{"id":126809,"date":"2014-11-01T12:23:13","date_gmt":"2014-11-01T16:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/?p=126809"},"modified":"2014-11-02T09:23:25","modified_gmt":"2014-11-02T13:23:25","slug":"independence-national-question","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/independence-national-question\/","title":{"rendered":"Independence and the national question – part I"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gabriel
Gabriel Christian is a Dominican-born attorney who lives and works in the US. Photo credit: The Dominican.net<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Editor’s note: This essay, written by Gabriel Christian, was first published in 2008 as a Dominica Academy of Arts and Sciences (DAAS) article. Six years later, it remains very relevant and Dominica News Online (DNO) has decided to publish it in seven parts over the next week.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

2008 represents the 30 Anniversary of Dominica\u2019s Independence from Britain. Many of us who championed the independence struggle can only grimace when we consider the mistakes made by our leaders and people over the years in failing to seize the opportunities presented to champion the national interest and control of the means of production for the benefit of the vast majority of Dominica\u2019s people. The deterioration of any adherence to nationalist principles in philosophy and practice \u2013 by the government and governed – gives pause to the committed and confounds the best intentions of those who remain true to the cause. Today, we see scant commitment to indigenous control of our affairs; beyond feting and slogans which pretend to favor same. Recent events have compelled this reflection on our history as a people and, in particular, the role of the Dominica Labour Party which ushered in the era independence and considered itself the guardian of the national interest.<\/p>\n

Today many people take for granted our right to vote; laws which protect women; equal rights for descendants of Africans or our Carib people;\u00a0ownership of land or a home; respect for our creole culture; respect for our African heritage; our flag; our national anthem; our national independence, and the fact that Dominicans can sit in parliament and make decisions about local matters. It was not always so. It is only within the last half a century, 1951 to be exact, that Dominicans got the right to vote. That new policy was called universal adult suffrage. Prior, the right to vote was restricted to the propertied classes; overwhelmingly the descendants of those who had conquered the island, seized the land from the Caribs and then compelled captured Africans to work for free over a term of some 300 years. In the early to mid 19 Century, there were a few of our common people –Robert Douglas and J.B. Charles among them–who had accumulated property by dint of wise investment effort and thrift; but they were a minority. Others who had gained stature through education, such as distinguished local attorney Cecile Rawle whose bust sits atop a plinth at the top of Federation Drive, became notable leaders in the early fight for self government.<\/p>\n

Dominica\u2019s first Chief Minister, Franklin Baron, presided over an administration which brought some progress in the manner that local
\nrepresentation should: there was the completion of the Imperial Road linking Marigot to Roseau in 1956; the start of the Melville Hall Airport project in 1958 and the new Dominica Grammar School building was conceived in 1960\u2014among other projects. However, the island\u2019s first political party, the Dominica Labour Party (DLP) formed by E.C. Loblack and Phyllis Shand Allfrey in 1956, arose because they felt that enough was not being done to serve the majority population. That majority population was overwhelmingly peasant and working class; still restricted in ownership of land, access to proper health care, and education. Further, because slavery had limited the ability of the descendants of poor Dominicans to acquire land, there was little trans-generational transfer of wealth. That meant if their parents were squatters, and labourers, so too were their children. Many Dominicans, groaning under the weight of that oppressive colonial system were forced to flee to other countries, to escape perpetual poverty: Curacao, Aruba, Cuba, U.S. Virgin Islands, Britain or the U.S.A. being among some of their destinations. Of those who remained, some decided to fight for change, and found a place in the Dominica Labour Party.<\/p>\n

Some of the founders of the DLP had been members of Dominica\u2019s first trade union, The Dominica Trade Union (DTU) which was formed in 1945. Having such a base, they believed in the working people having a living wage; and peasants being able to own the land upon which they worked. Most importantly the party believed in self government for Dominica; i.e. independence. In 1961 Edward Oliver LeBlanc led the DLP to a sweeping victory over the Dominica United Party (DUPP) led by Baron. LeBlanc\u2019s administration laid the basis for many of the progressive changes we see today: new high schools such as the Portsmouth Secondary School; the Clifton Dupigny Technical College\u2014now the site of the Dominica State College; feeder roads connecting mostly all villages; better primary schools; more high school scholarships and a new Dominica Grammar School and Technical Wing; social security; our own National Commercial & Development Bank; the new Ministry building; the Deep Water Harbour project; and the many housing schemes which came later. An exponent of literacy he promoted legislation which in the words of former Commissioner of Police, O.N. Phillip \u201c\u2026 LeBlanc made it mandatory for children to attend primary school.\u201d A truancy officer by the name of \u201cFrank\u201d scoured Roseau streets during the 1960s and early 1970s and would take into custody any child found out on the streets during school hours. In 1967, LeBlanc led the island to Associated Statehood with Britain. That meant that for the first time, Dominicans had control of local government, while Britain maintained control of defence and foreign affairs. A firm regionalist, LeBlanc hosted the hugely successful Expo 1969 Trade Fair at which each of the Windward Islands (Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia and Dominica) displayed their agricultural and industrial products at the Botanic Gardens; Grenada\u2019s exhibit \u2013 a 30 foot tall Nutmeg House with winding staircases and infused with the fragrance of that spice \u2013 was the most memorable display.<\/p>\n

LeBlanc an avid exponent of Dominica\u2019s history and creole culture, also commissioned three magazines from 1965 to 1970 called Dies Dominica and another work on the island\u2019s past called Aspects of Dominican History . During the period of LeBlanc\u2019s rule \u2013 and for some time thereafter – every National Day would conclude with a culture concert day at a huge circular stage erected on the cricket field at the Botanic Gardens. On stage men would recite poetry in the French creole language and women would whirl around in the colorful national costume of the Wob Dwiyet to\u00a0accompaniment of accordions, tambourines, shak-shak, lapeau cabwit (goat skin) drums and bamboo horns.<\/p>\n

In 1974 Premier LeBlanc departed and made way for Patrick John. Premier\u00a0John won a big victory over the the Dominica Freedom Party (DFP) in the\u00a0elections of 1975; Labour gained 16 out of 21 seats in that election. The DFP,\u00a0led by Eugenia Charles, failed to gain much traction. The DFP was weak in\u00a0the countryside and most Dominicans considered it to be the party of Roseau\u00a0merchants and big land owners. John promoted the \u201cBuy Local\u201d campaign,\u00a0introduced new housing schemes at Bath Estate and River Estate and\u00a0inaugurated the Canefield Airport and new Treasury Computer Center and\u00a0National Commercial & Development Bank building. In 1978, Premier\u00a0Patrick John would lead the island to independence.<\/p>\n

Throughout its early history, therefore, the DLP had focused on\u00a0Dominicans being masters of their own destiny: the essence of the
\nNATIONAL QUESTION. That meant promoting a policy of indigenous\u00a0control of the means of production. Such a policy has made for the
\nprogress of many countries in the post colonial era; Malaysia, Singapore,\u00a0Venezuela, India, Cuba are all countries where control of local resources by\u00a0local people, have ensured that the wealth produced does the greatest good for the greatest number. In each of those countries, the governments built alliances to broaden the national consensus and promoted self reliance; even while courting foreign private investment. While favoring investment, they always ensured that the state or locals had a major role to play. By favoring the growth of a local business and ownership class, they have spurred local enterprise, science and compatible technology, and so built up the self confidence of their people. Today Singapore has some of the largest foreign exchange reserves; Cuba is a medical and education power which has shared its bounty with us; and India is a science power which has enhanced its food security through a \u201cGreen Revolution.\u201d The Venezuelan government has-for years -used its oil wealth to fund indigenous industry; even more so now under President Chavez. Prime Minister Skerrit follows in that path, where he has reached out to sectors in opposition to the DLP, promoted the Dominica State College, and made land available to the landless. However, his actions have not been consistent and there have been mounting complaints and concerns with regard to ethics in office and adherence to the founding principles which gave birth to the Labour Party. These concerns, over years, have been shared internally with the Prime Minister and his cabinet by many who wish success for the party and country; two elements which are inextricably linked, as there can be no success for the Labour Party if the country and\/or its noble principles are in ruin. It cannot be restated enough that the legendary leaders of the party, such as Phyllis Shand Allfrey, E.C. Loblack, E.O. Leblanc, H.L. Christian, and others were above reproach in their personal conduct and their adherence to the philosophy of Dominican nationalism and social justice.<\/p>\n

A Brief Post Independence History of Dominica in early 1978 Patrick John dismissed two dynamic ministers Mike Douglas and Ferdinand Parillon, claiming they were communists and part of a plot to unseat him. Earlier, Douglas, alongside his brother Rosie Douglas who led the Popular Independence Committees (PIC) had been one of the most vocal advocates of political independence. In that period Patrick John had energized some young people, especially in Grandbay, Portsmouth and sections of Roseau by his support for self reliance, a buy local campaign and socialism. However, in the immediate pre-independence months he had moved away from those positions and had become distant. He was increasingly cut-off from any serious connection to the masses and had surrounded himself with a small clique of advisors; inattentive to the\u00a0dissatisfaction building against his authoritarian manner…………………………to be continued.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Editor’s note: This essay, written by Gabriel Christian, was first published in 2008 as a Dominica Academy of Arts and Sciences (DAAS) article. Six years later, it remains very relevant and Dominica News Online (DNO) has decided to publish it…","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":126819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIndependence and the national question - part I - Dominica News Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/independence-national-question\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Independence and the national question - part I - Dominica News Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Editor’s note: This essay, written by Gabriel Christian, was first published in 2008 as a Dominica Academy of Arts and Sciences (DAAS) article. Six years later, it remains very relevant and Dominica News Online (DNO) has decided to publish it...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/independence-national-question\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dominica News Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-11-01T16:23:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-11-02T13:23:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gabriel-Christian.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"229\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"319\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/independence-national-question\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/independence-national-question\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1cf13c57fb23f5f3f17888628ce87bed\"},\"headline\":\"Independence and the national question – part I\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-11-01T16:23:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-11-02T13:23:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/independence-national-question\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1717,\"commentCount\":27,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/independence-national-question\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Gabriel-Christian.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Commentary\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/independence-national-question\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/independence-national-question\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/independence-national-question\\\/\",\"name\":\"Independence and the national question - part I - Dominica News Online\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/independence-national-question\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/independence-national-question\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Gabriel-Christian.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-11-01T16:23:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-11-02T13:23:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1cf13c57fb23f5f3f17888628ce87bed\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/independence-national-question\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/independence-national-question\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/independence-national-question\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Gabriel-Christian.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Gabriel-Christian.jpg\",\"width\":229,\"height\":319,\"caption\":\"Gabriel Christian is a Dominican-born attorney who lives and works in the US\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/homepage\\\/features\\\/commentary\\\/independence-national-question\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Independence and the national question – part I\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Dominica News Online\",\"description\":\"The most popular news site in the Commonwealth of Dominica\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1cf13c57fb23f5f3f17888628ce87bed\",\"name\":\"Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/42ebaab81cf135a4ac3c52a6b343fa681417839645e8852f990f1e435612b089?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/42ebaab81cf135a4ac3c52a6b343fa681417839645e8852f990f1e435612b089?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/42ebaab81cf135a4ac3c52a6b343fa681417839645e8852f990f1e435612b089?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dominicanewsonline.com\\\/news\\\/author\\\/tdurand\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Independence and the national question - part I - Dominica News Online","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/independence-national-question\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Independence and the national question - part I - Dominica News Online","og_description":"Editor’s note: This essay, written by Gabriel Christian, was first published in 2008 as a Dominica Academy of Arts and Sciences (DAAS) article. Six years later, it remains very relevant and Dominica News Online (DNO) has decided to publish it...","og_url":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/independence-national-question\/","og_site_name":"Dominica News Online","article_published_time":"2014-11-01T16:23:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-11-02T13:23:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":229,"height":319,"url":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gabriel-Christian.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Admin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Admin","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/independence-national-question\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/independence-national-question\/"},"author":{"name":"Admin","@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/1cf13c57fb23f5f3f17888628ce87bed"},"headline":"Independence and the national question – part I","datePublished":"2014-11-01T16:23:13+00:00","dateModified":"2014-11-02T13:23:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/independence-national-question\/"},"wordCount":1717,"commentCount":27,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/independence-national-question\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gabriel-Christian.jpg","articleSection":["Commentary"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/independence-national-question\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/independence-national-question\/","url":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/independence-national-question\/","name":"Independence and the national question - part I - Dominica News Online","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/independence-national-question\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/independence-national-question\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gabriel-Christian.jpg","datePublished":"2014-11-01T16:23:13+00:00","dateModified":"2014-11-02T13:23:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/1cf13c57fb23f5f3f17888628ce87bed"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/independence-national-question\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/independence-national-question\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/independence-national-question\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gabriel-Christian.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gabriel-Christian.jpg","width":229,"height":319,"caption":"Gabriel Christian is a Dominican-born attorney who lives and works in the US"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/independence-national-question\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Independence and the national question – part I"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/","name":"Dominica News Online","description":"The most popular news site in the Commonwealth of Dominica","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/1cf13c57fb23f5f3f17888628ce87bed","name":"Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42ebaab81cf135a4ac3c52a6b343fa681417839645e8852f990f1e435612b089?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42ebaab81cf135a4ac3c52a6b343fa681417839645e8852f990f1e435612b089?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42ebaab81cf135a4ac3c52a6b343fa681417839645e8852f990f1e435612b089?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/author\/tdurand\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gabriel-Christian.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126809"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":126842,"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126809\/revisions\/126842"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}