I realise that most races have been held as slaves at one time or another, and the practice continues today in some parts of the world, but one of the most dastardly parts of the Atlantic slave trade was how fellow human beings were treated as as if they less than men and women.
And it seems that many of us feel the same way about illegal Haitians here in The Bahamas.
We hear it in disparaging conversations about Haitians and we see it in the way they are rounded up by the Immigration Department when they decide to do their raids.
Oh I agree they are illegal and we must deal with it, but do we have to pretend these people are not human beings?
Watching a Minister of Immigration dressed in army fatigues during a pick up or herding and storing these folks in a manner not becoming of ourselves is not worthy of a "Christian nation".
While I realise "There has always been a love hate relationship between Bahamians and Haitians. We love them when they do the physical labour we don't want to do, but hate them when they start to aspire to do more for themselves," and we can't continue to have shanty towns etc, but when last have we heard a constructive debate about it in Parliament? Ever?
But I digress. Read more here… and here…
We have to treat each other as if we are human.
As the logo above, designed for the British anti slavery movement by Josiah Wedgewood, asks, "Am I Not A Man And A Brother?"
This is a question we should be asking ourselves when we know in our hearts we treat Haitians like they are not.
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(Click on the image to read an essay by Lawrence W. Reed, of the Foundation for Economic Education (Fee.org) entitled, A Student's Essay That Changed The World.)
I also believe that a lack of awareness of the history of this region further aids to this problem. A quick scan through a typical social studies or history textbook in many schools makes no mention for example of the Haitian Revolution and what succeeded it. I have been out of high school for some years now and my sister still uses the same politically correct textbooks I used. So many Bahamians do not have a clue about the Haitian struggle to begin to show empathy and have respect for our Haitian brothers and sisters.
Well said you Lotus.. Nevertheless let us not forget that if birth rate trends continue, in about two decades or less the Haitians will make up the majority of our country’s population.. It is even a possibility that we might have a Haitian Prime Minister as the Haitian population gain political strength..
The same is true for the United States where the Hispanic population will be the majority in about twenty years.. Will we see the Hispanic States of America?? Only time will tell but it may be time to brush up on Spanish..
Yes of course they are humans but we now have more Haitians than Bahamians in our own country & in my experience they are getting very biggety.They are telling you”Its more of we than you”. One of the dictionaries has our first language as creole !The ads on TV & radio are in creole,what the hell is this Haiti ? Haiti has been given countless amounts money over the last 50 years & they still can’t do anything at home ? Why is that ? They sure seem to make a go of it in our country.Pindling started it by firing Roker, Ingraham continued by firing McCartney & so on.Every time someone with guts tries they are shot down by these tyrant politicians that refuse to put country first.Try & wave the American flag in Mexico & they will put you in jail,no Haitian flag should be waved in the Bahamas,when in Rome you do as the Romans do or go back where you came from,period !I am sorry but we should not only be rounding them up but we should also be doing raids to stop the electricity theft that is helping to increase our bills by a fortune.I don’t think we have been a christian nation in a long time,that is why we are now reaping the effects of illegitimate no manners rude criminal,no “brought-upsy” children many from sweet-hearting amongst the church going “christian” public.Someone was in the PMH last week from 8.30 am until about 2.pm.Every ten minutes another baby was born there,how many were Haitian,I would bet nearly all.Please tell me what is the defense force capable of if they can’t stop a sloop going 3 MPH ?Who owns these sloops,rumor has it that Bahamians do,that’s part of the reason why they do nothing because they are making way to much money from it.
I understand where you are coming from Had Enough, but that does not override the concerns expressed in the post.
When has there been a constructive debate in Parliament to figure out how to deal with it?
We are responsible for how this has gotten out of control, but there is a humane way to deal with it.
We also must consider all the Stateless people we have here.
We are reaping what we’ve sown.
Where does all this “my brother” nonsense come form?? Could it be from the well known plea, “Hay brother can you spare a dime”.. Every time someone refers to someone as their brother they are usually looking for a handout or as we say in the Bahamas a contribution.. Usually they are less fortunate folks who have become panhandlers and use such phrases as “my brother” to play on ones sympathy and conscious.. Do I call my boss or fellow workers my brother?? I think not.. Yes, they are human beings, associates and friends but they are not my brothers.. And what is even more important to me, I am not their brother, just another being just like them..
Christians love to say, “It is better to given than to receive”.. Yet many of us poor souls have little to give but hastily accept from the giving.. To help our fellow man is an act of noble kindness, but Christians often forget that they are no better souls than those who receive..
We must always remember that there are no “Equal Outcomes” in life despite what the government and church want us to believe.. Such utopian idealism runs contrary to the very nature of mankind.. We are only equal in God’s eye and not in the eyes of our fellow man..
This country knows not what debate is,the reality is we are in a dictatorship it seems to me because I will bet you hands down 75/90% of this country wants the Immigration matter sorted out(By that I mean shipped out) & the weaklings in government just will not do it ! Screw amnesty international,they don’t have our crime problem. & besides there is no debate needed,to transport ships & planes along with the Navy seals or a fighting force of some kind.We are at the point I believe where there is no other way.Brotherly love was lost a long time ago.There seems to be brotherly love for everyone except Bahamians & what Bahamians feel & think.Lets leave the brotherly love to the hippies because if we do not clean this up within the next two years if that we can all kiss the Bahamas & the Bahamian good by.
By the way Rick we being the do nothing slime-ball politicians on both sides but not we.We would have changed this a long time ago.
It is too easy to lump all of our ills, (and there are many) into which ever Basket we are railing about.
First, we are loaded with pride, but have no shame.
No balance.
Second, we received self determination, then independence,but have yet to accept responsibility for it.
Third, we tied the “no more servitude” message into “you can have anything you want” without a single thought as to who would pay for it.
Fourth, we went completely tribal, worshiping “The Chief” (one or the other) and thereby abandoned the only protection we had that could be counted on, the Rule of Law.
fifth, we cannot get past the Haitian xenophobia, because they are an easy scapegoat for whatever gets out goat!
Forget the grass growing tall if we kick them all out,
our real challenge will be who will we blame for everything then?
We really are perhaps the most dense people on the planet, as we still hang on every word of the Political class, who have literally provided us with nothing!
Well, perhaps the people of North Korea are denser.
notably they do suffer more also.
If Intelligent discussion is to be had on most of the “popular” and critical issues we face,
many of us should feel down right ashamed of our culture and ourselves once the truth is acknowledged.
Many should be locked up for criminal behavior,
and Publicly castigated.
Priests and clergy included!
Instead, we want monuments, statues and holidays to perpetuate the lies.
But we are a godly nation right?
BTW, go find some damn Judges who can stand aside and apart from the political class and Judge according to written law, not political will.
Bahamian Judges want to be in the tribe,
foreign Judges want the citizenship and pension!
How is Justice ever to be served by that?
Justice is not served unless you get caught with a single joint but murder & you not only walk the streets but you walk away free from the so called courts.I do not think there is any justice in our country in my personal experience.On top of that,I don’t think there is a single person in government that gives a damn FNM,PLP,whatever, again in my personal experience there is not.
Mind you, we don’t spare ourselves similar inhumane treatment at Fox Hill Prison and the way we herd each other around..
Just think if we had a real judicial system how many more people would & in most cases should be in prison,Andros would not be big enough to hold them.I say build it & fill it.I have zero pity for members of the fox hill club.Who did they kill,rob or rape to get there.Herded around is to kind for them,the bad ones should be beaten with the cat o nine weekly.
Justice you say.. It is “Just Ice” cold outright disrespect for equality under law.. Are the Americans becoming like us or are we becoming more like them?? Neither country has any respect for equal justice under law as the government is becoming judge and jury..
Until it’s our child and then we think differently.
Rick that is pure BS.Its not our child,its a brazing cold criminal.
Far to many bleeding hearts,that’s why we are in this condition now.
God forbid it ever happens to anyone but I think people would feel different if it happened to them,in particular the total lack of anything from the courts or the police.
My point being Dennis, is we should not deny others rights, criminals included, as difficult as that might be sometimes.
When we give the state the power to do as they wish to one group we should be careful they do not start inflicting the same on the rest of us.
There is a lot that goes amok here as a result of incompetence as well as corruption.
There was a time that Children were taught Morals, ethics, and decent human behavior BY THEIR PARENTS.
Society would also step in and correct and or report bad behavior.
The was much shame for those who strayed, or behaved badly.
Action and consequence.
Also, most Children were taught by Example.
Where are we now?
A large percentage of Parents have for the most part failed over the recent most 2 generations, Society has generally failed,
the courts as a last resort (penalty) fails daily.
The problem the Police have is multi-fold,
in that they dare not arrest the Son/Daughter of someone who could/probably will end their career, and there is no way to know who is who until one acts to prevent or stop or respond to unlawful activity.
second, the level of force it takes to counteract the force being used against them and the public.
You cannot just meet it equally, you must overwhelm it into submission.
This though, creates situations like recently seen, police brutality and murder under the guise of authority.
One phrase used is at the “officers discretion”, but where is that line these days?
These days it is officer by officer because the moral standards and individual rationale is non existant.
It is a catch 22 because the standards are out the window.
It is said that an armed society is a polite society, but that takes years to develop and evolve,
I do not think the majority of us are responsible or educated enough to be legitimately armed.
We’d be shooting people for the most inane reasons because we have no self discipline.
Answer? I don’t know if there is one, but I do know it will get worse before it gets better.
I got your point Rick but we have to do something about this very huge problem.Finally this morning the Police commissioner admits the courts are letting them down.Well I got news for you Mr.commissioner,the courts have been letting us down for a long long time now.It is past the time to profile & implement a curfew.We need to stop holding hands & start cutting hands off.Nothing else is or will ever work,you have to fight this like we are in a war because we are in a war.In war your enemy has NO RIGHTS !!!!!
Maybe the Obama Administration thinks they’re in a war too. Hence their alleged ignoring of rights?
Obama is something different altogether
When the criminals have more rights than the victims then something has to change.When we have to be in jail out of fear then something has to change.I am sorry but I do not feel sorry for the criminals & I think their so called rights went out the door when they murdered robbed or raped someone.We have to make the punishment fit the crime.Some say oh hanging does not deter crime well who gives a hoot,that is the punishment for the crime & by damn we need to stop treating these criminals like they are some kind of poor little thing.