August 20, 2012Dear Sir,For Mr Choy Aming, Mrs Hazel Christopher, Mr Rupert Scotland, Mrs Joy Wilson and all who have set the foundations. Lately we have been hearing a recurring trend. “We are not in the Caribbean and we are not West Indians.” This has been repeated during the recent Olympics. Many were upset with the coverage of Caribbean athletes and their events. “Why must we pick up a Caribbean feed? Why must we endure watching Caribbean athletes? Why is so much emphasis put on track when there are other marquee sports? We are not Caribbean!” A few recent events have had a great reminder of where we have come from, where we are, and where we need to be. I will get back to them later.Seventy percent of black and white Bermudians can trace their roots back to the Caribbean by two to three generations. If it isn’t one of their parents, it is one of their grand or great grandparents that are West Indians. Many West Indian carpenters and masons came here to build the Dockyard in the early 1900s. Before that for farming in the 1800s. Unfortunately they faced xenophobia from both black and white Bermudians. Nevertheless they did what West Indians do best, survive and thrive. White Bermuda’s Caribbean connections stretch from the Bahamas all the way to Trinidad. Islands like Eleuthera, Saba, Barbados, Turks and Caicos are just a few. Astwoods, Gibbons, Lightbourn(e), Adderleys, Misicks, Friths, Triminghams, Smiths, Dills, Veseys, Watlingtons, Zuills and other seafaring Bermuda families built ships to service the trade between Bermuda the US and the Caribbean. The original molasses in the Gosling’s Black Seal Rum came from the West Indies. Cassava, the substance of that wonderful Christmas pie, our national dish, came from the West Indies. This region has always been crucial to Bermuda’s survival even if some of us don’t want to admit it.Many common surnames have their origins in the islands: Allen, Archibald, Bailey, Browne, Brown, Caines, Charles, Christopher, Commissiong, Daniels, DeShields, Degraff, DeVent, Francis, Gumbs, Godwin, Harris, Hassell, Horton, Hurdle, Johnson, Liburd, Lister, Matthews, Maxwell, Maynard, Morton, Pringle, Ratteray, Scott, Scotland, Simmons, Symonds, Thomas, Tyrrell, Wade, Wharton. It is safe to say a lot of blacks and whites are interrelated. What a shocker, huh? During its initial years on Court Street, the Berkeley Institute was staffed by West Indian school teachers and became the premier house of learning for children of Jamaican and Kittitian immigrants. Most had settled in Devonshire or North Hamilton aka “back a tarn” areas.From the 1970s onward, many police officers and hotel workers from Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and Trinidad came and permanently added to our kaleidoscope. I used to get ridiculed by children in school because my mother’s accent was different, or my own accent differed from the other “Bermudian kids”. My mother used to tell me: “Sheep head and goat head are not the same. Don’t worry, one day they will try to talk like you”. Sure enough, once Bob Marley and Reggae arrived, everybody wanted to be a West Indian. It was a rap when Soca legend Arrow did his hit song “Jam Bermuda”. It came true, just listen to Collie Buddz.Be it Carnival, test match or Sunsplash, Bermudians began to reconnect with our Caribbean roots. Air Canada, British Airways both had direct flights to and from the Caribbean at one point. Mr Choy Aming was the Godfather of Bermuda Day “Carnivals”. My godmother Mrs Shurnette Caines prophesied that the barriers will come down, Bermudians finally have realised they truly are West Indians.” Trinidadian born Dr EF Gordon’s selfless sacrifices have paid off. In my next letter I will continue our “Caribbean Connection”. Family, stand strong.CHRISTOPHER FAMOUSDevonshire