Fred Mitchell blessed as he seeks another five year term

Wed, Aug 31st 2016, 09:54 AM


With nothing left but standing room at Church of God Faith Mission in Fox Hill, MP Fred Mitchell received a blessing from community Pastors in his quest for a new mandate in Fox Hill for five more years.

Reverend Gentlemen and ladies

Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister.

Other colleagues and friends. Ladies and gentlemen.

We have come this evening to this humble village church to say thanks to God for five years having gone by and to see a fresh mandate for yet another five years. I welcome you all here. I say we have come a mighty long way. I love the words of that people attribute to the anonymous old Negro preacher in the United States: Lord I ain't what I ought to be but thank God I ain't what I was.

When the great French statesman and former President of France Charles De Gaulle died in 1970, I was just a freshman in college, barely 17 years old. I remember that he had given instructions that his funeral was to be held in his small country church and he wanted no dignitaries to attend. Those ordinary people who could fit in the church would fit and those who couldn't would; those who couldn't had to stand without.

I start there this evening because as a minimalist and a man who believes in the supremacy of regularity and the importance of tradition, we are doing something tonight which we have done every five years starting from the year 2001 and then in 2006 and now today in 2016. We are seeking the blessings for the work done and for the work to be done.

It was the late Rev. Austin Saunders, the founder of this church, who then dressed in battle fatigues began this journey 15 years ago. He is laid to rest just outside the front door. We remember him this evening and we thank his daughter and successor now these 11 years for allowing us to continue the tradition.

I wish to thank my branch and its Chair Charlene Marshal and her entire team for all that they have done to make this programme a success this evening.

Prime Minister, I was standing on the basketball court a few days ago and I asked a youngster who is tall and a good basketball player if he plays for his school team. He replied no. I asked him why since his coach is looking for ball players. His reply: "Ine like he coachin". I asked him three times because I could not understand what he was saying. It was like he was speaking a foreign language. Translated into English it means: I do not like his coaching.

A few days ago through the magic of the Facebook live, I watched 6 late adolescent young men, all basketball players in the making as they talked amongst themselves in the bedroom of one of them for thirty five minutes. Incredible experience. The language, the trash talking, consumed with women and what they could or could not do with them, you know the drill. And I hesitate because I don't want to seem prudish because that's what young men do but what struck me about the 35 minutes into their world was that they had not one word to say about their futures.

In a short time from now, we hand off the country whether we like or not to them.

A generation estranged it appears from Standard English, social etiquette, and although all of them want to be Buddy Hield, it appears they are unwilling to absorb the lessons of Buddy Hield. He stayed in school and learned his lessons, speaks regular English although I'm sure he can speak the vernacular and he is well mannered and says all the right things.

We have a job in front of us. Our teachers have great challenges, in dealing with many kids who just don't get it. There are many who do get it. One such person is Dr. Deangelo Ferguson who in 2008 from the Doris Johnson School went on to get the highest number of BGCSEs for that year. He is now a doctor at the Princess Margaret Hospital. It is clear it can be done.

For me as the Minister of Foreign Affairs what I described is not just a moment of idle social commentary but a practical problem. The United States Embassy which issues visas or denies visas to these youngsters, reports that those who are applying for visas to go to high schools in the United States are rejected almost 50 per cent of the time.

The students, the parents and the coaches complain to us at the Foreign Ministry about the rejections.

Amongst the reasons that they give for the rejections: that the schools are not acceptable and have bad records; that the schools often change the terms and conditions they say to youngsters to entice them to come to the US. However, another major reason, is the inability of the applicants to articulate why they are before a visa officer.

The students' parents and coaches are not allowed into the room for the interviews. The students have to explain why they are going; the purpose of the trip to the US; that they intend to study and that they intend to play while studying, not study while playing. In other words if you are asking for a student visa, they say the student must make out the case that they are going primarily for their education.

So that is why I told that story tonight. If that young man that spoke to me on the court presented himself in the same way, with same lack of decorum and inability to express himself in Standard English, imagine the response some young American Consular officer. If I couldn't make out what he was saying, imagine them.

We have a lot of talent in this country. The boys clearly like sports. They are engaged in it but their intellectual growth and development, their social training and manners are important if they are to take that next step into the wider world of the United States.

I should also say however that if there are specific complaints which youngsters or their parents have about the treatment they received when applying for a US visa then we are happy to seek to have the case brought to the attention of US authorities. We have found them to be cooperative in their dealings on these matters.

So this campaign in Fox Hill this time Prime Minister, will be working on this social theme. How to get the youngsters to understand the need to engage in school, in learning Standard English and in learning their social graces. It's not going to be easy because in the hyper sexualized world in which they live which ties masculinity in an inverse relationship to intellectual acuity, there is a huge barrier to overcome.

You see it in all of our institutions where for example the need for academic qualifications for entry into the job market has led to females outnumbering males two to one if not more. Nevertheless, we must continue to try. Dr Bernard Nottage told me once, we cannot simply throw our hands up in the air and say that's the way it is.

This effort toward social engagement will mean the finishing of the community centre which you announced on Fox Day; for me starting a community garden to promote food security and agriculture; supporting the basketball team and the three schools in their area generally. Urban Renewal Fox Hill will play an integral role in this and I thank Inspector Josey for all that he is doing in that regard.

I plan to help to produce a version of West Side Story and seek to use it as fundraiser but also an example of how parents, teachers and children and the community at large can build around an important project. It is also an example of the dead end of gangs and social misunderstandings.

I do not have the ability to change the masses but if there is one youngster that we can rescue then we have done well.

I thank you for this opportunity once again to have served. Ladies and gentlemen. I wish to serve once more. I believe in the people of Fox Hill.

I now call upon the Prime Minister to address us.

Source: OnBahamas

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