Khrisna Virgil reviews the big stories that had the Bahamas talking this week.

 

Castrol Quote of the day: November 28, 2015 "Did you know that  by simply keeping your car battery terminals and cables clean, you can extend the life of your, battery?"

Castrol Quote of the day: November 28, 2015

"Did you know that by simply keeping

your car battery

terminals and cables

clean, you can extend

the life of your, battery?"

Tip brought to you by Bay Street Garage. Visit our listing page on BahamasLocal.com.

More than 100 Haitian immigrants were apprehended yesterday morning in South Eleuthera, Superintendent Chris Wright reported. Wright said the immigrants - 26 women and 89 men - were sighted by a fisherman.

"We located them in the back of Bannerman Town," Wright said. "A local fisherman sighted the vessel and called the police. We were assisted by several fisherman from that area.  We boarded the boat and towed it in. They were transported to Governor's Harbour."

He said the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) will pick the Haitians up and transport them to New Providence where they will be handed over to immigration officials for processing and deportation. Wright thanked the local community for assisting in the apprehension. He said Eleuthera is a popular landing spot for immigrants.

"This is the sixth one for the year," he said. "Well get regular patrols but what we experience during times like this is when we have a lot of inclement weather they (the immigrants) think this is their best chance to come in undetected when perhaps our boats can not get out there. They put themselves in more danger when the weather is extremely bad."

The latest apprehension came a day after Minister of Immigration and Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell revealed that around 4,000 immigrants have been repatriated so far this year. Mitchell said the illegal migration issue has, in some cases, "surpassed the drug trade as a legal and security problem".

"Last year, we repatriated nearly 5,000 migrants to their home countries, So far this year, the number is close to 4,000. Most of them are from Haiti," Mitchell said as he addressed the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta.

As he highlighted the country's immigration problems, Mitchell noted that The Bahamas is a "receiving country" for irregular immigrants. He said the problem has grown over the years." He added that the problem threatens to destabilize the country.

"The issue of unlawful migration has now in some cases surpassed the drug trade as a legal and security problem," Mitchell said. "Tied up with the smuggling of people, is the smuggling of drugs and trafficking in persons."

Dear Editor,

The human race has been plagued with a contentious issue since time immemorial - racism and race relations. The popular definition surrounding this topic is inclusive of how black people and white people relate to each other. But racism includes every race of people in the world; and there are quite a few of them. I believe that no one really knows with any degree of certainty how many races of people there really are. But, I am sure that the relationships between some of them are, no doubt, combative.

In The Bahamas, as I perceive it, racial tension has been predominantly relegated to politics. The governing Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) has been, and still is, perceived as a party sympathetic to the plight of the "black man". And the opposing Free National Movement (FNM) has been (and still is) perceived as a party sympathetic to the plight of the "white man".

If the members and supporters of both parties were honest with themselves, they would find some truth in those perceptions. However, it has been demonstrated, concerning humans, that our differences tend to fade or are considered less significant when we find ourselves embroiled in some kind of major disaster or are confronted with a common enemy.

For example, would you allow me to characterize the complexion of The Bahamas' political situation?  The common "enemy" of the large part of the white community is the PLP - the whole kit and caboodle. Their reputation for vilifying the entire white race in the past has contributed considerably to the "white" vote being steered toward the FNM. And, in my humble opinion, that vote has been taken for granted.

White monolithic voting patterns in The Bahamas are almost, I guess, a given. It is very similar to black voting patterns in America; that too is almost a given. But the situation is so precarious for whites in The Bahamas because all that needs to happen for them to be marginalized is for the leadership of the FNM to say one derogatory remark about white people in general.

White people would feel slighted. What would happen, then, would be for the black members and supporters of the FNM to condone what was said to complete the process. If such a scenario were to be played out, whites would then be presented with a lose-lose situation. 

They would not choose to vote for the PLP - too much negative history. And they would not choose the FNM - branded as racists also. And so their marginalization would effectively cause two divergent paths: 1. Whites would choose to not participate in the electoral process in The Bahamas; and 2. The political philosophical disposition of a monolithic white population would be divided, almost equally between support of the PLP and support of the FNM.

I personally would like to see the latter manifested. It is only then that whites and blacks, on each side of the political divide in The Bahamas would work in harmony to defeat the "enemy" - whether the PLP or The FNM.

Thank you for your valuable time, and space in your newspaper.

- Marvin G. Lightbourn