The Tribune

By AYANNA CLARKE

You’re never going to believe this, but one of my favourite characters of all time was the Jean Grey (also sometimes known as Phoenix) from the Marvel cartoon series X-Men. An avid watcher of the show, I would learn mutant names, mutant powers, mutations of the mutants, the list is exhausting. Jean Grey was a mutant of astronomical powers and did lots of heroic things, but there was nothing more fulfilling for me than watching Jean morph into a fiery bird, a phoenix, from whatever rubble or debris had fallen in a battle or when she was in extreme distress.

I keep thinking that we are like a phoenix, able to lift ourselves from dire forfeiture. In our times of distress, we too somehow find the strength of character, force of will and determination to rise from the proverbial ashes. As Bahamians, as men and women, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers – “all a we” – it gives me strength to know that we are able, whether it is as a nation or as individuals, to get up from whatever catastrophe befalls us and display brotherhood, togetherness and compassion toward one another.

We have once again come to the familiar place of being placed on the world stage. We have an opportunity to display just how sovereign and successful of a nation we are – mending what is broken with common vision and a singular focus.

Leaders and laymen pitching in to help to clear away the rubble and find hope once again. Local and international allies banding together with a common goal. Community and church leaders locking arms in the care of brothers and sisters, family and friends.

The political arena and private sector all facing the aftermath with a singular purpose: restructuring and enhancing our way of life both now and for the future.

At a time like this, my pain and pride have become synonymous. I have hurt for the loss of life and possessions. I hurt seeing the trauma in a young child’s eyes, as they recount the horror of what will ever be a life changing ordeal.

But simultaneously, with an amazing Bahamian pride swelling in my chest, I see an innocent five-year-old take her clothing out of a dresser and place it in a bag for someone she doesn’t even know. I weep with joy as a man challenged himself by offering his home to the displaced and the disenfranchised, knowing that he will never receive a dollar of repayment, nor asking for anything in return.

I can never truly relate to what occurred in the Northern Bahamas during Hurricane Dorian, never having witnessed such devastation. But I can lend a hand to those in need; I can pray for those who have lost loved ones, and render whatever assistance is needed to create a smooth transition in a new normal. And I see it happening all over the Bahamas.

For those of us who follow Christ, we have perhaps the greatest metaphor of the phoenix rising in the story of our own Saviour. For three days Christ lay in the tomb of the fallen; a corpse, seemingly doomed to damnation, not only for himself but for all mankind. But after what seemed a definite death sentence He rose, a phoenix, in victory, glorious in power, a shining example of winning after such a great loss.

How can we as a culture, as a people, not do the same? Like the phoenix: rise from disaster with a determination to rebuild; rise from sudden change and unplanned tragedy to a place of prominence once again; rise like a phoenix from the ashes of destruction, prepared for the work that will bring us to victory once again

God bless you this week!