Is the Bahamas the Best Little Country?

by Craig Butler

Politicians have this idea that we are the best little country in the world. Clearly both sides think this way and I don’t have a problem with that. In fact I would like to think the same way, but then the reality sets in and I have to check myself.

Unfortunately I feel as though we are going nowhere fast. Crime is out of control everyone agrees that is the case. Do you realize that we have had more murders in the Bahamas than has been recorded in all of Ontario Canada so far this year? To top it off, crimes by police officers or those imbued with the public trust seem to be on the rise.

Our education system is in a shambles. Ever since social promotion was adopted sometime in the 1970s we have been fighting a losing battle here. With a national average of D and, according to the experts, no real chance of improving it, we are running full steam ahead towards disaster. I could go on about all that is bad, but I wanted to highlight something that is good.

Recently our nation was proud to claim three medals at the World Track & field Championships in Osaka Japan - gold in the high jump, and silvers in the 100 meters and 4 x 400 relay. For a change it was the men that bought home the glory.

It is also quite ironic that as a xenophobic nation we quickly forget or at least file away in the recesses of our minds that much of this recent pride was due to the labour of many whose parentage was Jamaican or Haitian.

However, I was more impressed with the other advancements that have been made in sports in this country. At the Pan American Championships in Brazil a few weeks ago, although our swimmers didn’t win any medals, we broke new ground by making it to many of the finals of the events in which we had entrants.

This is a good sign of the future of athletics in this country. I can remember back to the 1970s when we were making our first foray into this arena. Kendal Nottage was the Minister of Youth, Sports & Community Affairs, and for us at that time the hosting of the CARIFTA games was a major accomplishment.

The excitement of the Bahamian people was evidenced by the packed Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre. Although we did not win based on the medal count, the seeds had been planted. Now some 30 years later we can see the results on the international stage. Mr. Nottage would be proud that the Bahamas can now really claim to be ‘numero uno’ as he was so fond of saying.

Now imagine if the impetus that we had in the 1970s with respect to sports was applied to education - just think of where we would be today. We can’t go back in time but we can apply ourselves to making this place right in all areas. Accordingly the resources need to be devoted to the educational system so that my children in 30 years time can reminisce about the days when the country was direction-less.

If we truly intend to be the best little country in the world we need politicians with vision and fortitude to make the tough decisions that long-term planning requires and not a group of individuals who are interested only in maintaining a power base.

Anchor Projects
The PLP championed a system of advancing the country economically through anchor projects. In reality what they were doing was using foreign investment in our number one industry and dispersing it throughout the Bahamas in hopes that it would foster growth and trigger opportunities for Bahamians to make a decent living.

This is something that we in the Bahamas have relied on for decades and unless we are serious about economic diversification, this will continue to be the case for years to come. I am not knocking foreign investors as they are an essential part of our economy. But I am disgusted with our lack of vision and the absence of parameters within which these investors must operate.

Whereas the Albany development may be a good thing, it is not good just because it carries the marquee name of Tiger Woods. The reason why we as Bahamians should want this development is because of the numerous benefits that would result from it.

We as a people have never been enamoured with celebrity, and for that reason many of them love to visit our country for a brief respite. I am tired, though, of allowing developments that would provide for the rich and famous and deny Bahamians. As it is, Lyford Cay and Old Fort Bay are exclusive residential communities in the western district of the island that have excluded us form being able to access our beaches. There is nothing that we can do about them, but we can ensure that the same does not happen in respect of Albany.

Let me be clear, I am not against the project even though it is unlikely that many Bahamians will be in a position to have ownership in this community. I am adamantly against the road being redirected to facilitate this development. If they want to move the road then the developers need to provide access for Bahamians to enjoy the coast and not have it only as the backdrop of a fabulous mansion.

Our water is a natural resource and the main reason why these developers are here in the first place. The developers realize the beauty and importance of the same and the potential for financial windfalls that is why they are here ultimately, this then begs the question of why doesn’t the government realize that we as a people would want to share in that same peace and tranquility that the developers are marketing. Maybe the answer is that we are not important or good enough.

Comments

[thinsoldier]

Speaking of crime:
http://www.bostonreview.net/BR32.4/article_loury.php

"Our incarceration rate (714 per 100,000 residents) is almost 40 percent greater than those of our nearest competitors (the Bahamas, Belarus, and Russia)."

[thinsoldier]

"Do you realize that we have had more murders in the Bahamas than has been recorded in all of Ontario Canada"

To be fair I think I should mention that in the documentary "Bowling For Columbine" it was reported that the majority of murders in Ontario happen in the City of Toronto and the vast majority of murders in Toronto are committed by Americans who came across the border from Detroit, Michigan USA.

The similarity between Toronto and the Bahamas family Islands is that some of the people they interviewed in Toronto said they felt OK about not locking their doors when they go out. Even in "black ghetto" areas many people don't lock their doors. I know in various parts of Eleuthera there are still some areas where people feel safe enough to leave their doors unlocked. But in Nassau it's quite the opposite.

Honestly, Nassau, with its crime and Grand Bahama with its disproportionate amount of gays, lesbians, incest, and child molesters give the Bahamas a very bad name.

I pray for the day when the out islands learn to band together and stop relying on NP for anything.

[thinsoldier]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought we were a D on the A-U scale?

Which would mean on the more well known A-F scale we're actually an F-- ? -

[larry smith]

That's true. If you adapt the 7-point (no pass, no fail) BGCSE results to the normal 4-point pass/fail grading scale used by most schools you get a much more dramatic picture of our problems.

That image is one of large-scale functional illiteracy and innumeracy.

Illiterates cannot understand basic facts, ideas and opinions, nor present them coherently.

Innumerates cannot count, multiply or recognise the difference between squares, cubes, circles and spheres.

[thinsoldier]

hmmm....I might be slightly innumerate :( Being a straight F math student for 5 years in high-school would do that to ya :(

Shout outs to Mr. Dorset for preparing me to become a straight A math student for 2 years in college.

oh! don't forget the Aliterate.
http://havenworks.com/vocabulary/a-z/a/aliteracy/