London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

DR woman claims her VI born child does not feel welcomed @ school

DR woman claims her VI born child does not feel welcomed @ school

A mother from the Dominican Republic has claimed that although her teenaged son is born in the [British] Virgin Islands (VI), he is often teased about his Dominican heritage and made to feel unwelcomed by his peers.

Monica Samuel, a businesswoman who has been residing on Virgin Gorda for the past 25 years, made the revelation on Sunday, September 27, 2020, during a live discussion with Minister for Natural Resources, Labour and Immigration, Honourable Vincent O. Wheatley (R9).

She said she chose to allow her child to be born in the Territory, as opposed to the neighbouring US Virgin Islands (USVI), because of her love for the VI.

“When he started to go school, it was hard for me because they started calling him, ‘Spanish boy’, ‘Spanish this, Spanish that’. Many times my child coming crying… I said [to him] honey, just tell your friends you are proud to be Spanish, but you are proud to be English,” she said.

She informed that she raised the issue with the school, because her son was not feeling ‘welcomed’.

“It’s very hard …even [if] they [were] born here, it’s very rough,” she added.

Minister Wheatley said it "really hurt my heart that as human beings, we can be so cruel sometimes with children.”


Monica Samuel, a native of the Dominican Republic who has lived in the Virgin Islands for many years, has claimed that although her teenaged son is born in the [British] Virgin Islands (VI), he is often teased about his Dominican heritage and made to feel unwelcomed by his peers.

Unity


He then called for unity and a halt to the practice.

The Virgin Islands Party (VIP) Government, led by Premier and Minister of Finance, Hon Andrew A. Fahie (R1) has been pushing for a spirt of unity among all people of the Virgin Islands.

In December 2019, the Government gave Belonger and Residency status to some 1500 expatriates who had been living and working in the Territory for 20 years and more.

Premier Fahie had noted that the certificate was more than just a piece of paper, “it is our Government’s statement and the people of the Virgin Islands’ statement that we recognise you as a member of our community and as a person that is now a Virgin Islander.”


Minister for Natural Resources, Labour and Immigration, Honourable Vincent O. Wheatley (R9) has condemned the discrimination of persons because of their nationality and heritage.


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×