Fishermen urge PM to get tough on poachers
tribune242
DURING a town meeting in Spanish Wells, local fishermen urged Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham to get tough on poachers from the Dominican Republic before they are forced to take matters into their own hands.
With the Commodore of the Defence Force Roderick Bowe, Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette, and the Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources in tow, Mr Ingraham told the fishermen he knows how important the fishing industry is to the Bahamas and to the fishermen of Spanish Wells.
Mr Ingraham noted that the Bahamas is spread over 100,000 square miles and law enforcement would like to be "everywhere" at the same time, but this is an impossibility. However, he did add that since coming to office, his government has strengthened the Defence Force with two new airfcraft, additional watercrafts, personnel, and will soon be completing a base in Ragged Island.
When the floor was opened to the fishermen, many recounted their own personal accounts of running into Dominican poachers while on the high seas.
Many put forward the motion that the government either increased the fines issued by the courts to these unscrupulous poachers, or confiscate the vessels and sink them.
Another issue raised was the prevalence of Dominican fishermen on Bahamian vessels - an issue Mr Ingraham said was "very troubling" for the government.
"It's complicated, because we are unable to tell Bahamian women who to marry. We are unable to do that. Secondly, Bahamian owned boats come along and say I need an engineer. We know that they are fooling us; we know that.
"The Deputy PM is here, he is the Minister of Immigration. I have asked them for a list of all the permits for all foreigners on all boats in the Bahamas which he has now sent me, and I will send them something back very soon on that issue. We expect to reduce substantially the number of foreigners who have any kind of permits on these boats - but that ain't ga stop them from getting these 'quickie marriages' now.
"But for the actual work permits, to work on these boats or the compressors they use to get all these conchs will be reduced substantially," he said.
Mr Ingraham also added that a number of "big" fishing companies that have these vessels which employ these Dominican fishermen will soon start "squealing" not long from now.
While the Prime Minister admitted that there is very little he could do to stop persons from stealing crawfish out of other fishermen's traps, he did foreshadow that the government will be looking at doing something about the "large quantity of crawfish" that is produced on the same day that the crawfish season is opened.
Mr Ingraham commended the fishermen of Spanish Wells for being law abiding, admitting he knew of persons who were out catching crawfish a week before the season was even slated to open.
"We mean you well - no matter what anyone else will tell you, we mean you well," Mr Ingraham said.
"We do have your interests at heart. We would like to do the best that is possible to make it safe for you to ensure that you are able to reap that which is in our waters and to reduce the number of times that others, who have no right to do so, are able to do so in the Bahamas.
"I want to thank you very much for coming, I don't want to make you any promise, other than what I have said. You have to make your own judgment as to what happens in the future as to whether you think you have an affect on us in the government or not. All I assure you is, I heard you, I am not deaf, I have big ears, I understand," he said.
August 04, 2011
tribune242
A political blog about Bahamian politics in The Bahamas, Bahamian Politicans - and the entire Bahamas political lot. Bahamian Blogger Dennis Dames keeps you updated on the political news and views throughout the islands of The Bahamas without fear or favor. Bahamian Politicians and the Bahamian Political Arena: Updates one Post at a time on Bahamas Politics and Bahamas Politicans; and their local, regional and international policies and perspectives.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Our governing party appears to be overwhelmed by the crime problem and the opposition seems to have no solutions to it
The third party and a crime plan
thenassauguardian editorial
More murders have happened in the first seven months of this year than during any other such period in the history of the modern Bahamas. Most of us, however, were still shocked by the news of the triple homicide that took place in southwestern New Providence Saturday morning. Two women and a man were murdered in what police suspect was a retaliation killing for previous killings.
The Bahamas is averaging around 12 homicides per month. On this pace, by the end of 2011 the murder count would be 145 in a country of only 350,000. This would be the fourth homicide record in The Bahamas in five years and the homicide rate in the country would be 41 per 100,000 population. This rate is eight times above the desired international rate of five per 100,000 population.
The governing party has a problem on the crime front. Homicide records have been set in all but one of the years of its five-year term. It has announced many new initiatives and brought on new personnel. Yet, the killings keep happening more frequently. It is hard to imagine what success could be reasonably claimed during the general election campaign by the Free National Movement (FNM) on the issue of crime.
The opposition also has a problem. It is stuck in the past. Whenever Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Perry Christie talks about crime he keeps mentioning the police-led urban renewal program his administration championed. That urban renewal program would not have stopped the triple homicide on Saturday morning. And Bahamians know Christie’s repeated references to urban renewal only make him appear out of touch with the realities of the modern Bahamas when it comes to crime.
So with a governing party whose crime fighting measures, thus far, have been unable to reduce the homicide rate in our country, and an opposition that is stuck in the past, there is room for the third party to present a crime message Bahamians will at least listen to.
The Democratic National Alliance (DNA) should realize that crime is issue number one for Bahamians. Many feel as if the two main parties collectively are at a loss as to what to do to bring order to our streets and order to our criminal justice system. In an effort to appease a frustrated public, police charge people often with killings and robberies, but few of these people spend long terms in prison for the offenses they commit.
If Branville McCartney and his party continue to speak intelligently and constantly about the crime issue, with spokespeople such as attorney Wayne Munroe, more and more people will perceive the party as a group that is at least in touch with the main concern of the people.
Some in our country argue that bad people are killing bad people. Some senior politicians have said this. Many of the killings this year have been as a result of feuds between criminals. Our streets, however, are not war zones and no group should be so unafraid of the state that it openly conducts its business of murder while police officers simply collect the bodies. Our politicians and police should also not think that it is less important if killings result from criminal feuds. If those criminals today are not afraid of killing each other openly without being punished, one day soon they will feel so empowered that they will attack the public officials charged with capturing, prosecuting or sentencing them.
Order must be restored and our law enforcement officers must be able to intervene in these conflicts when they begin so that the first murder or attempted murder is the last.
Bahamians do not accept that we should just sit passively by and watch our country become increasingly violent. Our governing party seems overwhelmed by the crime problem and the opposition seems to have no solutions. The Bahamas needs a crime plan and a group capable and interested enough to carry it out. The new guys have an opportunity here. They should seize the moment.
Aug 02, 2011
thenassauguardian editorial
thenassauguardian editorial
More murders have happened in the first seven months of this year than during any other such period in the history of the modern Bahamas. Most of us, however, were still shocked by the news of the triple homicide that took place in southwestern New Providence Saturday morning. Two women and a man were murdered in what police suspect was a retaliation killing for previous killings.
The Bahamas is averaging around 12 homicides per month. On this pace, by the end of 2011 the murder count would be 145 in a country of only 350,000. This would be the fourth homicide record in The Bahamas in five years and the homicide rate in the country would be 41 per 100,000 population. This rate is eight times above the desired international rate of five per 100,000 population.
The governing party has a problem on the crime front. Homicide records have been set in all but one of the years of its five-year term. It has announced many new initiatives and brought on new personnel. Yet, the killings keep happening more frequently. It is hard to imagine what success could be reasonably claimed during the general election campaign by the Free National Movement (FNM) on the issue of crime.
The opposition also has a problem. It is stuck in the past. Whenever Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Perry Christie talks about crime he keeps mentioning the police-led urban renewal program his administration championed. That urban renewal program would not have stopped the triple homicide on Saturday morning. And Bahamians know Christie’s repeated references to urban renewal only make him appear out of touch with the realities of the modern Bahamas when it comes to crime.
So with a governing party whose crime fighting measures, thus far, have been unable to reduce the homicide rate in our country, and an opposition that is stuck in the past, there is room for the third party to present a crime message Bahamians will at least listen to.
The Democratic National Alliance (DNA) should realize that crime is issue number one for Bahamians. Many feel as if the two main parties collectively are at a loss as to what to do to bring order to our streets and order to our criminal justice system. In an effort to appease a frustrated public, police charge people often with killings and robberies, but few of these people spend long terms in prison for the offenses they commit.
If Branville McCartney and his party continue to speak intelligently and constantly about the crime issue, with spokespeople such as attorney Wayne Munroe, more and more people will perceive the party as a group that is at least in touch with the main concern of the people.
Some in our country argue that bad people are killing bad people. Some senior politicians have said this. Many of the killings this year have been as a result of feuds between criminals. Our streets, however, are not war zones and no group should be so unafraid of the state that it openly conducts its business of murder while police officers simply collect the bodies. Our politicians and police should also not think that it is less important if killings result from criminal feuds. If those criminals today are not afraid of killing each other openly without being punished, one day soon they will feel so empowered that they will attack the public officials charged with capturing, prosecuting or sentencing them.
Order must be restored and our law enforcement officers must be able to intervene in these conflicts when they begin so that the first murder or attempted murder is the last.
Bahamians do not accept that we should just sit passively by and watch our country become increasingly violent. Our governing party seems overwhelmed by the crime problem and the opposition seems to have no solutions. The Bahamas needs a crime plan and a group capable and interested enough to carry it out. The new guys have an opportunity here. They should seize the moment.
Aug 02, 2011
thenassauguardian editorial
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
The Bahamas Government should have a clear policy that is announced both here and in Haiti that no child born in the Bahamas to an illegal immigrant after a certain date will be entitled to apply for citizenship
tribune242 editorial
WE HAVE been accused of wanting to open the floodgates to homeless Haitians. Nothing can be further from the truth.
We recognise that the Bahamas is a small group of islands that cannot accommodate all the Haitians whose lives have been disrupted by political upheavals in Haiti or made homeless by the devastation of their recent earthquake. Nor can our social services carry the increasing burden forced on them by illegal immigrants. But in dealing with this problem, we have to recognise that these are suffering human beings who have to be treated humanely. They have to be treated with dignity and cannot be made scapegoats for everything that goes wrong in this country.
All of us recognise that we have a major immigrant problem that is growing daily -- only yesterday a boat attempted to land a group of immigrants off the eastern end of the island. Some reports estimated that there were about 200 persons on board. As we write this article police, defence force and immigration officers are trying to round them up to take them to the Detention Centre from where they will eventually be repatriated to Haiti.
Yes, this country has a problem -- a major problem. But we agree with the Bahamian who said that this problem cannot be made a political football to win an election. "To do so," he said, "would be inhumane and immoral and destructive to both the immigrant and to this country." To fan the anger of a people already upset by shanty towns in their areas would be to unleash a destructive force that would build and eventually explode, taking this country down with it.
An immigration policy has to be formulated for all to understand. It has to be decided how many immigrants this country can accommodate and those that it cannot will have to be treated with consideration as attempts are made to relocate them to other lands.
No one is certain of our illegal immigrant population. The Immigration Department will know how many persons hold work permits, are permanent residents or citizens. Farmers and landscape businesses depend upon Haitian labour to function. There should be a period of amnesty to give all employers of Haitians without status time to submit applications and regularise their businesses.
In 2006 we wrote a series of articles about the cries of Bahamian farmers who claimed they could not maintained their farms without their Haitian workers.
"Most farmers' frustrations," complained one of them, "come from work permits." He went on to say how generous the Pindling administration was to him when he landed his Haitians at the Coral Harbour base. "You weren't frustrated with a renewal work permit or a new permit," he complained as the FNM struggled to get immigration problems under control and introduce a system of documentation. He said he had 200 acres of farmland. Although he declined to say how many Haitians he had during the Pindling regime, at the time of his complaint (2006) he admitted to having 55. What he failed to say was that he was among the favoured few. This was the way the PLP rewarded their loyal supporters. Non-PLP farmers were not treated with the same consideration.
Many Bahamian farmers complained of how their produce was rotting on the ground because they could not get their Haitians. Bahamians, they said, refused to do the work.
It is obvious that in deciding a policy, government will not cripple such enterprises as farming, construction and landscaping that rely on Haitian labour. In other words, Haitians who have employment and whose work is essential to their employers should be documented with a work permit. This, of course, will mean an increase in revenue for the country.
Under our constitution every person born in the Bahamas before July 9, 1973 is a citizen. Therefore, all children born of Haitian parents -- whether here legally or illegally -- is a Bahamian and should be regularised. Any person born in the Bahamas after that date, neither of whose parents is Bahamian, shall be entitled - upon making an application on attaining the age of 18 and up to the age of 19 - "to be registered as a citizen of the Bahamas."
This group, knowing no other country but the Bahamas, should also be registered.
But now there is talk that Haitian women come to the Bahamas to give birth here so that their children can become citizens. Because of the size of our nation and its limited social services, if this is so, it cannot continue.
Government should have a clear policy that is announced both here and in Haiti that no child born in the Bahamas to an illegal immigrant after a certain date will be entitled to apply for citizenship.
This is no time for political scapegoating, but it is time for clear cut immigration policies that are fair to all -- and are known to all.
August 02, 2011
tribune242 editorial
WE HAVE been accused of wanting to open the floodgates to homeless Haitians. Nothing can be further from the truth.
We recognise that the Bahamas is a small group of islands that cannot accommodate all the Haitians whose lives have been disrupted by political upheavals in Haiti or made homeless by the devastation of their recent earthquake. Nor can our social services carry the increasing burden forced on them by illegal immigrants. But in dealing with this problem, we have to recognise that these are suffering human beings who have to be treated humanely. They have to be treated with dignity and cannot be made scapegoats for everything that goes wrong in this country.
All of us recognise that we have a major immigrant problem that is growing daily -- only yesterday a boat attempted to land a group of immigrants off the eastern end of the island. Some reports estimated that there were about 200 persons on board. As we write this article police, defence force and immigration officers are trying to round them up to take them to the Detention Centre from where they will eventually be repatriated to Haiti.
Yes, this country has a problem -- a major problem. But we agree with the Bahamian who said that this problem cannot be made a political football to win an election. "To do so," he said, "would be inhumane and immoral and destructive to both the immigrant and to this country." To fan the anger of a people already upset by shanty towns in their areas would be to unleash a destructive force that would build and eventually explode, taking this country down with it.
An immigration policy has to be formulated for all to understand. It has to be decided how many immigrants this country can accommodate and those that it cannot will have to be treated with consideration as attempts are made to relocate them to other lands.
No one is certain of our illegal immigrant population. The Immigration Department will know how many persons hold work permits, are permanent residents or citizens. Farmers and landscape businesses depend upon Haitian labour to function. There should be a period of amnesty to give all employers of Haitians without status time to submit applications and regularise their businesses.
In 2006 we wrote a series of articles about the cries of Bahamian farmers who claimed they could not maintained their farms without their Haitian workers.
"Most farmers' frustrations," complained one of them, "come from work permits." He went on to say how generous the Pindling administration was to him when he landed his Haitians at the Coral Harbour base. "You weren't frustrated with a renewal work permit or a new permit," he complained as the FNM struggled to get immigration problems under control and introduce a system of documentation. He said he had 200 acres of farmland. Although he declined to say how many Haitians he had during the Pindling regime, at the time of his complaint (2006) he admitted to having 55. What he failed to say was that he was among the favoured few. This was the way the PLP rewarded their loyal supporters. Non-PLP farmers were not treated with the same consideration.
Many Bahamian farmers complained of how their produce was rotting on the ground because they could not get their Haitians. Bahamians, they said, refused to do the work.
It is obvious that in deciding a policy, government will not cripple such enterprises as farming, construction and landscaping that rely on Haitian labour. In other words, Haitians who have employment and whose work is essential to their employers should be documented with a work permit. This, of course, will mean an increase in revenue for the country.
Under our constitution every person born in the Bahamas before July 9, 1973 is a citizen. Therefore, all children born of Haitian parents -- whether here legally or illegally -- is a Bahamian and should be regularised. Any person born in the Bahamas after that date, neither of whose parents is Bahamian, shall be entitled - upon making an application on attaining the age of 18 and up to the age of 19 - "to be registered as a citizen of the Bahamas."
This group, knowing no other country but the Bahamas, should also be registered.
But now there is talk that Haitian women come to the Bahamas to give birth here so that their children can become citizens. Because of the size of our nation and its limited social services, if this is so, it cannot continue.
Government should have a clear policy that is announced both here and in Haiti that no child born in the Bahamas to an illegal immigrant after a certain date will be entitled to apply for citizenship.
This is no time for political scapegoating, but it is time for clear cut immigration policies that are fair to all -- and are known to all.
August 02, 2011
tribune242 editorial
Monday, August 1, 2011
Happy Emancipation Day Bahamas!
By Dennis Dames
August 01 is emancipation day; it’s in commemoration of the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 which ended slavery in the British Empire on August 01, 1834. We are free as God intended us to be.
We are free to determine our personal and collective destinies. We are free to be productive or unproductive people; to be caring or uncaring; to be respectful or disrespectful toward one another; we are free to love or hate.
In today’s Bahamas; our freedom has been taken advantage of for all the wrong reasons by we the people. It has lead us in to a state of disconnect, distrust and disunity; and criminals appear to be feasting on our exposed state of affairs.
Our collective freedom is not being well spent. We cannot decide on the way forward for our nation; we refuse to see the wisdom of a unified people. We prefer to fight and kill, rather than set good examples and build.
We have been emancipated since the beginning of time, and we choose to be reckless with our gift of choice rather than responsible citizens who are indeed brothers’ keepers.
We are free to make our ancestors proud of us by appreciating the sacred joy of freedom, and become nation builders of the first order; our children will treasure us for our resolve to create and maintain a prosperous and blessed country.
We are free, but it does not mean that we are secure. Security is a national endeavor in which every citizen has a stake. In The Bahamas today, our safety is being undermined by corrupt public officials and other rough elements amoung us.
Many of our countrymen are using their freedom to facilitate on a grand scale: human trafficking, gun smuggling, drug running,political corruption, murder and so on.
We are a nation under attack by criminal and satanic forces, and we who care about our future must come together and fight the scoundrels who are out to destroy our beloved land for their personal gain.
Yes, we must use our freedom to ensure that The Bahamas remains free, and the generations behind us are given the best opportunity to succeed and prosper.
We are free to be great, and to live as one in love and legitimate respect. Let’s do it brothers and sisters.
Happy emancipation day Bahamas.
August 01, 2011
August 01 is emancipation day; it’s in commemoration of the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 which ended slavery in the British Empire on August 01, 1834. We are free as God intended us to be.
We are free to determine our personal and collective destinies. We are free to be productive or unproductive people; to be caring or uncaring; to be respectful or disrespectful toward one another; we are free to love or hate.
In today’s Bahamas; our freedom has been taken advantage of for all the wrong reasons by we the people. It has lead us in to a state of disconnect, distrust and disunity; and criminals appear to be feasting on our exposed state of affairs.
Our collective freedom is not being well spent. We cannot decide on the way forward for our nation; we refuse to see the wisdom of a unified people. We prefer to fight and kill, rather than set good examples and build.
We have been emancipated since the beginning of time, and we choose to be reckless with our gift of choice rather than responsible citizens who are indeed brothers’ keepers.
We are free to make our ancestors proud of us by appreciating the sacred joy of freedom, and become nation builders of the first order; our children will treasure us for our resolve to create and maintain a prosperous and blessed country.
We are free, but it does not mean that we are secure. Security is a national endeavor in which every citizen has a stake. In The Bahamas today, our safety is being undermined by corrupt public officials and other rough elements amoung us.
Many of our countrymen are using their freedom to facilitate on a grand scale: human trafficking, gun smuggling, drug running,political corruption, murder and so on.
We are a nation under attack by criminal and satanic forces, and we who care about our future must come together and fight the scoundrels who are out to destroy our beloved land for their personal gain.
Yes, we must use our freedom to ensure that The Bahamas remains free, and the generations behind us are given the best opportunity to succeed and prosper.
We are free to be great, and to live as one in love and legitimate respect. Let’s do it brothers and sisters.
Happy emancipation day Bahamas.
August 01, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Too many Bahamians are too contented about being uneducated... Too many Bahamians are too comfortable in relation to raising uneducated children... This must change
Education, failed culture and inspiration
thenassauguardian editorial
It was important that Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham took time to greet 12-year-old Anna Albury outside of the House of Assembly. The girl, who is blind, was crowned Primary School Student of the Year over 115 candidates from around the country.
“I am like just any other child. I do not look at myself as having a disability. I just happen to be blind,” said the sixth grader from Hope Town School on receiving the award.
Fully blind from birth, Anna could have been placed in the School for the Blind, but her parents, Theresa and Lambert Albury insisted that she be raised normally with other children. They wanted her to do well.
With their encouragement and the support of her teachers and classmates, Anna has maintained an outstanding 3.8 cumulative grade point average.
Here in New Providence in our public school system many children with two working eyes, two working ears, two working legs and two working arms are not doing nearly as well as Anna. And they benefit from a free education through grade 12.
The national D average in the Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) exams masks the tremendous lack of achievement in our public school system. If the private schools are taken out of that calculation, our public school system would be in the F average range. No nation can be great with that level of underachievement.
Many blame the government of the day and the education bureaucracy for not doing more to reform the public education system. Certainly, there is more that can be done on the policy and funding sides of the equation to reform our system. However, a major part of the education problem in this country is our culture. Governments and civil servants cannot make Bahamian parents and guardians care about education.
Too many parents do not demand enough from their children. Too many Bahamians simply do not value the free education that is offered.
Concerned parents, relatives and guardians are crucial catalysts to success when it comes to educational achievement. When families care about education and hold children to standards, those children do better. When families only care about proms and making sure children are dressed in the trendiest clothes at the beginning of the school year, those children do not do as well.
Our culture has assumed too much of the foolish commercial nonsense from the two cultural centers we are between the United States and Jamaica. Knowledge of the latest rap or dancehall song is high, while the literacy and numeracy levels are low in The Bahamas.
We must do better.
Education is not merely about being prepared for the job market. It is about being a reasoned human being able to understand and function independently in the community you live in. It is also about being able to participate in the development and governance of that society in many different ways.
Too many Bahamians are too comfortable being uneducated. Too many Bahamians are too comfortable raising uneducated children. This must change.
What is especially problematic about this situation is that the free education system through grade 12 was something that was fought for.
The first black government of The Bahamas in 1967 had as its mandate ensuring that all Bahamians had access to education. In the ensuing decades schools were built across the country. Now, 44 years later, many of the parents and children who are the heirs to that movement show little interest in knowledge, learning and achievement.
Ignorant people are always ruled by smarter people. A people cannot be independent if they are dumb.
Bahamians must stop making excuses when it comes to learning and achievement. Yes, education reform is needed. But what is equally needed is concern about learning and knowledge by our people. A father who is not smart should, and can, have as a goal ensuring that his children do better than he did.
He can ensure that his children behave in school and do the work assigned; he can participate in the school’s Parent Teacher Association; he can seek tutoring for his children to ensure they have the technical assistance he cannot provide.
Anna Albury, a blind girl from a small school in the Family Islands, is doing well. She is inspirational. Born with a disadvantage, she still excels.
Mothers, fathers, relatives and guardians across The Bahamas must do more to ensure that their well-bodied children do better and take advantage of the opportunities given to them. We must care more about education and learning to ensure that we, Bahamians, have the capacity to govern ourselves and to command every sector of our economy.
Jul 30, 2011
thenassauguardian editorial
thenassauguardian editorial
It was important that Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham took time to greet 12-year-old Anna Albury outside of the House of Assembly. The girl, who is blind, was crowned Primary School Student of the Year over 115 candidates from around the country.
“I am like just any other child. I do not look at myself as having a disability. I just happen to be blind,” said the sixth grader from Hope Town School on receiving the award.
Fully blind from birth, Anna could have been placed in the School for the Blind, but her parents, Theresa and Lambert Albury insisted that she be raised normally with other children. They wanted her to do well.
With their encouragement and the support of her teachers and classmates, Anna has maintained an outstanding 3.8 cumulative grade point average.
Here in New Providence in our public school system many children with two working eyes, two working ears, two working legs and two working arms are not doing nearly as well as Anna. And they benefit from a free education through grade 12.
The national D average in the Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) exams masks the tremendous lack of achievement in our public school system. If the private schools are taken out of that calculation, our public school system would be in the F average range. No nation can be great with that level of underachievement.
Many blame the government of the day and the education bureaucracy for not doing more to reform the public education system. Certainly, there is more that can be done on the policy and funding sides of the equation to reform our system. However, a major part of the education problem in this country is our culture. Governments and civil servants cannot make Bahamian parents and guardians care about education.
Too many parents do not demand enough from their children. Too many Bahamians simply do not value the free education that is offered.
Concerned parents, relatives and guardians are crucial catalysts to success when it comes to educational achievement. When families care about education and hold children to standards, those children do better. When families only care about proms and making sure children are dressed in the trendiest clothes at the beginning of the school year, those children do not do as well.
Our culture has assumed too much of the foolish commercial nonsense from the two cultural centers we are between the United States and Jamaica. Knowledge of the latest rap or dancehall song is high, while the literacy and numeracy levels are low in The Bahamas.
We must do better.
Education is not merely about being prepared for the job market. It is about being a reasoned human being able to understand and function independently in the community you live in. It is also about being able to participate in the development and governance of that society in many different ways.
Too many Bahamians are too comfortable being uneducated. Too many Bahamians are too comfortable raising uneducated children. This must change.
What is especially problematic about this situation is that the free education system through grade 12 was something that was fought for.
The first black government of The Bahamas in 1967 had as its mandate ensuring that all Bahamians had access to education. In the ensuing decades schools were built across the country. Now, 44 years later, many of the parents and children who are the heirs to that movement show little interest in knowledge, learning and achievement.
Ignorant people are always ruled by smarter people. A people cannot be independent if they are dumb.
Bahamians must stop making excuses when it comes to learning and achievement. Yes, education reform is needed. But what is equally needed is concern about learning and knowledge by our people. A father who is not smart should, and can, have as a goal ensuring that his children do better than he did.
He can ensure that his children behave in school and do the work assigned; he can participate in the school’s Parent Teacher Association; he can seek tutoring for his children to ensure they have the technical assistance he cannot provide.
Anna Albury, a blind girl from a small school in the Family Islands, is doing well. She is inspirational. Born with a disadvantage, she still excels.
Mothers, fathers, relatives and guardians across The Bahamas must do more to ensure that their well-bodied children do better and take advantage of the opportunities given to them. We must care more about education and learning to ensure that we, Bahamians, have the capacity to govern ourselves and to command every sector of our economy.
Jul 30, 2011
thenassauguardian editorial
Friday, July 29, 2011
Branville McCartney - founder of the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) party is so anxious to become the next prime minister of The Bahamas that he is willing to use the sorry plight of illegal Haitians, and their Bahamian-born children to pander to the fears of voting Bahamians
tribune242 editorial
IT IS a tragedy when a politician, so anxious to win an election, panders to the base emotions of an electorate. And in doing so ignores the damaging consequences that his divisive message could have, not only on this generation, but on many generations to come.
Apparently Mr Branville McCartney is so anxious to become the next prime minister of this country that he is willing to use the sorry plight of illegal Haitians, and their Bahamian-born children to pander to the fears of voting Bahamians. Such a campaign of hatred will not only split this community, but will eventually build up such an emotional force that when it breaks in years to come this nation's way of life would be completely destroyed.
One would have thought that the mass killing that targeted young teenagers in Norway these past few days would have been a sufficient tragedy to send a warning signal of what can happen when suspicion and division is built up in a community. Such an atmosphere can inspire one madman to destroy a nation's whole way of life.
Seventy-six people -- most of them teenagers -- were killed in Oslo last week because of one man's fear that Islam threatened Europe's Christian culture. Anders Hering Breivik, himself a young man, was against his country's "multiculturalism," which he believed enabled "the ongoing Islamic colonisation of Europe." And so he wrote a 1,500 page treaties on his beliefs, pleaded not guilty to committing any crime, and almost gloated over the killings, because as a self-proclaimed Christian nationalist he believed it his duty to recreate a Knights Templar in Europe to fight a holy war against Islam.
This bizarre behaviour is usually the end game in an atmosphere of hate and suspicion that can send evil sparks flying in a madman's fevered brain. One only has to read history to understand the underlying racial hatred that has sparked centuries of unrest and most of this world's wars.
Mr McCartney, founder of the Democratic National Alliance (DNA), which he promises will be the next government, says that he will fight to change the country's constitution so that children born here to illegal immigrants will not be eligible for citizenship. If elected he will push for a referendum to carry out his plans.
Under the constitution, persons who are born in the Bahamas to illegal immigrants have the right to apply for citizenship between their 18th and 19th birthdays.
We agree with former PLP cabinet minister George Smith who accused Mr McCartney of "trying to pander to the xenophobia of many Bahamians who want to blame some of our social ills on people who by virtue of their circumstances find themselves in the Bahamas illegally."
And warned Mr Smith: "Political leaders should never pander to ignorance and people who are motivated by fear and this is probably what Mr McCartney... is doing."
We agree with Mr Smith. We also agree with retired Anglican Archbishop Drexel Gomez who sees Mr McCartney's "final solution" for Haitian children as "inhumane."
"I cannot understand anyone who is going to seek leadership in this country who is not going to deal with the situation in a humanitarian way," said the Archbishop.
And it is true what the Archbishop says. This country does owe much to immigrants. Many immigrants -- teachers, policemen, doctors and nurses -- helped build the Bahamas. Many of them came as immigrants from other Caribbean islands -- and never forget: our first black member of parliament was a Haitian.
As the Archbishop pointed out these children up to the age of 18 have known no other home.
They speak our language, they belong to our culture, their friends are Bahamian. As far as they are concerned they are also Bahamian. At the age of 18 are they to be thrown into a world that they do not know, because of the myopic prejudice of Bahamians who just a few generations before were also foreigners in a foreign land? Many of the forebears of our present Bahamians were not even born here, yet they became one with us -- flesh of the same flesh -- and put much effort into the building of this nation. What none of us must forget is at some stage or another -- and this includes Mr McCartney -- our forebears were strangers in a foreign land. Today we are all Bahamians. Were our forebears more humane than we are today?
Yes, the Haitian question is a troubling one, but Mr McCartney's solution lacks humanity. It is not the right way to go, and if through this election he builds up an even greater foreign phobia, future generations will not bless his name for lighting a spark that allowed hatred to spiral out of control.
July 29, 2011
tribune242 editorial
IT IS a tragedy when a politician, so anxious to win an election, panders to the base emotions of an electorate. And in doing so ignores the damaging consequences that his divisive message could have, not only on this generation, but on many generations to come.
Apparently Mr Branville McCartney is so anxious to become the next prime minister of this country that he is willing to use the sorry plight of illegal Haitians, and their Bahamian-born children to pander to the fears of voting Bahamians. Such a campaign of hatred will not only split this community, but will eventually build up such an emotional force that when it breaks in years to come this nation's way of life would be completely destroyed.
One would have thought that the mass killing that targeted young teenagers in Norway these past few days would have been a sufficient tragedy to send a warning signal of what can happen when suspicion and division is built up in a community. Such an atmosphere can inspire one madman to destroy a nation's whole way of life.
Seventy-six people -- most of them teenagers -- were killed in Oslo last week because of one man's fear that Islam threatened Europe's Christian culture. Anders Hering Breivik, himself a young man, was against his country's "multiculturalism," which he believed enabled "the ongoing Islamic colonisation of Europe." And so he wrote a 1,500 page treaties on his beliefs, pleaded not guilty to committing any crime, and almost gloated over the killings, because as a self-proclaimed Christian nationalist he believed it his duty to recreate a Knights Templar in Europe to fight a holy war against Islam.
This bizarre behaviour is usually the end game in an atmosphere of hate and suspicion that can send evil sparks flying in a madman's fevered brain. One only has to read history to understand the underlying racial hatred that has sparked centuries of unrest and most of this world's wars.
Mr McCartney, founder of the Democratic National Alliance (DNA), which he promises will be the next government, says that he will fight to change the country's constitution so that children born here to illegal immigrants will not be eligible for citizenship. If elected he will push for a referendum to carry out his plans.
Under the constitution, persons who are born in the Bahamas to illegal immigrants have the right to apply for citizenship between their 18th and 19th birthdays.
We agree with former PLP cabinet minister George Smith who accused Mr McCartney of "trying to pander to the xenophobia of many Bahamians who want to blame some of our social ills on people who by virtue of their circumstances find themselves in the Bahamas illegally."
And warned Mr Smith: "Political leaders should never pander to ignorance and people who are motivated by fear and this is probably what Mr McCartney... is doing."
We agree with Mr Smith. We also agree with retired Anglican Archbishop Drexel Gomez who sees Mr McCartney's "final solution" for Haitian children as "inhumane."
"I cannot understand anyone who is going to seek leadership in this country who is not going to deal with the situation in a humanitarian way," said the Archbishop.
And it is true what the Archbishop says. This country does owe much to immigrants. Many immigrants -- teachers, policemen, doctors and nurses -- helped build the Bahamas. Many of them came as immigrants from other Caribbean islands -- and never forget: our first black member of parliament was a Haitian.
As the Archbishop pointed out these children up to the age of 18 have known no other home.
They speak our language, they belong to our culture, their friends are Bahamian. As far as they are concerned they are also Bahamian. At the age of 18 are they to be thrown into a world that they do not know, because of the myopic prejudice of Bahamians who just a few generations before were also foreigners in a foreign land? Many of the forebears of our present Bahamians were not even born here, yet they became one with us -- flesh of the same flesh -- and put much effort into the building of this nation. What none of us must forget is at some stage or another -- and this includes Mr McCartney -- our forebears were strangers in a foreign land. Today we are all Bahamians. Were our forebears more humane than we are today?
Yes, the Haitian question is a troubling one, but Mr McCartney's solution lacks humanity. It is not the right way to go, and if through this election he builds up an even greater foreign phobia, future generations will not bless his name for lighting a spark that allowed hatred to spiral out of control.
July 29, 2011
tribune242 editorial
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Scrap metal exports banned for 90 days
Scrap metal and copper exports banned
Guardian Staff Reporter
thenassauguardian
chester@nasguard.com
Widespread copper thefts, and the theft of other metals, prompted the government yesterday to issue an order banning scrap metal exports for 90 days and the export of copper permanently.
This comes after government agencies, foreign investors and private citizens in The Bahamas all became victims over the past few years of thieves who took copper wire from job sites, homes and businesses to sell as scrap.
The thefts became so frequent and costly that the government found it necessary to make an executive order to temporarily amend the Export Control Act to stop the export of scrap metal and copper.
The new regulation on the export of scrap metal, which came into force yesterday, states: “No person shall for a period of 90 days from the coming into force of these regulations export any scrap metal from The Bahamas to any place outside The Bahamas.”
And, with regard to copper exports, it prohibits “any person from exporting any copper from The Bahamas to any place outside The Bahamas.”
In a statement released by the Cabinet Office yesterday, the government insisted that the measures were taken because of the crippling effect copper thefts and thefts of other metals have had on businesses, government utilities and private citizens.
On Monday thieves left the Department of Agriculture’s Gladstone Road Farm and the Department of Fisheries’ Gladstone Road lab complex without power to critical machines, and without air conditioning in some buildings. A large number of power cords and copper air condition tubing were stolen.
Over the past year a number of other government agencies have been robbed of copper tubing and wire, including the Bahamas Broadcasting Corporation and the Water and Sewerage Corporation.
The measures taken by the government yesterday will likely hurt legitimate scrap metal exporters during the duration of the embargo.
The government also announced in its release that better measure to police the industry will be discussed.
“The government is assessing the scrap metal industry and will engage with various stakeholders and legitimate businesses with a view to better regulating and monitoring the industry,” the government said.
Jamaica also announced yesterday that it would implement similar scrap metal prohibitions as have now been enacted in The Bahamas.
Jul 28, 2011
thenassauguardian
Guardian Staff Reporter
thenassauguardian
chester@nasguard.com
Widespread copper thefts, and the theft of other metals, prompted the government yesterday to issue an order banning scrap metal exports for 90 days and the export of copper permanently.
This comes after government agencies, foreign investors and private citizens in The Bahamas all became victims over the past few years of thieves who took copper wire from job sites, homes and businesses to sell as scrap.
The thefts became so frequent and costly that the government found it necessary to make an executive order to temporarily amend the Export Control Act to stop the export of scrap metal and copper.
The new regulation on the export of scrap metal, which came into force yesterday, states: “No person shall for a period of 90 days from the coming into force of these regulations export any scrap metal from The Bahamas to any place outside The Bahamas.”
And, with regard to copper exports, it prohibits “any person from exporting any copper from The Bahamas to any place outside The Bahamas.”
In a statement released by the Cabinet Office yesterday, the government insisted that the measures were taken because of the crippling effect copper thefts and thefts of other metals have had on businesses, government utilities and private citizens.
On Monday thieves left the Department of Agriculture’s Gladstone Road Farm and the Department of Fisheries’ Gladstone Road lab complex without power to critical machines, and without air conditioning in some buildings. A large number of power cords and copper air condition tubing were stolen.
Over the past year a number of other government agencies have been robbed of copper tubing and wire, including the Bahamas Broadcasting Corporation and the Water and Sewerage Corporation.
The measures taken by the government yesterday will likely hurt legitimate scrap metal exporters during the duration of the embargo.
The government also announced in its release that better measure to police the industry will be discussed.
“The government is assessing the scrap metal industry and will engage with various stakeholders and legitimate businesses with a view to better regulating and monitoring the industry,” the government said.
Jamaica also announced yesterday that it would implement similar scrap metal prohibitions as have now been enacted in The Bahamas.
Jul 28, 2011
thenassauguardian
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