The agony of abused Bahamian women in The Bahamas and Leslie Miller's domestic violence revelations

My daughter’s lesson on domestic violence

Every morning, on the way to school, my eldest daughter’s job is to read the newspaper’s headlines or top stories to me as I drive.

She always waits for my reaction to the news before moving to the next story. So it was when Leslie Miller made headlines with his offensive, tasteless and very harmful story told as a joke on the floor of Parliament. The first day my reaction was a “suck teet”. She did not react and we moved on to other news stories.

As the matter captured headlines for many days, I noticed that she continued to watch for my reaction. Still, and notwithstanding the anger boiling up in me, I made no comment.

By the time we got to the newspaper headline about the $1,000 check donation Miller presented to and which was refused by the Crisis Centre, I had reached my limit and made my displeasure known with a few choice words. I told her that Leslie Miller was a poor example of a member of Parliament. I told her that his behavior in telling the story about abusing a woman was wrong, demeaning to women and inexcusable.

Then came the million-dollar question: “Mummy why are you so angry if he said sorry?”

I had to determine how I was going to explain to an eight-year-old that when someone does something so bad, such as bragging about committing acts of domestic violence, “sorry” simply doesn’t cut it.

I wondered how best to impart that fact to her. I told her that unfortunately some women somewhere in our country are abused every day by their boyfriends and or husbands. I told her that often their abusers say “sorry” but then abuse them again. Sometimes, I told her abusers come home with flowers and candy or with gifts of jewelry or cloths. Many mouth poetic apologies and give promises to never again commit those disgraceful acts of aggression and hurt. And I told her that sometimes, in those terrible circumstances, sorry is not enough; gifts don’t mean anything and women must learn to protect themselves. I explained to her that in life she would learn that not every apology was genuine and that every apology did not have to be accepted.

As most trusting children do, she accepted what her mother told her and moved on.

I, on the other hand, began to really think about the lesson I was teaching her. As a mother, was I teaching my daughter that domestic violence is a joking matter? Was my original silence on this important issue tacit consent? Was I silently condoning what was most likely one of the more despicable commentaries ever uttered in the House of Assembly, where supposed honorable men and women gather to represent the interests of all Bahamians at the highest level in our society?

At that moment I determined, rightly or wrongly, that I would wait until I spoke in the Senate to express my disappointment in the member of Parliament for Tall Pines and to express my support for the great work being done by the Crisis Centre, and organizations like “Holla Back”, which seek to raise our consciences about the problem of abused women in The Bahamas, helping to create safe spaces for those persons escaping abuse.

I did not want any statement made by me to be interpreted as scoring political points and so I intended to reserve comment for the upper chamber. Unfortunately, the opportunity to discuss this very important matter in the Senate has not presented itself and I feel compelled to make my views on this subject public.

The messages we send

I believe that we have to be very careful about the messages we send to our young people by what we say and what we do in our lives.

We cannot tell them that abuse is a joking matter whether it is abuse of a woman by a man, of a child whether male or female by a woman or a man; indeed, abuse of one man by another man is not acceptable.

We cannot, and must not, tell the next generation that it is acceptable to brag about or to joke about or make light about beating down another human being, much less accept our men telling tales and joking about abusing a woman.

Such acts of abuse cannot go without a strong, strict rebuke.

I did not speak up right away. For that I apologize to my children and to every woman, man or child who has suffered abuse in our Bahamas.

Shamefully, others seated in both chambers of our Parliament also failed to speak up including our prime minister, the leader of our country and the leader of Miller’s political party.

As a young Bahamian woman, I thought it was important that we hear from Prime Minister Perry Christie on this matter. I thought this was especially important since he, when given the opportunity in 2002 to stand up for equality for women, voted first in support of constitutional amendments meant to remove the last forms of official discrimination against women from our constitution, but then came out of the House of Assembly and spearheaded the Vote No campaign to kill the amendment.

After successfully derailing the first opportunity for women to attain equality under our independent constitution in 2002, Christie promised that if elected to office he would bring back the same constitutional referendum concerning equality for women. He won an election in 2002 but that constitutional referendum never came back and Bahamian women continue to be discriminated against in our constitution.

Since returning to office again in 2012, Christie’s government has not found it convenient to bring the constitutional referendum to remove gender discrimination from our constitution.

Recently, Christie’s government made much ado about the 50th anniversary of the Bahamas’ women’s suffrage movement. At that time, he again promised to bring forward a constitutional referendum on women's rights; the same promise he made over 12 years ago.

We continue to wait; while the government finds the time for a referendum on numbers and gambling; while legislation is drafted and redrafted to accommodate stem cell research, always taking care of “da boys” out in front while Bahamian women continue to wait.

While I cry shame on the prime minister on his deafening silence on this critically important issue for women in our country, I express even more surprise that the usually vociferous (I would even dare say pit bull like) women of the PLP appear to have allowed the bite of a self-styled “political potcake” to get the better of them.

Shamefully these PLP women called a press conference to condemn and ridicule the member of Parliament for Long Island, Loretta Butler-Turner, for her stand against the abuse of women and the actions of Miller in trivializing this terrible issue that traumatizes far too many women in our country.

In fact, at that press conference the PLP female spokespersons said that no woman in public life who is a mother should be making those political statements. Well I say that no woman in public life should remain silent while a male MP brags and jokes about domestic violence, others squawk and cackle and others just remain silent.

Standing up for women

I want to teach my daughters a few valuable lessons about respect for the dignity of all human beings.

I call upon the leaders of this nation to help me to teach this lesson, not only to my children but to all the children of our country. Sometimes “sorry” is just not enough. Sometimes a monetary gift cannot erase the damage.

I call on the PM, my own leader, Dr. Hubert Minnis, and all public figures on all sides of the political divide, please stand up for women. Let us demonstrate that we can still be a country with moral and ethical standards.

Prime minister, your government has not been a bastion of hope for women’s issues. So many promises that were especially targeted to win you support of Bahamian women at the polls in 2012 have thus far proven to be little more than electioneering.

I ask that you not fail Bahamian women on this issue of standing up against abuse. Say something. Let us hear from you – loudly and repeatedly. Do something that will encourage the thousands of women – wives, mothers, daughters, sisters and girlfriends – who have either been abused or who have a tender loved one who has or is presently suffering abuse. Assure Bahamian women that you really do care, that you do not condone or excuse abusive behavior – verbal or physical from any person on your team.

Let us all stand up and support human dignity and respect for one another.

The time for this is now.

• Heather Hunt is an attorney and senator.

April 02, 2014

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Edmund Moxey’s dream about the social, cultural, and economic development of his Bahamian people is alive and well in The Bahamas

'Spoken From The Heart' - Tribute To Edmund Moxey By Sir Arthur Foulkes

GOVERNOR General Sir Arthur Foulkes, in a tribute paid to Edmund Moxey, creator of the Jumbey Village dream, recalled their years in the political trenches together, nourishing a single ambition – the “salvation of a people.”

 

It was felt that today’s Bahamians are paying the price of the brutal crushing of Jumbey Village in those early years of political change.

 

Sir Arthur was the main speaker Friday night in a special programme to pay tribute to the 80-year-old politician and accomplished musician. The programme, organised by the College of the Bahamas, with college lecturer, Felix Bethel as emcee, was held at the Bahamas Harvest Church, Prince Charles Drive. Mario Moxey, Ed Moxey’s son, is the pastor of the church.

 

Following is Sir Arthur’s speech without notes, but “spoken from the heart.”

 

Said Sir Arthur:

 

UNLIKE Dr (Felix) Bethel, I am considerably beyond the age of 65 so it is a little risky for me to say even these few words without notes because I find that the senior moments are occurring more frequently these days. Nevertheless, I shall speak from my heart.

 

I will start with a story, a tale. I know there is at least one person here who has heard it before, but we were campaigning in Andros, Mangrove Cay. And it was Sir Milo Butler, Mr Charles Rodriguez, Edmund Moxey and me. Now Sir Milo and Mr Rodriguez were older than we were, so they got the two beds in Ms Green house, and we got two pillows to lie down on the floor in the front room. And they were both big men, Sir Milo and Mr Rodriguez, and how can I delicately put this, their laboured breathing while they were asleep disturbed us to the extent that we couldn’t sleep. So Ed and I looked at each other, and I said look we’re not going to get any sleep we might as well go out. Ed said let’s go to the beach. We got out of the house and to the beach and we were confronted by hoards of mosquitoes and sandflies and had to beat a hasty retreat back. The next morning at breakfast the older men asked us how we slept, and I struggle to say we didn’t tell them the truth. Just, oh, we slept fine!

 

I say that to say, I have known this man we have come here this evening to pay tribute to, for the better part of half a century. He has been my friend all that time and his dear wife too. He and I have had the privilege of being in the political trenches at a time when it is difficult for young people to understand what we were up against in those days. So I know this man very well and can tell you that that was an era of great men, but there was none greater than Edmund Moxey.

 

Those days it was not about personal ambition, the burning in our hearts was not about the achievement of position and riches. The burning in our hearts was about the salvation of a people, and Ed Moxey passionately lived and breathed that every day of his life.

 

You know the saying about what happens to a dream deferred, how it will shrivel up like a raisin in the sun. In the case of Ed Moxey, we have seen some wonderful things as a result of our struggles. We have passed a time when children had to leave school at the age of 14 and only a few could go to Government High for examination. Now we have thousands of young Bahamians with Bachelors, Masters, and even Doctorates, three Rhodes scholars. But the dream was about even more than that, and Edmund Moxey’s dream was about the social, cultural, and economic development of his people. I believe you just saw the documentary and that tells you some of the story. But what is so painful is that this dream that Edmund Moxey had for the upliftment and development of his people in that concept of Jumbey Village, that dream was strangled like an infant in its crib. It didn’t succeed, it didn’t fail, it was crushed deliberately, and brutally crushed. And you know it is true that if you plant a certain kind of seed today, you will reap the fruit of that seed at some time in the future. If you plant a different kind of seed, you will reap the fruit from that too. One is sweet and the other is exceedingly bitter. And today because of the crushing, the brutal destruction of Ed Moxey’s dream, we Bahamians are paying the price.

 

Now imagine this, let’s look at this from the point of view of tourism. We have tens of thousands of tourists coming on cruise ships practically every day, and the complaint is that there is nowhere for them to go. They go to Paradise Island, Paradise Island, if Ed Moxey’s dream had succeeded, Jumbey Village would have been such a place where it would have been impossible to visit Nassau and not to go over the hill to Jumbey Village. Because the vision was one of a total exposition of Bahamian culture in one big village. Theatres, restaurants, art shops, craft shops, the whole total picture. Can you imagine that? How wonderful that would have been and for my people from over the hill. That is the dream that was crushed.

 

The economic benefit is obvious. Any number of young Bahamians and older Bahamians too from over the hill would have been economically empowered through Ed Moxey’s dream, but I think more important than that is that our people would have been more culturally developed. Bahamian culture would have been on display and in that developed for ourselves and also for our visitors, and the total picture, music, food, dance, Junkanoo, poetry. I thought about it many times, Ed, and I could only imagine how you feel when you think about it. What might have been, what might have been, but rest assured my brother that there are those of us who appreciate what you tried to do, the vision you had for your people. You were pure, you are pure. I never saw in you any great desire for personal position or fulfilment of personal ambition. Your talk, your actions were always about your people, and the plight of your people. That’s what he used to say, the plight of the people.

 

And so it is a great pleasure, even this tinge of sadness in my heart for what might have been. It is a great pleasure for me to be here, to pay tribute to Ed Moxey. But brother do not despair, I have travelled up and down these islands from Abaco to Inagua and the dream is not dead. And for you older people who always talking about this generation going to hell, I keep telling people the first time it was recorded that that was said by one generation of the coming generation, was about 4,000 years ago and it has continued since.

 

I can tell you that yes we have problems with some of our young people, most of the problems are caused by some of our older people. I have seen young people from Abaco to Inagua and all the islands in between who still have the Bahamian dream in their hearts who are still doing the right thing. I was in Long Island once for a graduation ceremony and the valedictorian was a young lady, I think she’s off to school now. I sat there transfixed as this young lady spoke, she was articulate, eloquent in spots, she knew what she was talking about, knew what was going on in the world, and I felt something like Nicodemus… “for my eyes have seen”.

 

I have seen in the faces and eyes of our young people, a braver, better Bahamas. We have hundreds and thousands of young Bahamians who are doing the right things in our country and I hope that the lives of men like Edmund Moxey, they will come to know about and that will help to be an inspiration to them because the talent is there and the love of country is there. And that really is all I want to say to you, God bless you, my brother and your family.

 

Young people please learn about your history, learn about great men like Edmund Moxey and let him and others be an inspiration to you as you continue to build our Bahamaland.

 

March 31, 2014

 

Tribune 242

Value added tax (VAT) and Debt Collection

Debt Collection Expert Speaks Out Regarding VAT and Debt Collection

 

There has been a lot of talk throughout The Bahamas recently regarding the implementation of VAT and the collection of taxes.  While for the most part the talk and views expressed are from respected individuals who are experts in their respective fields, none of the persons can claim to be experts in the field of “debt collection” in general or “debt collection in The Bahamas” in particular.

Apex Management Services has been in business for over 15 years and is the only debt collection agency in The Bahamas that is capable of handling the full spectrum of debt collection with state of the art technology and resources that are all under one roof.

While there are several debt collection options that include; In-house Collectors, Internal or External Attorneys, Internal Call Centers, External Call Centers and Offshore Call Centers, none of the options are as efficient and effective as a Local Full-Fledged Debt Collection Agency, which can handle matters from start to finish without gaps.

Some of the inherent flaws that are associated with the various collection options that often substitute for Debt Collection Agencies are as follows:

Internal Attorneys at best would function similar to an external attorney with the difference being that they would be more accessible.  At worst an Internal Attorney would also have a focus on other duties, which would diminish the attorney’s role as a specialist with 100% focus on debt collection.  Although Day Court is an option, as a matter of convenience, many civil matters, which fall in the Magistrate Courts jurisdiction, are heard in evening court, which would often necessitate odd hour for an internal attorney.

External Attorneys do not operate debt collection agencies; in many instances their main focus is to obtain judgment with little if any interaction with the debtor.  Prior to obtaining judgment and after judgment is obtained; attorneys do not have the capacity to provide the care and attention to each and every individual account.  In most cases attorneys will bill the client after judgment is obtained and the client is still left to collect the amount of the claim.   Many matters handed to attorneys go uncollected long after the attorneys have been paid.

Onshore Call Centers are on the opposite end of the spectrum from Attorneys, in the debt collection process.  While Onshore Call centers are extremely good at interacting with debtors, they have no enforcement capabilities.  If a call center operator is dealing with a debtor who is not cooperating or refuses to pay, the call center has no recourse but to send the debt back to the client who will most likely send it to an attorney thus creating a time and process gap, when time is of the essence.

Furthermore Call Centers have no capabilities to locate debtors whose whereabouts are unknown (Skip Trace) even though a large percentage of bad debt matters require Skip Tracing.  At best, Call Centers are only suitable for early stage debt not late stage debt.

Offshore Call Centers have the same disadvantages as Onshore Call Centers plus the following added disadvantages.

Communication and Culture - In most cases Offshore Call Centers operate in countries where there are cultural differences that are often subtle but significant.  This is compounded when English is not the native language or where patois is predominant.

Geography – Psychologically if a debtor senses that there is some significant distance between the call center operator and themselves they are less likely to cooperate or pay.

Speaking from experience gained working with a major commercial bank that implemented an offshore call center option that failed miserably, Offshore call centers or Offshore Collection Agencies do not work.

The differences that a properly equipped and professional Debt Collection Agency such as Apex makes to the collection process that none of the above options can provide are as follows:

•          Principal has over 30 years of Credit and Collection Experience.

•          Principal is an accomplished Fellow and Member of the largest International Debt Collection Trade Association.  ACA International, the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals.

•          Agency has been in operation for over 15 years

•          Easily accessible well-maintained and spacious offices conducive for customer service.

•          Adequate telecommunication technology and operators to handle thousands of calls daily.

•         Auto-dialers, which exponentially increase the calling and communication capacity of the call center.

•         SMS technology which exponentially increases the communication capacity of the call center.

•          State of the art Collection Management Software capable of handling unlimited number of accounts with integrated financial accounting, diary management and many additional features.

•          State of the art Legal Case Management Software

•          24/7 client web access

•          Skip Tracing Database and Skip Trace Network

•          In House Attorneys that are 100% dedicated to debt-collection-litigation.

“International financial institutions, such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), have propagated a conventional wisdom that revenue collection authorities are more effective when they operate autonomously from the state, as a commercialized entity at arms length from government rather than as a department within the government administration”. 

(Source: Preconditions for Effective Tax Collection, By – Economic Policy Research Unit, Bergen Norway)

A growing number of U.S. states are expanding their relationships with private collection agencies to settle long-overdue taxes.

Her Majesty Revenue & Collection (HMRC) has outsourced some of its debt collection to external agents.  Following a pilot, a notice entitled ‘Modernizing debt collection’ was released explaining that four debt collection agencies will be employed by HMRC to collect an outstanding £140 million of outstanding tax debt.  (Source: HMRC sends in debt collectors for unpaid taxes. By-Nick Lodge, Director of debt management and banking HMRC.)

In Spain alone more than 800 companies specialize in collection of outstanding debt, handling a total of 71 billion euro and generating close to 560 million euro for their business. (Source: DBK, “Empresas de Gestion de Impagados)

With an obvious eye on an opportunity to capitalize on the existing situation, a number of over-night debt collection vendors are beginning to surface without any experience or capacity to perform at a level that would be required.

It would be a shame if we as a country succumb to the temptation to award debt collection contracts based on patronage rather than on merit, at such a time when our country’s financial wellbeing is at stake.

March 28, 2014

Media Contact: Rory Higgs  
Phone: 424-0985 (Cell)

Email: rhiggs@apexbahamas.com

 

Bahamian Shanendon E. Cartwright ...encourages all Bahamians to actively participate in the continuous positive advancement and further greatness of our beloved Commonwealth of The Bahamas

Want real change in The Bahamas? It’s time for active citizenship



Shanendon Eugene Cartwright

On July 10, 2013, the Commonwealth of The Bahamas celebrated 40 years of independence.

The annual recognition of self-determination inherently gave way to a national reflection on self-evaluation and an assessment of how far we have come as a nation and what is the way forward for the next 40 years.

An objective, fair and realistic evaluation would render a judgment incredibly favorable to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. As the adage goes, “To whom much is given, much is expected.”

We, the Bahamian people, have been given a great country by our God, our forefathers and Bahamians of generations past. The expectation now even more than ever is for every Bahamian citizen, every one of us, to make individual contributions to the continuous advancement and further greatness of our beloved commonwealth.

As we embark upon the next 40 years, all of us must embrace an active citizenship, one that asks: “How does my attitude, my lifestyle and my behavior either contribute to the increasing development or gradual weakening of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas?”

An active citizenship that says to be born Bahamian is not a right, but a privilege, a privilege that must be honored by an equal and unshakeable resolve to “do my part” to make The Bahamas better.

Occasionally lost sometimes in the usual rhetorical scuffle and paralysis of analysis that at times handicaps the national dialogue on pertinent issues is a fundamental and undeniable fact that history has been a witness to time and time again. When real change and transformation altered the Bahamian national landscape in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, it was an active citizenship that served as a catalyst.

From the Burma Road Riot in 1942, to the taxi cab blockade in 1958, to the historic vote of Bahamian women in 1962, to Bahamian independence in 1973, to the formation of both the Free National Movement and the Progressive Liberal Party, these historic events have been shaped by ordinary Bahamian men and women with extraordinary passion, resolve and selfless love of country.

Admirably, we have become a very vocal and critically thinking citizenry, but the ongoing sense of entitlement, over-reliance and excessive dependency on government have in many ways reduced the incentive for some Bahamians to be involved in their own development.

There must be a collective commitment to change the status quo and create a country for active citizenship to flourish. We must foster a culture that rejects the idea that political access to the Public Treasury is either the only way or the primary way for economic empowerment to occur. Governments ought to not simply act on behalf of the Bahamian people. They should act with them and create an environment ripe for economic independence and empowerment.

So while I do concede that social services agencies and programs are necessary to act as a collective safety net for our brothers and sisters who are ill-equipped and less fortunate, they cannot be embraced as a sustainable method through which we empower. We the citizens must be engaged sufficiently that we ensure that political, business, civic and religious leaders are accountable for their actions as we have to be accountable for ours. We must work with other community stakeholders to forward development, provide serious long-term solutions for our social, economic and educational ills.

Each of us should champion the concerns for those who have no voice and those whose influence is limited by virtue of education or economics. An active citizenship and social agitation is the bedrock of any mature democracy and it must be dynamic, visible and vibrant. Let me submit this, that our desires for our country are directly connected to what we are willing to give it individually. Now let me register this admission for the record. There are thousands of great Bahamians who helped to build this country and there are countless others who make their contribution to their community and this nation everyday. Yet, there still remains a sizeable portion of the population who sit on the sidelines; people who spectate not participate. Simply put “the work is plentiful in our country and the laborers are few”.

Self-advancement

We must embrace the notion that each of our roles is significantly important to the transformation of our country. Whether you are the right honorable prime minister or a painter, an engineer or an evangelist, a taxi driver or a janitor. We must all lead from where we stand and alter our surroundings for the good of The Bahamas. It is my belief that we must weave into our social fabric a sense of a “through the corner”, “in the yard”, “everyday” patriotism. An ever-present patriotism that will stir the soul of the Bahamian people daily and incite a level of pro-activeness and a relentless focus on nation building. I’m reminded daily of the impact of this when I talk to and observe a remarkable lady on the corner of Meadows and West Streets affectionately known as “Mother Blessed” as she cares for and transforms the lives of young children in the Bain Town community. I’m reminded of this when I drive on Baillou Hill Road and see Troy Clarke of the L.E.A.D institute as he inspires the young men in his program. I am reminded of this when I think of Tyrone ‘Goose’ Curry of the Foundation Junkanoo group, who works tirelessly to uplift the spirits of the young men and women in the Chippingham area.

There is, however, a stark and festering reality that has been with us for decades that seems to evade our consciousness and that is there is no amount of legislated public policy that can stem the instances of chronic lawlessness, social deterioration and corruption that we are now facing. To begin to usher in the change needed it will involve an active citizenship and an engaged, aggressive, demanding Bahamian citizenry whose members work tirelessly within their circles of influence to begin to eliminate and battle those elements of our society that weaken us as a country.

We have much to be proud of as a country and are truly blessed for having been given the Commonwealth of The Bahamas by our creator. We are therefore both citizens and caretakers. Let us remind ourselves daily that citizenship is not simply a status of national residence. It is an unwritten, sacred, solemn and binding pact between us and our country. We are exposed to unlimited privileges of being Bahamian; the absolute advantages of our climate; our geography, our seas. We benefit from a sometimes, yes, challenged but underestimated thriving democracy and a stable economy. We are in the elite and enviable position of being one of six countries in the world that have United States pre-clearance. We enjoy the relatively peaceful and tranquil experience that is the Bahamian way of life. All that is asked of us is to do our part and make individual and collective contributions to our Bahamaland that has given us so much. We reap the harvest from our land but in my humble view too many are unwilling to till the soil for the next generation just as the land was prepared for them.

There is no more room for idle hands or the absentee citizen. For the very same community and society we neglect today are the same ones we will become victims of tomorrow. We must awaken those patriotic passions and cultural ideals that were so prevalent during the pre-independence years and those immediately after. There must be a huge shift in how we view our citizenship. Let us harness that unique Bahamian spirit of excellence that has given us world-class leaders, scholars, actors, painters, song writers, musicians and athletes and become consumed by what will make us individually better neighbors, ideally better Bahamian citizens, because the future of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas depends on it.

• Shanendon E. Cartwright is the founder and facilitator of Vision 21 – an educational, motivational and interactive lecture series on leadership.

March 28, 2014

thenassauguardian