The Tribune

THERE was much discomfort in the official pews at the state funeral on Friday of Edmund Spencer Moxey when Anthony “Ace” Newbold recalled with sarcasm how “our leaders said Edmund was ambitious and had to be stopped and punished – and so they did… and our leaders were all honourable men.”

Mr Newbold, producer of the documentary: “The Price of being a man - The story of Ed Moxey and the undoing of Jumbey Village and the Cultural revolution,” which won Ft Lauderdale International Film Festival’s 2012 documentary award, told how “you could see the disappointment in his eyes when no member of the House of Assembly saw fit to attend” when the film was shown at the College of the Bahamas.

While the late prime minister Sir Lynden Pindling encouraged young Bahamians to seize the “opportunities” provided by his cabinet to “become a millionaire”, Mr Moxey encouraged them to build on their cultural heritage and establish a Jumbey Village — much like Hawaii’s Polynesian cultural centre – to attract tourists Over-the-Hill from Bay Street.

“Instead of focusing on building upon, exposing and exploiting our culture, through the Jumbey Village concept envisioned by Ed Moxey, our leaders chose to be spiteful, to be cruel!” said Mr Newbold.

“I believe,” he said, “that this country, will never be able to repay him or his family, for the wrongs done to them. I believe the trials of Ed Moxey and his family should lay on the collective conscience of the Bahamian people for all eternity.”

As the sufferings endured by the Moxey family at the hands of the PLP for which they had given so much were enumerated – not only by Mr Newbold, but also by FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis – instead of loud “Amens”, the mourners shouted “Shame!” “Disgrace!”

“I am well aware of the emotion and passion that has been manifested throughout the life of our departed brother,” said Prime Minister Christie, “I have distinctly discerned that some of those emotions are here present in this church.”

Those emotions were very much present at Holy Trinity on Friday, especially during the speeches in the first half of the ceremony, held before the church service began.

It was a tense moment for PLP parliamentarians. Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell seemed particularly agitated as he looked furtively to the right, left and behind him before settling into a spasmodic conversation with Transport Minister Glenys Hanna Martin who sat a row behind him.

The service was not televised live. Some say that it won’t be. Others say that it was filmed for later transmission. We shall wait and see.

Even now the Moxeys continue to have problems settling in their own country. On May 23 this year Marva Moxey, who was called to the Australian Bar, filed a case against the Bahamas Bar Council for judicial review after being twice refused — April 13, 2012 and again on July 4, 2013 — admission to the Bahamas Bar to practice law in her own country. We don’t know the reasoning behind this, but we can’t forget that judges from the Australian bar were allowed here to help the judiciary clear the overburdened judicial calendar. So, apparently there is no issue with the standards of the Australian Bar that would permit her to practice there, but not here.

Ed Moxey had been quiet for some time until — as Smokey Joe of yesteryear would say— the

politicians suddenly “yucked up his vexation.”

And when Ed’s “vexation” was “yucked up” we could always expect a call — often more than one — “Hey, Eileen, what’s up, do you know…” and then he would take off.

This time it was the PLP claim that Urban Renewal was the brainchild of the PLP. To him it was the century’s greatest lie. The idea of urban renewal, he said, was the brainchild of the late Sir Stafford Sands, the creator of this country’s tourism and financial industries. For all his faults, Ed Moxey saw Sir Stafford in a new light. He recalled how behind closed doors the PLP had tried to vilify and destroy Sir Stafford’s name. When Ed saw the plan, commissioned by Sir Stafford, to revitalise over the hill, he had new respect for the much reviled minister who appreciated the importance of Bahamian culture and this country’s entertainers.

We remember a few years after the PLP came to power, entertainers coming to The Tribune complaining of how the PLP had let them down. They bemoaned the fact that Sir Stafford Sands was no longer on the scene.

Sir Stafford often took the entertainers, including the police band, with him on tours, and paid for the trip out of his own pocket to promote the Bahamas’ tourism industry.

“It is unfortunate,” said Mr Moxey, “that the Urban Renewal Study and programme initiated by Sir Stafford Sands for the black masses of Bahamians was trampled under the feet of our leaders and advocates of the Quiet Revolution in 1967.

“It is like I said 25 years ago, the revolution was betrayed and after 45 years of majority rule our people over the hill still live in substandard conditions using outside toilets and water pumps. Oh, my Lord, what a shame!” Mr Moxey exclaimed as he threw up his arms in despair.

“Urban Renewal,” said Mr Moxey, “was envisioned four decades ago and involves the youth of the country and creates economic opportunities for the people and a deep sense of self improvement which can be successfully transmitted up and down the line across varying age levels.

“Despite the decided reality of our political and philosophical differences, the bottom line is if we are to succeed as a caring nation we must put aside some of the ever present acrimony that certainly creates more harm than good. It would behoove us to rally our cooperative efforts behind those who are clearly committed to the overall improvement of our people as individuals and as communities.

“If the government cannot accept advice, even in the face of the murderous scourge engulfing the country then we are doomed. However, I am hopeful that the era of spiteful recriminations and tribal behaviour is behind us and we can come together, government and opposition, church and civil society for the common good. I am also hopeful that the promise of 1967 will finally be realised, where the good of the people trumps all other interests.”