September 22, 2013Dear Sir,What can upset me more than the mark of the oppressor’s hand are the marks from the hands of the liberator who fills their belly first. The last 50+ years have been years of dynamic social and political change in Bermuda, just like the rest of the world. The last 15 years was filled with a lot of hope and equal share of disappointment. A good section of the public are not sure how to interpret their frustration and disappointment, the black pride and dream has taken a serious blow to the chin.The Progressive Labour Party’s 1998 mandate to make a new inclusive Bermuda was pitched in the right direction by the electorate, but put in the hands of those with the wrong sentiment and methodology. An inclusive Bermuda meant a Bermuda for everyone and not, ‘it’s my turn now’. It was a moment for real evolution and not simple payback. The issue is critical because instead of progressing we may have set the black cause many years behind. The mess-up almost confirmed that which hits at the heart of black sense, that we can accomplish, we can succeed.We are now trying to arrive away from the thought that this was not a black failure, but rather a systemic failure which allowed persons to masquerade with a pseudo black agenda in the place of a real, and moral, agenda that was paved by generations of earnest struggle. Innately, the One Bermuda Alliance whether it realises or not, aside from a bad economy, inherited the failed aspirations of the 1998 electorate. Every initiative of the PLP, whether a failed one, absurd, corrupted or otherwise actually in some way had elements of the black dream, and long sort after pride. So much so, that those competent among the black populace, who were entirely overlooked, and even down trodden by the old PLP guard, squinted and squirmed at the PLP performance, and look with curious eyes at the new political landscape trying to decipher whether the current government have that black hope in the mix.Through all the stupidity, and absurdity the public witnessed, underneath there is the same old genuine desire that manifested in 1998. The political operative should be an inclusive Bermuda for everyone. The political momentum of the former United Bermuda Party, and the PLP, were not couched in that vision of an inclusive Bermuda. Political survival is hinged on the perception of who brings in the goods for both, and all segments of the community. The big question of who gets? Who is it that will be embraced to benefit from the major initiatives and projects will be seen with informed eyes and form the base of future political discernment. Perhaps government taking over the reins of the Corporation of Hamilton helps in the broader scheme of ensuring that this major commercial centre has the input and interest of the whole island.The issue of representation has been at the core. The residents don’t represent the businesses, and the major businesses have never represented the small businesses or residents, therefore fixing the business mandate does not correct the historical representation dysfunction of the Corporation of Hamilton. We have hit the door of no return, it’s inclusion, or confusion and ruin. The CoH is a test template for the OBA, who has no choice, even while sorting out the difficult economic situation, except to find an agenda of inclusion, if they intend to be more than a one term phenomenon. The failure of the PLP is not enough to guarantee future success at the polls.KHALID WASI