Never more divided

November 28, 2007

Dear Sir,

I wonder if the PLP higher-ups have any idea of what an incredible opportunity they have blown to make the PLP a party made up of and reflecting the community they govern.

When the party was first elected into power, there were many UBP supporters who felt the need for change, were fed up with a UBP that had been virtually paralysed by fear of losing and the continual, relentless hammering they faced from the very determined PLP.

These UBP voters probably believed that a change might be for the better, and they were prepared to give the PLP a chance to prove their mettle. They voted for the PLP and were hopeful. They would probably have joined the PLP had things gone differently.

Well, that hasn't happened, and I think those UBP voters who were willing to give the PLP a try have become very disillusioned and disturbed. I hope the PLP voters, those who vote party just because they must, are also disturbed by what has gone on over the past several years.

Our education system is in a mess; crime is ever increasing and becoming more and more violent in nature; respect for Bermuda is diminishing among our residents (witness the unbelievable amount of trash just thrown along the roadsides) and by other countries who are standing by to pick up the pieces of our international business as they leave our shores for more friendly horizons; there is still insufficient housing and too few opportunities for affordable housing; reports that were commissioned to help solve problems in our education and health care have been kept secret (even though they are public property, paid for by the public's money); we seem to have so few competent managers in the Government that an unprecedented number of "experts" are being hired at exorbitant prices to conduct studies and present solutions (which reports are being kept "secret" also); the number of new tourist visitors arriving on the Island by air hasn't improved at all; guest workers have been told to "stay out of Bermuda's affairs" and freedom of speech has gone right out the window. The list goes on and on, and should be of grave concern to anyone who cares about Bermuda.

Never has our country been more divided along racial lines. Never.

I beg of all Bermudians, consider your vote. It really matters, and should reflect your concerns for a better Bermuda. Vote, and vote for the candidate you think will work and is able to work with party support in the best interests of your community and the country. Send a message that only honesty, integrity and accountability are acceptable to you. I personally will vote for a party that I know invites all Bermudians to participate and has candidates I ca n trust.

Then pray, and pray for our beloved country. There's a lot of healing that has to be done if the right people, people who truly care about Bermuda and all Bermudians, win. They will have a lot of work to do.

D.L. MARTIN

Warwick

Very unpleasant

November 28, 2007

Dear Sir,

I am overwhelmed by the one man band. The papers are flooded with pictures of Dr. Youtube, hard hat in hand, opening fictional clinics, building hotels, laughing at me from flyers, chiding me for sins of omission or for daring to oppose his great vision. Is this man the only candidate? The rubber stamp ministers 'squeak' out from time to time but most of the time it is Ewart Time. By calling this election at the time of goodwill, it has been brought home to me just how unpleasant the whole nasty business politics has become. I don't like to hear people who never owned a slave being called plantation or people who never have thought of themselves as such, are now being urged to feel victimised.

INUNDATED

City of Hamilton

Will forgiveness happen?

December 1, 2007

Dear Sir,

I have often read the comments by Dr. Eva Hodgson and wondered at what point would she ever feel at peace? It is glaringly obvious that she has quite a bit of passion when it comes to the racism debate. It is also obvious that many of the people that engage her seek to press upon her their viewpoints, most of them from a "white" persons standpoint. Any fight worth fighting has to be done on an even ground. That will never happen in any debate with Dr. Hodgson. While I find her candour and demeanour somewhat amusing, I, as a "white" person wonder if it is only her "financial scars" (Letters to the Editor — December 1) that need healing.

I do not presume to even begin to understand the oppression she has felt from the former government, nor will I assume that she feels that now, under Dr. Brown's leadership, all of our history's past mistakes will be corrected. I do understand the need for the Big Conversation, but in reality, will I ever be forgiven for the sins of the past? Irregardless of the intentions, would forgiveness truly ever happen? How many Conversations would we need to have? What do I have to do Dr. Hodgson to gain your forgiveness?

So, in my own way, I do what I can. I teach my children about love, compassion and the need to treat others as they would want to be treated. My son plays soccer for Devonshire Cougars and has done so since the age of 5, and will do so, for as long as he loves the game. I have taught him that Devonshire Recreation Club is his club and that every time he pulls on his jersey he does it with pride and respect for his club. My son is not the only "white" boy out there either, and not only at Devonshire Recreation Club. Do I tell him that it's a "black" club? No. It's his club. A Bermudian club. It always will be.

So here we sit, in a world where hatred runs amok and people are slaughtered for reasons that have nothing to do with skin colour, and here in our little corner of the world and somewhat advanced society, we still have the need to fight a racist regime. One that probably will always be there, and unfortunately there is not a lot that Dr. Hodgson or I can do about it.

When will we ever be able to realize that the future of our country is in the hands of our children, and that only through acceptance, tolerance, education and a willingness to be better Bermudians, will we ever be able to close the book on racism? It is my hope that Dr. Hodgson is eventually able to find some peace, some healing. The scars you bear are not yours alone Dr. Hodgson. I only hope that you do what you must so that your scars can be healed.

PHILIP A RAY

Pembroke

Is it fear or indifference?

Dear Sir,

Recently the City of Hamilton saw the staging of a public demonstration and rally which was organized by the parents of the murder victims, who are yet to see the perpetrators of their children's murders be brought to justice. While speaking to member of the community, I discovered that most of them are confident that there are members of the community with sound and relevant information, which may lead to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators of these senseless murders.

It was also brought to my attention, that the individuals who have pertinent information, that could be of evidential value and which may ensure the victim's families gain the closure they are looking for, are afraid of retaliation. Daily these families are made to relive the horrific and traumatising experiences and they will do so until justice is done.

Fear is never a justified reason to cause or aid in the miscarriage of justice. Every one that resides in this tranquil community needs to be courageous. We must not only remember, but we must also remind each other of our civic responsibilities which should be perform with a sense of pride. It is also important for everyone who resides in Bermuda to understand that courage is not the absence of fear but it is the willingness to act even when you are afraid. If we use fear to allow an offender to evade prosecution whether it is for the offence of murder or for an offence of a less serious nature, we are only empowering the criminals. We are giving them permission to up the ante and to raise the stakes.

If you think what you are experiencing now is fear, you will mess yourself if this problem is allowed to get out of control, as it has in some countries. I have been to countries and I have spoken to people, where the community has empowered the criminals in the name of fear. Today these criminal commit murders in plain view of members of the public, with no effort to conceal their identity; yet they have the assurance, that no one who witnessed the gruesome murders has the courage to aid in their arrest and/or conviction.

All in all, Bermuda is a still a very safe community, which has not been blighted with the amount and the degree of criminal activities that is synonymous with many other jurisdictions. Yet I can see the potential for things to get out of control. It will be a shame if the citizens and residence of this tiny island are made to live in a petrified state.

Now I am lead to ask the following questions. Is it really fear or is it indifference that has taking over the members of the community? Could it be that the community no longer care and we have stop being his brother's keeper? Have we adopted the "it's not my business" mentality? For the sake of this little island, I hope not.

IN SERVICE TO HUMANITY

Devonshire

Thank you Belco

December 1, 2007

Dear Sir,

My first month on the Island came with a shock. My Belco bill. I bought a high efficiency washing machine right away. It cost $1,600. The next month my Belco bill was $100 less. It took a little over a year for my lower Belco bill to pay for my fancy top loader. Now each month I pocket the savings. Win-win I'd say. Thanks for the washer Belco!

IAN VINK

Warwick

Vote for the best candidates

November 30, 2007

Dear Sir,

I am dismayed by recent developments affecting the Bermuda Cement Company, and not only because of the threat they pose for the construction industry. I think these developments are indicative of another significant problem, and one which has affected Bermuda for far too long, and certainly long before November, 1998. That problem is the role that vested political interests play in our country.

The roller-coaster-like process of granting the BCC a new lease has stretched on for over three years now, making it evident the present government does not truly have Bermuda's interests closest to its heart in this matter.

Had this been so, the BCC would have had its lease renewed long ago in exchange for opening up ownership to the public. That this has not happened makes it clear to me that representatives of the government who have dealt with this matter must, in some way, be misguided: misguided, I suggest, by the vested interests of one political party. Perhaps some may think that a harsh statement, but I very much doubt transparent, well-intentioned decisions have led us down the path to this quagmire.

And one cannot argue, with a straight face and a clear conscience, that the BCC stalemate is merely the result of Wedco making a rational business decision about one of its tenants. Everyone knows the strings of this puppet show are being pulled from Alaska Hall.

The Bermuda bus has for too long been driven haphazardly and in unwanted directions at the whim of one political party. And that whim is, in reality, directed by the day-to-day horse trading of the few people wielding power in that party, regardless of any idealistic and lofty ambitions.

The result is that the party's interests and the interests of our country do not always meet with a nice, clean seam. You need only look at the marathon Bermuda Housing Corporation debacle, exorbitant rents (which could have been prevented) and our unfair economy (the gap between rich and poor is growing) to see that recently our government has taken their eye off the ball that we elected them to watch.

I doubt there is a single well-informed Bermudian who could, hand on heart, say they honestly believe that Bermuda of late has been well run. And lest anyone think I am pointing the finger at one party in particular, I think we have been stuttering along for well over a decade.

One could also say patches of poor leadership, and the mistakes they create, are inevitable in a small place like Bermuda, where one can only expect a proportionate number of good leaders to emerge. Indeed there was poor leadership before November 1998, and it is common knowledge that before then strings were pulled from elsewhere, although much less noise was made about it. It is this general lack of enough well-intentioned and competent leaders in our recent governments that is precisely my point.

I think it is time that we start to re-evaluate the political line that was drawn in 1963-64. There are new generations of Bermudians to whom that line means very little, and that line will certainly mean much less to each successive generation from now on. We, as a country, have bigger fish to fry. We have to keep the pillars of our economy secure and growing, manage our open space carefully, fix our crumbling education system, ensure every Bermudian has an equal opportunity in the workplace. But to do all this we need the best and the brightest that we have to be making the decisions, and making decisions for the right reasons.

We have enough qualified, competent and honest people on this island ¿ from all backgrounds and with many different types of education ¿ to ensure a tightly-run, transparent and visionary government that will help our country on the path toward another half century of success. And yet our two main political parties are seeking to wrest control of the steering wheel by offering us (among the worthy candidates on both sides) the unqualified, the inept, and a few of the dishonest.

To those who would counter that a party system is still necessary because of political realities, I would respond that, given the choice, I think filling the House of Assembly with the best we have to offer, regardless of affiliation, will achieve a better outcome for Bermuda than electing candidates not able to shoulder the burden of public service with the aplomb and foresight that we, the electorate, deserve of our representatives. Before the justified 1960s political tumult, Bermuda worked very well without political parties for over 300 years. Then it took 30 years of universal suffrage and political party machinery to make this country a true democracy. I think political parties have served their purpose. Let's move on.

I want to see Bermuda flourish, as it can and should, so I hope people will make the right choice at the polls on December 18, and ignore party affiliations. I hope people vote for the best candidates, the candidates who will be best for the country. I hope people vote for a better Bermuda.

A HOPEFUL BERMUDIAN

Pembroke

Use what you've got

November 28, 2007

Dear Sir,

I would like to address the idea of the 'care centre clinic' at Southside St. David's. I am a 'Born and Bred' St. David's Islander and I am very much in agreement with this idea. It's a good plan, as I have experienced having to go to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital in Paget on many occasions for my family members and friends. What I do not agree with is having to build the facility, when we already have the buildings already at Southside.

There is the old base hospital on Southside already here, why not use the prisoners' labour to help to update this facility. I know that it needs and requires a lot of work, we all can see this. What ever way you look at it, the 'Tax Payer' ¿ the people, us ¿ is paying for all of this. Why are we going to build on land when there are buildings already available? I disagree with building this facility ¿ I am upset with this.

There are buildings down here that are been renovate and it looks good, progress is good and you give credit where it is due, I agree but there are buildings that have been renovated and are not in use. I know that BLDC owns most of the buildings. I know these areas very well because I walk them regularly, so I know what I am talking about. Is this another promise because of election fever? Can you tell me what is going to be left for our children and our grand children coming along?

TICKED OFF

St. David's