Imani Tafari-Ama | Post-colonial principalities and paedophile powers

In the Caribbean, we would learn so much more if we practised talking to each other. If only we could cross the colonial language barriers of English, Spanish, French and Dutch, we would realise that we have more in common than our apparent differences. In reality though, unless you come from Haiti, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St Lucia or Dominica, Kweyol (Creole) will be French to you in more than a manner of speaking. In Jamaica Patwah (Patois) is frowned upon by the upper class that prefers to pow-wow in ‘The Queen’s English’. Politically, the Caribbean also operates in exclusive blocs. Haiti enjoys shaky CARICOM status while Cuba and the Dominican Republic are often treated as part of Latin America. Although Spanish is spoken in Puerto Rico, when you land at the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, there is a big sign saying, ‘Welcome to the United States of America’.

Today’s Caribbean includes 16 colonial territories controlled by France, The Netherlands (Holland), England (Britain) and the United States of America (USA). These are:

• Martinique, Guadeloupe, St Bartholomew (St Barts), half of St Martin and Cayenne (French Guiana) – France;

• Anguilla, Montserrat, the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands – England;

• Puerto Rico, Guantanamo Bay and the Virgin Islands of the US – the USA;

• Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and half of St Maarten – The Netherlands.

Despite flag independence, the enduring English colonial presence is indicated by the independent countries’ Commonwealth membership. The Queen keeps firm tabs on her former colonies. Guadeloupe and Martinique opted for assimilation. This arrangement provides France with direct involvement in these “territories’” internal affairs. French citizenship provides the average person in the “territories” free access to state-sponsored resources like education. This social leverage allows citizens of French principalities to question the value that independence has added to British [in] dependencies like Jamaica.

In the 1990s, when I lived in Antigua and Barbuda, I travelled and worked in various islands, including Montserrat. After Hurricane Hugo devastated this island, I did an evaluation for the Caribbean Conference of Churches (CCC) of the rehabilitation work done by several agencies. It was amazing to walk in the mountains with CCC representative who went on to be ambassador and permanent secretary of foreign affairs of Antigua and Barbuda, Anthony ‘Mamba’ Liverpool and Clarice Barnes. Clarice, a proud Montserratian, showed us the hot sulphur springs under which her custom-built house nestled. When Montserrat suffered a major volcanic eruption in 1997, Clarice was among those residents who lost their houses to the lava. I remember speaking to her on the phone as she described being housed in a tent city, watching swirling ash all around as the hot lava flowed to the sea, forming new land as it cooled. For her PhD thesis, Clarice provided a critical analysis of the trauma of loss suffered by the volcano survivors. She also explored the psychosocial survival strategies employed by Montserratians to recover from this disaster.

DAVID BRANDT CASE

Clarice and I have kept in touch over the years and a conversation with her is always a delight. However, I was not happy when she called last month to discuss the David Brandt case. As she provided an eyewitness account of the trial, I went online and downloaded the story and the case report titled The Queen vs David Brandt. I read the gruesome details of systematic sexual grooming and abuse. Brandt was charged with six counts of sexual exploitation and one count of perverting the course of justice. The July 14, 2021 sentencing resulted in his incarceration for 15 years.

This public-figure-cum-crime-perpetrator had 40 years’ experience as an attorney-at-law. Brandt also served as chief minister in the British colony from August 1997 to April 2001. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Montserrat from 1983 and he won a seat every year until his retirement from active politics in 2001. Brandt received an Honorary Doctorate (LLD) from The University of the West Indies’ Open Campus in 2015. They withdrew the Honorary Degree once Brandt was charged.

The heinous crimes committed by this public servant include sexual abuse of children 13-15 years old. The learned barrister did his nefarious deeds under the cloak of holding high office. His character witness cited his 50 years of marriage and fatherhood status to paint him as a responsible citizen, to no avail. The charges against him date back to 2010 and escalated between 2015 and 2018. The disgraced lawyer showed that someone with paedophilic perversions can pose for protracted periods as a decent and respectable citizen. His violation of the trust invested in him invites caution in general dealings with all potential perpetrators. Brandt’s charges of sexual exploitation include having sex with a minor and inveigling minors to fondle each other and send pictures of these interactions to him in return for copious amounts of cash. Lawyer Brandt was paying the girls an average of $1,000 EC (Eastern Caribbean) for a picture. The exchange rate is EC$2.70 for US$1. The volume of Western Union transfers so depleted the family reserves that Brandt’s daughter admitted that it was going to be a struggle for the family he abandoned to pay the mortgage and other expenses.

SILENCE VICTIMS

The lawyer-turned-criminal bribed his victims to silence them. He also used his knowledge of the law to prevent the cases against him from succeeding in court. Some of the abused children tricked Brandt by manipulating images and resending to reap the dividends. The dirty old man was convicted on the strength of evidence provided by his WhatsApp messages. Despite the web of deceit he wove, this analog-age violator underestimated the power of digital communication to provide deep imprints of his dastardly deeds.

This case reiterates why we need improved mechanisms of intra-Caribbean communication. We are confronting the common problem of violence, especially against the girl child. We must caution children about the dangers posed by perverts who mask violations of innocence to satisfy salacious desires with public displays of decency. In an ironic twist, a pretty penny from Regina’s colonial coffers (which Brandt once managed) paid the prosecution fees to imprison Montserrat’s premier sexual exploiter.

Dr Imani Tafari-Ama is a research fellow at The Institute for Gender and Development Studies, Regional Coordinating Office (IGDS-RCO), at The University of the West Indies. She is the author of ‘Blood, Bullets and Bodies: Sexual Politics Below Jamaica’s Poverty Line’ and ‘Up for Air: This Half Has Never Been Told’, a historical novel on the Tivoli Gardens incursion. Send feedback to imani.tafariama@uwimona.edu.jm.