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Stephen G. CobbMay, 1993
copyright
NEVER TRUST A HUNGRY DOG WITH A BONEBahamian Political/Social
Critique Through Folktales and Stories
There is great need for social/political/cultural history
andreflection from the Bahamian, especially the African
Bahamianperspective. In particular, there is extremely little
materialrelative to the Bahamian "family" or "out" islands. For
example,in search of a contemporary book dealing with Eleuthera and
HarbourIsland, the one most recommended and most available was
EverildYoung, Eleuthera: The Island Called Freedom. This book was
readilyavailable in stores operated by African Bahamians as well
asothers, so one might reach the conclusion that it represented
theirperceptions of their experiences.
Upon reading Young's book, however, it becomes quite clearthat
it is not written from an African Bahamian perspective butrather
from a white British "Colonial" perspective, to use aclassification
discussed lucidly by Timothy McCartney, a Bahamianpsychologist. He
writes that in the Bahamas, there are distinctdifferences in
perspective, values, and status between "Colonials,""Conchy Joes,"
"High Yellows," "Exotic Browns," and "Blacks."Young's book reflects
the stereotyped perspectives and values ofthe "Colonial."
While one could say this in itself is not unimportant, sinceit
gives insights into the "Colonial" culture and lenses throughwhich
African Bahamians were viewed, it is also an example ofculture
boundedness. The reader receives a culturally biasedperspective of
African Bahamians. What is lacking is how AfricanBahamians view
themselves and their experiences.
The purpose of this paper is not to lambast nor debunk Young,but
to illpotrate the need for African Bahamian materials and totake a
modest step in that direction. It would be best if we couldfirst
start with the indigenous Bahamian perspective. However,
theLucayans, an Arawak population who occupied the Bahamas when
theEuropeans arrived in their colonialistic drive for wealth
andempire, were quickly decimated through disease, torture, and
slavelabor.
The paper will briefly discuss a few of the stereotypes
andmisperceptions in Young's book, and then move to the focus of
thisconference, "Caribbean Public Policy: Preparing for a
ChangingWorld." I hope the paper, in the spirit of the conference,
will behelpful to policymakers. The stories, tales, parables, and
otherreflections are from older African Bahamians from Eleuthera
andHarbour Island. They speak for themselves, offering a
correctiveto Young but also interesting, insightful, colorful
perceptions and
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critiques of social/political/economic dynamics, past and
present.One can see the dialectical relationship between stories,
family,community, and the larger political/social context.
Concerning the research methodology, it was
basicallyethnographic and ethnomethodological, designed to produce
adescriptive work. Using participant observation and interviews,
Isought the "definitions of the situation" of various
AfricanBahamians, the lenses through which they view their world
and makesense of their experiences. Too often individuals' modes of
makingsense of their world are minimized or lost by overemphasis on
howtheir responses and behaviors may or may not confirm or
disprovesome preconceived analytic model. This paper, therefore,
simplypresents how some African Bahamians have ordered their
experiences,in the tradition of W. I. Thomas's well known principle
that ifpeople define situations as real, they are real in terms of
theirconsequences.
As suggested earlier, Everild Young's book, Eleuthera: The
Island Called Freedom, manifests many stereotypes and other formsof
culture-boundedness, primarily from the "Colonial" perspective,many
of which continue to persist in the general public today. InTimothy
McCartney's discussion of population classifications,COLONIALS are
composed of British Colonial Administrators (at thetop of the
socio-economic ladder) who kept to themselves whileleading the high
class lifestyle and snubbing the "local whites;"as well as the
"local whites" who were descendants of foreignwhites, including
descendants of pirates, buccaneers, andLoyalists. The basic
distinction is that "local whites" were bornin the Bahamas.
(Whittier, p.63) Local-born whites were sensitiveabout their
heritage and tried to maintain the "purity" of the raceby setting
up rigid social-racial barriers. They and the Britishadministrators
were the merchants and businessmen, members of theruling class. The
COLONIAL lens appears to dominate Young'sperception of Bahamian
culture.
CONCHY JOE refers to local whites or the fairest type of
near-Caucasian featured mixed Bahamians (black-white), who identify
morewith the white cultural lifestyle and reject anything
suggesting"black," who think, act, and live "white." (Whittier,
p.62)
HIGH YELLOW is sometimes classified as "red" or Conchy Joe,but
is more "colored." They are the direct result of mixedmarriages or
sexual intercourse between black and white. They areproud to
acknowledge their white ancestry. (Whittier, p.63)
EXOTIC BROWNS are not too whitish and not too black. They
arevery middle class. "The 'browns' never looked at themselves
asNegro, African or black - just 'colored' - damn exotic!"
(Whittier,p.64)
BLACKS referred to descendants of African slaves and
otherimported blacks. (Whittier, p.64)
A contemporary resident of Harbour Island would seem toconfirm
as well as explain "colonially slanted" writing such asYoung's. He
also believes Harbour Island is a good place to studybecause it is
a microcosm of Bahamian society.
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The indigenous Caucasians are very separatist here andthey
refuse to integrate themselves into the community.They never
participate in any of the national events,such as Independence,
which belongs to everybody. Theycame from the
Loyalists...Caucasians here are very tightknit, and they don't get
into community activitieswhatsoever...The island could have a
chance to becomehomogenous if they would allow their kids to
sociallyinteract, but they don't, or very little. (doc.2,
p.1,2)
After discussing traditional prejudices toward Catholics
andblacks, he says "The upper class still have that old
plantationmentality." (doc.2, p.5) His wife referred to the
"hoity-toityfamilies" coming from this group. It would appear that
Young'sbook reflects this spectrum of Bahamian society rather
heavily. Infact, a young woman in Gregory Town, Eleuthera suggested
that Youngdid place herself on a higher level and looked down on
Bahamianculture.
While describing Bahamian culture through British
coloniallenses, Young created and reinforced many stereotypes
which,through African Bahamian lenses, are simply wrong. For
example,throughout the book, Young mentions several vestiges of the
slavementality which she claims are present in today's population
due tobiological determinism:
There are strong traces, too, of the left-over slavementality.
It can be noticed in the fecklessness thatis innate in many of the
Eleuthera folk. A slave was notexpected to do anything beyond what
he was told toundertake, there was no place for initiative in his
make-up, and consequently his descendants have no desire tothink
for themselves, or develop any individual skill inany direction.
Until recent years, there was no ambition to cope with anything
more than the barest self-preservation, and in any case, conditions
on the islanddid not encourage ambitions of any kind (pp.
89-90;emphasis added).
The notion of the "white man's burden" helps explain elitismas
well. In fact, elitism is the essence of the white man's burdento
bring "civilization," "progress," and "development"
to"uncivilized," "backwards," and "undeveloped" cultures.
BecauseAfrican Bahamians did not tend to accumulate a lot of
materialpossessions nor in other ways fit the colonial model,
Youngconcluded that they suffered from slave mentality:
It is very noticeable that in places where there was
onceslavery, a type of mentality persists long afterwardsthat is a
direct legacy of that unhappy state of affairs.When a race is
denied the privilege of thinking foritself its mental capabilities
slow down, and life islived from day to day without foresight for
the morrow
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(p.128).
A 74 year old African Bahamian from Eleuthera shared with mehis
worries about "the morrow" which contradicts Young'sassumptions.
When explaining the presence of the partially builthouses quite
common in Eleuthera, he told me about the custom ofyoung men
"building a nest before laying eggs." Rather than tryingto save
money to build a home after the expenses of supporting afamily had
begun, young men ideally prepared in advance so thatwhen the eggs
began "hatching," they had a place to live. Helaments, however,
that today's younger generation often lets "nestbuilding" give way
to the immediacy of buying a car or otherpleasures. Thus, when a
young man of the 1990's finds himself witha planned or unplanned
family, he sometimes ends up going fromhouse to house as if he were
"being blown by the wind." AnotherEleutheran elder pointed out that
a family in this situation willprobably never have a house because
the needs of the family (food,diapers,etc.) will use up all the
available money.
Part of the Bahamian approach to time criticized by Young isa
manifestation of the fact that history, values, and many
otheraspects of culture (socialization) traditionally are
transmittedfrom generation to generation through stories, tales,
parables, andother forms of oral traditions. In a culture
practicing such oraltraditions, an important use of time is
conversations betweenchildren, young adults, parents, and their
grandparents (or otherelders). Often, to the outsider such as
Young, people sitting ontheir porches talking may be perceived as
doing nothing but"wasting valuable time," when in reality the
"loafers" are keepingtheir culture alive. Ironically, many of us
caught in the rush of"developed" societies long for such family
time! However, manyEleutheran cultural traditions are in jeopardy.
One Gregory Townelder laments that he has many stories about
Gregory Town's past hewould like to share with the young, but
thanks to "progress," thenewest generation seems more interested in
T.V. and cars than intheir cultural roots.
A few years ago, the Bahamian Ministry of Tourism created
theGregory Town Pineapple Festival to attract tourists to
Eleuthera.Operatively, it appears the festival serves as a
homecoming fornative Gregory Town residents and relatives living in
Nassau andother family islands; provides a chance to display local
cooking,musical, athletic, art and craft skills; and gives a boost
to thelocal economy. All ages are present, a most interesting
age-groupbeing teenagers "gussied up" to "scope" each other out.
TheFestival serves many of the same social functions as a U.S.
countyor state fair. Many family islanders feel it would be good if
thetourist industry would pick up. Others are not so sure, as
ittends to hasten the loss of traditional culture and
divertsattention from diversifying the economy.
The development of poultry farms and cattle ranches that
werejust becoming profitable when Young wrote her book have
withered ordied. Many of the older family islanders tell stories
analyzingthe reasons for such, most not too flattering to
government policy
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and behavior. It seems that when the Bahamas gained
itsindependence in 1973, both new government policies
andoverestimation of its ability to run the enterprises forced
foreigndevelopers/owners out. The enterprises failed, and the only
thingleft around Hatchet Bay and Gregory Town are rusted
equipment,deserted buildings, and empty, shrub-filled silos.
Many older Bahamians feel such "ineptness" has decimated
theEleutheran economy. Several non-Bahamians have explored
thepossibility of resurrecting the defunct enterprises or
beginningothers, but so far to no avail. There is also
considerabledisenchantment over government policies and marketing
of localproduce such as tomatoes, pineapples, and seafood. The
governmentbuys produce from the farmers and markets it. Many locals
feelfarmers are paid unfair prices for their produce which is
thenstored, some of which spoils through inept marketing and
otherwhich is sold profiting the government more than the
farmers.Stories of government corruption, ineptness, greed,
anddisattention to family island needs abound (doc.5,6). We
shallreturn to these contemporary concerns soon.
Because the enterprises discussed above were in full swing
asYoung wrote, her book is obviously outdated. She perceived
theEleutheran economy to have a good future, and she praised
thetransformation of "the wilderness of bush into spacious
pasturesfor beef cattle" (p. 167). Now that this "development"
liesdormant and the "wilderness" is littered by inactive tools
of"progress," Eleutherans feel a need to replace the lost source
ofincome. They differ as to whether tourism seems to be the
bestoption. Practically every resident of the island is in some
wayinvolved with tourism. Eleuthera has its share of clubs,
pubs,tourist housing, and airports (three). These establishments
employvarying numbers of Bahamians and Haitians in service jobs
such ascook, waitress, maid, and groundskeeper. In addition,
variousindividuals operate carry-outs, snack bars, gift shops,
andvegetable and straw markets out of their homes. Still others
runwater taxi services and carry baggage at the airports. Should
theBahamas be so dependent upon tourism? On several occasions
Youngrefers to Eleutherans in demeaning ways and describes
herfrustrations with the inconveniences of living on Eleuthera
as"novel and [having) its amusing side" (p.145).
We soon discovered that the chief thing that waslacking among
the local inhabitants was skill. It wasextraordinary how little
they could do with theirhands, but they would smile so disarmingly
at their owninadequacy that it was impossible to be annoyed
withthem for long (pp. 144-145).
(quote by Rosita Forbes): From a throng of gentlysmiling . . .
browns and blacks Mr. Hughes selected twowhose heads contained maps
of the countryside . . . Thelighter-skinned of our two henchmen,
whose colouringblended admirably with his faded khaki shirt and
broad
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brimmed felt [hat] . . .(p. 133).
The Eleutheran is a peaceable soul on the whole, andvisitors
remark on the friendly, easy-going atmospherewith which they are
greeted. In the remote settlementsan old-fashioned courtesy can
still be found that is mostimpressive. There is a desire to please
that usually farexceeds the performance of any request. As when it
comesto practical matters the Eleutheran is often
delightfullyvague. Promises almost grow on trees, but fulfillment
isquite another matter. An entire lack of any sense
ofresponsibility still remains as a remnant of the slavementality
and the hustler in business will be met withevasions and excuses
enough to drive him out of his mindunless he can slow down and
acquiesce to the island tempo(p.175).
Well, it would seem obvious that such perceptions of
AfricanBahamians are quite biased, culture bound, and simply
wrong.African Bahamians need to speak for themselves.
Critique and Commentary Through Stories and Tales
Now that we have discussed weaknesses of available materialssuch
as Young's, consider these reflections, these "making sense ofthe
world" by contemporary African Bahamians.
One Harbour Island resident several times referred to the
factthat "many of our people come from Nigeria" and other parts
ofAfrica, and stated well the need for history and
culturalreflection from the African Bahamian perspective.
When I was coming up...anything to do with the Africanculture
was considered very negative and downplayed.This is what I think
the Commonwealth of the Bahamas hasgot to do now. It has got to
examine some things; it hasgot to go back and incorporate into the
curriculum inschools what a village was like in Nigeria in 1400,
1600;what their socio-political structure was; what theircustoms
were; because their customs are right here today.(doc.2,p.8)
Part of their customs involve the telling of stories
and"parables," as older African Bahamians call them. These
parableswere used for teaching purposes, socialization, to transmit
andreinforce values and behavior the community felt important.
Theolder folk lament that many young people today are not
interestedin these parables, hence do not learn the important
values andbehaviors latent therein and therefore do not plan well
for life.This loss of traditional culture has taken its toll on the
Bahamianyoung, physically as well as intellectually and morally, an
older
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gentleman from Gregory Town suggests.
The generation of today, they so weak, if you lay a sodabiscuit
down flat, they can't straighten them up on theedge to bite it.
(doc.3)
As we sit talking on his front porch, he points to a birdlooking
for materials to build a nest. He said birds don't go outand have
their young first and then go try to build a nest. Theyfirst build
the nest, make necessary plans, and then have littleones. But many
young people today, they don't plan, they don'tbuild the nest
first. They try to have little ones first, withouta nest, and they
get in trouble. But they don't listen to us oldfolks. It's like the
saying:
Fowls don't find worms everywhere she scratch.
Now one time, when a fellah from Long Island...he toldhis
father, "I gonna get married." His father say, "Taketime, take
time...listen, you don't know thesituation...you better wait." The
son, sure he can geta job, say "no, I gonna get married." The
father say,"well, listen, I'm gonna tell you this, fowls don't
findworms everywhere she scratch. Sometimes she'll scratch,scratch,
scratch, and she don't find, so she gotta goanother place, and
scratch...she trying to scratch tomake ends meet." He meant that
everything may lookalright, but he might not be able to make a
living there.(doc.11,p.8)
Of course, the elder suggests, politicians should rememberthese
sayings too, such as:
Any time a cow drag a rope too long, he don't know whereyou
going to find him.
This parable is often used relative to political problems,such
as corruption or abuse of power by government that is allowedto
continue and fester rather than be dealt with when
firstdiscovered.
Now, if something going on here, you know, and you stopit right
away, finish. But you let it go one and on andon, then that's
trouble
These stories inevitably lead to political discussions. Anolder
man, Free National Movement (FNM) inclined, just before theAugust,
1993 elections, proceeded to criticize the rulingProgressive
Liberal Party (PLP) of Prime Minister Lynden Pindling.He spoke of
many years of corruption, missing monies, nepotism,patronage,
incompetence, mismanagement, and neglect of thefamily/out islands.
Harking back to the cattle, chicken, and other
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operations "going strong" before the PLP mismanaged them,
hesuggested the mismanagement and corruption continues in
otherforms, and particularly hurts the family islands. Politicians
inNassau keep talking about tourism, but on many family
islands,agriculture and fishing are bigger than tourism but
continue tosuffer from mismanagement or poor policy.
The government, they make it unprofitable anddiscouraging for
the farmers...Some of the farmers (onEleuthera for example) bring
the pineapples in May, andthe end of July they ain't got no money
yet...Thegovernment ain't sold the pineapples from May to June
toJuly now. The government trying tell you to go farm.You doing it,
then when it's time for you to get what youshould get, cuz now's
the time you need the money (to payfor fertilizer, weed and insect
spray, etc.), you don'tget it...some of them ain't got it from last
year...The(government) doing that so to keep the people
kneelingdown around them...He said there ain't no money there
topay. Civil service ain't even been paid... They wouldeventually
get it, I guess, before the election!(doc.12,p.31)
When asked how the people live, not being paid, he suggested,"I
guess that's why there's so much crime!...I heard on the radioone
time, one man was talking, and he say that Christmas is comingand
no money; a man's mind takes funny turns, you know."(doc.12,p.31)
He went on to add that though the government saysthere is no money
to pay the farmers and civil service workers,there are millions of
dollars unaccounted for. He said PrimeMinister Pindling was the
minister of finances, and that Mr.Ingraham (FNM candidate for Prime
Minister, elected in August,1993) raised the missing money issue
and "said he ain't gonna stopuntil he gets all who are involved,
connected with that...over$2,000,000." "Now they say there ain't no
money to pay the people,there ain't no money to do no jobs here.
You see me?"(doc.12,p.32)
An older Gregory Town gentleman criticized the various
PLPministers for extravagant spending and salaries inspite of
theBahamas' lack of resources.
And they ain't got no minerals, no ore, no copper andgold,
nothing like that. And that cut on the poorpeople. They'll keep
raising, raising taxes, taxes,taxes to get it to meet their price,
you see me?...
The poor man suffers...They pulling the feathers off mywings,
put on their wings, to make them fly higher.(doc.12,p.33)
Those who make their living from fishing are better off,but the
farmer, "...they let him go. He can die, you
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know, they don't care." (doc.l2,p.33)
A few potent parables are cited to reenforce the
politicalcritique of the then ruling PLP.
If you powerful, be merciful.
The government is a pack of gangsters, unmerciful. They ain'tgot
no mercy. There's power and mercy; those two should gotogether...If
you got power, be merciful, you know. (doc. 11,p. 21)
He compared this parable to the story of the lion and
themouse.
The mouse, the little creature, they run and run and thelion
laying down sleeping. He hear them, and shake hishead, and grab
them...They say, "spare my life, and someday I'll do a good turn
for you." Lion say he the kingof beasts, how can he need the help
of little, lousythings like them. No way, no way. They
pleadpitiful...He say go ahead, go ahead, I won't kill you.that's
how he had little mercy on the mice...
Later, the lion goes out, and gets caught in a trap. Themice
hear his roaring. The mice say, "I know that's myfriend, the lion."
They went running. Tears wererunning down his face...the mice cut
and cut, and get himout. You see now, you in trouble, you thought
youweren't gonna need us, but we saved your life, see?
So, if you got power, be merciful, be merciful. Andthat's the
way it is all through life. (doc.11,p.21)
This Gregory Town elder suggested that the PLP is powerful,and
better be merciful, because like the lion, the time will comewhen
they will need mercy. Perhaps now, with the election of theFNM and
the hearings regarding PLP abuse of power and finances,that time
has come.
There is another parable often used to address PLP corruptionand
mismanagement. The PLP has been in power for 25 years.However,
before that, the Bay Street Boys dominated Bahamianpolitics. Many
of the PLP politicians had no experience inpolitics, managing
money, making such important decisions.Therefore, when they came to
power, the PLP was like a hungry dog."You trust them with money,
they're going to take it, they're gonnaspend it. You see?"
(doc.11,p.43)
Never trust a hungry dog with a bone, he'll eat it!
When the PLP take over 25 years ago...there was
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$17,000,000 in the revenue...Now they say there's
nomoney...That's where the bone went. He eat the meat offthe bone,
then eat the bone too. (doc.12,p.37)
There are parables that suggest that politicians, like thosein
other professions, can lie, deceive, and corrupt for only solong
before they cause their own un-doing. One such parable is:
Can a man hide fire in his bosom and his clothes notburn?
Of course, all African Bahamians in the family islands are
notanti-PLP. There are those who recognize that mistakes have
beenmade, and that corruption and incompetence are bad no matter
whichparty is involved. However, PLP accomplishments should not
beoverlooked. One woman very active in politics contrasted the
twoparties, PLP and FNM, this way: "The FNM, they are the
dollarpeople. The PLP, they are the people people."
(doc.17,p.2)
The former government (PLP) was more concerned with humanbeings,
putting people to work, even if it meant drainingthe treasury to
make sure everybody had a job. Thepresent government (FNM) would
say we only have X amountof dollars and we can put only so many
people to work,so you are going to have to try to find something
else todo over here...The PLP would put 8 people where 2 or 3people
could have done the job, but we have to keep themworking, which was
good and bad. It was bad because whenyou give 8 people what 3
people can do, then nobody doesanything because everyone is
expecting the other ones todo it all. I do just a quarter of what I
could do. Youunderstand? So they (the FNM) would become more rigid
interms of making every dollar count. They are the dollarpeople.
The others (PLP) were the people people.(doc.17,p.2)
(The PLP) paid out just to keep people in work. Theywould put 6
people where two people could have done thejob...For what its
worth, that's what the administrationthought, people had to work.
The new government (FNM) isfaced with a problem. They have to
streamline it. Whereare they going to put the people who are not
working?They are going to run into an unemployment
problem.(doc.17,p.6)
The FNM would push for more people to find jobs or createjobs
outside of government. They would make you do ityourself. The
previous government (PLP) would say well,if there are no hotels
opening, if there are nomanufacturing or canning plants available,
we'll put yousomewhere in a government area. You understand me
now?(doc.17,p.2)
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The present government (FNM) will deal more with themiddle class
and the wealthy. For 25 years the formergovernment (PLP) was
considered the government that dealtwith the grassroots, or the
poorer blacks, and broughtthem from the 1 room to the 4 room house,
from the wheelbuggy, the old jalopy, to the brand new
car.(doc.17,p.1,2)
She explains that before the PLP came to power 25 years ago,the
Bay Street Boys ruled, and they didn't care about theeducation,
employment, or well-being of the common person. Theycreated good
private education and private health care, forexample, for
themselves and their children, but did very little forthe others.
The PLP came in and spent a great amount of money forpublic
schools, busses, national health care, etc.
They (PLP) set up a new health system in the Bahamas, andnobody
paid for medication, nobody paid for doctor'sservices if you went
to the public hospital or clinic.They built clinics all over the
Bahamas...Each of themhad to have a doctor...so they got from
Trinidad,wherever...But they wanted to bring the Bahamas up to
alevel to say we have good medical facilities, goodeducational
standards, we have this, we have that...andso we just imported
doctors and teachers from everywhere,because Bahamians were not
educated to teach etc. on alarge scale...They had to bring in
modern technology.They had to recruit and bring people in...and pay
themhuge fees, and put them up in large buildings. We hadnothing,
and we wanted to move fast, and so we justimported everything. And
what do you do when you importit? You pay for it!
We have good roads, good airports...the big dockingfacilities in
Governor's Harbour, they haven't evencompleted it yet... they got
so far and they found out thechannel wasn't deep enough, can't
bring in big steamships. They need to spend another quarter of a
millionto get that done...When will they get the money back?But
each of these islands, especially the major ones,need these
facilities if they are going to move withsociety. So, that's life.
(doc.17,p.5)
The (PLP) decided to educate Bahamians...they built highschools
that were never here. They connected with theUWI (University of the
West Indies, Jamaica) so thatBahamians could go from the high
school level that theywere able to provide into Jamaica to the
college level.What the previous (UBP) government did, ... the
Blackpopulation was backward, so to speak. So they (PLP) wentfull
gear to make sure that they brought up theeducational standards in
the shortest possible time, and
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they did not make Bahamians pay for it. That is where amajority
of the money went. For instance, they did notcharge for these high
schools, no fees at all.(doc.17,p.4)
Education and bussing were completely free under the PLP.Money
was going out of the treasury, and nothing wascoming in. Maybe this
was not a good idea financially,but it was good for the common
Bahamian. Now, Bahamianshave become accustomed to all these free
things and wouldresist paying.
So economically the new government (FNM) is having todeal with a
system that was "drained," because everyonewas to work [and because
of free education, bussing,etc.]...And how are they going to bring
the money levelback up? Clinton [in the U.S.) is now worrying how
he isgoing to bring the deficit down...we have a similarsituation.
(doc.17,p.2)
I am not saying they (PLP) were not corrupt. I am notsaying they
didn't pocket funds...But I am saying thatthe majority of them
didn't use their administrativepowers for themselves.
(doc.17,p.5)
There were grumblings from Harbour Island, however, that
foryears, the government had talked of establishing a high school
inNorth Eleuthera, and nothing ever came of it. There are
differentopinions among Bahamians as to the degree family islands
wereneglected. One PLP apologist said this:
...the little islands could never afford to pay therevenue to
compensate for the infrastructure, facilities,and utilities that
were put in there. They (PLPgovernment) would give them
[populations of 200, 300people, for example] state of the art, just
like all thebig towns, or big islands, that could afford
it...Therewas no other revenue coming in, no other
economicactivity, but they would give them state of the
artcommunications and telephones...and so all of that takesa lot of
money. And they are never going to get anythingback from them...So
it is just like giving them aservice. I mean, that is what
government is all about,but you got to be making it somewhere to
put it there,right? With the present government (FNM), the
differencewith them is they would say, "Hey, we are going toupgrade
the system in Eleuthera, or Spanish Wells,because they take in a
big amount of revenue there. Butthe little town over here will have
to wait...but theprevious government (PLP) say everybody can have
it.(doc.17,p.4)
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13
This politically astute Eleutheran addressed anothetdifficulty
in the Bahamas, the transition to a new government. Inthe U.S., for
example, there are a few months for preparing thetransition from
one government to another.
But here in the Bahamas, if the election is over
tonight,tomorrow morning you are out. Could you imagine
thedevastation? I hope the new administration will thinkabout this
for their own future. We have to make somechanges in the Bahamian
constitution and at least givetwo weeks to the old administration
to come out.(doc.17,p.1)
The FNM not only had to take over immediately after theelection,
but had to deal with a major catastrophe just a few dayslater.
[This administration]...is 4 months old (at the time ofthe
interview), it's a baby, I usually say in a pamper.They try to act
grown up. They put their lipstick onwrong...
The new government has only gone in since August 19, andon
August 21, they had the most devastating hurricane theBahamas has
ever seen. (doc.17,p.2)
It is interesting how Bahamians "made sense" out of
thissituation: the PLP in power for 25 years, and two days after
itsdefeat by the FNM, there is the most devastating hurricane
inBahamian history!! Of course, some die-hard PLP supporters
said,"See, that's what you get for voting the PLP out! Even God is
mad,and punishing us!" Die-hard FNM supporters would counter,
"See,the FNM was tested right away, and passed with flying colors!"
OneHarbour Island resident said, "Because of the election result,
theysay we had two hurricanes, not one!" (doc.18,p.4)
In fact, most African Bahamians were quite impressed with howthe
new government organized a quick, effective response, with thehelp
of other nations such as England, Canada, and the U.S.
MostBahamians felt they were given adequate warning, the
NationalRelief Committee was organized and acted quickly, and
relevantministers came right away. Barges of fresh water were sent
to thehurricane damaged areas, as were massive ice-making machines.
"Itwas like war time movies, people scrambling, afraid they
wouldn'tget their share." (doc.18,p.4)
There was good response to the government's sending
ofpsychologists, social workers, and others from
SandilandsRehabilitation Centre in Nassau. In the immediacy of the
hurricaneand its aftermath, people seemed to think "we were coping
verywell, thank you!" Therefore, in October or November, when
teamswere sent to help victims adjust, often only a few people
showed upfor the sessions. Those attending discovered they were
having morecoping problems than they thought. "As we talked, we
discovered
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14
things we were holding back...it was quite helpful. Some
people,especially children, whenever there is a high wind, they are
afraidanother hurricane is coming...and need another dose of
therapy."Children, particularly, continue to have
nightmares.(doc.l8,p.4)
There were reports of scams, charges that some relief
supplieswere "siphoned off." There was considerable criticism of
somelocal community relief committees. It was charged that
partisanpolitics and nepotism got involved in the distribution of
reliefsupplies. It was also suggested that this is indicative of
manyproblems to come as the FNM tries to implement its local
governmentinitiatives. The FNM would like to implement a program
where apercentage of locally raised revenues from customs, hotel,
tourist,and other taxes, for example, rather than being sent to
Nassauwould stay in local communities who would decide how and
where tospend them. "We want to get away from the tribalism,
polarization,and bring everyone into helping out...appointing
people because ofability instead of partisan politics."
(doc.18,p.5) Hopefully suchlocal initiatives would be more
effective and efficient than havingthe decisions made in Nassau.
Those persons who have complainedthat the family islands have been
neglected by Nassau see hope insuch programs. One person, excited
about more local initiative andresponsibility, quoted John F.
Kennedy as advice for Bahamians:"Ask not what your country can do
for you, but what you can do foryour country." (doc.16,p.15)
Another said, "I feel localgovernments are very beneficial...others
are not sure...but howwill we know if we don't try?...and if you
are given the latitudeto run your affairs, and you mess it up, who
can you blame?"(doc.16,p.16)
One of the local FNM chairpersons spoke of other FNM plans,such
as encouraging cottage industries; individual, private, andsmall
businesses; and processing plants for locally grown
tomatoes,onions, pineapples, oranges, etc. as well as other
relatedbusinesses. Internal marketing among the various Bahamian
islandscould be developed, rather than focus solely on exports.
"Whyshould we have to export those things, and then go back to the
U.S.to buy pineapple and orange juice?" (doc.16,p.15)
Other FNM initiatives include reviving slumping tourism on
thefamily islands as well as Nassau; development and
diversificationof agriculture and fisheries; and population
dispersement. AHarbour Islander felt that perhaps the development
of family islandeconomies would encourage many who migrated to
Nassau in search ofemployment to return home. This "migration
reversal" would addressNassau's rapid growth "and related social
problems...People wouldmove out of Nassau; lots of people would
like to move back to thefamily islands if they could find a job
there...now, there'snothing to do here..." (doc.18,p.5)
Some young Bahamians, who had gone to the U.S. and otherplaces
for education and employment, have returned to the familyislands
excited over the new government and the opportunity to beinvolved
in setting new directions. However, there aredifficulties.
Sometimes they are perceived as "up-starts" who want
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15
to "take control" and "change things over night." However,
theyare getting involved in local party politics, school boards,
reliefcommittees, and the development of local
self-governmentcommittees. One such individual seemed particularly
interested inthe new government pursuing more foreign investment in
the Bahamas'diversification efforts. He felt some things that would
help areless paper work, less delays, less "under-the-table"
tactics, andrevised guidelines relative to the ratio of Bahamian to
non-Bahamian stockholders.
Even those enthusiastic about the FNM's new directions
raisecautions, however, such as this person from Harbour
Island.
The new administration is more pro-free enterprise. Theyhave to
do that in order to get things going. Now thefear is that they
might, in their enthusiasm torevitalize the economy, make
concessions to freeenterprise that sort of take away the rights of
thecommon man. (doc.18,p.1)
For a more complete picture of FNM plans, readers areencouraged
to read a pre-election brochure prepared by the FNM,
itsManifesto.
Well, on to some other parables. There are many instanceswhere
the same parable can be used for different situations.
Forexample:
If you don't stink for me, I will not rotten for you.
The old people mean they could do more for you than youcan do
for them, you know. I'll go as far as I can foryou and then you
will do nothing for me? You know, youstink for me, I rotten for
you...That's the old peopletalking, old people language.
(doc.11,p.15)
This Gregory Town gentleman suggests the parable fitspoliticians
as well. If politicians don't stink for us, we won'trotten for
them! He suggested, just before the election, that thein-power
folks were trying to get things in order, "just in case."After the
PLP lost, some politicians were caught, he said, goingback to
offices and trying to hide or take important documents.It's like
another parable:
If you tie a goat with too long a rope, it get tangled.
If somebody do something, and you waiting to try to getthe
answer, and they be long in coming, they say"something wrong,
something wrong." It shouldn't takethat long to come with the
answer, whatever it is. Nowwhat they say if you tie a goat with too
long a rope is,the goat go out there, it stomps around, until it
gettangled. See? Now that mean if you don't let it go on
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16
and on before you come with an answer, you won't gettangled.
(doc.11,p.16)
Another parable makes a similar point:
While the grass growing, the horse starving.
The PLP has had 25 years to come up with the answer. That'smore
than enough time, some elders suggest. They also assert,however,
that not everyone in the PLP is crooked, but it's likeanother
parable:
A tied goat don't know where the loose goat does feed.
Now, if one goat is tied, he stays there. The goats thatare
loose, they go a mile away. The one that is tied, hedon't know what
way they gone, so he don't know whatthey're doing...A tied goat
don't know where the loosegoat does feed. But many times, those
goats that go feedbring trouble to the one that is tied there. They
go andfeed in somebody's field, and the people have dogs. Theyput
the dogs on, and they come running right back here.And when they
get here, the dog then, he don't know themfrom the one tied, you
hear? They go off again, andleave him there...they gone and they
brought trouble tothis one here, you see? (doc.11,p.17)
So, official inquiries into political wrong-doing committed
bythe "wandering goats" are like dogs being put on them. Often
theycan bring trouble to the goats that stayed home as well!
There is another parable with a similar message:
A loose goat don't know what hell a tied goat does catch. A tied
goat don't know where the loose goat does feed.(doc.3,p.22-4)
The following parable suggests that when a political party
hasbeen in power too long, it gets stagnant. New people bring
freshideas and help break up the "good old boy" systems that
develop:
Put some clean water in the dirty water and it will not
smell.
This parable can also be used as advice to a merchant, to besure
to keep adding new stock to the store. An older gentleman inGregory
Town, who ran a store, said he was given this advice froman old
fellah years ago. "You need new stuff to put in with theold, to
freshen it up. So you got to keep adding fresh things.Otherwise,
the water goes bad." (doc.11,p.40)
Politicians as well as the young people should not dismiss
theolder folks too quickly. Old folks may lose some things along
the
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17
way, but they also gain things, like wisdom and experience.
Thereis a parable which reflects this thought:
I can still jump a low fence.
Well, the older I get, the more I get appreciated. Can'tjump as
high as I used to, but I can still jump a lowfence, right?
(doc.11,p.46)
Health care is an important issue in the Bahamas as
elsewhere,not only for the older folk, but certainly particularly
for them.One older Gregory Town resident had a serious stroke a few
yearsago and nearly died. He survived, but the health care required
inMiami showed weaknesses in the Bahamian national health
careprogram.
I done give the doctor all the money I had. I didn'thave much,
but what it was, he took it. I was in MercyHospital in Miami 2
weeks and 1 day. That cost $35,000.Two weeks and 1 day, $35,000.
And since I've been home,I've been back there to Miami 18 times for
checkups; 18times in 5 years...And you couldn't carry less
than$2,000 or $3,000 when you go for the checkups. Thedoctor, the
hotel, and all that. They leave me clean asa whistle; cleaned right
out. And now I can't work,can't do nothing! I don't go there now,
all the money'sgone. Gotta go to Nassau now...
Now, if you go to a private doctor, outside doctor, forwhich I
go for my checkup, then you have to pay...InNassau [Princess
Margaret Hospital], the services arefree...I shift from the doctor
[specialist] in Miami; Ihave to go to Nassau now.
(doc.16,p.3,4)
When the "national insurance scheme" came into being, manyolder
self-employed African Bahamians resisted. One oldergentleman said
after he reached age 65, he could draw $150 a monthfrom the home
leave extension.
When they first introduced this national insurancescheme, people
working for themselves, self-employed...wesaid we won't pay now and
when we come to need, don'tgive none. That's what we said...They
did say, however,if you don't pay, they put you in jail. I don't
want togo to jail. So I pay. Now when we decide to pay...wehave to
go to the root of the tree, go back two years agoand you have to
pay from there where it started and comeright up to where it had
been. You have to pay that.And I have to pay $2,800 and
some...After you get 65, youdon't pay. Now all I do now is collect
what I putthere...that ain't enough! (doc.16,p.3)
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18
Sometimes this Gregory Town gentleman gets down, discouraged,and
in such times would use another saying:
Never fertilize a dead stump!
One gentleman in Gregory Town had a brother who was a memberof
Parliament several years ago. He and seven other members
ofParliament questioned how others wanted to use the authority
oftheir positions. Some members said, "They done put us here, we
cando what we like." These eight said, "no, you can't do that.
Youpromised the people so and so, and the people are looking for
that.For you to do different from that, you're betraying your
trust...wedon't want our grandchildren saying their old
grandfathers wasfools." So, the other members of Parliament "put
them out of thecircle, you know." So, the elder says, the abuse,
the betraying ofpower "that they started then is just coming out
today."(doc.11,p.43) This "standing for right" by the eight
Parliamentmembers is the kind of thing taught by another
parable:
One man with courage makes him a majority.
"What the majority wants to do isn't always the rightthing to
do." (doc.l1,p.43)
Another parable is applicable here, a warning to those whorise
to prominent positions, politicians and others. The moreprominent,
the more visible, then the more under scrutiny:
The higher a monkey climbs, the more he exposes himself.
The higher, they say, a monkey climbs, way up high
whereeverybody got to look up for hem, they find out he ain'tgot on
so much clothes. If he was down low, no one wouldsee that. That
goes for the big fellahs, way up there inpower, you know.
(doc.11,p.37)
Some people think the former Prime Minister had been trying
tocorner great amounts of money, power, and popularity to make
theBahamas a Republic with himself as the first president. He
hadhoped, they say, to garner a large enough plurality from the
lastelection to declare such. However, he fell short at the
polls.They point also to the "palace" he had built for himself
from, theysay, the peoples' money. "He built it out of the people's
money,and now he wants to sell it back to the people again...But
thepeople already own it...You see how shrewd he is?...He wants
tosell it, let the government buy it...Hopefully they won't do
that."(doc.12,p.40)
Similar comments were heard on various family islands, this
onefrom Harbour Island.
He's (former Prime Minister Pindling) got it in his mind,
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19
I think, that he wants to come back and regain thethrone...There
is a lot of talk...that if he could havegotten the majority in the
Parliament that he wanted,because, see, in the Parliament you must
have two-thirdsin the house in order to change the
constitution...he wasgoing to change the constitution and make the
Bahamas aRepublic. (doc.18,p.2)
There are those who recognize the financial problems
thegovernment has, and that they are partially due to corruption
andabuse of power. However, they also cite the many
accomplishmentsof the PLP, as cited earlier. Leaders must provide
programs toaddress social and political needs. They must be
activist. Butthey must also be responsible, set realistic limits,
and be honest.There is a parable offering such advice:
If crab don't walk, he won't get fed. If he walk toomuch, he get
put in the pot.
There are many more interesting parables and stories.However,
"socio-political" critique and reflection often wentbeyond the
parables and stories being discussed. Some AfricanBahamian family
islanders, for example, commented on how theBritish "Westminster
system" was modified by African "tribalism."They pointed out how
traditional inter-tribal conflicts becomemanifested in contemporary
political party politics.
What we have here, instead of the parties being onstrictly
philosophical or logical bases, is a sort of "usand them." My enemy
was from party A so I go to party B,and the main goal of our party
is to clobber your partyso that we can be in charge and get the
goodies...Peopleare not interested in politics from the
philosophical[perspective]. It is more of a personal thing.
Harry'son team B; I don't like Harry. We are going to get you.We
will chase you up the line so we can have the cows,the sheep, and
the chickens, and the rights to the river,etc.
(doc.2,p.9&11)
However, the local Caucasians have their own clannishness.The
indigenous Caucasians here, they have a mentality.What I especially
notice among them is very similar towhat you find up in the hills
of Tennessee or Kentucky,that clannish business...the Hatfields and
the Mc Coys.(doc.2,p.12)
One way the "in party" in this clannish context maintainscontrol
is through dominating the media and the interpretation
of"news."
We have a situation right now [where] we only have onemedia [one
Bahamian TV station] here besides three
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20
newspapers. They shape the news by sometimes leaving outsome
things here and there. You can convey a differentmeaning than what
was originally intended. (doc.2,p.12)
Economics is of great concern to family islanders. They feelreal
tension between protecting traditional ways of making a livingand
adopting new ones. They are frustrated that oftentimes thechoice is
out of their hands and beyond their control. Non-Bahamian
investment is perceived as a mixed blessing. Is it worththe cost?
How competent is the government to deal with thesecomplex
situations? How often is the government the problem ratherthan the
solution? Is the Bahamas' dependence on tourism, weighingthe costs
and benefits and resultant "net balance," a good thing?
...One of the things you notice is when they [non-Bahamians]
come ... the Americans...Canadians, asprinkling of French, German,
and everyone else...theycome from a faster pace situation to here.
Things thatthey want in the utilities or the bank or the stores,
orwhatever, they expect to happen right away. Whereas thissociety
is a little slower moving, you get this frictionsort of thing. Then
another problem is the people heretend to feel, rightly or wrongly,
that when they comeinto town, because they are bringing X amount of
dollars,you should drop everything and pander to them and
theirneeds...The people realize that this is a large part oftheir
income. On the outside they have got this greatbig smile, but on
the inside, they might be thinking orsaying something else to
themselves. They becomeschizoid. The majority of the population
here isschizoid. (doc.6,p.6)
Several family-islanders associated the increase of tourismwith
the increase in crime. Not only does the "opportunity" forcrime
increase simply because of the increase in the number oftourists,
but tourism increases what sociologists cause "anomie,"a
dysjunction between goals and access to legitimate means toachieve
them. As a luxurious life style is dangled in front ofBahamians,
many of whom perceive no "legitimate" means of everachieving, crime
becomes a possible means of access. Various kindsof crime,
including drug trafficking, often result.
Some family islanders feel the income from drug traffickinghad
even become a key component of the Bahamian economy. Hence aserious
reduction in drug trafficking would hurt the economy.
...For a number of years, the Bahamas' government wasoperating
under a fool's economy. Funds were generatedmainly through drug
trafficking. It is only since theDEA (U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency)
and other agencieshave come in and have assisted the law
enforcementoffices in the Bahamas, that they were able to break
downthe amount of drug trafficking...There is still some of
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21
it here, but at least we are now operating on a more
trueBahamian economy than we did 15 - 20 years ago...It wasa boon
when we had drug trafficking. (doc.10,p.10).
Many family islanders insist that the Bahamas cannot depend
ontourism too heavily. It is too fickle, uncertain. They would
liketo see a more diversified economy.
Certainly more money should be generated for agricultureand
fisheries...there is too much emphasis on tourism.They need to
generate funds in other directions. Forexample, there are thousands
of acres of good farm land.Why can't they [government] generate
some funds intolarge scale farming? Fish farming...more money could
beput into fish farming, and so on. (doc.10,p.12)
It was suggested, however, that the Bahamian government
wouldhave to do a more effective job of marketing produce for
exportthan it has done in the past or present. Experiences
withmarketing pineapples and tomatoes, for example, have
beendisastrous. Produce sometimes rots in storage; prices paid
tofarmers are often perceived as too low compared to the profit
ofthe distributors; and sometimes farmers are not paid at the
timethey bring their produce (perhaps sometimes not at all) so
theydon't have the necessary when needed to prepare fields for the
nextcrop. (doc.10 & 3)
Well, this paper could go on and on, but since it is intendedas
only a modest start, let's stop. Hopefully the major thrust
isclear. Much of the available material on African Bahamian
historyand culture reflects more about the writers than anything
else, andfew of the writers have been African Bahamians themselves.
This isparticularly the case relative to the family islands. The
materialis often ethnocentric and culture bound. Though this is
valuablein one sense, it gives insights into the culture and
perspectivesof the writers, it does not provide good understanding
of AfricanBahamian cultures themselves. Without the African
Bahamianexperience and perspective, how they "make sense of their
world,"the account remains jaundiced, distorted, and cheated.
-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Albury, Paul. The Story of the Bahamas. London: Macmillan
EducationLtd., 1975.
Craton, Michael.Canada:
A History of the Bahamas. Waterloo, Ontario,1986 (3rd ed.)
Document 1, interviews, Gregory Town, Eleuthera, June, 1991.
Document 2, interviews, Harbour Island, January, 1992.
Document 3, interviews, Gregory Town, Eleuthera, Fall, 1991.
Document 4, interviews, Gregory Town, Eleuthera, Fall, 1991.
Document 5, interviews, Harbour Island, January, 1992.
Document 6, interviews, Harbour Island, January, 1992.
Document 7, interviews, Nassau, January, 1992.
Document 8, interviews, Harbour Island, January, 1992.
Document 9, interviews, Harbour Island, January, 1992.
Document 10, interviews, Harbour Island, 1992.
Document 11, interviews, Gregory Town, Eleuthera, July,
1992.
Document 12, interviews, Harbour Island, July, 1992.
Document 13, interviews, Gregory Town, Eleuthera, July 13,
1992.
Document 14, interviews, Eleuthera, January, 1992.
Document 15, interviews, Harbour Island, January 15, 1992.
Document 16, interviews, Gregory Town, Eleuthera, January, 1
993.
Document 17, interviews, Eleuthera, January, 1993.
Document 18, interviews, Harbour Island, January, 1993.
Document 19, interviews, Gregory Town, Eleuthera, January,
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Johnson, Howard. The Bahamas in Slavery and Freedom.
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Riley, Sandra. The Lucavans. London: Macmillan Education
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Saunders, Gail. Bahamian Loyalists and their Slaves.
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Saunders, Gail. Slavery in the Bahamas, 1648-1838. Nassau,
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Whittier, Sara (ed.). Insight Guides: Bahamas. Hong Kong:
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Young, Everild. Eleuthera: the Island Called Freedom.
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