The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

IT is truly agonising watching people major in minor issues while minoring in major issues.

This past week, the MP for MICAL was excoriated in the press for a statement she made while presenting in the House. I fail to understand why people were so outraged by her statements. I thought the advice she said her father gave her was sound and appropriate and if summarised it was simply that she should act like a lady if she wanted to be treated like a lady. If you get up in a man’s face in an altercation expect a confrontation that might be physical. This is not advocacy of domestic abuse as many have tried to make it, but is simply a statement of fact.

If two people are having a disagreement and one is calm and levelheaded, showing respect to the other, it is unlikely to escalate, whereas if two people raise the temperature of a discussion, provoking each other by entering the others personal space, it can easily have undesirable consequences. This is simple common sense. It is true of arguments between two males, two females or a male and female! I am flabbergasted that so many, even the elite educated ones in the House, missed the simple point she was trying to make.

Meanwhile, we have an immigration situation that has been brewing for decades. Brent Symonette, who is currently serving his second time as Minister of Immigration, ought to have issued an apology to the Bahamian people or offered his resignation by now, as he is directly responsible for the immigration debacle that is taking place.

If, in the past, he had served as Minister of Immigration with just a modicum of competence, would he not have been able to identify areas others might try to exploit in our immigration policies and implement the necessary changes in the national interest? Had he, and others, done so, we might not be where we are now with this Jean Rony case.

For decades, regular Bahamians with limited education foresaw the challenges we are facing right now with immigrants. Not only did Mr Symonette fail this country in the past, but he is failing right now as he talks of reforming immigration law, ostensibly to “regularise” Haitians born to illegal immigrant parents!

Why not simply have them apply for Haitian citizenship and then based on their education, criminal record and productivity decide if they can have residency, but deny the granting of citizenship in the future. The others can be deported to Haiti.

I must remind the Minister that when citizens of The Bahamas break certain laws they are forced to enter a foreign and hostile new environment in Fox Hill. There cannot be more concern for law breakers than for the law-abiding citizens of this country.

When faced with overwhelming decisions the government tries to change the law, as they did with gambling, to acquiesce to wrong as opposed to enforcing the law.

Additionally, why has he not considered placing a moratorium on the granting of citizenship to all Haitians applying for citizenship until this country has a better grasp of the magnitude and implications of the Haitian problem we have?

Mrs Emmanuel was tongue lashed, not so much for what she said, but for what people thought they heard her say! Her comments will have no affect on the course of this country in one week, one year or twenty years.

Brent Symonette, however, is at the centre of a immigration situation that will redefine the course of this country, but no one gets worked up about that! His presence is a reminder of the failure of past ministers of immigration. He has to go!

JB

Nassau,

February 14, 2018.