Woman Launches Hunger Strike At Parliament
[Updated with videos + audio] Saying she wants to show “solidarity with her fellow Bermudians,” a woman has stationed herself on the House of Assembly grounds and has launched a hunger strike, effective today.
Enda Matthie said she has launched a hunger strike, starting today, with no end date in mind. She has a suitcase packed, and books and pillows on hand, with intentions to make herself seen on the grounds.
Update: Video comment from Ms Matthie:
“I am for Bermudians first,” she told Bernews. “I am in a state of solidarity with my fellow Bermudians. I participate in the marches and protests, but feel like things need to go to next level, it’s what I feel that I can do.”
Asked what she would like to see the Government do, she said she would like them to listen and care.
“We want to feel that we are a part of this island that we live on,” added Ms Matthie. “I want Government to see that the everyday Bermudian is feeling the brunt.”
Update: Video comment from Minister of Health, Seniors & Environment Jeanne Atherden and Junior Minister of Community, Culture & Sports Nandi Outerbridge:
Ms Matthie also has signs with her, outlining her ‘Hunger Strike for Change’ as aiming for “comprehensive change” to the “judicial system, airport, affordable housing, reform in all areas, economic and social equality, immigration, affordable healthcare, education, Black Watch Pass, Age Concern.”
Another sign reads, “Put Bermudians first. Affordable healthcare for seniors, comprehensive bi-partisan immigration reform, equality for all, non-discriminating loan process for black businesses and home ownership, affordable housing.”
Update 2.11pm: Claudette Fleming of Age Concern stopped by to visit Ms Matthie this afternoon, with Ms Fleming saying she was alerted to the Bernews article, and noted that one of Ms Matthie’s signs cited Age Concern, so she thought it was “appropriate to drop everything and come down and show her our support.”
Ms Fleming and Ms Matthie:
Ms Fleming told Bernews, “This is not an easy thing to do, but we recognize these are times where people are being driven to do things they wouldn’t normally do because Bermuda is becoming a very scary place for the working class person.”
Audio comment from Ms Fleming
Ms Matthie has also been visited by officials, including Minister of Health, Seniors & Environment Jeanne Atherden, and we will have a video posted later today.
Update 3.48pm: Ms Matthie said that the Premier stopped by to see her, and tell her that he is “listening and does care.”
Update 6.01pm: More people have gathered with Ms Matthie, who is appears to be prepared for colder weather as she is now wearing a scarf with a blanket wrapped around her.
Update 6.23pm: A tent is being set up
Update 10.14pm: People remain on the grounds
Update 10.40pm: Deputy PLP Leader David Burt also stopped by to see Ms Matthie this evening, and has tweeted a photo of the sign on the tent which says to “dissolve Parliament” and “call an election now”, with his tweet saying he “let the voters decide if Bermuda supports OBA’s Pathways! ”
Couldn't agree with Ms. Matthie any more. @BermudaPremier let the voters decide if #Bermuda supports OBA's Pathways! pic.twitter.com/NcP7jBXNte
— David Burt, MP (@DavidBurtMP) March 9, 2016
Photos below are from this morning’s story:
Stupid stunt. She will be at KFC within 24 hours.
Premier Dunkley in 2012 I voted you in. Since you and your team hide behind a cowards referendum I’m voting you out. You have no respect for the gay community and you have no respect for the Bermudians people that placed you in power. When you call the next election in less than 24 months my vote will have a say.
Yeah vote for the Party whose leader thinks the gay community is upending civilization and whose majority elected representatives voted against including gay rights in the Human Rights Act.
That will shoe ‘em.
*show
You have to admire somebody starting to celebrate cup match this early in the year…..
Plus she has two jobs and knows people with two jobs?? Bit selfish when there are so many people looking for work….
How sick. Those people eating and drinking in front of her….unless they shared of course.
Broken ladder stay broken I’m happy the oba put forth a referendum who needs respect when they control power. Now go marry a woman. Keep up the good work Premier you have my vote.
Oh but not for too long
As will mine and the opposition can only point fingers, not come up with a workable plan of their own. If you want to impress do something!
Doesn’t make sense. In Bermuda’s history, the gay community has never been given as many rights as the OBA has given it. The PLP maintained a state of affairs where the gay community could be legally discriminated against. It was the OBA that amended the Human Rights Act.
The PLP is not the liberal party in Bermuda. The OBA is.
Both parties aren’t liberal!! Both are conservative. It’s not even a matter of liberal versus conservative.
More like one is for Local Bermudians and the other is for Foreigners. Plain and simple.
No, you are plain and simple. There is alot of thought and work that goes into drafting legislation, if not you end up with a seat belt law that has no penalty for the crime…who did that again? The plp in case you’re still scratching your head.
You got that right. OBA is not for Bermudians but also is not for all foreigners, they want to make believe that.
That is why those waiting for status will keep waiting a bit more.
So the party that is for local Bermudians – is that the same party that wasted tens of millions of dollars from the public purse when they were in power? Yeah can’t wait until they’re back in power supporting us local Bermudians all over again….
Keep your head buried under that rock…When Bermuda becomes a third world country because of the mentality of people with thoughts such as yours, make sure you go crying to the person/people responsible for your demise!
Hellooooo!!!
Right there with you mate!
Right der’ with you buh’
Yeah….I’ll bet Marc and his merry men will really respect gay issues. You’ll be real happy when the PLP get back in…no question about it, Bean, Burt and Brownie have all the answers and they’ll do exactly what you want them to do. I have a bridge to sell you…and by the way, you want to see jobs flying out of Kindley Field…go park down there on the day after the election. !
seriously which party do you think is the most anti-gay?
seriously there are more important issues than gays and there are more people with other issues that are more important, the marjority of Bermudians are seemingly not gay! in democracy a majority usually wins, try telling obas Pat Gordon Pamplin how she got in through a democratic vote of majority rule, when she says how can a majority make a decision for a minority.
I hope she is. I don’t want her to suffer.
…obviously has the time and no job…if she did work, perhaps her employee tax contributions could go towards such things as affordable healthcare for seniors.
Stupid condescending comment
Do you honestly think she is prepared for worst case Jeremy?
She has way too many comforts, a suitcase…All of which are unnecessary for a hunger strike.
If she is drinking then she is not on a hunger strike, just fasting…many people do that here in Bermuda every year.
hmm, your name suggests you though about your comment but you just have given very little though. Next time Google hunger strike, idiot.
I didn’t have to google idiot.
Stupid is as stupid does
The protesters need leadership. You don’t block the road, and than allow one lane through. Poor leadership. You don’t storm the senate and than leave at the call of two low level police officers . Poor leadership. When the people of this country broke the LINE at KFC, it was over for the unions of this country.
Well Rodney, can we depend on you as a leader?
Oh my bad, ya for de other team.
Onion Juice, Did you get permission from your mama before you got on the computer today. I am for Bermuda FIRST. The arguments you are bringing before the OBA, they have heard them all from me first. We can either talk to the people or force them to the street every week. Which one is happening?
RODNEY SMITH IS FOR RODNEY SMITH ONLY!
What a name!!!. It is obvious that you never knew Ursula . Please use another name. In the end Ursula and I became very good friends. Now, At least I use my real name. I don’t have to hide behind a false name. You are too afraid to show Bermuda who you really are. You’re a FAKE. Next time get real and come from behind your computer.
@aceboy so I guess all those IRA prisoners protesting against the British Government were stupid stunts too, I just hope when de people protest again you come out and confront them.
Well yes, Bobby Sands died along with 76 other prisoners. This sparked riots in which an innocent milk man and his son were killed.
Tiocfaidh ár lá
How many innocent people are suffering before this hunger strike and how any more will suffer after it?
The IRA also bombed civilians and kidnapped families to force fathers into suicide bombings simply because they were from the North and “protestant”. Actually sounds like your kind of people.
that’s racist!!!
How? I like fried chicken, just not a fan of KFC. So if you don’t like KFC then you believe that one race is superior/inferior to another?
We as a country are un aware of the conditions that gave birth to Buck Burrows… And I quote, “They cried for the whites who died, but would not even help their own neighbors .” It would appear that we are at that point again in our history. BUT WHO IS LISTENING??????
If the economy collapses due to civil unrest, thousands will need to migrate or a bail out deal with creditors wil need to be struck. There will be no recovery that renders the country back to what we have. We might as well rename Hamilton Harare.
@ ace boy an all that think like you,For everyone who has put a negative comment against what this young lady is doing, your day will come, either in your personal life, or even in a broader spectrum. So remember the stones you throw today, will come back to you in boulders, God’s mercy on your ignorance and to Miss Mathie be encourage and follow your heart.
Duane P Santucci very nicely put. Were is the compassion? The Comments I have been reading are absolutely appalling. honestly.
I read some of these comments and realize just however severely polarized Bermuda is. The fact that most of the comments remain behind hidden identities is evidence of two things…fear of the consequences incurred by voicing opinion or cowardliness. Either is a reflection of a deeply rooted problem in our community.
Ms. Matthie has the right to express her position regardless of what the next person thinks. The fact she is prepared to stand for something is commendable given many who speak against her actions would likely fall for anything.
I presume one of the PLP CREW put her up to this, just part of Browns tactics, now all the other Rebels will come out with the regular signs and slogans, and they will be pleading to government to have a heart, and stop it. Seeking sympathy for this lady, arrest her now!
Stand strong government, don’t be fooled by these latest tactics and games.
She will have a double Art Mel’s fish sandwich.
Good for her that she truly believes in something but don’t say Bermudians because not all Bermudians agree with not allowing the immigration reform to go through. There are two groups at work in reference to this topic and someone will always be left upset. Throwing a hunger strike will not sway a Government. If you want change you have to show them solutions. A hunger strike is not a solution. Like I’ve said before we are in 2016 and you have to approach situations with solutions not strikes.
Where have you been? They don’t want solutions, they want what they want! There is a lot of fuss going on about this whole Immigration issue. What people don’t realise is that at the point of the first disastrous meeting the OBA had already decided, their votes were already cast in-house, and it was ‘A DONE DEAL’.
When you get caught with your pants down………………you stoop low, let your skirt cover and stand back up pants intact. Before that meeting they got caught with their pants down, right now the OBA is stopping low, come Friday they stand back up.
I guess this is a good way to stay in shape…!!
oh meeeeercy!
Ms Fleming told Bernews, “This is not an easy thing to do, but we recognize these are times where people are being driven to do things they wouldn’t normally do because Bermuda is becoming a very scary place for the working class person.”
Yes Caludette Flemming of Age Concern…the PLP screwed up this country and are trying to prevent the OBA from rescuing it for All Bermudians !
the fact the PLP are trying to frighten people and stir up unfounded tension for the PLP gain is disgusting. The fact that people like this lady are buying what the PLP say is scary.
I don’t think the PLP is scaring this lady. Just read what is going on in this Island.
She is reading and listening to what is going on. The frightening part is if this Immigration Reform goes through be prepared for the end results for your Children, grand children, nieces nephews and cousins that are Bermudian. This is not America or Europe where people can spread out. This is 21square miles of space that will be over-populated if this Bill is passed.
Stay strong Ms Matthie. Bless you.
The islands are 6000 people down…how does 100 to 300 people change that?
Please realise that its 6,000 people who were forced out of jobs, made redundant, their degrees too black or dead.
You do understand that currently Bermuda is faced with substantial reduction in population don’t you? Even these PRC people will not stop the decline.
Bermuda will be overpopulated if Pathways goes through? The stupidity or lack of understanding is mind boggling!
Pathways are only open to people already here for 20 years. New population will be zero.
What about those here for 19 going on 20? OBA never said those here from a certain date they just said those residing for 20. At the rate work permits are already abused the majority of those who get permits will later go on to be eligible for PRC.
Work permit enforcement is stronger than it has ever been.
Under UBP work permit enforcement was as strong as it has ever been.
Under Fahy it’s all about lip service without action. Increase fines but process only 4 violations while over 80 others are left outstanding. Now Fahy wants to fast track the path to permit workers becoming PRCs without investigating the rest.
Processing 4 violations in 3 years of OBA is still better than 0 violations in 14 years of PLP.
Eventually it will and the OBA knows that. Their children will be Bermudiains and their children’s children. Lets not forget all the relatives and friends that they can get over with the FINGERPRINT ADS that you see everyday.
So it’s true that small minds are easily boggled.
Overpopulation is when the number of organisms in an environment exceed the amount natural resources in the environment needed to sustain the organism’s population. Since there’s not enough vegetation or animals to go around is already in fact overpopulated.
If some sort of crisis hit North America to the point they were unable to ship to us for months Bermuda would quickly turn into the land of survival of the fittest. I guess having a bigger population will have an upside if something like this happened since it would add to our sources of protein found on island. :p
You hang out with Onion Juice, don’t you?
Not sure who the persona Onion Juice is but I am an onion so I do have onion juice running through my veins.
Why do you ask? Does Onion Juice have some good recipes?
If so they may be someone I may want to know if Bermudageddon ever happens. I’m sure I will need to switch it up a bit to not become bored. I may get tired of having my expats with stockpiles of canned fava beans and chianti. ffff-ff-ff-f-f-f
The U.S. is not the only aid for a crisis out there. Pretty sure somebody will help…why you talk like that
We’ve already learned from 9/11 if the US goes into crisis the whole world goes into crisis.
I talk like this because we all need to grow up sometime and face facts. This world is on edge with wars and chaos all over it. Anything can happen in a very short period of time. Go to sleep in one world and wake up the next day to another. Living in a place surrounded by nothing but ocean there’s not much that can be done but survive. No worries though as some of us are meant to be the lions and some are meant to be the gazelles. It’s all part of natural selection.
A tsunami could wash us away next week. Who knows
Peace and Love Everyone
And with that attitude you sound like you don’t want help..and will go survival mode before help comes…
You make it sound like you will pillage the weak in your comment…love thy neighbor..cause you never know when you will accept/need/want it in return. Peace and Love Everyone. We are family
Don’t we help other places in this scenario? A crisis?
The US is not helping us with food, they are selling it to us but in case something happened and food did not come, we are many of us here, it’ll just do fine.
All the NEW BERMUDIANS will return with their other passports to their other countries and leave the pathetic idiots who gave them status.
Not all of them…and I don’t think “pathetic Idiots” who gave me status think like you…
By the way..I have been here since I was 1 years old..grew up with my family…Bermuda and would die for them…true story… So much racism out there. Peace and Love
There is really good , time tested advice you should follow : “It is better to be silent and be thought a fool , than to open your mouth and remove all doubt ! “
Such a shame that so many are not thinking this through. More people in Bermuda means more rent for those who own houses to help pay their mortgage, or educate their children, more jobs for everyone, more income for our island. It really is a no brainer. Maybe all of those against this just need a simpler explanation. If our economy grows, your children will have MORE opportunities, not less. If you make sure your kids are well mannered, well behaved, not fighting like we saw yesterday, but heading home to get their homework done then they will have so many opportipunities in the future. Preparing them for their future, then they will have a chance. I truly believe families have failed their own. While you are sitting on the lawn of the cabinet house protesting something that is basically good for Bermuda, kids are running around on this island showing nothing but disrespect and disregard for you and our island. What a sad time in Bermuda!
The singular threat to the future of our children and grandchildren is our debt. End of story.
What shape? Where is the nearest rest room -Oh dear- Forgot that!
Doesn’t caring mean having copassion for people that have lived and worked to contribute to the success of our country?
Yes, OUR country–we all share this real estate, a slice of heaven that is all of ours–not belonging to just one segment of our community.
We are every color of the rainbow–that is Bermuda and that is what makes up Bermudians!
Ms. Matthie, I applaud your committment and hope that you are also standing strong for each person whose lives will be directly impacted by the situation being politicized at present.
Please be careful and safe while you are staging your protest so no harm comes your way due to not eating or hydrating.
This is insane. You are suggesting she eat enough to not have any harm come to her….when she, by choice, is on a HUNGER STRIKE???? Why call it a hunger strike if she is going to eat? The book she is reading was possibly put in her hands and she is simply being used to pull a stupid idiotic STUNT.
This is classic PLP.
Is this the actress
https://www.exploretalent.com/endamatthie
Just wondering being that BIFF folks on the island.
Her bio says home: Philadelphia, background: Caribbean… but she’s anti-immigration???
This action will finish by the weekend, no doubt in my mind.
After all the bill will pass on Friday.
Frankly, most of us could do with a few fasting days. However, please give her lots of water. Dehydration is a major problem for those on a fast.
The weather forecast is pretty good so the lady should be just fine up on the hill.
Have Parks set up a Portaloo for her? Mr Dunkley I think that you should help her out in this regard.
I know that there laws against vagrancy. I do hope that the police let her stay in place for as long as she likes.
the rainbow isn’t brown, it is a covenant for the brown people! it represents the first covenant after the flood that the Most High put in the clouds to remind us he will not destroy Us by water again!
Lady look out for the delivery guy I just ordered you a pizza
I think King Jammy is onto something here.
Lets send this woman food to make sure she doesn’t hurt herself–
Let’s show her how Bermudians stand up for other Bermudians
ALL BERMUDIANS and that the country does care for ALL people–not just some in a small slice of the community.
SEND HER FOOD!!
Pile the pizza boxes high!!!
Plesant appetite!!!!
… But I bet the delivery guy won’t be Bermudian!
Actually in Warwick and somerset I think all the drivers are bermudian
The Bermudian delivery guy is having a sicky… nice day today, after all.
Flatts Four Star has Bermudian deliverers.
Okay so Four Star has “Bermudian” deliverers, what is your point?
I want to wish her luck, but………… I honestly don’t know what she is demanding the government to do. Her ‘list’ of demands are wishy washy at best, and some of them would actually do more damage to this country more than help in the long run.
Me too…. I’m really not sure what she wants….
We are behind you 100%
If you support her actions, please make certain she is taken care of, medically speaking as this action could be quite dangerous and I wouldn’t want her to become ill.
Or, if you support her, go fast with her! The amount of diabetes on this island is unbelievable – truly unbelievable! The OBESE and MORBIDLY OBESE rates are so high here – truly unbelievable and totally AVOIDABLE!
Diabetic people shouldn’t fast. It’s dangerous for them.
As a side note, not all obese or morbidly obese people have diabetes or will get it.
If she did become ill then would she want the expat doc n nurses to look after her???? Guess not.
The doctor might make a fool of himself by not knowing what to do so as usual they send the lady outside the island
don’t stand that close you could get blasted
Not in any of those photos!
So she doesn’t want her UK passport or rights then? Hand it over. Pathetic. Too much time on her hands, could be spent helping others not sat on her bottom.
I don’t see any of her posters saying she’s for independence so I’m not sure where you got that from.
There’s massive groups in the UK that are Anti immigration. As they march down the in a calm orderly fashion you can see the police holding back jeerers on either side of them cursing and spitting at them, trying to get a kick or punch in and making cut throat and gun finger signs at them. Much of Europe has grown tired of the EU forcing their countries to lax their immigration laws.
Is anybody (OBA) asking those they give status to to give up their passports and rights? What they don’t realise is if Bermuda gets in any kinda of trouble ALL they gave status to, will be the first to flee.
Would that be considered trespassing with intent?
It’s not trespassing. If someone wants to protest something that’s the area they are supposed to do it in.
The Government is looking out for Bermudians…is she that simple she cannot understand.
Ah well , can’t wait for the hallucinatory stage.
its already here..
Okay, the surname Matthie is not common in Bermuda, so it would be a safe assumption that this protester is a very recent beneficiary (in generational terms) of immigration policy from years gone by when one or more of her ancestors or other family received a grant of status. So why protest the same rights via Pathways for other people in our community?
She is protesting a whole host of things and it looks like she spelled peaceful as PEACEFWL……I wouldn’t be surprised to see her end up in St Brendans (MAWI) for he own good….A bit sad really.
Should you be put in MAWI for not putting the letter r in her? The petty things you come up with. I think you should step away from your keyboard and go get a life.
This young lady is Bermudian, her great great great great great paternal grandparents were Bermudians (I know because she is my relative). Her ancestors can be traced back for centuries in Dr. Hallett’s book. So Sceptic you need to close down your computer because the name Matthie is a well known Bermudian name, what you have written here is hog wash. You sound VERY IGNORANT!!
So what exactly is she demanding? Because it looks as if she has just listed items with no specifics?
She may want to review what a hunger strike actually entails.
whats wrong with her doing a hunger strike her way!
This is the unfortunate result of the PLP and its political wings (PC/BIU etc)., they use hate and fear to control their sheep. Now we have this individual who acts on that fear with no real understanding of the situation, and the PLP could care less. Just another Bermudian to use for their self serving games.
The immigration legislation will actually affect only the highly educated white and black Bermudians in professional services industries as the vast majority of LTR are in the business sector. It will have ZERO negative impact on the services industry, the labour industry and will actually provide a much needed influx of money into those sectors.
But this person is too caught up in the rhetoric and lies of the opposition to see it. Also too caught up to realize that the cabinet grounds are closed at night and by law she will have to move about five days before food deprivation is even noticeable.
SMH
Ask ANY one of those that will gain Bermuda status if they would give up ALL other status they hold and see how the list gets smaller.
If our government is going to give them something then let them be on equal footing with us. 1 vote 1 country!
You going to give up your UK status then are you? Yeah, dont think so. SMH.
How do you know they have UK status? Having Bermuda status doesn’t automatically garner someone with UK status. Besides you’re mixing apples and oats. Bermuda is a colony of the UK we technically are not a country we are an extension of England. If you want to debate whether UK citizens should get the right to apply to be citizens of Bermuda I would be on your side since it should go both ways. When it comes to citizens of other countries they know full well a Bermudian could apply for PR in their country but there is no guarantee they will get it and even if a Bermudian is a PR in there country already if they applied for citizenship there’s no law that says they are fully entitled to get it no matter how long they’ve resided there.
No, I don’t have UK status, I have Bermuda status by birth, do you? I asked the question, I didn’t ASS UME, and IF I wanted to live, work and remain in another country, I would give it up, Bermuda is a vacation destination.
Most of us are familiar with the pangs of going too long without a meal. That’s because after just a few hours without food, your body has burned through much of its readily accessible supplies of glycogen, the most plentiful and easy to reach source of energy stored in your body, mostly in the liver and muscles. If food is not taken over the following the two or three days, most people will use up their entire glycogen stores. In these first few days, symptoms are mild, including hunger pangs, bad breath, headaches, and a feeling of exhaustion. While hunger pangs — strong contractions of the stomach — generally pass within these first couple days, it’s after 72 hours that a real hunger strike is in effect. Hence California’s 9 meals rule, which finds prisoners to be on a hunger strike after about three days.
In the days that follow, the body of a hunger striker begins to break down stores of energy in fat and muscle, essentially cannibalizing itself to survive. As their bodies harvest any available energy stores to power the brain, the body rapidly sheds both muscle and fat, and levels of important nutrients like phosphorous and magnesium are depleted. Still, the first two weeks of a hunger strike are, while profoundly unpleasant, generally not life-threatening.
Once the two week threshold is passed, though, it’s a different story. After two weeks, the symptoms associated with extreme hunger — dizziness, exhaustion, the inability to stand up — often begin to take their toll in earnest. Muscle atrophy can begin to grow serious at this point, and control over those muscles can be hampered by ataxia, a condition resulting in a jerky walking gait and loss of motor control.
A slowed heartbeat, known as bradycardia, is also typical during this period. The sensation of thirst can be dulled, and many strikers report feeling cold constantly. This is also when thiamine deficiency sets in on many hunger strikers, further damaging muscles and often causing vomiting and difficulties with vision.
This thiamine deficiency is aslo the cause of problems after four or five weeks without food, which can include vertigo, uncontrollable eye movements, and double vision. After six weeks, the grueling symptoms of a hunger strike become life-threatening for most. Higher brain function is severely impaired, rendering victims incoherent and confused much of the time. Hearing loss and blindness have been reported, and hunger strikers who go without food for more than six weeks are at risk of death from heart failure or, more rarely, a buildup of toxins in the system that can result in sepsis, and infection of the blood.
All I can say is, I hope this woman has insurance, I hope she has a phone number for immediate emergency assistance, and I urge her to contact the Bermuda Diabetes Association to discuss purchasing a blood sugar level meter and strips that will allow her to monitor her health. As Diabetes is so prevalent in Bermuda, she may already have symptoms, and you’d be surprised at how quickly the effect of voluntary starvation can come on. PH 297-8427 for help.
(MY opinion only- this stunt is a shame as it is making a mockery of the real world problem of starvation, According to estimates by the Food and Agriculture Organization there were 925 million under-or malnourished people in the world in 2010. This was a decrease from an estimate of 1023 million malnourished people in 2009.)
thanks for information.
i believe this lady will be off the hunger strike as soon as hunger hits her.
I have a feeling her suitcase is full of Slim Jims and popcorn.
Very informative post which provides context for this hunger strike in a most sympathetic manner.
Hey thanks, but I copied and pasted it from the internet LOL. Seriously though, if this lady had any idea about the real use of hunger strikes, historically, it might open her eyes. Take a look at Bobby Sands et al in Northern Ireland. These are real struggles. This protest is wishy-washy, no real demands that can be achieved or even taken seriously. I feel too that that book was placed there to incite violence. After reading the FB page Election 2012 last night, I am appalled at the language used by every demographic on there, from the n to the C word and all inbetween. The admins of that group are pure PLP and they should be ashamed of themselves for allowing it and trying to incite and enrage their own people. Shameful bermuda, you’re better than this! (or so i thought….)
Black Watch Pass? Huh?
You all well know that NO Bermudian can go on hunger strike. SMH. On hunger stril and seeping Fish Chowder in teacup.
I stand with you!!! Stay Strong!!!
Then why not go and stand with her?
And I am serious.
Plenty of room – pull up a chair
not the ideal poster child for disenfranchisement….trust me I know
O ppress
B ermudian
A genda
…has been in the works for quite some time. We will never come together as OUR “leaders” keep us divided.
Election 2017 will Be the Most Energy Filled Election this Country will Ever Witness in it’s HISTORY
I am Very Excited
Modern day Bermuda has no idea what oppression is.
People in Sudan, Eritrea, Zimbabwe, North Korea, Belarus, Iraq, Syria etc. are truly oppressed.
The fact that you can use that word so freely goes to show how ‘unoppressed’ Bermudians truly are and how unknowledgeable some are about the real world.
The Oppression here is REAL
THOSE THAT FEEL IT, KNOW IT!!!
Just because others in the world have it worst, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exit here
You’re not oppressed and no one else is in this island.
Just because you state it and write in caps doesn’t make it any more of a fact.
You do a great disservice to truly oppressed people around the world.
not even gay people? lol ok
Dismissing It Doesn’t Mean, It Doesn’t Exist!!!
But what can expect from YOU?
YOUR NAME SAYS IT ALL!!!
You have every enshrined human right and freedom as a Bermudian in Bermuda.
You have the ability to spew out false claims that you are oppressed and can complain about the Government and espouse false claims against them and you will not be locked up for it due to your inalienable right to freedom of speech.
All Bermudians have access to free public education and no one is turned away.
You have the freedom to associate with whomever you please.
You, nor anyone else on this piece of rock is oppressed.
The only reason you claim to be oppressed is because you have never experienced what true oppression really constitutes. Never.
Nicely said…
I Never said I was oppressed
But I did get this for You
op·pres·sion
əˈpreSHən/
noun
prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control.
“a region shattered by oppression and killing”
synonyms:persecution, abuse, maltreatment, ill-treatment, tyranny, despotism,repression, suppression, subjection,subjugation; More
the state of being subject to unjust treatment or control.
synonyms:persecution, abuse, maltreatment, ill-treatment, tyranny, despotism,repression, suppression, subjection,subjugation; More
mental pressure or distress.
“her mood had initially been alarm and a sense of oppression”
So basically foreign workers are oppressed here…Thanks for clearing that up. Now I know what to call Mexican workers being sent up a communications tower in the rain or they get send home is called.
Lets talk about oppression of the foreign workers here.
JOBS: High end (IB) low end Agriculture, Cleaning, Nanny/Housekeeper (Modern day Slavery), Hospitality.
RENT/MORTGAGE: The high end workers have it ALL paid if not subsidised for them. The low end workers are put into dormitories or share with other workers and pay a small fee.
SCHOOLING: The high end workers have it ALL PAID if not subsidised for them. The low end workers seek public schools, if indeed they have children here.
Lets talk about Bermudians.
JOBS: Very few in IB (high end), even less in the higher positions. Low end they may not have wanted it before but too late to get in now.
RENT/MORTGAGE: What was being paid by 2 adults is now being paid by one, so therefore there is no savings, sometimes no lights, less food bought, or maybe they just lost the house and are now renting.
SCHOOLING: They used to have children in the public system, but they had a Job in IB, they got complacent and went private, but being made redundant the child is now in public again.
That’s not oppression. Oppression is being told to climb 200ft in the rain or you will be sent back to your country. Just like the lady I heard rambling on the other day, all that you say about foreigners is simple speculation. You can’t say ALL this and ALL that because you don’t know.
I have an expat friend who has been living here for 11 years and has two kids born here. He is successful at his job and valued highly by his company. I don’t know what benefits he gets here but obviously rent is paid, gym memberships, groceries, car, clothing, medical, insurance, tuitions, babysitting, eating out is getting paid as a result of him and his family being here whether he pays it directly or not. He is leaving now for he has been offered a better opportunity in the USA. Where he is going they are paying for his car, his rent, he can work 2 days from home to avoid the commute and they will pay a hotel night for him if he works late and wants to stay downtown. They found a great neighborhood for him and a great school for his kids and they are helping his wife get a job. Bermuda is not the only place where high end business people get rewarded highly. That’s a global thing competing for top talent. Stop playing Bermudians as victims. Bermudians can step up and work up. Do not just tell stories of how it unfair and they get all the stuff and wah wah it’s too hard for Bermudians. Suck it up. Strive for some rewards. It is not impossible.
@liar liar, have you been to any of those places? oppression cannot be compared!it is what it is to the ones that feel and know it!
P athethic
L lies and
P ropaganda
Keep Faithful and watch Jericho Fall!!!
The Jericho that the PLP to keep Bermudians out is falling.
Hunger games
May the odds be ever in your favor.
Now this made me LOL!!!!!
I find this very sad. It won’t help. Everything she wants takes money we don’t have. the OBA is trying to invest in a way that will bring money so that we can give her what she wants. She doesnt want to plant seeds she just wants the wheat. she doesnt want to feed the cow she just wants the milk. That was the PLP strategy and now we have a barren field and a dead cow. How can you ever get improvement if all you do is take take take? Sad.
All the best.
Sending over a 4 piece wings meal and we’ll see who gets it first, her or the ants.
Respect is due to this young lady and her cause. Please hold back the negative comments.
This would be the perfect opportunity for Mr Fahy to go out and talk to the lady. Listen to what she has to say and then explain to her how her Government is doing what is best for Bermudians.
Mr Fahy?
Fahy is too condescending to talk directly to people he feels are lower than him. He sends Sylvan to do that. I know Junior Ministers get paid loot but no amount of money would make me Fahy’s puppet.
Funny how you make that comment. Do you know him or ever witnessed anything that he has done to make you make such a comment? You are now generalizing which never works in the end. It’s also amazing how now you want him to talk to people opposed but when he had the open forum in St Georges “No” one wanted him to speak. It can’t always be on your terms and in your time. This can be compared to a spoiled child. The parent is trying to explain why they can’t have the candy but they continue to scream and cry until they get their way. You cannot let your children have their way because in the long run it will not benefit them. The same way the Government has to do what is best for this country in the long run and not worry about upsetting some people in the interim of the doing what is best for the country as a whole.
YOU ARE SOOOO RIGHT!!!
Fahy is the parent and as parent he says no candy and it’s no candy, he is not about to negotiate with his children.
Even parents make mistakes, a little candy sometimes will not hurt the child, in fact it makes the parent more loveable.
Does he seem like the loveable type, the parent who gives a little candy…………………..nah!
Last time he tried that he got shouted down.
I’m more intrigued about Blackwatch Pass. She’s protesting a road? Pretty obvious it’s a cheap stunt and she has no clue what she’s talking about.
Update 3.48pm: Ms Matthie said that the Premier stopped by to see her, and tell her that he is “listening and does care.”
But he is not in charge, too bad.
Maybe one day Fahy will allow Dunkley to whear the big boy pants and make decision. Then again John Barritt tried to make a change and Fahy made sure he was ousted. I guess it’s in Dunkley’s best interest to smile for the camera and not try and make any decisions himself.
I think he works.
Two words – Rain Dance
We need rain in the literal sense
All who make fun of her , the same was said about Gandhi, I admire her spirit, OBA has done so much hurt to our island and things like this will continue to happen
OBA have done nothing to hurt Bermuda.
They inherited a free falling economy, terrible Government finances, a consolidated Fund that received 6 consecutive qualified audits up until the OBA’s first audit, a broken immigration system, an underperforming education system that the PLP claimed was ‘thriving’ in the 2012 election campaign, a bloated and inefficient civil service etc.
Their first 3 years have seen foreign direct investment finally coming back to our shores, an economy that has grown for the first time in 6 years, all their audits thus far have been clean and unqualified, reduced the budget deficit by $130mn+.
The hurt you speak of is all in your mind.
Our children’s education system is literally being stripped of money to fund a sport. No concern for them, nor the seniors.
Oh the hurt is VERY real! The lies that the OBA told to get in power have hurt many. Don’t forget the surrogate plot that worked perfectly.
Do you conveniently forget who left the national finances in the state that they were in 2012?
What d you have to say about that?
You guys always go on about how history affects the future.
Well the PLP’s financial mismanagement has led to the cuts that you now complain about.
The $240mn emergency room, built by the PLP, is causing our healthcare costs to spike even further.
Currently 85% of all Govt revenues go towards civil service wages/benefits, grants and debt payments.
The disastrous financial position and the required austerity to ensure a complete collapse doesn’t occur is solely down to the PLP’s financial mismanagement over a 10 year period.
You’re like a smoker who caught cancer and is now blaming the doctor for putting you through painful remediation to cause the illness.
And math and economic theories don’t discriminate and so any future PLP government will be saddled with the same issues to tackle.
So because the finances aren’t there you use that to justify taking from children?!? While the payroll cap is STILL at $750k and the poor are bearing most of the taxes?
Do you work for Fox News? Sounds like their logic.
There are ways to reduce the debt without penalizing the children and the helpless.
Where is the REVENUE version of SAGE? Raising taxes can’t be the only answer.
@ Liar Liar- strong arguments but don’t waste your time! There memory is too selective to listen to and understand what your saying! It all comes down to black and white! No amount of logic will ever change that on this island.
That is so far from the truth. The money which is being paid for the AC will dwarfed by the income it will bring the island. We’ve already seen how much the world series in October generated, and the 2017 event, plus everything related between now and then, is so, so much bigger.
That extra money can be put into education etc etc, and we we still have recouped the original investment.
Put your hatred of the OBA aside just for a moment and look at the benefits.
That income is NOT guaranteed. Others countries have come out of AC in debt, what makes Bermuda special? I am asking, because the road to AC is rough right now.
Who are you? The sort who says Bermudians are lazy, uneducated, and vote for a labor part. yes that’s you. The Bermudians who have left this island are not lazy, want to work, their degrees cannot get them a job. They apply many times, but it doesn’t make sense when the JOB ADVERTS with 15-20 bullet pointed skills are TAILOR-MADE to the ex-patriot worker that has already signed his new/renewed contract. They might as well put a FINGERPRINT in the paper.
They say that this immigration reform will not affect Bermudians. No one (except OBA)is looking at the trickle-down affect that it will have. Houses will be lost and who will have the JOBS and MONEY to buy them. THE NEW BERMUDIANS.
True, a broken immigration system that allowed foreigners to exceed work permit limit at the time, but OBA won’ t fix this.
Our Children’s history has been weak a decade less back…We need to Right Ways Without Race Wars. Remember there are People that Understand
@Justice Follow the herd little lamb
LOL
What a dumb @$$. How about you go work before you start complaining that you don’t have any money.
Does she get to use the potty in ……………………
Unemployed.
More to this than meets the camera.
More people being used over indulgence in that Kool Aide.
A new way to take a stand and get noticed?
I don’t understand why many Bermudians don’t understand the financial state this country is in. We are IN DEBT! Big debt – from the actions of a former government. Re-read the Sage Commission report. It tell it like it is.
We COULD have cheaper healthcare, more affordable housing if we were not in this financial state.
We need foreigners to live here in Bermuda to:
- pay rent (towards your mortgage),
- pay taxes (towards your pension),
- increase flights for travelers (fuller planes and possible more flights),
- purchase food and dining out (maintaining price increases),
- purchase goods (keeping our business owners in business),
- volunteer (helping the community – young and old),
and so much more.
stop. that’s crazy talk.
They sent $ 2 billion outside of Bermuda since 2006. Wouldn’t it have been better had even a fraction of that money stayed here?
They are already doing that without having status! You make no point.
Exactly, but the loudest opposition to Pathways say that it will hurt Bermudians. These people are already here, so let’s give them a say in the country they contribute to.
Way beyond so many heads.
Well we have too many humanitarian foreigners working legally and eligaly,so that won’t help our island.
One pic shows her on her phone, ordering lunch?!
Nah, checking out the gossip about her strike. Been about 30 minutes now inna?
No-one truly goes on hunger strike without a clear condition to be met for the hunger strike to end. This is a political stunt and its an insult to all those who have endured the agony of hunger strike with good reason.
“Attrition”
Performance/Installation Art by Enda Matthie.
that’s a waste of a Louis Vuitton bag
No worries. It’s clearly a fake. Damier’s all have leather straps, not the patterned canvas.
No to the America’s Cup? I wish people would stop looking at the America’s Cup as an evil.
I’m sorry, madam, but you just don’t understand a lot of things and are only thinking of yourself or your hatred of the OBA.
Tell that to San Franciscans who are still in the red from it.
The AC wasn’t designed to make a profit for the Government.
It is a investment to stimulate the economy and get jobs going.
And if it was so bad for San Francisco why did San Diego and Chicago try to bring it to their cities?
So tell the government to stop using taxpayer money to fund it! Our children need to have a decent education!!!!
Where was your advocacy for education when in one of their last budgets, the PLP slashed the education budget while simultaneously increasing the tourism budget?
Your outrage is fake and steeped in partisan politics.
If it was real you would have shown your concern years before. But you didn’t.
So it is hard to believe that you actually truly do care.
Not everyone who is an opponent of OBA’s plans is a PLP supporter. Just because you choose to be a sheep for one side doesn’t mean everyone does. There are those who don’t support either because they are realists and understand that both have no clue. It’s too bad there are only two sides to choose from.
So they should use monopoly money instead?
At least it wouldn’t be money loaned to them that our children will inherit the interest for on top of PLPs interest. Neither party has any idea what a good investment is.
Bermudas currency will be worth the same amount as monopoly money after we de-peg because of our unsustainable debt burden
So the government is using money loaned to them on a one time event in the hopes that it will stimulate enough economy to pay back the loan plus interest? Sounds like something a drunk gambling addict would do.
Jobs for who? The children of the guests that will live here, so that our children won’t have summer jobs because we always favour foreigners.
@LiarLiar – thank you very much!
And as for San Francisco – well maybe they didn’t have sound financial management of the event. Ever think o that? Just because things went south for the city certainly, in no way, means it’s going to happen to Bermuda. In fact, under the OBA, I really doubt that will happen. Unlike of course, if this was under the PLP, of which you’d be so supportive, they’d have a glorious track record of financial mismanagement.
“No America’s cup”, eh? wow.
i suppose we should tell all the visitors who had planned to come and spend money in Bermuda, not to bother and advise all the entrepeneurs not to count on any revenues during the race, and cancel all hotel bookings and boat excursions etc…what a joke.
my guess is a section of bermuda will not be happy until this country is brought down to a 3rd world status and we will all be equal. Bermudians – IN POVERTY.
If that happens, you will see 80% of all guess workers in Bermuda running to Canada or Us or even Asian countries.
your point? all rats will jump off a sinking ship. wouldn’t you?
Canada will welcome them with open arms! Plenty of space out there.
Why she’s got the living room throw pillow for? She’s gettin maybe a little too comfortable …?
I think in some aspect that us as the Bermudian people appreciate your ambition in trying to make a change. Thank you !
I can’t help feeling that this hunger strike is a little bit selfish- what can the government do? Oblige her and shut a door on the newly proposed policies, or refuse and support their plan whilst being called a government that would let it’s people starve to death.
Realistically, I doubt whether Ms. Matthie will stick it out until the situation becomes that serious. At least I hope so.
…maybe I should do a hunger strike and propose that I won’t eat until the government makes wearing pants illegal. Bermudian shorts are better anyway, right? Even though most people would want to wear pants on a daily basis, by taking such drastic action I would be effectively going against the common interest of the people and forcing the government to evaluate the ridiculous issue.
As a Bermudian, the issue of non-Bermudians gaining status isn’t trivial. The concepts and policies have proven to be contentious, and thus deserve a mature discussion to resolve the issues. I hope that in the future the opposition will look towards less childish methods of demonstrating disapproval- at least more so than the aforementioned hunger strikes, or even stopping traffic during morning rush hour.
Yup, she’s utterly clueless.
No to income tax, and no to the Americas Cup? FFS. Where does she think money comes from? Does it grow on trees?
If you look at page 15 of the Budget document presented a few weeks back you will see this:
85% of Government revenues are now eaten up by civil service wages/benefits, grants/contributions and debt payments.
Given the above horrendous fact where exactly does Ms. Matthie, and the rest of the anti-cuts brigade, believe funds should be procured to satisfy their spending desires?
Why can Government not see that we desperately need to cut back on the Civil service and the Dept of Education ?
You can ask this question to the Civil servants,Government workers, and the
unions they belong.
They do see it. If you think these protests are bad you better reinforce any entry points into your home and stay there. The government sees that, that’s what we pay them to see, believe it or not. Don’t worry though, a few cans of tear gas, a couple of baton rounds to the chest and the whole thing will be over in time for tea. Even the likes of Onion Juice, who most likely would be home inciting the violence rather than participating, will be crawling home to mommy.
Okay.. My point is that all of her demands against the OBA are highly hypocritical if she voted for the PLP. What did they do when they were in power ? Get us into more economical trouble, not to mention the yaught that Doctor brown bought when he was in power. The OBA are actually getting something done for Bermuda but all the opposition can do is point fingers at everything the OBA tries to do. Just let them get on and maybe open your eyes to the reality of the world. Arrogant, describes perfectly what these people are protesting about immigration.
Especially since the $240mn emergency room built by the PLP is the main culprit behind the ever increasing healthcare costs.
But you are right. Where was Ms. Matthie and her various demands for reform prior to December 2012?
Just a clarification on the $240Mn emergency room. The building was constructed by a private firm, using their money, for which they indicated that the cost was $240M (or thereabouts).
What we must not forget is that to repay that $240M, the BHB is required to pay $2.5Mn per month ($30 Mn per year) for 30 years.
That is a repayment of $900Mn for our $240Mn hospital.
that lil bit of money math is above comprehension for those PLP supporters
Don’t school us on lending. Those of us who are losing our houses because we have been ousted by a foreigner who we taught the job, knows only too well that we pay 3 to four times the amount that we borrowed. That’s because we are Bermudian and we never had our mortgages subsidised by the company we USED to work for.
agreed. when times were good did you make higher mortgage payments to put you in good stead for any lean times or were you like the previous administration thinking or believing that times would always be good?
The PLP supported the community. Our children and seniors were taken care of! Money management wasn’t good, but they gave back to the community, helped my grandfather during the times when his income was the lowest.
The OBA are anti-Bermudian. That’s why they want to make fake Bermudians to chow that they are for the people.
That’s the second most stupid thing I’ve read all day.
This comment is so full of ignorance. ‘Money management wasn’t good, but they gave back to the community’ and left us in a financial crisis!
“Money management wasn’t good” ? Understatement of the century!
The PLP are anti-foreigner! See I can throw out anti words too!
It wasn’t their money to give….now the people want their interest payments on that and other spending….
It is like the PLP got money from loan sharks and the OBA are having to deal with them.
I hope you are the sort who would be willing to give up everything for your family because, in effect, that’s what’s happened.
The PLP may have helped your grandfather when he needed it, but they did it at your expense.
Ok since you are so convinced that PLP took care of the children and seniors please elaborate with actual examples and not just the personal one about your grandfather. You do not need to explain the money management not being good because we are all feeling that now but yet the OBA is getting the wrath for that along with many other messes the PLP left behind.
good grief – seriously?
Any relation to the young man that lost his life in a traffic accident recently?
Why is that even important?
Please someone get a 3 piece dinner and roun de world soda
Must be nice to have the option to not work and sit and read all day….
Definition of Staycation.
You are ASSuming that not working was an option. she is protesting as an unemployed woman fighting for jobs that she knows will go to foreigners. I’m sure she would rather be working than not working.
There are plenty of jobs.
Where? Rather than make ASSumptions, I challenge you to go and speak with Ms. Matthie to find out her work experience and qualifications, then go out and find her a job (since you say there are plenty of jobs) . . .come back and report out to us how many jobs you secured for her.
An Option?????? SMH. Are you paying attention to what is going on in Bermuda, most people not working don’t have an option, ignoramus.
a Glaze donut looks so good right now
Bacon wrapped mozzarella sticks.
Where was this woman when the PLP were putting us into an insurmountable amount of debt? Why is it the governments fault that housing is outrageous? It was even more outrageous under the PLP! The banks are the ones that make you have th 20% down, not the government! Why isn’t she asking the PLP where is all the goddamn money!!??
Eating KFC?
Exactly. Thank you. I wish all those PLP protesters would turn around and ask that of themselves and the PLP. The OBA didn’t create this mess.
You really are confused! Maybe you should find out why the OBA is shutting down so many of our youths elementary schools. Why instead of investing in the future of Bermuda (the kids) they are limiting them, and setting them on a path to failure. Placing them into institutions where they are not ensuring that these youths are part-taken in the core subject (english, math, sciences) which are required for college/ university. Under the age of 16, the Government is placing kids in programs tailored to their hobbies, and not tailored to providing them with the tools they need to have a future.Find out why, half of the island is still out of work. OBAs whole campaign was based around their ability to create jobs during our recession.But where they at? Find out why the Government forced its workers to taker a pay freeze and inferno day, but the taxes and insurance went up. Ask the Government why there are more and more Bermudians (working & non-working) every year living in the trees with nowhere to go. …Here the OBA is shutting down our schools, making us take pay a pay freeze, forcing us to take an inferno day, shutting down different government depts, in additions to other things, and still they have nothing to show for it. But you are getting mad talking about ask PLP where all the damn money is. No you ask our current government where our money is. We already know over 4 million is apart of their travel budget (smh..reduce my butt), we already know that part of it goes to other countries in need, like we are not dying slowly. Smh Go to sleep Mr/Ms Confused
What’s an inferno day?
I think you mean Partaking and furlow days..
I’m afraid that most of us know why those things are happening.
There is no money. None. Actually there is less than none. There is a massive debt that is just getting bigger and bigger, though the increase is slowing down.
Now, why you may ask, as we all do, does the OBA government have no money to work with, and a huge debt to work through?
Without going into details, here’s the basics.
When the PLP took over, there was money in the bank, and no debts.
When the OBA took over some years later, there was no money in the bank, and massive debts.
This is why people keep asking the PLP where the money is. It disappeared on their watch.
People have asked the OBA where the money went and they’ve answered.
There is now a commission of inquiry into the findings of the Auditor General’s report, so we should have the answers (hopefully) in due course.
She isn’t asking the PLP because it wouldn’t make sense, like you. Even though as you say the PLP is at fault, the OBA is in power, so there’s a hole in the bucket, fix it dear OBA, without hurting your own children.
Not to be rude but scientifically speaking, this woman could go quite awhile without eating and she would be just fine as long as she drinks water.
“Ms Fleming told Bernews, “This is not an easy thing to do, but we recognize these are times where people are being driven to do things they wouldn’t normally do because Bermuda is becoming a very scary place for the working class person.”
WTF does this mean? A “scary” place for the working class (sic)?
Ms Fleming should explain this and then ask herself why. I have little hope there will be any honesty in her thought process.
“We want to feel that we are a part of this island that we live on,”
How ironic is that? Yet you want to deny people who have lived here for 20+ years the right to vote?
Why give guest workers a right to vote before clearing out immigration concerns that effect persons with a clear Bermudian blood connection. Guest workers are just that…GUESTS. When does a guest visit your home and after a 2 – 3 week stay, they are making decisions.
If they’ve been in your home for 20 years and pay rent, they are no longer guests, they live there.
and…..not a port-a-loo in sight. Geesh….I wonder how long this will last?
She will be gone long before midnight.
She probably has a box of Depends in her bag.
As the health minister i am totally shocked that she is not concerned that a citizen is deciding on going on a hunger strike..if you really cared you would encourage her not to hunger strike and really meet her needs …..but of course you havn’t …and Nandi …..lol come on give me a break
The Gov’t need to slow down and show you do care for Bermudians. That’s all.
Oh dear! This will end in tears am sure…………where is the loo?
The moment I see someone quoted as wanting “to take things to the next level”, it indicates to me that they really haven’t fully thought through what they are trying to achieve.
Comprehensive reform to Black Watch Pass? Huh?
Most of you writers on these blogs are foreigners and OBA supports. When ever you open your mouths it like smelling bad breath. Always blaming the PLP for messing up this Island. It really goes back further, the UBP did most of the unjust in this Island, they set-up for the rich class and people like you who wants to come into this Island and say and do what you like to us Bermudians. Look around who has all of the choice property, most of it stolen from hard working uneducated Bermudian slaves. Ms. Matthie has every right to do what she wants. You all know for these things take place in your very own places where you are from. Those of you that come from places with so much poverty are glad to agree with this immigration matter, because it is a better life for you. Rodney Smith, you talk from both sides of your mouth. I sure wouldn’t want you as my leadership. Every Bermudian who is against this immigration matter have every right as citizens in this Island to make a stand. If you all don’t like it them leave and go back home. No, you all wouldn’t return back home because life is sooooo good for you here. Stand Strong Bermudians!!!!
So the PLP didn’t mismanage our finances while in power?
They didn’t increase the deficit by 2,600%+ in less than a decade (2004-2012)?
They didn’t receive 6 consecutive qualified audits?
They weren’t in power when millions of our dollars were spent without being accounted for as per the most recent AG report?
They weren’t in power when just about each and every capital project undertaken happened to go millions and millions over budget?
They weren’t in power when the pension funds were failed to be audited from 2004 to 2012 during which time they became unfunded to the tune of billions of dollars?
If not the PLP, then who caused it to occur?
My breath is minty thank you.
Kinda like you and I are alone in a room and I fart then blame it on you lol.
@liarliar—your name is spot on, go back further and see where the real debt is, how did most oba/ubp receive land and money? do your research! PlP never had any power or money of their own, don’t be infantile, lots of shops closed under plp coz they didn’t want them to be the government!
Lots of shops closed because they didn’t want the plp in power? Lol I thought I wasn’t wrapped too tight.
triminghams, smiths, knick knack, only ones I know for sure were in financial difficulty, and why did shareholders of bank of Bermuda give in so easily? Unless you do realize that the plp were also victims of the world wide recession
Yea the bad breath that the PLP breathed over everyone. Open your eyes and see the light
yo lavern
stop hating and go join her….
Well my dear it’s gonna be a long life with that attitude
You talk about it being like smelling bad breath every time they open their mouth!!!??? You should talk! Almost everything that spews out of the mouth of you blind PLP followers is like rotten garbage!!! What a joke that you always have so much bad to say about foreigners.
Most of us have no problems with the foreigners. Looks at it this way. You have a new adopted sister and your parents are over the moon about her, they think she is better than the child they produced, they give her a room of her own, designer clothes, private school, all the extracurriculars…………….and yearly trips to her birth country. You get none of this.
Foreigner worker = step sister
Bermudian = you.
So true, these haters are afraid to go back where the came from so they keep attacking plp like that’s going to give them the yes. I won’t take sides but right now OBA are the people’s government so we Bermudians expect them to do the right for us.
This is so funny…. Have you seen how many things she has wrote on her papers?
She is going to have to stay there for a loooooonnnngggg time…lol…
As a protestor, her ‘demands’ are too numerous and varied. They can never be fulfilled. One of the them is ‘Blackwatch Pass’- does she expect them to take the roundabout away? If she was standing for one thing, like the immigration thing the PLP keeps going on about, they may be able to make some headway to pleasing her.
I admire the lady, but this was thought out very well. She should pick one or two items to protest against – it would be much more effective than a whole list including America’s Cup.
Still I will go and check on her this evening see if she needs anything.
“Our message doesn’t get across to the average Bermudian”…Well why don’t you deliver the message in a way that the “average Bermudian” can understand? After all, it is us “Average Bermudians” who are impacted the most. Smh
I hope she brought a blanket and a bucket!
It’s gonna’ be a long night
Sadly La-Verne S – I come from the SAME PLACE as YOU. This little rock that so long ago the only inhabitants was wild boar. YES – WILD BOAR ONLY. Read it and weep. NOT you and NOT me.
Your potty mouth blog says it all and is EXACTLY what so many of your fellow Bermudians do NOT AGREE with and is EXACTLY what is destroying any hope of getting Bermuda healthy and whole again. Folk like you along with your beloved PLP/BIU are so yesteryear. It is 2016. Man has landed on the moon. There is a black President (YEAH!!). Oprah Winfrey is Queen of t.v. and a Trillionaire (look how she started!) Black and white and green and purple and poka dot people through out the world work, achieve greatness and success in their daily lives, their families and have sustainable levels of income and economic stability and great wealth in some cases and live happy and fulfilled lives. Look around you and look at the young people that hold so much promise as they get on with life.
Shame on you. The ONLY THING holding you back is YOU. The shackles put on so many years ago are long gone. The only shackles left are the ones YOU put there yourself.
Bravo! Well said!
Well said
Whilst I may not agree with what Laverne said, I have to tell you that all the black glory you sprouted came from another country with other laws and opportunities. Don’t you understand they are taking away our opportunities. The trickle-down affect of this will not be good for Bermudian in the future, on all the levels Ms. Matthie is talking about. Immigration is just the beginning of the end.
This is just another calculated move by the opposition to distract us from the real way forward. Right down to the photo op of her reading Island Flames.
This will solve nothing….
Could we just clarify something? Is Ms. Matthie really from here?
Does it make a difference? Oh wait, yes it does. If she is Bermudian, we understand and if she isn’t she’s fighting for us. I guess you find it hard to believe that someone on the other side would fight and care.
Once again OBA supporters being incredibly insulting and mean spirited.
Here, I think you missed this four days ago.
Departure Speech says:
March 4, 2016
There is no begging going on. Pack your bags and head on home to whereever you cave you crawled in from. Don’t keep checking just move on. We don’t need you and if you think it not so then just quickly leave and see how replaceable you are and how quick we forget you. So don’t get hit by the PINK BUS on the way out because you are EXPENDABLE but it will save us left if we don’t have to bury you and you tarnish our soil any further. BYE and DON’T COME BACK !!!
You’re welcome.
Mean spirited? Really?
How about all our neighbours, friends,and members of the community who have had to endure the pointed heated hatred that has been flung their way by the protests and those continuing to deny their place on this Island?
My dear “just matter of time”–you talk of insults and hate–really?
This is not OBA/PLP–this is human dignity–and the heart breaking thing is that there are members of our community–yes OUR community–its all of our community–not one segment of the population’s community–who continue to hurle insult at the other.
Very sad–I do think our up bringing wass better than this no?
Certainly in my house it was.
What a shame the fasting lady doesn’t understand economics. Bermuda must encourage investors so that people like this lady will have a decent job, No one inBermuda can provide a job as our economy has not recovered. Once we can get more overseas investors to invest here there will be many jobs on offer. I personally doubt if the people who might come here to invest and get status after 20 years will want to take this lady’s job. Doesn’t she realize this fact?
we have our heads so far up our a**** its unreal the scary part of this is who do we have to put into power next – our politician have little regard for us on both sides of the fence (scary huh) we must stop fighting against one another (we the people ) they whomever party continue to cram s*** down our throats and we continue to accept it . damn sad on our behalf we have no balls no guts , we accept accept accept. not all ideas are bad not all good – but stop the fighting amongst ourselves , and flipping stand for once – our seniors have more balls than us.
The irony of it all its takes a tragedy to move us – stupid people we are – lets prevent . lets heal lets cure – you people of bermuda really starting to BORE me. Try something different
her “fellow”… Bermudians?….look….don’t do this for me!
this is a silly stunt…
and…well …way overt and over the top for what it is intended….
and think nof awwwww DAT yummy food you don’t gets to eat…
Lets be for real people, on her protest cards she has many requests, to I would love to have all the requests she demands, but we all know it impossible, healthcare going up all over the World..
Social & economic equity, no one will give you anything in live, you have to work for it and save your money for a rainy day.
I saw a few people in the pictures that I personally know, and they have jobs, good jobs, they travel to nice places various times thru the year, so lets be for real people.
“Could wealthy people just mail us some money and stay away? That would really be easier.”
CoffeeCoffee for premier!!! Lol
Just the sit-in protest day and night would have been good enough.
The UBP/oba doesn’t care if some eat.
Ms. Matthie you have sent a message just for being there for the length of time you have. Stay as long as you can without jeopardizing your health. You have the prayers and support of many. Thanks for doing what you have been led to do. Bless.
A tent wow she really protesting ! Why is there a race card in everything . Why isn’t a card saying help white business also ! She’s not for the people of Bermuda she is for her own. The type that still sees black and white. Not bermudians .hope ya tent blows away tonight ………next time ya protesting don’t bring color into it .True bermudians are sick and tired off it.and the rest is a whole bunch of blah blah blah blah .
I don’t think I read whether she will be drinking liquids or not but if she’s NOT she’s got 3 to 4 days max…
If she’s just on a food strike and is serious about her conviction to the cause then she’d typically have about 3 weeks…
Then we can Honor her ; a person who sacrifices something of great value and especially for the sake of principle.
Disregard the critics Ms Mathie for they know your single protest shows up Bermuda and this government and how it treats Bermudians.
One rain drop is often the beginning of a rain storm which has the power to sweep away impurities which in this case is the anti-Bermudian OBA government
How’s your pention? I don’t think I’ll ever get to see mine after the last government.
Woman go home !
Heartless… just cold heartless people
Well Mrs Mathie has had a positive impact. She brought Nandi Outerbridge to the forefront. Nandi has not been seen since the last election along with all the other elected OBA female politicians. They should be made to submit a report on their accomplishments at the end of the fiscal year. It is shocking that they don’t even feel compelled to be visible and support their party. Mr Premier, you need to reign these ladies in. Patricia Gordon Pamplin and Jeanne Atherden need to run some in-house courses on political responsibilities for elected officials.
Mrs Mathie, please go home to your warm bed like all the other paid politicians on both sides of the house will be doing tonight.
The best comment is from LV. A parasite living off the hard earned backs of Bermudians. I don’t know how you can sleep at night you hateful person.
Nice night for a campfire. There are loads of untouched reports, surveys, comissions, inquirys & such sitting inside that building taking up space & gathering dust.
Great campfire fuel.
God spoke to me last night, and said homosexuality should be allowed to marry, and we need to allow for more people to be granted Bermudian citizenship. Remember people you can’t argue with The Lord!
The only way God speaks is through his written word! anything beyond that you are hearing things.
Well if she is sitting there on a hunger strike I am guessing she doesn’t have a job……..Also I hope she has her own medical insurance because I don’t want her getting sick, self-inflicted, and then I as a tax payer have to pay for it.
Hunger Strike………Let see how long this last. GOVERNMENT DO NOT CAVE. SHE WILL NOT LAST. DO NOT BUDGE FOR LESS THAN 10% OF BERMUDAS POPULATION ON HUNGER STRIKE…………AND THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN.
but yet the oba defend less than 10% of population that are NOT BERMUDIAN Not VOTERS who want to be status Bermudians ! yeah right!
“Comprehensive bi-partisan immigration reform”. Ah, that old nutshell. Code for, “don’t let anyone in who doesn’t look like me”. Gotcha.
Wso, she still there this morning?
How incredibly sad. I feel for Mrs. Matthie and her quiet protest that speaks louder than all the yelling and marching.
I see her reading Island Flames – should be a required reading for every Bermudian, in particular white Bermudians who so easily push the injustices of the past into the back of their collection subconscious.
The past is real and remembered. The sooner we all embrace it for what it was, the good, the bad and the terrible, the sooner we can start moving on.
if i didnt have anywhere to go/was homeless id sit there too
Lovely day to be outside enjoying some light reading.
Typical is all I can say……that is why we are in the situation we are in. I have read these comments and most of them are ridiculous…. they should be ashamed, I feel embarrassed for them….they would rather CRITICIZE their own (a Bermudian) who is trying to do something to make a difference for ALL Bermudians… instead of given support. That is why positive change never happens and never will. That is why parties in power think that they can do what ever they want to Bermudians in their own country because we are not together as a unity.
If you don’t support your own people than who do you support….Ms. Matthie I applaud you and fully support what you are doing because from listening to the talk shows and even people talking in general everyone has something to say and complain about how things are being run in this country but no one wants to take action……..at least she is willing too! No matter how it is being done…No matter how small…. she is doing something!
Can Bermudians go to any another country and make a life for themselves.. except for London where else can a Bermudian go in this world and do that…No where!
So why are we allowing it to happen?…..
Like someone stated earlier what type of Bermuda will it be for your children and grandchild and their children and grandchildren I can go on….it’s definitely something to think about… if you haven’t!!
She is hurting all of us Bermudians. HURTING, not helping.
“Can Bermudians go to any another country and make a life for themselves.. except for London where else can a Bermudian go in this world and do that…No where!”
Yes, everywhere that matters. The US in 5 years, all of the EU countries RIGHT NOW. And they are doing so. Many Bermudians have left, thus the need for more people.
Try to think for yourself.
I applaud all Bermudians who are showing support towards Ms. Matthie’s cause……for she is not just doing it for herself but for all Bermudians.
I thought I would put that in there because those who are thinking she is doing it for herself or that she maybe confronting struggles…….we All are confronting struggle someway no matter if you have a job or not, no matter if you have a roof over your head or food in your fridge or not…..we all are struggling in this island we call our country!
Bermudians pay attention!!
And all this nutrition talk nonsense…. when a person has a purpose in mind nothing can stop them from achieving the end result they are looking for…
no matter how small…. it can make an impact!!
God Bless you Ms. Matthie and you hold out as long as you can sweetie.