Dear Editor,
I would like to respond to a letter that was published in The Nassau Guardian on December 22. The letter, which was under the heading 'Bad Comparison', was written by one Errington W. I. Watkins. His letter was a response to a letter that I had written on Troy Garvey and his bid to win Marco City as an independent candidate. My letter on Garvey was published in The Nassau Guardian on December 20. Watkins took me to task for comparing Garvey to former Jamaican Prime Minister and founder of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Alexander Bustamante. Bustamante was also the founder of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU).
He was a close relative of Nor- man Manley, the second prime minister of Jamaica. Manley's second son, Michael, became the fourth prime minister of Jamaica. Watkins found it amusing that I would put Garvey on the same pedestal with the late Bustamante. Quite frankly, I don't know why this is so. After all, Bustamante, despite all that he had accomplished in his lengthy career, was only mortal. Remember, Bustamante was arrested for manslaughter at the Mental Hospital in Kingston in 1946, or thereabouts. He was acquitted. But this event shows that he was only a man with flaws like the rest of us. Even after this unfortunate incident, Bustamante was still hailed as a hero by the masses. In fact today he is considered to be one of Jamaica's national heroes.
Further, I only said that Garvey reminded me of Bustamante in so many ways because of his fight for the poor and disadvantaged in Grand Bahama. Like Bustamante who fought for his people in Jamaica, Garvey has defended many Grand Bahamians who have been wronged by individuals in high places. That is all I meant by that statement. So, what's the big issue? Perhaps I should have said that differently.
What I find surprising, though, is what Watkins said in his letter about Garvey. He wrote that he has never heard of the Grand Bahama community activist. I find this absolutely amazing. Garvey has often been mentioned in The Freeport News, The Tribune and The Nassau Guardian. Garvey has also been interviewed on ZNS TV News and the Ortland Bodie radio talk show.
Also, I am not disputing the fact that the Andre Birbal case was investigated by police and prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office. When Birbal was accused of molesting two male students of Eight Mile Rock High School, he fled the country for the U.S. It was the community activist and former PTA president of the Eight Mile Rock High School, Troy Garvey, who worked tirelessly to keep that case in the spotlight. In fact, the government had even formed a committee to investigate claims of sexual abuse at the Grand Bahama school, thanks to persons like Garvey. This particular story was a hot button subject throughout the entire country for months.
That Watkins would say that he has never heard Garvey's name being mentioned in relation to this case tells me that he was either out of the country at the time, or that he wasn't reading the newspapers. The Birbal case had put Garvey in the national spotlight. Furthermore, the issue with the Grand Bahama Power Company (GBPC) doesn't only concern Garvey. The community activist isn't the only one who has a gripe with the power company.
Thousands of Grand Bahamians are concerned about the power company's pricing policies. This particular story with Garvey and the power company has also re- ceived extensive media coverage throughout the nation. Despite what Watkins said in his letter, many Grand Bahamians, including Garvey, consider the power company issue to be a big deal.
In regards to where I got my information from concerning Bustamante, I have studied Dr. Theodore Sealy's Caribbean Leaders. Dr Sealy worked at The Gleaner for nearly half a century. He also personally knew many Caribbean leaders, including Bustamante and Manley. And as editor-in-chief of the leading daily in Jamaica for many years, it is only reasonable to believe that he had dialogued with the two Jamaican leaders on many occasions.
Moreover, I think that it is fair to say that Dr. Sealy knew Bustamante better than Watkins, with all due respect. With respect to my getting in- formation from newspaper records, I get a lot of my information from The Freeport News, The Tribune and The Nassau Guardian. The reporters who work at these newspapers are very professional and their articles are well researched. I make no apologies for relying on The Nassau Guardian, The Tribune and The Freeport News for accurate information.
Finally, concerning Watkins' statement that the Rastafarian movement was founded by Marcus Garvey, this is incorrect. Garvey founded the Unit- ed Negro Improvement Associ- ation (UNIA). I read a biogra- phy of Garvey's life by E. David Cronon titled Black Moses.
The book says absolutely nothing about Garvey forming the Rastafarian sect. In fact, it was Leonard Percival Howell (1893-1981), Joseph Hibbert, Archibald Dunkley and Robert Hinds who founded Rastafarianism, according to historians Leonard Barrett, Helene Lee and Barry Chevannes.
In closing, the gist of my letter was that as an independent candidate, Garvey's chances of winning Marco City are nil. It was not my intention to stir up a hornet's nest by comparing him to Bustamante.
- Kevin Evans
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