Bahamas 2010 Census: Many Family Islands in danger of being abandoned

Many Family Islands in danger of being abandoned
thenassauguardian editorial


The results of the 2010 Census has finally been released and to no one's surprise, there has been an 18 percent hike in the number of people in New Providence.

The report has also revealed that there has been significant population decreases in a number of the Family Islands, namely Andros, Berry islands, Inagua, Cat Island and one or two others.

We really didn't need a census to point that out, because anyone traveling to the Family Islands over the past five years would have noticed a steady decline in the number of people on those islands.

To make matters worse, those numbers involved mostly young people leaving the islands. Those middle-aged people who opted to leave their places of birth more than likely did so out of financial necessity, moving to Nassau to seek employment opportunities.

For the most part it is our young people who are abandoning the islands and looking to"live it up"in Nassau.

Of course, on the surface, one cannot blame them.

When you consider the lack of any major developments within the Family Islands, it leaves very little choices of job opportunities for our youngsters.

The government may not feel any weight about these numbers and may disregard these significant declines, however, it cannot be ignored.

If we want to see these islands be preserved for Bahamians, something must be done to not only keep the little amounts of young people in those islands there, but to try and encourage others who may have left to return and contribute to the development of those islands.

More has to be done to boost the economies and the opportunities for people within our Family Islands. We have said this over and over, but apparently, this is falling on deaf ears.

These latest figures confirm that no one is listening.

If we continue to ignore our Family Islands and the development of those islands, one day we will look up and they will be overrun by foreigners or deserted.

Outsiders, who see the value of our islands will begin to move to those places, take over and even offer to buy those islands. The past has already proven that in some cases governments are eager to sell cays and certain parts of our islands.

When the older people who now inhabit our islands have passed on, with no young people there to move in and take over and positively contribute, what will become of our islands?

This is an issue we must take seriously.

But as long as the government and others continue to thrive on the notion that Nassau is The Bahamas, one day that may just be the only island we have left.

And with an already overcrowded population in Nassau, how much more can the island of 21 x 7 take?

The government must move quickly to preserve our Family Islands. We must divert more investors to the islands to provide more opportunities for those people on those islands to find employment.

Then, to make it livable, the proper infrastructure must also be put in place to sustain those developments and any proposed growth.

10/20/2010

thenassauguardian editorial

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