分类： society

Dated June 1, 2026, a formal tribute released by the President of the Antigua & Barbuda Trades and Labour Union (AT&LU) honors the life and legacy of the late comrade Cheryl Mary-Clare Hurst, extending heartfelt condolences to her family and loved ones.

Widely remembered as a dedicated daughter of Antigua and Barbuda, Hurst devoted her entire public life to advancing the national labor movement. Across every role she held across decades of public service – from General Secretary of the Antigua Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP), to Senator, Minister of State, and even her work as a choir member within the party – she consistently embedded the core principles and values of the AT&LU into every aspect of her work. Her unwavering passion for protecting the rights of working people extended to every community across both islands of the nation, earning her widespread respect from union members and workers across the country.

For the AT&LU, Hurst was far more than an ally; the union was a core part of her identity and lifelong mission. Bernard de Nully, AT&LU President, emphasized in the tribute that the entire union community remains eternally indebted to Hurst for her relentless dedication, consistent support, and unshakable loyalty to both the national trade labor movement and the broader working class.

Drawing on spiritual comfort to guide mourning, the tribute invokes the biblical verse from John 16:22, which reminds those grieving that present sorrow will ultimately give way to unshakable joy. De Nully closed the tribute with a prayer that the Holy Spirit will guide Hurst’s journey to the afterlife, and that the Almighty will grant enduring comfort to the Hurst family during this period of bereavement. The union’s statement ends with a final wish that the soul of Cheryl Mary-Clare Hurst may rest in eternal peace.

In a moving ceremony that brought together tourism industry leaders, former colleagues, and family members, a senior government minister has paid public homage to one of the Caribbean’s most influential tourism trailblazers, Theodore “Ted” Isaac, who held the national honor of Companion of the Order of the Medjidie (CM).

Minister of Tourism, Randall Fernandez, delivered a heartfelt address highlighting Isaac’s decades-long work transforming the region’s tourism sector from a nascent, undervalued industry into the cornerstone of the local economy that it is today. Decades ago, when the Caribbean was still largely overlooked by major international travel operators, Isaac emerged as a visionary advocate, pushing for strategic infrastructure investment, targeted international marketing, and community-centered tourism development that prioritized local employment and cultural preservation.

Fernandez recalled that Isaac’s early initiatives paved the way for the expansion of world-class resorts, the growth of eco-tourism, and the rise of the cruise ship industry in the region, bringing millions of visitors and billions in revenue to local communities. Beyond his professional achievements, Isaac was also remembered as a mentor to generations of tourism professionals, who often highlighted his commitment to lifting up emerging leaders from marginalized communities. His work also emphasized sustainable tourism practices long before climate action and environmental preservation became core global priorities for the travel industry.

“Ted Isaac did not just build hotels or attract visitors—he built a legacy that continues to sustain our people and our economy,” Fernandez stated during the tribute. “His vision saw what the rest of the world would only recognize decades later: that our natural beauty, our vibrant culture, and our warm hospitality are our greatest assets, and that when we invest in tourism that works for everyone, we invest in a better future for generations.”

Industry leaders echoed Fernandez’s remarks, noting that Isaac’s policy recommendations still shape regional tourism strategy today, particularly as the sector works to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and adapt to the demands of a changing global climate. A new annual tourism leadership scholarship has been announced in Isaac’s name, to support young professionals pursuing careers in sustainable tourism development across the region.

More than a century after the formal abolition of chattel slavery in the Caribbean, a small group of pioneering Black medical professionals returned to their home region after training abroad, laying the foundation for accessible, quality care for local communities that had long been abandoned by formal healthcare systems. Among these trailblazers was Dr. Cuthwyn Lake, only the third Black general surgeon to serve the people of Antigua and Barbuda, following in the footsteps of Dr. Noel Margetson and Dr. Ivor Heath, alongside pioneering obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. William Joseph. For generations of local residents, the transformative impact of their work remains a hidden but foundational part of the nation’s public health history.

Before these physicians returned to their home region, the reality of healthcare for Black communities in the post-abolition Caribbean reflected the deeply entrenched inequalities of the past. During slavery, formal medical care existed exclusively for the white planter class, and care for enslaved people was only provided to maintain their ability to perform grueling plantation labor. Surgeons were even deployed to maul recaptured runaway slaves as punishment, amputating feet to discourage future escape attempts. Immediately after abolition, formerly enslaved people were no longer the property of plantation owners, and they lost what little inadequate care they had once received. For more than a century, local communities relied entirely on traditional bush medicines to treat all manner of ailments, a reality documented vividly in *To Shoot Hard Labour*, the oral history of Antiguan working man Papa Sammy that many public health advocates argue should be required reading for all secondary students in the country.

The work of returning physicians like Lake and his peers changed this reality overnight. Alongside local nurses who stepped in to fill every role, including serving as operating room assistants, these pioneers eliminated widespread preventable illnesses and conditions that had ravaged local communities for generations. Thanks to their work, rates of goiter dropped dramatically, countless people received life-saving care for debilitating conditions like large hydroceles, uterine fibroids, and ovarian cysts, and mortality from preventable conditions like ruptured appendices and childbirth complications plummeted. Today, most people under 50 in Antigua and Barbuda have never experienced the widespread public health crises that were common before these pioneers began their work.

Lake’s story is intertwined with the broader history of Caribbean medical progress. A close contemporary of Dr. Cuthbert Sebastian, the Antigua-born surgeon who rose to become Governor-General of St. Kitts and Nevis and published *One Hundred Years of Medicine in St. Kitts* in 2002, Lake’s experience mirrored that of medical pioneers across every Eastern Caribbean territory. Sebastian’s account of regional healthcare development could easily be adapted to describe Antigua’s journey with almost no changes.

For Dr. James Knight, the author of this reflection, Lake was more than a pioneering public figure — he was a professional mentor who shaped his entire medical career. Knight first met Lake in January 1990, shortly after he graduated from a Cuban medical school and was waiting for his professional licensing to be processed. Lake, then a senior leader at Holberton Hospital, offered to support Knight’s onboarding once his licensing was finalized, and Knight began his clinical career working alongside Lake and Dr. Ramamuthi Bekal in the hospital’s operating room.

Knight remembers Lake as a level-headed, open-minded leader free of the prejudice and professional resentment that plagued many senior medical leaders of the era. He was a thoughtful man with broad general knowledge and a pragmatic approach to the challenges of public health in a small developing nation. When Knight asked Lake why he maintained a close relationship with then-Prime Minister V. C. Bird yet the hospital still regularly lacked basic supplies, Lake replied with characteristic candor: Politicians prioritize visible, popular projects like village basketball courts over behind-the-scenes hospital equipment that delivers far greater public good. Knight notes that even decades later, this misprioritization — favoring sensational, visible projects over the routine organizational and programmatic needs of healthcare — remains a persistent challenge for the region’s health systems.

Lake was also a forward-thinking healthcare planner who advocated for expanding and renovating Holberton Hospital on its existing site, arguing that the location offered ample room for future growth — a vision that many public health experts now recognize as prescient. Professionally, Lake guided Knight’s career at a critical juncture: when senior colleagues encouraged Knight to leave the hospital for a district medical officer role that offered greater opportunities for private practice, Lake refused to write a letter of recommendation, arguing that gaining broad experience across multiple hospital departments would be far more valuable for Knight’s long-term development. Knight would later call this advice life-changing: the six years of broad clinical experience he gained at Holberton gave him the confidence to become Barbuda’s first full-time resident doctor in 1997.

Even in challenging professional conflicts, Lake’s calm demeanor and humility won over even his critics. Early in his career at Barbuda, when nursing staff pushed back against his requirement for full eight-hour shifts, a retired Holberton matron noted that Knight’s measured response mirrored Lake’s approach. Though Lake was once nicknamed “Brutus” by nurses early in his career, his good humor, civility, and humility eventually won over all his detractors. By the end of his tenure, he counted staff across every role — from senior consultants to cleaners, cooks, and carpenters — among his most ardent supporters.

Working in an era before widespread access to specialized surgical care, Lake operated on every part of the human body, but his greatest skill was his deep understanding of human need. Unlike many leaders who saw the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity for profit, Lake believed the crisis should be a moment to deepen empathy for vulnerable communities. It is for this reason that naming Antigua and Barbuda’s COVID-19 alternate treatment facility after Dr. Cuthwyn Lake was a fitting tribute. True to his surname, Lake was a steady, calm force like a great lake, a deep reservoir of knowledge who nourished the entire medical community, fostering a culture of excellence and lasting humility that continues to shape the nation’s healthcare to this day.