April 28, 2003

THE recent letter by Jamahl Simmons MP underlines the desperation of the United Bermuda Party. One would have thought given the dismal failure of Mr. Trevor Moniz's attempt to slander the Progressive Labour Party by misrepresenting the qualifications and method of appointment of the Parliamentary Registrar that UBP's current Minister of Propaganda Mr. Jamahl Simmons, would have exercised some caution in the pushing of the "Lie, lie, lie" strategy.

In the Mid-Ocean News of April 25, 2003, Mr. Simmons asserts that "in 2003, one of the PLP's highest-ranking political figures continues to hold and espouse hateful and divisive views". He informs the public that he has arrived at this conclusion as a result of a recent letter in which Senator Calvin Smith (myself) "exposed a brand of wretched thinking representative of a bygone era and has no place in modern Bermuda".

Readers who might be interested in the letter that exercised Mr. Simmons may examine a reprint in The Royal Gazette letters column of April 29, 2003. If anyone sees anything in the letter even remotely approaching the interpretation given by Mr. Simmons, please let know. I can be reached by e-mail at calvintherock.bm, by fax at 295-0185 and by phone at 295-1243.

Mr. Simmons enthusiastically condemns the attempt in my letter to deal with equality of opportunity. He complains that I continue to promote the flawed belief that 1960s thinking is the best approach to solving 21st century problems. Since the 21st century is only three years old, the so-called 21st century problems with respect to equality of opportunity are really the 20th century problems.

Has equality of opportunity improved over the past 100 years that was the 20th century? The answer is yes! Can we say there is now equality of opportunity? The answer is no!

Proof that this is the case can readily be seen from a review of relevant social and economic statistics presented in the recently produced Census of Populations 2000. These statistics provide vivid evidence of the UBP's glaring failure to remove the inequities suffered by Bermuda's Black majority during its 35 years in office.

For instance:

Inequity in employment: Blacks represent 55 percent of the labour force. Yet in the year 2000, they were employed in only 33 percent of the powerful and highly paid Administrative and Management positions.

Education: Blacks form 54 percent of the Bermudian population but included only 39 percent of the persons with educational qualifications of a degree or higher at the end of the last century. Household Income: The 2000 census classifies households as poor or near poor if their average weekly income from all sources is $580 per week or less. Using this criteria, nearly 34 percent of all black households were poor or near poor compared with 23 percent of all white households.

Home Ownership for Bermudian Households: 49 percent of all Black Bermudian households own their own homes. This compares with 62 percent of all white Bermudian households. Further, only 23 percent of Black Bermudian households are not paying off a mortgage. This compares with 38 percent of white Bermudian households.

The Prison Population: In 1977 only 131 persons were incarcerated. By the end of the century, this number had more than doubled. At both dates, over 90 percent of these inmates were Black. It is of interest that while the incarcerated group grew rapidly over the period of review, the population under the age of 30, the age group most likely to run afoul of the law, has declined.

These summary statistics indicate that Bermuda's majority Black population still had a long way to go by the end of the last century, thanks to the 35 years of neglect by the United Bermuda Party. This is admitted by Mr. Simmons. In a moment of uncharacteristic honesty, he notes that "Bermuda in the 21st century can no longer support two Bermudas, one where opportunity is a birthright and the other where enjoyment of the full benefit of citizenship is unfulfilled".

He continues: "We must begin to talk to each other and continue to develop ideas that will make Bermuda better for our children."

However, despite the fact that I and his parents, along with the rest of the PLP, had fought vigorously against the existence of "two Bermudas" he stills concludes that "Senator Smith doesn't seem to comprehend or respect this vision."

I understood and lived this vision long before Mr. Simmons was born.

During a major part of my life, I lived in an entirely white world. I spent 13 years in Canada during which I was married to a white Canadian. I attended Queens University, which in the early 1950s had an almost entirely white student body. I was employed as a Statistician at the Dominion Bureau of Statistics which had 3,500 employees of whom only two were Black. I managed an entirely white staff of 35 clerks and professionals.

In 1965 I was invited by then Governor, Lord Martonmere to accept the newly created post of "Government Statistician". He declared to me that he had made the trip to Canada to recruit me because he felt I had the experience and confidence to integrate the Colonial Secretariat and help to break the terrible racial barriers that existed in Bermuda at that time.

I accepted a three-year contract having no intention of living in the Bermuda of that day (1965) for any longer than it took to accomplish the goals set for me by Governor Martonmere and Government Leader, Sir Henry Tucker.

For the record, at the time I accepted my appointment, there were less than a half-dozen Blacks employed at a professional level in the Civil Service. Hence, even in Bermuda, I was totally immersed in a white world.

Why did I stay in Bermuda after my contract was fulfilled? I stayed because despite the ugliness of discrimination and the all too obvious inequalities, there was graciousness about Bermudians of both races that I had forgotten during my 13-year stay in Canada. As my Cousin Wilfred (Mose) Allen use to marvel in the latter stages of his life: "Cal, Bermudians are nice. They are really nice. We can't let that niceness be destroyed."

Indeed Bermudians were and are nice, very nice. Despite the fact that I had a white wife during the early years of my employment, I can honestly say I experienced no unpleasantness by members of either race. And the fact that I held rather strong views on the solutions to our racial problems seemed to disturb the "Jamahls" of that period rather more than it did the white ruling class.

I remained in my country of birth because I believed that Bermudians of both races were prepared to put aside racial differences to make Bermuda all that it could be.

But this didn't happen under the UBP for several reasons.

Firstly, the Black members of that party were absorbed in promoting their own interests instead of the interests of the wider black community. Secondly, Blacks in the UBP have never had a majority of the UBP members of Parliament. As a result, there was no way they could put through legislation that would seriously improve equality of opportunity, if that was not the wish of the white majority in their Parliamentary group. Thirdly, it is clear that if the Black members of the UBP had been serious about bringing about equality of opportunity for all Bermudians, they could have joined with the PLP on purely racial issues while maintaining solidarity with their party on issues that were not racial in nature. However, they chose not to do so. Even today, many Blacks in the UBP are more likely to take a political stance that is "anti-Black" than would be the case for their white colleagues.

Since the advent of the PLP to power, it has been easier for the working man of whatever race to impact his views on the legislature. This has been clearly demonstrated by the passage of two revolutionary pieces of legislation. These were the removal of the annual voter registration and the institution of single seat constituencies of equal size. Those whom we have characterised as poor or near poor, can now be assured of a vote on polling day. And those persons of whatever race who live in densely populated areas can now importantly effect the result of the vote.

The gaining of the right to vote has been trivialised by Mr. Simmons even though the United States and England have just sent a quarter of a million troops to bring such a privilege to Iraq.

Of equal importance, Premier Smith has shown that the PLP has what it takes to enable black and white, labour and management to work together in harmony. The Premier improved decision making in the civil service through training and insisting that heads of departments collaborate rather than engage in wasteful "turf wars". And our Premier has done the same thing with the Government Ministers by creating a policy-making committee that ensures that every major piece of legislation gets a thorough examination before it comes before the Cabinet proper.

Finally, although it is bemoaned that the PLP is a Black party, Government Boards and Committees are liberally sprinkled with white members without regard to their politics. A primary example of the willingness of the PLP to use all of our people in the nation building process is the creation of the Bermuda Alliance for Tourism (BAT), the Hotel Concessions Act 2000 and by its support of the Visitor Industry Partnership (VIP).

BAT is a committee consisting of representatives from labour, private industry and the Ministry of Tourism all of whom have a special interest in, or knowledge of, the tourist industry. The input from BAT has been so useful to the recovery of tourism that the Smith Cabinet has agreed to provide the group with staffing. Seven properties have taken advantage of the Hotel Concessions Act. Some of these are owned and managed by prominent members of the United Bermuda Party. This is further evidence that we are prepared to use action, not rhetoric, in helping Bermudians work together in their to advance the interests of their country.

The VIP, has been making a tremendous effort under the leadership of Mr. Eugene Blakeney. The VIP engages in a number of activities that involve Bermudians and the tourists. In addition, it raises awareness of the dedicated workers in the hospitality industry, both Bermudian and non-Bermudian, that keeps our Tourism competitive. The crown jewel of the VIP achievements in recent years has been the annual awards to workers who in the opinion of their colleagues have performed above and beyond the call of duty. Mr. Blakeney, the Chairman of VIP, carries on undaunted despite the totally uncalled for political attack on his daughter's integrity by a UBP Parliamentarian.

The achievements of the PLP certainly give the lie to the claim of Mr. Simmons that we continue with the flawed thinking of the 1960s and '70s. To appreciate the full extent of this lie, we need to take a look at the members of the PLP who were politically active during the period which he decries and determine for ourselves whether these persons could have been associated with flawed thinking. We can begin with Dame Lois Browne Evans, the Attorney General and Minister of Legislative Affairs. She is also the former Leader of the Progressive Labour Party. Would Mr. Simmons deny that Mrs. Lois Browne has championed, successfully, justice and equality throughout her career?

There is Mr. Eugene Cox, the Deputy Leader and Minister of Finance and the man who broke the colour bar at Belco the hiring of Black professionals. Was Mr. Cox's flawed thinking, the fact that he joined the PLP instead of the party of the economic establishment?

There is Mr. Reggie Burrows, a successful business man and a popular member of the Riddell's Bay Golf Club. Does Mr. Burrows show flawed thinking because he has always been prepared to come to the rescue of the Southampton Rangers Sports Club when they were in serious trouble.

Perhaps he refers to Mr. Walter Lister, Deputy Speaker, retired business man and the proud uncle of Ministers Terry and Dennis Lister. Was it his flawed thinking that helped turn Sandys Parish into an increasingly strong constituency in support of the Progressive Labour Party?

Or maybe it was the flawed thinking of Mr. Ottiwell Simmons, under whose leadership the Bermuda Industrial Union became the most powerful union in Bermuda both in terms of improving the welfare of its members as well as in increasing vastly the union's assets.

Then there is Bermuda's first Black Rhodes Scholar, Mr. Arthur Hodgson who most certainly could have been the Leader of the United Bermuda Party had he chose to go that route. Perhaps it was because of his "flawed thinking" that Mr. Hodgson chose to stay with the Progressive Labour Party and assist Bermuda's workers.

Since Mr. Jamahl Simmons has been a member of all three of Bermuda's political parties, he has had the unique opportunity to judge all of them from the inside. In which case, how on earth did he end up with such a twisted and distorted viewpoint?

But then, his familiarity with all three political parties is perhaps his problem. Having joined so many parties, he probably can't see the forest for the trees.

SENATOR CALVIN SMITH

Pembroke