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A L L T H E N E W S Y O U N E E D T O R E A D I N T H E M O R N I N G

VOL. 31 - NO. 43 75 CENTSFRIDAY - MARCH 8TH, 2019

THREE CHILDRENABDUCTED IN A WEEK

olice are on thehunt of thealleged abductorof the capital’s

second and third allegedkidnapping in less than aweek. In the first incident,

authorities indicated thata child was taken from apark on Emmanuel Diveoff Soldier Road before7:00pm on Wednesday.It is said that a female,

who was the lone occu-pant of a grey vehicle wasspotted at the time. Police told The Journal

that the child was report-

BY lEaH cooPErJournal Staff Writer

4 Police composite sketch provided by cDU of the personbelieved to be responsible for the abduction of an

eight-year-old boy.g See page 4...

Bishop Calls PolicemenRetirement “Suspicious”The Bahamas ChristianCouncil PresidentBishop DeltonFernander is calling theretirements of seniorPolice Officers suspi-cious.He was responding to

claims from theOpposition that theinstructions to retire thethree men were sent

BY BErTHoNY McDErMoTTJournal Staff Writer

g See page 3...

4 Bahamas Christian Council President,Bishop Delton Fernander

AG CORRECTS EU MINISTERcalls MEP ‘ Utterly ignorant’Attorney General CarlBethel defending the gov-ernment of the Bahamassays that money launder-ing convictions weremade in The Bahamas .He has corrected com-ments made by EuropeanUnion Member ofParliament (MEP) SvenGiegold.“It is clear that the

commentator was utterlyignorant of not only thechanges we’ve made, but

BY DEaNDrE WilliaMSoNJournal Staff Writer

4 Attorney General &Minister of Legal Affiars,

Carl Bethel

4 EU Member ofParliament (MEP),Sven Giegold

g See page 3...

FAKE DENTIST PLEADS GUILTYA woman claiming to bea dentist yesterday shedtears before MagistrateSamuel Mckinney as shefaced ten counts of fraud.Its alleged that on

Tuesday February 26th

27- year old Jamaicannational and mother oftwo, Santini Kerr-Wilson,received $510 fromMarissa Coakley bymeans of false pretenses.A day later, she used

the very same means toobtain the same amountfrom Derricka Crossman.

The next day -February 28th - Wilsonreceived another $510each from EllyneiceNottage and LatesaWhymms.Wilson allegedly

pocketed another $510

BY lEaH cooPErJournal Staff Writer

g See page 2...

P

GG Visits schools and senior

citizens in eleuthera

4 Students of the schools in North Eleuthera perform at the North Eleuthera High Schoolduring the official visit from Governor General, Her Excellency the Most

Hon. Dame Marguerite Pindling, Tuesday, March 5, 2019.

Section a rEGUlar_Section a Tues 3/7/2019 11:47 PM Page 1

A2 NationalNEWSThe Bahama Journal

Friday - March 8th, 2019

Fusion Will Succeed, Says Richards Fusion Superplex ChiefOperating OfficerDominic Richards is dis-missing claims that theentertainment centre istoo big of a dream andthat the project will notsucceed.Mr. Richards said he

can’t convince peoplewho don’t understand thebusiness model.He added that he does-

n’t think GalleriaCinema isn’t competi-tion, but they just aren’t

any competition forFusion.“What I’m trying to

do is build a community;a big part of building acommunity is like howyou build families. Yougive them someplace togo where they feel safe.You keep your pricepoint on the ice creamand coffee as reasonableand if they go to a movie,I’m happy. “If they go upstairs

and eat to the restaurantthat’s great; but thinkabout it from a differentperspective.

“The average theatreis trying to get an occu-pancy rate of aboutseven to ten per cent toprofit. “I want to put that in

perspective. If I have atheatre with 200 seats, Ijust need 20 people to beprofitable; I think I’vegotten more than 20 peo-ple in a theatre,” he said. There have been con-

cerns about movie pric-ing at Fusion as somesay seeing a movie thereis pricey. Mr. Richards added

that the Fusion experi-

ence is not just aboutcoming in to see amovie. He said it’s aboutthe experience.“The movie is all

about the experience;the number one experi-ence we have right nowin the country is VIP,followed very closely by4DX and Imax and so inthose experiences theprice is higher, becausethat’s what Bahamiansactually want. “We think that it’s less

about the price and moreabout the value that youprovide to the client as

well,” he said. While many have

praised Fusion filling itsstaff compliment withyoung people, the FusionCOO said with thiscomes a few challenges.“When you target

young people, you haveissues with of courseskill sets, and you haveissue with temper man-agement. How do youbuild someone who isless atoned to the busi-ness setting?“So when you focus

on that part of the busi-ness sector, you spend a

lot of time mentoringmore than managing. “You spend a lot of

time listening to a lot ofissues and I think that’sbeen the second mostpowerful thing thatwe’ve been doing atFusion since we’ve beenopen,” he said. Mr. Richards main-

tains that the entertain-ment centre has beenvery successful over thepast four months. He was speaking to

the Rotary Club of WestNassau’s weekly meet-ing.

BY BErTHoNY McDErMoTTJournal Staff Writer

4 Fusion Superplex offers multiple viewing experiences including iMaX and 4DX, resturantstyle dining and an outdoor bar and deck overlooking the island.

Bishop Calls Policemen down from The Office ofThe Prime Minister.National Security

Minister Marvin Damessaid there’s nothing politi-cal about it. BishopFernander said he has totake the Minister’s word,but stressed that the coun-cil is watching. “From what the

Minister has said, it does-n’t give the evidence,because they are up forretirement, but if some-one has three more yearsto go then why this preretirement? “So it surely has some

suspicious activity aroundit. We are watching, butwe must accept what theMinister says, which isthere is no political inter-ference.“This will be further

watched to see how thesematters are dealt with andreally and truly, I believethe Police Force shouldbe free of political inter-ference,” Bishop

Fernander said. The Christian Council

President added that thegovernment should nothave its hands in theRBPF and that there mustcome a day when theCommissioner of Police isin charge .He said, “if we’re going

to manipulate the hierar-chy of the Police Force toa place where they arepolitical pundits, we’regoing to always be in thestate we’re in; where peo-ple are afraid to offerthemselves to work , andsome of the best mindswill not rise to the top todo the job that we needthem to do in our coun-try.” The three officers

expected to leave theForce are DeputyCommissioner of PoliceEmrick Seymour, SeniorAssistant CommissionerStephen Dean andAssistant CommissionerClarence Reckley – hus-band of Former DeputyDirector of Urban

Renewal MichelleReckley. She along withthree others were chargedwith 21 counts of fraudlast month.“It’s concerning that

you would do this duringpolice month and one ofthe officers being let go,is in charge of policemonth. “So it tells me that this

was not prepared, it wasnot planned and if it wasplanned, it was reallyinsensitive that you wouldlet these three go during atime of celebration of theRoyal Bahamas PoliceForce in TheCommonwealth of TheBahamas,” said BishopFernander. The Christian Council

leader is convinced thecountry is moving in thewrong direction, addingthat if it maintains theimage of political interfer-ence, then people willbegin to think there ismanipulation in every sec-tor of society.

gg continued from / PAGE 1...

FAKE DENTIST from Marienise Augustin.She is also charged

with using the title oforthodontist, advertisingas a dentist, practicing assuch and acquiring andpossessing proceeds ofcrime. According to the prose-

cution, Dr. SparkmanFerguson, Registrar of theBahamas Dental Council,received notice of an adadvertising cosmeticbraces, teeth whitening,and filling under the nameNicole Wilson.

After checking, it wasconfirmed that there wasno registered orthodontistoperating in the countryunder that name, andpolice were subsequentlycontacted.After a search at the

Comfort Suites Hotel,Paradise Island; Policeuncovered the proceedsfrom her services alongwith braces brackets.She reportedly told the

authorities that she wasthe owner of “ItalianBraces”, but wasn’t quali-fied to install them.In court, Wilson plead-

ed guilty to all chargesand was subsequentlyordered to compensate allcomplainants their moneyon the first five counts,pay a $500 fine or facethree months behind bars.For counts six, seven andeight; she was fined$1,000 each or 6 monthsin prison.For counts nine and 10,

she was slapped with a$500 fine each or 3months behind bars. Wilson will remain at

the Bahamas Departmentof Corrections until thefines are paid in full.

gg continued from / PAGE 1...

Section a rEGUlar_Section a Tues 3/7/2019 11:47 PM Page 2

The push towards genderequality for women inThe Bahamas, and indeedaround the globe, is notabout advancing the caus-es of women and girls atthe expense of men andboys, Minister of SocialServices and UrbanDevelopment the Hon.Frankie A. Campbell saidThursday.Minister Campbell

called gender equality “ahuman rights issue”.Addressing a Pep Rally

held outdoors on theCampus of TheUniversity of TheBahamas (UB) Thursday(March 7) on the eve ofthe international obser-vance of InternationalWomen’s Day (commem-orated annually on March8), Minister Campbellsaid gender equality isalso about ensuring thatboth sexes are sufficientlyempowered so that theycan be equally empow-ered.

“Gender equality isabout economic empow-erment. It is about bal-ance. It is about ensuringthat both genders are suf-ficiently empowered sothat they can have thatmutual respect one for theother; that they can treateach other equally; thatthey can both feel equallyempowered,” MinisterCampbell said.“The reality is that gen-

der equality is a humanrights issue. It is also

about mutual respect. Andso if we put together themutual respect and thehuman rights together, itbecomes about more thanjust women.“And so the

Department of Genderand Family Affairs isabout promoting thecause of the family. It isabout promoting the part-nerships that are neces-sary to ensure that oursociety is comprised ofboth men and women andboys and girls whorespect each other; whohave an appreciation forthe value that each bringsto the table sufficientlyso, that we are able tospeak love and not war, tospeak peace and kindness,that we are able to speakinclusion of all.”Minister Campbell said

organizers of the eventdecided to stage the rallyoutdoors because of thesymbolism attached tobeing outdoors. The Rallywas a collaborative effortbetween the Departmentof Gender and Family

Affairs, Ministry ofSocial Services andUrban Development andUB.“We could have held

the event indoors, but it isimportant for us to be outhere in the open toexpress our sentimentsopenly with the hope andtrust that they wouldbecome infectious andthat those hearing whatwe had to say, having firstbeen touched by theinfectious spirit, wouldshare one with the other,and that this infectiousspirit would spread likewildfire,” MinisterCampbell said.“It is also our hope that

this infectious spiritwould challenge us asteachers, students, men-tors, to ensure that it isclearly articulated andunderstood, that this isnot about a power strug-gle; that this is not aboutadvancing the cause ofwomen at the expense ofmen.“I am the father of

three beautiful girls who

are going to be lookingfor husbands in the future.It would be remiss of me,it would be foolish of meto promote the cause ofwomen; leave all of theboys of young men andboys behind and thenyears from now whenthey are looking for hus-bands, they cannot findsensible, educated, pro-ductive young men topartner with.“As we celebrate this

International Women’sDay. As we think equality,as we think of innovatingchange, let us begin to bethe change that we wantto see. Let us begin toensure that in our livesand around us, there isequal room for all, despiteour differences, and thatthere is a level of toler-ance that will promote thekind of society whereeveryone will have equalopportunity for advance-ment while not impedingsomeone else’s opportu-nity,” Minister Campbelladded.

A3The Bahama Journal

Friday - March 8th, 2019NationalNEWS

Campbell: Gender Equality is a Human Rights Issue that does not Advance the Cause of Women at the Expense of Men

AG CORRECTS EU MINISTERalso of the fact that therehave been money launder-ing convictions ever sincethe first Proceeds ofCrime Act was passed in1996 in The Bahamas,”Bethel said in the Senateon Wednesday.“For someone to state

that The Bahamas doesnot prosecute money laun-dering is the height ofignorance.”In a recent interview

with The Bahama Journal,Giegold called TheBahamas a “stubborncase” as it relates to itsglobal financial obliga-tions and insisted that thecountry must carry outmoney laundering convic-tions after being blacklist-ed by the EuropeanUnion.The EU labeled The

Bahamas as a high riskjurisdiction for financialcrime and Giegoldbelieves The Bahamas hasno convictions of moneylaundering.“If in certain jurisdic-

tions, although it has alarger financial place, alarger financial center, andnobody is convicted, thatis a clear sign that yourregime doesn’t deliver,”Giegold said. “That is thereason why The Bahamaswas seen as a country thathas not solved all theproblems and this is notabout destroying anyone’sbusiness.”According to the

Attorney General, sincethe passage of laws in2018, The Bahamas hasincreased the levels ofmoney laundering chargesand has increased the rateof conviction on moneylaundering offences. “Forty offences were

charged over the last yearand a half and 19 resultedin convictions, nettingroughly $2.7 million thathas gone into the

Confiscated Asset Fund,”Bethel explained. “Letme say, I am in the processof drafting a response thatwill be sent to thisMember of the EuropeanParliament, but I won’tsign the letter, the perma-nent secretary will signthat letter to him. But hewill be thoroughly dis-abused of his ignorance. “This is The Bahamas.

We don’t play fool. Whenwe set our minds to per-form a task, we do it.”The EU’s decision to

blacklist The Bahamaswas based on an evalua-tion by the FinancialAction Task Force and anadditional evaluation bythe EU. At the time of the

blacklisting, The Bahamaswas compliant with mostof FATF’s required crite-ria.But according to

Giegold, more action wasneeded by the govern-ment. “So the claim that the

criteria were met, maybe,but at least you didn’t con-vince FATF,” Giegoldsaid. “So your govern-ment didn’t convinceFATF and beyond thatthere are some straightfor-ward issues.” During the Senate’s

meeting, the AttorneyGeneral indicated that thegovernment is doing moreto become fully compliantwith international agen-cies, as senators agreed tothe Anti-TerrorismResolution. Senator Bethel said the

Anti-Terrorism Act 2018is a cutting edge legisla-tion that sets up a frame-work, which allows TheBahamas to be and remainfully compliant with allUnited Nations SecurityCouncil resolutions. He explained that the

Anti-Terrorism Act andother regulations wouldmake The Bahamas fully

compliant not only in itsantiterrorism regime, “butwill close the circle of fullcompliance with all of theantimony laundering,counter financing of ini-tiatives of the internation-al community, which ini-tiatives are spearheadedby the Financial ActionTask Force. “It is therefore a critical

step, a critical closing stepin our full compliance andtechnical compliance withthe FATF 40 recommen-dations. With the cominginto force of these regula-tions, if we were to bereevaluated now, as if wewere reevaluated inDecember of last year, wewould probably go up byanother three FATF rec-ommendations to be notjust fully compliant, butwith not just with 30, with33 recommendations ofthe Financial Action TaskForce, which would trulyplace The Bahamas in thevery front row of compli-ant countries,” Bethelsaid. He pointed out that

government officialsrecently attended a FATFplenary meeting and thesubstantial progress TheBahamas has made wasnoted by assessors.“It was acknowledged

to us and to our team thatThe Bahamas in recordtime has thoroughly repo-sitioned itself in the mindsof the global communityas now being a countrythat is on the verge of fullcompliance and that fullcompliance is on the vergeof being recognized,” Mr.Bethel said. “There are still more

things we need to do, butthey are now in the realmof technical implementa-tion. There is still somework to be done in show-ing the effectiveness ofour implementation of allof the new laws in the newfinancial regime.”

gg continued from / PAGE 1...

Section a rEGUlar_Section a Tues 3/7/2019 11:47 PM Page 3

Colonial GroupInternational (CGI) theparent company ofAtlantic MedicalInsurance Co Limited,Security & GeneralInsurance, ColonialPensions Services(Bahamas) and the NassauInsurance Brokers &Agency Limited – willinvest $4 Million in GrandBahama through the con-struction of a state-of-the-art building to become itsnorthern hub of opera-tions. Situated on 1.5 acres ofprime Freeport real estateon The Mall, the 12,000-square foot building willbe a fully integrated busi-ness campus. It will housethe companies in the CGIgroup and offer 2,000square feet of rental facil-ities for third-party ten-ants. The facility is set forcompletion in April 2020.At a recent groundbreak-ing ceremony, CGI show-cased an architectural ren-

dering of the proposedfacility which was createdby The ArchitectsIncorporated, a Freeport-based firm. Donald Dean,principal of the firm, saidthat the new facility willfeature a modern designwith traditional overtones.Painted Wedgewood blueand white, the structurewill feature coral stoneveneer and a Bermuda-style roof—making it eas-ily distinguishable as aCGI property. The build-ing will also be environ-mentally friendly, boast-ing state of the art greenbuilding technology withan emphasis on energyconservation and waterconsumption. According to the PrimeMinister The MostHonourable Dr Hubert A.Minnis, who gave thekeynote address, CGI’sheadquarters will help toenhance the city’s land-scape and bring growthand improvement to

Freeport’s real estate andconstruction industries. Dr E. Grant Gibbons, CGIChairman, told attendeesthat because of theBahamian government’scommitment to the upliftGrand Bahama, it wasimperative for CGI tomake a substantial contri-bution to the growth of theisland’s economic andsocial opportunities andfacilities. “The Colonial Group fam-ily is proud and privilegedto have to make this newinvestment in TheBahamas. It is our expec-tation and commitmentthat this structure and thequality of our conduct ofbusiness will contributemuch to the rejuvenationof this northernmostisland. This complex,above all, signals ouradmiration for the resolveand continued optimismyou Grand Bahamianshave continued to showthrough the challenges of

the past decade. We arehonoured that you haveaccepted us as partners,”he added.According to Dr. Gibbons,the investment in GrandBahama is a natural pro-gression, given the suc-cess that CGI’s group ofcompanies have beenexperiencing in Nassaufor more than twodecades. Atlantic MedicalInsurance remains a lead-ing provider of grouphealth, life and individualinsurance, while Security& General Insurance istop of mind for home,motor and business insur-ance. Colonial PensionsServices (Bahamas) offersfull service pension plans

and specialized invest-ment solutions for bothgroups and individuals.The youngest company inthe CGI group, at 14 yearsold, is the NassauInsurance Brokers &Agency Ltd. NIBA pro-vides clients with compet-itive rates and first classproducts and benefits forvarious kinds of insur-ance. Lynda Gibson, ExecutiveVice President andGeneral Manager ofAtlantic MedicalInsurance said that thegroundbreaking was boththe fulfillment of CGI’sgoal to have its companieshoused under one roof andthe beginning of exciting

developments that CGIhas planned to boost theBahamian economy. Said Mrs. Gibson: “Youalways hear aboutFreeport being in a statethat it will not come backup. But our ownersbelieve in coming into acommunity and changingthings.” “When we put up AtlanticHouse in Nassau, TheBahamas was in a deepdepression. Our ownerssaid, “Ok, we’re going tocome in and make it work.That worked. So with thathappening, we were ableto convince our ownersthat Freeport will worktoo. So here we aretoday.”

A4 The Bahama Journal

Friday - March 8th, 2019 NationalNEWS

COLONIAL GROUP INTERNATIONAL TOINVEST $4 MILLION IN GRAND BAHAMA

T H R E ECHILDREN ABDUCTED IN A WEEKedly dropped off onTonique Williams DarlingHighway near theentrance to the city dumpa short time later.According to police,

the child had no physicalinjuries. However, he wastaken to hospital to beexamined by a doctor,who indicated that theyare in good health. A wanted bulletin has

been issued for a suspectshown wearing a sun-glasses and satin cap. Apart from this, noth-

ing is known about theaccused at this point, asthere is no details onname, age, address, com-plexion, height or build. Police are also investi-

gating an alleged abduc-tion of two juvenile males

which occurred yesterdayshortly before 4pm.According to reports,

two boys, ten and eightyears old, were walkingon Kool Acres when theywere picked up by afemale who was the loneoccupant of a dark col-ored vehicle.A short time later, the

10-year-old was droppedback on Kool Acres andthe 8-year child wasdropped off at ToniqueWilliams DarlingHighway near to theentrance of the CityDump.The 8 year-old child is

reportedly with policeand has no physicalinjuries.This past Sunday,

another eight-year-oldgirl was abducted by aman from her

Culmersville home.She was found a short

time later in the area ofWoodlawn Gardens onsoldier road. While police say other-

wise, the child’s motherclaims she was sexuallyassaulted.The incidents have

driven police to issue aprecautionary note to par-ents and guardians, urg-ing them to talk to theirchildren about communi-cating with strangers andto ensure that children arealways in the company ofa responsible adult. Police also indicted

that they are investigatingeach case separately atthis time. However theyare looking at similaritiesto determine whetherthese recent abductionsare connected.

gg continued from / PAGE 1...

4 Proposed draft of the $4 million dollar developement scheduled for a 2020 opening in Grand Bahama.

Section a rEGUlar_Section a Tues 3/7/2019 11:47 PM Page 4

A5The Bahama Journal

Friday - March 8th, 2019EditorialNEWS

E D I T O R I A L

The Bahama Journal Is An Independent Newspaper - Published Week Days By The Communicators & Associates In Affiliation With Jones Communications Ltd.

University Drive - P.O. Box N-8610Telephone: 242-325-3082 - Fax: 242-356-7256

Kimaley P. JonesVice President/Operations

Wendall K. Jones Publisher/Chief Executive Officer

WHO ARE WE?In the book The Growth of the Modern WestIndies, the author Gordon K. Lewis wrote:“ From the earliest beginnings after 1620,the Bahamian development departed radi-cally from those of the islands properlyWest Indian. The productive system, after afalse start in tobacco growing, was essen-tially mercantile. The genesis of the NewProvidence colony, so deeply rooted as itwas in the growth of its pirate economy,placed a maritime stamp upon the originalsettlers, not to mention a collective psychol-ogy of hardy individualism which remainedwith Bahamians, even after the famousgubernatorial regime of Woodes Rogersfinally terminated the existence of the piratebase.“The piratical outlook tended to remain,

founded as it had been upon a succession ofearly Governors, before the reformingRogers’ period, who had openly profitedfrom the reckless sale of privateering com-missions. The art of piracy, even so, wasmerely followed by the art of wrecking, theorganised depredation upon shipwreckedvessels which, from a moral viewpoint, washardly an improvement. “Both piracy and wrecking flourished on thegeographical character of the Bahamianarchipelago, with its hazardous sea passagesand the virtual impossibility of imposingany kind of effective control over islandssuch as Grand Bahama and Inagua isolated,until the communications revolution of thetwentieth century, from the capital centre.”Lewis wrote that “The Atlantic West

Indies entered the modern period (of the20th century) politically antiquated, cultur-ally depressed and psychologically retard-ed. The Bay Street Boys in Nassau,presided over a socio-economic powerstructure in which they controlled the eco-nomic-financial apparatus by means offamily-type interlocking directorates, andthe political apparatus by means of theirpersonal occupation of the strategic mem-bers’ seats in the House of Assembly.“Their social climate was a Dickensian mix-ture of American crass acquisitiveness and

British snobbery, and not the least fascinat-ing aspect for the social psychologist wasthe way in which, despite their efforts todraw social lines, the ‘best people’ finallyaccepted the newly-rich liquor familieswhose wealth they coveted as they despisedtheir manners.”The foregoing is published for our read-

ers to gain an insight into the kind ofBahamas we had back then. Today, after45 years of independence, Bahamians stillhave a psychological problem with respectto national development. Bahamians do nothave a sense of self. They are still searchingfor a national identity and the vast majoritystill do not know what kind of Bahamas wewant. Because we have lacked civics in oureducation curriculum, generations ofBahamians have not been formally taughtabout several important elements and/ orfactors that have influenced the social eco-nomic and political direction of our coun-try, leading to the kind of Bahamas we havetoday.The late Sir Winston Churchill, former

Prime Minister of Great Britain once stated,“ a country that does not know its history,does not know itself. Most Bahamians donot know our history, because we have beenvictims of a flawed public educational sys-tem which has failed to teach civics, hencewe really do not know our national self.The eras of Slavery and Colonialism

have had the greatest effect on Bahamiansas a people, because those periods impact-ed our psyche, our confidence and how wethink of ourselves.Slavery and Colonialism have been themonkeys on our backs and have hinderedthe development of our sense of self, ournational identity and who we are asBahamians.Today we call on the government of the

Bahamas to insist that courses in Bahamiancivics are taught in all of our schools begin-ning at the primary school level, with a sub-ject in the Bahamas Junior Certificateexaminations being mandatory.

Dismissive Behaviour Towards theUnited States – Again!

“If history teaches anything, it teaches that self-delusion in the face of unpleasant facts is folly”

Ronald Reagan

Democratic nations have a moral obligation toprotect their citizens. Sometimes this is achievedthrough diplomacy and moral suasion. In othercases, harsh sanctions, public shaming or war isthe only solution. We are not yet at stage wherethe United States feel that we require heavier ahand but, we are certainly at the naming andshaming stage; moral suasion appears not to haveworked. In any event, the dismissive and abra-sive behaviour of our public officials towards ourmajor source of tourism after the issuance oftravel advisory’s is troubling and dangerous.America, like Canada and other nations have

a moral obligation to warn its citizens of poten-tial danger in places that they visit. For our offi-cials to dismiss warnings of crimes and othercriminal behaviour in the Bahamas especiallyNassau, without it appears researching the com-plaints shows a level of immaturity and self-absorption which is becoming a hallmark of ourcountry. Canada also issued an updated traveladvisory on 28 February 2019. Canada’s warningreads, “Exercise a high degree of caution in TheBahamas due to high rates of crime, especially inFreeport and Nassau.” Cruise Radio.net

Each travel advisory is met with a series offrantic, ill-advised and self-serving press state-ments which totally ignores the subject of theadvisory and focuses on some supposed slight bythe issuing country. How dare they make state-ments and assumptions on crime in theBahamas? The most recent statements by ourofficials are real doozies.Like this one reported in the Tribune on 26thFebruary, 2019.“Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar says he

expects some level of “push back” from localofficials to a recent US travel advisory, as heexpressed dismay over the alert’s timing yester-day. Addressing the warning outside of Cabinet,Mr D’Aguilar said local officials believed USEmbassy personnel would regard decreases inlocal crime as a step in the right direction. TheFreetown MP, in noting his overall shock atissuance of the alert, said the use of exaggeratedverbiage and the alignment of the Bahamas withcountries like Mexico and Jamaica did give evenmore cause for concern”.Wow! The last time I checked the US was not

only the worlds only superpower but also afriend, ally and the source of our economic suc-cess. So, precisely what form the threatened“push back “will take is unclear; but rememberwords have consequences! As to the timing ofthe advisory, warnings are issued when they areissued. If the timing of the release is inopportune,then so be it; nations will protect their citizens asthey feel fit. The US will certainly not be bulliedlike the cruise lines. Another unfortunate state-ment by the Minister was this one.

“I mean to lump us in the same category asMexico and Jamaica; to us seems a little harshand we thought a lot of the verbiage in the advi-sory was an exaggeration,” he added.Precisely what is meant by this assertion eludesme. Crime is crime wherever it occurs; crimeproliferates in areas where there are “soft targets”such as naïve, vulnerable tourists and citizens.Unfortunately, tourists from many nations havebeen victims of assaults and worse in theBahamas. The proximity of the Bahamas to theUS makes it the destination of choice. For exam-ple, it is English speaking, has good communica-tions, relatively short flight times, familiar foodsand a historical US consular presence. Not to put too fine a point on it, I really don’t

give a damn about another country’s crime; Idon’t live there. I am more concerned with crimein the Bahamas and how we can mitigate itsmalign effects on visitors, our citizens, and byextension protect our “golden goose”. It shouldbe readily apparent that the Bahamas touristrelated crime rate would mirror that of other pop-ular tourist destinations. So, there is nothing sin-ister here; we just happen to have the same crimeproblems as Jamaica and Mexico and, traveladvisories are historically issued around the USSpring Break period which is taking place now.Then, perhaps under the influence of multiple

microphones and television lights the Ministerdoubled down and made this utterance.“The Ministry of National Security is looking

to see exactly how many foreign visitors experi-enced some sort of crime activity or crime inci-dent. We feel that it is negligible, so we are goingto push back a little bit. We are now dialoguingwith the US Embassy and we are going to pushback,” he said.We think that even though there may be areas,

pockets of crime; really the effect on foreign vis-itors to a country is so negligible that it doesn’twarrant the very strong language that they saidin that crime advisory. So, conversations willcontinue.”Some thoughts here. We are complaining that

tourists are assaulted but the numbers are negli-gible; what is the basis for this assertion? Iwould have thought that dialogue with theEmbassy would have been the first optionpreferably before making statements to themedia. But, that’s just me, my logical mind and

sense of process. This sense of process leads meto my next statement. Shouldn’t Bahamiandiplomats who are versed in these matters beenallowed to discuss the US security concerns withtheir counterparts?

Putting these aside lets drill down on otherparts of the Ministers statements. Bahamiansknow and by extension visitors to our shores areaware that sexual assaults and robberies are ofenormous and ongoing concern for US authori-ties. Recent reporting in the Nassau Guardian ofDecember 20,2018 revealed that there were 55rapes as at 18 December 2018, an increase of12%. We know from international research thatsexual assaults and rapes are underreported byvictims. There are possibly hundreds of victimsin our society and beyond who have not reportedcrime especially sexual assaults. Victims whourgently require our support and help and who ifuntreated may fall into despondency, shame,lack of self-esteem, depression and who mayself-harm. These victims most likely include cit-izens of foreign countries as well given the mil-lions of tourists who visit the Bahamas eachyear.

These statistics align with those of theWomen’s Crisis Centre which on Thursday 28thFebruary 2019 stated: “The Bahamas has an“epidemic” of sexual violence, according toDirector Sandra Dean-Patterson who made theremark as the organisation plans to launch acampaign, #SilentNoMore, to destigmatise sexu-al abuse and encourage victims to share their sto-ries”.

The reality is that unless a crime is reportedto and recorded by police there was statisticallyno crime committed. Indeed, police crime statis-tics are so suspect that many countries conductindependent crime surveys to confirm or refutethem. The most notable is the British CrimeSurvey. We have no way of knowing what vic-tims of crime in the Bahamas report when theyreturn home. But their families and friends andUS authorities do. As former US Secretary ofDéfense Donald Rumsfeld once said, “We Don’tKnow What We Don’t Know”. It is however cer-tain, that many of these are reported to consularofficials located in the country in which their cit-izens were victimized; so, we must be carefulwith our words.

In the event, stating that the impact of crimeon visitors is negligible is a hope not groundedon facts. Nothing positive will come from engag-ing in a public war of words with the US eachtime a travel advisory is issued. There is just toomuch that we don’t know but, foreign lawenforcement might. As an example, how do localhotels deal with crime reports especially allega-tions of sexual assault? Do they as a matter ofbusiness practice offer to refund the guests vaca-tion expenses and, do they treat the report withthe concern and compassion it deserves? Howmany victims of crime have left the Bahamasafter making a report to private security; returnhome thinking that it would be forwarded topolice and never hear from it again? How manyproperties, seeking to protect their brand giveguests reports on crime short shrift? These aresome of the matters unknown to local authoritieswhich may be driving the increasingly stridenttravel advisories from the US and Canada.Travel advisories will continue to be the bane

of our existence until we correct the problem.Officials must accept that there are unacceptablelevels of crime in the Bahamas whose many vic-tims includes tourists; there is no getting aroundthis fact. The United States have a solemn andmoral obligation to ensure the health and safetyof their citizens at home and abroad; just as wehave one to ours. So, why pillory them if theytake their obligations more seriously than we do?What we are seeing being played out here in realtime is driven by a fundamental misunderstand-ing of the United States and its people. ManyBahamians, including this writer attended uni-versity in the US. Alas, some did not learn muchoutside of the contours of their courses. They areinformed by reality shows and the like which,are entertainment although part of American cul-ture but, not really grounded in reality. I submitthat it is not until you are associated and trainwith American icons like, Col. Jeff Cooper, DrRichard Kobetz, G. Gordon Liddy, etc; spendweeks in their presence, engage in conversa-tions, share MRE, s and hardship with othertrainees in the field, that you truly begin tounderstand American culture. Consequently,Bahamians misunderstand and therefore under-estimate just how tenacious Americans are.Unlike British Caribbean colonies, which got so-called freedom for the asking, Americans foughtfor their rights and freedoms. If they feel thattheir rights have been abridged or that their citi-zens are being victimized, the US will react andstrongly. They are relentless; they will not stopuntil satisfaction is obtained and mattersresolved. So, if we believe that bluster, ill-con-sidered remarks and voluntarium ignorantiamwill dissuade the US State Department fromissuing travel advisories on the Bahamas, we arewasting our time.

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