The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune

On January 5, the United States Embassy in Nassau issued a crime warning to its citizens residing in and those travelling to The Bahamas.

These warnings are nothing new as the country has been faced with a growing crime problem for some years. What is new, however, is that within this recent advisory The Embassy gives clear directives to its personnel, prohibiting them from patronising a tourist central watersport service offered by Bahamian licensed businesses and advises all its citizens to do the same. Why?

This action by the Embassy stems from a recent report where an allegation of rape was made against a Bahamian male who is accused of having sexually assaulted a female tourist while on a jet ski.

One looking from the outside, or another if he’s ill-informed, would be led to believe that such a cleaver approach to an issue that could be resolved with a scalpel was necessary if The Bahamas and its government were inaccessible, uncooperative and its citizens savages. But this is not the case.

US Embassy officials and personnel living here are well versed in the economic, social and political affairs of The Bahamas and, in most cases, know more of what goes on here than the average Bahamian citizen. They read our newspapers, listen to our talk shows and they are intimately integrated into our social networks. They are fully aware of what’s going on here. They are no fools to this nation.

A question the Bahamian government and its people need to ask is why would the United States Embassy issue such a directive to its personnel prohibiting them from patronising local jet ski operators when they are fully aware that their staff never frequented those services in the first place? Nor has there ever been a reported case of an Embassy staff being assaulted by any Bahamian jet ski operator. US Embassy staff have access to private jet skis whenever they see fit to use them and have no need to utilise local vendors.

What needs to be taken note of is the fact that this sudden move by the United States Embassy has occurred just weeks after the government of The Bahamas, in good faith, allowed for the extradition of eight of its citizens to the US to face drug trafficking charges. This extradition could have been challenged or delayed by the government if they wished to do so as no nation willingly hands over their own to a foreign power unless to prove its commitment to building a relationship of trust.

Another fact worth noting is that there were a reported 5,408 sexual offences committed in the state of Florida within just the first six months of 2015 according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. This is the state where most Bahamian citizens travel to and freely spend their monies.

The US Embassy diligently quoted the facts in their alert that there have been “five” reported cases of sexual assault in over two years on its citizens by some rogue jet ski operators in Nassau. I would encourage them to also share their own statistics with Bahamians applying for travel visas to the US.

The United States Embassy is well aware of the current economic state of The Bahamas and how heavily dependent the country is on its tourist product. Knowing this to be the fact and the options that were available to them in settling the matter at hand, there is no reasonable justification for what I see to be an indirect, political attack on the current administration.

Yes, this nation has had a turbulent year in 2015. And yes, the scars we bear coming into the New Year are fresh. But I want to advise anyone looking from the outside to not be misguided. Even a lion knows better not to prematurely judge a living prey no matter how wounded he may appear as this doesn’t always equal an easy kill.

The unprovoked bullying of its neighbours through political interference landed America into various trials and tribulations in the 1960s and 70s. Poor international policies and poor treatment of its allies led to some of the worst economic conditions America had ever seen. America had lost its “greatness”.

Ronald Reagan identified this loss and therefore adopted a slogan of change to “Make America Great Again” (a slogan currently being used by Donald Trump) and in turn won the presidency in 1981. What Reagan learnt was that it was not a good idea to backstab your friends abroad because it would eventually affect you at home. The 1980s and years following were some of the best times for America.

The United States Embassy in Nassau needs to learn from the past and not to judge a nation by its size as this has no bearing on the intelligence of its people. If they, like Trump, desire for America to become great again they must first learn to be humble or that ambition will never be met.

Clearly in haste to satisfy what can only be concluded as arrogance, a precedent has been set. If left unanswered, this move by the US Embassy threatens the livelihood of every working Bahamian in this country and not simply those in the tourism industry. We must stand with our brothers and sisters as today it may be the jet ski operators, tomorrow the straw vendors, next the taxi drivers and at the end of the week, you and me.

A strong condemnation and a demand for a retraction by the government of The Bahamas need to be put forth. A message has to be sent that we care as much about our own as any other nation care about theirs and that the people of this nation stand together. We will not allow one Bahamian to be bullied or abused by any foreign group or power.

DELROY MEADOWS

Nassau,

January 6, 2015.