zephyr
05-13-04, - 09:32 PM
By: Dennis Arthur Dames
Email: dennisdames@netscape.net
Nassau, Bahamas
©2004
It’s a very peaceful first Sunday in May of 2004, and I am soberly reminded that there is an imaginary line between the calm that is enjoyed throughout my Bahama land, and the vices that we face as a people on a dutiful basis. Statistics only enforce what we know already. Murder continues to prosper in an atmosphere of ignorance, greed and intolerance; teen births and illegitimacy reflect our empathy about waves that have saturated our souls with subtle nakedness; recidivism in our criminal culture remains the norm, and the list goes on with trite familiarity.
It is beyond my understanding, and that of so many other citizens, as to why we have had little success in controlling the status quo of social ills, political unwillingness, and plain old cultural confusion. If we as a people and nation continue to reside in a disjointed fashion- then we are certainly doomed for destruction. We seem to be wrapped up in the arms of ourselves, and are careless about any circumstance outside of our limited environment. I believe that this is the heart of our collectively imposed predicaments.
It is true that silence is consenting, and while we popularly mind our own business- the world around us steadily declines into a hell on fire, because of our Pontius Pilate mentality. We know for instance, that old men are having sex with young girls, and in scores of cases- under-age females on a devoted basis.
We are aware that child abuse is wrecking the lives of little boys, and girls on an enormous scale; yet- society pretends that all is well. We know that perpetrators and law enforcement alike are ignoring the laws relating to statutory rape. Thus we are incessantly warehousing unwanted, and un-cared-for children on a systematic basis. We know what products we are producing for tomorrow, but we believe that talk will solve all of our problems; so that’s what we do and do best, and are concentrating on.
We are rearing our young population to be animals in a jungle where the law is still about survival of the fittest. The value of life is worth a dollar, a new pair of name-brand tennis, or proving to our lovers that we really do love them; so we kill to satisfy our personal wishes. These are only a few cases of our uncaring and selfish nature.
We are aware of the family structure being eroded by the one parent syndrome, and most of us who are fortunate to be members of a two parents’ household- know about the colossal challenges of nurturing children. I wonder from time-to-time how one parent makes it, especially with more than one child.
We know what trouble is on the horizon with a shattered family set-up, but there appears to be no urgency in correcting our kin problems. School children are regularly spotted in the mornings after school begins wandering aimlessly lost throughout the city, still waiting on the roadside for a jitney to take them to their final stop, busy trying to get breakfast from their favorite take-out spot, and could be seen hours after school in their uniforms still, and in places far away from their homes. Homework is alien to many of our young students, and lots of teachers do not even bother to give it.
The home is where it’s at, and where it begins. If our youngsters are not receiving the proper care on the home front, then they are still at a huge disadvantage socially and morally. This should be an urgent concern to all right-thinking individuals in the land.
Even the child whose wants, needs and desires are serviced without question or justification- on a timely basis, is a poorly breed adult of tomorrow. Most of these youths will grow up to be criminals if they find themselves in situations where the need and the means conflict. Many parents past, present and future wonder where they have gone wrong in upbringing their children whose every “I want” were met. Well, that’s where you have gone wrong perhaps.
I could remember that I was purchasing my school uniforms and supplies through summer jobs from the seventh grade. I learnt early to work for what I needed, and am very delighted that I went through the experience. Many other siblings, and young individuals have been through the same road- and it has made them smarter, wiser and more productive citizens no doubt.
I believe that every society has an obligation to ensure that all of it’s young be given the opportunity to succeed. It’s the only way to foster continuity in purpose, and build a nation that could stand triumphantly during the tests of time.
The way that we are educating our young is in serious need of evaluation, and revolution. We know that many of our school children are simply going through the motions with nothing to show for it. In a great many of cases- countless students are graduating without any bit of job skills, and illiteracy is still at an unacceptable level. I would like to see a system where every child in the education scheme graduate with a trade, and ready for the job market.
It’s not idle thinking; all we have to do is fix the flaws in the system so that we have new carpenters, masons, electricians, plumbers, auto mechanics, auto body men, barbers, hair stylists, tile layers, cooks, caterers, and so on moving into a job market ready to embrace them.
We know that The Bahamas is not producing the labor that’s in demand, and we are cognizant of our ineffectiveness in turning that around. We know that our population is insufficient to meet future needs, yet we stand by ironically and literally watch the young that we have, miss out on chances to make valuable contributions to his and her beloved land, and witness their birthright being threatened by the mass systematic influx of foreign capital, skill and labor.
We have been programmed to prepare ourselves in school to work for someone. That focus is still the order of today. It’s time to reprogram and promote the entrepreneurial spirit toward concentrating on the vital pillar of small Bahamian business expansion.
This is the area where successive governments have failed, because the historical strategy of attracting the big foreign investor- particularly of the tourism stock, who has the capacity to employ hundreds or thousands of workers at a time-, appears to be the safe short-term and shortsighted bet.
Bahamian politicians, and political leaders seem eager to put the fate of the Bahamian economy in overseas hands. It’s the quickest fix politically and economically, but is socially and morally unsteady.
We are in urgent need of leaders who are prepared to work toward balancing foreign and local investments in a chemistry that’s in the best interest of The Bahamas, and it’s people in the long-term. We desperately need to promote, and encourage through productive means- local employment with local entrepreneurs, so that the fortune of the Bahamian economy could be more domestically superior for the long haul.
Let’s begin in the straw market where tens of millions of dollars worth of foreign souvenirs are sold on a yearly basis. Let’s resolve to make that tourist attraction a 100 percent Bahamian made products’ zone.
With a touch of political will, the straw market alone could promote the Bahamian identity with vigor through entrepreneurial ship, and a natural display of national raw talents. We know that there are countless amount of idle artisans among young, and old throughout our family of islands. All they need is the political establishment to do their part in instituting commonsense, and vision in the national economy in the people’s interest.
We know that we spend about ninety cents of every foreign currency dollar earned on imports. We are cognizant about what it will mean if we reduce that amount by five cents, for example; or how even greater it would be economically if we resolve to lower our import tab by ten to twenty cents- to about seventy cents on every foreign dollar we earn. Well, decisions like transforming the straw market into a full Bahamian made souvenir bazaar – would go a long way in reducing our import bill.
We must be mindful that tourism is essentially our economy, and its future potential is vast for The Bahamas and Bahamians. We know that many foreigners have recognized that a long time ago, and have been taking advantage of our fortunes of land, sun, sand, sea and proximity. We are always embracing to big tourism, and other investors, because politically- it’s the fastest way of employing huge amounts of people at once. I believe that that is a short-range approach to economic sustainability, and a threat to national sovereignty.
I like so many others, am not impressed with the biggest private employer in the country being a foreign entity. I am concern, like a lot of other Bahamians- when I see overseas-owned multi-national companies having such a massive influence on the economy of The Bahamas. The concerns become even more concerning, when Bahamian governments continue to promote foreign invasion of the Bahamas economy- in the name of investments, and jobs.
At the existing pace, The Bahamas will not be a Bahamian land for too much longer. We must turn things around in the interest of much more Bahamian participation in the national economy. We need to balance the philosophy of foreign investments with that of the domestic nature.
We need to ensure that the preponderance control of the Bahamas economy is in the hands of Bahamians, and remain there until eternity passes away. But, it takes political will, vision, and an unrelenting resolve by the Bahamian electorate to succeed in that endeavor.
The challenges has just gotten tougher in light of the impending regional, and international trade arrangements, namely- CARICOM Single Market and Economy [CSME], the Free Trade Areas of the Americas [FTAA], and the World Trade Organization [WTO]. The Bahamas have a lot of catching up to do in order to compete in an arena that will test the will and prudence of all nations and peoples involve.
Bahamians need to unite for a stronger and more resourcefully viable nation, one that is organized to confront the decisions ahead for the perseverance of the Bahamian homeland for Bahamians first. The political system is presently designed to keep us divided, and therefore weakened. Bahamian is Bahamian, so PLPs are no different from FNMs- for instance.
It is highly moral for a people to unite in the interest of peace, love, happiness, and beloved soundness. But, if we are bitterly divided on the political scene- then we risk losing what we have, and not permitting ourselves the golden opportunity to achieve the great level of prosperity that we are capable of attaining. That would be unbearably tragic.
So, lets sober up people and work together in the Bahamian interest. It’s the only way that The Bahamas could survive as Bahamian country. Let’s welcome all good and ambitious foreign investors, however- let’s keep in mind that with every success of foreign confidence in our economy- we must focus on balancing it with the domestic sector.
Let’s make our country a cultural center of the region, but keep places like the straw market- a total Bahamian experience. We know that the well-educated politicians are quite often out of sync with the moneymaking desires of the electorate. In a lot of cases, they are too busy trying to prove to their colleagues, opponents and the world- that they are really the smartest, and if they don’t have the answer- then no one else has.
We need leaders who possess the ability, insight, and pragmatism to lead the way in truly solidifying, and encouraging linkages between the tourism, domestic, and regional sectors. We know that our potential is virtually unexplored in the agricultural and fisheries areas; it’s a gold mind for Bahamian farmers and fishermen waiting to be discovered, and cultivated.
It’s another avenue that could result in us maintaining a healthier foreign currency reserve, by simply using commonsense to produce more fruits, vegetables, fish, conchs, lobsters, and so on. We know that we possess the competence, and capital to create more for ourselves in the Bahamas; but we do not have the required national commitments in place to seriously evolve into a countrywide driven economy operating in a global, and regional setting.
The rank, and file of the Bahamian society are lost on the issue of free trade. So are many other nations of the Americas, and the world generally. The show appears to be moving along nonetheless. The question is, for whose benefit?
Every government in the region participating in the FTAA, and CSME pacts has lots of questions to answer to their citizens. The biggest one involves the issue of national sovereignty and the national economy.
The idea of open border trade is part of an elaborate scheme to promote globalization; and that spells the end of nationhood. Because, if big businesses are welcome to spread their wings and might in small economies for example, then they will naturally become the new rulers of a universal economy, and of a single landscape of all the world’s people.
They have technology as a true and faithful ally, and they are now focusing on governments and peoples of the universe to endorse the concept of trade liberalization. Hence, we have a movement afoot globally to eradicate all barriers relating to free trade, so that markets could expand overnight- and competition could eliminate their competition.
Therein lies the problem and concern. It’s a situation of great apprehension, and one that governments and others find difficult to defend. We are a nation of individuals, collectively instituted as Bahamians. We must never lose that distinction, and we should always work as one people to cherish and defend our uniqueness under all circumstances.
Powerful forces are operating to take away our land and other treasures before our opened eyes. We see that high priced real estate in The Bahamas is being sold aggressively to the highest foreign bidder in the name of commerce. We see that our government is quick to give away Bahamian land in the name of investment concessions. We see illegal immigrants from the Caribbean and the wider world, entering our country in the name of human rights and humanity; and are using us to the max. We see, but we seem not moved by the various hazards to our national fabric. I believe that it’s time for us to say enough is enough.
We need to take control of the economic affairs in The Bahamas. We Bahamians ought to realize that only God and us know what’s best for us. If we are depending on the outsiders to run things in our country, then we are in deep trouble. That’s not what we were created for. It’s a whole heap of slackness and mediocrity that must be eradicated in the interest of our children and the generations yet unborn. We owe it to them to be loyal custodians, and committed national builders of a place willed to us by our hardworking visionary ancestors. Let’s get it on people.
www.DennisDames.com
Email: dennisdames@netscape.net
Nassau, Bahamas
©2004
It’s a very peaceful first Sunday in May of 2004, and I am soberly reminded that there is an imaginary line between the calm that is enjoyed throughout my Bahama land, and the vices that we face as a people on a dutiful basis. Statistics only enforce what we know already. Murder continues to prosper in an atmosphere of ignorance, greed and intolerance; teen births and illegitimacy reflect our empathy about waves that have saturated our souls with subtle nakedness; recidivism in our criminal culture remains the norm, and the list goes on with trite familiarity.
It is beyond my understanding, and that of so many other citizens, as to why we have had little success in controlling the status quo of social ills, political unwillingness, and plain old cultural confusion. If we as a people and nation continue to reside in a disjointed fashion- then we are certainly doomed for destruction. We seem to be wrapped up in the arms of ourselves, and are careless about any circumstance outside of our limited environment. I believe that this is the heart of our collectively imposed predicaments.
It is true that silence is consenting, and while we popularly mind our own business- the world around us steadily declines into a hell on fire, because of our Pontius Pilate mentality. We know for instance, that old men are having sex with young girls, and in scores of cases- under-age females on a devoted basis.
We are aware that child abuse is wrecking the lives of little boys, and girls on an enormous scale; yet- society pretends that all is well. We know that perpetrators and law enforcement alike are ignoring the laws relating to statutory rape. Thus we are incessantly warehousing unwanted, and un-cared-for children on a systematic basis. We know what products we are producing for tomorrow, but we believe that talk will solve all of our problems; so that’s what we do and do best, and are concentrating on.
We are rearing our young population to be animals in a jungle where the law is still about survival of the fittest. The value of life is worth a dollar, a new pair of name-brand tennis, or proving to our lovers that we really do love them; so we kill to satisfy our personal wishes. These are only a few cases of our uncaring and selfish nature.
We are aware of the family structure being eroded by the one parent syndrome, and most of us who are fortunate to be members of a two parents’ household- know about the colossal challenges of nurturing children. I wonder from time-to-time how one parent makes it, especially with more than one child.
We know what trouble is on the horizon with a shattered family set-up, but there appears to be no urgency in correcting our kin problems. School children are regularly spotted in the mornings after school begins wandering aimlessly lost throughout the city, still waiting on the roadside for a jitney to take them to their final stop, busy trying to get breakfast from their favorite take-out spot, and could be seen hours after school in their uniforms still, and in places far away from their homes. Homework is alien to many of our young students, and lots of teachers do not even bother to give it.
The home is where it’s at, and where it begins. If our youngsters are not receiving the proper care on the home front, then they are still at a huge disadvantage socially and morally. This should be an urgent concern to all right-thinking individuals in the land.
Even the child whose wants, needs and desires are serviced without question or justification- on a timely basis, is a poorly breed adult of tomorrow. Most of these youths will grow up to be criminals if they find themselves in situations where the need and the means conflict. Many parents past, present and future wonder where they have gone wrong in upbringing their children whose every “I want” were met. Well, that’s where you have gone wrong perhaps.
I could remember that I was purchasing my school uniforms and supplies through summer jobs from the seventh grade. I learnt early to work for what I needed, and am very delighted that I went through the experience. Many other siblings, and young individuals have been through the same road- and it has made them smarter, wiser and more productive citizens no doubt.
I believe that every society has an obligation to ensure that all of it’s young be given the opportunity to succeed. It’s the only way to foster continuity in purpose, and build a nation that could stand triumphantly during the tests of time.
The way that we are educating our young is in serious need of evaluation, and revolution. We know that many of our school children are simply going through the motions with nothing to show for it. In a great many of cases- countless students are graduating without any bit of job skills, and illiteracy is still at an unacceptable level. I would like to see a system where every child in the education scheme graduate with a trade, and ready for the job market.
It’s not idle thinking; all we have to do is fix the flaws in the system so that we have new carpenters, masons, electricians, plumbers, auto mechanics, auto body men, barbers, hair stylists, tile layers, cooks, caterers, and so on moving into a job market ready to embrace them.
We know that The Bahamas is not producing the labor that’s in demand, and we are cognizant of our ineffectiveness in turning that around. We know that our population is insufficient to meet future needs, yet we stand by ironically and literally watch the young that we have, miss out on chances to make valuable contributions to his and her beloved land, and witness their birthright being threatened by the mass systematic influx of foreign capital, skill and labor.
We have been programmed to prepare ourselves in school to work for someone. That focus is still the order of today. It’s time to reprogram and promote the entrepreneurial spirit toward concentrating on the vital pillar of small Bahamian business expansion.
This is the area where successive governments have failed, because the historical strategy of attracting the big foreign investor- particularly of the tourism stock, who has the capacity to employ hundreds or thousands of workers at a time-, appears to be the safe short-term and shortsighted bet.
Bahamian politicians, and political leaders seem eager to put the fate of the Bahamian economy in overseas hands. It’s the quickest fix politically and economically, but is socially and morally unsteady.
We are in urgent need of leaders who are prepared to work toward balancing foreign and local investments in a chemistry that’s in the best interest of The Bahamas, and it’s people in the long-term. We desperately need to promote, and encourage through productive means- local employment with local entrepreneurs, so that the fortune of the Bahamian economy could be more domestically superior for the long haul.
Let’s begin in the straw market where tens of millions of dollars worth of foreign souvenirs are sold on a yearly basis. Let’s resolve to make that tourist attraction a 100 percent Bahamian made products’ zone.
With a touch of political will, the straw market alone could promote the Bahamian identity with vigor through entrepreneurial ship, and a natural display of national raw talents. We know that there are countless amount of idle artisans among young, and old throughout our family of islands. All they need is the political establishment to do their part in instituting commonsense, and vision in the national economy in the people’s interest.
We know that we spend about ninety cents of every foreign currency dollar earned on imports. We are cognizant about what it will mean if we reduce that amount by five cents, for example; or how even greater it would be economically if we resolve to lower our import tab by ten to twenty cents- to about seventy cents on every foreign dollar we earn. Well, decisions like transforming the straw market into a full Bahamian made souvenir bazaar – would go a long way in reducing our import bill.
We must be mindful that tourism is essentially our economy, and its future potential is vast for The Bahamas and Bahamians. We know that many foreigners have recognized that a long time ago, and have been taking advantage of our fortunes of land, sun, sand, sea and proximity. We are always embracing to big tourism, and other investors, because politically- it’s the fastest way of employing huge amounts of people at once. I believe that that is a short-range approach to economic sustainability, and a threat to national sovereignty.
I like so many others, am not impressed with the biggest private employer in the country being a foreign entity. I am concern, like a lot of other Bahamians- when I see overseas-owned multi-national companies having such a massive influence on the economy of The Bahamas. The concerns become even more concerning, when Bahamian governments continue to promote foreign invasion of the Bahamas economy- in the name of investments, and jobs.
At the existing pace, The Bahamas will not be a Bahamian land for too much longer. We must turn things around in the interest of much more Bahamian participation in the national economy. We need to balance the philosophy of foreign investments with that of the domestic nature.
We need to ensure that the preponderance control of the Bahamas economy is in the hands of Bahamians, and remain there until eternity passes away. But, it takes political will, vision, and an unrelenting resolve by the Bahamian electorate to succeed in that endeavor.
The challenges has just gotten tougher in light of the impending regional, and international trade arrangements, namely- CARICOM Single Market and Economy [CSME], the Free Trade Areas of the Americas [FTAA], and the World Trade Organization [WTO]. The Bahamas have a lot of catching up to do in order to compete in an arena that will test the will and prudence of all nations and peoples involve.
Bahamians need to unite for a stronger and more resourcefully viable nation, one that is organized to confront the decisions ahead for the perseverance of the Bahamian homeland for Bahamians first. The political system is presently designed to keep us divided, and therefore weakened. Bahamian is Bahamian, so PLPs are no different from FNMs- for instance.
It is highly moral for a people to unite in the interest of peace, love, happiness, and beloved soundness. But, if we are bitterly divided on the political scene- then we risk losing what we have, and not permitting ourselves the golden opportunity to achieve the great level of prosperity that we are capable of attaining. That would be unbearably tragic.
So, lets sober up people and work together in the Bahamian interest. It’s the only way that The Bahamas could survive as Bahamian country. Let’s welcome all good and ambitious foreign investors, however- let’s keep in mind that with every success of foreign confidence in our economy- we must focus on balancing it with the domestic sector.
Let’s make our country a cultural center of the region, but keep places like the straw market- a total Bahamian experience. We know that the well-educated politicians are quite often out of sync with the moneymaking desires of the electorate. In a lot of cases, they are too busy trying to prove to their colleagues, opponents and the world- that they are really the smartest, and if they don’t have the answer- then no one else has.
We need leaders who possess the ability, insight, and pragmatism to lead the way in truly solidifying, and encouraging linkages between the tourism, domestic, and regional sectors. We know that our potential is virtually unexplored in the agricultural and fisheries areas; it’s a gold mind for Bahamian farmers and fishermen waiting to be discovered, and cultivated.
It’s another avenue that could result in us maintaining a healthier foreign currency reserve, by simply using commonsense to produce more fruits, vegetables, fish, conchs, lobsters, and so on. We know that we possess the competence, and capital to create more for ourselves in the Bahamas; but we do not have the required national commitments in place to seriously evolve into a countrywide driven economy operating in a global, and regional setting.
The rank, and file of the Bahamian society are lost on the issue of free trade. So are many other nations of the Americas, and the world generally. The show appears to be moving along nonetheless. The question is, for whose benefit?
Every government in the region participating in the FTAA, and CSME pacts has lots of questions to answer to their citizens. The biggest one involves the issue of national sovereignty and the national economy.
The idea of open border trade is part of an elaborate scheme to promote globalization; and that spells the end of nationhood. Because, if big businesses are welcome to spread their wings and might in small economies for example, then they will naturally become the new rulers of a universal economy, and of a single landscape of all the world’s people.
They have technology as a true and faithful ally, and they are now focusing on governments and peoples of the universe to endorse the concept of trade liberalization. Hence, we have a movement afoot globally to eradicate all barriers relating to free trade, so that markets could expand overnight- and competition could eliminate their competition.
Therein lies the problem and concern. It’s a situation of great apprehension, and one that governments and others find difficult to defend. We are a nation of individuals, collectively instituted as Bahamians. We must never lose that distinction, and we should always work as one people to cherish and defend our uniqueness under all circumstances.
Powerful forces are operating to take away our land and other treasures before our opened eyes. We see that high priced real estate in The Bahamas is being sold aggressively to the highest foreign bidder in the name of commerce. We see that our government is quick to give away Bahamian land in the name of investment concessions. We see illegal immigrants from the Caribbean and the wider world, entering our country in the name of human rights and humanity; and are using us to the max. We see, but we seem not moved by the various hazards to our national fabric. I believe that it’s time for us to say enough is enough.
We need to take control of the economic affairs in The Bahamas. We Bahamians ought to realize that only God and us know what’s best for us. If we are depending on the outsiders to run things in our country, then we are in deep trouble. That’s not what we were created for. It’s a whole heap of slackness and mediocrity that must be eradicated in the interest of our children and the generations yet unborn. We owe it to them to be loyal custodians, and committed national builders of a place willed to us by our hardworking visionary ancestors. Let’s get it on people.
www.DennisDames.com