President of the Senate, the Hon. Katherine Forbes-Smith, urged residents of West Grand Bahama to unite for a Bahamas that is better for future generations.

During the 45th Anniversary of Bahamas Independence Celebrations Prayer Breakfast and Flag Raising Ceremony at the Administrator’s Office in Jones Town, Eight Mile Rock, on Monday, the Senator reflected on the struggles, marches and boycotts the nation’s heroes participated in so as to ensure a better country for all.

She said, “I believe all of these events and many others caused us in 1969 to get the second Constitution extending internal self-government. In December 1972 a Bahamian delegation of Government and Opposition members negotiated with the British Government the Constitution which, on July 10th 1973, gave full independence to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

“In a speech written by Sir Arthur Foulkes he listed the important events to remember after the Burma Road riot: the formation of the Citizens Committee in 1950 which reversed the ban on the showing of Sidney Poitier’s film, ‘No Way Out’; the formation of the first national political party, the Progressive Liberal Party, in 1953; the election of the first organized political party, the PLP, to the House of Assembly in 1956 with Sir Lynden Pindling as Leader; Sir Etienne Dupuch’s anti-discrimination resolution in the House of Assembly in 1956 which was the catalyst for dismantling racial segregation in public places; the General Strike of 1958 led by Sir Clifford Darling and Sir Randol Fawkes; women voting for the first time in 1962 following a suffrage campaign led by Mary Ingraham, Eugenia Lockhart, Georgiana Symonette and Dr. Doris Johnson; Black Tuesday, April 27th 1965, when Sir Lynden, Leader of the Opposition, threw the Speaker’s mace out of the window to protest the way constituency boundaries were drawn; a boycott of the House by the PLP in that same year; and the presentation of a Petition to the United Nations Committee on De-colonization in New York by a delegation of eight led by Sir Lynden.

“I mentioned these events, because, I believe as a people we all want the same things no matter what our political affiliation may be, we want the best for The Bahamas.”

It is as a result of the actions of past generations that we and future generations enjoy the freedoms of today, said the West Grand Bahama native.

Quoting the Prime Minister, Dr. the Hon. Hubert Minnis, who has repeatedly said he is not governing for the next election, but for the future of the country, the Senator added that this is something all Bahamians should be working towards.

Continuing, she said, “Sir Lynden in an address during the Anglican Diocese Youth Conference in 1990 said, ‘Freedom does have a price. It is not free. Freedom means responsibility, a responsibility to properly look after our families and ourselves; and citizenship demands more than simply paying taxes and voting for one’s leader. In addition, each of us has a sacred duty to love and protect this blessed land God has given to us, to build it up and make it better for future generations. All of us have a stake in being ‘Bahamian’.”

By Robyn Adderley