. These projects are not the answer for jobs and a good standard of living for Caymanians. An oil refinery will make the rich richer and ruin what ever part of the island it is dumped on. A North Sound Channel will create no long term jobs or change the everyday Caymanians life. It will make the rich real estate companies richer.
Cayman is supposed to be a democracy. A few of the best, elected to do the right thing for the people and the country. We have good people in the Government but they make no difference because one man is making the decisions and the decisions are not for the country or the people. Its amazing that it seems so few understand this. Why are you paying for all the elected members. The system is not working for you. Stop what is happening now. Listen to the Captain Bryan’s, vote new people in for the people come elections.
He may be your Premier, but he is certainly not mine. In my opinion, unless something of a radical nature happens, this man’s political career is effectively FINISHED!
He has proven to me anyway that he will never get my vote again. I will warn my fellow Caymanians to watch out for desperate moves possibly related to major construction projects, telecoms licensing, casinoes, expat property tax, status grants, excessive hiring within government.
We need to drag our feet until this nightmare is over, unless of course, someone knows how we can wake up now.
Down with Mac. Mac must go.
He’s already gone. He just doesn’t know it yet.
Why these people are always making trouble for our Premier? They seem more interested in fish and stingrays than in helping fellow Caymanians earn a decent living (the Christian thing to do). Don’t be lead astray by environmentalists and foreigners my fellow Caymanians! A channel and an oil refinery will create many jobs which are needed in this country!
Please tell me you’re not serious. Your support for one of the most ignorant proposals ever floated on this island is absolutely incredible. Please THINK before you post.
Don’t you get it?!!!! Cayman doesn’t have a shortage of jobs.
We have an overflow of unemployed Caymanians. We would be destroying our island and the only livelihood some Caymanians have, to make more jobs for Non-Caymanians, yes you read it correctly, there will be a lot of jobs created, but like I said it will not be for us. So just tell me what else do you want us to give up, the shirts off of our backs? Obviously you’re getting a lot from the UDP but I’m sure if all of us who are not being fed by the UDP were to march against these ventures, there will be more than 90% against, so fellow Caymanians let us start this march!!!!
” A channel and an oil refinery will create many jobs which are needed in this country! ”
you know you really cant be that F@@#’n stupid…… its no wonder you are a UDP (un’na done politically) supporter.
we dont need either of the two above mentioned enviromentally negative factors in our country what we need is to assist people like you to think different and vote different next elections or… GO FISHING!
“(the Christian thing to do)” where in the bible do you fine a reference for Channel cutting and oil refining to be the christian thing to do?…… however!… there is a lot of talk about fish in the GOOD book.
The online petition currently has 228 signatures, with approximately 30% of those from Caymanians in addition to those from previous residents of Cayman, property owners and tourists.
I published the online petition. It was set up to facilitate the collection of signatures from off-island property owners and the tourist base of divers and in general to provide a secure method for handling all signatures.
Those residents of Cayman signing the online petition should be advised that they may be contacted locally in order to ask them to supply their voter card numbers so that their signatures will count towards the referendum requirements.
Voter card numbers are not collected with the online petition for several basic reasons: the limited number of fields that could be customised and security purposes.
Please be patient if you are among those contacted locally. The primary reason for that contact will be to verify your ability to be legally counted towards the referendum.
Thank you all for your support!!
I don’t get it. Only 228 signatures with 55,000 living here. That’s hardly a noteworthy objection.
"With close to 1,000 signatures on the petition …." is the lead sentence to this news article. Whether the online petition is in addition to those numbers or part of those numbers – that’s still a lot more signatures than you give the Save Cayman effort credit for!!
It’s obvious most people dont Care about Cayman. They only care what Cayman can do for THEM.
Sick!!!
While this group is entirely necessary and I applaud Mr Ebanks and the rest, this group should be extended to cover many other areas of demise to the Cayman Islands.
In light of all the apparent political abuse, one primary area would be to ‘Save Cayman Politically‘.
Save Cayman Period !!!
It’s called intimidation Mr. Bryan or like bullying in schools. Where can I sign the petition (s) ? regards
I am registered voter and wil be signing the petition.
Caymanians are too laid back and are easy prey for unscrupolous politicians and others who do not mean us any good.
Can Mr. Ebanks please provide a schedule of where an when the petition will continue to be available for signing please?
Maybe post same in the newspapers and other places also!
fair play to him….he’s obviously got more fortitude than the leader of the so called opposition….
The sad thing is many or even most people just live for today and don’t think or care about tomorrow. Same with politicians in what can I do (meaning get) right now. This is why mankind will snuff itself out eventually. Mother nature may help us before we completley do in ourselves. This why education is so important. As for Cayman were not exactly loaded down with scholars.
I tried to sign the petition, but the page for Caymanians to sign was already chock-full, leaving no space. The organizers should address this issue quickly and plan for many more signatures.
Bryan…."press on"….this is not simply about the North Sound. This is about out of touch, self centered, one man Government, non leadership for the people. Cayman needs new leadership.
Cayman may need new leadership but who. The last government did more damage than good and at least Mr Bush has some ideas. Where is there a real alternative with the vision to take Cayman forward in a sustainable way whilst stimulating the economy and culture of the islands. I doubt that man exists in local politics today. Look to the young well educated uncorrupted and encourage them to the fore. Alternatively maybe you could import some expats!
opps…..09:29 was your truly
Lachlan MacTavish