Dear Sir,

I need to have a direct conversation speaking to the issue at the heart of Bermuda’s politics, which is race. When we summarise politics, it comes down to the question “what are you doing for me?”.

It doesn’t matter which side of the aisle you prefer to sit, politicians are essentially satisfying what the game demands of them. Unfortunately, some of them are naive enough to swallow some of their own rhetoric, only to retire disappointed that they had no luck fulfilling anything of consequence they envisioned when they were elected.

The ultimate hope in any scheme is to have everyone enjoy a respectable and productive life. Starting from the obvious, that hope is only a vague dream in the black community. From a political perspective, the dream is truly only a dream without a vision or a road map to fulfil it. The hard truth is that the PLP and many of its core support have perhaps a recipe to obtain political power but whose economic concept of mobility is the same modus operandi that facilitated the economic demise over the past 50 years.

The jails are filled, the streets are filled and the line-up towards entering a cycle of poverty and decimation and, finally, annihilation of any semblance of a vibrant black community is well on route.

The truth is that there will not be any local progress until the whole phenomenon of economic power is rightly addressed worldwide, which will require a Pan-African approach as an adjunct to the equation of empowerment. The simple narcissistic cry for reparation must give way to a pragmatic and broad-based initiative which will engage the world of finance to embark on a major investment into Africa as an emerging economy.

The opportunity and need exist; the only thing missing is a vision and leadership. Our leaders are all consumed by simple local pursuits, where the height of achievement is to become a Member of Parliament as a party representative. Further compounded is an ideology that maintains the status quo as labourers, fighting for fewer hours and more benefits — a death trap in a nihilistic attitude, with no vision of how to own, partner or have a real share in the marketplace.

This is not just a black dilemma, it’s a global dilemma where the real ownership of the wealth in the world is in the possession of a few, as the vast majority pacify themselves with no real wealth, believing that a real stake is unattainable.

The approach to the development of Africa has potential for every person of every hue, just as the 16th-century expansion into the Americas did for all of Europe. We need a leadership with an economic vision that spans past our borders and engages the world, bringing new frontiers with fresh opportunities, which can absorb the aspirations of our deprived middle classes.

If black leadership does not get on board, all hope is lost for our community because true economic development is highly dependent on land and resources, and politically there is the doorway already legislated by the African Union that makes the diaspora a sixth state within the continent. This passport must be leveraged and provide the trade bridge that can empower the beleaguered and all those looking for opportunity.

If any choose to use the word “reparations”, then let’s use it as a moral justification to encourage suitable financing to foster an inclusive development in Africa.

KHALID WASI