Independence will not solve the social ills facing the Bermudian community - including racism, the Bermuda Independence Commission declared on Thursday night.

Bermudians must find the solutions to these problems whether or not the Island goes Independent, Commissioners added.

“Even if Bermuda does not change its Constitution, we need to do something about our social conditions in this country,” BIC chairman Bishop Vernon Lambe said at the BIC's first public meeting, held at the Warwick Workman's Club on Thursday night.

Solving the social problems “may better fit us for that great step of constitutional change,” he added.

Race and social issues featured largely at the three-hour public meeting, with BIC members declaring that if they can trust one another - and they do - that is evidence the rest of the Country should be able to as well.

However, Independence is not necessary to solve the race divide, they said - a sentiment poignantly illustrated when Prisons Officers Association spokesman Russ Ford made an emotional call for sovereignty, declaring he wanted to be able to “identify with every single other person, white, black, or other”.

Pointing to Jane Pocock, who spoke earlier in the meeting, Mr. Ford - who is black - said he wanted to be able to hold hands with Ms Pocock, who is white. Ms Pocock immediately held out her hand, saying: “You can hold it now!”

Audience members murmured approvingly while Mr. Ford explained: “All I had to do was identify with her that I had her back.”

“How close or how divided will we be as a Bermudian community if we go Independent?” audience member Malcolm Santucci asked the Commissioners.

“That's all determined by the will of the people,” Commissioner Marc Bean replied. “You can't legislate a change in thinking.

“That has to occur now, it doesn't have to occur with Independence.”

“Anyone looking for Independence to be a solution to issues is going to be disappointed,” Commissioner Michael Winfield agreed. “The solution to a lot of what we're talking about here tonight has nothing to do with Independence.

“We have to stop labelling each other because of what we're seeing, and start listening to each other.”

One audience member called for a “social audit” of the country “to understand why we are seeing types of behaviour that are not helping us as dependents or independents”.

Citing drugs, sustainable development, and the economy, he asked: “How and when are we going to get on top of these issues? I think it's critical ... I leave it to the BIC to get the answers from those who matter. You know who they are. I'm one of them.”

Mr. Ford also called on the Commissioners to visit those inside the corrections systems, people “who are ready to take you or me out because they feel they have no stake in this community”.

“Whether it's Independence or not, we are going to sink if we don't identify with something,” he said.

“Bermuda is one of the most hypocritical countries in the world,” another audience member said.

“I'm not a politician, so I can tell the truth - it's a racial thing ... We've done alright so far, yes. Master and servant, that's how we've done well.”

Audience member Rodney Smith felt that Independence was the “last sequel” to slavery. The abolition of slavery, the Jim Crow laws, segregation and desegregation were all sequels to slavery itself, he explained. “Independence is a natural step, the final step,” he said.

“We can't do it by ourselves as black people. You can't do it by yourselves as white people. As Bermudians, we can do it.”

However, race has been discussed frankly and openly within the BIC, Commissioner Rolffe Commissiong said. “In Bermuda we know it's there, but we always choose to ignore it. You will find our views on the issue in the final report, as well as the considered views of others.”

Some Bermudians may go to the Yacht Club, Mr. Bean added later, while others may go to the workman's clubs - “but when we meet on the street we have to be able to relate to each other with mutual respect and love”.

Black Bermudians often complain that since integration “our culture has been diluted” - yet “no external factors brought about the divisions between our families and communities,” he said. “If any have, they are secondary to internal factors ...

“Bermuda must go through a social transmutation ... that's an important precursor to Independence.”

Commissioner Dianne Kempe called for Bermudians to “not be so threatened by the polarisation that is out there”.

“The more we talk, the better chance we have of a united Bermuda in the future,” she said.

Audience member and member of the Bermudians for Referendum group Khalid Wasi asked if the BIC felt it important to report to Government on some of the social implications of going Independent - a question he said related to the question of deciding the issue via referendum or General Election.

Other countries which have gone Independent have often done so by revolution or by general election, he said, but all have made the choice based on underlying social needs. While it is clear a full-scale armed revolution is not needed in Bermuda, Mr. Wasi called the choice between referendum and General Election an “ethical decision”, questioning if the BIC was considering it.

“We are gathering every possible facet of data,” was Bishop Lambe's reply.

Closing with a prayer for Government, Bermudians, and “even our opposition”, Bishop Lambe said the discussion process was “granting us spin-offs for enrichment”.

Though no UBP MPs or Senators were spotted by The Royal Gazette at the meeting, Shadow Youth and Sport Minister Jon Brunson did attend along with Sen. Bob Richards.