Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis with Kendera Woodside, mother of Eugene. Photo: Yontalay Bowe
Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and his wife Patricia paid an emotional visit to the grief-stricken parents of Eugene Woodside - Tonio and Kendera - at their home on Thursday afternoon. Eight-year-old Eugene, a third grade student at Albury Sayle School, was shot dead at his Chippingham home on Monday.
This video of the visit was posted the Prime Minister's Facebook page:
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Comments
sengli02 6 years, 7 months ago
I am very disappointed in the behaviour of the media and The Prime minister. Ms. Woodside is grieving for the lost of her son. Why in the hell are they trying to make her speak? The woman could hardly stand up and talk. She needs to be surrounded by her immediate family and not to be made a spectacle.
This is very upsetting to me, and I'm so sorry for her lost. I will be praying for her and her family that God will give her the peace and comfort during her time of bereavement.
Sle
Truism 6 years, 7 months ago
This is one sick puppy. As a medical doctor one should /would expect him to have better bedside manners and then he post it to Facebook. If this is a display of compassion... God help us all.
TalRussell 6 years, 7 months ago
Comrades! This is what a 'gone sick' staged media circus looks like with the nations prime minister. May the grieving parents of 8-year old Eugene Woodside, never again be tricked into taking another call from the prime minister's unchristian ways media handlers. Is this what they really thinks is the way Christian peoples does suppose act?
Can you believe, it's the taxpayers who will end up paying for the Clowns Buss to transport this bunch Clowns over for a staged video/photo op with the PM?
People does cry when they are happy, or when they become sad. These actions by the PM's media people is pretty damn SAD. I needs cry!
jackbnimble 6 years, 7 months ago
Heart wrenching to watch!!
Why did they post this? Not something I would post on social media.
jackbnimble 6 years, 7 months ago
I admit this video affected my sleep because I made the mistake of watching it just before I went to bed but I woke up with these thoughts which I'll leave here for consideration.
We have a PM in office who has not given himself a portfolio so that he can be "free" to be PM. That is commendable. It leaves him free to visit ministries and the Family Iskands and this is all streamed live on Facebook on an almost daily basis. I know because I follow his page and the notifications constantly pop up on my smartphone.
In this case he has visited a mother who lost her 8-year-old son tragically as a result of crime, an issue that continues to plague our country year after year, administration after administration with no clear solutions in sight.
I don't know about you, but if I were PM I would not use these situations as a 'photo op'. In my opinion, a mother's pain IS NOT NEWS!!
I am the PM. I am the CHIEF LEGISLATOR with the right to pass laws that affect how my country is governed. The Bahamian people have elected me to make the necessary changes to those laws that would, among other things, put a serious dent in crime. Without a portfolio I am now free to focus on this.
I know that my citizens have a major issue with the fact that capital punishment is no longer enforced because of an out-of-touch privy council. What can I do to amend this? I know that the police force is frustrated with the in-and-out system that allows prolific offenders to repeatedly be let out on bail to reoffend. What can I do to fix this? I know that the streets are filled with illegal guns. What can I do to put a dent in that? So I'm not running around playing MP visiting a distraught mother who had lost her son to the crime that I have the ability (through legislation) to fix. Instead, I'm using my press conferences, live feeds and photo ops to demonstrate to my citizens that legislation is being passed to stop it. I may mention that I visited this mother but that her pain motivated me to do something about it.
We have had over 4 juveniles killed in the last 2 months. Did our PM visit any of the other mothers? And what's going to happen when the next child dies by violent crime? Will a visit to the parent be streamed live in social media? If that's the case then we may be getting weekly live feeds because it's getting worse and worse and further you're creating a precedent that may be difficult to follow because other mothers have lost their sons and you haven't visited them.
I say keep focused and do what we elected you to do. Get capital punishment entrenched in the constitution. If it's constitutionally correct to do so, anend the Bail Act to prevent persons charged with serious crimes from being granted bail to reoffend, and pass stiffer gun laws to make persons think twice about picking up a gun.
This is how Governments fight crime. We do not just see you. We FEEL you.
OldFort2012 6 years, 7 months ago
You are right in all your points, apart from capital punishment. It is not a deterrent. Endless studies have proven it. I have no problem with it. But it will not stop any crime. It would just be a gimmick which might make some people feel better but would change nothing.
jackbnimble 6 years, 7 months ago
Actually I agree that capital punishment is not a deterrent but it IS a form of punishment. We cannot have persons killing innocent children sitting in a jail cell for life at the expense of taxpayers and possibly being freed after serving less than half the time.
Reality_Check 6 years, 7 months ago
Minnis just doesn't get it! He values politically motivated 'optics' more than achievements that serve the best interests of the Bahamian people as a whole. This serious weakness of his no doubt resulted in his very short sighted 'shoot-from-the-hips' decision regarding the students from Dominica.
Well_mudda_take_sic 6 years, 7 months ago
@jackbnimble: A good post well worth reading by all who visit The Tribune's website over the next few days.
DDK 6 years, 7 months ago
Did it ever occur to any of you cynics that Dr. Minnis reached out to Mrs. Woodside because he, like many of the rest of us, is terribly saddened by this awful loss of innocent life and, like many others, felt the need to offer comfort and pay his respect?
BahamasForBahamians 6 years, 7 months ago
Being sad and paying respects can be done without a million cameras.. without any in fact.
The next time someone in your family dies it should be made a photo op so you see how it feels.
DDK 6 years, 7 months ago
I agree that a million cameras were not appropriate, at the same time, I am not privy to how a condolence call was turned into a media circus. If it WAS orchestrated, SHAME ON ALL OF THEM. Anyone with a cell phone is a potential privacy snoop these days.
BahamasForBahamians 6 years, 7 months ago
PHOTO OP PHOTO OP PHOTO OP
TalRussell 6 years, 7 months ago
Comrades! The PM does not pull-off no Sidney Poitier performance in this PMO's amateur hour production movie.
Just you watch how this video plays out after the Clowns Bus pulls up and offloads the PM's press handlers - where the entire staging (terribly bad amateur directing) begins with the PM being signaled - PM, you stand over there?
I thinks the PM's press handlers - needs be "AXED ACED".... and did you knows there are over (20) media handlers working exclusively for the PM out the PMO - who were hired only since May 10,2017...and they're all being paid out the poor and near poor peoples pursers? ( Comrades, not making this up -most it was caught on video and they're were idiotic enough to release it for prime time viewing ).
John 6 years, 7 months ago
Tal Russel, at least it is much better performance than your pretense at trying to grasp the English language. Amazing what emotions and despair can due to a person.
TalRussell 6 years, 7 months ago
Comrade John, luckily my trying grasp onto the English Language is aided by if a picture Is worth a thousand words, what do you thinks a film is worth of the PM, starring in a PMO's directed and produced film - all paid for from reaching into the payroll pursers of the poor and near poor peoples? You are aware that the hiring of an additional 20 PM's press handlers since May 10, 2017, does not include the (20) that were left behind by Christie?
Go ask "ACE," how many new people he publicly said he had done hired and would hire for the media circus bus at the PMO ..... all to exclusively aid in the SELLING OF the image of one man's, PM Minnis?
{ Don't you dare accuse me making stuff up }.
ConcernedCitizen242BHS 6 years, 7 months ago
Solution for reducing crime & deterring criminal activity:
1) Create a new maximum security, Bahamas led and designed prison on one of our more isolated islands 2) Begin upskilling & training the current resources of able bodied Bahamian men held within the existing prisons to be able to work as skilled, building construction labour on the new prison site 3) Create new job opportunities for boatmen or aircrafts to be able to bring supplies to and from the new prison facilities
...
We really need to look at more effective and humane ways of preventing persons from wanting to stray off the straight and narrow path. And ideally we need to foster a better society based on togetherness where there are contributing members who believe in playing an active role role in our much better tomorrow.
Rise up Bahamaland!
justbeingreal 6 years, 7 months ago
Had the prime minister not visited and the media not been invited, outside of hearing of the matter, would we have known or been able to appreciate the family's pain. Our anger should be directed elsewhere, like helping to call for that perpetrator to turn himself in if he is not yet in police custody.
When the former DPM, Mother Pratt, visited and prayed with the mothers of the missing boys in Grand Bahama and the media was invited years ago, outside of it being on social media, as it was not "a thing" not sure it even existed, there was not an issue. It, too, was widely publicized via the available mediums. Too often we hear of these crimes and the victims' family's pain, but very rarely do we get to witness the pain and appreciate how far reaching this evil penetrates. Because it hasn't happened to us, we turn a blind eye or feel from a distance.
Bottom line is, after watching this we should feel moved to help in whatever way we can.
Well_mudda_take_sic 6 years, 7 months ago
Are these optics intended to distract us from the 'Spy Bill' that was recently tabled in the HOA? See The Tribune's article recently posted on this most important subject.
John 6 years, 7 months ago
As in water face reflects face, So the heart of man reflects man. Amazing that the innocent life of an eight year old child has been snuffed out. And rather than coming together as a community and sharing in the family's loss and joining forces to help find the killer of this young man, more effort is geared towards tearing down the people that are trying to reach out to this grieving family and criticizing the efforts by the media and others to expose this heinous crime and attempt to bring the criminals to justice. So many of us are not our brothers keepers, we no longer have even national pride and so like great, hungry unfed piranhas we tear into each other, anxious to consume the very flesh that made us common.
Truism 6 years, 7 months ago
SAD!
Truism 6 years, 7 months ago
That which is right and decent matters not. Let's just gets the result we desire to hell with protocols. There's no positive to be found in this farce of tragic proportion.
birdiestrachan 6 years, 7 months ago
roc wit doc it is all about the show. but it did take him some time to pull the show off. perhaps after he had cried on the house floor. "The ACE" must have told him to put on this show.
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