February 15, 2002

Dear Sir,

I would like to thank all the people in Bermuda who have supported me for the Salt Lake Olympics. It has been an honour to represent my country.

PATRICK SINGLETON

Salt Lake City

Commissioners should quit

February 20, 2002

Dear Sir,

I said this to the Boundary Commissioners. If they had any integrity they would all step down. Their “remit” is a devious, mandate from Jennifer Smith and her grisly cabal.

In the name of democracy and a corny meaningless clich? – one man, one vote of equal value – they are willing to replace a blighted imperfect system with another that has no rationality, no sense and no purpose except perhaps a devious entrenchment of power in too few hands. As I said to the Commissioners, a monkey might as well put his hand in a bowl containing twenty balls numbering 20 to 40 and pick one out. How do we improve representation by decreasing the number of representatives? What connection has this farce to the Civil Service report that is ours, the peoples, to see not Jennifer Smith’s to hide. Can there be an intent to reduce the size of the Cabinet, with which I wholly agree, which would reduce the Cabinet’s sway over Parliament without a concomitant reduction in the House. Is this the devious intent?

The mindless supporters of the undemocratic, and what should be unconstitutional, hijacking of our constitution, are allowing this to happen quite simply in the name of revenge – payback. They stood and said so in St. Paul’s AME Church Hall – vengeance is the Lords (and Jennifer’s cabal) – all of them angry black Bermudians. Many of them status quo members of the St. Kitt’s Club, who have not been in Bermuda for one hundred years. Yes, they were treated badly by my white ancestors but they were treated worse by black Bermudians who had been here before 1834.

The PLP was formed in 1963 by West Indians – substantially and overwhelmingly. Many black Bermudians, who I now call West Indians if they have not been here for more then 100 years, have told me how the whites turned their black Bermudian brothers against them. They don’t need to invoke this – the black Bermudians hated them because they took their jobs. These West Indians worked twice as hard, twice as long for half the money and they educated their children. That’s why almost every black civil servant in the highest positions are from St. Kitt’s and Nevis (only a few are from other islands) – they were educated by parents who saw the value of education. Why did I make this tangent? Because their anger is the only explanation – there is no justification – for this outrageously undemocratic “remit.”

When I stand up at a meeting there is a perceptible muttering. These mutterers don’t know what I do for the black community or what I feel about the way they were treated. It was wrong. You West Indians contributed so much to building modern affluent Bermuda but now you scream about the long term residents who came on the next after next boat than you. You scream about the white English who came here after the 1950’s – on the very next boat from yours. Many thousands of you were born here, so you use the word born Bermudian, but your parents were not. You are hypocrites. You cry about the way we real Bermudians treated you and then in the same breath you deny the rights of the next boatload. Your anger explains your behaviour but it does not justify it – you are hypocrites – from the St. Kitt’s Club.

In anger, you have orchestrated this farce. A boundary commission on a fools errand. A British Government that is too tired of Empire to do its duty. A Premier who bristles when her integrity is questioned. The last count was 18% who supported her initiative – and it is her initiative – without a constitutional conference and then a referendum.

If the Boundary Commission puts a number that Jennifer Smith is not happy with, she will change it – she controls the Parliament. She dangles at her whim the egos of the Cabinet Ministers. She puts the Cabinet when the cabinet should choose her – or would they. I doubt, if a secret ballot were held, that Jennifer Smith holds a majority of the House and if she does not she sits in defiance of the Constitution – but that will not bother her.

Some of her supporters, who would follow if she chose to annexe the moon, want 25 members of Parliament. With thirteen Cabinet Ministers, more than half of all members would be Cabinet Ministers. The backbench could go from inconsequential to non-existent. Debate in caucus would be non-existent and meaningless as is the debate in the House at present. And her supporters want twenty-five members – they are mad (in both senses of the word)!

The commissioners should stand down. We should have proportional representation with sixty seats on an Islandwide state, we would then have one man, sixty votes of equal value.

SANDERS FRITH-BROWN

Warwick

Olympics coverage

February 10, 2002

Dear Sir,

I hope you will write some more articles concerning the Bermuda Broadcasting Company’s treatment of the people in Bermuda when it comes to showing major sporting events such as the Winter and Summer Olympics. It is bad enough that the BBC has technical problems during the opening ceremony, but to then require Cablevision to block any other channels that are carrying Olympic coverage when the BBC channels are showing something else in which most of might have no interest is insult to injury. I don’t care that they might have bought the exclusive rights to air the Olympics in Bermuda – if they have done so, then they should have a channel showing as much as possible, otherwise allow us to watch what we want on channels that we have paid for.

NIGEL CLARK

Warwick

Rethink customs system

February 15, 2002

Dear Sir,

I have returned to the Island twice in the last two weeks and have spent nearly three hours in a combination of Immigration and Customs lines at the Airport. On my last return the time I spent in line was almost equal to my flight time. This is unacceptable. I am usually very quick to defend Bermuda when people refer to it as a “third world” country. However the inbound experience at the airport is, at best, antiquated and validates the “third world” label. We need to rethink the Immigration system (I can walk through most airports in the world simply presenting my passport) and the Customs system.

It is time to adopt a bonded warehouse system so retailers can actually import goods that consumers want without severe strains on cash flow. This may reduce individual purchases overseas and, therefore, reduce the Customs line. In addition the $100 duty exemption is far too low in today’s world. It needs to be increased to at least $500 and we need a “walk through” Customs system where officials randomly review incoming passengers on a selective basis. The music at the arrivals hall is a nice idea to pass the waiting time, but I think visitors would prefer to spend that time on the beach, business people doing deals and parents returning home to their children.

ROBIN HAMILL

Hamilton Parish

More food for thought

February 6, 2002

Dear Sir,

September 11 focused the world on the urgency for peace. Baha’is believe that, currently, humanity is undergoing a turbulent adolescence. Just as teenagers who have dismayed their families can become productive adults – with the right guidance and determination – we believe that humanity is destined to evolve with wisdom and peace. Our challenge is to develop the collective will to “do unto others as we would have them do unto us”.

Sixteen years ago, the Baha’i international governing body published: “The Promise of World Peace”. Bermuda Baha’is shared this still relevant document in The Royal Gazette on October 24, 2001. A panel discussion followed, featuring Dr. Eva Hodgson, Mr. Stuart Hayward, Mr. Tom Vesey, Dr. Ian Kawaley and Dr. Cheryl Peek-Ball. We take this opportunity to thank them and share their riveting insights. The panellists reflected on the immensity of the challenge, noting that peace is a responsibility that each of us must undertake. They made profound observations about how we handle the grave responsibility of raising children, persistent effects of racism and even daily events that cause us stress, such as road rage. Each panellist concluded that our individual quest for peace is an essential ingredient that equips us to work together to tackle larger community and global issues of poverty, prejudice, ignorance, injustice and the culture of war. Panellists offered much food for thought as well as a great sense of hope and commitment.

The next panel, at the Baha’i Centre, Thursday, February 28, 7.30 p.m., features former Clerk to the Legislature Mr. John Gilbert, media personality Mrs. Nell Bassett, businessman Mr. Johann Wong and educator Mr. Dale Butler, M.P. We invite everyone to hear their reflections on “The Implications for Bermuda of The Promise of World Peace”.

A. BROCK

National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Bermuda