"The first duty of any government is to protect its citizens from harm, at home and abroad - no matter who they are, or where they are."
- Graham Peebles

In the wake of successive shootings of African-American males by police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota, and the resulting civil unrest following those incidents, The Bahamas Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration issued a travel advisory on July 7, 2016 for Bahamians traveling to the United States. In the wake of the advisory, many persons have vociferously voiced their disdain for the ministry issuing such an advisory.
This week we would like to Consider this... Did the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration overreact by issuing this advisory?

What did the advisory say?
Let's begin by reprinting verbatim what The Bahamas Ministry of Foreign Affairs advisory said.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has taken a note of the recent tensions in some American cities over shootings of young black males by policemen.
"We wish to advise all Bahamians traveling to the U.S. but especially to the affected cities to exercise appropriate caution generally. In particular, young males are asked to exercise extreme caution in affected cities in their interactions with the police. Do not be confrontational and cooperate.
"If there is any issue please allow consular offices for The Bahamas to deal with the issues. Do not get involved in political or other demonstrations under any circumstances and avoid crowds.
"The Bahamas has consular offices in Miami, New York, Washington, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago and Houston.
"Their addresses are on the Foreign Ministry's website at www.mofa.gov.bs.
"At the commencement of the independence holiday weekend, many Bahamians will no doubt use the opportunity to travel, in particular to destinations in the United States. While it is prudent for travelers to conduct themselves in an orderly manner at all times, in light of recent episodes of involving police officers and young black men in the United States, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration wishes to advise the Bahamian public to exercise due care and attention especially when traveling to particular cities in the United States.
"Pay attention to the public notices and news announcements in the city that you are visiting.
"Be safe, enjoy the holiday weekend and be sensible."

What was the reaction here?
Hubert Chipman, the FNM member of Parliament for St. Anne's and shadow minister of foreign affairs, on behalf of the Official Opposition, was one of the first politicians to publicly respond to the advisory. He supported the minister's advisory, observing that, "If Mitchell is wrong, I would be the first one to jump all over him. I don't see where he did anything wrong in this instance. I cannot see why people are making a big deal of this."
Brent Symonette, former FNM member of Parliament and deputy prime minister responded to the advisory by characterizing it as "a bad idea". He stated, "In my personal opinion, no, it wasn't a good idea. I don't think we need to get into this kind of statement."
Several op-ed contributions cautioned about the inadvisability of the advisory. The Guardian editorial on July 14, 2016 opined that "as a small country, it is better to think strategically before we engage our major partner. We depend on the U. S. for security and trade. That release by Fred Mitchell and his ministry was unnecessary".
A fellow columnist in that same newspaper suggested that our foreign minister went off "half-cocked" and characterized the advisory as "an asinine travel statement".

We were not alone
It is interesting to note that two Middle East countries issued warnings to their citizens traveling in the United States to be careful around protests over police shootings.
A "special alert" issued by the United Arab Emirates Embassy to Washington on Saturday, July 9, 2016 urged its citizens to stay away from demonstrations in U.S. cities. State news agency WAM said the warning followed a protest by supporters of the Black Lives Matter Movement in Washington on Friday.
In addition, the island Kingdom of Bahrain issued its own advisory on Twitter, telling nationals to be "cautious of protests or crowded areas".
It should also be noted that the U.S. State Department routinely issues travel advisories for Americans traveling abroad. On Tuesday past, the State Department issued an advisory to Americans traveling to The Bahamas. Several weeks earlier, Canada issued a similar advisory to its citizens traveling to The Bahamas. Both the United States and Canadian advisories were issued as a result of the increase of crime in The Bahamas.

Did the minister overreact?
So the important question is: Did our foreign minister overreact in this instance? We do not believe that he did.
In the first case, the timing of the advisory was important. It was issued to Bahamians who would likely be traveling to the United States over the long independence weekend and to Bahamians residing in or traveling to the United States who may be planning their summer holidays.
Secondly, the advisory was issued in response to the recent tension that was heightened by the shootings of young black males by policemen. Thirdly, it cautioned Bahamians "to exercise extreme caution in affected cities in their interactions with the police" and to refrain from confrontational exchanges with law enforcement authorities and to be cooperative.
Fourth, the advisory encouraged Bahamians, if they are involved with the authorities in any unsavory exchanges, to contact Bahamian consular offices to deal with the issues.
Fifth, the advisory cautioned Bahamians not to get involved in political or other demonstrations under any circumstances and to avoid crowds.
Finally, the advisory encouraged Bahamians to "pay attention to public notices and new announcements" in cities that Bahamians were visiting.
We see absolutely nothing wrong with these exhortations. In fact, had the ministry not issued the advisory, and an adverse confrontation erupted, the ministry could have exposed itself to charges of being derelict in its responsibility to advise Bahamians of the appropriate behavior in precarious and perilous circumstances.

Government's primary responsibility
It is important to remember that the first responsibility of any government is to protect its citizens from harm, both at home and abroad. That was arguably the motivation behind the advisories issued to citizens of both the United Arab Emirates Embassy to Washington and the Kingdom of Bahrain.
That is precisely the same motivation of the U. S. State Department and the Canadian government regarding the advisories that those countries regularly issue to their citizens who travel abroad.
The Bahamas government has no less an important responsibility to caution its citizens who travel abroad. To abdicate that responsibility is tantamount to a dereliction of its primary duty to its citizens, for which it could be roundly and justifiably criticized.

Conclusion
So, while we agree that in formulating our foreign policy we should think strategically before we engage our major partners, even those upon whom we depend for trade and security, we should equally appreciate that it is in our national interest to take every step, first and foremost, to protect our citizens from harm, both at home and abroad - no matter who they are, or where they are.

o Philip C. Galanis is the managing partner of HLB Galanis and Co., Chartered Accountants, Forensic & Litigation Support Services. He served 15 years in Parliament. Please send your comments to pgalanis@gmail.com.

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