be destroyed'' unless real efforts are made to discover the underlying causes of Bermuda's social problems.

Rev. Ray Hagerman of Wesley Methodist Church told Hamilton Rotarians that most residents were unaware of "the pain, the hurt, the struggles and the hopelessness of many, many people'' in the community.

Rev. Hagerman, who has worked with the Christian Drug Rehabilitation programme, said he discovered a picture of Bermuda which he believed had been kept hidden by government departments so as not to affect tourism.

Drug and alcohol abuse, bad work habits, irresponsibility, anti-social behaviour, and "a court and prison system that has incarcerated nine blacks to every one white'' are symptoms of greater underlying troubles, he said.

"At the very core of Bermuda society, there are deep social problems which have not really been identified or understood.'' Rev. Hagerman, who will be returning to his native Canada in three weeks, likened the situation to that of the scale insect that destroyed most of the Bermuda cedar population in the 1940s and 1950s.

"At the very centre, the core of our society, is a disease that is growing like a tumor -- sucking the life blood out of the Bermuda dream, and literally destroying dozens of our people, young and old.'' He named one probable cause as the "unfinished business in the area of racial equality and opportunity''.

More steps were needed, he said, "to bring about complete equality and integration'' that can be felt by all people. Although Bermuda is an integrated society, Rev. Hagerman said that among "the helpless and the hopeless'' many people feel they are being treated as second-class citizens.

Rev. Hagerman then challenged Rotarians to tackle the cause of Bermuda's social problems -- not just the symptoms -- while doing their community work.

He also said a "complete social study of Bermudian society'' should be conducted, to get to the causes of problems and "begin to work at healing the disease''.

If done now however, such a project would mean "yet another overseas study, which would be unable to get to the roots of Bermuda social life''. But Rev.

Hagerman expressed the hope that the Bermuda College would one day have the financial resources and a department of sociology which would enable Bermudians to do their own study.

He said those who have the power in Bermuda should begin making decisions that "are economically viable'' not only for themselves, but also for "the dispossessed in the community''.

Rev. Hagerman went on to say that Bermudians "have to use their hearts more, rather than just their heads'', by providing hands-on -- not just cheque book -- assistance.

"If you really want to be a vital force for good, then you have to realise that you cannot do it from the board rooms and the political chambers only, but rather you have to be prepared to roll up your sleeves and...stand where some others are standing.'' Closer cooperation between the Island's various clubs and agencies was also suggested, including the formation of an "umbrella group'' made up of representatives of each assistance organisation.