Independence? As Jimmy Cliff song said, the harder the struggle, the sweeter the victory
WHILE the results of a latest Research Innovations poll on the subject of Bermudian Independence may have buoyed the anti-sovereignty camp, for us who support such a national goal and are prepared to be advocates of cutting the island's remaining constitutional ties with Britain, the latest figures ? showing just 29 per cent of Bermudians for Independence ? come as no surprise.
I, for one, labour under no illusions as to how tough the task will be to convince a majority of Bermudians to support Independence for their country.
At the top of the list of things to do for supporters of Bermudian Independence is to set about working assiduously to bring about the destruction of the colonial dependency mentality that so firmly holds a grip on the minds of so many Bermudians.
I am sure that Research Innovations (headed by Walton Brown, chairman of the Committee for the Independence of Bermuda) uses sampling and demographic techniques that eliminate non-Bermudians and guest workers from their poll results.
Most non-Bermudian residents of the island, I would think, would not be in favour of Bermudian Independence for fear of the status quo changing. But I say to them: This is not your decision. It is therefore essential that your views on the subject not skew the outcome of any polls.
In my last on this subject, I used a metaphor to illustrate the entrapment of some Bermudians in the island's present colonial status. I likened this mind-set to that of a child's attachment to a security blanket.
But there is a much more cynical element at play when it comes to opposition to Bermudian Independence. It is as cynical as it is selfish, a Big Lie that maintains Bermuda must maintain the status quo because the island is ultimately unable to look after its own affairs.
Fundamentally, this viewpoint is based on one thing and one thing alone ? and that is the continued undermining of Bermudian confidence in themselves as a people and their ability to maintain their country as it is and to chart their own future course as a country.
This mindset is destructive to the Bermudian psyche and even if Independence was not an issue at the current time every Bermudian with a sense of self would be duty bound to oppose it.
This underlying inference was clearly the centrepiece of the anti-Independence campaign during the last debate on the question of Bermudian sovereignty in 1989 when the conservative right-wing of the United Bermuda Party led the anti-Independence crusade.
Of that so-called "Gang of Five", the only one who remains a Member of Parliament is Trevor Moniz . He was interviewed in last week's regarding the findings of the latest Independence poll. His comments are significant in one regard and that is because he attempted to manufacture yet another political bogeyman to frighten Bermudians away from Independence.
This time he talked about the so-called advent of racial retribution that will afflict Bermuda the day after the British lower their flag for the final time.
His remarks reveal the bottom line as to the true state of race relations in Bermuda. Bermuda's racial divide has never been truly cauterised. For if a real healing is to take place, then just like black people had to overcome the legacy of the past, so whites will have to accept that if in the 1960s and '70s demons were released that brought forth civil unrest and bloodshed in Bermuda, it is the verdict of history that racial policies and the denial of human and civil rights made it so.
Interestingly, Mr. Moniz still thinks that leaders can be chosen for black people by others ? witness his attempts to draw a distinction between a Dr. Ewart Brown (who he does not respect) and a Paula Cox (who he professes to admire).
It is an old trick to attempt to define leadership for black people. Today, it is Dr. Brown and the perception of strong black male leadership that is to be discredited; yesterday it was union leader Ottiwell Simmons.
And in another show of hypocrisy which brings out the element of selfishness of which I spoke, Mr. Moniz has been loud in his pronouncements that Bermudians should not have any formal link with their Caribbean cousins through Caricom.
Yet just a few weeks ago he was part of a delegation that went to the Azores to see how ties can be strengthened between that Portuguese territory and Bermuda on behalf of the Portuguese community here.
But the difference between me and Mr. Moniz is that while he would deny me my Caribbean roots, I certainly do not begrudge the Portuguese community their desire to establish closer ties with their Azorean kinsmen.
And while I will never stop pointing out that I do not see myself represented in Bermuda's current national symbols, the same could also be said of the Portuguese community.
Where is the Portuguese and black Bermudian representation in Bermuda's national symbols? Answer me that, Mr. Moniz.
Mr. Moniz may claim that only a minority support Bermuda Independence but his real fear is that this is only for the moment. From my point of view, I am not dissuaded from being an advocate of national Independence for Bermuda for I already see an Independent Bermuda in my mind's eye.
For I have studied enough of this world history and its national fights to know that today's struggle for an idea is tomorrow's reality. Now a brief word on the Government's position on the issue of Independence. While I will not prejudge the Government's upcoming information campaign on the subject of sovereignty, such a campaign in and of itself cannot inspire Bermudians to make this final step without a leadership that is prepared to advocate and fight for Independence.
The Progressive Labour Party Government must redeem itself for having made Bermuda's transition to Independence a struggle which will commence from a standing start in terms of persuading Bermudians that this is the way to go.
But then I am reminded of the lyrics of an old Jimmy Cliff song: "The harder the struggle / the sweeter the victory." And that will be the case when we win the battle to take the world's oldest colony to Independence.