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The Myth of Identity and Our Dirty Little Secret

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Published On:Monday, February 08, 2010

By NOELLE NICOLLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

nnicolls@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIANS base their very survival and sense of self worth on preserving what is believed to be the quintessential Bahamian way of life. With a possessive, sometimes almost fanatical sense of pride, they stand unwavering in defence of this identity. Unfortunately, the concept of a Bahamian national identity is so problematic it essentially boils down to an evolving fantasy.

Just one generation ago, in the era of my father as a young child, Bahamians were British subjects with British travel documents. The first concept of 'The Bahamas was formulated in the 1600s by the Eleutherian adventurers. The first Bahamian constitution was brought into being only in 1963.

The basis of the Bahamian national identity is the political framework established by the constitution. This legal document, inherited from the colonial era, defines who is and who is not a Bahamian.

The Bahamian national identity, in this sense, is a political identity that emerged by necessity, along with all other post-colonial nation-state identities, as a pragmatic way to construct modern constitutional democracies.

The matter becomes problematic when this political identity is mistaken for an actual cultural identity, because it was for similarly pragmatic reasons that the collective cultural expression of European and African descendants in the Bahamas became known as Bahamian culture. At best, the Bahamas as a cultural identity could be described as embryonic, but it would probably more accurately be described as a myth.

The cultural identity of people living in the Bahamas prior to the adoption of the nation-state identity was primarily African or European. The Yoruba in the Bahamas identified with their Yoruba cultural heritage. The same was true for the Kongos. This extended into the twentieth century, as Dr Cleveland W. Eneas documents in his autobiography, "Bain Town".

At some point along the way, being African became irreconcilable with being Bahamian in the psyche of Bahamians of African descent. The mythological Bahamian identity was all they now accepted. This came at the expense of being disconnected from the deeply rooted cultural and genealogical connections to Africans across the colonial empire in the West and on the African continent. This leaves Bahamians of European descent at the same place Africans are, in need of reconnecting to their cultural heritage, before "The Bahamas", which is the true source of their identity.

This explains why Bahamians feel no sense of kinship with Haitians, Jamaicans, Cubans or Africans; they are completely identified with their modern political identity and have little depth of character when it comes to cultural heritage. The perceived threat Haitians pose to the Bahamian identity is a farce, because culturally speaking the two countries share the same African heritage, even though the colonial experience produced diverse cultural expressions. Yoruba in the Bahamas, Santaria in Cuba and Voodoo in Haiti - all afro-religious retentions - are expressed differently, but the parallelism is unmistakable.

Perhaps the root of the hostility is the fact that Haiti is the Bahamas' biggest secret. This secret is bigger than any news of any number of "outside" children; it is disruptive to the status quo. The Bahamas was populated by Haitians; at least, that is what Haitian elders say. They have a saying, "se Haitien ki peple naso". To them, it is laughable that Bahamians are contemptuous towards Haitians, all the while being ignorant of their heritage, as if they are unable to recognize themselves in a mirror.

It is true that Haitians have been migrating to the Bahamas from at least as early as 1804. Bahamians already accuse Haitians of breeding like lionfish, so with more than two hundred years of migration it is not difficult to do the math. United Nations statistics from 2001 show the fertility rate of Haiti was 4.4 while the Bahamas was 2.6. Considering the population of the Bahamas just exceeds quarter of one million, one could expect the density of Haitian heritage to be high.

"We have had blood relationships for hundreds of years with Haitians and the rest of the Caribbean. About 17 per cent of Bahamians have direct blood relationships with the rest of the Caribbean. Amongst those blood relationships, the majority come form Haiti, starting from 1804. It is a historical fact for which there is documentation that there have always been Haitians coming to the Bahamas," said Dr Eugene Newry, former Ambassador to Haiti. The large majority of the remaining 83 per cent have indirect relationships.

These Haitians were not simply of the breed many Bahamians picture today - economically depressed citizens sneaking in at the wee hours of night on questionably stable wooden sloops - these were middle and upper class Haitians. Some were free people of colour and some were light skinned mulattos, who fought with the French, among other categories. These were the men and women who started the nation building project that led to majority rule and the modern Bahamas.

Prominent men in the clergy, politics, judiciary and across society were Haitian born Bahamians or Bahamians of direct Haitian parentage. Goodman's Bay is named after John Goodman, who by current Bahamian standards would be a Haitian. Stephen Dillet, the first man of colour to be elected to serve in the House of Assembly, would be by current Bahamian standards a Haitian. The same goes for Peter Laroda, who is also a former member of the House of Assembly. The three men were brothers.

Anglican priest Canon Cooper is reputed to be a direct descendent of King Henri Christophe of Haiti, the black ruler who built the famous World Heritage Site in Haiti, the Citadel. Sir Arthur Foulkes, Bahamian civil rights activist, has a Haitian mother. Fred Smith, recently appointed Queen's Council, also has a Haitian mother.

Check any number of Bahamian names -- Deveaux, Moncur, Bonimy, Bonamy, Godet, Benjamin, Paul, Dillet, Maynard, Martin, Darvel, Bethel, Nicolls -- and you find they were originally Haitian names or have Haitian counterparts. The matter is further complicated because the British Empire forced immigrants from French colonies to anglicize their names. Many in the Lewis family, for example, were Louis.

Even the most internationally recognised cultural icon of the Bahamas, Sir Sidney Poitier, finds the notion of his Bahamian identity problematic. In his autobiography, "The measure of a Man", he writes: "As a matter of fact it's hard to tell where I came from, Poitier obviously is a French name. Given that we were in an English colonial possession and that Poitier in the Bahamas is associated only with black people, there is the strong implication that the bearers of that name came from Haiti, the nearest French colonial possession to the Bahamas."

Sir Sidney assumes his ancestors left Haiti on their own accord, considering there is no record of a Poitier family of whites in the Bahamas, and Africans in Haiti were free from 1804. The other French colonial possessions in the Caribbean were Martinique, St Martin and Guadeloupe. Sir Sidney found it hard to believe blacks from those territories "way, way, way deep in the Caribbean" would have migrated into the Bahamas.

"The speculation is that the family originated in Haiti and moved by escape routes to the Bahamas, settling eventually on Cat Island. Now mind you, the French in Haiti supported slavery as did the British colonies so at the time of my family's migration to the Bahamas, they were not coming from a slave state to a free state. But Cat Island was such an isolated place they probably had no difficulty in finding if not a family to work for then at least land that they could share crop and live on," he stated.

With such a rich and proud history and culture, it would seem like an honour to be able to own the fighting spirit that is embodied by the Haitian. I was personally disappointed in my genealogical research to learn the Haitian matriarch of my family, Hester Argo, mother of Stephen Dillet, was not a Haitian after all, but an Indian priestess from South America, according to elders in my family. So far my efforts show Stephen Dillet to be my great-great-great-great-grandfather through his outside son John "Papa Johnny" Dillet.

Historians say the story of Hester Argo's South American origin is a family myth that was probably propagated because of discriminatory attitudes towards Haitians. I say so at risk of fueling the fire within the family, which itself is a living case study of the battle between those trying to run away from their Haitian heritage and those trying to honour it. The records still show Stephen Dillet was born in Haiti to a Haitian mother.

An infusion of Haitian culture in the Bahamas does not have to be a threat; it could be an opportunity for the Bahamas to be enriched by the culture from which I dare same many if not most Bahamians came.

Here further is the dilemma of identity. I have Jamaican ancestry on the maternal side of my family. My mother and her descendants were Jamaican, but I know my great-great-great-great-grandmother was an African slave woman in Jamaica. There is barely any record of her name, which is still unknown to me, not to mention the village in Africa from which she came. She is buried in an unmarked grave beneath large white-stone boulders on family property in the hills of Westmoreland. The man who owned and impregnated her, Alexander Johnston, was a Scotsman. Who are we really as Bahamians?

Shea Edgecombe has done extensive research on her Haitian-Bahamian heritage, and her family roots in general, which stretch back to the Yoruba of West Africa. She is convinced that someone went to great lengths to deprive the Bahamian knowledge of self. She believes if Bahamians ever discovered who they really are, which can only be done through history in her view, their perspective on matters concerning Haiti and Haitians would change drastically, "guaranteed".

"The conspiracy to suppress the Haitian connection in the Bahamas is so grand. It is as deep as it is wide. What happened was this, the European plantation owners in the Bahamas sought to demonize the Haitians and turn the Bahamians against them because they were afraid the free Haitians who were coming here would introduce the Bahamian slave workers of plantation owners to the concept of freedom. So this stems way back and it is still alive today," said Mrs Edgecombe.

The research of Sean McWeeney, former attorney general, reinforces the insights of Mrs Edgecombe. Mr McWeeney did extensive research on the Bahamian reaction to the revolutionary upheaval in Haiti in the early nineteenth century. He documented how there was an intensification of racial control by the colonial government in order to suppress any chances of free people of colour and slaves from organizing to act out potential revolutionary sentiments.

"When the slaves of Saint Domingue rose up in 1791 on a scale wholly without precedent, slave owners everywhere trembled in fear that insurrectionism of similarly apocalyptic tendency might prove contagious. Perhaps nowhere was this more keenly felt than in The Bahamas itself. For one, the sheer closeness of the madding crowd exacerbated the sense of terror. But it was not close proximity alone that accounted for the dreadful foreboding among white Bahamians," states Mr McWeeney.

The arrival of migrants in the advent of the Haitian revolution was a major concern. This was the first recorded wave of Haitians arriving to populate and develop the Bahamas. Middle and upper class Haitians fled the country, having been supporters of the French, and arrived in the Bahamas in droves with horror stories of the revolution. They arrived with Africans of every assortment: "Negroes, mulattos, mustees and other people of colour."

In a coincidence of history, this was the same era the white Loyalists from North America arrived with their enslaved Africans. There was an unprecedented and dramatic shift in the racial composition of the Bahamas, with non-whites significantly outnumbering whites.

The colonial government moved swiftly to contain revolutionary sentiments. In 1793 a tax was levied on Haitian slaves and free people of colour. The importation of slaves from Haiti was later outlawed. Free people of colour from Haiti were later given a two month amnesty to leave the country or risk arrest and deportation at their own expense. The Night Patrol Act of 1795 was put in place in the wave of a foiled plot, allegedly spearheaded by "French Negroes" to burn down Nassau.

This is the colonial mentality that lingers in the Bahamas today. It is not simply a matter of national security or economics, which is the typical rational for the intolerance of Bahamians today. It is politics. It is history. It is mental slavery, alive and well. Bahamians who spew out unsubstantiated, derogatory and prejudiced claims about Haitians would be hesitant to believe that their hate is an evolution of the mentality of their very own slave masters.

It was always the African element of Haiti with which the European world had a problem, and today that remains true with the West, Bahamians included. The vitriol expressed for the practice of Voodoo, is just one example of how the intolerant Christianized mind of the modern Bahamian has been disconnected from its roots. In the nineteenth century, the colonial government in cahoots with the Anglicans and Presbyterians, implemented strict regulations to suppress the Methodist and Baptist churches to which Africans belonged. They were not "real religions", in their view, and were prone to inciting insurrection and subversive behaviour, according to Mr McWeeney.

Today, the most venomous feelings towards Haitians are concentrated at the lowest end of the social ladder, according to some Bahamians and Haitians alike. Mr McWeeney said the United States has a similar problem, where the most radical and vocal critiques of progressive policies towards African Americans come from poor whites in the deep south, often labeled as "poor white trash."

Unlike the original migrants from Haiti, the other significant wave began in the post 1957 environment; this was after the social, political and economic destruction created by the repressive Duvalier dynasty. Haitians arriving in the Bahamas from this time were primarily from the North. This group contained few mulattos, and few who could pass as middle class. They came, as they continue to come, in search of economic opportunity.

Since 1957, many Haitians have fully integrated into Bahamian society and are indistinguishable from Bahamians with no Haitian heritage. Over time, many of them steadily moved up the social ladder.

"There is a special type of prejudice reserved for Haitians. They assimilate as a survival mechanism," said Mr McWeeney. He recalled that Sir Lynden Pindling's Jamaican father never lost his Jamaican accent, after years of living in the Bahamas. He said Haitians ensure that they do, because there is so much pressure on them to assimilate.

Ten years ago, Jessica Robertson, a master's student in international journalism at City University in London, wrote a thesis titled, "Haitians in the Bahamas - Burden or Contributors to Society." Her thesis could very well be published in its entirety today and be passed off as current research.

"Most Haitians interviewed said the brunt of the prejudice they have experienced has been dealt out by members of the lower class Bahamian society. Poor and black, like the Haitians they resent, the dispossessed and marginalized Bahamians are closest on the feeding chain to the poor Haitian immigrant. They compete for the same jobs, the seats in public school classrooms, and care at the public health clinics. It follows that they feel most threatened by the growing Haitian community," stated Ms Robertson in her thesis.

It is bad enough that so-called 'Bahamians' have no appetite for all things Haitian, but to deprive Haitian Bahamians of a sense of pride by failing to pay due respect to the contribution of Haitians in the Bahamian nation-building project is a recipe for ingrown hate and social upheaval.

For some time historians and social commentators have wondered in wait about when the generation of stateless Haitian Bahamians will rise and revolt in protest of their rights.

"We are facing the possibility of civil war or, at least, civil unrest; a threat to the domestic stability of the Bahamas," wrote Alfred Sears, former Minister of Education, in a 1994 edition of the "Journal of the Bahamas Historical Society." He was not speaking of an inherent violent streak in Haitian Bahamians, but rather their dispossession by the state and wider society.

Some people boast of their Bahamian credentials by saying this is where they "born and grow", but that is entirely problematic for the group Mrs Edgecombe calls "ghost children." Children "born and grow" in the Bahamas to a Haitian father, irrespective of the citizenship of their mother, are stateless for the most formative 18 years of their life. They have a one year window to obtain Bahamian citizenship, between ages 18 and 19, or else they are no longer entitled.

Up to age 18, who are they, if not Bahamian? The social implications of this statelessness are probably more real than the perceived negative social impact of the Haitian presence. Haitian Bahamians, for example, are made to pay international tuition rates when attending the college of the Bahamas. This is not likely to provoke the feared civil unrest, but it is still a significant reminder, not to mention financial strain, of that failure to belong experienced by many Haitian Bahamians.

"When the country you are born in does not want you. The country they claim you should go to has no knowledge of you. What positive attributes can a position like that manifest? What happens to children who have no sense of belonging? Aren't these more likely than not the children who are going to gravitate toward gangs and so on? The Bahamas is not just for Bahamians. The Bahamas is for Bahamians and people who live here and make a contribution. That is what our history tells us," said Mrs Edgecombe.

She recently staged an ambush on children at Stephen Dillet Primary School to ask if they knew who Stephen Dillet was and his contribution to the Bahamas. She said two out of three children in the group she spoke to were of Haitian heritage, and no one knew the answer.

When she informed them he was a famous Haitian-born Bahamian writer, orator and politician, the children were flabbergasted. They begged her to come back and tell the children in their class. The same happens when Haitians come to her husband's barber shop. The same happened when she gave a talk at the Kemp Road Urban Renewal Centre on the topic of Haitians in the Bahamas. They were surprised to hear a Bahamian speaking positively about Haiti and they were thirsty for information.

"When I was done they were like can you please come back and tell us more. They are sceptical, because for their entire lives they have been ostracised, criticised, condemned, and ridiculed, because they are children of Haitian ancestry," she said.

Aside from the political contributions to nation building in the Bahamas, and the genealogical connections, the Haitian impact was probably most profoundly felt in the area of agriculture and small business. Dr Newry said Haitians were always excellent farmers and builders, and some of their descendants still are.

"Haiti provided a significant contribution of food supplies to the Bahamas during World War II. That is significant. It is very interesting when Bahamians are now collecting food for Haiti (since they were struck by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake). That is what you call communal living and sharing," said Dr Newry.

"Without the Haitian agricultural worker in the Bahamas there can be no agriculture. (It is) not because Bahamians are stupid, but because Bahamians have a different perspective on the social prestige of being a farmer than a Haitian does. If you had a magnet that could suck out all of the Haitians, the Bahamas would be in economic chaos if you did that. That is why they make the occasional raid, but they will never get rid of everyone because they are needed," he said.

As far as the international community is concerned, Haiti also made history-shaping contributions. Haiti was the place of refuge for Simon Bolivar, who was the leader of the South American revolution. His direct actions are said to have resulted in independence for Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. Free blacks in Haiti, who had secured their freedom by conquering the French colonial empire militarily, financed and supported by other means the revolution to the south. Some say, Haiti will always be a friend of South America because of its instrumental role in supporting the fight for freedom there.

Haitians also fought in the American War of Independence. According to Ambassador Joseph, they sent soldiers to fight in Savannah, Georgia. Last year the city built a monument to commemorate the Haitian contribution to the war. The founder of the city of Chicago was Haitian born Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable.

It could really be "better in the Bahamas" if the country recognised its Haitian roots and the Haitian presence, truly representing its rich and diverse cultural heritage. Imagine the positive impact Haitian Bahamians could make if they felt truly accepted as Bahamians and proud to be Haitians; if they were confident enough to emerge from behind the shadows.

Haitians and Haitian Bahamians are not a contained social group that can be rounded up and excised from the country to prevent them from infiltrating. Frequent news of raids or mass deportations may have Bahamians believing so. The cat is already out of the bag. Haitians are fully integrated into Bahamian society at all levels of the social ladder. "They been here and they ain goin no where."

"It is not true; it is not fair to say they are only employed in menial jobs. They are a part of the middle class. They are a part of the business sector. They do not mention that because now they are living as Bahamians, but if you go back you will realise they have Haitian origins and they contribute to this country," said Louis Harold Joseph, Haitian Ambassador.

"Even though some people do not mention that, very quietly you find a lot of Haitians living here working in the public sector, private sector, in the banks. These are Bahamians of Haitian origin who contribute proudly to this country," said Ambassador Joseph.

I know there are people who would prefer if the government based its policies on tactics from the Apartheid era. At a community forum hosted by psychiatrist Dr David Allen, a participant vocalized what some Bahamians feel privately that Haitians should carry a passbook.

I think it is fair to say, xenophobic policies and ignorant attitudes win out at the eventual peril of Bahamians. Those committed to the war against Haitians might as well keep banging their heads against the wall. What is needed is sensible and informed attitudes, behaviours and policies towards Haitian immigration and Haitian integration.

Reader Comments - 31 Total

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Posted By: Watching On: 7/23/2010

Title: Where Are You Going?

Like it has been said, "It doesn't matter where you come from, but it does matter where you are going." If truth be told, all nations biblically on the earth today are the descendants of Noah as everyone on the face of the earth was wiped out during the flood except Noah, his wife and three sons and their wives. And I am not forgetting some of you say you don't believe the Bible. But where are you going in this journey of life? Hell or heaven? When it is all said and done "Only what you do for Christ will last!" What have you done for Him who died for you lately?

Posted By: Watching On: 7/23/2010

Title: Another Comment

Speaking as a Bahamian Citizen, we generally don't like the practice of obeah and vodoo and we don't buy the lie that everybody is doing it! The majority of Bahamians despise it because it is clear the devastations that it brings on lands that adopt it, the poverty, and confusion. Would to God it be eradicated from our land! And we say, it cannot deliver those who put their trust in it. This view is directly taken from the Holy Bible which I ascribe to and live by as my forefathers. As for hating Haitians, it is these practices which they say is their national religion we hate. I call on everyone to put their faith and trust in the true and living God, by confessing their sins, forsaking them, and surrendering their lives to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who died to pay the price for the sins of all mankind. Jesus receives all who come to Him in truth.

Posted By: Watching On: 7/23/2010

Title: Some Advice

You don't despise a man when you are in his land. That's what Bahamians don't like. People in the Bahamas who have utter contempt for the Bahamians. Then why are you here? If you don't like us, why are you in our land?

Posted By: Erasmus Folly On: 7/10/2010

Title: Bahamian

It being Independence Day and all, why don't you start it? Pose the question, give your idea of it and see what other's say.

Posted By: Just a wondering citizen On: 6/30/2010

Title: Questions

Interesting and insightful article. In light of the global influence on our country, from U.S. media, European education, immigration, etc, what or who is a Bahamian? What is our culture? Would like to hear comments....

Posted By: Erasmus Folly On: 6/30/2010

Title: @TIM

Stateless people are far more dangerous than those with status. That isn't opinion, that is historical fact. Bahamians ignore that at their own peril. I don't share Mrs. Bernhardt's views, so lumping us together isn't effective. My argument is very different. We are running a huge risk perpetuating a stateless society within our own borders. Either kick them out or naturalize them and co-opt them, but business as usual is not an option. It's like gambling, the limbo status of its legality is retarded. Either legalize and move on or make it illegal and shut it down. Rule of law is what we need. Hypocrisy is what we have.

Posted By: TIM On: 6/28/2010

Title: TO MRS. BERNHART, LAST PART TO FOLLY

I HONESTLY DON'T GET MOST PEOPLE ON THIS PAGE, HOW CAN MOST OF YOU GUYS SAY BAHAMIANS DON'T LIKE HAITIANS AND JAMAICANS. IF BAHAMIANS DON'T LIKE JAMAICANS WHY IS THERE MUSIC ATTRACTED SO MANY BAHAMIANS? IF BAHAMIANS DON'T LIKE HAITIANS WHY HAVE WE CONTRIBUTED SO MUCH TO THERE LIL CORNER SHOPS ? WE HAVE THEM WORKING ALL IN THE STRAW MARKET AND EVERY WHERE ESLE. MRS. BERNHARDT YOU DON'T HIRE HAITIANS AND JAMAICANS BECAUSE OF WORK ETHICS
YOU HIRE THEM BECAUSE YOUR TIGHT AND WANT CHEAP LABOUR. IT IS PEOPLE LIKE YOU THAT HAITIANS WOULD ALWAYS HAVE JOBS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT I WORK REAL HARD FOR MY MONEY. BAHAMIANS DON'T HATE HAITIANS BOTTOM LINE! ALOT OF US JUST DON'T LIKE HOW THEY LIVE, THEY WANT EVERYTHING FREE! LAND, SCHOOL, HEALTH CARE AND WHATEVER ESLE THEY CAN GET MOST OF THEM. THE HAITIAN POPULATION IS TO LARGE HERE THAT IS THE PROBLEM, SO TO USE THE WORD HATE THAT IS NOT A FAIR COMMENT. WHEN I WAS A LIL BOY IN KEMP ROAD I HONESTLY
COULD COUNT HOW MANY HAITIAN FAMILIES THERE WAS, NOW I CAN ONLY COUNT THE
BAHAMIANS THAT IS SAD. I REMEMBERED WHEN ATLANTIS LAYED OFF ALL THOSE PEOPLE, NOW IF YOU GO OVER THERE AT NIGHT ALL YOU WILL SEE IS HAITIAN EMPLOYEES WORKING AS BUYOUTS THAT IS SAD TOO. SO WITH ALL THIS (HAITIANMANIA) THERE WOULD BE ALOT OF PEOPLE THAT DON'T LIKE WHAT IS GOING ON. HAITI NEEDS TO BE REBUILD BUT THEY DON'T EVEN WANT TO HELP THERE OWN PEOPLE. HOW MANY OF THE PROUD HAITIANS
ARE GOING HOME TO HELP? NOT MUCH. HOW CAN PEOPLE EVEN PUT HAITIANS AND JAMAICANS TOGETHER WHEN JAMAICANS WORK AND GO HOME DON'T HAVE 5 TO 6 KIDS.I FOR DON'T LIKE HAITIANMANIA BUT THAT DON'T MEAN THAT I HATE HAITIANS. HEY FOLLY IF YOU THINK A HAITIAN OR HAITIAN DESCENT WILL HELP WITH THE ILLEGAL HAITIAN PROBLEM WE HAVE, LOL! JOKES ON YOU THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN.

Posted By: Mrs. S. Bernhardt On: 6/4/2010

Title: Xenophobia at its best!

This is the best article ever written that has been published in a bahamian newspaper...period! The grammar and everything else is second to none! Honestly, the person who wrote this made me start to wonder if they were bahamian...but i guess the article itself proved that they are mixed with jamaican and haitian...
I have always felt that the bahamas is the most xenophobic society that I have ever encountered. My husband absolutely loves the bahamas so he opted to buy property and built a house in the lyford cay area where we visit for winter seasons and to host parties.
If it werent for my husband and his love, I never wouldve set foot back in this place again. When i tell my friends how haitians and jamaicans are treated there, they find it hard to believe. when they go to the bahamas with us for a vacation, they are absolutely horrified about what is said in the papers about haitians and jamaicans and their hatred towards these people.
I handle most matters in the family, and while not all bahamians are like that, I have specifically hired only hatians and jamaicans....because of their work ethics and the hate that some bahamians have for them.
This article is really an eye opener and I will share it with all my friends. I will also, print, laminate and frame a copy. I hope the bahamians who detest these people so much....one day snap out of it.
Once again, a wonderful.....the best article EVER!!!

Posted By: M. H. Coleby On: 5/21/2010

Title: My Distaste for Discrimination

I have agreed wholeheartedly with everything that was written. I have LONG advanced a severe disgust for the way the 'typical' Bahamian treats his Haitian peer.
Yes, racism exists, yes, prejudice exists, yes discrimination exists. However, the extent to which Bahamians have historically gone to belittle and psychologically attack the integrity of Haitians living in the Bahamas has always baffled me. How do Bahamians feel when they are attacked and stereotypically grouped in countries like the USA where they go to seek a better economic status? How would any Bahamian feel about his discriminatory feelings towards Haitians after possibly visiting Haiti and experiencing the economic obstacles they must face day by day? Bahamians sit at home, buy large cars and homes they can barely afford and hire Haitian housekeepers and gardeners. Today, and every other day, we celebrate how slaves revolted and created the equal (seemingly) society today. The way the typical Bahamian treats the poor depressed Haitian exhibits remarkable resemblances to slavery. All that's missing is the whips and torturing. Haitians are severely ridiculed, belittled and psychologically hurt. They are West Indian, they are black, they are HUMANS, just like you and me, just like any other Bahamian. Why treat the tourists like masters but treat Haitians like slaves? Why complain about the amount of Haitians living in the Bahamas then turn around and hire a Haitian gardener to do 3 days of work for 50 dollars? They are people, just like you and me. There is no excuse to treat them the way Bahamians do.
In my family, we have had a Haitian maid involved in the family for a large number of years. She has ALWAYS been treated as an equal, always fairly paid and always given bonuses and paid vacations. We have never belittled her nor discriminated against her. The capitalist society of the modern world has, in my opinion, eradicated our morality, in the sense that we feel the need to fracture our society into different classes and groups. Haitians have unfortunately fallen into the lower class of society. So what if a Haitian can't speak English 'enough'? (Without acknowledging the fact that Bahamian English isn't the best in the world). We have many tourists that come to visit that barely speak English, yet we treat them like kings, all in the aim to further our country (and our lives) economically. Unfortunately, in today's capitalist society, people that cannot satisfy our own self-interests fall in importance. Again, Haitians have fallen into this category.
Discriminating against haitians is going to take its toll on Bahamian society one day. I could honestly write for days and days about this subject, for the sake of space on this website, I will stop here, I've been passionately interested in this topic for years. I hope that this wonderful article reaches the minds of the typically narrow-minded discriminatory Bahamian. We all need to open our minds, and subsequently open our hearts.
M.H.C

Posted By: Erasmus Folly On: 5/10/2010

Title: Positive suggestion?

@Tim
You gripe, but you offer no solutions. I am offering a solution. We need to try something different if we don't want the same results. So, what's your suggestion? I made one. What do you offer? If we celebrate this place as the cosmopolitan place that it is and treat all the people who have built and contributed to the Bahamas fairly, then we may be able to assimilate the Haitian-Bahamians and they may help us root out new Haitian illegals that keep arriving. That is my suggestion, what is yours?

Posted By: Tim On: 5/10/2010

Title: TO ERASMUS FOLLY

Why in the world do you go on so long. I read and understood everthing you said.I know there are a number of haitians who contributed to the BAHAMAS. There are alot of countries build off immigrants like the USA. My thing is words carry a tone and with your tone haitians would feel like the BAHAMAS has something for them. The way you make it sound is like Bahamians are mostly of Haitian desent. The way I see it if the government don't start to implement new laws and eliminate most of this Haitian promblem, in years to come Bahamians will honestly be number two in this country. The thing is Haiti have such a massive country with millions,yet they want to overhaul little NASSAU to suit them. I said before knowing where you come from is cool but where your going is what matters. The bottom line is we are in the BAHAMAS "love it respect it" because this is our home not AFRICA or HAITI. This is the 242!! later

Posted By: Erasmus Folly On: 5/7/2010

Title: Who said we don't have a problem? People really can't do subtle thinking in this country.

@Tim
I didn't say we don't have a Haitian problem. My point is more subtle than that. We have a Haitian problem on two fronts - those who are here legally and aren't made to feel a part of the Bahamas and those who are here illegally and we 'accept' them quietly. Please, don't attack my position without reading it thoroughly or understanding it. We need to get tough on our illegals, but in order to do that, we need to be more accepting of the legals that are here and admit and honour the contributions that Haitians and other nationals have made to this country. If you want to be simplistic about it and look at it as if it is an obvious 'black' and 'white' issue (not racially, but contrasting points), then that is part of the problem. Immigration is not a black/white issue, it is necessarily gray, especially in a country of IMMIGRANTS! We are all immigrants to this place at some point, to ignore that is to LIE outright! It is not an easy issue, I never said it was. We have to admit to ourselves that Haitians and the history of Haiti is part of the Bahamas history - part of our story, part of how we got to where we are today. We then need to figure out what we are comfortable accepting and what we need to reject. The current version of history is just bogus! Let me be clear, I reject wholesale the continued influx of illegal Haitians, but if we don't change the way we go about doing this, we will never win. Does what we currently do make any sense to you? It doesn't make sense to me. We need change. Part of that is making those Haitians who are here and have status understand that they are welcome to be here, but that those who come here illegally are not. The assimilated Haitians, in acknowledging their Bahamian status will then join with us in trying to keep illegals out. If we don't win over the ones who have status, then we will never find the new illegals. I am Bahamian so how DARE you tell me to leave the Bahamas, because you have some stupid idea that I am pro-illegal immigration. Get your facts straight! Perhaps all these people who are content to bury their heads in the sand and pretend that business as usual will work should leave the Bahamas, then we could actually fix this place instead of drowning in ignorance and bad attitude neanderthals. People continue to embrace ignorance, short sighted thinking, simplistic 'black/white' thinking and ignore history at their own peril. If you aren't part of the solution, then you are part of the problem and if you take a sledge hammer to a problem that requires a scalpel, then you are s$%^ surgeon! Which are you?? Looking for a real and workable solution or business as usual! Tired of myopic, racist, nationalistic, simplistic people! THINK, OPEN YOUR MIND AND THINK! I love this country more than most Bahamians. I hate that most Bahamians demonstrate complete apathy when it comes to their education, their values, their work ethic, their well being, their families. I don't hate the Bahamas or Bahamians, I hate what we have allowed ourselves to become. You should hate that too, because everyday, there is just more and more ghetto and everyday, people accept bad behaviour, bad service, bad quality, bad ways... or do you live with blinders on? How many stories of crime, abuse, rape, theft, robbery, gun violence, stabbings etc etc does it take for people to WAKE UP and demand that this apathetic, pathetic material culture take some bloody responsibility for the sorry state we find ourselves in. How many more nationalistic rants and stupid excuses are we going to listen to! Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself!

Posted By: Tim On: 5/6/2010

Title: TO Erasmus

who ever this Erasmus Folly person is you need to pull out from the BAHAMAS. I think you honestly don't like this place. This is 2010 now this is the THE BAHAMAS bottom line. Knowing where you come from is cool but it is a matter of where your going,we do have a Haitian problem no matter what you say.

Posted By: Erasmus Folly On: 4/23/2010

Title: @Noelle

Noelle said, "Although I disagree with much his online commentary, he and I are aligned on this issue."
Curious to know what commentary you disagree with?
I can be emailed at erasmusfolly.bahamas@gmail.com
I would enjoy discussing those points of disagreement as it is the disagreements of educated people that allow for true learning and growth. ;-)

Posted By: jamoz On: 4/7/2010

Title: If the truth be told...

As the law stands currently, Sir Lynden Pindling, who was either born here to a Jamaican father, or was born in Jamaica, would be considered for all intents and purposes a "Jamaican" and therefore would be ineligible to ever sit in the Bahamian Parliament. He would be seen as just another "foreigner stealing a 'real' Bahamians' work" and would be discriminated against simply because of something he had absolutely no control over. The law whilst "protecting Bahamian rights" is also on the other hand discriminating against those who were/are born here. How many more intelligent minds that are born here will continue to be pushed aside for the sake of a "real Bahamian"? How many future professionals possibly even leaders of Government will never see the light of day because of a law that discriminates against those who are born here, but are without Bahamian ancestry?

Posted By: Erasmus Folly On: 4/3/2010

Title: Truth = Beware 'false' prophets... actually beware of anyone claiming to be a prophet - they usually lying...

The 'true' revolution? What is that exactly? Is that when the Lucayans, Arawaks and Tainos rise from the dead and take back their country? Please, spare us your ignorance and your threats and your 'nativism'. There are many, many Bahamians here with very real ties to some place else. This 'nativistic' nonsense is stupid, trite, petty, myopic, ignorant, inaccurate and not really Bahamian at all. We are a big culture of immigrants, to try and say that my heritage stopped in 1973 is to perpetuate the BIG lie that LOP tried to shove down Bahamians throats. Bahamians will only really be able to celebrate and embrace their own 'culture' when they can finally embrace the myriad of influences that created it, be it African, European, Asian or Amer-Indian. Once we have embraced our cosmopolitan legacy, then we can all sit down and enjoy peas and rice, snapper, conch, macaroni and cheese, fried plantain etc etc together and celebrate our 'new' Bahamian culture and nation as well. As Bob Marley said, "If you know your history, then you would know where you coming from, then you wouldn't have to ask me, who the heck do I think I am." We must embrace our past fully to live the present and build the future well. This country is better than 'Bahamianisation' or LOP's drug legacy. It is also LONG history to draw from. Our country did not start in 1973 and to suggest that it does is to blind us to the truth of our past and destroy the many lessons we can learn from those who went before and made mistakes and had successes.

Posted By: New Prophet On: 4/1/2010

Title: Self-serving article

It's no wonder that the author (a self-confessed non-Bahamian, having Jamaican maternal roots, and Haitian paternal roots), seeks to paint the rosy picture of the impact of Haitians in our society. It helps her to sleep better at night knowing that she is part and parcel of the theft of Bahamian culture, resources and privileges. The truth is that we all come from "somewhere" if we are not Lucayans, but the real history of the Bahamas cannot be grounded in migration prior to Independence. Those who were here and contributed to the new Bahamas, have now integrated into the Bahamian reality. The Moncur, Lewis and Dillet families are no more Haitian because of some ancestor 100 years ago, than Michael Jordan Jr is a basketball star because of his Hall-of-Fame father. The issue of today's influx of Haitians is one that is a crushing problem, that if not solved, will destroy us all, whether we are Smith, Rolle or Dillet. The Bahamas is not for "those who live here". It is for Bahamians. PERIOD. Anything and anyone else enjoys it as a courtesy, nothing more and nothing less. If Ms. Nicolls, or anyone else doesn't agree, then when the true revolution comes, she may find life different and more difficult than ever perceived in her Haitian/Jamaican imagination

Posted By: Ready to discuss this issue in a new light On: 3/29/2010

Title: Well done!

Noelle,
I am always happy to read your contributions and this one in particular has gone a long way towards changing my thinking on this subject. And, since I think that's what you were going for (opening the minds of Bahamians) well then, congratulations! One down and only 249,999 more to go. I've never thought of my attitude towards this issue as hateful or ignorant (because I really try hard not to be either of those things) and I must say, I'm ashamed to find it has been.
However, I do find myself wondering what you would say about Carlos's post below; proposing we 'let the law state that anyone can live and work and vote or own property etc. in the Bahamas who has either a Bahamian or Hatian Passport".
What do you think we should do about our immigration issues in general, to be more humane while still protecting the fragility of our little nation?

Posted By: Carlos On: 3/5/2010

Title: Positive Comments

Wow. All but one are positive comments. Maybe we should just remove the "crutch" of the word "illegal" from those who oppose 9 million Haitians taking over 250 thousand Bahamians. Change the Law. Let the law state that anyone can live and work and vote or own property etc. in the Bahamas who has either a Bahamian or Haitian Passport. After 3 years of that, everyone will understand why Haitians are migrating away from Haiti.

Posted By: ME On: 2/16/2010

Title: BLINDED BAHAMIANS

I pray God your eyes are poened to the truth. Always remember God is a God of order which is why rules & laws are set by different countries and should be abided by and enforced by all who live, visit etc. I don't think sensible Bahamians are saying send haitians who are here illegally back they are talking about the illegal ones. Lets face it they been here for years and it has never been this kind of tension. Ralistically there are too many here illegally and its beginning to become apparent because of the large numbers. You guys are asking us to be ok with this. Firstly we can not acommodate them all and secondly if we could why would we be encouraging illegal practices? Are we law abiding citizens or not. I bet you could not illegally enter ayones elses country and be welcomed by acquiring free land, health care, education etc. under NO circumstances.Lets be of help to them but cutting off your nose to spoil your face is not wise and also its not something Bahmians practice toward one another. What a shame you feel sooo bad for another human being but not your own brother.

Posted By: Erasmus Folly On: 2/15/2010

Title: @Clifton

You are spot on to equate the class situation of the USA and the Bahamas. For me, a 'red neck' and a 'nigga' are the same thing today. Both embrace a false identity as their defining trait - the colour of their skin, which is racism's very starting point. If you think of yourself as a human being first and that the knowledge of your mind and the character of your heart are what define you, then that places you in a very different mind set from the 'tribal' idiot who identifies with his perceived 'tribe' first. 'Red Neck' or 'Nigga', both embrace ignorance as a 'virtue', reject education as 'elitist' and resort to violence to resolve most conflicts, since they know no other way. Ignorance is the father of these lost 'white' and 'black' children, but, as the Christians say, we are all children in the eyes of God. I find it even more deeply ironic that a lot of these same 'red necks' and 'niggas' are super religious and use Christ's words to 'justify' their ridiculous racism.

Posted By: Erasmus Folly On: 2/15/2010

Title: Required Reading

I second your vote for Michener's The Caribbean. I would add Tom Friedman's Lexus and the Olive Tree, The World is Flat and Hot, Flat and Crowded as well. These explain Globalization and the modern world quite well. Bahamians need to understand that this rock, this country and our people are literally a SPECK in an otherwise massive and complicated world. But, just like our weather, we have no control of the outside world and our small size means we are constantly 'surfing'. We have 'surfed' pretty well for the last 50 years or so, but we need to learn a lot more to stay afloat now - the waves are way, way bigger, faster and more dangerous than ever before. That is the Bahamas today. Oh, and our surf board has always been s%^& - it was always the skill of the rider that kept us afloat!

Posted By: Clifton H. Rodriquez, MPA, CPA, CIA On: 2/13/2010

Title:

In the words of the Vulcan Spock (Star Trek TV Series-Gene Roddenberry), "Fascinating". The bottomline is that we are all African brethren first. It just happened that the European slave traders dropped some of us off in the Lesser Antilles, Hispanola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Cuba, the Bahamas, America. I really did not understand growing up in the Bahamas, why Bahamians hated Haitians in particular, but Jamaicans, and Turks Islanders were not far behind. Remember, both Jamaica and TCI were or former British colonies. As a matter of fact, TCI is closer geographically to the Bahamas than Great Ignua, and culturally, historically, and otherwise, they are the same descendants of African slaves. Haiti is exactly the same, except for the language difference. The longer that I live, the more confused that I become, but reading your article clarified a lot for me. Many Bahamians are still trapped in mental slavery-you eloquently discussed and Bob Marley sang about it. Until they realize their plight and make an effort to free themselves, this unwarranted hatred of Haitians and Haitian Bahamians will continue to consume those Bahamians who continue to practice these sentiments towards their own African brethren. In a sense, they really behave like the poor whites in America who simply cannot get passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. They continue to be bitter and resentful despite the passage of time. They are consumed with hatred and in turn this hatred will eventually destroy them. There is an interesting connection-the lower class Bahamians are most resentful; the lower class white Americans, or what you refer to as "white trash" were most opposed to the Civil Rights Act, and are still most resentful to this day. These are the poeple who never prepared themselves for life, and simply blame others for their lack of economic achievement.

Posted By: Kyle M. Dorsett On: 2/9/2010

Title: Excellent

This is the best Insight article post-Marquis in my view! Simply amazing. As a young proud Bahamian and by extension West Indian, I'm glad to read journalism of such calibre.
Congratulations Noelle Nicolls and the Tribune. This is one article that I will be reading over and over in years to come.

Posted By: BBCafe On: 2/9/2010

Title: Fantastic!

Well presented and timely! Some fascinating information for those who continue to express error-riddled and xenophobic information! Bravo!

Posted By: Abaco Dinghy On: 2/9/2010

Title: well written

A thoughtful piece and timely published. well done. I think that Caribbean by James Michener should be mandatory high school reading, it puts a great perspective on the history of the caribbean and the interelation of the peoples. And its a good read too.

Posted By: Voltaire On: 2/8/2010

Title: Great!

Well done! The Bahamas is a country that urgently needs its myths exploded if there ever was one. Our problem is that we don't love the truth – we much prefer our collective delusion that we are a blessed, special, important, sacred little nation. I am sick of hearing that we must protect our special Bahamas, God's gift to us, from outside invaders who wish to pollute and and devalue our precious culture. This article has hit the nail on the head – our Bahamian 'culture' is a hollow sham. We desperately need to get over ourselves, and this kind of truth telling is just the antidote to our neurosis.

Posted By: Wife of a Politician On: 2/8/2010

Title: What an amazing article

Well done! Let the truth be told again and again until attitudes are changed and harmony is achieved.
Brilliant execution. Very tastefully done......Hats off to the author

Posted By: Alonzo Smith On: 2/8/2010

Title:

Masterfully written, well researched, very educational and quite engaging. Kudos to the author

Posted By: Erasmus Folly On: 2/8/2010

Title: Erasmus Folly

This is one of the most insightful and interesting pieces of journalism/academia I have seen published in a Bahamian newspaper - ever. I wish everyone in the country could read and 'understand' this. If the Bahamas could 'celebrate' our Caribbean heritage openly, we would smartly unfurl our various cultural banners for 3.5 million cruise visitors to see. We would have a Haitian quarter and a Jamaican quarter to go along with the Chinese, Greeks and other more prominent and openly successful immigrant groups - just to name a few. Instead, we could racist, myopic, xenophobic and moronic ignorant asses who claim to be 'superior' because of their vaunted Christian 'morality'. I assure you, there is NOTHING superior about just being from somewhere. The content of your mind and the depth of your heart are what render you a superior or inferior individual. While Bahamians are certainly big hearted people, the content of their minds leaves much to be desired. The heart doesn't love 'properly' without an educated mind to direct it. Our D- average is all we need to know. In the words of Yoda, 'That is why you fail'. Forward, upward, onward, together oh great little nation of immigrants. The sooner we embrace our rich cultural heritage, the better! Stop letting these ignorant, loud mouthed, bible thumpers 'represent' the true Bahamas - they don't. They never have and they never will. The silent majority here is far more sensible than these ignorant asses! Education reform is essential and the Pindling era PLP lie of Bahamian identity must be destroyed - it was simply a cover for manifest gangsterism and the whole sale robbery of the state by corrupt plutocrats. We should be proud of LOP's drive for Indepedence - eternally proud, but everything after that moment must be looked at with a critical eye and a new light if we are to right the ship of state he so perilously navigated.

Posted By: Happy reader On: 2/8/2010

Title: Great article

Very thought provoking and timley article!!

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