Dear Sir,

After reading then rereading the letter sent to Shawn Crockwell, except for one ambiguous sentence, I find it otherwise seems to be clearly directed to a specific case pending and any other cases in the future with similar circumstance.

Shawn’s political arguments for resigning were sound enough and did not need to be buttressed by reporting the letter sent by the Attorney-General as an intimidating threat against his livelihood.

There exists enough precedent in the history of the United Bermuda Party and the metamorphosis that brought about the One Bermuda Alliance to understand the dynamics at play in his case. Bermuda is still evolving from a segregated, unequal society predicated on race. When we take the slave society from which we emerged and add all the migrations, the history and development of this little island is very complex.

Bermuda as a jurisdiction directly participates in global business not measured in the billions of dollars, but in trillions, and our worth and significance to the world for centuries are understated and for the most part not realised by its own population. Powerful economic waves have moved our economy and enriched segments of our society particularly aligned with the powers of discretion, which generally favoured the political establishment. The UBP evolved from and took on the face of the establishment. The rhetoric of the politics naturally hosted the pragmatic words of a Bermuda for everyone, but our policies and practices always ensured anything but that level of inclusion.

Therefore, there are no end of stories of those from the black and less privileged sector who have tried and were trampled upon, and even whites who tried. There are for those who can see endless examples of systemic destruction of those who would go against the grain in the hope of making a more equitable society. Those examples include persons who, like Shawn, tried from within and from the outside.

At fault too is the inheritance of a Westminster political model and partisan modality, which by its own nature prohibits the kind of foundation to build unity where needed in an unequal and polarised society. The country is left with the broken attempts of the OBA at reforming the UBP and a Progressive Labour Party stuck in the posture of battling the ghost of old enemies.

While it may be obvious that something new needs to happen, the tribal devotion to our politic trashes innovation and marginalises any who think outside the box. Therefore, we are bound by our own devices to fumble forward, pegged to our national moto Quo fata ferunt.

KHALID WASI