Dominica: Political System
According to DISEASESLEARNING.COM, Dominica is a parliamentary democracy. The head of state is the president, who is elected by parliament every 5 years. You can be re-elected as often as you like. The head of government is the prime minister. The House of Assembly is a unicameral system. It consists of 30 members: 21 elected constituency MPs and five senators appointed by the president and four senators appointed by the opposition. Parliament is elected every five years. See AbbreviationFinder for more information about Dominica politics, and acronyms as well. The right to vote applies from the age of 18. The official name of the country is:
| Commonwealth of Dominica |
National anthem
Based on flag descriptions by Countryaah.com, the Dominica national anthem was written by Wilfred Oscar Morgan Pond and set to music by Lemuel McPherson. It became the country’s official anthem on the occasion of the state uprising in 1967.
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In English language
Isle of beauty, isle of splendor,
Isle to all so sweet and fair,
All must surely gaze in wonder
At thy gifts so rich and rare.
Rivers, valleys, hills and mountains,
All these gifts we do extol.
Healthy land, so like all fountains,
Giving cheer that warms the soul.
Dominica, God hath blest thee
With a clime benign and bright,
Pastures green and flowers of beauty
Filling all with pure delight,
And a people strong and healthy,
Full of godly, rev’rent fear.
May we ever seek to praise Thee
For these gifts so rich and rare.
Come ye forward, sons and daughters
Of this gem beyond compare.
Strive for honor, sons and daughters,
Do the right, be firm, be fair.
Toil with hearts and hands and voices.
We must prosper! Sound the call,
In which ev’ryone rejoices,
“All for Each and Each for All.”
Do the rig,
And in the English translation
An island of beauty, an island of splendor, an
island that is so friendly and beautiful to
everyone, everyone must truly look in amazement
at your so abundant and rare treasures.
Rivers, valleys, hills and mountains
We praise all these treasures in you,
well-being land, as all your fountains
call for praises that warm the soul.
Dominica: personalities
Musician
Ophelia Marie
Singer, Ophelia is a well-known cadence-lypso singer who celebrated her great success in the 1980s. She is sometimes referred to as Dominica’s Lady of Song or the “First Lady of Creole”. The singer was often on the road in France and also had concerts outside the Francophone world. Her first recording was “Ay Dominique”, which became the “national anthem” for the Dominicans. She was the first non-French winner of the Maracas d’Or Prize, she was also awarded the Sisserou Award of Honor, the second highest honor in Dominica, as well as the Lifetime Award in 2005 and the Golden Drum Award in 1984.
Politician
Edison James (born: October 18, 1943 in Marigot/Dominica)
Politician, Head of Government/Prime Minister (1995-2000)
James received his university degrees in biochemistry and botany in the UK and then returned to his home island. He first worked in various local and regional institutions such as the Caribbean Development Bank, but it was not until he was the manager of the Dominica Banana Marketing Company that he became publicly known in Dominica when he revived the critical banana industry after Hurricane David. In 1988 he founded the United Workers’ Party and became its first leader. From its inception, the Unites Worker’s Party has been dubbed the “greedy” businessmen’s party by the established parties, but in 1990 the United Workers won 6 seats in parliament and James became the leader of the opposition. He led his party to victory in the 1995 elections,
In his 5-year reign, James was criticized in many of his decisions, for example he wanted to bring an Australian mining company into the country to mine mineral resources, which did not quite fit into the image of the “nature island”, then the law was passed that Foreigners could buy citizenship of the country, this was then converted again as there was a risk of offering a port of call for criminal elements.
On the other hand, a lot has been done for the development of educational institutions, there have been successes in leading the country from the agricultural monoculture of banana cultivation to other products and the island’s road network has been expanded. In this way the domestic economy was able to flourish and grow.
In the 2000 elections there was a surprising slump, despite its popularity, the party lost three seats in parliament and thus a majority, the other two parties also had no majority, the Dominican Freedom Party and the Dominican Labor Party then joined against them UWP together and Edison James had to vacate his seat in favor of Roosevelt Douglas. James became the leader of the opposition again until 2005.
Phyllis Shand Allfrey (1908 in Dominica to 1986 in Dominica)
Politician and writer
Phyllis Allfrey is best known for her only novella, “The Orchid House” from 1953. The book was produced in 1991 by the English television station Channel 4 as a miniseries. Between 1965 and 1982 she also published in the Dominican Star, a daily newspaper. Her political career was in no way inferior to her writing. She founded the Dominica Labor Party and was the only female minister in the West Indies Federation. After her death in 1986, a posthumous collection of her short stories was published.
Publications:
• In Circels, 1940
• Palm and Oak, 1950
• The Orchid House, 1953
• It Falls into Place; published 2004
writer
Jean Rhys (from 08/24/1890 in Roseau to 05/14/1979 in Cheriton Fitzpaine (Devonshire)
Her real name was: Ella Gwendolen Rees Williams
Writer. As the daughter of a Creole and a Welshman, Jean Rhys felt white and was on her very early on She left Dominica at an early age to go to school in Great Britain and later live there. Nevertheless, her Caribbean background accompanies her all her life, she envied blacks their vitality in comparison to the “sterile” white world, but understood also that the black world of her nannies could never be hers.
Her first years in England were those of her post-colonial colleagues who felt betrayed by the British motherland, it was only in her seventies that she was able to find her social niche. Even so, or perhaps because of it, she had an unconventional writing style throughout her life. Her inner turmoil between the black and white world is reflected in all of her works. In the last years of her life, she achieved fame and financial independence.
Some of her works:
• The left Bank and Other Stories, 1927
• Postures, 1928
• After Leaving Mr Mackenzie, 1931
• Voyage in the Dark, 1934
• Good Morning Midnight, 1939
• Wide Sargasso Sea, 1966
• Tigers Are Better Looking, 1968
• Penguin Modern Stories I, 1969
• My Day: Three Pieces, 1975
• Sleep it off Lady, 1976
• Smile Please: An Unfinished Autobiography, 1979
• Jean Rhy Letters 1931-1966, 1984
• The Complete Novels, 1985
• Tales of the Wide Caribbean, 1985
• The Collected Short Stories, 1987
Athlete
Phillip Anthony Jason “Daffy” DeFreitas (born February 18, 1966 in Scotts Head/Dominica),
English cricketer and player on the England national team.
DeFreitas made his Leicestershire debut in 1985 against Oxford University. The following year he had a wonderful season, he achieved “94 wickets” and was posted for the Ashes Tour 1986/1987 for the English team. He played there until the mid-1990s. His two best test series were against the West Indies in 1991 and against New Zealand in 1994 when he scored 22 and 21 wickets, respectively. His best test score of 88, in which he achieved 42 runs off in three overs, he achieved in the game against Australia in Adelaide and secured the Man of the Match prize. He was also named Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1992.
In 2000 he returned to his former club in Leicestershire and became team captain for 2003 and 2004. In April DeFreitas announced his retirement from cricket. DeFreitas became the hundredth player to score 100 crickets in a test cricket match.
Dominica: animals
Mammals
Almost all wild mammals on the island are of a rather small stature, such as the opossums, hares and diurnal agoutis that are widespread here.
Numerous bats also live here
Reptiles, amphibians
As on most of the Caribbean islands, lizards and iguanas are very common on Dominica.
Almost everywhere you can meet members of the anole family, the most species-rich group of iguanas, some of which are endemic to Dominica – only found here. The very slender and often bright green lizards with a noticeably long tail have particularly intense colors that they can change depending on the situation. Because they are excellent climbers, they can mainly be seen on trees and bushes.
The Green Ameive, which belongs to the rail lizards, is also endemic. A special feature, however, are the turtles that occur here between March and September, including the giant leatherback turtle and the hawksbill turtle. Unlike other turtles, the leatherback turtle’s shell is covered with a rubber-like skin.
The sea turtle always lays its eggs on sandy shores. There are also nests on the Atlantic coast in North America, in other coasts of the Caribbean and Central America as well as in South America, Africa and on the coasts of the Indian Ocean.
However, the stock is endangered by fishing as the animals get caught in the nets.
Therefore, the turtles are under nature protection, since in addition to the natural dangers for the eggs such as birds and animals of prey, humans also repeatedly steal eggs, which results in decreasing population numbers for subsequent generations.
The amphibians include a species of frog that only occurs from around 300 m above sea level and is often found on the menu, the mountain chicken.
Snakes, poisonous animals
There are no poisonous snakes and no other poisonous animals worth mentioning on Dominica.
One of the five non-poisonous snakes and the largest on the island is the Boa constrictor – a strangler snake.
Birds
Birds are one of the most biodiverse groups on the island.
Special features include two parrot species, the blue-headed and the imperial parrot. The latter is Dominica’s national bird and one of the species threatened with extinction. The approximately 46 – 51 cm tall bird with the blue-green head and the red underside lives exclusively in the mountain forests from 600 m above sea level, where it prefers seclusion due to its sensitivity.
The imperial amazon population has already been significantly reduced by two devastating cyclones that have struck Dominica in the past. However, there is still a great danger to the population, which only counts a few specimens, due to the clearing of the primeval forests and the penetration of humans into the already limited habitat of the bird.
Hummingbirds, herons, black swifts, broad-winged buzzards, pigeons, wrens, kingfishers, cuckoos, warblers and bullfinches are far more common. One phenomenon, especially during courtship, is the magnificent frigate bird. In order to impress the female and outperform competitors, the male inflates his red throat pouch like a balloon to an enormous size.
The smooth-beaked ani, an American cuckoo bird, appears again and again in grasslands, bushes and on cultivated land. The sugar bird is characterized by its yellow breast and the gray tyrant by its crumbled hood on its head. Occasionally one also meets the brown pelican, the golden warbler and the yolk warbler.
Insects, spiders
There is an unmanageably large selection of insects, but most often you will encounter cockroaches, often 4-5 cm in size, which, however, does not necessarily have to be related to the hygienic conditions on the island, but rather to the temperatures and humidity there can be.
Butterflies, bumblebees, wasps, bees and especially mosquitoes are also very common.
More than 55 different species of butterflies have been identified so far.
Underwater world
Whale watching can be particularly exciting, as there are always numerous species of whales that come near the coast. These include sperm, minke and killer whales as well as pilot and minke pilot whales. Rather rare guests are humpback whales, which only stop by in winter, if at all. But there is also no shortage of tropical fish species and divers get their money’s worth.
Dolphins and a number of different shark species can also be seen here.
Dominika: Plants
General preliminary remarks
Especially in the mountainous regions of Dominica there are large contiguous forest areas.
The rainforest grows here from 300 m above sea level and covers half of the entire island area. At even higher altitudes there are mountain and cloud forests.
The areas cleared for the cultivation of crops are mainly found along the coast, but humans are also advancing further and further into the mountain regions
Trees
The national plant of Dominica is a 3-5 m tall deciduous tree with the botanical name Sabinea carinalis.
In the local language the tree is called Bwa Kwaib. It grows exclusively on the west coast, and there only between the towns of Picard and Roseau. The red flowers that can be admired between February and June and between September and December are remarkable.
Breadfruit trees are also common and there are various types of stone slices in the Morne Trois Pitons National Park.
Useful and medicinal plants
In addition to bananas and coconuts, the most important crops also include citrus fruits and cocoa. All four play an essential role in the country’s export.
In the 7 m tall evergreen tree named Nanche, an anti-inflammatory effect of the active ingredients in the striking yellow flowers was found.
Poisonous plants
The flamingo flowers from the arum family contain calcium oxalates in their leaves, which lead to inflammation of the affected areas when touched. When consumed, the consequences are more serious, the tongue and the oral mucous membranes swell and burn, swallowing difficulties and speech disorders are further symptoms of poisoning, as are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramps and general gastrointestinal complaints. Just as it is for humans, the plant with its striking, beautiful and large flowers is also poisonous for animals.
Other and introduced plants
The most common plants, especially in the rainforest, include so-called epiphytes. These are epiphytes that grow on a host plant (usually a tree), but do not deprive it of nutrients and are therefore not parasites.
They use the host exclusively to better reach the light. The wild pineapple belongs to this group, as does some of the ferns, many of which are also found in the rainforest. However, other fern species can also reach tree size, such as the tree fern.
Heliconias enchant with their beautiful flowers, which are represented in many different colors, as well as those of orchids and bromeliads. As on most of the Caribbean islands, the flamingo flowers (anthurium) and the bird of paradise flowers are also represented here. The long stalk of the latter can grow up to 1.5 m tall, but what is more impressive is the shape and color of the petals than the size of the plant. Orange-yellow and blue petals grow out of the bract, which can often be varied in color, and are reminiscent of the head of a tropical bird.
The first residents of Dominica to come from South America brought Kassavas and the sweet potato with them. Kassavas is known by several names, but the most common is probably cassava. The plant belongs to the milkweed family, grows up to 3 m high, has a bushy habit and greenish-yellow flowers. The starchy, up to 8 cm thick and up to 90 cm long tubers are used. All parts of the plant contain a toxin that is destroyed by washing out and exposure to heat. This makes the cassava palatable.
